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An amazing insight into the most populous and enigmatic countries on the planet...3 billion people and counting. Read more
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  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    KungFu Fighting

    June 16, 2017 in China ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Kung fu fighting equipment as the guy that owned the house was a martial artist and we saw a picture of him doing a two finger push up.
    Kung Fu, an ancient sport popular in China, has a very long history, during which a variety of skills were created and massively improved. Originated from the hunting and defense needs in the primitive society (over 1.7 million years ago – 21st century BC), it at first only included some basic skills like cleaving, chopping, and stabbing. Later the system of Kung Fu formed and developed mainly as the fighting skills from the Xia Dynasty (21st - 17th century BC) to the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), and reached its peak during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911). In modern times, it develops well and becomes not just martial skills or physical movement. It is also a way for keeping fit, entertainment, and performance.
    We also got an opportunity to see some “tame” Chinese street art which was quite heavily censored and typically “state” friendly. Sometimes it could be just better to be a chilled out pooch with poor eye sight :).    Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Travelling to Xi'an

    June 16, 2017 in China ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, the city of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational centre of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and space exploration. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 9 districts and 4 counties. As of 2018 Xi'an has a population of 12,005,600, and the Xi'an–Xianyang metropolitan area a population of 12.9 million. It is the most populous city in Northwest China, as well as one of the three most populous cities in Western China, the other two being Chongqing and Chengdu. In 2012, it was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities, or megalopolises, in China.

    The most influential religions in Xi'an are the Chinese traditional religion and Taoist schools, represented by many major and minor temples. Among these there are a City God Temple, completely reconstructed in the 2010s, and a Temple of Confucius.    Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Xi'an

    June 16, 2017 in China

    Xi'an also known as Sian, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain in northwest China, it is one of the oldest cities in China, and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

    Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, the city of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational centre of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and space exploration. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 9 districts and 4 counties. As of 2018 Xi'an has a population of 12,005,600, and the Xi'an–Xianyang metropolitan area a population of 12.9 million. It is the most populous city in Northwest China, as well as one of the three most populous cities in Western China, the other two being Chongqing and Chengdu. In 2012, it was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities, or megalopolises, in China.    Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Learning to Write Chinese

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Chinese characters are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. They have been adapted to write a number of other Asian languages. They remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as kanji. Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world.[5] By virtue of their widespread current use in East Asia, and historic use throughout the Sinosphere, Chinese characters are among the most widely adopted writing systems in the world by number of users. Chinese characters number in the tens of thousands, though most of them are minor graphic variants encountered only in historical texts.

    According to legend, Chinese characters were invented by Cangjie, a bureaucrat under the legendary Yellow Emperor. Inspired by his study of the animals of the world, the landscape of the earth and the stars in the sky, Cangjie is said to have invented symbols called zì (字) – the first Chinese characters. The legend relates that on the day the characters were created, people heard ghosts wailing and saw crops falling like rain.    Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Cultural Revolution & Gang of 4

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The Cultural Revolution, formally the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China from 1966 until 1976. Launched by Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the Communist Party of China, its stated goal was to preserve Chinese Communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, and to re-impose Mao Zedong Thought (known outside China as Maoism) as the dominant ideology in the Communist Party of China. The Revolution marked Mao's return to a position of power after a period of less radical leadership to recover from the failures of the Great Leap Forward, whose leftist policies led to a famine and approximately 30 million deaths only five years earlier. The Cultural Revolution paralyzed China politically, damaged its economy and society, and killed an estimated 500,000 to 2,000,000 people.

    The Gang of Four controlled the power organs of the Communist Party of China through the later stages of the Cultural Revolution, although it remains unclear which major decisions were made by Mao Zedong and carried out by the Gang, and which were the result of the Gang of Four's own planning.

    The Gang of Four, together with general Lin Biao who died in 1971, were labeled the two major "counter-revolutionary forces" of the Cultural Revolution and officially blamed by the Chinese government for the worst excesses of the societal chaos that ensued during the ten years of turmoil. Their downfall on October 6, 1976, a mere month after Mao's death, brought about major celebrations on the streets of Beijing and marked the end of a turbulent political era in China.

    Their fall did not amount to a rejection of the Cultural Revolution as such. It was organized by the new leader, Premier Hua Guofeng, and others who had risen during that period. Significant repudiation of the entire process of change came later, with the return of Deng Xiaoping at the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and Hua's gradual loss of authority.    Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Xian

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Xi'an also known as Sian, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain in northwest China, it is one of the oldest cities in China, and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

    Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It was built in 652 during the Tang dynasty and originally had five stories. The structure was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and its exterior brick facade was renovated during the Ming dynasty.    Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Xian (continued)

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ 30 °C

    Some more parts of Xi’an including a large lake full of fish and some lovely gardens which were a prelude to visiting the museum.

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Xi'an Museum

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ 30 °C

    The museums in China are generally well maintained and this one was no exception.
    One of the more interesting aspects was the wooden model of the old battlements of the ancient city although it was fascinating to see the city laid out as in old times as it was one of China’s biggest and most powerful regions in years gone by.Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Xi'an Historical Artifacts

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ 30 °C

    Some more historical artifacts including gold coins and a form of rickshaw used back in the day to travel around and see the city. Perhaps the equivalent of our modern day taxis?

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Old Xi'an City

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ 0 °C

    Xi'an became a cultural and political centre of China in the 11th century BC with the founding of the Zhou dynasty. The capital of Zhou was established in the twin settlements of Fengjing (丰京) and Haojing, together known as Fenghao, located southwest of contemporary Xi'an. The settlement was also known as Zhōngzhōu to indicate its role as the capital of the vassal states. In 770 BC, the capital was moved to Luoyang due to political unrest.Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Xi’an City Citadel

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ 31 °C

    A feature of the old city of Xi’an are the immense walls that protect the old city precinct. The sheer height and width of these walls are extraordinary.
    Atop the wall it is possible to ride bikes and it would be approx 25 metres across and I would estimate about 50-60 metres high which made the city very difficult to attack.
    There were also beautiful gardens in and around the wall.    Read more

  • BronzeChinaTraveler

    Xi’an

    June 17, 2017 in China ⋅ 31 °C

    Some more photos of the wall of the old city and some further insight into the size of the structure.
    Because of the issue of air pollution China has a big focus on using bicycles to get around and this was also very obvious in Beijing.
    As you can see they usually have to have lots of bikes!    Read more

    Trip end
    June 24, 2017
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