Author: Carey

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a large forest park with beautiful scenery, high mountains and steep peaks. Although the road signs are somewhat unclear, there are many volunteers and staff to help explain the situation. The toilets in the scenic spots are also clean and tidy. Tickets for the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park are valid for 4 days, and there is plenty of time to play.

Mountains in Zhangjiajie are indeed very strange and unique. If you really understand that aesthetics is to travel instead of taking pictures, you will not be visually tired because each angle has different beauty. When you enjoy such beautiful scenery and feel the magic of the nature, and breathe the fresh air, all the hard work is worth it! Zhangjiajie is a place worthy of your visit and you can feel its beauty with your eyes.

When you make your trip there, you have to admire that the landscape of hundreds of millions of years is really spectacular! But it is really tried to play there, so you can take the ropeway and sightseeing car. If your time is available, you can see the sunrise in the old house field and view the misty scene. It is no doubt that the rewards of nature are not inferior in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The landforms are the same, but you will be shocked by the magic of nature. Yangjiajie and Wulingyuan Scenic Areas are all good, Huangshizhai is just so so, the Golden Whip Brook is crystal clear, and the water is very cool. Before you make your trip to the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, it is recommended to go to fitness for a month before, especially the leg movement!

You can sense the special beauty of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park when you go there in rainy days. You can see the scenery surrounded by clouds. It is convenient to live in the mountains, as you can save the time to queue up for the next day, and the scenery in the mountains is beautiful in the morning. As the first national forest park in China, its beauty cannot be described, in short, the air is very fresh. Don’t hesitate to make your tour to the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

Barkhor Street

Barkhor Street is the ancient street centered on the Jokhang Temple. The Tibetan people are here to worship Buddha. Most of the streets retain the style of the ancient streets. If you want to know about the traditional Tibetan style, just go to the Barkhor Street. Leaving the main road, all the lanes of Barkhor Street can give you different surprises. You can walk into an old street, and you will find they are all Tibetans chanting. There is no tourist. It is forbidden to take pictures there. It is like the epitome of Lhasa in the past. The only difference is that there are no three lords, no serfs and nobles.

Barkhor Street is famous for two aspects. First of all, it is a famous small commodity city. There are many kinds of goods. It is the combination of Chinese and Western, and the price is very cheap, it is a good place to buy Tibetan tourist souvenirs. Secondly, you can see the Jokhang Temple and the Potala Palace worshippers. It is recommended that everyone experience it if time is available. If you don’t have time, don’t be reluctant. After all, there are too many beautiful sceneries in Tibet.

For Lhasa Barkhor Street, what the most worth seeing here is the famous Yellow House and Makye Ame, which is the meaning of “unmarried mother” in Tibetan. Behind this name it is a beautiful love story, and the love poems from the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, have been passed down till today.

Barkhor Street is located in the old city of Lhasa. It is the famous circumanbulation and commercial center of Lhasa, which preserves the traditional appearance and living style of the ancient city. The original street of Barkhor Street is just a single circumanbulation around the Jokhang Temple. The Tibetans call it the “Holy Road”. If you are to visit Lhasa, you can take your trip to the Barkhor Street.

Jokhang Temple

Jokhang Temple is the landmark building in the center of Lhasa, you can see the Jokhang Temple Square from the Golden Summit of the Jokhang Temple. On the far right, it is the Potala Palace. The nearby willow tree is the “Princess Willow”. It is said that it was planted by Princess Wencheng. The layout of the Jokhang Temple is different from that of the Buddhist temples of Han Dynasty. The main hall is located on the east side and faces the west side. The main hall is four stories high and has a matching hall on both sides. The layout structure reproduces the ideal mode of the universe in the Mandala city in Buddhism. The halls in the temple mainly include the Sakyamuni Hall, the Tsongkhapa Masters Hall, the Songtsan Gampu Temple, the Bandan Ram Temple (the Dharmapala of Gelugpai God), and the Tibetan King Hall etc. Due to the tourist season, many halls are not open to the public. It is only open to general tourists at 14:00 o’clock in the afternoon. Tickets for Jokhang Temple are 85 yuan. It is recommended to check the introduction of each hall in the Jokhang Temple in advance so that you can gain more.

