Beijing: Houhai Lake

Houhai Lake is located at Di’anmen venue of Beijing and it is a part of Shichahai Lake which is composed by Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai. It stretches from the outer street of Di’anmen in east to Xinjiekou Street in west, south to Ping’an Street and north to the second ring, covering a total area of 146.7 hectares, with 11.5 hectares green area. This is the ancient waters of Yuan Dynasty 700 years ago in Beijing. Last time when I joined a Beijing to Xian tour, I went to Houhai and take many beautiful photos. I will put some to share with you.

In Houhai Lake is a place where you can watch mountain and appreciate swaying willows. The residences and their residents, together with the surrounding palaces and Chinese celebrities’former houses shows the Beijing-style and its long history. People come here to listen to the insects rustling, to see the Siheyuan building complexes of ancient Beijing and to trace the passing royal charm.

Houhai Lake is situated in the center of Beijing, only four or five stops away from Tian’anmen Square. It is connected with the famous Beihai Lake, and faces Jingshan Hill and the Forbidden City. Walking along the bank, green tiles and red walls can be seen everywhere. What you can see is only the verdant trees inside the walls, which makes the city more mysterious. If you travel Xian, you will find Xian is a ancient city that is very similar to Beijing.

Shanxi: Courtyard of Qiao Family

It took about 30 minutes to drive from ancient town Pingyao to Courtyard of Qiao Family, which enjoy a same reputation with the Courtyard of Gao Family, a famous attraction in Xian travels. The courtyard is located in Qixian, which looks busier than Pingyao. Walking through a muddy lane and went across several blocks of traders’stalls, we finally arrived at Qiao Courtyard. Through the film directed by Zhang Yimou, one of China’s most famous directors, I knew this place. To be honest, I did not understand the film very much at that time. Perhaps it was the depressive atmosphere that rightly fit into my rebellious psychology then made it impressed me a lot.

Although it was noisy outdoor, when you step into the courtyard, everything as silenced immediately. The gray bricks and black tiles were just as profound as the soil here, while the big red lanterns hanged in the buildings were like elves, which made the depressive atmosphere stir with ripples. Speak of the courtyard, its owner Qiao Zhiyong must be mentioned. Of course, those great stars of Jin merchants is a must-say topic. However, in this quiet rainy day, all of these great achievements were no longer important. All you have to do is just standing in the center, and began to imagine freely. It is a short stay in my Beijing to Xian tour, but I will never forget this trip.

North Guangzhou: Lianzhou Underground River

Lianzhou Underground River is located 26 kilometers northwest of Lianzhou city, a famous cultural and historical city in China’s southern Guangdong Province which is also renowned for its gorgeous. Lying in the junction of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hunan Province, it is a typical subtropical karst (dissolved rock) cave with an underground river inside it. The cave was shaped by crustal movement 200 million years ago, now it forms an sightseeing area of 60,000 square kilometers, with the highest point as 47.8 meters and the widest distance as 53.6 meters.

With comfortable temperature（being about 18℃）and fresh air, it becomes a well known summer resort. Due to millions of years erosion, there are numerous beautiful stalactites to be seen. As for a person who grew up in Karst landform of Guizhou mountain area, I am very familiar with karst caves. When I walked into the entrance, it reminded me with my childhood. My tour guide told me that the natural karst cave is divided into three floors, with a total length of about 1,860 meters.

Walking along the winding stone pathway, travelers will be shocked by the fascinating variety of stalactites visible. The stalactites themselves are colored with various colors in the rays of the colorful lights, magnificent and amazing.

Fujian Weijing: Tidal Flats with Golden Sands

Weijiang Village, where has vast land of tidal flats, is located over 30 kilometers away of Xiapu County, Ningde City, China’s southeast Fujian Province. It is a perfect shooting point for kelp cultivation, little fishing boats, sunrise and sunset. Weijiang is nicknamed “Bun Mountain” because there is a rocky islet humping up on the sea, which is look like a steamed bun looking from a far distance, hence the vivid name “Bun Mountain”. With seawater surrounding around and tidewater moistening, it is more like northern China’s Wowotou(a kind of steamed corn bread). When tide ebbs, the tidal flats surrounds it, which looks like a brim of a hat, therefore, it is also called “Top Hat Mount”.

Bun mount in Weijiang Village is an important destination of this journey. Careful companions found that there are no lodgings. So we have to play it by ear, hoping that we can live in local houses to know more about the fishermen’s life. However, after arrival in the afternoon, many families don’t provide accommodation. So we had to go to Xi’nan Town which is 30 kilometers away of Weijiang, and came back to Weijiang the next morning.

No more words and just see the pictures!

Guizhou: Xijiang Miao Village

Xijiang Miao Village, also named 'China's Miao stockade village of one thousand households’, because there are more than 1,000 households, hence the name.

