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China - The Internet Travel Guide (FAQ) (part 1/3) |
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Huang Shan
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/huangshan.htm
Huang Shan, the "Yellow Mountain", designates a vast area in South
Anhui, covering more than 1200 m². The region consists of 72
mountains, the highest being 1860 m high.
Main Mountains of Huang Shan
Above-the-Clouds Peak
Arhat Peak
Ascending Peak
Beginning to Believe Peak
Bookcase Peak
Boyu peak
Bright Top Peak
Candle Peak
Celestial Capital Peak
Cloud Gate Peak
Cock Peak
Cuiwei Peak
Eyebrow Peak
Fairy Capital Peak
Fairy Maiden Peak
Floating Mound Peak
Flying Dragon Peak
Flying Over Rock
Frog Peak
Immortal Peak
Incense Burner Peak
Lion Peak
Lotus Peak
Lotus Staments Peak
Millstone Peak
Nine-Dragons Peak
Pagoda Peak
Peach Blossom Peak
Pen Rack Peak
Pillow Peak
Purple Cloud Peak
Purple Stone Peak
Red Cloud Peak
Rong Cheng Peak
Rose Peak
Sheng Quan Peak
Stalactite Peak
Standing Horse Peak
Stone Column Peak
Stone Figure Peak
Taoist Priest Peak
Terraced Screen Peak
The Eighteen Arhats Worshipping at South Sea
The Flower Grown out of a Writing Brush Rock
The Immortal Pointing the Way
Threading Needle Peak
Toad Peak
Turtle Peak
Watching Fairy Peak
Wo Yun Peak
Xuanyuan Peak
Yunji Peak
Famous pictures show Huang Shan from the top of a mountain with the
valley covered in mist.
At the southern end is a hot spring area.
Climate
Huangshan is in the northern part of the sub-tropical zone and has a
mild, wet climate. Temperatures vary greatly between mountain top and
valleys.
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Air C -3 -2 3 8 12 15 18 17 14 9 4 -1
Transport
Huang Shan is connected by flight and train with all the major cities
in China.
There are many beautiful walks in throughout the region.
There are three funiculars, to Red Cloud Peak, to White Goose Range,
and to the Jade Screen Hotel.
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JINAN
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/jinan.htm
Hotels
Reserve your hotel online at
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/jinan.htm.
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JIUZHAIGOU
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/jiuzhaigou.htm
This beautiful nature resort in northern Sichuan closest resembles
Alpine regions with snow covered mountains, beautiful lakes and many
waterfalls. There are many Tibetan settlements. The altitude is about
3000 m warranting cold nights and temperatures could drop below zero
degrees. Bring along warm clothes!
To make the trip, count at least five days, better a week or more. If
you have more money than time, you might also consider flying with a
helicopter from Chengdu.
There is an entrance fee of several USD. Inside the park, cheap
accommodation is available. Make sure you bargain!
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KASHGAR
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/kashgar.htm
Long time ago the center of the silk road and an important trading
point, Kashgar nowadays is a moderate center with some 120000
inhabitants. It makes an excellent starting point for trekking.
The bus to Khotan is CNY 54 and can be purchased half an hour before
departure of the bus. Take some water with you, this is desert land
with 60 km and more without a drop of water!
Climate
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Air C -4 -1 8 15 21 25 27 26 21 14 5 -3
F 25 31 46 60 70 77 80 78 70 57 42 28
Rain mm 15 3 13 5 8 5 10 8 3 3 5 8
in .6 .1 .5 .2 .3 .2 .4 .3 .1 .1 .2 .3
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KHOTAN
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/khotan.htm
In Khotan there are still many Uigurs. It certainly is one of the more
off-the-beaten track towns.
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KUNMING
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/kunming.htm
Situated at an altitude of 1890 meters near the pleasant Lake Dian,
the capital of Yunnan offers a mild climate all year round. Yunnan is
the sister town of Zuerich in Switzerland.
There have been nice, old buildings around the Wucheng Lu market
street, but they are currently torn down. However, the market remains
and is still worth a visit. Old style houses can still be seen around
Dongsi Jie.
Stone Forest
Some way outside Kunming is the Stone Forest, a collection of stone
pillars remotely resembling trees. It is a bit touristy, but if you
walk past the masses of Chinese group tourists that mingle in the
northern part, you will be able to enjoy a bit of what it must have
been a long time ago when nobody came here.
There are daily tours leaving Kunming sometime around 7 to 8 am. The
bus takes about 3 hours one way. The bus costs CNY 40, and the
entrance to the Stone Forest is another CNY 33.
Bamboo Temple
This Tang Dynasty temple is twelve km north-west of the city. The
current structure is not that old, however. After burning down in the
15th century it had to be rebuilt. During a major renovation between
1833 and 1850 some 500 life-size figures. Entrance is CNY 10. There
are direct busses to the temple.
