China Cultural Chronicles October 13, 2012
- The Karakoram Hwy. (The Silk Road) & Bolders
Mule67 has added a photo to the pool:
Here's a road that will make you feel like a human bowling pin! Bolders and rock slides are all along this mountain pass. I can only imagine what it was like when people use to travel through here with camels.
- HK-85403
helga_ni has added a photo to the pool:
- The Terracotta Army in Xian, Shaanxi, China
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- Stephanie
- Inside The Temple
- Riverscene
- Xi'an's Muslim Street, the Place to Be
If you are after authentic local delicacies in China's historical city of Xi'an, then Muslim Street is the place to be. With its length of 500 meters, there are barbeque stands and small open-air restaurants selling food and snacks ranging from kebabs to mutton stew and from dried fruit to osmanthus liquor. CRI reporters paid a visit to the food street and filed back these delicious photos.
- Tourists watch sunrise at Ali Mountain scenic area
- Showing devotion and gratitude, Tibet 2012
reurinkjan has added a photo to the pool:
Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157630983897338/s...
Shaman Festival is a grand and festive occasion for local people to show their devotion and gratitude with presenting offerings to the Mountain God. The Tibetan and Tu ethnic minorities in Repgong རེབ་གོང་། county, here in Rongpo Gyakhar རོང་པོ་ གྱ་ ཁར་ worship the Mountain God as the immortal who protects them. The belief is believed to date back to the ancient worship of totems in the pre-civilization era of this part of Tibet.
blog.snowliontours.com/2012/06/shaman-festival-in-rebkong... - Fragrant Hills Red Leaves Festival to open
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下载安装Flash播放器Maple leaves at Fragrant Hills photographed during last year's festival.
The 2012 Fragrant Hills Red Leaves Festival is scheduled to open this coming Friday, according to the Beijing Evening Post.
The annual event has previously been a tourist magnet for Fragrant Hills in western Beijing. To ease traffic congestion, a number of bus lines have been designated to transport citizens and tourists from downtown Beijing to Fragrant Hills this year.
Due to the warm weather, the festival is expected to last for 31 days, the longest in its 24-year history. An estimated 1.5 million visitors will come for this year's festival, peaking on weekends.
- Xishiku Church: church of the saviour saved for us today
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下载安装Flash播放器Architecturally, east meets west outside of the Church of the Saviour.
Tucked into a quiet corner near Beihai Park is one of Beijing's most beautiful churches, arguably the best example of gothic architecture in Beijing. The gothic-styled Church of the Saviour is commonly referred to by locals as Xishiku Church, reflecting its neighborhood and constituents who frequent the services.
Two cultures clasp hands at the entrance to the church, as European architecture and traditional Chinese pavilions stand side by side. Chinese stone lions perch on the guiding fences, and sculpted turtles with stone tablets balanced on their backs mark the way to the church's front doors.
The intricate grey marble facade of the church is magnificent, each window and cross drawing the eye upwards toward the heavens.
The interior is an even more inspiring space, where verticality becomes even more of an emphasis. Red and green pillars lead the eye upwards and onwards towards the equilateral arch at the end of the main hall, while light filters in through century-old stained glass windows.
All of the workers at the church are volunteers, many of them elderly. Mu Huiling, who is one of them, has a particular reverence for the historical building. "It provides a quiet and peaceful sanctuary for those who are upset or who long for a peaceful mind… I usually advise people to find a favorite corner and sit for a while. It is great that such a quiet place exists in the busy metropolis of Beijing."
The church was originally established by Jesuits in 1703, but its current incarnation was created in 1887, after it had to be relocated from where Zhongnanhai Park was to be built.
The fact that the church is still standing today is a wonder in itself, "miraculously" having survived the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. A nationalist movement was fighting foreign imperialism and religion and more than 10,000 people perished in the conflict. Over 3000 Chinese who had converted to Christianity squeezed into the church to take refuge, 850 orphans among them. The missionary bishop (who was also the architect of the church) barely managed to secure enough rations for refugees to live off of.
The historical times of siege are hard to imagine in the peaceful environment which prevails today, where whispers tend to be the norm. Yes, it is peaceful but according to Mu, on special occasions such as Christmas sermons, there can be thousands of people in attendance. Foreigners are always welcome to visit the church, and many do. But those new to the church should be advised that at this time sermons are all delivered in Chinese.
Getting to the Church of the Saviour (Xishiku Tianzhutang (西什库天主堂):
No. 33, Xishiku Main Street
From Xisi subway station, walk south to Xianmen Dajie and turn east. Continue on for 10 minutes to Xishiku Main Street (the 2nd left) and walk a few minutes north to the church.
Hours: 8am to 11am, 2pm to 5pm each day.
- China Toy Expo kicks off
Two visitors are pictured in front of baby carriers displayed at a toy exhibition in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 11, 2012. The 11th International Trade Fair for Toys & Hobby Articles (China Toy Expo) kicked off Thursday at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, displaying nearly 100,000 new type toys of more than 1,000 participants. ([Xinhua]
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