China, one photo every day

[kix111]

awesome photo, hey i have been to the elephant trunk hill XD its awesome

and the shot on beijing olympics site is just amazing

[xXFallenXx]

Originally Posted by HKG

I've been the Elephant Trunk Hill !

Originally Posted by kix111

awesome photo, hey i have been to the elephant trunk hill XD its awesome

and the shot on beijing olympics site is just amazing

haha me too!

[Ribarca]

9/4/2008

Hong Kong.


Can somebody please help me to locate those nice maps!

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.04






Jiangsu location in China:


Situated in a northwestern suburb of Yangzhou city, Jiangsu Province, the Daming Temple combines together a number of attractions, including religious buildings, important historical sites and beautiful gardens. It was first built in the Southern Dynasties (420-589), although has undergone numerous renovations and expansions since that time. The temple has assumed many different names during its 1500-year history, although in 1980 it reverted back to its original title.
The temple building itself is similar in both style and structure to other Chinese temples. On entering the temple gate, visitors are greeted by a stately archway that was built in memory of the old Qiling Tower. The hall behind the archway is the Hall of Heavenly Kings, in the center of which sits the big-stomached Maitreya Buddha, smiling widely to welcome guests and visitors. The next hall is the Mahavira Hall, the main focus of the temple. This hall is dedicated to the Great Buddha, Sakyamuni. His figure dominates the center of the room while statues of other Buddhist gods surround him. These gods are responsible for the good harvest and peaceful life of the people. The remaining space is that of the Scripture Repository. The structures in this area date back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Daming Temple has been a famous tourist attraction for hundreds of years. Part of its appeal lies in its sites of historical and cultural importance, principally the Pingshan Hall, built by Ouyang Xiu-a widely-known Song Dynasty (960-1279) Poet, and the Gulin Hall, built by Su Dongpo to commemorate the life of his teacher, Ouyang Xiu. Many famous Chinese poets, such as Li Bai, Liu Yuxi, Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo visited the site and wrote numerous poems to praise its charm.
The garden area is decorated with pools, elegant pavilions, oddly-shaped false hills, lush trees and fragrant flowers. However, the most spectacular feature is the Qiling Tower. First built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the tower was later burnt down during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The present structure was built in 1993. Standing 70 meters (230 feet) high, it makes it possible for visitors to take in the enchanting scenery which surrounds the temple.
Daming Temple is also famed because of Monk Jianzhen, a name familiar to many Chinese and Japanese people. Jianzhen was born in Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and firstly enrolled as a monk before progressing to become the superior of the Daming Temple. On the invitation of the Japanese people, Jianzhen decided to venture across the sea to Japan in an attempt to spread the practice of Buddhism. Due to the poor navigation technology of the time, he failed on a number of occasions to complete the crossing, although eventually succeeded and was warmly welcomed by Japanese people. Jianzhen spent his final years in Japan, and made a great contribution to the cultural exchange between the two countries.

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.05






The Heavenly Bridge at Brocade Valley



Jiangxi


One picturesque route in Lushan Mt. is the Brocade Valley's 1.6km trail on the southeast bank of Zither Lake, which is shaped like the harp-like musical instrument. This steep, narrow path, no more than shoulder wide, is hugged by peaks and valleys, all of which paints such moving scenery that it inspired the brushes of landscape artists for centuries.
This trail, famed for its 99 bends, boasts the Immortal Cave, a rock chamber on the edge of a precipice, within which bubbles a natural spring. Taoist priests transformed this remote cave into their temple, replete with a huge stone shrine, altars and scriptures carved onto the rocky walls. Legend has it that Lv Dongbin, one of the eight Taoist immortals, was granted a sword by a fire-breathing dragon here. With this celestial weapon, he vanquished all demons and became immortal.
In this deep and sudden valley, flowers are always in full bloom ,which are so brilliant that people call them brocade. The monk "huiyuan"gathered medicinal herbs in this valley far the Jin Dynasty according to legend. Here, we have overline bridge, head-like stone, and beautiful peaks.

[riasbaixas]

Thank you z0rg for your great job

[z0rg]

Originally Posted by riasbaixas

Thank you z0rg for your great job

Thank you for the honor of posting at this stunning thread these days

[HKG]

Well come back riasbaixas !

[abcgoodest]

just a question : why do the people like to hang those ugly red banners saying "welcome to xxxx" or "the people of xxx welcomes you" all over the place, even over the national treasures or natural landscape .. and it's really an eyesore. I think welcoming people does not need to be that plain....

anyways just a personal opinion.