The interior of the Jokhang Temple is not allowed to take pictures. It is shocking. Only when you feel it yourself can you experience it. There is no time limit for visiting the Jokhang Temple. You don’t need an ID card when you buy tickets. The security check is also much better than the Potala palace. In the morning, there are many believers who worship, and among them, people will feel the power of faith. You can listen to the tour guide to explain it, or else you can only watch a lively event. The second and third floors of the Jokhang Temple can be visited, and you can take photos as you like. It is good to sit on the second floor for a rest after the tour.

The religious atmosphere of the Jokhang Temple is very heavy. There are some worshipers everywhere, it is very sacred and solemn. Come to Tibet and come to Lhasa, where you can feel the charm of Tibetan Buddhism very closely.

Drepung Monastery

Located in the foothills of the western suburbs of Lhasa, Drepung Monastery is the largest temple in Tibetan Buddhism. The temple’s architectural complex is large in scale, with white houses and red palaces lined up on the mountainside. From afar, it looks like a huge pile of rice. The photos of Drepung Monastery taken on the mountainside are very spectacular. It is the highest-ranking temple in the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The interior architecture is atmospheric and magnificent, which is full of many beautiful treasures, and the Monk’s debate ceremony can be watched there.

Visiting Drepung Monastery must firstly arrive at the mountain gate of Drepung Monastery. In front of the mountain gate, you can see that the temple is in the middle of the mountain. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, facing the Lhasa River. The buildings are layered spectacularly, which looks like a white mountain city. After entering the Drepung Monastery, you can see the Tibetan architecture in the temple at a close distance. The houses are all surrounded by white walls, and the halls along the Golden Summit are scattered. They are all Tibetan characteristics. The temples in Tibet are different from that of the Han dynasty in the mainland. They are not symmetrically arranged in the central axis, but scattered in the mountains. They can be viewed clockwise along the road. The total circumference of Drepung Monastery is about 2 kilometers, and it is not tired even though you visit there by walking. Winding around the temple clockwise is also a way to pray for yourself to accumulate good business.

Drepung Monastery has the highest status in the temple of the Gelug Sect in Tibetan Buddhism. It has caught the attention of the Dalai Lama and is presided over the construction. The halls of each temple are majestic. Among them, the temple’s large hall has 183 columns, featuring the beautiful carvings on the column. The Buddha statues in the temple are solemn and noble, and there are also a large number of exquisite art treasures such as Thangka, pile embroidery and murals, which can be seen one by one there.

Shanghai Old Street

Shanghai Old Street, starts from Henan South Road in the west, to Renmin Road in the east, with a total length of 825 meters. In fact, the old street is next to the business district of Yu Garden. You can go to the old street by visiting the Yu Garden and the Chenghuang Temple.

If you come down from the Bund 16 shop wharf, take the Zhongshan East Road and Renmin Road to Shanghai Old Street (east exit), it only takes 5 minutes; if you enter the old street from Henan South Road, there is a big archway at the entrance, and there are four characters of “Shanghai Old Street” on the main entrance or on the top of the counter gate. On both sides of the old street, there are shops, featuring a variety of goods, as well as gold jewelry collection trading center, teahouses, halls, galleries and so on.

Here, we strongly recommend an old brand store for you: “Shanghai Old Street Shishi Tofu Store” (Address: No. 454-456, Fangbin Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai). Xi Shi Tofu Store is suitable for leisure time and casual eating. Although the store is not big, it is very popular, there are chopped green onion tofu, Huizhou tofu, stinky tofu, all kinds of noodles at the prices of ¥9-12/bowl, and the small steamer bun taste good, which costs ¥10/ Cage.

Address: Fangzhu Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai (Renmin Road to Henan South Road)

Traffic information: you can take the No.11, 26, 55, 64, 65, 66, 71, 220, 576, 920, 930, 736, 801, 715, 868, 926, 929, 969 bus.

Or you can take the Line 9 of the Metro Line to Xiaonanmen Station, the Line 8 of the Metro Line to Laoximen Station, and Line 10 of the Metro Line to Yuyuan Station.

When you have a visit there, it seems to be crossing the time tunnel, and be back to 100 years ago.

