TAJ MAHAL : AN ICON & A WORLD WONDER 6 – THE DETAILS
The Taj Mahal (Literally : ´´Crown of the Palace´´) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned...
BEIJING TIAN’AN MEN SQUARE
Tiananmen Square or Tian’anmen Square (天安门 Pinyin: Tiān’ānmén) is a city square in the centre of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen (‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’) located to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. The Tiananmen (“Gate of Heavenly Peace”) is a gate in the wall of the Imperial City, was built in 1415 during the Ming dynasty. The square contains the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China in the square on October 1, 1949 – the anniversary of this event is still observed there.Tiananmen Square is within the top ten largest city squares in the world (440,500 m2 – 880×500 m or 109 acres – 960×550 yd)
BEIJING YIHEYUAN : UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
The Summer Palace (Yíhéyuán), is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing Dynasty. Mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (Wànshòu...
MING TOMBS : UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China. The majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near...
BEIJING : THE FORBIDDEN CITY (PALACE MUSEUM)
The Forbidden City (Chinese: 故宫; pinyin: Gùgōng) is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. It houses the Palace Museum, and was the former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (the years 1420 to 1912). The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 hectares (over 180 acres). The palace exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum’s former collection is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. Since 2012, the Forbidden City has seen an average of 15 million visitors annually, and received more than 16 million visitors in 2016 and 2017
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA>LONGEST STRUCTURE
The Great Wall of China (Chinese: 萬里長城; pinyin: Wànlǐ Chángchéng) is the collective name of a series of fortification systems generally built across the historical northern borders of China to protect and consolidate territories of Chinese states and empires against various nomadic groups of the steppe and their polities. This collection of fortifications known as the Great Wall of China.The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, it winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 21196 kilometers from east to west of China with a history of about 2700 years. It took more than 2,500 years to finish the construction of the Great Wall. The wall was not built in a single time period, but combined effort of many states and dynasties in history
BEIJING TIAN TAN – THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
The Temple of Heaven (Chinese: 天壇; pinyin: Tiāntán) is an imperial complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is my favourite as well as a UNESCO World heritage site
SEOUL > THE SOUL OF SOUTH KOREA & A GLOBAL CITY
Seoul like soul; Korean: 서울 literally ’Capital’), officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Seoul was the world’s 4th largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$635 billion in 2014 after Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles. International visitors generally reach Seoul via AREX from the Incheon International Airport, notable for having been rated the best airport for nine consecutive years (2005–2013) by the Airports Council International. With major technology hubs centered in Gangnam and Digital Media City – the Seoul Capital Area is home to the headquarters of 15 Fortune Global 500 companies, including Samsung, LG, and Hyundai. As with its long history, the Seoul Capital Area contains five UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Changdeok Palace, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine, Namhansanseong and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.Seoul has been described as the world’s “most wired city. My favourite company Samsung (means “three stars” in English) is the LARGEST South Korean multinational chaebol (Business conglomerate) headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul with comprises numerous affiliated businesses most of them united under the Samsung brand (Samsung Electronics, Samsung Engineering, Samsung C&T Corporation, Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung SDS, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Cheil Worldwid) – Samung means ´´Three stars´´ with the word “three” represents something “big, numerous and powerful”. Samsung has a powerful influence on South Korea’s economic development, politics, media and culture and has been a major driving force behind the “Miracle on the Han River”. Many of the photos & videos in this knowledge & experience portal have been shot on a Samsung smart phone !
SOUTH KOREA, THE DE- MILITARIZED ZONE (DMZ) & NORTH KOREA !
My visit to The Republic of Korea (South Korea) -North Korea (DPRK – The Democratic People´s Republic of Korea) is not accessible easily since Korean war and division of Korea in 1953. North and South Korea are divided by 38 degree parallel popularly called the De Militarized Zone (DMZ) – one of the most isolated and insecure borders in the world with land mines, tunnels, very restricted access, no cameras allowed etc.. kept by UN Joint command – It has restricted civilian access and requires a mandatory military escort. DMZ Tours require signing a waiver agreeing that no one is responsible for death, accident or injury and must adhere to the specified dress code (eg. no careless and casual dress like ripped jeans, sandals or unkempt hair etc.) and tours can end unexpectedly at any time if tensions rise at the border.In October 2018 – Both North and South Korea had discussions and have agreed to remove landmines across the border – Many dream of a peaceful united Korea and probably in future we may be able to visit North Korea.We have to wait and watch !
NANJING FUZI MIAO>CONFUCIUS TEMPLE
Nanjing Fuzimiao (Chinese: 南京夫子庙) or Fuzimiao (Chinese: 夫子庙; literally: ‘Confucian Temple’), is located in southern Nanjing City on banks of the Qinhuai River.Throughout its history, the temple along with the around area has been a place for study of Confucianism