Climate
Kunming is also called the town of eternal spring. The climate is mild
all year round.
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Air C 10 11 14 18 19 20 20 20 18 16 13 10
F 49 52 58 64 67 67 68 68 65 60 55 50
Rain mm 8 18 28 41 127 132 196 198 97 51 56 15
in .3 .7 1.1 1.6 5.0 5.6 7.7 7.8 3.8 2.0 2.2 .6
Hotels
Reserve your hotel online at
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/kunming.htm.
Restaurants
Excellent Sichuan pork is available in the Yunnan Typical Food
restaurant. Between it and the Camelia hotel are several nice cafes
that sell beer. The draft beer is more expensive than the bottle.
The Nanlaisheng Coffee Shop at Jinbi Lu is recommended for its
excellent coffee and for its real bread.
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LIJIANG
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/lijiang.htm
Located among spectacular scenery near the border to Tibet, this city
is the center of the Naxi minority. The Naxi are descendants of
Tibetan nomads and until recently lived in a matriarchal society.
Transportation
It is possible to rent bikes for CNY 12 per day.
Hotels
Since the earthquake at the beginning of 1996 rooms have become very
scarce, because all the hotels are under reconstruction.
The Funshan still has some rooms left for CNY 170. There is hot water,
but only in the evening from 7 pm to 11 pm.
Restaurants
Recommended are Mama Fu's and the Old Market Cafe (who does not accept
Diners Card even though there are stickers.)
Just opposite Mao's statue is a food stand selling excellent steamed
dumplings.
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LUOYANG
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/luoyang.htm
Founded in 1200 BC, Luoyang is one of the oldest Chinese cities. It
was home to 10 dynasties, until the Jin moved their capital to
Kaifeng. After being destroyed by Jurchen invaders from the north, it
sunk into insignificance. Nowadays, it is a rather glum industrial
center.
Baima Si (White Horse Temple)
13 km north of the city is the Baima Si. It was founded after two
monks sent as early as 67 to India to fetch holy scriptures returned.
It is the first Buddhist temple in China, and the first translations
of the Holy scripts from Sanskrit into Chinese were don here.
Hotels
Reserve your hotel online at
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/luoyang.htm.
Climate
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Air C 0 2 8 15 21 26 28 25 21 15 8 2
F 32 35 46 58 71 80 82 79 69 59 46 35
Rain mm 13 18 18 23 51 102 178 76 25 18 15 13
in .4 .7 .7 .9 2 4 7 3 1 .7 .6 .4
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NANJING
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/nanjing.htm
Nanjing was the old capital in the south (hence its name which means
'South Capital'). It is one of the most beautiful cities in China,
with wide tree lined avenues.
Sights
Ming City Wall
During the Ming dynasty, Nanjing was in its prime and numerous
reminders of that time can be found in and around the city. The most
impressive is probably the remains of the Ming city wall. Once having
measured 33 km, it was the longest city wall in the world. It took
over 200'000 people to build it during 1366 - 1386. Bricks from five
provinces were used and each brick has been stamped with the origin,
the overseer's name and rank, the bricklayer's name, and sometimes the
date. If a brick broke, it had to be replaced. The average height is
12 m and the top is about 7 m wide. Today, about 20 km is still
standing.
Ming City Gates
Of the 13 city gates that originally gave access to the city, only
some remain. The most impressive, the Zhonghua Gate in the south once
garrisoned 3'000 soldiers who lived in the vaults. The northern gate,
the Heping Gate is used as military barracks.
Ming Palace
Except for the Five Dragon Bridges, made of marble, and the Wu Men
gate, nearly nothing remains. The palace was destroyed by bombardment
during the Taiping rebellion.
Chang Jiang (Yangtse) River Bridge
When the Chinese wanted to build a bridge in the fifties, they
naturally looked for help towards the Sowjet Union. But it was about
the time that relations became increasingly distorted, so that China
instead turned to the Americans. After some studies, they declared it
impossible to build a bridge over the Chang Jiang. So the Chinese,
stubborn as they were, started to build by themselves. Finally, after
many years of constructions, the bridge could be opened on 23 December
1968. It is a double-decker, with a 4500 m long road on the upper
floor and a 6700 m long railway below. In one of the bridgeposts is a
museum, depicting this triumph of Chinese communism over American
capitalism.
Nanjing Museum
The Nanjing Museum, although not big, houses a beautiful collection of
artefacts from Neolithic times until the Communist period. There is a
wonderful burial suit, made of small, rectangular jade pieces held
together with silver thread. It dates from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25
- 220 AD).
Taiping Museum
Nanjing was the center of the Taiping rebellion. Its leader, Hong
Xiquan, had built a palace, which was destroyed during the
bombardement of the city in 1864. The only remaining piece is a stone
boat in an ornamental lake.