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.06















Jilin position in China:


Chagan Lake is located in Qian Guo county, northwest of Song Yuan city, not far from Changchun, the center of Jilin province. With 600 million cubic metres of fresh water, Chagan Lake covers 259 square kms. It is 37 km long from south to north, 17 kms wide from east to west, with an average depth of 25 metres. It is the largest freshwater lake in the province.
Chagan lake is a well-known fishing base, a bullrush growing area and natural holiday resort. There can be found 86 kinds of fish, inlcuding carp, chub and crucians. Among them, It is a paradise for wild animals that have chosen the rich habitat. Foxes, rabbits, wolves, snakes and birds, such as pheasants, cormorants, swans, and red-crowned cranes make a home there. In the vast grasslands there grows more than 200 kinds of wild plants.

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.07









Liaoning position in China



Shenyang’s most distinguished architectural work, the Fangyuan Building (方圆大厦), is located in Hui Gong Square, Shenyang. The name literally means "square circle building". The building is shaped like a large coin, with a square hole in the middle. Also, supposedly if you look at the building straight-on, it looks like a curled up dragon. The building is home to Shanghai Bank, but it’s most useful as a landmark. Most foreigners know it as “The Circle Building,” or “The Coin Building.”
The designer is C.L.LEE from Taiwan who is famous for designing TAIPEI 101 Tower. He seems to have design lots of landmark buildings throughout China. Most of them are in secondary Chinese cities like Shenyang.
Since the circle and a square hole is the shape of tranditional Chinese money, some of the comments from public media and non-architecture voice said this is an vulgar architecture representation, and it is not good for appearance of the city, coz some visitors might consider Shenyang as a city of materialism when they see this building.
However, this building was chosen as the top-ten best building of Shenyang by the local government recently.

[HKG]

Fangyuan Building, Shenyang, Liaoning
---------------------------------------
Beautiful Shenyang landmark !
It also looks like a drum !

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.08






View of Macau from Guia Hill



Macau location in China


The Guia Fortress (Fortaleza da Guia) is a historical military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex in the former Portuguese colony of Macau. The complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Centre of Macau.
The fort and chapel were constructed between 1622 and 1638, after an unsuccessful attempt by the Netherlands to capture Macau from Portugal. The lighthouse was constructed between 1864 and 1865, the first western style lighthouse in east Asia or on the China coast. The lighthouse stands at 91 meters tall, and has a light visible for some 20 miles in clear weather conditions. The complex was built upon the highest point on Macau, Guia Hill, and named after the same location. In 1998, frescoes were uncovered in the chapel during routine conservation work, representing both western and Chinese themes. Today, the site is a tourist destination.

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.09












Ningxia position in China


West Xia Kingdom (1038-1227) stands among the once powerful kingdoms, with its capital in Yinchuan shaded by Mt. Helan imperial forests. Its Imperial Tombs reflect the past glories culturally and militarily.
The West Xia Imperial Tombs are 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west of Yinchuan on east side of Mt. Helan. Since June 1972, nine imperial tombs and 253 lesser tombs have been unearthed, which are as grand as Ming Tombs in Beijing. With a total area of more than 50 square kilometers (19.3 square miles), it is unique among royal burials. The layout is patterned after the celestial bodies.
According to records, the tombs were patterned after Song Tombs in Gongxian County, Henan Province. The West Xia Imperial Tombs adopted the zhao-mu burial system (the father is zhao, son is mu while grandson is zhao again.). East line and west line are formed from south to north with zhao on the left and mu on the right. Each imperial tomb is an individual and integrated group of architectures, sitting north and facing south in a rectangle.
The tombs show clear relics of an inner square, roads, courtyards, wells and houses. In the middle of the south end of the heavenly wall stood watchtower platform. To north stood stele pavilions, varying from one mausoleum to another. The extant stele records in both Chinese and West Xia characters the accomplishments of the given emperor. The earth platform in the west was for sacrificial offerings. Behind it is an eye catching mausoleum platform, an earth pile with a remnant height of 23 meters (about 75.44 fee), which used to be a five- or seven-storied solid eight-sided pagoda. This is unique in Chinese mausoleum architectures. It is this relic that is called Oriental Pyramids by foreign tourists. Between the sacrifice palace and mausoleum platform lies earth ridge, under which is corridor leads to the tomb chamber--the underground palace.

