Chaka means “salt lake” in Tibetan. located in Wulan county in the east of the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai province, Silhouetted by the azure sky and floating clouds as well as mountains in the distance, is regarded as “the mirror of the sky” in China for its splendid beauty.
It is included in “the 55 places you must go in your lifetime” list by China’s National Geographic magazine. Tourists are often enthralled by the various salt sculptures within the Chaka Salt Lake scenic spot.
Bingling temple is located in Yongjing County, Lanzhou city. Bingling thousand Buddha cave in the temple is one of the four famous Grottoes in China, second only to Mogao Grottoes in terms of artistic value, and was listed in the world heritage list on June 22, 2014. Bingling temple, founded in the Western Qin Dynasty, has a history of more than 1600 years since it was expanded in the Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Ice cream means “Ten Thousand Buddhas” in Tibetan. Bingling thousand Buddha cave was built in the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316). These caves were excavated many times in subsequent dynasties. There are 183 niches, 694 stone carvings, 82 clay sculptures, and 900 square meters (1076 square yards) of murals in good condition. Bingling qianmiao Grottoes is famous for its stone carvings. It is located on the West Cliff of Dashigou, about 200 meters (about 600 feet) long. The main characters are Sakyamuni, Guanyin, wuliangshou Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, etc. With elegant posture, elegant robes and ribbons, statues are the same as life. Among these caves, cave 169 is worth mentioning. Produced in the Northern Dynasty (386-581), it is the most magnificent and exquisite clay sculpture to preserve Guanyin, Dali Buddha (Dali means powerful power in Chinese). Dali Buddha has a round face and sits cross legged. When we see this sculpture, we will feel its expression is very solemn. On both sides stood Bodhisattva, dressed in hair and waving with bare arms. Color shows us the Buddha and Buddha. No. 125 cave, where Sakyamuni stone sculptures are preserved, should not be missed.
At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, the yellow school (Gelu school) of Tibetan Buddhism was introduced into Bingling temple. On the basis of inheriting the folk art of the previous generation, Bingling Temple Grottoes absorbed and integrated the foreign Buddhist art, and created a vivid sculpture image and painting art with a new posture and simple technique.
Tianzhu Mountain presents natural landscapes such as strange peaks, strange rocks, secluded caves, canyons, etc. it is famous for its masculinity, strangeness, spirituality and beauty. Geologists call it “the most beautiful granite landscape in the East”; writers call it “mountain jungle” and “stone Palace”.
Located in Qianshan, Anqing, Anhui Province, the mountain is a branch of Dabie Mountains and well known for its great number of peaks, caves and rare rocks, as well as the beautiful environment with fresh air and numerous green plants. It also features rich cultural relics such as steles carved with the calligraphies of famous people in ancient times, such as Libai, an outstanding poet of the Tang Dynasty (618~907). It is the perfect place for outdoor activities such as climbing mountains, admiring peculiar peaks and a sea of clouds, exploring mysterious caves, and splashing about in the water.
Tianzhu peak, 4887.7 feet (1989.8 meters) above sea level, is the highest peak in the scenic area. It is named “Tianzhu”, which literally means Tianzhu, because it looks like a huge pillar penetrating the sky. The mountain is famous for its steepness because it is extremely difficult to climb. So far, only two tourists have reached the top of the mountain.
Tianzhu Mountain is one of the three famous mountains in Anhui Province because of its unique natural landscape. As early as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was named “Nanyue”. There were cultural activities in all dynasties. After the founding of the people’s Republic of China, it has been developed into a scenic spot. In 2011, the scenic spot won the title of AAAAA tourist attraction. In September 2011, it was officially approved as a World Geopark by UNESCO.
Jiuhua Mountain, one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, is located in Qingyang County, Chizhou City, Anhui Province, known as the first mountain in the Southeast. From the foot of Jiuhua Mountain to Tiantai peak, there are many famous temples, many cultural relics and historic sites. There are still 78 ancient temples such as Huacheng temple, Yueshen temple, Huiju temple, Centenary palace, and more than 1500 Buddha statues. There are more than 1300 cultural relics such as imperial edicts, scriptures and other jade seals and artifacts issued by Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty.
