Emei Shan (Emei Mountain, 3,099 m / 10,167 ft) is one of the four Chinese Buddhist sacred mountains.
Emei Shan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (together with the nearby LeShan Giant Buddha) as "an area of exceptional cultural significance as it is the place where Buddhism first became established on Chinese territory ... The first Buddhist temple in China was built on the summit of Mount Emei in the 1st century CE ... Mount Emei is also notable for its exceptionally diverse vegetation, ranging from subtropical to sub-alpine pine forests. Some of the trees there are more than 1,000 years old."
Included in this beautiful film : the summit of Mount Emei, WanNian Si Temple, QingYin Ge and BaoGuo Si Temple.
LiJiang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; "LiJiang is an exceptional ancient town set in a dramatic landscape which represents the harmonious fusion of different cultural traditions to produce an urban landscape of outstanding quality."
This area, covering around 500 square kilometers in all, lies about 90 km east of the provincial capital KunMing and is comprised of seven scenic areas featuring amazing limestone karst rock formations.
The Stone Forest began around 270 million years ago as a shallow sea. Extensive deposits of sandstone overlaid by limestone accumulated during the Permian period. Subsequent uplift of this region followed by exposure to wind and rain shaped the landscape we see today.
Eight hundred years ago, Marco Polo described HangZhou as the most enchanting place on Earth.
West Lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Adjacent to the West Lake is a scenic area that includes historical pagodas and other cultural sites, blended with the natural beauty of the landscape, including Phoenix Mountain. The lake is crossed by two causeways.
Check out this beautiful city, two hours from Shanghai, the famous West Lake and the wonderful show 'Impression West Lake' ...
JiuZhaiGou Valley (九寨沟), literally 'Nine Villages Valley', is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of SiChuan province, near the GanSu border.
JiuZhaiGou is part of the MinShan mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and is known for its many multi-level waterfalls, colorful mineral lakes and snow-capped peaks. The elevation ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 meters (6,600 to 14,800 feet). It lies 330 km (205 miles) north of the provincial capital of Chengdu and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This remote region has been inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for many centuries.
The valleys here are lined with 55 km of roads for shuttle buses, as well as wooden boardwalks and small pavilions. The boardwalks are typically located on the opposite side of the lakes from the roads.
Many visitors will first take the shuttle bus to the end of RiZe or ShuZheng valley, then make their way back downhill by foot on the boardwalks, taking the bus when the next site is deemed too distant.
JiuZhaiGou is a ten hour bus ride from ChengDu, or one can fly from ChengDu or ChongQing to JiuZhai HuangLong Airport, then take an hour long bus ride to HuangLong, or a 90 minute ride to JiuZhaiGou. There is also a daily flight to Xi'An, in the peak season, and from BeiJing, ShangHai and HangZhou.
The exquisitely beautiful LiJiang (丽江) is located in YunNan province in south west China and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is populated mainly by the NaXi ethnic minority. LiJiang lies close to Tiger Leaping Gorge and the Snow Dragon Mountain.
Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡 / HǔTiào Xiá) is a beautiful canyon on the JinSha River, a primary tributary of the upper YangTse River. It lies about 60 kilometers (38 miles) north of LiJiang in YunNan province, south west China and is part of the 'Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan' UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tiger Leaping Gorge is around 15 kilometers (9 miles) in length and passes between Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain in a series of rapids below towering 2,000 meter (6,600 feet) cliffs.
This film shows part of the lower trail and the spot where legend says a tiger jumped the rapids at their narrowest point (some 20 plus meters).
ZhangJiaJie is one part of WuLingYuan National Forest Park in HuNan province, south China, and is a wonderland of strange peaks, stunning valleys, ancient trees, caves and waterfalls. There are over 500 scenic spots in this area of outstanding natural beauty; it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In all, it covers around 700 square kilometers (270 square miles).
JiuZhaiGou ('Nine Villages Valley') in south west China is a UNESCO World Heritage site, nature reserve and scenic area.
A great film by Sticker Travel ...
SuZhou lies in JiangSu province, just west from ShangHai Municipality, between the ebb of the YangTse river and TaiHu lake.
