The magnificent and spacious Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum is situated at the south of the Monument to the People’s Heroes on the Tian’anmen Square. With construction work started in November 1976 and completed in May 1977, the Mausoleum takes up 5.72 hectares.

The Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum is the most important mausoleum of the country and the Communist Party. It is a spacious building where the remains of Mao Zedong, the greatest Chinese leader of the 20th century, are preserved. People come here with a feeling of reverence in their heart . There are Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yun Memorial Halls, showing precious relics and historic documents and photographs related to these six great revolutionists, vividly reflecting their enormous contribution to the Chinese revolution.  Documentary film “Memory” shown in the Cinema Hall reproduces the smiling features of the veteran proletarian revolutionists. Exhibitions on paintings devoted to the theme of praising the revolution leaders, the Party and the socialist China are presented here. With this, the mausoleum becomes an art gallery for displaying and storage of the works by famous contemporary painters.

Since the opening of the mausoleum, thousands of Chinese people and foreigners come here to pay visits everyday. It has become a place of traditional revolutionary education, a place which people of all nationalities in China look forward to visiting.

OK, you’ve read this article titled Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum, Tian’anmen Square – Beijing Famous Scenic Spots. What do you think about it? How do you like Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum and Tian’anmen Square, China?

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48 Hours Travel Around New York City: A Weekend Vacation, New Manhattan Hot Spots Friday

The roof space of the Peninsula Hotel reopened with a Chinese theme this May as the Salon de Ning.

THOUGH New Yorkers were recently brought up short by the financial crisis, with no one quite knowing just how bad it would be, one thing this city has going for it is its resiliency. Yes, there are worries about 401(k)s and mortgage payments — and perhaps a second thought about spending time in clubs with $300 bottle service — but there are still plenty of reasons not to stay at home watching CNBC, from new restaurants featuring ever-more inventive menus to hipster hangouts colonizing yet another part of Brooklyn. Historians might look back at 2008 as the year that Wall Street tanked; trend-seeking visitors may remember it as the year they had their first sip of a black maamba.

A Weekend Vacation in New York City: New Manhattan Hot Spots Friday

4 p.m.
1) LOWER EAST SIDE ART

In the last few years, the Lower East Side has emerged as among hottest gallery scenes in the city, but for visitors the best sites can be tricky to find. Now, a colorful map by the area’s Business Improvement District and GalleryBar — hot off the presses on Sept. 24 — plots 54 galleries and art institutions, Web sites included. They range from the (relatively) established Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center to brand-new, like gallery nine5, open this year. The map is available in hotels and at lowereastsideny. If it’s the art of shopping that you’re interested in, there are plenty of shops nearby that should satisfy that craving, among them the superhip Upper Echelon Shoes (100 Forsyth Street; 212-925-8330), which sells casual designer shoes. (P. Diddy wore them to the BET Awards last year.)

8 p.m.
2) THREE STARS, PART 1

So far, the Times restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, has awarded three stars to only five restaurants that opened in 2008. Among them was Scarpetta (355 West 14th Street; 212-691-0555; scarpettanyc), the new Italian spot that shows off Scott Conant’s refined mastery of the tomato (Mr. Bruni particularly praised the spaghetti al pomodoro). Linger over dinner either in the buzzing back dining room or the friendly bar area and then walk around the neighborhood whose hotness was only slightly tempered by its obligatory appearance in “Sex and the City.”

11 p.m.
3) SHANGHAI 1930

The roof space of the Peninsula Hotel got an overhaul this year, and after adding Chinese daybeds on the patios and Chinese contemporary art on the walls, reopened this May as the Salon de Ning (700 Fifth Avenue; 212-956-2888; salondening). Sure, naming a high-end bar after a completely fictional 1930s Shanghai socialite and art collector is verging on absurd. But especially if you land one of the few lucky tables overlooking the Museum of Modern Art sculpture garden and order a gin and elderberry-liqueur flavored Ninglet, though, you’ll forget the gimmick and appreciate the place for what it is: not a nostalgic throwback to 1930s China but a depiction of upscale New York 2008.

Saturday

11 a.m.
4) BRUNCH BEYOND MIMOSAS

The chef Máximo Tejada introduced freestyle Latino cuisine in Rayuela (165 Allen Street; 212-253-8840; rayuelanyc) in 2007 on the Lower East Side; now he has followed up two blocks north with Macondo (157 East Houston Street; 212-473-9900; macondonyc), where he brings pan-Latin dishes inspired by street food into a setting that bursts with downtown energy. Among the choices: Spanish churros with chocolate, a Peruvian quinoa and octopus salad, the Dominican farmer’s breakfast of mangu, fried cheese, fried eggs and fried salami. Having a cocktail is a good idea even if you don’t normally drink before noon: the drinks come small but cheap ($7.50), perfect for brunch and with combinations creatively tropical, like guava and rye or tamarind and tequila.

3 p.m.
5) CONTROVERSIAL REBIRTH

Last month, the museum formerly known as the American Craft Museum (a k a that other museum near the Museum of Modern Art) reopened with a new, grander name — the Museum of Arts and Design — into 54,000 square feet of space at 2 Columbus Circle (212-299-7777; madmuseum). The redesign of the exterior, with its terra-cotta tiles and ribbons of glass, was pilloried by many architecture critics. Judge for yourself and then check out exhibitions like “Second Lives,” works from contemporary artists who turn common objects like telephone books and eyeglasses into art.

7 p.m.
6) THREE STARS, PART 2

How often do you get a chance to eat in a three-star restaurant without 1) making reservations and 2) spending an arm and a leg? Jean-Georges Vongerichten, whose other restaurants can cost you multiple metaphorical limbs, brought in the celebrated Japanese restaurateurs Yoshi, Masa and Taka Matsushita as partners to open Matsugen (241 Church Street; 212-925-0202; jean-georges), where walk-ins have a 32-seat communal table reserved just for them. Among the highlights: freshly made soba noodles of three different thicknesses and various sauces (most under $20) and appetizers like house-made “firm tofu” ($10), which has a custard-like consistency.

