Sichuan: Snowscape in Bipeng Gully

Bipeng Gully is located in Lixian County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, China’s southwestern Sichuan Province. Lies behind Four Maiden’s Mountain (“Siguniang Mountain” in Chines, it was said as the back of Four Maiden’s Mountain and is the key are of Miyaluo scenic site. Miyaluo, which means “interesting dam”. Mountains roll up and down in the area, with rivers running across. Particularly when autumn falls, Miyaluo is transformed into a fairyland with eye-catching red leaves, tranquil blue skies, white clouds, quiet valleys and gurgling creeks. It is crowded with tourists to enjoy its red leaves and beautiful sceneries.

Last year, my friend had a Beijing Xian tour and she saw the red leaves in Xiangshan Hill, compared to which, the scene in Sichuan is more spectacular.

If you have missed the gorgeous red leaves, then it doesn’t matter, because another amazing picture will be there waiting for you— Yes, it is the snow-covered scene. Last year, after my Xian day tour to one of the world eight wonders — Terra-cotta Warriors, I went to Lixian County in Aba Prefecture. I was lucky to encounter the first snow there. All the photos were taken at that time.

Dalian: Ziyunhuaxi Lavender Farm

Provence, a romantic city renowned for beautiful lavender which I have been admired for a long time. Every year, a great number of visitors go to Provence only to have a witness of the vast and magnificent purple sea of lavender. But now, at the foot of Xiaohei mount, Jinzhou New District, Dalian, the second largest city in China’s northeast Liaoning Province, a lavender farm with about a thousand mu(nearly 666,600 square meters)was built up. Chinese visitors can see lavender in china’s mainland without going abroad.

I was attracted by the purple sea of lavender when I watched a Chinese TV series which is called A Dream of Link. Provence seems to be the town of lavender, remote and romantic. I had planed to go there when I attended a Beijing Xian tour, but because of time problem, I gave it up.
In 2011, the owner tried out 20 mu lavender at the foot of Xiaohei Mount in Jinzhou New District and it turned to be a success. Lavender is adaptive to the local climate, so the area was expanded to 600 mu. In April every year, lavender is planted and its flower phase will last from July to the end of October.

Lavender is widely grown in Provence of France, Hokkaido in Japan, Singapore and Canada etc. There are also many lavender farm in China, the thousands-mu farm are only two, one is in Yili, Xinjiang Province and the other is Ziyunhuaxi lavender farm in Dalian city. If you travel in Xian, a newly open lavender is recommended, but it is far from Xian downtown.

Xi’an: Shaanxi History Museum

Built in 1983 and open on June 20, 1991, Shaanxi History Museum is the first large-scale modern national museum in China. Located in the northwest of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, capital city of Shaanxi Province, the establishment of the museum marks that China’s museum cause has entered a new chapter. With its numerous colorful cultural relics, it became a palace to give a full play of Shaanxi Province’s history and China’s ancient civilization, therefore, it is hailed as “the Pear of the ancient city and the treasure house of China”.

Covering a total area of 65,000 square meters, its cultural collection can be dated back from the simple stone that human used at the initial stage in ancient times down to all kinds implements in social life before 1840, with an total amount of 370,000. The cultural relics are rich in number and types and have high grade and wide value, among which Shang bronze is exquisite; terracotta figurines of past dynasties are of varied types and postures; gold and silver ware of Han and Tang Dynasty is unique across the country; wall paintings of Tang tomb have no equals in this world. It is called a collection of variety of boutiques carnival.

Guizhou: Weining Grass Sea

Weining Grass Sea State-level Nature Reserve(“Wenning Caohai” in Chinese) is located at Weining Yi, Miao and Hui Autonomous County, 155 kilometers northwest from Guiyang, capital city of Guizhou Province. Covering an area of 1.2 hectares, it was approved by Guizhou Provincial Government to build in 1985 and later improved to state level in 1992, with black-necked crane and the wetland eco-system of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau as the main protection target.

The Grass Sea is the largest natural freshwater lake in Guizhou, with 2171.7 meters above sea level, it covers an area of over 30 square kilometers. Because of the luxuriant waterweeds, it is named as Grass sea. There are 37 higher water plants, among which Ottelia acuminate is the National Key Protected Plant. 178 species and subspecies of birds live there, with 27 species as National Key Protected Animal species. In addition, there are over 100 species of rare waterfowls. Migrant bird black-crane which is only can be found in China will fly here to survive winters every year. Therefore, the Grass sea is hailed as “the Birds Kingdom”.

The autumn grass sea blossoming in the lake is a beautiful sight; the yellow, red and white petals of the flowers float along with the flow of the water in the lake and the sight is enchanting like a fairyland.

Shandong: Jingyang Ridge — place where Wusong beat a tiger

Jingyang Ridge is located 1.5 kilometers northwest of the famous historical town Zhangqiu, 17.5 kilometers southeast of Yanggu County. It is famous for the story of Wu Song beating tiger on Jingyang Ridge in Water Margin, one of the four masterpieces of Chinese classics.

