Harbin: 25th Harbin Sun Island Int'l Snow Sculpture Art Expo opens

The 25th Harbin Sun Island Int'l Snow Sculpture Art Expo opened on Dec, 21 in Harbin, capital city of China’s northeastern Heilongjiang Province.

The Snow Sculpture has created many world records in recent years, such as the grand and magnificent 250-meter-long snow sculpture complex “Niagara Landscape” in 2006, which has been the longest snow sculpture in the world; the 2011 “Swan Girl” whose body length is 27 meters and wings are 24 meters long, which had been the largest snow sculpture of human body etc. This year, the Sun Island Snow Sculpture brought another surprise to tourists. The main human portrait is at a height of 27 meters, which had been the highest snow sculpture of human portrait.

Before the open up of the Snow Sculpture Art Expo, I went to the Sun Island Park and saw the main sculpture—a beautiful young lady. The sculpture is about 9 storeys high and 120 meters long, which has been the highest huam portrait sculpture in the world.

Beijing Botanical Garden

Beijing Botanical Garden is located between the Fragrant Hills Park (also called Xiangshan Mountain and Yuquan Mountain in Haidian District , 23 kilometers west of downtown Beijing. Now it is a national AAAA composite scenic spot, as well as an important base for science education, research and tourism. It is one of the key construction projects about botanical garden in China. For flower lovers, Beijing Botanical Garden must be listed on the schedule of Beijing Xian tour.

With the approval of the State Council in 1956, it is a comprehensive garden which integrates plant science research, plant knowledge education, sightseeing, genetic resources reserve, and new products promotion. With a planned coverage of 4,000,000 square meters, it now has an open area of 2,000,000 square meters, consisting of the Plant Exhibition Area, the Scenic Spot and the Historical Resorts, the Scientific Research Area and the Nature Reserve. With over 10,000 categories of plant cultivated here, it is regarded as the biggest botanical garden in north China so far.

The Plant Exhibition Area has four clear divisions. The Theme Gardens have 11 sub-divisions including Lilac Garden, Chinese Rose Garden, Flowering Peach Garden, Peony garden, and so on. The Arboretum Garden has Ginkgoaceae, Coniferales, Mapletrees, Basswood, Magnolia, Berberis, Lysidice and Paulownia.

 If you had visited Beijing Botanical Garden, then Xian Botanical Garden won’t need visiting in your Xian tour, because it is too far small than Beijing’s.

Shanghai: The Most Tasteful Lane of Shanghai—Tianzifang

Shanghai, a place full of petty bourgeois, once was the metropolis infested with foreign adventurers has been hailed as the “Paris of the Orient”. I have been longing to go there for a long time. And the last summer winter vacation gave the opportunity to join a Shanghai Xian tour. All kinds of the lifestyles you can imagine can be found here. Tianzifang, a small but exquisite block which locates between Taikang Road and Jianguo Middle Road, mainly consists of NO.200, NO. 210, NO. 210, NO. 248 and NO. 274 lanes, where possesses many elements that petty bourgeois desire for. Pretty bourgeois are keen on nostalgia—Tianzifang satisfies their sentiment with the unique Shanghai-style lanes; Pretty bourgeois likes being special — Tianzifang is crowded with featured stores of clothes, Tibetan jewelry, ceramics and oil painting etc.
The previous Taikang Road is an inconspicuous street fair, but the buildings style of Shanghai old lane had attracted a group of special practitioners who are good at discovering beauties, such as Er Dongqiang, Chen Yifei etc. From the year 1998, they began to settle in Tianzifang and opened bookstore, art salon and workshops. Later, various cultural lives made the lanes the present look.

The small lanes are full of people of different colors and nationalities. You might encounter shutterbugs who you are familiar with come to the creative lanes to looking for inspirations. The most pleasant and comfortable thing is sitting in a cafe house, looking the red bricks and black gate, and gossip about the daily life of Old Shanghai. And then, go for the stores one by one.

Unlike Shanghai, Xian is a city which takes more cultural atmosphere. The Hui Street of Snacks in my Xian tour provide a feast for my stomach.

