Beijing: the Most Beautiful European-style Food Street Colorful flowers always play an important role in Europe’s old streets. The flower are designed carefully and exquisitely by the owners, with some hung on walls, some on balconies, some stay quietly in corners and some just stand in the center of streets…
Some old streets also have mottled and broken walls, like Morocco, Tunisia. The local people has very good eyes for beauty. They paint the walls with colorful pigment to turn the dilapidated look more bright and exuberant. In historical and cultural European towns and villages, people are good at to adorn life with plants. Flowers decked life and also make life full of romance. That why many flowers’ connation is love, happiness and sweet.

Except flowers, beautiful ironworks, triangular wooden palisades and streetlights with glass cover are all duplicates of European style. In Beijing, I find a similar street, in where except that the restaurants were not named with “ABC”letters, other things have no difference with European streets. The place is called “SOLANA”, which means blue harbor. Located at the northwest bank of Chaoyang Park, the largest city park in Asia,it is a European style business center full of bright sunlight, quiet lakes, elegant buildings and romantic pathways.

 More than 30 restaurants spread in the outher street in the northmost area. Last time when I joined a Beijing to Xian tour, a pair of Arabian mother and daughter invited me to the famous A Thousand and On Night Restaurant, a typical Arabian restaurant. And I like it very much. But if you plan a Xian tour, such food street is hardly found.

Jiangxi: Lushan National Park

 Located in the northern part of Jiangxi Province, to the south of the Yangtze River and northwest of Poyang Lake, Lushan Mountain is a typical horst-style fault block mountain. Situated in north of Jiujiang County and west of Xingzi County, it is a world famous mountain, enjoying a same reputation with Huashan Mountain, where I has been in my Xian day tour. According to historical records, Lushan Mountain has a history of more than 2,000 years. With a total area of 302 square kilometers, it houses 16 natural wonders, 474 scenic spots and 171 peaks, among which the highest peak, Dahanyang Peak, is 1,474 meters above sea level.

Legend says that in Zhou Dynasty, there are seven brothers (1100—256BC) of the Kuang Family who came to cultivate their way, so Mount Lushan is also called the Kuang Mountain, or Kuanglu Mountain. Incorporating magnificences, strangeness, danger, handsomeness, Lushan Mountain has been enjoying a reputation of “the super magnificences of Kuanglu ranks the first all over the world”. Lushan Mountain, together with Jigong Mountain in Henan Province, Moganshan in Zhejiang Province and Beidaihe scenic spot in Hebei Province, which is a famous spot in tours Beijing Xian, are called “the Four Major Summer Resort” in China.

Yunnan: Yulong Snow Mountain

Old town of Lijiang is a settlement of Naxi people. When it is sunny, Standing Lijiang and Looking to northwest direction, you will see the magnificent scenery of Yulong Snow Mountain. The boss of the old inn is Naxi people, during the talk with him, he mentioned some stories about Yulong Snow Mountain. Naxi people call the snow mountain as “Boshioulu”, which means silver rock. Legend says that the patron saint of Naxi people, Sanduo, is an embodiment of Yulong Snow Mountain.

Even tough it is a legend, leaning against the mysterious snow town, Lijiang is a certainly a auspicious land in Yunnan from the perspective of fengshui(Feng shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health and good fortune for people inhabiting it), which is very popular in Shaanxi Province particularly. If you travel  Xian, you will find fengshui theory is widely used in buildings construction.

The main peak of Yulong Snow Mountain is at an altitude of 5,596 meters above sea level, running in straight lines in east-west direction, with east to west of 13 kilometers and north to west of 35 kilometers. When viewing the mountain in Old town Lijiang, you will feel it at a short distance. In fact, if you drive from Lijiang to the mountain foot, it is about 20 kilometers ride.

The essay is quoted from the travel website http://www.travel-xian.com .

Hubei: Tenglong Cave

Tenglong Cave ( literally “soaring dragon cave” in English) is located 6.8 kilometres away from Lichuan City urban area, Hubei Province. It is believed to be the largest karst cave in China and is one of the superfine karst cave in the world.

The Drought Cave is 59.8 kilometers long, with the cave entrance in 74 height and 64 width, it is the largest drought cave in Asia. While the water cave absorbed Qingjiang River, forming a 23 meters high waterfall, therefore Qingjing River becomes an underground network of streams, being 16.8 kilometers long. What’s fascinating about this is the two caves are separated only by a wall, which is damaged to different degrees in 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China.

There is a special show performed at 15:30 everyday.The performed story is displayed for foreign visitors on electronic signboards beside the stag, including light show, music, multimedia projections, water jets and gas flames.

The Great Beauty of Saihanba Prairie

Affiliated to Forestry Bureau of Hebei Province, the Saihanba Prairie National Forest Park is located in the paddock of Chengde city which is the northernmost city of Hebei Province. Lying in the junction of the Mongolian Plateau, Yinshan Mountain ranges and Daxinganling boundaries, and to the north with inner Mongolian, and about 283.4 kilometers away south to Beijing, the park is a typical ecotone of plateau, hills, forest , Mandian district and grassland. So far, it is the largest wood plantations in China.