According to historical records, Buddhism was first introduced to Mount Jiuhua in the year 401. In 719, a Korean monk named Jin Qiaojue arrived and practiced Buddhism here for 75 years. Upon his Nirvana in 794, Jin Qiaojue was respected as the Earth Buddha by the locals, hence it has become the place where religious rituals were held to worship the God of Earth.
It has always been a place of attraction to the literary world. It is said that Li Bai (701-762), a famous poet of Tang Dynasty, visited Jiuhua Mountain. When he was intoxicated with the scene of lotus like the peak of Jiuhua Mountain, the poem slipped out, “from the blue sky, a jade stream, nine charming lotus flowers rose from the bottom of the mountain.”. Later, Liu Yuxi (772-784), a poet of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Anshi (1021-1086), a writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, and many other scholars, politicians and monks also went to Jiuhua Mountain for tourism, which made them famous. As a Chinese saying goes, “mountains are famous for their holiness, not for their height.”.
Visitors to Jiuhua Mountain Temple are always impressed by its exquisite architecture and magnificent structure. There are no more than 90 existing temples, most of which were restored in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Among them, the most famous ones are the reincarnation hall, Huacheng temple, Zhiyuan temple, Changshou temple, zhantanlin temple, Ganlu temple and Tiantai town top temple.
Shexian is located in the northeast of Huangshan City, at the foot of Huangshan Mountain. It is a famous historical and cultural city. Surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, there are many cultural relics, folk houses, ancestral halls and memorial archways. This is a museum of classical architectural art.
Walking across the county, you can see the architectural styles of towers, bridges, alleys and wells in Ming and Qing Dynasties everywhere. The beautiful scenery and exquisite architecture make it win the reputation of water town, mountain town and bridge town. This rich county has attracted many historical scholars to praise its beauty. There are three wonders here – ancestral temple, ancient houses and arched city. Therefore, architectural experts in China and around the world call it “the Museum of classical architectural art formed naturally”.
Shexian ancient city is the ancient city of Huizhou, which is composed of Fucheng and Xi’an city. Fucheng was built in the late Sui Dynasty (581-618), and expanded in the late Tang Dynasty (618-907). The existing walls are built along the ridge, which is about 1640 yards long. Some places of interest before the Song Dynasty (960-1279), such as HAMA well, Yinggong well, Dagu well, etc. Doushan street, Zhongshan lane, Dabei street and other old streets have basically maintained the style of Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are 16 memorial archways of Ming and Qing Dynasties in Fucheng and Xi’an city.
Historically, Shexian county was called Huizhou. It is the birthplace of Hui culture (one of the three regional cultures in China). Beautiful places carry talent. In this picturesque place, there are many celebrities who have expertise in different research fields. For example, Zhu Xi was a famous thinker in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). He was the inventor of movable type all his life. Tao Xingzhi is a great educator. Huang Binhong is a famous modern painter. Xin’an School of painting, Hui School of architecture, Hui School of drama, Xin’an medicine, Hui School of cuisine and so on all enjoy a certain reputation more or less.
Shexian also has local specialties such as jujube, Huangshan Maofeng Tea, dinggu Dafang tea, Huangshan Green Peony tea, etc., which are regarded as priceless by the local people.
Yellow Emperor Hometown is the place where the Yellow Emperor was born, grew up and established his capital. It is located in Xinzheng, 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Zhengzhou. In the Han Dynasty (202-220 BC), Xuanyuan temple was built here to commemorate the Yellow Emperor. After more than 2000 years of metamorphism and restoration, the present Huangdi hometown scenic spot came into being. Now it is the most important place for Chinese at home and abroad to worship their ancestors.
Yellow Emperor Hometown in Xinzheng City is the birthplace, entrepreneurship and capital of Xuanyuan Huangdi, the first ancestor of Chinese culture. There are records of Bamboo Annals in the Warring States period and historical records in the Han Dynasty. Xuanyuan temple was built in the Han Dynasty, which was built successively. In the fourth year of Longqing in Ming Dynasty, Xuanyuan bridge was built in front of the temple. In the fifty fourth year of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, Xu Chaozhu, the county magistrate of Xinzheng, set up a monument of “Xuanyuan hometown” in front of the temple.