Shanghai: Crazy Days in Shanghai

Although I have been to Shanghai several times, each each time it is a hurry journey. Therefore, the China’s most prosperous city did not leave me too much impression. But I have a lot of friends in Shanghai. We seldom see each other, but when you mention a city or a certain relationship, it will remind you of them. Even though we haven’t seen each other for ten years, the first word out of his/her mouth is still my nickname in the childhood. There are always many things, cultural, emotional, scenic, or something else that connect you and other people, people and the city together.

This time, I planed a Shanghai Xian tour by myself. Guided by one of my friends, we went to some places of Shanghai: Shanghai’s renovated Bund, Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, the former French Concession, and Shanghai Museum etc. “Shanghai is one of my favorite cities in China”, my friend told. Early in 80 years ago, Shanghai had been the most fashionable and modern city in China. The famous Chinese TV series which is called “The Rund” and acted by HK’s film star Chow Yun fat leaves a deep impression on the generations after 80s. The other day, I saw that Shanghai is among the world 25 most attractive cities on the website Tripadviser. A lot of interesting pubs are mentioned in the introduction.

In Shanghai, you will encounter many beautiful Chinese girls very often. A lot of lovers take photos in the wedding photo locations. Charming brides and their imitate bridesmaid are beautifully dressed, with sweet and happy smiles on their faces.

After the interesting Shanghai trip, I stayed in the hotel for a rest and continued my Xian travel. For this ancient historical and cultural city, I have more expectations.

Beijing: Night scene of Cuandixia Village

It was a chilly day in early spring. Under the yellow warm lamplight of Cuandixia Village and the starry sky, the stone road glittered with green light.

Located in Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, about 90 kilometer away from downtown Beijing, Cuandixia Village has a history of about 400 yearsand preserves more than 70 courtyards with approximately 500 rooms which were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Covering an area of 10,000 square kilometers, it was the best preserved ancient mountain village in China which is renowned as the ‘Potala Palac’ of the Beijing area. Since the turnback because of the heavy snow on the way to Cuandixia Village last time, I have been thinking about the spring views of the small village. It was sunny Saturday, I made a call to a friend and decided to headed for the village temporarily. Because of the delay in taking photos on the way, it was time when the evening lights shine after we arrived there.

When we walk along a path, lights of the happy households, the street lamps and the light mixed together, shining with the glittering stars in the blue sky. The moon was rising slowly, and the village fell silence. For people who live in noisy metropolises, Cuandixia Village is good place in a Beijing Xian tour to relax and lighten up the mood. In my previous Xian trip, I went to the ancient village of Dangjiacun in Hangcheng City, compared to which, I prefer the Cuandixia Village.

Suzhou: Canglang Pavillion (Blue Wave Pavillion)

It is my first time planing my Shanghai Xian tour. Time as I have so I want to visit more places near Shanghai. I am lured to the famous Canglang Pavillion in Suzhou. Located in the southern part of Suzhou, China’s eastern Jiangsu Province, Canglang Pavillion is one of the four most famous gardens of the city. And the other three are the Lion Grove, the Humble Administrator’s Garden(Zhuozheng Garden) and the Lingering Garden(Liuyuan Garden). Originally built in Northern Song Dynasty(906-1127), Canglang Pavillion is the oldest among Suzhou gardens. When I first saw the pavilion, it reminded me the Big Wild Goose Pagoda I saw in Xian travel.

In Song Dynasty, a famous poet Su Shunqin was exiled to Suzhou. He bought the desolate garden and began to build the pavilion in a setting adjacent to water. In early Southern Song Dynasty(early 12 century), the garden became the residence of the famous anti-Jin general Han Shizhong. And later in the 35th year of Kangxi Reign(1696 AD) in Qing Dynasty, the pavilion was rebuilt on the top of the mount, there forming the basic structure of today’s Canglang Pavilion. In the 12th year of Tongzhi Reign(1873AD) of Qing Dynast, it was rebuilt again and brought to today’s distribution.

The garden harmoniously combine historical buildings and natural landscapes together. After several changes, the buildings of Song Dynasty have rebuilt, so the present architectures are simply and classically designed as Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) style.

