Silk Road

        The camel acted as an efficient means to carry goods across the desert. Even today, you can come across camel caravans on the ancient silk road.

        A special vehicle Donkey Cart still remains the preferred and most popular mode of transport for locals. Try to take a ride and taste the real life of Xinjiang.

        Xinjiang_Turpan_flaming_mountain_with_tiny_muslim_shrine Flaming Mountain, just as its name hints, is hot all the year round. The red sandstones of the mountain glitter as if on fire in the glaring sunlight.

        Turpan is known as a land of grapes. The Grape Valley is abundant in white seedless grapes, Mare teat grapes, Rose red grapes, and preserved grapes as well as grape wines, thus winning the place acclaim as the sweetest place.

        Take a stroll through the International Grand Bazaar is an impressive experience, which offers a glimpse of the real life of local Uighurs.

        Even though Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves have been seriously damaged, the remainder of the murals are still delicate and colorful.

Impression West Lake

An old Chinese saying goes that there is a paradise in heaven, Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth. When Marco Polo visited China in the thirteenth century, he remarked Hangzhou as the most beautiful city he'd ever seen. West Lake, as the hottest landmark of Hangzhou, is certainly not to be missed. The lake is surrounded by hills on three sides while Hangzhou city on the eastern shore. Ancient Chinese people praised the area around West Lake as a land of intoxicating beauty.

Staged entirely upon the lake itself, Impression West Lake, directed by Zhang Yimou, is a grand open-air show of light, music, dance and theatrics. First initiated in 2007, Impression West Lake deploys the lake and its surroundings as props to create a life-like charming background. Through the vividly performed folklores and myths of Hangzhou, Impression West Lake highly exhibits the deep-rooted culture and natural beauty of Hangzhou.

       Impression West Lake is a show of light, music, dance and theatrics

Stage of the Show

Yuehu Lake Scenic Area is the venue of Impression West Lake. There is a retractable and moveable platform to hold 1800 audiences at the south of Yuehu Lake Tower. With the combination of live environment and high-end technologies, Impression West Lake extends varied marvelous visual appeal to audience in accordance with the natural changes.

Huangshan Mountain

Reputed as the Most Fantastic Mountain under Heaven, Huangshan Mountain (Yellow Mountain)is the place where you can find all traditional Chinese painting elements. Remember the giant scroll in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony? The scroll represents the marvelous traditional Chinese paintings. In the long history of China, landscape paintings are among one of the most important. High mountains, ancient pines, bizarre rocks, and seas of clouds form the essential elements of ancient scrolls of Chinese landscape paintings. And here, in Mt. Huangshan, all of these elements come alive.

Inscribed on UNESCO's World Cultural and Natural Heritage List in 1990, Huangshan Mountain is one of China's most popular tourist destinations. Its extraordinary natural beauty and profound cultural heritage attracts people at home and abroad. With its ever changing scenes, Mt. Huangshan has also become a hotspot for photography lovers. The seas of clouds, sunrises, sunsets, oddly-shaped pines and rocks, winter snow, forests, and cliffs together make thousands of unique and spectacular scenes just waiting to be captured on camera.

Among all its beauties, the most featured ones are the "Four Wonders", including the fantastic pines, grotesque rocks, sea of clouds and hot springs.

       

                               Sunrise Through Sea of Clouds                                 

 

              Huangshan Emerald Lake

      

  Sea of Clouds Turns Mt. Huangshan a Land of Fairies                                        

 

         Sea of Clouds in Morning Twilight

Colorful Sea of Clouds
High in the mountain top, the "Sea of Clouds" – billions of drops of water vapor left in the atmosphere embraces the wonderland-like Mt. Huangshan. These unique clouds are always flowing and waving like the sea surf, from which comes its vivid name. The Sea of Clouds stretches as far as the eyes can see, soaking many of the mountains and turning some of the highest peaks into lonely isles of the sea.

November to February is the ideal time to grasp the magnificent view of the Sea of Cloud. The most spectacular views are in the time when the sun comes out after a rain or snow storm. If a sunrise or sunset occurs after a storm, it is even more stunning, dyeing the glistening clouds with every hue: red, orange, purple, yellow, and so on. Popular spots to enjoy the Sea of Cloud are the main peaks of Mt. Huangshan such as Lotus Peak and Bright Summit, or the Cloud Dispelling Pavilion and Jade Screen Pavilion.

Oddly-shaped Pines and Rocks
Mt. Huangshan's ancient pine trees sprout forth from rock crevices and grow in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Because the soil in the rocky area is so poor the trees are not tall and straight like most forests. Yet their sculpture-like postures became a distinctive feature after long-time standing against wind and rain. For the same reason, the rock formations have also taken on bizarre forms and shapes. Some of the more famous formations include: Dog Watching Sky, Lady Playing Piano, Upside-down Boot and Man Walking on Stilts.