Since the 1990s, the scenic area of the Yellow Emperor’s hometown of Xinzheng City has been expanded many times, with an area of 70000 square meters. The overall layout highlights the theme of “the root of China”. From north to south, it is xuanyuanqiu Baizu District, Temple District and Zhonghua surname Square District, which constitute the three plates of “heaven, earth and man”. It is magnificent and solemn.
The Yellow Emperor, the first of the five emperors in the historical records, is a mythical figure in ancient China. Most of the Chinese emperors set up temples and mausoleums for the Yellow Emperor to obtain the legitimacy of symbolic rule. It is an important symbol of Chinese culture, known as the ancestor of the Chinese nation. Some scholars believe that it started with the promotion of intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty, from the three emperors and the five emperors in the age of Chinese legends Stand out from the crowd and become the ancestor of the Han nation and even the Chinese nation.
Bailong elevator, located in Yuanjia street, Wulingyuan scenic spot, Zhangjiajie, is the world’s largest passenger capacity, fastest running, fully exposed outdoor double-layer sightseeing elevator. The Bailong elevator runs up and down at a high speed of 3 meters (10 feet / second) per second, and can reach a height of 326 meters (1070 feet) in 1 minute and 58 seconds. It connects the main scenic spots such as yuanjiajie, Tianzi mountain and Jinbian River, leaving more time for tourists to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Zhangjiajie.
Normally, it takes the elevator only 1 minute and 58 seconds to run from the foot to top of the mountain, and the running speed of the elevator gets to 3 meters per second. The fastest running speed can reach 5.5 meters per second (18 feet/s) and the whole riding lasts only 66 seconds. In the previous days when there was no elevator, it took tourists about 2 hours to climb up to the mountain top. Bailong elevator has three double-layer fully exposed sightseeing elevators, which is the largest one in the world. Three elevators run side by side to serve tourists. One elevator can carry up to 50 people. When the three elevators are used at the same time, Bailong elevator can provide services for 4000 tourists every hour.
The elevator connects the main scenic spots such as Yuanjia street and Tianzi mountain, which saves a lot of time for tourists to visit the scenic spot. The elevator is made of glass, transparent. During the ride, visitors can enjoy one of the magical grand events of Zhangjiajie, including the sky garden and the local residents’ cottage scattered on the opposite mountain top, so as to gain novel sightseeing experience.
Haibao Pagoda is located in Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, with a history of more than 1500 years. Because it is located in the northern suburb of the city, it is also called “North Tower”. I don’t know when it was first established. According to the literature, it was rebuilt in the fifth century. In the past few centuries, Haibaota has experienced several earthquakes. It collapsed and rebuilt again and again. The existing pagoda was restored in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in 1788. It is one of the eight highlights of Ningxia and listed in the list of the sixteen famous pagodas in China.
Haibao Pagoda is a pavilion like tower with nine floors and eleven stairs. The rectangular pagoda is made of bricks and is 53.9 meters (177 feet) high. It has a square base, 5.7 meters (about 18 feet) high and 19.7 meters (about 65 feet) long. On the first floor, there is an arch and a porch. From the second floor up, each floor has four arches, slightly projecting. The recesses in the walls are also built on both sides of the door to add magnificence and provide a third dimension. Every corner is hung with wind bells. On windy days, the sound of wind bells makes this place full of pleasant sounds. In a word, our pagoda is built in a rare style in ancient pagoda architecture.
Each floor has a square room surrounded by wooden stairs spiraling up from below. The mold is reduced 15 to 20 cm layer by layer from the base. The top of the pagoda has a unique shape and looks like a peach made of green glazed bricks. This color contrasts with the gray body, which helps us to call it the pagoda of civilization and vivacity. From the top of the mountain, you can see the Yellow River (Yellow River) in the East and the grandeur of Helan Mountain in the West. This scenery can be compared with any beautiful scenery in southern China in aesthetic sense.
