Top Six Most Beautiful Ancient Towns and Villages in China Part-2

4.      Zhaoxing Dong Village in Guizhou Province

Zhaoxing Dong Village is located in southeast of Liping County, Qiandongnan Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province. It is one of the largest Dong villages in China. What attract people most in Zhaoxing Dong Village is the perfect combination of the primitive Dong village and the elegant natural scenery, as well as the unique Dong culture and customs.

The village was constructed in flat ground with mountains around and river flowing through. Local residences in Zhaoxing are all stilted housed built with wood. When visiting Zhaoxing Dong Village you will find there are many antique drum towers, which are symbols of auspicious in Dong culture. Also there are several ancient wind-rain bridges in the village. Dong people are quite good at singing and dancing. Also they have very special holidays and events of their ethnic group.

5.      Wuyuan in Jiangxi Province

For tourists traveling to China in spring would never miss out Wuyuan because of its spectacular of rapeseed flowers. Wuyuan is located in northeast of Jiangxi Province, not far away from the world-famous Mount Huang in Anhui Province. Reputed as “the most beautiful village in China”, Wuyuan is home to many ancient well-preserved villages from Ming and Qing dynasties. As a famous cultural and ecological tourist county in China, Wuyuan attract numerous tourists every year for its fantastic natural scenery, beautiful ancient architectures and unique local culture.

In the ancient villages in Wuyuan, you will see ancient Ming and Qing dynasties buildings with white walls and gray tiles in the classic Hui-style. Also there are many ancient bridges, stone-flagged lanes, clear rivers, and the quaint rural landscapes and life. Wuyuan has the most beautiful season in spring when rapeseed flowers in bloom. There are about 50 ancient small villages in Wuyuan, and some of the most famous ones include Xiaoqi Village, Likeng Village, Jiangwan Village and Wangkou Village.

6.      Dayan Ancient Town in Lijiang Old City, Yunnan Province

Dayan Ancient Town, usually referred to Lijiang Old City, is one of the three ancient towns in Lijiang. It is located in the middle of Lijiang. It was designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The history of Lijiang Old City can be dated back to more than 1,000 years and it used to be a busy trade confluence on the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Now the Lijiang Old City attracts numerous tourists and enjoys world-wide reputation for its beautiful scenery, ancient architectures, distinctive local culture and customs.

Surrounded by mountains, Lijiang Old City has very beautiful and peaceful scenery. Lijiang is much more charming with its ancient architectures and old streets paved with stones, and also the orderly arranged waterways and bridges. But what’s really distinguishes Lijiang is the distinct culture and customs of local Naxi people. Most Naxi people still keep their traditional lifestyle and dress in their beautiful costumes. The Naxi music concert played with centuries old musical instruments is something should not miss out.

Top Six Most Beautiful Ancient Towns and Villages in China Part-1

A ancient town or ancient village always attract tourists not only for its long history, beautiful scenery and the rich historical sites, but also the profound cultural background, the traditional lifestyle and antique atmosphere, and as well as simple people and delicious food. For tourists traveling to China for the first time, or for tourists wanting to experience some local life and culture, ancient towns and villages are ideal destinations.

Here let’s have a look at the Top 6 Most Beautiful Towns and Villages in China.

1.      Tibetan Village in Danba County, Sichuan Province

Danba County is located in Garze Tibetan Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Considered as one of the most beautiful ancient villages in China, Danba is also an ideal destination for photography. With the fascinating natural scenery, magnificent snow mountains, grasslands, valleys, rivers, enchanting Tibetan villages, and the local people and culture, Danba is a great destination to appreciate the beauty of Western Sichuan and also for tourists go for Sichuan tours.

Danba is famed to be “the Kingdome of Thousands Watchtowers” with numerous ancient watchtowers distributed and ancient watchtowers in Suopo are the most outstanding ones. Famous Tibetan villages in Danba including Suopo Stockade Village and Jiaju Tibetan Village are very famous and worth seeing.

2.      Hani Village in Yunnan Province

Hani Village is located in Dayangjie Township in Honghe Hani and Yi Minorities Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. The village is situated on half of the mountainside in the heartland of Ailao Mountain. With its special location of dense forests above the village and the spectacular of vast rice terraces extending from the village to the deep valley of the mountain, Hani Village has very charming landscapes.

The magnificent landscapes of rice terraces spread in the mountain is the masterpiece created by Hani people for thousands years’ work. When viewing from the top, terraces are like a waterfall pouring down. Also the clouds of mist curls up terraces all the year round has added more charm to the rice terraces. The rice terraces in Hani Village has different gorgeous scenery in the four different seasons and attract many photographers.