10 p.m.
7) OVER TO BROOKLYN

One of the best trends in recent years has been the bars dedicated to reviving the high art of the cocktail, helping New Yorkers erase a decade-long hangover from awful flavored martinis. This year the trend jumped East River, bringing the Clover Club (210 Smith Street, Cobble Hill; 718-855-7939; cloverclubny) to Brooklyn. The dark wood, leather banquettes and pressed-tin ceiling evoke old school with a light touch. Best of all, drinks with names like the black maamba are all $10 or $11, a pleasant surprise for anyone used to paying that much in Manhattan for a generic gin and tonic.

Midnight
IT TOLLS FOR HIPSTERS

It wouldn’t be 21st-century New York if some new Brooklyn neighborhood weren’t getting buzz as the next hipster landing pad. Bell House (149 Seventh Street, Gowanus; 718-643-6510; thebellhouseny), opened in September, helping introduce the Gowanus area — with its requisite dark streets and industrial spaces — as the latest candidate. Its first month featured an almost undefinably eclectic lineup, from burlesque to hip-hop to the moody New Zealand guitar band the Veils, to play in a cavernous hall fitting about 400. If the show of the night is not to your liking, retreat to the much smaller-scale, warmly lighted and comfy-slick bar to analyze how the scene is shaping up.

Sunday

Noon
9) BURGER BRUNCH

You don’t really need five napkins to clean yourself off after the house specialty burger at 5 Napkin Burger (630 Ninth Avenue; 212-757-2277; fivenapkinburger), bursting as it is with juice and rosemary aioli and caramelized onions; do your part for the environment and lick your fingers instead. The June opening of this Hell’s Kitchen (a k a Clinton) spot, and its subsequent crowds, show that the New York appetite for upscale hamburgers did not level off in 2008.

3 p.m.
10) POST-BURGER REVIVAL

Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s not old. Critics raved about the revivals of the musical “South Pacific” and the play “Boeing-Boeing,” and both won Tony Awards — “South Pacific” for best musical revival and “Boeing-Boeing” for best revival of a play and best performance by a leading actor in a play. “South Pacific,” a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic (at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center; tickets at Telecharge, 212-239-6200; telecharge), opened on April 3 and was called “rapturous” by the New York Times critic Ben Brantley. “Boeing-Boeing” (Longacre Theater, also Telecharge) opened on May 4 and quickly outlasted its original 1965 Broadway run (a mere 23 performances). Mr. Brantley called it “deliciously, deliriously innocent,” pretty good for a comedy about an American in Paris juggling love affairs with three flight attendants.

THE BASICS

New York is served by three major airports: John F. Kennedy International, La Guardia and Newark Liberty International. A taxi ride from J.F.K. into Midtown will cost a flat fee of $45, plus tolls and tip; around $35 (including tolls and tip) from La Guardia; and about $50 (including tolls and tip) from Newark. There is also train service from both J.F.K. and Newark airports: the AirTrain JFK ($5 each way), which links to either the Long Island Rail Road or the New York subway system in Jamaica, and the AirTrain Newark ($15), which takes passengers as far as Penn Station. There are also bus and shuttle services.

For those with money to burn (i.e., those who have been keeping their savings under the pillow rather than in the stock market), the Plaza Hotel (Fifth Avenue at Central Park South; 888-850-0900; fairmont/theplaza) reopened this year after a renovation that turned most of the iconic building into apartments but left 282 hotel rooms that start at $755.

Down Madison Avenue in Murray Hill, Morgans Hotel (237 Madison Avenue; 212-686-0300; morganshotel) also reopened after renovations, which include a lobby installation by the French design collective Trafik. Rooms start at $299.

One company betting on New York’s future is the Wyndham Hotel Group (wyndhamworldwide), which has five hotels under construction in Manhattan, three scheduled to open later this year: one in Chelsea, one on Maiden Lane in the financial district and one in Midtown.

THOUGH New Yorkers were recently brought up short by the financial crisis, with no one quite knowing just how bad it would be, one thing this city has going for it is its resiliency. Yes, there are worries about 401(k)s and mortgage payments — and perhaps a second thought about spending time in clubs with $300 bottle service — but there are still plenty of reasons not to stay at home watching CNBC, from new restaurants featuring ever-more inventive menus to hipster hangouts colonizing yet another part of Brooklyn. Historians might look back at 2008 as the year that Wall Street tanked; trend-seeking visitors may remember it as the year they had their first sip of a black maamba. Editing by Alice Clinton

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Second Homes and Vacation Destinations: When Going Home Means Going on Vacation. WHEN Derek Saathoff visits his native Louisville, Ky., each month, he likes to make a long weekend of it. Continental Flight 2925 out of Newark on Thursday afternoon gets him to Louisville just before 4:30, in plenty of time for a run in a park before dinner at Mojito’s Tapas and drinks at the Pink Door, a noodle and tea lounge with a bar.

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
FAMILIAR WATERS Joanna Roche and John Stringer vacation at Goose Pond in Lee, Mass, where they swam growing up.
Until recently, Mr. Saathoff would have bunked with his parents or one of his siblings. But since May, he’s had a place of his own, a one-bedroom condo on the third floor of a converted Victorian house, just three blocks from his old high school.

“When I was growing up, I wanted to leave and move to New York as quickly as possible,” said Mr. Saathoff, 25, an agent at Wilhelmina Models, whose primary residence is a studio apartment in the East Village. “And now I find myself torn between the city and Louisville. I’ve got the easier life in Kentucky, and the metropolitan life here.”

“Considering the prices, I didn’t find buying something in the Hamptons or upstate New York feasible or even necessarily desirable,” he continued. “They’re not the places I’d go to rejuvenate or to recharge my batteries.”

Leaving home is a classic rite of passage; for many people it’s the great, long-deferred escape. When they visit their former homes, it’s under duress and then only for holidays and familial state occasions.