ⅠBeauty in its history and culture. 300 hundred years ago, Saihanba and its surroundings were once full of abundant water, dense forest and various animals. In 1681, Kangxi (the forth emperor in Qing Dynasty) set up a “Mulan Paddock” here. And Saihanba is an important part of the paddock. According to the historical material, during the 139 years from 20th year of Kangxi reign to 25th year of Jiaqing reign, Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing emperor has done hunting for 105 times. The frequent Qing royal activities has left a rich royal culture and historical relics. At the same time, because of it is the mixed area of Man and Mongolian people, the culture and ethnic customs have been largely developed.

Ⅱ Beauty in its scenery and climate. Due to its unique location, Saihanba National Forest Park not only has hills, plateaus and grasslands, but also is the home of various animals and plants. And together with the rivers and lakes, it is hailed as “ the source of rivers, the birthplace of clouds, the world of flowers and forests”.

You can appreciate the green waves on the forest and ride horses on the vast grassland, just letting all the daily hassles away. You also can sails a boat on the lakes and just sing like nobody watching you. In addition, you can visit the history relics and enjoy the bonfire roast mutton, appreciating the royal culture and ethnic customs of Man and Mongolian people.

Walking into the Mysterious Yanqing Cliff Dwellings

The story of pygmy is an important part of western legends. The movie The Lord and Rings has presented us two kinds of dwarfs: one is the Dwarf with bad temper and the other is the Hobbits with mild manner. But could it be the truth that the pygmies exist in real world? The answer is almost certainly “yes”. In middle Africa lives a dwarf tribe called “Pygmy”. The average height of men there is 130cm and that of women is only 110 cm.

In China, there are few legend about dwarfs seems, but the discovery of Ancient Yanqing Cliff Dwellings makes archaeologists believe that there was a ancient dwarf tribe some time long before. The Ancient Cliff Dwellings is located at the northwestern mountainous area of Yanqing County in Beijing. There are totally 117 caves with various shapes and sizes — single rooms, suites and more complicated structure. The caves are provided with stone candlesticks, stone stove, all are perfectly arranged; chimneys, air vent and the trail of doorframe can be seen clearly.

People have no ideas The mountain which blocked in front of the caves collapsed and then reveals these stone dwellings. It is one of the most largest ancient cave relic discovered so far.

Tibet: Step Close to Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon

The World deepest Yarlung Zangbo Canyon is located at the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet Autonomous Region. On the riverbed of the center depopulated zone, there are four group waterfalls, among which some main waterfalls drop ranging from 30 to 50 meters. With 9 natural belt ranging from alpine snow and ice zone to tropical monsoon forest, it breeds a variety of biological resources, including 66% higher plants, 50% mammalian animals, 80% incests of the known species on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and 60% macro fungals in China, which can be said as the largest amount in the world.

Stepping into the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon when peach trees are in full blossom, you will feel refreshing and relaxing. You will have a commanding view of the Najiabawa Snow Peak under the sunny blue sky. The beautiful scenery will make you linger on with no thoughts of leaving.

The Dragon King Temple

Located to the northwest of the Temple of Great Compassion, the Dragon King Temple is the fifth of the Eight Great Temples, and is also known as Dragon Spring Convent. It was built in 1672. Entering the temple, tourists first notice the sound of a bubbling spring breaking the stillness. The spring bubbles up from beneath a cliff behind the second courtyard and flows through the first courtyard and out of a carved stone spigot in the shape of a dragon head into a pond. The water of this eternally flowing spring is clear and sweet and never freezes in winter. A Pavilion for Listening to the spring stands nearby. Behind the pond is the Hall of the Dragon King. Legend has it that the hall is the residence of the Dragon King. The hall is surrounded by luxuriant green bamboo. The Pavilion of Reclining Leisure and the Pavilion for Listening 1o the Spring, both of which are built up against the side of the mountain, are wonderful spots for viewing the distant hills. 6. The Temple of Fragrant World The Temple of Fragrant World is the sixth of the Eight Great Temples. Also known as the Pingpo Temple, the Temple of the Fragrant world is the largest temple complex in the entire area. Seine people say that it was first built in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), while others say the temple was constructed in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It was rebuilt in 1425 in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was reconstructed in 1678 and revamped in 1748. In the past. it served as the summer villa of Chinese emperors and today the Travelling Palace and Scripture Repository erected by Emperor Qianloug can still he seen. The temple boasts five courtyards and also contains many historical relics as well as paintings and calligraphy by celebrities. 7. The Precious Pearl Cavern The Precious Pearl Cavern is the seventh of the Eight Great Temples. The cavern is built on the top of the Pingpo Hill. There is a main hall and two annex buildings. The hall built behind the memorial archway is the noted Precious Pearl Temple. It is the highest paint in all the eight Great Temples, and thus the open gazebo in front of the temple is named “The Pavilion for distant Viewing. ” On fine days. tourists can see the entire Beijing, with Kunming Lake to the east, the Yongding River to the southwest, the plains to the south and the city skyline in the center, immediately below are the other seven temples. The temple's name derives from the cavern behind the main hall and a stone near its month, which resembles a large pearl. Though the floor area of the cave is no more than 25 square metres, a Qing monk named Hai Xiu lived there for 40 years. A statue of this long-term resident standing inside the cavern is popularly known as the “King-of-the-Ghost Bodhisattva. ”