Four days in YangShuo and GuiLin, GuangXi province

One hour - watch it all, it really could change your life (it tells you how, and it's easy). Feel helpless, unhappy or lost ? You can change, and be the real you. How to become the adult in the room (let go of all the nonsense we carry over from childhood and those insecurities). By acting the way you want to be, ignoring the conditioned feelings that get in the way. Stop feeling down, and start being great. One cannot wait till one feels like it; that will never happen; get started by acting the way you want life to be. Stop feeling hurt and start acting with love. It's not about realising the fantasies we currently live by (intellectually), but acting to get real in life. When you stop being who you are, you can become who you should be. The voice in your head that knows all this - that voice is who you really are. Ignore the feelings from the past, and start really living in the present. Biggest regret of so many will be that they didn't live the life that they should have, didn't be who they really were. With Mel Robbins and Mark Hyman ...

把豆腐切成菊花，考驗刀功的中國菜餚. With ErMiChuiYan ... Bonus film - on bamboo shoots ... On the Lily flower ...

With Walk East ...

With ErMi ChuiYan ... Bonus film - kiwi wine ...

SuQian is a city with a cultural history of 2,500 years. The earliest use of the name was in 762 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty. The city is located on the North JiangSu Plain, with a highest elevation of 71 m over sea level and the lowest 2.8 m only. The elevation is gradually reduces along northwest to southeast. SuQian is abundant in water resources and the water surface area is close one third of its total land mass. There are two freshwater lakes in SuQian, Lake HongZe, which is one of the four largest freshwater lakes in China, and Lake LuoMa. Four rivers run through the city, including the the Grand Canal. Agriculture, including aquatic produce, accounts for about 25% of the area's economy. The population is around 5 million. Attractions include : * LuoMa Lake Scenic Area: Situated in the northwest of the city, it covers a total area of 375 square kilometers (145 square miles), dotted by many natural scenic spots and historical sites. * QianLong Temporary Palace: Named after the esteemed Qing dynasty emperor, this is a well-preserved building complex on the south bank of LuoMa Lake. It was first built around 1684. * ZhangShan Forest Park: 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) north of the city, the park has a beautiful mix of mountain and water landscapes.

YuanMingYuan, also known as the 'Old Summer Palace', was constructed during the 18th and early 19th century and was a wonderland of lakes and waterways, bridges, hills and pavilions. One third of the ground of YuanMingYuan was taken up by over 200 small hills with steep sides, secluded valleys, rock walls and stone caves. Half of the garderns are covered by the waters of lakes, winding streams and ponds. It was at YuanMingYuan that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and handled government affairs - until it was destroyed; the Forbidden City was mostly used only for formal ceremonies at this time. The southern part of YuanMingYuan was where emperors handled state affairs, while the other parts were primarily for personal use and comprised of more than 150 scenic spots, involving rare exotic flowers and trees from different parts of the country. There were originally towers, terraces, pavilions, halls, corridors, pagodas and bridges with a total construction area of 150,000 square meters - corresponding in scale to that of the Imperial Palace. Artisans were recruited from all over China to enact the exquisite settings. The various styles of architecture, standing encircled by hills and rivulets, presented a most picturesque view. Many were reproductions of scenic mountains, rivers and famous gardens in China (mostly southern China). During his many tours of the country, emperor QianLong made it a point to have pictures of famous gardens and scenes drawn so that he could have replicas built in Beijing. Most famous of these were the ten scenic spots of the West Lake in HangZhou. The Old Summer Palace is often associated with the European-style palaces (Xi Yang Lou) that were built of stone. The designers of those structures, the Jesuits Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist, were employed by emperor QianLong to satisfy his taste for exotic buildings and objects. However, more than 95% of the Imperial Gardens consisted of essentially Chinese-style buildings. There were also a few buildings in Tibetan and Mongolian styles, reflecting the diversity of the Qing empire. In addition, hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in the halls, including some unique copies of literary works and collections. In 1860, during the 'Second Opium War', the British and French expeditionary forces looted the Old Summer Palace. Later, on October 18 1860, a British general - despite protestations from the French (who in fact had began the looting) - gave the order to set fire to the huge complex, which burned to the ground. In 1900, those buildings that had partly survived or been restored were burnt for good by the Western expeditionary forces sent to quell the 'Boxer Rebellion'. Many priceless artifacts were plundered and made their way to museums and private collections in Europe. The ruins were further plundered by the warlords of the early republican period and further destruction of the ruins took place during the 'Cutural Revolution'. After all this destruction, what was left was truely just an empty shell. Empress dowager CiXi later directed the forming of YiHeYuan (Garden of Nurtured Harmony), into a new Summer Palace; this was near to the Old Summer Palace, but on a (somewhat) smaller scale. Nearest subway station : YuanMingYuan on line 4.

The first film of ShangHai scenes is in Ultra HD / 4K ShangHai trips ...

One missile - 16 people died, to silence truth. Michael Hudson on how human rights have been privatized / commercialized (monetized) in the US ...

Beautiful nature, hair-down relaxation; only 10,000 steps (just kidding - it's much, much more than that ;) but just look at those views !