Others return after college or after a few years in the big city having decided that yes, the native sod really is a great place to raise children.

Then there are those who split the difference: they live elsewhere, but own a vacation property in their hometown or environs.

“You grow up and you move away because of your job and you find it’s a nice place to come back to,” said Tricia Dieringer, a hosiery company owner who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan but also has a house at a Rehoboth Beach, Del., golf resort a few minutes from Lewes, her hometown. “I come across Delaware Memorial Bridge and there’s this peaceful feeling of coming home.”

For some, the pull of home is largely emotional, a chance to relive select precious pieces of their childhoods, to revisit select landmarks — Ms. Dieringer is partial to the Lewes Beach Dairy Queen where she worked as a teenager — and to give their own children a sense of continuity.

That’s the case as well for Susan Helier, a legal assistant and single mother in Salt Lake City who grew up in East Hampton, N.Y., and who, 10 years ago, built a three-bedroom vacation home there.

“There’s a lot of history here that I share with my daughter,” she said of her Long Island hometown. “I take her to Georgica Pond, where we used to go sailing and crabbing. As a little kid I used to go to the nature trail, so I take her there as well.”

The trip down memory lane also includes stops at the tip of Montauk (as a teenager, Ms. Helier dated the son of the lighthouse keeper) and the Hampton Classic (Ms. Helier was a habitué when it was a low-key horse show.)

Similarly, Joanna Roche says she loved growing up in Lenox, Mass.

“Everyone knew me,” said Ms. Roche, the vice president of sales for Cypress, a supplier of linens to hotels and spas. “It was very safe. But growing up in such a small town, I wanted to move away.”

After several years of living in California and Hawaii, she headed back to Lenox and married her long time boyfriend John Stringer. The couple subsequently bought a weekend getaway on Goose Pond, one town over in Lee, Mass.

“My husband’s family had a house there the entire time he was growing up, and this is basically a tradition we want to pass along to our children,” said Ms. Roche.

Where she swam and boated as a child so will her two boys. The same stretch of the Appalachian Trail she hiked, “they’ll be able to do,” Ms. Roche said. “I think it’s very grounding for children to have those roots.”

And, apparently, very grounding for adults as well. Such is the case with Vanessa Jones, a real estate broker who has an apartment in Harlem and owns a vacation property a mere five blocks from her childhood home in the View Park section of Los Angeles.

“My brother’s godmother lives next door,” Ms. Jones said. “It’s a very tight-knit community, a little Mayberry. I like that small-town feeling.”

Ms. Jones decided to hang on to the two-bedroom Los Angeles bungalow, originally her primary residence, as a weekend getaway when she moved to New York seven years ago.

“It was the dead of winter and I wanted to be able to get away during the cold months,” she said. “My apartment in New York isn’t that big. I enjoy going back to L.A. where I can have people over.

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Tyler Bissmeyer for The New York Times
Derek Saathoff in front of his Louisville apartment.

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Dee Marvin for The New York Times
‘PEACEFUL FEELING’ Tricia Dieringer enjoys the emotional ties of vacationing near her Delaware hometown.
“I’ve redone the house with hardwood floors, and re-landscaped. There’s a hammock and a waterfall in the back.”

Depending on her work schedule, Ms. Jones gets back home about once a month. Her mother keeps an eye on the property, and visiting family members can bunk there.

“It works out well,” she said. “I love my mother. I talk to her every day, but I can’t stay in the same hotel room or house with her. We’re very different people. With the house, I get to have my private time.”

Ms. Jones said that she could have bought something a bit closer to New York, and that she was considering buying property in the Hamptons or on Candlewood Lake in Connecticut.

“I don’t want to always fly 3,000 miles for vacation,” she said. “But then I’d have to invite all the people I love dearly to that place when they’re all in California. It works well for me to go to them.”

For Carol Zellway, a middle-school teacher in Montclair, N.J., it wasn’t that she particularly intended to buy a weekend getaway in East Hampton, her hometown. In fact, there were many handier places for her to spread her beach towel.

“I did consider the Jersey shore for a little bit because it was closer and more convenient,” she said. “I spent some time on Long Beach Island. I tried to like it.”

But all the time she tried to cozy up to the colloquially known L.B.I., Ms. Zellway found herself returning to East Hampton, even after her mother sold the family home in 1994. Finally, in 1999 she and her husband (the two have since divorced) bought a three-bedroom saltbox with a pool and skylights in the town’s Springs hamlet.

“I wanted to be back there,” said Ms. Zellway, who retained the property when the marital assets were divided. “My best friends from elementary school live in East Hampton. I still feel like a local. And being a teacher, I have summer off and can spend all of it out there.”

For some, the decision to buy in their hometown is born as much of practicality as sentimentality.

“They’re tuned in to the market and they’re also planning on returning some day and that vacation residence will become their primary residence,” said Hunter Carson Frick, a project manager for Halstead Property Development Marketing in New York. That’s exactly the plan of Ms. Dieringer and her husband in Delaware.

“We’re also finding that people who are buying in their 20s are turning to their hometowns to buy not only vacation properties but investment properties that they can rent out to build equity,” Mr. Frick said. “That way, when they’re in their 30s and continue to live in New York, they can use the money they’ve earned as a down payment on a co-op.”
A no-brainer investment — that’s how Ms. Helier characterizes her one-acre property in the Northwest Woods section of East Hampton, a retreat she visits for two or three weeks every fall and, if it hasn’t been rented out, for a month each summer. “It’s a market I know and understand,” she said.

“But,” she added, “it also had the pull of family for me. I still call the Hamptons home, though I haven’t lived there since 1976. When my mother sold the house I grew up in and retired to Florida, I felt I needed a place to come back to. I wanted to have a base there.”

Of course, watching a house increase in value isn’t the only dividend for those who buy vacation property in their hometowns. Knowing the territory often proves as useful as knowing the market.

“I know shortcuts to avoid traffic, that’s for sure,” Ms. Zellway said. “Sometimes, I’m on those back roads and there’s no one else there.”