Tomb of Hong Wu
This Ming emperor tomb lies east of the city on the southern slope of
Zijin Mountain. It was built between 1381 and 1383 but was unused
until the emperor died in 1398 at the age of 71. As with the Ming
tombs near Beijing, the alley leading to the tomb is lined by stone
statues of animals (lions, camels, elephants, horses) and officials.
In the inner of two courtyard is the "Soul Tower" or "Altar Tower"
which can be climbed. Behind the courtyards, the 350 m mound of Hong
Wu's grave can be seen.
Sun Yatsen Memorial
A short way further is the memorial to the father of the modern China.
A huge stairway that is 323 m long and 70 m wide leads up to the Ming
style burial temple. The temple itself is divided into two chambers,
the memorial ceremony chamber and the coffin chamber. There are
ruomours that state that the body of Dr. Sun Yatsen is no longer in
his grave, but has been carted off to Taiwan be the Guomindang.
Linggu (Soul Valley) Park)
Further east is the Linggu Park, host to various sights of different
quality. One of the most interesting building, the Beamless Hall,
is the remains of a temple that was moved from the site of Hong Wu's
tomb when the emperor needed the place to build his grave in 1381. The
building is made entirely of bricks with a vaulted ceiling. The
Linggu Temple has a memorial hall to Xuan Zhang, a Buddhist
monk that travelled to India and brought back the scriptures (which is
"commemorated" in the story of the Monkey King. See section on
Classics). Nearby is the Linggu Pagoda, with 60 m / 9 storeys
offering a nice view over the surrounding area. It was built in the
1930s by an American architect as a memorial to Guomindang members who
died in the 1926-1928 revolution.
Nanjing tower is a 310 m high television tower.
History
The area of Nanjing has been inhabited for more than 5000 years, and
many preshistoric sotes have been discovered. During the Warring
States Period (475 - 221 BC), Nanjing was host to numerous battles,
which came to an end when the State of Qin (221 - 207 BC) finally
united the nation. From this time, Nanjing grew as the administrative
and cultural centre of the region.
In 220 AD, after the collapse of the Eastern Han, Nanjing became the
capital of the state of Wu when the emperor moved his court here.
The 6th century brough many desasters to the city, floods in 507 and
533, a great fire in 521, a pestilence in 529 and several pesant
rebellions in 533, 541, 542, and 544. In 548, the army of General Hou
Jing planned to overthrow the southern emperor and sacked the city,
only to be victime of yet another palace intrigue.
In 589, the first emperor of the Sui Dynasty, Wen Di, destroyed
Nanjing nearly completely. During the Tang dynasty, it enjoyed a
period of prosperity, but graudally faded into obscurity.
Yet another peasant rebellion, led by Zhu Yuanzahng, restored Nanjing
to its former glory as the capital. After having captured Nanjing in
1356 and Beijing in 1368 and overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu took
the name Hong Wu and established Nanjing as the new capital of the new
Ming Dynasty. Huge city walls, that still can be seen, an enormous
palace and other important buildings were built. The city grew to the
administrative, cultural, and economic metropolis of the country. In
1420, the next Ming emperor, Yong Le, moved the capital north again to
Beijing while Nanjing declined once again.
In 1842, Nanjing became world famous when some 80 Brithish war ships
threatened to bomb the city. The resulting "Treaty of Nanjing", the
first of the "Unequal Treaties" opened several Chinese ports to the
West and established the colony of Hong Kong.
From 1851 until 1864, the Taiping rebellion had its centre in Nanjing.
A Quing army helped by British and American forces finally managed to
supress this Chinese Cristian army after heavy bombardment of Nanjing
for seven months.
In 1922, Dr. Sun Yatsen established the Chinese republic, first with
the capital in Bejing, and later in Nanjing. The city was captured by
the Japanese in 1937, and nearly exterminated the population. The real
figure of dead during the "Rape of Nanjing" is unknown, but official
numbers are around 300'000 to 400'000. After the defeat of the
Japanese in 1945, the Guomindang moved their capital back to Nanjing
and in the two following years peace talks between them and the
Communists were held.
Hotels
Reserve your hotel online at
http://www.pmgeiser.ch/china/places/nanjing.htm.
Climate
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Air C 5 6 11 17 23 25 30 30 25 19 13 7
F 41 43 52 63 73 78 85 85 78 67 56 45
Rain mm 152 152 203 279 304 381 254 203 178 178 152 127
in 6 6 8 11 12 15 10 8 7 7 6 5
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CHINA - Peter M. Geiser's Hotel and Travel Guide
Copyright (c) 1995 - 2004, Peter M. Geiser
http://www.pmgeiser.ch
http://www.pmgeiser.com
http://www.mineralwaters.org
http://www.dussy.ch
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