Three Gorges Dam

The cruise ship stops at Huangling Temple and then you can visit the Three Gorges Dam, which is the world’s largest hydropower project. To enter the Three Gorges Dam tourist area, you must first go to the tourist transfer center to take the tourist area sightseeing car to enter the Three Gorges Dam tourist area, and people and luggage must undergo strict security checks to ensure the safety of the Three Gorges Dam. The Three Gorges Dam Tourist Area has three sightseeing spots, namely Tanziling, 185 viewing platform and interception memorial garden. Tanziling is the best location for the panoramic view of the Three Gorges Dam. According to the lecturer, the Three Gorges Dam project includes the main building and diversion project, with a total length of 2308m and a dam height of 185m. The total investment of the project is 95.46 billion yuan.

The Three Gorges Hydropower Station has become the world’s largest water power station and clean energy production base. It shows the wisdom of the Chinese people and benefits a lot of people.

Here are some tips for your trip to Three Gorge Dam:

1, the ticket for the Three Gorges Dam is free of charge, but the fare for taking the car is 35 Yuan, and self-driving car can only park in the parking lot. 2, it is recommended to go there in good weather, or you cannot see the majesty of the dam. 3, the permanent ship lock can be experienced by boat, it will take a long time, and keep patient. 4, when you look at the ship lock at Tanziling, there is a hand-held elevator up the mountain, which is very convenient. And you can look at the upstream of the dam at 185 observation deck, which is next to the station where you transfer, don’t miss it. You can look at the front view of the dam at the interception park. If you catch the flood discharge, it will be perfect. 5, Self-driving car entering into the dam should apply for a pass, and do remember to bring a driver’s license and driving license.

Shibaozhai

Shibaozhai is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River in Zhongxian County, Chongqing, which is 45 kilometers from Zhongxian County. Therefore, there is a huge stone of more than ten feet high near the River. According to legend, the colorful stone left by the Nvwa Goddess is called Shibao. Therefore, the stone shape is like a jade, also known as: Yuyin Mountain. In the Ming Dynasty, Tan Hong was uprising. He once occupied the cottage, and Shi Baozhai was named after it. Shibaozhai is built on the Yuyin Mountain, and it stands out from the mountain and has a strange shape. It consists of Zhai gate, Zhai body and attic (Zhaiding Shic ha).

It has 12 floors and all-wood structure. It was built in the Ming Dynasty and was originally built for 9 floors. It implies the meaning of “Nine Heavens”. The top three floors were built when the building was repaired in 1956. The top of the village is built with the ancient temple, with the rock as the wall. There is a huge mural on the wall of the main hall, which is the story of the Goddess Mending the Sky. At the bottom of the picture, there is a stone that looks like Shibaozhai. In the apse of the ancient temple, there is a stone hole, the mouth is as big as a cup, called “flowing rice hole.” There are three groups of sculptures in the village.

The ancient temple in the top of the village is named “Lan Ruo Hall”; there is a simple and elegant Shibao Street under the village. Shibaozhai is also one of the few remaining wooden structures in China, and is known as “one of the eight singular buildings in the world”.

Time reference for visiting: 1-3 hours

Transportation to the Shibaozhai: In Chongqing Chaotianmen Traffic Square Bus Station you can take a long-distance bus or take a speedboat at Chaotianmen Wharf for 4 hours to reach Zhongxian County, and at Zhongxian Bus Station, transfer to the bus to Shibaozhai.

Ticket: 50 yuan / person, half-ticket for the elderly over 60 years old, free for children under 1.3 meters, full ticket for children over 1.3 meters

Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 18:00 p.m. from Monday to Sunday.

Xi’an Big Wild Goose Pagoda Travel Guide

Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located in the southern Cixi Temple in the city. Dacien Temple is the most magnificent royal temple in Chang’an City in the Tang Dynasty. It was built in the Taizong Period of the Tang Dynasty. It was built by the Prince Li Zhi in order to remember his mother, and was hosted by Xuan Zang as the “first presiding”. During the period, the Master supervised the construction of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Master Xuan Zang translated the Buddhist scriptures and carried forward the Dharma in the Da Ci’en Temple for 11 years, and created the Buddhist “Xiang Wei Shi Zong”, which made the Da Ci En Temple become the ancestral court of the Wei Shi Zong (also known as “Fa Xiang Zong”). During the period, in order to worship the images and relics that were returned from India, the Master personally built the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Today’s Dacien Temple was built on the basis of the “West Tower” of the original temple in the Ming Dynasty. The existing temples are mostly Qing Dynasty architecture. The main building on the central axis of the temple is the Daxiong Hall, the Fatang, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Xuanzang Three Collection Hall. Among them, the top bones of the Buddha and the Xuan Zang Masters, which were enshrined in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Xuanzang Three-Collection Hall, are the treasures of the Dacien Temple.