In the Berkshires, Ms. Roche has figured out where to go to escape the tourists who flock there every summer.

“We know which restaurants won’t be crowded,” she said, mentioning the Roadside Cafe and Store in Monterey, Mass., and the Dream Away Lodge in Beckett, Mass.

For her and the others who return home, the occasional crowds, the airfare, the time spent commuting are all small prices to pay.

“It’s just such a nice lifestyle,” Mr. Saathoff said of his old — and new — Kentucky home, for which he paid just under $100,000. “My friends find it strange that I feel so deeply connected to it. They’re from similar places like Arkansas or Ohio or Michigan and couldn’t wait to leave and don’t ever want to go back.

“But I get very emotional when it’s time to leave Louisville and return to New York. It’s hard for me to go back and put on my game face.” 

Second Homes and Vacation Destinations: When Going Home Means Going on Vacation. WHEN Derek Saathoff visits his native Louisville, Ky., each month, he likes to make a long weekend of it. Continental Flight 2925 out of Newark on Thursday afternoon gets him to Louisville just before 4:30, in plenty of time for a run in a park before dinner at Mojito’s Tapas and drinks at the Pink Door, a noodle and tea lounge with a bar. Editing by Bruce Clemens

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• Maixiu Forest Farm - natural landscape area of primeval forest (0)
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Beijing scenic spots showpieces are constituted by the famous Qiniandian in the Temple of Heaven, turrets in the Forbidden City, the Foxiangge in the Summer Palace, Shiqikongqiao, the Baita in the Beihai Park and the Dashuifa in the Ruins of Yunmingyuan. They are made of glittering imitation crystal and integral metal.

The beautiful scenic spots that the Beijing scenic spots showpieces depict include wonderful and artistic turrets in the Forbidden City, splendid Foxiangge in the Summer Palace surrounded by mountains and waters, the rainbow-like Shiqikongqiao, stately and grand Qiniandian in the Temple of Heaven, charming and sentimental Dashuifa in the Ruins of Yunmingyuan, and pearl-like Baita in the Beihai Park with green hills and blue waters around. They also show magnificence and long history of the significant age-old imperial gardens in Beijing, which brings people endless fancies and aesthetic enjoyment.

Beijing Resorts: An Introduction to Beijing Scenic Spots Showpieces. Beijing scenic spots showpieces are constituted by the famous Qiniandian in the Temple of Heaven, turrets in the Forbidden City, the Foxiangge in the Summer Palace, Shiqikongqiao, the Baita in the Beihai Park and the Dashuifa in the Ruins of Yunmingyuan. They are made of glittering imitation crystal and integral metal. For More Details Contact www.iflove.com

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Beijing - Peking, New Olympics City for 2008. Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China, stands on the center of politics, economy, communications, science and culture of China. Beijing has the other name Peking, which is a city full of Tourist Spots.

Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games in August. Welcome to Beijing for the Great Olympics.

Three thousand years ago, Beijing was called Ji, an important town in northern China. During the Spring and Autumn (770-476 B. C. ) and Warring States Periods (475-221 B. C. ), it became the capital of the state of Yan. In Liao Dynasty (907-1125), it is designated as the second capital, named Nanjing, or Yanjing. In the middle of the twelfth century the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), established their main capital at Yanjing. Afterwards, dynasties down the history through Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) all set their capitals here. On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded and Beijing became the capital of the new China.

Located at the northern end of the vast North China Plain, Beijing is circled by mountains on the northwest and abuts on plains to the Southeast. Its terrain pattern of mountains to the north and plains to the south has made it a place contested by the strategists of past dynasties and a modern communications hub of Northeast and North China. Indeed it is because of its significant topography value that all dynasties spared no efforts in developing the place into one of the world’s largest metropolises and one endowed with the most historical remains.

Beijing has the world’s largest imperial palace-the Forbidden City; picturesque imperial parks such as the Summer Palace and Beihai Park; well-designed Temple of Heaven; the military project of the Great Wall meandering as long as five thousand kilometers and the superbly-constructed necropolis of the Ming Tombs.

In satisfying the requests from the vast tourists, we have especially compiled and published this album of Beijing in a Nutshell. Due to the volume limit, we only listed here part of the scenic spots in Beijing, which is just an epitome, and we hope it will serve you to your convenience and pleasure. Editing by Alice Zhou

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Sanqingshan Mountain National Park， Your Mysterious Hide-out and Charming Fairland

Category: Natural
Submission prepared by:
Ministry of Construction of People’s Republic of China 9 Sanlihe Road Beijing, 100835
Coordinates:
N 28°48′22″ - 29°00’42″ E 117°58′20″ - 118°08′28’’
Ref.: 2046

Description
Sanqing Mountain lies in the northeast of Jiangxi Province, with Yujingfei as its highest peak (altitude 1 816.9m). Sanqingshan has an area of 22 950 hm2, among which core tone covers 7 690 hm2, natural reserve zone 15 260 hm2. Besides, buffer zone surrounding it covers 14 000 hm2.

Sanqing Mountain is located at the conjunction between the Yangtze Plate and the Huaxia plate, north to it is the Jiangxi Northeast suture cincture deep fault. Ever since the Indochina movement, Sanqing has entered continent margin violent changes and Pro-Pacific Ocean structure development stage. At late Yanshan movement period, a large scale of acid magma intrude activities took place under the integrative effect of three faults in Northeast-East, North-Northeast and North-West. Sanqing were uplifted during (at) late Himalayan period. The sediment of Carbonate which deposited during the Carnbrian and Ordovician even late C, P and early Triassic was eroded more easily than the harder granite. The granite rocks were exposed as a result the granite mountains further developed their characteristic shape through erosion and dissection. Sanqing continues to be uplifted till now.

Unique geologic structure and suitable geographic environment makes Sanqing Mountain famous with its granite hill forest physiognomy. And it is a natural museum for the evolvement process of granite hill forest which is composed of with ridges and peak, apex wall, apex woods, apex pillar and stone sprout, etc. The various shapes of hills also have high aesthetic and tourism development value.

