China Map Regional Political

China Map Regional Political

China is an article extending over a ample breadth in East Asia, which is apparent abnormally as a nation and/or multinational.
China is one of the world's oldest civilizations with about 4,000 years of connected history. Prior to the 19th century, it bedevilled an avant-garde economy; but alternating dynasties absent the Industrial Revolution that occurred in Europe and China began to decline. In the 19th and 20th century, European and Japanese imperialism, centralized weakness and civilian war damaged the country and its economy, and led to the abolish of administrative rule. In 1949, afterwards above action in the Chinese Civilian War had ended, two states whose official names are "China"

Foreigners are seeing less and less of Tibet and Xinjiang, China…..

Locations: Lhasa Valley, Tibet, China (29° 45′ 28.8″ N, 91° 28′ 30″ E)
Date: 10 August 2007; 9.0am
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5

I have to consider myself lucky as far as traveling to Tibet is concerned. I did 3 trips to Tibet between 2003 and 2007 and went to a fair number of places that the Chinese government forbids foreigners to visit. Some of the landscapes and tradition/culture of the people I met and visited are etched forever in my memories. I am lucky because the Chinese government has closed off more and more of the province to foreigners for political and information censorship reasons. In any case, the Han Chinese are changing Tibet so dramatically and so quickly that the character and spirituality of many wonderful places in Tibet are just no longer the same- in some ways one can say the same of the whole of China. Hence I consider myself lucky to be able to experience the magic of these places and their people before their modern and developmental transformations.

Boats amongst poles used for aqua cultivation

Location: Xiapu, Fujian, China (23° 46' 20" N, 117° 2' 47" E)

Date: 14 December 2008; 1.50pm

Camera: Canon 400D with Canon 70-200 f/4 L IS Lens

These days there are not too many exquisite places in China which are not swamped by tourists. More often than not, fabulous destinations are crowded with China tourists rather than foreigners. The main reason is of course, Chinese are getting wealthier and is more prepared to spend money traveling around their own country. On top of that, it is difficult for them to travel outside of China, without being part of a tour group or on official business. Another reason for such a phenomenon is the speed of news spreading via internet- and China has the world’s biggest internet population; hence news and reviews of any exciting new destinations will be known by many very quickly. An example is a small coastal town, Xiapu, in northern Fujian. Apart from some photography enthusiastic from Hong Kong and Taiwan, really only Chinese know of this sleepy town. The town’s main attraction to tourists is the scenery around the few coastal villages within a 20km radius. Such villages engaged in various aquaculture activities such as seaweed and oyster cultivation, fishing and so on. They are pretty and charming especially during the various harvest seasons with all sorts of activities on the coastlines. During the high season, droves of Chinese photography enthusiasts flock to this town, using it as a base- and there are only Chinese. Very, very few foreigners would even have heard of this place- so much so that there are only 1 or 2 hotels in town that are officially registered/allowed to offer accommodation to foreigners.

Gongfu monks? Not quite- just scripture debates, Sera Gompa. Lhasa

Locations: Sera Gompa, Lhasa, Tibet, China (29° 41′ 53″ N, 91° 8′ 0″ E)
Date: 18 May 2005; 5.50pm
Camera: Canon 300D with kit lens

Any visitors to Lhasa must visit Sera Monastery, which is within Lhasa limit at the northeast corner of town. One can easily get there by public bus. There are several reasons to visit this monastery including its historical and religious significance and the size and expanse. However one good reason to visit it is to witness the daily Scripture Debate by the resident monks. The monastery had developed over the centuries as a place of scholarly learning with many famed monks in Tibetan Buddhism having trained here. Everyday around 3pm, the resident monks will gather in the garden within the compound of the monastery to debate Buddhist scriptures and philosophy. The debates are punctuated by physical gestures such as hands clapping after each question, loud screaming and verbal exchanges that tremendously enliven the ambience of the debates. Some of such gestures may seem so violent that it may appear to an uninformed observer that the monks may be having a heated argument. These debates make this monastery a special experience.