Impression Liu Sanjie is the first “landscape live performance” in China. Impression of Liu Sanjie premiered on March 20, 2004 at the song festival of Liu Sanjie, a mile from West Street. This is the world’s largest nature theater, with Lijiang River water as the stage and 12 misty mountains and sky as the background. Fog, rain, moonlight, mountains and their reflections on the river all become the ever-changing natural background. Its auditorium is located on the natural island of the river. The audience stands on the designed terrace, surrounded by green plants. The sound equipment here is invisible because it’s in harmony with nature.
Valleys, hills, cool winds and gurgling streams are all factors that produce three-dimensional sound effects. Day by day, different weather provides different scenery, four distinct seasons, refreshing and impressive, Liu Sanjie will have a unique experience every time. This is really a new concept opera with nature as the performing subject, so it is named “a masterpiece of cooperation between man and God”.
Maybe you’ve heard of the 1961 movie “Liu Sanjie”, which made Lijiang famous all over the world. Liu Sanjie is a fairy singer in Zhuang mythology. She is incomparably beautiful and has a voice to match her beauty. In Liu Sanjie’s impression, you can see the impression of people living by the Lijiang River, not the specific details of the story. From these impressions, you will have a real impression of the background of Sanjie’s birthplace and understand the beauty of the hometown of folk songs.The story of Liu Sanjie in folklore is a complicated and divergent discourse. There are not only conflicts between different values of the same class of people, but also conflicts between different social classes; there are not only portraits of real life, but also romantic fantasies, ghosts and witches. Due to the spread and evolution of the legend in different historical periods, different cities and different nationalities, the story has accumulated layers, been related to each other and contradicted with each other. But anyway, Liu Sanjie in the folklore contains Folk Ethics, folk wisdom, folk imagination and folk interest, which are the most charming and dynamic places in Liu Sanjie’s folklore.
West Street is the oldest street in Yangshuo, with a history of more than 1400 years. This street is located in the center of Yangshuo County. Since 1980s, it has become the window of eastern and Western culture and the largest “foreign language center” in China. It is the most prosperous area in Yangshuo. Every year, about 100000 foreigners come here to travel or study. West Street attracts tourists with its unique cultural combination.
West Street, 517 meters long and 8 meters wide, twists and turns along its length. Made entirely of marble, this is a typical example of a street in southern China. It is popular with foreigners for its simple style and courtyard like environment. There is a saying that “half is a village, the other half is a shop”.
Because sometimes the number of foreigners exceeds the number of Chinese, this street is also known as “foreigners Street”. Don’t be surprised if you hear the English words spoken by old Chinese women, because this street is called “global village”. In addition to Yangshuo’s local accent, English has become a daily language. West Street is modern and fashionable. Almost every shop has a bilingual shop sign. More than 20 shops have been opened by foreigners who have settled here.
Chinese people who travel there may think they are in a foreign country, while foreigners come here to look for ancient Chinese civilization. However, whether you are Chinese or foreign, this is a good place to rest, physically or mentally. West Street will drive away all your pressure and burden and give you a peaceful outlook on life. It presents different faces at different times: calm and peaceful in the morning, fashionable and modern in the evening. Traveling to that place is an experience with the scenery, with people, with soul, with yourself.
Visit West Street, you will be surrounded by a series of traditional folk customs and amazing international elements. Various shops, handicraft shops, calligraphy and painting shops, backpack shops, coffee shops and China Kungfu academy are competing to attract attention. You can see a lot from embroidered silk, batik and weaving to the small shoes worn by women before liberation in 1949. In addition, in other places on the street, you may find bars and cafes, some of which are operated by foreigners, decorated with bamboo rafts, fish baskets, batik tablecloths, etc.
West Street not only gives you visual satisfaction. You will be tempted by food from all over the world: Chinese New Year cake, Yangshuo rice noodles, authentic Italian coffee, banana cake, Western food and so on. So now, choose a coffee shop and ask for a cup of coffee. Let the beautiful scenery and music take you to a wonderful world.