Sanqing Mountain is the product of geological history of the Earth and biological evolvement, which includes all types of China’s Mid-and Sub-tropical zone vegetation and they are in stale condition. With the increase of altitude, there are 6 vegetation cinctures by sequence, namely: indeciduous latifoliate forest, indeciduous-defoliation latifoliate forest, taiga-latifoliate forest, warm taiga,

mountainous region moss-short crooked wood, alp meadow. Besides, there are clumps and sheets of Mid-and Sub-tropical zone Protorozoic indeciduous latifoliate forest, crag-living vegetation communities and various kinds of fern. Sanqing Mountain is a typical transitional area of torrid to variable zone geographical vegetation composition, also a transitional area between Mid-east sea and ancient-north in zoological division, specially, for the large areas of East-China yellow firry wood and crag-living monkey-face-shape azalea short crooked wood it preserves that are rare in the world. Sanqing Mountain belongs to Pan-arctic pole vegetation zone, Sino-Japan forest vegetation sub-zone, Central China plant Geographical province. In Sanqing Mountain, there are 2072 kinds of

senior plant, 500 kinds of vertebrate, 1327 kinds of hexapod. Among which there are 23 genera of plants that only grow in China, including 266 kinds; Besides, then grows a local genus Qianshan bramble which is only available in this area. Within the area there are 51 species of vertebrate and butterflies, and 33 species of wild plant under state protection, such as Pseudotsuga gaussenii, Tsuga

tchekiangensis, Taxus mairei, Pseudotaxlrs chienii, Emmenopterys henryi, etc. Also there are species of wild animal under the protection, such as Mutiacus crinifrons, Neofelis nebuloas, Panthera padus, Macaca thibetana, Syrmaticus ellioti, Tragopan caboti, Mergus squamatus, Andrias duvidianus, Teinopalpus aureus, etc.

Monkey-face-shape azalea is a genus only available in Central China botanical geographical province. A large area of crag-living monkey-face-shape azalea short crooked wood ecosystem has developed in Sanqing’s granite hill forest physiognomy environment. This system is critical for the preservation of granite hill forest physiognomy and aesthetical value. It has deep biological influence on the evolvement of granite hill forest. East-Chinayellow firry is a genus only available in East-China, in Sanqing Mountain them is a large scale protistan East-Chinayellow firry forestry ecosystem, it forms inlay landscape with indeciduous latifoliate forest, thus becoming an important ecosystem type to study the interaction between the development, growth and evolvement of subtropical pine forestry ecosystem and granite hill forest physiognomy. The complete forestry ecosystem and unique biodiversity makes Sanqing a critical area in subtropical biodiversity protection.

Sanqing Mountain also preserves lots of old architecture and Taoism relics, including 230 relics including palace, temple, hall terrace, lane, pagoda, bridge, pool, well, tomb, tablet, pass, stone statue, stone carving, site, etc. These make it become natural-and-culture scenery with Chinese traditional culture, natural beauty and a large biodiversity.

Therefore, Sanqing Mountain has high geographic, aesthetics and culture value, combining fantastic natural scenery, especially the forest of granite hills scenery, and Taoism culture with thousand years of history.

Sanqingshan Mountain National Park， Your Mysterious Hide-out and Charming Fairland. Editing by Alice Wong

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Top 10 Scenic Spots of Sanqing Mountain in Jiangxi Province, China

Today we’ll lead you to Sanqing Mountain in Jiangxi Province, China. You’ll learn the Taoist Tranquilty of the beautiful tourist spot.

Longevity Park
Longevity Park is located at the southern foot of the Sanqing Mountain, the east of the cableway. In this spot, the natural shape of strange peaks and grotesque rocks and longevity are in a happy combination and a unified entity. The spot and landscape are in “Taoist natural” law. All of these are closely related with the theme of well-being and longevity. While enjoying and beautiful scenery, visitors can also gain some enlightenment in keeping with good health and long life.

West Seashore
It is a newly developed spot in Sanqing Mountain. It joins the southern natural spectacles and the northern cultural Sanqing Temple together. Throughout the journey, you can see rare landscape, such as Flower and Fruit Mountain, the Monkey King Appreciating Treasure, Guanyin Delivering children, Feixian Valley and so on. It is the best place to appreciate vast clouds and to overlook such gorges as the Primitive Forest , Feixian Valley, the Royal Family etc. In this spot, you can also see black bears, rhesus monkeys and other wild animals. The plank footpath leads you along the West Seashore for 4 km, which is built along the face of a cliff more than 1600 meters above sea level. It is the highest and longest plank footpath in China.

Yujing Pea
Yujing Peak, with an elevation of 1816.9meters, is the highest of Sanqing Mountain. It has a wide range, including Nine Heaven Yinyuan Mansion, Safflower and Tea-oil Tree Valley, Jinyu Pine Ridge, Riding Magpie Bridge, Searching Truth Terrace, Yuhua Peak, Yuxu Peak and the three peaks Fenglai. There you can overlook Feixian valley, the steep Princess valley and cloud seaa and mist waves, sunrise, treasure rays and towering strange peaks. It is impossible for one to truly appreciate Sanqing Mountain without reaching Yujing Peak.

Nanqing Park
Nanqing Park is one of the most spectacular natural landscapes, with an elevation of 1577 meters. It has a wide range of peaks and many beautiful places, spreading from Youxian Valley to Watching Clouds Terrace, including Yixiantian(a thread’s breadth to the sky), delicate rocks and grand valleys. There are also vast cloud seas, many rare peculiar peaks, delicate rocks and grand valleys. There are also vast cloud seas, many rare flowers and trees and several hundred-muazalea groves. In Yuhuang Peak, you can see generous sunrise with a good look. Among the peaks in Nanqing, there are “Sichun Goddess”, “Gigantic python Rising in the Mountain”, “Nine Dragons Joking with Phoenix”, “Taoist python Rising in the Moon”, “Yunu with Open Arms”, “An Island of Flowers”, “Beauty Peak “, “Searching for Elixir Terrace”, “Watching Clouds Terrace” and so on.

