Exploring the beautiful ZhangJiaJie 张家界 nature reserve

With Living Asian ...

What is going on in geo-politics, including Ben Norton and Daniel Dumbrill ...

Discover the world's best futuristic city lights show, in GuangDong province, China ...

XīTang is a picturesque, ancient water-town in JiaShan County, ZheJiang province; within the flat-lands of the YangTse River delta. Its history dates back to at least the Spring and Autumn Period when it was located at the border of the ancient states of Yue and Wu. XiTang is crisscrossed by nine rivers and many canals, linked by a multitude of distinct stone bridges. In the older parts of town, the buildings are set along the banks of the canals, which serve as the main transportation thoroughfares. The town has maintained a tranquil ambiance and scenic beauty, making it a popular tourist attraction and has been frequently depicted in traditional Chinese landscape painting. In XiTang, there are well-preserved groups of buildings from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). XiTang also contains numerous antique residences and temples, such as the Temple of the Seven Masters and a 1,200 meter canal-side, tiled-roof long-corridor. Other places of interest include : XiYuan Garden, with trees and plants, lakes and bridges, pavilions and fountains all harmoniously integrated. Xue's House, which is a typical wooden courtyard of the rich merchant from this region during the later Qing dynasty. WangXian Bridge, which was constructed during the Song dynasty, more than a thousand years ago. XiTang can be explored on a day-trip from Shanghai or HangZhou. From Shanghai, the journey takes around 1:45 hours by coach. Alternatively, one can first take a train or bus to JiaShan, from where there is a bus leaving for XiTang every 10 minutes, a distance of around ten kilometers. One might choose to stay overnight in XiTang or JiaShan to take in the evening or early morning ambiance.

A delightful garden within a garden. New HD version; filmed in August 2010.

On the south east coast of China, with ZheJiang to the north and GuangDong to the south. In part, FuJian is famous for its tea and lychee fruit. The largest cities include FuZhou (the capital) and XiaMen. Hakka, a Han Chinese people but with their own distinct identity, live in the southern parts of the province. The Hakka are most associated with their unique TuLou - large, round, communal dwellings.

QianMen : With Wei's Travel ... GuoMao / CBD : With Visit BeiJing ... SanLiTun ... MuTianYu Great Wall ...

Take a gentle sail through beautifully lit TianJin ...

Though some are bad - the highly processed 'healthy' polyunsaturate oils; much better to avoid these completely and use butter / ghee, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil. How we arrived at the obesity and diabetes epidemic ...

With Walk East ...