[toddhubert]

Ningxia position in China

[/QUOTE]

that's not the position of Ningxia

[riasbaixas]

Originally Posted by toddhubert

that's not the position of Ningxia

ooops, sorry!!

[HKG]

Ningxia location

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.10









Qinghai position in China:


Situated in Dongguan Street, Xining City, Dongguan Mosque is the biggest mosque in Qinghai Province. It was built in 1380, and now boasts a history of more than 600 years. The Mosque is not only famous for its magnificent architecture but also as a religious education center and as the highest learning institution of Islam.
Covering an area of 11,940 square meters (about 3 acres), Dongguan Mosque is built on a grand scale. Its style combines both Chinese traditional architectural art and Islamic architectural features. When traveling to the Mosque, the first thing you can see is the elegant arched door on which is written 'Dongguan Mosque'. On either side of the front door stands the Xuanli Lou (Xuanli Pavilion). The Xuanli Lou is special as the place where the Imams invite people to pray. It is 8 meters (some 26 feet) high, and consists of three floors which are hexagonal in shape.
There is a square with an area of some 30,000 square meters (about 7 acres). The prayer hall is the main building in Dongguan Mosque. It covers an area of 1,136 square meters (about 0.3 acres). The whole prayer hall is resplendent and magnificent. It can hold more than 3,000 people at prayer at the same time. Since the Mosque was built, it has become an important place of worship and assembly for Muslims. When Islam's important festivals come round, tens of thousands of the Prophet's followers from every quarter come to participate in ceremonies and religious activities. On such occasions, the Mosque wears a festival mood.

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.11






Night view



Shaanxi position in China


As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. It is located in the southern suburb of Xian City, about 4 kilometers (2.49 miles) from the downtown of the city. Standing in the Da Ci'en Temple complex, it attracts numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but appealing style of construction, and its new square in front of the temple.
Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang.
Xuanzang started off from Chang'an (the ancient Xian), along the Silk Road and through deserts, finally arriving in India, the cradle of Buddhism. Enduring 17 years and traversing 100 countries, he obtained Buddha figures, 657 kinds of sutras, and several Buddha relics. Having gotten the permission of Emperor Gaozong (628-683), Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Da Ci'en Temple, supervised the building of a pagoda inside it. With the support of royalty, he asked 50 hierarchs into the temple to translate Sanskrit in sutras into Chinese, totaling 1,335 volumes, which heralded a new era in the history of translation. Based on the journey to India, he also wrote a book entitled 'Pilgrimage to the West' in the Tang Dynasty, to which scholars attached great importance.
First built to a height of 60 meters (197 feet) with five stories, it is now 64.5 meters (211.6 feet) high with an additional two stories. It was said that after that addition came the saying-'Saving a life exceeds building a seven-storied pagoda'. Externally it looks like a square cone, simple but grand and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction. Built of brick, its structure is very firm. Inside the pagoda, stairs twist up so that visitors can climb and overlook the panorama of Xian City from the arch-shaped doors on four sides of each storey. On the walls are engraved fine statues of Buddha by the renowned artist Yan Liben of the Tang Dynasty. Steles by noted calligraphers also grace the pagoda.
As for the reason why it is called Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a legend. According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, for one of which eating meat was not a taboo. One day, they couldn't find meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: 'Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.' At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat. Hence it got the name 'Big Wild Goose Pagoda'.

[riasbaixas]

2008.09.12















Shandong position in China:


At the eastern end of the Heavenly Street, and among the cloud and mist there is a solemn towering architectural complex above the stone steps. This is the Azure Cloud Temple. The bronze statue of the Supreme Lady, the Azure Cloud, is offered sacrifices in the main hall.
The Azure Cloud Temple was built in the first year of Dazhongxiangfu (1008 A.D.), at the order of Zhenzong, an emperor of the Song Dynasty. The construction area is limited by its local conditions. It is 70 meters long from south to north, and 35 meters wide from east to west. Mang buildings have been built in this small place such as the gate (entrance), the main hall, the side hall, the bell tower, drum tower, the Joss Stick Pavilion, the building for the emperor, the fireplace, the screen wall, the singing and dancing building and three divinity gates……But visitors can only feel its grander and austerity rather than its narrowness. The temple represents the wonderful construction art and the high techniques of the ancient Chinese builders who had learnt how to build houses according to the local conditions.