Sanqing Temple
Sanqing Temple is a place of assembly for cultural heritage and an “open-air museum ” of ancient Taoist architecture. It is located at an elevation of 1530 meters, beginning from “Wind Gate ” to “Ninth HeavenYinyuan Mansion”. There are collected the cream of the cultural relics and Taoist architecture of the Sanqing Mountain, spanning 1600 years of history.
Sanqing Temple is a good place to research the Taoist ancient Architectural design in China. It follows traditional philosophy. The art of selecting and setting obeys “Taoist natural” law and combining nature landscape and human art together. By combining craftsmanship with nature, and planning landscapes in accordance with carefully chosen shapes, Sanqing Temple fully reflects the essence of heaven, the land and human beings.

Entrance of Three Caves
The spot, stands in the west of Sanqing Mountain. Here you can probe deeply into the maze-like valley of Sanqing Mountain from the peaks. And, from different angles, you can look far into the distance to Yujing peak, the fairyland of Fenglai and Jeweled Palace, to which nothing can compare.

Stone Drum Ridge
It is located in the north east of Sanqing Mountain. It is a newly opened park, where springs and waterfalls are of great momentum. The Jade Curtain Falls , about 34by 30 meters, as an example, is one of the largest falls here. It is so named because it looks like a crystal jade curtain hanging from the heaven. What’s more, there are unique Jinsha (gold sands) basin and rhesus monkey tribe nearby. Among them, “Yunu Pond”, “Ice Jade Cave”, are spectacles of water scenery, where one can drink and wash. And the rhesus monkey tribe welcomes you to visit and play with them.

Xihua Terrace
This spot, which is located at the northern foot of the Sanqing Mt.,
is an old slab stone way climbing the Mountain dating from Song and Ming dynastide. The main character here is the poetic lyricism and picturesque concept countryside scenery, just like Taohuayuan, a beautiful dream place from the writings of Tao yuanming, a famous writer of the Jin dynasty. From Fenshui village to Wind gate, one can hear the songs of the pines and springs and gaze on thick trees and blooming flowers. While the mountain paths wind peacefully under the shade of the trees, a cool respite from the hot weather, even in midsummer. So it is praised as a “kingdom of green” and ” A cool and refreshing world”.

Yulin Temple
Yulin temple includes an area below the Wind Gate to the Jin sha (gold sands) and Longquan (dragon spring) bridge. It is the passageway in the east, and has such historic sites as Yulin Temple. In this spot, the winding mountain path rounds in the peaks and threads its way under the shape of pines and bamboos until to the mysterious Wind Gate pass, with streams and pine on all sides.

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Beijing Theatre - Record from early Qing Dynasty of China 

Beijing is the cultural centre of China. When you arrive at Beijing you can enjoy

so much of the youthful ideas, like a breath of fresh air from a modern civilization.

When you arrive in Beijing you can sample and taste the elegance and innocence of the ancient classics. The city’s inheritance as an Oriental Ancient Eastern City is more than 3000 years of recorded history and wonderful cultures.

The city is full of vitality. With more than 20 years of reform after opening up to the rest of the world and building this new modern capital.

Within the ancient and modern Capital City life is rich and colourful. The night brings such a display of colours, the streets continue as day. People that like shows will swarm into the theatres to enjoy plays, feeling the excitement and calming influence of steel and wood wind instruments and rubbed and plucked string instruments from outside and within the Orient. The people watching the play can be part of the show enjoying the different emotions of happiness, tension, fear and sorrow. Lifestyles in Beijing include such varied and optional influences.

Beijing theatres were recorded from early Qing dynasty. Until today in the Summer Palace, the emperor’s garden and Gong Qing Wang Fu, the emperor’s brother’s garden, you can still see the original arena type stages where dramas were performed.

In the Beijing of today, there are various modern styles of theatre spread everywhere around the city. There is hundreds of acting troupes and new dramas are being played every night.

When Beijing stage art is mentioned, people instantly think of Beijing’s Peking Opera, which is famous and appreciated around the world. Mei Lan Feng and the other four most famous performers, and other so famous Peking Opera maestro. The mention of operas also brings to memory, the clang of the gongs and symbols and the melody of the stringed instruments. No matter where you are in the world, when you hear these rhythms and sounds you will find the black eyes , black hair and yellow skinned dragons offspring, so recognised as Chinese. Peking opera is now a part of Chinas’ country arts. Generations of maestro have gestated from this land. Peking opera arts still blooms with vitality.

In Beijing there are so many active acting troupes such as China Peking Opera troupe, Beijing Peking Opera troupe, etc. Beijing Peking Opera troupe established in 1979, came from the Mei Lan Feng, Shang Xiao Yan, Cheng Yan Qiu and Xun Hui Sheng, “The Four Famous Performers” genre troupe and the original Beijing Peking Opera troupe. The original Beijing Peking Opera troupes main actors during this merger were, Ma Lian Liang, Zhang Jun Qiu, Tan Fu Ying, Qiu Sheng Rong and Zhao Yan Xia. The style and genre of these maestro, their historic achievements, stage and musical arts makes Beijing Peking Opera troupe the forefront of the arts. For tens of years this troupe has left an impression around the world with generations of excellent stage performances. The operas so well known and famous include; Gui Fei Zui Jiu (The high ranked imperial concubine always in the pot), Tian Nu San Hua (The girl from the sky dispels flower), Si Lang Tan Mu (The fourth son visits his mother), Xi Xiang Ji (Western wing rooms’ memories), Sun Wu Kong San Da Bai Gu Jing(Monkey’s fights and hits the lady spirit three times), etc. All these operas are the Beijing Peking troupe’s traditional reserved operas. In recent years as peoples living standards increase and peoples tastes change, the troupe adjusts and develops new operas to their tastes, such as serial opera performances like; Zai Xiang Liu Guo (Prime minister of feudal China, crooked Liu). This is an opera whose content expands to six separate stories. In the Opera the main character does not change but the adventure continues, talking about China’s Qing Dynasty Prime Ministers’ Liu Yong and He Shen with the Emperor Qian Long. The plot is quite humorous with recitals, songs and dancing in the form of Chinese Kung Fu or Chinese Martial Arts or Chinese Martial Arts is wonderful. The stage decoration to show Beijing City’s very vigorous detailed majestic and beautiful places has the characters in such locations.  This opera is one that is not easy to compare within recent years.