Chairman Mao had ever said that Yanggu County is the hometown of Hero Wu Song, who had beaten a tiger to death. Under the broad influence of the Story of Liangshan Pool in China, Jingyang Ridge becomes more and more famous.

Wu Song is from Qinghe County (present-day Dongping County, Tai'an, Shandong). He is described as a good-looking man with shining eyes, thick eyebrows and a muscular body and gives people an impressive bearing. One day on his way home, Wu Song passes by a tavern near Jingyang Ridge, where a large sign reads “after three bowls of wine, you will be unable to pass the ridge”. This arouses his interest and he stops there for a break. After drinking three bowls,Wu Song remains sober. So he demands that the waiter continue serving him wine. By the end of his meal, Wu Song had consumed 18 bowls of wine in total and appears tipsy. When he is about to leave, the waiter stops him and warns him about the presence of a fierce man-eating tiger at Jingyang Ridge. Wu Song suspects that the waiter is lying to him because he wants him to spend the night there so as to earn extra money, so he ignores the waiter and proceeds with his journey.

While crossing Jingyang Ridge, Wu Song sees a warning sign bearing an official endorsement and thereby is convinced that there is really a tiger at the ridge. However, he refuses to turn back because he knows he would be scorned and laughed at by the waiter if he did. He moves on and does really encounter a ferocious tiger while trying to take a nap to get over the effect of alcohol. While trying to fend off the beast, Wu Song accidentally breaks his staff, rending himself weaponless. Under the stimulation of alcohol, he ends up slaying the beast by pinning it to the ground and bashing its head repeatedly with his bare fists. Wu Song makes his name for the heroic deed and he is offered the post of a chief constable in Yanggu County.

Jingyang Ridge then is known by every person across the country.

Interview with Jinling(Nangjing)and Qinhuai River in Night

Lying in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing (also named Jinling in ancient times)is the capital of Jiangsu Province. Being one of the seven ancient capitals of China, Nanjing has a history of more than 2, 400 years. The last time I came here is twenty years ago, for business reason, I stayed here for only one day.

This is the first time I wandered in Nanjing in night, and suddenly I realized I have fallen in love with the city. I love the night in Nanjing, I love to see the mottled lights shift and bustling street and different people with various expressions, somehow, it gives me a warm feeling.

Visiting Nanjing in night, of course I arrange Qinhuai River as the first place to go.

In Chinese ancient times, places around the Qinhuai River and the Confucian Temple were already very prosperous. The banks along the Qinhuai River were the gathering place for noble and wealthy families, and were also frequently visited by scholars. Floating lights are the most famous view on the Qinhuai River. On the river, any boat or ship, large or small, will hang color lamps. It is a very important activity for a visitor to ride such a boat, floating on the river to enjoy the scenes.

Xinjiang Kanas: the last piece of pure land in the world

Kanas National Nature Reserve is located at Buerjin County, Altay Region, Xinjiang Province, covering an area of 2,500 square kilometers. It is the only scenic spot which is characterized with Switzerland style and is known as “the last piece of pure land in the world”! Kanas is a Mongolian name, literally translated to Chinese as two visions: one is “the beautiful and mysterious place”, and the other is “the holy water”.

Moon Bay It forms a curvilinear river bend in the Moon Bay, shaped like crescent moon, hence the name Moon Bay. The Moon Bay is the stretch part of Wolong Lake, and now it is the most charming and the most representative sight of Kanas. The photos taken by photographers have become a name card for China to turn out to the world.

Wolong Lake Wolong (literally “the crouching dragon” in Chinese) Lake is named for the reason that there is a dragon-like islet in the lake. Wolong Lake is 1325 meters above sea level. It was an ordinary river bend originally. But thousand years ago, a mudslide took place there in the left bank, which led to collapse in many places on the right bank. The mudslides and debris made some watercourse narrower and the upper reaches of the river wider, therefore the flow velocity is decreased, and the sediment is stacking in the river as a islet. Then the beautiful Wolong Lake appeared.

The Meaning of AM and PM

Everybody uses the expression "am" and "pm" lo indicate before noon and after noon. But do you know exactly what they mean, and how these terms came into being?
As you know. the turning of the earth makes the sun and the sars seem to move across the sky. Daylight, of course, begins when the sun rises in the east and ends when it sets in the west. When the sun is high in the sky, between these two positions, half of the daylight hours have been spent. Therefore, by noticing where the sun stood in the sky, early man knew he could tell the time of day. At night, die motion of the stars served the same purpose.
The importer thing in keeping time is to know the exact moment of noon. for each of us, wherever we are, noon is when the sun is directly overhead. Think of an imaginary line, a meridian drawn across the sky stitching from the north point of you horizon down to die south point.
 When the sun crosses your meridian, it is noon for you. While the sun is still east of this line or meridian, it is morning. After die sun has crossed meridian. So "am" is an abbreviation for ante meridian, or before midday. "pm" is the abbreviation for post meridian, or after midday.
Each of the world's time zones is about fifteen degrees wide in longitude, which is about the distance the sun moves through the sky. in an hour. Everyone who lives in the same time zone observes noon at the same moment. In tiffs way, the time differs by one hour as you move through each time zone.