SuZhou has a history of over 2,500 years. The city's canals, bridges, pagodas, and gardens have contributed to its standing as one of the top tourist attractions in China. The 'classical gardens of SuZhou' were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000. SuZhou is sometimes referred to as the 'Venice of the East'.
LiJiang has a history of more than 800 years.
The old town, with its picturesque streams and bridges, traditional architecture and cobbled streets, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The second film shows the 'Black Dragon Pool'.
A UNESCO World Heritage site.
The first Buddhist temple in China was built here in SiChuan province during the 1st century A.D. in the beautiful surroundings of the Mount Emei and in view of its peak. Over the centuries, the addition of other temples turned the area into one of Buddhism's holiest. The most remarkable - the Giant Buddha at LeShan - was carved out of a hillside in the 8th century and looks down on the confluence of three rivers. At 71 meters in height, it is the largest Buddha in the world.
This beautiful area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is home to the HaNi and Yi minorities. The ancient practice of terraced farming maintains irrigation and preserves the top soil from being washed down the hillsides.
The beautiful capital of ZheJiang province.
HangZhou was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty and remained so until the Mongol invasion of 1276 (the start of the Yuan dynasty).
The West Lake is a famous fresh water lake located in the historic center of HangZhou. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
Mount Tai is one of China's Five Sacred Mountains and has been a place of worship for at least 3,000 years.
Mount Tai (or TaiShan, though there is a city called TaiShan in GuangDong - a different place) is a mountain of both historical and cultural significance which is located north of the city of Tai'An in ShanDong province. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak which reaches a height of 1,533 meters (just over 5,000 ft).
In total, there are 22 temples, 100 ruins, 820 stone tablets, and over 1,000 cliff-face and rock inscriptions, including the Wordless Stela that stands in front of the Jade Emperor Temple. Legend tells that the emperor who commissioned the stela was dissatisfied with the planned inscription and decided to leave it blank.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
An area of extraordinary karst peaks.
120 kilometers from KunMing. A UNESCO World Heritage site. This Scenic Area comprises 350 square kilometers and is divided into a number of zones.
A water town in north-east JiangSu province, not far from Shanghai.
SuZhou Old Town is famous for its gardens as well as canals. The classical gardens are on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
HuangLong Scenic Area lies in SiChuan province, about 150km north west from the provincial capital ChengDu. It is famed for its colorful pools formed by mineral deposits, and there are also rich forests full of wildlife, including the Giant Panda, snow-capped peaks, waterfalls and hot springs.
With CCTV's Travelogue
The ancient city wall and Ming and Qing architecture in the old part of the city of PingYao are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. PingYao lies about 700 kilometers south west of Beijing and 80 kilometers from TaiYuan, the provincial capital.
The Great Wall of China is an immensely long man-made wall that was built to keep out invaders.
The Great Wall spans nine provinces and its total length is 6,700 km (3,948 miles). The Great Wall extends from ShanHaiGuan (the 'Old Dragon Head'), a seaport along the coast of BoHai, in the east (near BeiDaiHe resort) to JiaYuGuan Pass in GanSu Province in the west. Like a giant dragon, the Great Wall of China winds its way across grasslands, deserts and mountains.
Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, the Great Wall ('Chang Cheng' in Chinese) is a true marvel and a testament to the long history of the Chinese civilization.
Today, people from all over the world visit to walk on the Great Wall of China, to stand on a watchtower and view the wall snaking into the distance. This treasure is now protected so that future generations can see the Great Wall with the same wonder and amazement as we do now.
Some parts of the Great Wall have been overwhelmed by the elements. Some parts have been covered by the desert. Others eroded by local people recycling the wall's materials for constructions in their villages. Nevertheless, the Great Wall in large part still stands in silent splendor, enduring the passage of time and greeting the changes of the seasons as it has done for many hundreds of years.
The Forbidden City，at the center of the ancient city of Beijing, was home to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Today, the Forbidden City is a public museum and World Heritage site, attracting millions of tourists from around the world.