Located at Leigong Mountain in Leigong County which is under the jurisdiction of Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in southeastern Guizhou Province, a continuous row of unique houses spreads in line of the hilly area with verdant trees. It is supposed to be the largest Miao village in China.

If you go to Guizhou without visiting Miao village, then you are not supposed to have been there. There are numerous Miao villages in southeast Guizhou, you are not forced to go to “Miao stockade village of one thousand households”, but since it is the most famous and largest one, absolutely I chose the best.Researchers believe the village is the 'living fossil' to study Miao ethic minority's history and traditional culture. Senior Miao women wear their long dark hair coiled up in neat buns on the top of their heads while the younger Miao women prefer to adorn them with large colorful plastic or bone combs and pretty flowers. Each woman has her traditional clothing, head dress and other jeweler which is worn at special festivals throughout the year. The Miao costume is beautifully decorated, and I could’t help to have a try.

Fujian: visit the Hakka Earth Buildings in Yongding

The Earth Building Complex in Yongding, China’s southeast Fujian Province first appeared in Song Dynasty(360-1279) and then has been matured in Qing Dynasty and the Republican of China. Among those in the list of World Cultural Heritage Lists, both the oldest and the youngest earth buildings are located at the Chuxi Earth Buildings cluster, among which the oldest one is the 600-year-old Jiqing Earth Building.

The earth building in Fujian mainly are distributed in Yongding, Wuping and Shanghang County in western Fujian and Nanjing, Pinghe, Hua’an and Zhangpu County in the southwest. There are totally more than 3,000 earth buildings scattering in the the border area of Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong Provinces, among which the Yongding Earth Building is the most famous one. Its structure, decorations and construction techniques are exceptional in the world.

The tour guide told us that a magnitude 7 earthquake once cracked a 20cm fissure on the Huanji Building of Yongding Earth Building in the history, but later it is recombined by itself according to some historical materials, which can be said as a miracle. Being a natural conditioner, The earth building can keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer. The Chengqi Building in Yongding Earth Building Complex possesses 384 rooms and can contain 800 people at most. These Earth Buildings in Fujian embodies profound Chinese traditional culture.

Hainan: enjoy the warm sunlight in early winter

The Sanya Bay in Hainan Island is situated in the center of Sanya scenic spot. The silver beach stretches with the blue coast, perfectly combined with Sanya downtown which lies cose to the bay. The coast stretches long with fine sand, together with the green trees grow in line, forms a beautiful landscape of costal tourism city. As the bund of Sanya City, it possesses a majestic project and idyllic sceneries.

With the soft beach and clean sea water, the western Sea Slope Resort is a perfect place for swimming. Appreciating the sunset glow on the beach in evening is the most romantic thing to do. When the round setting sun appeared above the sea level, seabirds fly back and forth under the glittering sunlight, you will be shocked by the gorgeous scene.

Now, it is early winter in north China. Some of the northern cities have already witnessed its first snow this year, but the sun is still shinning in Sanya. Young couples come here to take their wedding photos with happiness on their faces. Numerous visitors from home and abroad enjoy the seascape and warm sun, unwilling to leave.

Beijing — the Capital of China

Beijing is the political capital of the People’s Republic of China. As such it serves the political and cultural centre as well as the centre of international activity. “The City of Beijing houses many monuments and historical articles from the imperial era. Of interest to the visitor in Beijing are the world's largest public square — Ti’anmen Square 天安门广场, the world's largest group of architecture — the Forbidden City 紫禁城, the longest ancient wall in the world — the Great Wall 长城 (please wear running shoes or rubber soled shoes and comfortable or hiking attire for the Great Wall), China's largest existing ancient imperial garden (the most imposing garden complex in China, occupying a vast part of 716 acres. The walled grounds contain beautiful lakes, hills, and pavilions. ) — the Summer Palace, China's largest imperial necropolis—the Ming Tombs, China’s largest imperial temple — the Temple of Heaven and hutongs in Beijing, etc. — all these have attracted millions of tourists both at home and abroad for years. The visitor can enjoy a splendid microcosm of both modem and traditional Beijing. Beijing Botanical Garden, situated at the foot of Mount Shou'an and incorporating plants into Temple of the Sleeping Buddha. The City of Beijing features local arts and crafts ( jade, ivory, carpet, and lacquer ware) made with ancient3 crafting techniques passed down from generation to generation, as well as examples of some of the nation’s best-known craft merchandise. Today, Beijing is a mixture of sophistication and innovation. It is a world-famous popular travellers' destination in its own right. It is certainly a good place to live and work, with a diversity of opportunity. A wide range of highly specialized industries has moved in. All this has raised the percentage of scientists and specialists in residence to the highest of any community in modern China.