HYDERABAD 1 : THE WORLD´s TALLEST MONOLITHIC STATUE OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA
Hyderabad is the capital & largest city of the Indian state of Telangana founded in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah to extend the capital beyond the fortified Golconda. I...
AMARAVATI 5 : DHYANA BUDDHA STATUE
The Dhyana Buddha is a statue of a Buddha in Amaravathi, India. The Dhyana Buddha statue of 125 ft (38 m) is located at Amaravati. It is situated on the banks of Krishna river in 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) with...
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 : 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
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
HANGZHOU WEST LAKE SCENIC AREA : LEIFENG PAGODA
Leifeng Pagoda (Chinese: 雷峰塔; pinyin: Léifēng Tǎ) is a five story tall tower with eight sides, located on Sunset Hill south of the West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Originally constructed in the year AD 975, it collapsed in 1924 but was rebuilt in 2002. Since then, it has become a popular tourist attraction. In October 1999, the provincial and municipal governments decided to rebuild Leifeng Pagoda on top of the ruins of the old one. The new pagoda opened on 25 October 2002. It is composed of a 1400 tonne steel structure with 200 tonnes of copper parts. It contains four sightseeing elevators, and modern amenities such as air conditioning, television, and speakers. At the entrance of the pagoda, there are two autonomous escalators to carry visitors to the base of the pagoda. The original base of the pagoda is kept in good condition, as well as the artifacts discovered in the underground chamber. Hangzhou is one of the most beautiful and amazing places in the world – particularly the area around the west lake !
TIAN TAN BUDDHA : THE SECOND LARGEST OPEN AIR BRONZE BUDDHA
Tian Tan Buddha is a large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. The statue is sited near Po Lin Monastery and symbolises the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith. It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a tourist attraction. The statue is 34 metres (112 ft) tall, weighs over 250 metric tons (280 short tons) and was constructed from 202 bronze pieces
TAJ MAHAL : AN ICON & A WORLD WONDER 1 – OVERVIEW
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...
THAILAND : BANGKOK WAT PHRA KAEW – VIEWS 1
A Wat is a Buddhist Temple in Thailand. Wat Phra Kaew (Thai : วัดพระแก้ว) commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram is regarded...
LONDON : THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER 2
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its...