Cai Wen Ji (Name) Tells the story of a Chinese ladies poetic devious fate with beautiful aria and appealing scenarios.

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Besides Peking Opera within Beijing there are dramas, Ping Opera, Kun Qu Opera, Bang Zi Opera, Qu Opera, etc. There is such a variety of many arts.

Chang An Da Xi Yuan (Great Chang An Theater), located on Chang An street is one of the main performance locations for Beijing Peking Opera troupe. This is Beijing’s and China’s most famous and important Peking Opera locations. To book this location to perform requires at least six months notice. Every Spring Festival, Beijing Peking Opera troupe will perform a new production and introduce a new opera to the audience.

Drama came to China over one century ago. Until today there is more than one hundred years of history. In Beijing the people are most aware of the Beijing People Art theatre and the newly set up China National Drama theatre.

Beijing has a small theatre called Beijing Ren Yi. Here almost every day there are new dramas and Small Theatre Peking Operas, Small Theatre Traditional Operas and Small Theatre Traditional Kun Opera. Near this small theatre is the Capital Theatre famous for always having Beijing People Art Theatre troupes drama performances.

The Beijing People Art Theatre troupe has over 50 years history and is not only famous in Beijing but across China as a symbol of quality Drama arts. The troupe trains large quantities of excellent directors and actors, but produces lots of famous dramas, not only for China but around the world. The famous playwright Cao Yu’s dramas (Lei Yu, Thunder storm), (Ri Chu, Sunrise), (Beijing Ren, Beijing people) and famous playwrights Lao She dramas (Cha Guan, Tea house), etc are most famous and are always being shown and always very popular.

Ping Ju Opera is a kind of popular traditional opera from North China with over one hundred years history. In Beijing the largest troupe is called China Ping Ju Opera troupe. Ping Ju Operas aria is of a folk style and is popular as it portrays real life situations. In recent years China Ping Ju Opera troupe has re-edited transcriptions of Lao She’s famous novel called Luo Tuo Xiang Zi (A young mans name) to Ping Ju Opera called Xiang Zi (Boy’s name) and Hu Niu (Girl’s name). Another transformed recent novel to Ping Ju Opera is Lu Hung’s novel, Pin Zui Zhang Da Min De Xing Fu Sheng Huo (Zhang Da Min rambling on about his happy life). The two novels transformed into Ping Ju Operas are very popular with the audiences. The Troupe has a large repertoire, including winner of the Universal Praise, Hua Wei Mei (Matchmaking intentions using flowers), Yang San Jie Gao Zhuang (Miss Yang the third child takes court action), etc. China Ping Ju’s large theatre is located in the South part of Beijing and the China Ping Ju Opera troupe uses this as their special performance venue.

When we mention China’s excellent traditional cultural arts, then Kun Qu Opera must be noted. This is one of China’s earlier traditional operas noted before Peking Opera. Its beautiful aria and dancing always makes people elated. During 2001 it was defined by the “United Nations’ Science and Education organisation” as “human eloquence and non substance heritage literature”.

North Kun Qu Theatre is the only one in Beijing for playing this type of opera. There are hundreds of repertoires, such as Mu Dan Ting (Peony rose pavilion), Pi Pa Ji (Reminiscence of the lute), etc. These belong to the troupes rich properties. In 2000 the troupe produced and performed a large type of Kun Qu singing and dancing opera called Gui Fei Dong Du (High ranked imperial concubine goes to the east), this story describes Yang Gui Fei and Japan’s envoy, A Bu Zhong Ma Lu, during the Tang Dynasty and the Japanese’ queens moving story. This is a tribute to the traditional friendship between the two countries. The opera was also repeated during 2001 in Japan to their complementary and welcoming enjoyment.

In China there are a tremendous amount of folk arts including puppet shows.

Puppets include string, stick, cloth bag and human costume. The China Puppet art Troupe’ uses various kinds of puppets during their performances and attract tens of thousands of children. Every holiday the children go to the puppet theatre to appreciate the arts specially made for the children’s enjoyment. When they have seen the performances the children like to buy their own puppets to use at home. China Puppet Troupe portray famous international works for the children’s enjoyment, including; Pinocchio, Mermaid, Monkey, etc. which the children welcome and enjoy.

Beijing stage has another special troupe for children called Beijing Children’s Art Troupe. This is heaven for children and is located within a tree rich area called Qi Se Guang Theatre (Seven Colours). Here the children can see a lot of beautiful performances. A repertoire called Men Suan Men Bi Er He Sao Zhou (Door latch and broom) has been performed hundreds of times.

He Bei Bang Zhi is also popular in North China village areas. Beijing He Bei Bang Zhi troupe’s aria is clear and energetic, with mainly the actress having the singing role lamenting these stories. The typical operas include Wang Bao Chuan (Persons Name) and Qing Feng Ting (Prevailing Fresh Wind Pavilion), etc. During 2002 this year they were invited to Greece to perform the operas’ adapted from the ancient Greek tragedies Antigone and Thebes City. These two operas had resounding success and were called a perfect combination between the Chinese traditional arts and ancient Greek tragedies set to Opera style.

Beijing Qu Ju Opera is the youngest of Beijing’s large operas. The Opera comes from Beijing Qu Yi and over the past 50 years the Beijing Qu Ju Opera troupe have produced and performed many operas transcribed from Mr Lao She’s works, such as Cha Guan (Tea House), Long Xu Gou (Dragons Beard path), Si Shi Tong Tang (Four Generations living in the one garden), etc.