Magical Snow of Winter
Huangshan Mountain is beautiful all year round, but it takes on a new look in winter when the mountain is covered by snow. Everything seems so peaceful and serene. The pure white snow of this magical winter landscape gracefully adorns the ancient pines, rocks, streams, and pools, coating them like frosting. Ice of frozen twigs like crystal sparkles and twinkles in the sunlight. The Sea of Cloud seems somehow more even mysterious. After taking in the marvelous spectacle, one just can't help but feel that Mt. Huangshan is blessed with a special grace from heaven.

                                                                        



         Crystal-like Frozen Trees in Winter        

          
  Snow-covered Winter Huangshan Attracts Photographers

Beijing Opera | Peking Opera

        Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south.The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is known as Guoju. It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.

    

        With its fascinating and artistic music, singing and costumes, the Beijing Opera (Peking opera) is China's national opera. Full of Chinese cultural traditions and tidbits, the opera presents the audience with touching stories, beautiful paintings, exquisite costumes, graceful gestures and martial arts as well as combining stylized action, singing, dialogue, acrobatic fighting and dancing to explain ancient Chinese myths and historical stories or depict various different characters, good or bad.Nowadays, appreciting an authentic Beijing Opera Show in famous Liyuan Theater is a must-do when you are traveling in Beijing.

                                                                                                                        

                                                    

                                       

        It is believed that Beijing Opera gradually came into being after 1790 when the four famous Anhui opera troupes came to Beijing. Beijing Opera underwent fast development during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi and eventually became more accessible to the common people. Although it is called Peking Opera, its main melodies primarily originated from Xipi, Anhui and Erhuang, Hubei. The dialogue used for the opera is an archaic dialect that also has roots from those regions. Over time, various music and arias from other musical art forms were absorbed. It was partly this process of taking the cream of the crop of musical styles that contributed to Peking Opera 's success.

The famous heroine Mu Guiying in traditional Beijing opera

The leading Character of "Royal Concubine Yang of the Tang Dynasty"

        In ancient times, Beijing Opera was performed mostly on stage in the open air, teahouses, or temple courtyards. Since the orchestra played loudly, the performers developed a piercing style of song that could be heard by everyone. The costumes were a garish collection of sharply contrasting colors to stand out on the dim stage that was illuminated only by oil lamps. It is also a visual art from that integrates music, actor 's performances, literature, aria, and face-painting. The rules for Beijing Opera have been standardized and must be followed strictly. Only the very top actors and musicians can ever perform in a big time show.

Chinese Beauty Television Host：Yan Liu

Chinese Kung Fu

Discover Chinese Kungfu

If you have never heard Chinese Kung Fu before, you must come from another planet! Thanks to lots of international Kung Fu movies and stars, Kung Fu, as a national treasure of Chinese culture, has been spread all over the world and become a universal attraction. Now, when talking about it, thousands of fans can blurt out several names, like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Kung Fu and Wu Shu, as Chinese national treasure, are popular terms that have become synonymous with Chinese martial arts. The origins of Chinese martial arts can be traced to self-defense needs, hunting activities, and military training in ancient China. Hand to hand combat and weapons practice were important components in the training of Chinese soldiers. It reigns as one of the most traditional and popular national sports in China, practiced by the young and old alike. Eventually, Chinese martial arts have developed into an important element of Chinese culture.

It includes hundreds of different styles and is undoubtedly the most versatile martial art in the world. Some of the Chinese martial arts styles still practiced today are in the Kung Fu family and include Bagua, Drunken Boxing, Eagle Claw, Lau Gar, Monkey, Praying Mantis, White Crane, and Tai Chi Chuan, etc. Some styles are copied from the movements of animals, while others are inspired by Chinese philosophical thoughts, myths, and legends.

                                                                    
                        Chinese Kung fu is usually very mysterious to outsiders, also being very attractive.

           
Chinese Kung fu, as a national treasure, spreads to the whole world through medias.

Depth-Introdution to Chinese Kung Fu

Chinese martial arts can be classified in two major categories. They are External (soft) and Internal (hard). Sometimes, they are divided by location, Northern & Southern. Each category is distinct in style and technique. Apart from general classification, modern contests or performances are divided into six categories. These are empty-handed forms, weapon forms, choreographed forms, group practice, sparring competition, and power demonstration. Four general steps can describe all the various techniques of these arts; kicking, throwing, striking and controlling.

As forms have grown in complexity and quantity over the years, the emphasis of modern martial arts has shifted from combat to performance. It is practiced for improving health, self-defense skills, mental discipline, or recreational pursuit. The styles primarily aimed at exhibition and competition often include more acrobatic jumps and movements added for enhanced visual effect compared to the traditional styles.

        

                

For girls, practising Martial Arts can be used for fitness and self-defence.

                                                        

                                                       Shaolin Kung fu is a key branch of Chinese Kung fu.