In the early 1400s, the third Ming Emperor, YongLe, moved the capital of China to Beijing. In 1406, he began construction of a new 'Forbidden City' that would include the imperial palace complex. It took 14 years to complete - and an estimated one million workers, and 100,000 artisans, were involved in some way.
Now officially renamed as the 'Palace Museum' ('GuGong' in Chinese, meaning simply 'Old Palace'), the extensive grounds of the Forbidden City cover 720,000 square meters (74 Hectares). There are 800 buildings that have in total about 9,000 rooms. Indeed, the Forbidden City is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.
The Forbidden City is located directly to the north of Tian'AnMen Square and is accessible from the square via Tian'AnMen Gate.
The Palace Museum is now a fantastic place to wander and dream of times gone by. White marble, walls of terra-cotta, roofs of glazed golden tiles, and woodwork finished with vermillion paint, lacquer and gilding unite to create an effect of outstanding beauty.
Nearest subway stations: Tian'AnMen Xi or Tian'AnMen Dong (line 1).
The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China.
As its name suggests, the Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by China's imperial rulers - as a retreat from the main imperial palace now known as the Palace Museum (or 'Forbidden City') - a pleasure-ground in the countryside, yet near to the city.
In 1860, as part of the 'Opium Wars', the Anglo-French Allied Forces invaded Beijing and set fire to many of the buildings within the original Summer Palace (YuanMingYuan).
In 1888, Dowager Empress CiXi, with funds embezzled from the Imperial Navy, restored the grand gardens. The reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace continued for ten years. After completion, she renamed the gardens 'YiHeYuan' ('Garden of Peace and Harmony').
The Empress Dowager CiXi moved her administration to the renovated YiHeYuan in 1889 and the gardens here that had long been an imperial pleasure-ground became the primary Summer Palace.
Then, shortly after, the eight allied powers invaded in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion to plunder and destroy the newly reconstructed New Summer Palace.
Only when the fugitive CiXi returned to Beijing in 1903, did full-scale restoration begin. In this way, the Summer Palaces - both old and new - are associated in popular culture with the destructive interference of foreign powers.
Today's Summer Palace is more or less the same as the palace rebuilt from 1903. It was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1990.
After the success of the 1911 Revolution, the Summer Palace was opened to the public. Then, after the last Qing Emperor PuYi was thrown out of the Palaces in 1924, the Summer Palace was turned into a park. The Summer Palace has become a popular and relaxing destination for both domestic and international tourists.
The Summer Palace is virtually a museum of traditional Chinese gardening that uses rocks, plants, pavilions, ponds, cobble paths and other garden styles to create a poetic effect between different scenes. The halls, pavilions, bridges and temples, Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, all blend together harmoniously despite their individual styles.
Ingeniously conceived and elaborately designed, the Summer Palace, featuring the garden styles of both northern and southern China, is justifiably known as the 'Garden of Gardens'. Indeed, the Summer Palace represents a quintessentially Chinese ideal of harmony between man and nature.
Don't miss :
the beautiful Garden of Harmonious Interests (a 'garden within a garden'),
SuZhou Street and the Four Great Regions Tibetan-style temple,
and the Tower of Buddhist Incense and Cloud Dispelling Hall on the hill.
The nearest subway station is BeiGongMen ('North Palace Gate') on line 4.
In SiChuan province.
The Giant Buddha, which is around 70 meters in height, was carved from the cliff face during the Tang dynasty (618 - 907). It took 90 years to complete.
At 3,100 meters (10,170 feet), the nearby Mount EMei is the highest of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
This statue was carved into rock during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).
It is situated in SiChuan province near the town of LeShan. The stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with a river flowing below the Buddha's feet. At 71m in height, it is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world. The Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
Formally known now as the Palace Museum.
Established in 1925, the Palace Museum comprises the primary imperial palace of two consecutive dynasties - the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911). The magnificent architecture, and the vast collections of imperial paintings, calligraphy, ceramics and decorative objects, make it one of the most prestigious museums in China - and, indeed, the world.
In 1961 the imperial palace was designated by the State Council as one of China's foremost cultural heritage sites, and in 1987 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
PingYao was a financial center in ancient times and has a well-preserved city wall. The city largely retains the architecture of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