Beautiful & intricate roof carvings of ancient homes, Pingyao, China

Location: Pingyao, Shanxi, China (37° 12′ 5″ N, 112° 9′ 16″ E)

Date: 10 October 2008; 2.50pm

Camera: Canon 400D with Canon 70-200 f/4 L IS Lens

There are still quite a few places in China that maintain their heritage architecture, though this is dwindling by the day. Many places had been demolished to make room for modern developments; the most notorious example of this were the wholesale destructions of the hutongs of Beijing. Many of the remaining ancient architecture throughout China managed to escape the same fate by turning themselves into tourists attractions. They draw tourists, both Chinese and foreigners and their attractiveness as a tourist destination saves them from the hammer of destruction. However these structures faced a different onslaught- commercial developments and exploitations. More and more of the old buildings and houses in places such as Lijiang Old Town had been turned into tourist shops selling all sorts of stuff, instead of being preserved as domestic dwellings, in the process losing its “soul”. I guess this is better than losing them totally.

Pingyao in Shanxi is likely to follow then path of towns such as Lijiang and Fonghuang soon. Pingyao was a financial center during the Qing Dynasty and still retains its city layout from the Ming and Qing dynasty. Within its renowned well-preserved ancient city walls are close to 4,000 preserved Ming and Qing-style residences. The streets and storefronts currently still largely retain their historical appearance. Undoubtedly the winds of tourism exploitation will soon transform this quaint and friendly little town into another must-see on the tourist map, changing the character of the building and its population in the process. This may be the only way to ensure the survival of such ancient towns in China.

Technorati Tags: Pingyao,city walls

Miaos really know how to have a good time celebrating their festivals, China

Location: Sister Meal Festival at Shidong, Guizhou, China (26°40'11.24"N,108°18'14.10"E)
Date: 24 April 2005; 4.50pm
Camera: Canon 300D with kit kens
Lately China had been struggling with their treatment of minorities with a few headline-grabbing incidents. In the last 3 years, there were riots in Tibetan Lhasa, ethnic conflicts in Uighur Urumqi and last month in Inner Mongolia. The problem is the way the Han Chinese perception of their own rule and reading and treating symptoms instead of causes. They are in a classic situation of being blind to their own defects. The resentment of Chinese Han Communist rule by the ethnic minorities in these provinces are so strong that a traveller has to be blind (or travel in a package tour) not to notice or hear about it in these places. But to be fair, not all ethnic minorities in China are hostile towards the Han Chinese majority. Minorities such as the Miaos and Zhuangs enjoy better quality of life now than they ever did in the past in China. They managed to maintain a lot of their culture and celebrate their festivals such as the Miao’s Sister Meal Festival, in ever grander fashion each year; so much so that these festivals are now major tourist attractions.

I want to go to Everest Base Camp again!!

Location: Rhongbuk Monastery (5,100m), Tibet, China (28.194N, 86.829E)
Date : 27 April 2003; 10.25am
Camera : Canon G1

I always wanted to go back to see Mount Everest, either the Nepali or Tibetan (Chinese) side. Going to the Base Camp from the Chinese side has become much more easier in terms of transportation and access, but the problem now is in fact access to Tibet. I just applied for a visa to visit China and to my horror, instead of just one page of form to complete, I have to fill 7 pages now!! And unlike in the past, this must be accompanied by airline bookings (this was introduced just before the Olympics but was never taken off since). Travelling into Tibet is now ever more strict. Chances of getting in without a TTP and getting away is rather difficult as there are now numerous checkpoints and the guards are more vigilant. Perhaps I should try the cycling option next time- I think they are less likely to check cyclists- as long as one dressed more Chinese-like, and of course, have to look Chinese.

A popular hot spring town with some rustic charm to boast- Taiwan

Location: Old Jinshan, Taiwan (25° 14′ 10″ N, 121° 37′ 3″ E)
Date: 3 May 2010, 4.15pm
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5

There are a few activities that will excite any visitors to Taiwan. One of them is to enjoy the numerous excellent hot springs dotted around the coast of the country. Taiwan lies on the edge of the Ring of Fire around the Pacific and has some earthquake and volcanic activities resulting in many hot springs. Taiwanese also has a traditional to soak in hot springs, perhaps partly influences from their Japanese colonial past. Many of these hot springs are developed into resorts and at certain times of the year, are crowded by domestic tourists. Old Jinshan (meaning Old “Gold Hill” reference to its previous glory days as a gold mining town) is one of such popular hot spring resorts. It is less than 2 hours north of Taipei and draw lots of visitors from the city during the weekends to enjoy its hot springs, sourced from the hills, as well as its local market and reasonably rustic shoreline.