East of the central axis of the temple is the pagoda garden, in which there are nine stupas, dedicated to the nine monks since the Qing dynasty.

There are squares in the north and south of the temple. It is also surrounded by scenic spots such as Shaanxi museum and Tang Paradise.

If you want to go to the north square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda at night to see the night view of music fountain, you’d better arrive in advance, or you may not be able to get into the crowd, and you can only watch from afar. The peak season of the scenic spot will be adjusted every year. The exact time can be consulted by telephone at that time.

Shennong Stream

When you make your trip to the Shennong Stream, you can also go to the Tianyan Tourist Area and go to the swallow cave to see the variant of the marine animal 100 billion years ago – the short-nosed swiftlet. Today, at your feet is a piece of virgin forest and mountain, and hundreds of millions of years ago, here is the rough sea, so you can experience the feeling of the sea to change into a mulberry field. Of course, the green mountain and the clear water in other tourist areas in the forest area will definitely make your trip enjoyable there, and there are clear streams everywhere, and various wild flowers in the mountains, and the air is full of fresh smell of grass and wood. You can also walk through the valley’s tourist trails, through canyons and peaks to enjoy the fun there (some of the scenic areas also allow self-driving).

The forest area will be heavily snowed in the annual winter season. Some areas in the tourist areas will be closed after heavy snowfall. For example, the Shennongding tourist area only opens the scenic gate-watch tower area after the annual snowfall; Tianyan tourist area will close its regular scenic area during part of the winter every year, and only the ski resorts in the tourist area will be open. Because the annual climate is different, the area and time period that are closed each year are also different. Please call the forest area for consultation and confirmation before going to the Shennong Stream.

If you want to play the main tourist areas (and surrounding attractions) in the Shennong Stream forest area, it will take at least three days.

D1: Play Xiangxiyuan Scenic Spot and Guanmen Mountain. Stay in Muyu Town that night.

D2: Play the entire Shennongding tourist area. Stay in Muyu Town that night. If you are driving by car, you can drive to Hongping Town in the north.

D3: Visit Hongping Gallery and Tianyan Tourist Area.

Wu Gorge

Among the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, the Wu Gorge is the most beautiful and deepest, and is known for its delicate beauty. It is like a winding gallery. The peaks are full on both sides of the Wu Gorge, the most famous peak of the 12 peaks is the goddess peak, as well as the Golden Helmet Gorge and Tieguan Gorge; besides, the Shennong River and Daning River are also beautiful. When you take the boat to Wuxia, you will find that the scenery changes constantly along the way. After the Three Gorges Dam is filled with water, the Wu Gorge still remains beautiful.

One of the highlights of the play of the Wu Gorge is the viewing of the red leaves of Wushan. The best viewing time is from November to January of the following year. The best shooting location is not on the Three Gorges cruise ship, but near the Qingshi Town opposite the Shennv Peak. You can stay at the Qingshi Town Inn, then ask the innkeeper for the uphill route and the best location for taking pictures of the red leaves of Wushan.

When you make a trip to Wu Gorge, you must ride the cruise ship of the Three Gorges to experience the depths of the Wu Gorge and the peaks there. When the cruise ship passes through the Wu Gorge in the evening, it is the most beautiful time of the Wu Gorge. The early morning and the evening are also the most beautiful time of the Wu Gorge. It is like a winding gallery, which is full of poetry and love. The famous 12 peaks of Wushan are located on both sides of the river, and the twelve peaks are especially famous for the goddess peak. The small stone pillar on the peak is like a slim girl. She is the first to greet the morning glow and finally send away the sunset glow.

The best viewing season of Wu Gorge (including Qutang Gorge and Xiling Gorge) is the autumn and winter season, and the red leaves of Wushan in the late autumn are fascinating.