3.      Tuwa Village in Xinjiang

The Tuwa Village located in the road from Buerjin County to the beautiful Kanas Lake is a beautiful ancient village to see when traveling to Xinjiang. The village is situated on the Kanas Lake valley about 2-3 kilometers from Kanas Lake with mountains and forests around. In Tuwa Village, there live the ancient tribe of Tuwan people, who are still leading a traditional lifestyle. The wooden houses in the village are quite special and attractive. What attract people most is the pastoral and quaint scenery Tuwa Village has. Especially in early morning of autumn when Tuwa Village is covered by sunshine and curled by smoke, and the surrounding forests are all in bright golden, Tuwa Village is like a fairytale land with the best enchanting natural scenery.

The Most Famous Tourist Sites in Western Sichuan

Western Sichuan is one of the most popular destinations in China. For tourists whether want to see fascinating natural beautiful scenery, and explore local fantastic culture and customs, or go for a photography tour or adventure tour, Western Sichuan can satisfies all these needs.

Western Sichuan generally refers to the vast area in the wets of Chengdu Plain and mainly lies in Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. With numerous imposing mountains and snow peaks, valleys and dense forests, extensive grasslands and splendid monasteries, beautiful alpine lakes and the local unique culture, Western Sichuan is an ideal place to visit. There are many famous tourist destinations in Western Sichuan, let’s have a look.

Xinduqiao

Xinduqiao is reputed as the paradise for photography because of its picaresque scenery, especially in autumn. The vast grassland, dense forests with golden cypress and polar trees, the continuously winding mountains, crystal blue rivers, scattered Tibetan villages with the wondering sheep and cows, Xinduqiao is really amazing.

Daocheng

Daocheng is another hot tourist destination in Garze. With the splendor of snow mountains, glaciers, lakes, grasslands, waterfalls, and valley, Daocheng offers alluring landscapes. There are famous sights like Pearl Sea, the Three Holy Mountains of Xiannairi, Yangmaiyong, and Xiariduoji, Yading Nature Reserve and so on.

Tagong

Tagong has the two famous sites of Tagong Grassland and Tagong Temple. The splendid Tagong Temple spreads in the extensive green carpet of Tagong Grassland with the see off of imposing Yala Mountain, this picture is really inspiring.

Mugecuo

Mugecuo, also called Yerenhai, is famous for its spectacular natural scenery. It is located in the middle of Gongga Mountains. Around it, there are high mountains, lakes and springs, primitive forests, grassland and snow mountains, all these form a fascinating picture to tourists.

Leisure Time at Guandu Ancient Town in Kunming

Kunming, reputed as “the City of Eternal Spring”, boats as one of the most loveable cities in China for its pleasant climate and beautiful scenery. As one of the most popular tourist destination in southwest China, Kunming attract tourists both at home and abroad every year. For tourists traveling to Kunming and have visited famous attractions like Dian Lake, Stone Forest, Western Hills, and Grand View Park, there is the Guandu Ancient Town where tourists can spend some leisure time to explore the ancient Kunming and get involved in the local life.

Guandu Ancient Town is a famous historic and cultural ancient town in Kunming. It is located in southwest suburb of Kunming City, about 8 kilometers from the city center. With its beautiful scenery, rich historical and cultural heritages, Guandu Ancient Town is a hot tourist destination to appreciate the ancient architectures, experience the local culture and traditions of old Kunming.

Guandu Ancient Town is a quaint place to spend some leisure time. The history of Guandu Ancient Town can be dated back to as early as the Nanzhai Dali Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty. Situated at the east bank of Dian Lake, Guandu was a fishing village at first and it served as a stop for officials for sightseeing around the Dina Lake.

As one of the birthplace of Dian Culture, Guandu Ancient Town has rich historic and cultural heritages. Major sights in Guandu are briefed as “five mountains, six temples, seven pavilions and eight shrines”. The Tuzhu Temple and Fading Temple, which are built during the Nanzhao Kingdom Period (738 – 937), are two of the most famous ancient temples in Guandu.

Besides sightseeing the architectural splendor of pagodas and temples, there are also many small shops that selling exquisite craftworks and souvenirs. Also the tasting delicious local snacks is one of the things to do in Guandu. Guandu stuffed Baba, Guandu block bait, Guandu rice noodles and peameal are the most popular local snacks you should not miss out.

