the great wall of china Archives - China Expedition Tours Travel Blogs

January 17, 2020

Mount Li, a Royal Garden Since the Zhou Dynasty

By Cassidy Tse inPopular Spots Tag Chongqing, hangzhou, lantern festival, the great wall of china, Yangtze river, year of the pig

Mount Li is located in Lintong district, xi ‘an city, Shaanxi province. As part of huaqing pool, the mountain is close to the Qin terra-cotta warriors and horses museum. During the western Zhou dynasty (11th century bc-771 BC), it once belonged to the state of lirong, hence its name. It has been a royal garden since the zhou dynasty, so there are many royal villas here. There are evergreen pines and cypresses on the mountain, which make it look like a black horse.

Mount Li has been a tourist destination for many emperors throughout ancient Chinese history. Many legends about the emperor can be heard here. In ancient times, the mountain was the place where nuwa, the goddess who created humans according to Chinese legend, melted rocks and repaired holes in the sky to save the world. The world famous emperor qin shi huang built his mausoleum at the foot of the mountain, leaving behind a magnificent terracotta army. During the tang dynasty, the tragic love story between xuanzong and the beautiful lady Yang guifei took place here. Even during the qing dynasty, when she fled from Beijing to xi ‘an during the war, the empress dowager stayed for a while.

Laojun Palace is the place where Lao Zi is worshiped. Lao Zi was an ancient Chinese philosopher and the founder of Taoism. The Laojun Palace is a Taoism Temple. It is said that in Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong has accidentally seen Lao Zi’s manifestation twice in the temple. The white jade statue of Lao Zi was once worshiped in the temple, however during the Tang Dynasty it was partly destroyed in war. The statue is now reserved in the Shaanxi Historical Museum.

January 16, 2020

Shanghai Tower, the Tallest Skyscraper in Shanghai

By Cassidy Tse inPopular Spots Tag chinese calendar, panda movies, shanghai weather, the great wall of china

Shanghai tower is located in Lujiazui finance and trade zone, Pudong. It is the tallest building in China, second only to the world. It covers an area of 30,368 square meters, with a construction area of about 576,000 square meters, including 5 floors of basement, 127 floors above ground and 5 floors of podium.

For visitors, a visit to the Shanghai tower would be incomplete without the world’s highest indoor observation deck, the “top of the Shanghai observatory.” From this height, you can enjoy a unique panorama of the Huangpu river, the bund to the west, and several other skyscrapers, such as the Jinmao tower and the world financial center on the east bank. Visitors are advised to visit the B1 exhibition hall and then take the express elevator to the 118th floor, which only takes 55 seconds. Finally, if time permits, visit the exhibition “Shanghai eye” on the 125th and 126th floors.

The skyscraper’s foundation is important because Shanghai is located in an inactive seismic zone and the construction site is in the Yangtze river valley. To reinforce the ground, engineers first placed 980 foundation piles 86 meters underground, then poured 61,000 cubic meters of concrete to install a 6-meter floor to secure the main building.

The outside of the building spiraled like a snake. Each floor rotates by one degree to counteract the force of the wind high above. This is very important for super tall buildings in Shanghai to withstand frequent typhoons.

The tower has two glass facades, one inside and one outside, like overlapping “pipes”. The space between the two “pipes” is from 1 to 10 meters wide, providing more public space inside the building. At the same time, the space is like an insulating layer, like a vacuum flask. It’s environmentally friendly and it costs less.

As a complex super-tall building, the building is subdivided into five main functional areas: 24-hour offices for multinational corporations and financial services; Super five-star hotel and supporting facilities, providing personalized services and supporting facilities; High-end retail stores, etc. The leisure and entertainment area, which forms a new commercial and cultural center in the city, is obviously different from the ghost town image of lujiazui after work. Conference facilities, including sightseeing rooms on the upper level, a multi-purpose convention center of more than 2,000 square meters, and a multi-purpose banquet hall of more than 1,000 square meters are located in the podium building.

January 16, 2020

Huangpu River, a Landmark of Shanghai

By Cassidy Tse inPopular Spots Tag chinese calendar, lantern festival, panda movies, shanghai weather, the great wall of china

The Huangpu river is a landmark of Shanghai, dividing the city into Pudong and Puxi. It is 113 kilometers (70 miles) long and 300-770 meters (984-2,526 feet) wide, flowing through more than 10 districts of the city. It is regarded as the mother river of Shanghai, with functions such as drinking water, shipping, drainage, fishing and tourism. In order to provide better transportation conditions, submarine tunnels and Bridges have been built under and above the river. On both sides of the river, there are buildings of various styles and important scenery. Famous scenic spots such as the bund and lujiazui finance and trade zone are located here.

To enjoy the scenery along the river, the bund on the west bank and binjiang avenue on the east bank are the two best places in the city. Binjiang avenue is less crowded, but the bund is more beautiful. On the bund, there is a group of historic buildings along the road. It is made up of a large number of western-style buildings built about 100 years ago, when Shanghai was home to a large number of foreign immigrants. The east bank of pudong is a tall and modern building built in recent decades. Pudong has become an important financial and commercial center for Shanghai and even for China. The contrast between the skyscrapers of the east and the classical architecture of the west is striking, and you can see the development of the city over the past century.

There are two Bridges across the river: yangpu bridge and Nanpu Bridge, like two dragons lying across the water. Between the two Bridges stands the Oriental pearl tower. From a bird’s eye view, the whole picture looks like two dragons playing with a pearl, which is one of the unique features of the river. Another famous bridge across the river is the waibaidu bridge at the junction of the Huangpu river and Suzhou river. It is the largest iron bridge in downtown Shanghai. The bridge has a history of hundreds of years and bears witness to the development of the city. In many old movies and photos, you can see the image of the bridge.

In Wusong mouth, there is a special scene: three color water. It is where the Huangpu and Yangtze rivers meet and flow into the east China sea. The water of the Huangpu river in the urban area is steel gray, the water of the Yangtze river is yellow and sandy yellow, and the water of the east China sea is green.

The best way to see the Huangpu river is by boat, especially at night. During the roughly 50-minute trip, you can enjoy the views of the river from the cruise ship. At night, brightly lit, dotted with different styles of buildings on both sides of the river, presenting a different beauty. If you don’t want to spend too much time on a cruise ship, you can also take a quick ferry trip between pudong and puxi, about 15 minutes each way.

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