Now, Canglang Pavilion has been admitted to the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO. In May 25, 2006, it was listed in the sixth group of State-level National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit by the State Council.

Shanghai: Autumn Scenery in Guyi Garden

News said that the autumn this year in is the longest one in Shanghai in recently years, but the leaves are still in green. In recent days, maple leaves are turning red, so I brought my camera to take some photos the other day. But guess what? I saw several purple magnolia were in full bloom. Purple magnolia is supposed to blossom in Spring. It is really a magical garden.

 The autumn comes late in Shanghai. Usually when north China sheeted down with snow, the autumn of Shanghai will come belatedly. In Shanghai, the time to see red maple leaves and yellow ginkgo leaves is quite short. After a following autumn rain, autumn goes away without nothing left and winter comes.

There are many places for you to appreciate autumn scenery, and most of which assemble in the surrounding areas, such as Qixia Mountain in Nanjing city, Tianping Mountain in Suzhou Mountain, further to Wuyuan County in Jiangxi Province or Tachuan, Hongcun Village in Qianxian County of Anhui Province.
If you are planing a Shanghai to Xian tour, Guyi Garden is a perfect place to view autumnal scenery. Of course, a Xian tour will bring you more surprise, not only the natural scenery.

Beijing: Autumn in Diaoyutai State Guest House

Every autumn, Beijing will be colored by golden leaves. A vast of golden world comes flooding in my eyes and then captures my heart. In Beijing, red leaves is the most famous while ginkgo leaves is absolutely the most beautiful. In late autumn, place where ginkgo trees grow will turn yellow, just like a fairy land. The history of planting ginkgo has been long in Beijing, but the most beautiful ginkgo are those in front of Diaoyutai State Guest House. It is said that these ginkgoes are the first group planted in Beijing. Today’s Diaoyutai can be said as a landmark in Beijing to appreciate ginkgo trees.

 Walking along the ginkgo venues in Beijing, the yellow ginkgo leaves are just like bar chimes hanging in the trees and rustling in the wind. I have a wonderful trip im my Beijing Xian tour in autumn 2010, Diaoyutai is a good destination for your trip. In fact, if you travel Xian, there is another gorgeous scenery of plane trees in Xian Jiaotong University in autumn.

Located in east of Yuyuantai Park, Haidian District, Beijing, China’s capital city,the Diaoyutai State Guest House is an ancient royal garden and modern state guest house building complex. Emperor Wan Yanjing of Jin Dynasty had building a platform(“tai”in Chinese) here to do fishing(“Diao yu”in Chinese), hence the name “Diaoyutai”. It has a history of over 800 year. In Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong ordered to dredge Yuyuantan and build a palace here, therefore, it is saved as a royal garden.

Mongolia: Dadain Jaran Desert

Located in western Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and the North of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, Badain Jaran Desert covers a total area of 47,000 square kilometers.

Being the third largest desert in China and the forth largest in the world, the annual precipitation here is less than 40 mm, but what really surprise you is that there are over 100 lakes in Badain Jaran Desert. The whether there is very different from that of Xian. The cloud-kissing sand dune, as well as mysterious singing sand, quiet lakes and wetlands presents you a gorgeous desert landscape, which makes it a hot-spot and an ideal place for exploration.

So far, no one has arrived in northwest of the desert. With altitude ranging from 1200 to 1700 meters, the relative altitude is over 500 meters, therefore it is renowned as “Desert Everest”. Geologically, the desert belongs to Alashan block. It consists of denuded monadnock and hollows in mountainous area. With Quaternary sediment covering on the surface, it form a vast Gobi desert.

Peculiar mountain, singing sand, lakes, mysterious spring and temple are called the “Five Miracles of Dadain Jaran”. Due to wind stress, the sand dunes take on wave and tower shapes. There are 113 lakes scattering in the desert, among which 74 lakes have water all year around, and 12 are freshwater lakes, accounting for a total water area of 4.9 mu.

The above essay is originated from the website http://www.travel-xian.com/xian-tours