We left Florence to Pisa by train. It was a short ride of about one and a half hour. We walked into yet another famous postcard scene again – the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), one of the main centres for Medieval art in the world. The square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site…
UNESCO World Heritage
Rome is not built in a day; we combed it in a day! [part 1]
In Rome, we stayed in Pensione Ottaviano Hostel, which is only a short walk to St Peter’s Square. We got ourselves a six-bedder dorm in this pleasant hostel occupied by youths from all over the world. An American youth told us she worked in the hostel to make some money to tour in Europe. Perhaps…
Rome is not built in a day; we combed it in a day! [part 2]
Leaning Tower is to Pisa as Colosseum is to Rome. The mighty Colosseum is the largest elliptical amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire and one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. When we think of Colosseum, we think of the brave gladiators who fought for their lives. Admission to Colosseum is…
Fairyland Jiuzhaigou
I made my trip to Jiuzhaigou in the spring month of March in 2006 and the stunning beauty of the fairyland were photographed to leave fond memories here. Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) is a valley, a nature reserve and is 330 km north of the provincial capital of Chengdu, Sichuan province of China . It is part…
The Jiuzhaigou Therapy I
The Jiuzhaigou Valley, with rich forest resources, has more than 10,000 negative oxygen ions per cubic metre of air and can be as high as 80,000. In Beijing, on the other hand, has only 1,000 negative oxygen ions per cubic metre of air on a good quality air day. We were told that it’s the…
Leshan Giant Buddha / 乐山大佛
The Leshan Giant Buddha (乐山大佛) is the world’s largest statue of a Buddha carved out of a cliff and faces Mount Emei (we visited Mt Emei later). The Giant Buddha, standing at 71 metres, was built during the Tang Dynasty. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The Leshan Giant…
Mt. Huangshan / 黄山游记 (day 1)
“五岳归来不看山，黄山归来不看岳” is a famous proverb to describe the beauty of Huangshan in comparison with the five other famous sacred mountains in China. It means after visiting the five superb sacred mountains, you won’t want to visit any other mountains; but after returning from Mt. Huangshan, you won’t wish to visit the five sacred mountains. The…
Mt. Huangshan / 黄山游记 (day 2)
The bizzare pines, absurd stones, sea of clouds and hot springs are the four wonders of Mt. Huangshan. For thousands of years till now, Chinese painters have been inspired by Mt. Huangshan for its mesmerizing sceneries. There are pines growing everywhere in Mt. Huangshan, even on the crevices of the cliffs. The pines growing from…
