Today we’d like to publish something completely different for a change. India, the country of mysterious paradoxes; the land where civilizations and times intermix, a mysterious place which attracts people from all over the world. In today’s showcase we are presenting a little showcase of this astonishing contrast between wealth and misery, contemporary technologies and ancient historical monuments, plenty of languages, cultures and traditions.
The Hakka Houses are trully a magnificant place and almost seem like they belong on an epic period Jet Li movie. These houses are now part of Unesco’s official World Heritage Sites. They were constructed in the 12th century in the coastal area of China across from Taiwan. Over 20,000 of these were built and each could hold a small community of up to 800 people. These structures were built as forts to protect their inhabitants against bandits.
Located at the entrance of the Qutang Gorge on the north bank of the river, 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Fengjie county seat, Baidi city, also known as White Emperor City clings to grandeur hills and cliffs. It is actually a mini city scattered with temples and gates on top of Baidi Hill.
Baidi city is also known as City of Poems. In ancient times, attracted by its fame, many scholars and poets visited here and left numerous literary relics. In the city, there are over 70 poems, carvings, and cultural relics of the Sui, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, in which two steles from Sui. Qing Emperor Kangxi. Bamboo-Leaf Stela and Phoenix Stela are the most outstanding.
The first stop of the Yangzte Cruise down-river from Chongqing is the Ghost City in the County of Fengdu. It is said that the Ghost City is where people checked in after their death. Anyone who wants to experience an atmosphere that awakens thoughts about the prospect of life after death should not miss it, as they will not be disappointed.
Each year the Temple Fair is held on 3rd March under the lunar calendar and is strikingly attractive. Processions highlighting the ghosts and shades are performed successively allowing visitors to enjoy 2,000 years of history. It is no wonder then that the county of Fengdu, blessed with such a distinct culture is now attracting increasing numbers of visitors every year.
Shibaozhai represents one of the gems of Chinese architecture along the banks of theYangtze River. From afar, the protruding 220-meter (720 foot) hill on the north bank can appear to resemble a jade seal, and is so named. The creation of the hill is attributed to the goddess Nuwo, who caused a rockslide while she was redecorating the sky after a fierce battle between two warring dukes.
The experimental dam of the Three Gorges Project, Gezhouba Project is located at the lower end of the Three Gorges in the suburb of Yichang City, 38 km downstream of the TGP.
The construction of the Gezhouba Project started on December 30, 1970 and ended on December 10, 1988. The Dam is 2606.5 meters high, with a total storage capacity of 1.58 billion m3 and a maximum flood discharging capability of 110,000 m3/s. The two hydro-electric plants have 21 generating units with a total installed capacity of 2.715 million kw and annual output of 15.7 billion kwh, which is transmitted toShanghai, Henan, Hunan,Wuhan,etc. The annual one-way shipping capacity of the navigation facilities is 50 million tons and its total investment was 4.848 billion yuan($0.557 billion) .Gezhouba Hydropower Plant generated a total of 140 billion kwh of electricity between 1981,when the first generating unit went into operation, and May, 1991, creating a total output value of 12 billion yuan($1.38 billion).
The Three Gorges Project is one of the world's most remarkable engineering endeavors and one of the largest structures ever created, second in size only to the Great Wall of China.
The Lesser Three Gorges is one of the exciting and famous stops in the Yangtze Three Gorges. It is often called the "highlight" of the Yanzgte cruise, even the whole China trip.
Qutang Gorge runs eight kilometers from Baidicheng in Fengjie County in the west to Daxizhen in Wushan County, Chongqng City. The shortest among the Three Gorges, it is the most spectacular. As soon as the roaringYangtze River rushes into the gorge, it meets head-on with the imposing Kuimen Gate. Rocky mountains rise perpendicularly like walls on both sides of the river squeezing the broad river into a narrow ribbon threading its way in the gorge. Here the width of the river is reduced to 100-200 meters and the narrowest places are no more than a few dozen meters while the principal peaks on the banks are as high as 1,000-1,500 meters. The turbulent waters flowing in the deep gorge along a continuous line of peaks make a most magnificent picture.
The Yangtze Gorges is a great valley with a most splendid landscape in the Yangtze(Changjiang) River and it is one of the ten most famous scenic sites of China. It extends fromWhite Emperor City in Fengjie County,Chongqing Municipality to Nanjin Pass in Yichang, Hubei Province, consisting of Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge andXiling Gorge, with a full length of 193 km.
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