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Lanzhou-Lijiang-Nanjing |
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Lanzhou |
Known in ancient times as
Jincheng (Golden City), Lanzhou was incorporated as Jincheng
Prefecture during the Han Dynasty. Situated in the heart of
continental China, it is known as the "capital of hinterland China".
As a modern petrochemical industrial powerhouse, a science research
center, and a land of melons and fruits, Lanzhou has emerged as a
commercial and trade center in northwest China. It is also the
center of tourism of the entire Gansu Province.
The traditional tourist attractions include the green corridor of
Binghe Road (stretching all the way from the Sun Yat-sen Bridge, the
White Pagoda Mountain, and the Waterwheel Garden to the Statue of
Mother Yellow River), the Bingling Temple, the Provincial Museum,
the Mountain of Five Springs, the Lanshan Park; the Xinglong
Mountain in Yuzhong County.
Bingling Temple is located in Xiaoji Mountain on the north bank of
the Yellow River. "Bingling" means "thousand Buddhas" in Tibetan.
With a history of 1,000 years, the caves with statues and niches,
were carved into the steep cliffs over a length of two kilometers
and in four tiers with the Yellow River surging below. There are 183
caves, 694 stone statues, 82 clay figures and 900 square meters of
murals preserved from past dynasties. The tallest statue is 27
meters and the shortest, only 20 centimeters. About two-thirds were
sculpted during the Tang Dynasty.
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Lijiang, located in the
Northwest of Yunnan Province, is about 580 km away from Kunming. The
Ancient Town of Lijiang has a history almost a thousand years. The
scenes are unique and unconventional. It is one of the
best-preserved historical, cultural cities at the state level in
China.
In the Yufeng (Jade Peak) Temple there is an old, giant camellia
tree of more than 500 years old, which can put forth thousands of
flowers, so that it is called a "Ten-Thousand-Flower Camellia".
Therefore it is known as "the First Tree in the World".
The mystical Dongba hieroglyph is known as "the only living
hieroglyph in the world". The old Naxi music with noble elegant
lingering charm is thought to be the "living fossil of the Chinese
classical music". Lugu Lake with its deep and transparent water is
known as "the pearl on the plateau". The Mosuo villages on the Shore
of Lugu Lake and the folk customs and the folkways are unique in the
world and make tourists open-mouthed. There are still some
matriarchal families. The Mosuo people are now still keeping the "Axia" marriage pattern by which a young man doesn't get married and a girl
is not to be married off.
The Ancient Town of Lijiang, also called Dayan Town, was first set
up in the Song Dynasty, and has a history of almost a thousand
years. The town is famous in China for its old and simple
architectural style and the elegant art for the layout of the town.
The roads here are parallel to the streams, and the door of each
house is facing a stream. Sifang Street is the center of the ancient
town. Since ancient times, Sifang Street has been a collecting and
distributing center of all kinds of products with travelers and
traders going and coming everywhere.
The Yulong Snow Mountains are the southernmost modern marine
glaciers in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. There are
all together 13 peaks along the range of the mountains, which
stretch for over 35 km from south to north. The summit, Shanzidou,
is 5596 meters above sea level. Looked at from a faraway place, the
mountains covered with snows look like a silver dragon with the
clouds curling up in the middle. Hence the name, the Yulong (Jade
Dragon) Snow Mountain.
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Nanjing is the capital of
Jiangsu Province. It lies in the lower reaches of the Changjiang
River, covering an area of 4500 square kilometers. Perennial
temperature averages 15.6 degree Celsius and precipitation 1,107 mm.
Being one of China's six ancient capitals and cultural centers, it
was built 2400 years ago and was the capital of eight dynasties-the
Eastern Wu, the Eastern Jin, the Song, the Qi, the Liang, the Chen,
the Southern Tang and the early Ming dynasties. The Taiping Heavenly
Kingdom, a regime set up by a nationwide peasants' uprising, had its
capital here for 11 years. Following the Revolution of 1911, it was
there that Dr. Sun Yat-sen assumed his office of provisional
president. Just before the liberation the city was the headquarters
of the Kuomintang government.
Nanjing had the world's longest city wall-extending 34 km-in the
14th century and the world's only glazed pagoda-the Pagoda at the
Temple of Paying Debt of Gratitude-in the 15th century. The Nanjing
Yangtze River Bridge is the longest bridge across the Yangtze River.
Qinhuai River is the cradle of civilization around Nanjing. Dozens
of Neolithic primitive sites have been unearthed along the river. It
is famous for the wealth of ancient sites, gardens, painted boats,
streets and folklore. Historically, the place teemed with nobles and
men of letters. At its peak years during the Ming and Qing
dynasties, Qinhuai was bustling with businessmen, whorehouses and
racing lantern boats.
Nanjing has witnessed tremendous historical transformations in the
1930's-the Nanjing Massacre committed by the Japanese invaders. |
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Western
China
