China History and Culture

With a history stretching back 5,000 China was, in ancient times, East Asia's dominant civilisation.  This ancient civilisation was responsible for many great world changing inventions/ discoveries the main ones being: paper, gunpowder, porcelain, silk and the compass.  

China was originally many nations which were conquered by the First Emperor.  He then built the Great Wall (the first man made structure to be identified from outer space) to secure his empire.   The Forbidden City and the Terracotta Army make this a 'must see' destination for the discerning traveller.

At Xi'an, the tomb, built by the emperor, is guarded by a Terracotta Army made up of 6,000 life sized warriors, horses and chariots with weapons. Archaeologists are still active on this site and still finding new artefacts. Beijing, meaning "Northern Capital" is the city of wonders and has been an important part of China's history and culture. It is the capital of China, previously known as Peking.  It has some 5,000 years of history and is the home of The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, Tian'anmen Square, 13 Ming Tombs and the Summer Palace.  Beijing is the best place from which to visit the Great Wall. Shanghai is the largest and most cosmopolitan city in China. There are many beautiful old buildings as well as architecturally superb modern sky rise buildings. It is a shopper's delight!! Xian, meaning "Western Peace", has a history as far back as 1000BC and was the starting point of the famous Silk Road Route.  Now, as Xi'an, it is home to the famous Terracotta Warriors and other historic attractions. Finally to Guilin, the Li River and Yangshou with the fantastic landscape of limestone hills along the Li River. There are boundless opportunities to see places where the minority cultures thrive and where the people go about their everyday life in their traditional clothes they have worn for centuries. Zhangjiajie is a rising tourist city famous for its unique natural scenery and abundant tourism resources. It is located in the northwest of Hunan province.  Within that area there are some wonderful natural attractions such as: Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve: Tianzi Mountain (Heaven's Son Mount) lies in the northwest of Wulingyuan and stands at a position of tripartite confrontation with Zhangjiajie National Park, and Suoxi Valley. The mount is dotted with nearly 100 natural platforms for sightseeing, more than 2000 stone peaks and dozens of waterfalls and springs. The sea of clouds, the wavelike stone ranges, the snowscape in the winter and the sunrise are the most spectacular. The Maoyan River: There are many high mountains, deep valleys and spectacular waterfalls along the Maoyan River, where is a fantastic place for drifting. Sometimes, it runs wildly over rocks; sometimes, it flows peacefully through a narrow gorge.

Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park:

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park locates in the northwest of Wulingyuan, neighboring Suoxiyu and Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve. It covers an area of 4300 ha. with 97% forest coverage. The average rainfall of the national park is 1200mm to 1600mm and the average temperature is 16℃ year round. The forest park has 98 woody plant families which include 517 species, over twice of the total in Europe. Half of the gymnosperm species can be found in the forest park.

 Zhangjiajie National Forest Park:

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park locates in the northwest of Wulingyuan, neighboring Suoxiyu and Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve. It covers an area of 4300 ha. With 97% forest coverage. The average rainfall of the national park is 1200mm to 1600mm and the average temperature is 16℃ year round. The forest park has 98 woody plant families which include 517 species, over twice of the total in Europe. Half of the gymnosperm species can be found in the forest park.

Baofeng Lake:

Baofeng Lake is located at 2 kilometers in the south of Suoxi Town. There is a deep and serene valley and the pellucid lake reflects a picture of verdant mountains. Here, the lake and mountains serve as a foil to each other. The most distinctive spots include Gao Xia Ping Hu (Lake on the High Gorge), Ying Wo Gu Zhai (Ancient Village), Jue Bi Fei Pu (Waterfall on the Cliff) and Yixiantian Valley (Narrow Valley). In 2003, it is ranked as AAAA tourist spot in China.

The surrounding scenic spots are mainly composed of Yu Bi Feng (Imperial Brush Peak), Xi Hai (West Sea), Tian Zi Ge (Heaven's Son Pavilion), Shen Tang Wan (Shentangwan Gulf).

This is an undeveloped tourist attraction for people to see and learn how the Chinese lived for hundreds of years.  Now, the cities are big, modern and have the highest degree of sophistication surpassing the Western Countries.      

Come and see for yourself the Diversity – History – Mountains – Local People. The holiday of a lifetime!

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Source : articlesbase.com