Shanghai Leisure Time at Tianzifang

For tourists have enjoyed the charm of metropolis at Shanghai’s most highlighted attractions like the Bund, Oriental Tower, Nanjing Road, and Yuyuan Garden and are looking for a special place for some leisure time, Tianzifang is an ideal place.

Tianzifang is a famous tourist attractions in Shanghai and also a new art zone with many small craft stores, coffee shops, art studios and workshops. Located in the Old Frence Quarter, Tianzifang is actually developed from local ancient residence Shikumen. Shikumen is a kind of traditional and classic residential buildings for local Shanghainese and is a glorious part of Shanghai culture. The restoration and reconstruction of Tianzifang has preserved this architecture legacy. Also there are many French features and reminders around Tianzifang. Tourists travel to Tianzifang can not only see many trendy arts and crafts, also to see Shanghai traditional old-style buildings and narrow alleys, and also experience the ancient ambience of old Shanghai city.

One of the outstanding feature of Tianzifang is its numerous art and craft shops. Tianzifang’s development was marked when Chen Yifei, one of China’s most famous contemporary artists took over two abandoned factory buildings and converted them into his studios for artistic production. Now there are many art and design studios, crafts shops and galleries, antique shops and boutiques, and also coffee shops, bars, and tea houses.

At Tianzifang, there are also many restaurants where you can not only enjoy a large variety of local Shanghai food, but also many delicious and dedicate western food. Wondering among those art and crafts shops, shop some craft made with creative ideas, have a cup of coffee or tea when a little tired, and taste some delicious food when hungry, that’s the great leisure time to have in Tianzifang.

Beautiful Tourist Destinations in the Movie Monkey King: Hero Is Back

This summer China was lighted up by the fever the movie Monkey King: Hero Is Back brought. The Monkey King: Hero Is Back is a Chinese animation film released in early July and it was a huge success. The movie is specialized in plot with the classic Chinese hero Monkey King from Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. With its interesting story, high technology, and gorgeous art designs, Monkey King surpassed the Kungfu Panda 2 in Chinese box office records.

For audience have watched the film will not only enchanted by the story, but also the beautiful scenes. The movie took film scenes in Zhangjiajie, Guilin, and Hanging Temple, among which Zhangjiajie and Guilin are two famous tourists destination in China and Hanging Temple is a hot tourist attraction.

Guilin

Guilin is a world-famous tourist destination. With its fantastic landscapes of mountains, waters, caves, and stones, Guilin enjoys the praise of “the best landscapes under heaven”. For tourists wanting spectacular natural scenery, fresh and relaxed landscapes, Guilin is a great place to explore. There are Li River, Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave, Yangshuo, Longji Rice Terraces and many other gorgeous sites to see in Guilin.

Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiajie is located in west of Hunan Province. Featured with grotesque mountains and peaks, dense forests, peculiar karst caves, stunning lakes and waterfalls, Zhangjiajie is an ideal place to appreciate the wonder of nature. There are many famous tourist attractions in Zhangjiajie. The most famous one is Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which includes Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Also Tianmen Mountain, Tianzi Mountain, and Baofeng Lake are the must-sees in Zhangjiajie.

 

Hanging Temple

The Hanging Temple is one of the famous tourist attractions in Datong, Shanxin Province in China. The Hanging Temple is considered as an architecture wonder as it is built to be hung somewhere instead of on the ground. The temple was constructed according to the natural layout of the cliff and is supported by crossbeams which are fitted into the cliff. With a complex of three religious halls and 40 rooms, this temple is linked by mid-walkways from the left to the right. Also there are clay sculptures, stone carvings, copper and iron statues characterized by Taoism, Buddhism and Confucius.

Famous Teahouses in Chengdu

Chengdu, the home to the giant pandas, is one of the hottest tourist destinations in China. For tourists wanting to enjoy natural beauty, Chengdu has Mount Qingcheng, Xiling Snow Mountain, and Stone Elephant Lake. If historical and cultural sites are what you are interested in, there are Wuhou Temple, Dujiangyan Irrigation System, Jinsha Site Museum and so on. For tourists eager to taste the fantastic Chinese food, Chengdu has its world-famous Sichuan food. Or if you would like to experience some local culture and unique customs, Chengdu has the incredible Sichuan Opera and its leisure lifestyle to explore.

Teahouse is a distinct feature of Chengdu culture. Enjoying the reputation “China has the best teahouses in the world and Chengdu has the best teahouses in China”, Chengdu boasts the most numbers of teahouses and its profound tea culture. Going to teahouses is an essential part of the daily life for Chengdu people. Teahouses are not only for drinking tea, eating snacks, and entertainment, they are also ideal places for social gatherings and even business meetings.

