The Great Wall (the travel icon of China)

The Great Wall of China is really one masterpiece of human power and construction. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus stretching approximately 6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles ) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the section of the great wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.
Today, it is the travel icon of China – and one of the leading vacation travel destinations in the world.
The Great Wall was originally built in the Spring, Autumn, and Warring States Periods as a defensive fortification by the three states: Yan, Zhao and Qin. The Great Wall went through constant extensions and repairs in later dynasties. In fact, it began as independent walls for different states when it was first built, and did not become the “Great” wall until the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuang succeeded in his effort to have the walls joined together to fend off the invasions from the Huns in the north after the unification of China. Since then, the Great Wall has served as a monument of the Chinese nation throughout history. A visit to the Great Wall is like a tour through the history backwards, it will bring you great excitement in each step of the wall.
The construction of the Great Wall began between the 7th and 8th centuries B.C. when the warring states built defensive walls to ward off enemies from the north. It was only a regional project then. Until the Qin Dynasty, the separate walls were joint together and consequently it stretched from east to west for about 5000 thousand kilometers and served to keep nomadic tribes out. The Wall was further extended and strengthened in the succeeding dynasties. Especially during the Ming dynasty when the northern nomadic ethnic groups became very powerful, the Ming rulers had the Wall renovated 18 times. As a result, not the remains from the Qin dynasty were restored, but some 1000 kilometers were constructed to a full length of 6,700 kilometers.

The “North Pass” of Juyongguan Pass is known as the Badaling. This particular area of the Great Wall is where most tourists visit. When used by the Chinese to protect their land, this wall was extremely protected by guards, because it was protecting China’s capital, Beijing. Badaling is very difficult to access. Made out of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall is 7.8 meters high, and 5 meters wide.
Representing the Ming Great Wall, Jinshanling is considered to have the most wonderful sights of the Great Wall. It runs 11 kilometers long, ranges from 5 to 8 meters in height, and 6 meters across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 meters across the top. Wangjinglou is one of Jinshanling’s 67 watchtowers, rising 980 meters above sea level.
ShanHaiGuan Great Wall is refered to as the “Museum of the Construction of the Great Wall”, because of a temple, the Meng Jiang-Nu Temple, built during the Song Dynasty. The ShanHaiGuan Great Wall is known for many different things, both with the construction of the wall, and also its history.
The wall is complemented by defensive fighting stations, to which wall defenders may retreat if overwhelmed. With more than 10,000 watch towers (which were used to store weapons, house troops, and send smoke signals), each tower has unique and restricted stairways and entries to confuse attackers. Barracks and administrative centers are located at larger intervals.
Anyway if you decide to visit this place it will be an unforgettable trip, which will enchance your life with enchanting experience to the magnificent Great Wall – one of the great wonders in the world.

Jiuzhaigou Valley (Paradise China)

Jiuzhaigou Valley which means “Valley of Nine Villages” , which is the hometown of nine Tibetan villages; is located in Nanping County in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture about 450 Km north of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province in south of China Mainland.
Jiuzhaigou is well-known in its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes. This place is full of more than 100 beauteous lakes and what makes the lakes in Jiuzhaigou area differ from other lakes is a high concentration of calcium carbonate so that the lakes and embankments are all covered with crystals. The water in the lake is so clear that you can see the bottom despite depths of several meters.
The main essence of Jiuzhaigou is water and there are all kinds of waters such as small ponds, calm lakes, rushing streams or magnificent waterfalls. Jiuzhaigou’s core of the scenery is waterfalls which were situated between lakes on different level with water flowing down to the cliffs covered with trees.

The location of Jiuzhaigou is secluded from outside, the geography of Jiuzhaigou is mountainous which belongs to a carbonate barrier lake landform, high mountains and deep valleys also can be found there. Jiuzhaigou covers a vast area of 60,000 hectares with the scenic area over than 80 Kilometers long. The main obstacle for traveling to Jiuzhaigou is the dreadful roads from Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province, China that leads to the Valley. The buses have to journey along the winding roads and that’s still ok unless include frequent landslides that may send the big rocks flying onto the rocks and if unluckily enough on to the buses and below the roads, there is the rushing Minjiang River. The drivers have to familiar with the route otherwise it’s going to be the horrible trip. The climate in Jiuzhaigou is cool temperature, humidity and cold on the high mountain slopes and dry and cool in the valleys.
Jiuzhaigou was first found accidentally by woodcutters in the 1900s then became a nation nature reserve in 1978. In 1982 it became a part of the first batch of scenic areas under special nation protection and the best new scenic area in 1990. In 1992 UNESCO world heritage declared Jiuzhaigou as the world natural heritage list.
There is a legend that once upon a time, a warlike philosopher grounded a charming mirror with the wind and cloud the present it to his beloved who is Goddess Wunosemo. Unfortunately the monster meddled and the Goddess dropped the shatter broken mirror into the human world so that its became the numerous lakes in Jiuzhaigou nowadays.