China Juggling troupe, is Chinas most famous juggling arts troupe. They produce and perform juggling displays’ that always wins the International Golden prize. They have large performances in the evening called Zhong Hua Hun (Spirit of China). Zhong Hua Hun combines juggling with dancing and singing for a new style, interesting stage show to win the only Golden Prize from the first Chinese Juggling festival.

Beijing Singing and Dancing troupe has a lot of famous singing and dancing artists. In 2001 they produced and performed a large dancing show depicting the story of Qing Tian Hen Hai Yuan Ming Yuan (Story based at the large emperors palace Yuan Ming Yuan). This is a beautiful dancing show with a fulfilment of emotion through the accompanying music of a sad love story.

Han Deng Da Gu is a traditional Qu Yi Chinese Opera. It is one kind of Chinese traditional where the singers keep burning candles in their mouth as they sing. Their mouth must hold the candle but the singer must be clear in the pronunciation.

In Beijing Stage Arts, not only at theatres but at the square, parks and other public places, the people having the same interests gather to produce their own entertainment, singing and dancing or playing musical instruments for the benefit of all.

Along East Chang An Street you can see the famous Peoples Meeting Hall. Every year, Beijing Symphony Orchestra performs the large New Year Concert with musical and singing and dancing shows.

At the front of the Peoples Meeting Hall is the grand Zhong Shan Park. Located in the beautiful garden is the modern constructed Zhong Shan Park concert hall. Here the famous Beijing Symphony Orchestra will every year devote legendary concerts to their audience.

Near to and echoing the Zhong Shan park concert hall, is the China National Large theatre hall, still under construction, to be completed in the near future, will have first quality facilities to assist the best quality shows for the people.

In Beijing every year there is not only Beijing City performers but also international companies taking part in the international cultural exchange.

As the human being steps into the twenty first century, Beijing Stage Arts will also fly to the world stage to let people know and understand Beijing and China. Beijing will open their hearts and demonstrate their hospitality to welcome the international artists to Beijing. Beijing’s stage will be housed by the rainbow of new beginnings for our spiritual exchanges.

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Today, we recommend Sanqing Mountain as the best tourist spot. We’ll climb the fairy hills to see immortals.

If you want to find a good mountain, follow the Taoists. Eager to find a tranquil place to cultivate themselves and to meet the immortals, they are regular visitors of beautiful mountains.

Sanqing Mountain in Jiangxi Province, although not very well-known to many people today, was regarded as a sacred place for Taoists in the Tang Dynasty period (618-907), when Taoism was at its most popular. The mountain remained very popular among people seeking immortality until the 18th century, when Emperor Qianlong preferred Buddhism to Taoism.

Since the ancient times, Sanqing Mountain’s fame as a Taoist resort has faded, but its natural beauty remains. Stay on the mountain for a day, and you will understand why ancient Taoist master Ge Hong (284-364) made pills of immortality here more than 1,700 years ago.

With beautiful clouds, mist and strange-shaped pine trees, Sanqing Mountain is a fairyland far from the hustle and bustle of city life.

The mountain is shrouded in mist for about 200 days each year. On misty days, dense fog envelops the mountain completely and makes you think you are wandering in the clouds. Once in a while, wind blows away the mist, and a stiff, imposing peak suddenly appears right in front of you. Sometimes you can even see the fog creep up on you, gently penetrating the pine trees on the cliff.

About 80 percent of Sanqing Mountain is covered by primeval forests. More than 2,500 kinds of plants exist here, most of which can be used to make traditional Chinese medicine.

Because it has plenty of clouds, the mountain is an excellent place to watch the sun rise and set. Huge clouds become splendidly red, as if half the sky were on fire.

Pine trees on Sanqing Mountain are as beautiful as those on Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province, where they are regarded as the most beautiful in China. Many pine trees on the mountain are more than 100 years old. Many years of exposure to wind, sunshine and rain have twisted their branches and wrinkled their trunks and bark, which has given them strength and charm like old men’s wisdom.

A 500-year-old pine tree on the 1,500-meter-high Yutai platform is a good example of the mountain’s pine trees. The tree is 1.1 meters in perimeter and three meters in height. Its branches twist like a snake, while its roots are anchored deep in the narrow gaps between rocks.

Like most mountains, the most beautiful view is from the summit of Sanqing Mountain, though the 1,800-meter-high mountain peak has remained inaccessible to ordinary tourists until recently because it is very rugged and steep.

In 1995, a cable car was built to take tourists up to about 1,600 meters high. From 1,600 meters to the peak, a concrete path was built along the sheer rock face. Walking on the path — said to be the highest tourist trail in the world — is an exciting experience. On one side the cliffs rise sheer above you, while on the other side a deep valley falls below you. But for the handrail, one would easily fall a thousand meters to the foot of the rock face.

Travel tips on Sanqing Mountain

To go to Sanqing Mountain, take a train to Shangrao or Yingtan station in Jiangxi Province and transfer to the mountain by bus. There is no direct train from Shenzhen and you have to take a train in Guangzhou Railway Station or East Guangzhou station.

Recommended trains: K48, which starts at 9:14 a.m. from Guangzhou Railway Station and arrives at Shangrao at 1:46 a.m. the next morning; K210, which leaves Guangzhou Railway Station at 2:58 p.m. and arrives at Shangrao at 7:43 a.m. the next day, and 2091, which leaves Guangzhou East Railway Station at 1:12 p.m. and arrives at Yingtan at 5:47 a.m. the next morning.

To watch sunrise, stay near Yuntai Platform. The best seasons for watching sunsets are autumn and winter, when there is less rainfall.

Take warm coats with you even in summertime, as it might be quite cold in early mornings and late evenings. Moreover, the area is famous for its local fish, chicken, tea and pears.

OK, now let’s climb the Sanqing Mountain to seek the beautiful wonderland. Don’t you miss it? Let’s go.

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