For tourists wanting to explore the authentic Chengdu culture and mingle into the Chengdu life, spending a lovely casual day at teahouse is a great way. Here is a list of the most famous teahouses in Chengdu.

1.    Shunxing Old Teahouse

Feature: Chengdu’s one of the most famous teahouses; a best place to learn about local culture and history.

Address: Shawan Road, 258 International Exhibition Center Third Floor

2.    Heming Tea House

Feature: an outdoor teahouse located inside the People’s Park. Picturesque and quiet.

Address: People’s Park

3.    Daci Temple Teahouse

Feature: Located inside Daci Temple; the oldest teahouse in Chengdu.

Address: Daci Temple

4.    Yuelai Teahouse

Feature: Free Sichuan Opera performances from 2:00PM to 4:00PM.

Address: Jinjiang Area, Huaxingzheng Road, 54 inside Jinjiang Theater

5.    Dabei Temple Teahouse

Feature: Located inside Dabei Temple; antique atmosphere and surrounded by ancient architectures.

Address: Dabei Temple

6.    Wenshu Monastery Teahouse

Feature: Located inside Wenshu Monastery; traditional tea services and inexpensive prices

Address: Wensu Monastery

on the mountain top in Guilin

The sunrise photo on Li River is the main reason we came to Guilin from Hong Kong.

Sunrise on Li River

We plan this photo tour to Guilin since last year, when Lucy saw a brillian sunrise photo with beautiful lanscape of rivers and mountains in Guilin.  It is awesome!  Never knows we can photo the Li River from mountain top.

We took 4 hours bullet train from Shenzhen North Railway Station, arrived Guilin in the noon.  take some 20 yuan note photos on Li River like other tourists in the day time.  When the crowd left Xinping, the old town came back to normal life.  Local fisherman took their cormorants for evening's fishing.  We had some good photos.

Beijing Tour Shichahai and Leshou Hall Information

Beijing is a city of surprise, the scenery and architectures are amazing. I would like to introduce you Leshou Hall in Summer Palace and Shichahai, preparation for your Beijing tour.
Leshou Hall in Summer Palace

There are two buildings called Leshou Hall among the imperial garden buildings in Beijing, one is in Ningshou Palace, northeast region of Forbidden City, and the other one is in the Summer Palace. The Leshou Hall in Summer Palace was the building as part of Qingyi Park during Emperor Qianlong period, as well as the main building in the residential living area of Summer Palace. This building is built for the mother of Emperor Qianlong (Queen Shengxian) for her 60th birthday. As Queen Shengxian believed in Buddhism, the upper part of Hall was arranged like a temple for worship.
Leshou Hall was repaired in Jiaqing seven years (1802), but was destroyed in Xianfeng then years (AD 1860), and was rebuilt in Guangxu seventeen years (1891).
Leshou Hall faces the Kunming Lake, leaned against Longevity Hill, east of Dehe Park and Renshou Hall, and west of the long gallery, is the best place to live and play in the Summer Palace. The golden inspcription "Leshou Hall" on the tablet was inscribed by Emperor Guangxu. There is copper deer, copper crane, and copper vases displaying inside the Leshou Hall, meaning "six peaces". Inside the hall, there are plants and flowers such as planted magnolia, crabapple, peony, full House, which have meaning as "wealth". Now a magnolia in front of on the Yaoyue Door is transplanted by Qianlong from the south.
Leshou Hall is a large quadrangle courtyard, the main hall in the yard is the Leshou Hall, there are side halls on the east and west side, and nine Houzhao halls in the backyard.
Shichahai Beijing