The Jade Buddha Temple (a good place to go whether you are a Buddhist or not)

In the western part of Shanghai, a very modern and flourishing city, there is a venerable and famous Buddhist temple, Jade Buddha Temple. As with most modern Chinese Buddhist temples, the current temple draws from both the Pure Land and Chan traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. It was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Burma by sea. These were a sitting Buddha (1.95 metres tall, 3 tonnes), and a smaller reclining Buddha representing Buddha’s death. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately the jade Buddha statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928. It was named the Jade Buddha Temple. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Jade Buddha, donated from Singapore, and visitors may mistake this larger sculpture for the original, smaller piece.
At the time emperor Guang Xu in the Qing Dynasty (1875-1908) ruled China, Hui Gen, a Mount Putuo abbot went on a pilgrimage to Tibet via the two famous Chinese mountains Mount Wutai and Mount Emei. First he goes to Tibet and then he contiduen his jorney to Burma. By this time Mr. Chen Jun-Pu, an overseas Chinese resident in Burma, donated five Jade statues of Buddha to Hui Gen, who transported two of them back to Jiang-wan, Shanghai. Here Hui Gen had a temple built with collected from various sorces money, mostly of them donated, and died shortly thereafter. This temple was occupied during the 1911 uprising, and the statues were moved to Maigen Road.
An Abbot by the name of Ke Chen later had a new temple built on land donated by a Mr. Shen. The construction took ten years, and lasted from 1918-1928. Ke Chen also invited Reverend Di Xian from Tian Tai mountain to come and lecture on Buddhism in a magnificent ceremony. In 1956, a ceremony was held at the temple by the Shanghai Buddhist Association to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of Gautama Buddha’s enlightenment. In 1966, during the cultural revolution, the monks made a living by selling handicrafts. Monk Zhizhi Xuan and others made a trip to Dunhuang via Xinjiang In 1985. Shortly after their return regular scripture lectures, meditation and other features of temple life were resumed.

The two precious jade Buddhist statues are not only rare cultural relics but also porcelain artworks. Both the Sitting Buddha and the Recumbent Buddha are carved with whole white jade. The sparkling and crystal-clear white jade gives the Buddhas the beauty of Jade Buddha in Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghaisanctity and make them more vivid. The Sitting Buddha is 190 centimeters high and encrusted by the agate and the emerald, portraying the Buddha at the moment of his meditation and enlightenment. The Recumbent Buddha is 96 centimeters long, lying on the right side with the right hand supporting the head and the left hand placing on the left leg, this shape is called the ‘lucky repose’. The sedate face shows the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left this world. In the temple there is also another Recumbent Buddha which is four meters long and was brought from Singapore by the tenth abbot of the temple in 1989. Furthermore there are many other ancient paintings and Buddhist scriptures distributed in the different halls of the temple.
Although the history of the Jade Buddha Temple is not very long, the old-time and classical architectural style makes the temple unique and inimitable in this modern city. Devajara Hall, Mahavira Hall and the Jade Buddha Tower make up the main structure of the temple and at sides are the Kwan-yin Dian Hall, the Amitabha Dian Hall, the Zen Tang Hall, the Dining-Room and the Recumbent Buddha Hall.
Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings – The Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings contains the statues of Maitreya, Wei Tuo Bodhisattva and the Four Heavenly Kings, who represent favorable circumstance. The chamber is located on the southern-edge, or ‘front’ of the temple.
Grand Hall – Also called the Great Hall, this hall contains many statues.
* Three Golden Buddhas. The central sculpture is of Gautama Buddha, the left Amitabha and the right Bhaisajyaguru.
* Gods of the Twenty Heavens. The Gods of the Twenty Heavens, covered in gold, line the eastern and western sides of the Grand Hall.
* 18 Arhats. 18 unique golden Arhats stand in two groups of nine.
* Guanyin, Shen Cai and his 53 teachers. A large golden statue of Guanyin stands on at northern entrance to the Great Hall, with Shen Cai at her side and sculptures representing the 53 teachers of his life above.
Jade Buddha Chamber – The Jade Buddha Chamber is in the northern section of the temple, on the second floor. A fee of 10 yuan is charged to ascend to it. Some additional Buddhist sculptures are also viewable in the antechamber.
Public restaurant – The public restaurant is located on level two at the eastern edge of the temple and equipped with its own street entrance. Open daily, it serves a range of noodle dishes for five yuan per bowl, the most popular of which is ‘double mushroom noodles’ . Other dishes are served at moderate prices. Tickets are sold by color and this ticket is turned in inside the main eating room and your soup is then delivered to your table which you might share with others. Upstairs is a much more upscale restaurant at much higher prices.
Other – The temple also contains a private restaurant for the use of monks and temple volunteers, which is at the western edge of the temple complex. There is a visitor services office adjacent to the southern entrance, and a Buddhist library is also on the premises.
The Jade Buddha Temple is a good place to go whether you are a Buddhist or not, the peaceful and transcendent atmosphere adds a kind of richness to our busy modern society. Be aware that there is an admission fee of CNY 15, which is about $1.88, and it works from 8:30 to 17:00. Here is a Google Earth Placemark of the temple

and you can reach it by using following lines of Shanghay’s trasportation system.19, 14, 36, 54, 63, 68, 76, 105, 106, 112, 113, 138, 206, 223, 506, 516, 550, 563, 738, 768, 830, 837, 866, 922

Sense of Pizza(a new generation restaurant )

Located in Pudong, Shanghai, MATTO is a new generation restaurant offering Italian cuisine specializing in wood-fire oven Neapolitan style pizzas. Meaning “crazy” or “wild” in Italian, the restaurant is the latest dining concept and has already received the honor of Shanghai’s Best Pizza in the 2012 Food & Drink Awards. If you find yourself in Shanghai, this it the perfect spot to enjoy traditional Italian cuisine.

At MATTO diners could relax, enjoy an authentic taste of Italy and also be wowed and entertained by their interior surroundings. Designed by Pure Creative International founder Darryl Goveas, the interior is a great combination between industrial and raw materials, tailor-made fixtures as well as geometric and organic shapes. The open kitchen ensures that patrons to Matto have a sensory and entertaining experience, feasting on the interior design as well as the delicious cuisine.

Matto is certified so this is probably about as authentic a product as you can get in Shanghai. The menu features 18 different pies quality Pasta, Pizza & Grill items in an environment which is casual yet tasteful, creative, dynamic, fun, vibrant and injected from a casual venue. All are prepared with an emphasis on fresh, imported ingredients. Photos by: www.yatzer.com