Located in the northwest part of Beijing, Shichahai is a famous scenic area that includes three lakes, surrounding places of historic interest and scenic beauty, and remnants of old-style local residences, Hutong and Courtyard. Shichahai consists of the following three lakes: Qianhai, Xihai and Houhai. In imperial times it was called the Riverbank.
With Beihai Lake becoming an imperial backgarden, some 20 temples were built in the area of Shichahai Lake. It was said that these temples were established for the convenience of women to leave the imperial families. "Cha" refers to a small temple while "shi" can mean "tens", hence the name of Shichahai.
Its history can be traced to as far back as the Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234). During the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), it was the terminal point of the Great Canal, which was a main reason for its prosperity. In the period of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), when the channels ceased to be as smooth as they used to be, it changed from a bustling hub to a place of leisure where people could stroll around to admire the vast scenery or enjoy the cool shade under williow trees.
The greatest point of interest in it today is its residences, Hutong and Courtyard. Visiting Hutongs by pedicab has become a popular activity for visitors from China and abroad. The most famous is Jin Si Tao, which actually includes 18 hutongs and keeps the original layout. Another one is Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street (Yandai Xiejie), meaning an oblique street which looks like a long-stemmed pipe.
This street used to be a famous street selling long-stemmed pipes. In the east area, South Gong and Drum Lane (Nanluogu Xiang) is an interesting hutong renowned for its long history, culture, specialty stores and distinctive foods.
Around the lake there are also ten famous Taoist and Buddhist temples and several formal royal mansions and gardens. The most well known are the Prince Gong Mansion and the Prince Chun Mansion.
At night, Bar street becomes a good destination for many youngers. Compared with the hustling-bustling scenes during the daytime, Shichahai is quiet at night. The small bars here are exquisite although they don’t have showy names.
Grey courtyard walls, lush and green willow trees, quiet water…all this displays the generosity of this city. Different from other famous attractions in Beijing, Shichahai has its own features. Maybe it’s not so well-known, but the scenery there never fail to make your trip regretful.

Explore Beijing Ancient History and Culture

To discover the charm of Beijing ancient history and culture, visiting the historical sites like Great Wall, Forbidden city, Summer Palace, Siheyuan or Hutong, Guozijian Street and so on is a good ideal. All are very amazing and the people are so clever at that time.
Great Wall of China
There is a saying goes, who never climbs the Great Wall is not a real man. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared.
However, Great Wall is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance. One must visit place for people travelling to Beijing.
The main Great Wall line stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. Its historic and strategic importance is matched only by its architectural significance.
One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes. It runs 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) long, ranges from 5 to 8 meters (16–26 ft) in height, and 6 meters (20 ft) across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 meters (16 ft) across the top.
Wangjinglou is one of Jinshanling's 67 watchtowers, 980 meters (3,220 ft) above sea level. Southeast of Jinshanling, is the Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along lofty, cragged mountains from the southeast to the northwest for approximately 2.25 kilometers (about 1.3 miles). It is connected with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to the east. This section was one of the first to be renovated following the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.
At the edge of the Bohai Gulf is the Shanhai Pass, the traditional end of the Great Wall known as the "Number One Pass Under Heaven". The part of the wall that meets the sea is name the "Old Dragon Head", within the Shanhai Pass complex. 3 km north of Shanhaiguan is Jiaoshan Great Wall, the site of the first mountain of the Great Wall.

15 km northeast from Shanhaiguan, is Jiumenkou, which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge.
Great Wall carries a considerable part of Chinese culture. It has long been incorporated into Chinese mythology and symbolism. The most well-known legend is about the collapse of a section of the Wall caused by Meng Jiangnu, who cried bitterly over the death of her husband after he died while building the wall. This legend has been spread widely through textbooks, folk songs and traditional operas.
Siheyuan in Beijing's Hutong
The historical Siheyuan (Chinese courtyards) are a symbol of ancient Chinese architecture that dates back 2,000 years. The layout of the courtyards is prevalent as a template for many palaces, housing complexes, temples and monasteries. To see the traditional buildings one of the best places to visit is the Hutongs in Beijing.
The Hutongs in Beijing consist of numerous courtyards joined together. The histories of the Hutongs are interesting as it demonstrated the social class status beginning from the Ming Dynasty where the Forbbiden Palace was the center. Nobles and rich merchants lived in luxurious courtyards situated in the east and west. Commoners were located to the north of the palace.

Usually a whole family lives in a compound. The elder generation lives in the main house, the younger generation lives n the side houses, and the south house is usually their sitting room or study. All the houses have large windows at the front and small windows high up in the back walls. Some houses do not even have back windows.
Some larger residencies have two or more courtyards, they are usually inhabited by a big traditional extended family with several generations. There are still some siheyuan in Beijing, mainly former mansions of princes, some of which have been turned into museums, and others are used as government offices.The typical Siheyuan consists of four buildings and the main gate always faces the south. The Hutongs are a unique part of Beijing culture. Although the most famous remaining Hutongs are residencies of the rich and famous the most interesting part of visiting these areas is catching a glimpse of the everyday life that still continues.
Beijing in winter is in another scenery, with snow, also very beautiful. Chinese New Year is coming. How about participate in the bustling by halal tours China?