The Beijing National Stadium,also known as the National Stadium,the “Bird’s Nest” is a stadium finished form the Olympic Games in Beijing.The “Bird’s Nest”,the main venue for Beijing’s Olympic Games,is perhaps the most iconic structure of the 2008 Olympics.It is located east of the Beijing Natinal Aquatics Centre.

The stadium will host the main track and field competitions form the 2008 Summer Olympics,as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.The stadium can seat as many as 91,000 spectators during the Olympics.The capacity will then be reduced to 80,000 after the Games.It has replaced the original intended venue of the Guangdong Olympic Stadium.the stadium is 330 meters long by 220 meters wide,and is 69.2 meters tall.The stadium uses 258,000 square meters of space and has a usable area of 204,000 square meters.It was built with 36 km of unwrapped steel,with a combined weight of 45,000 tons.The stadium will cost up to 3.5 billion Yuan.

The National Stadium is dubbed the “Bird’s Nest” because ofits innovative grid formation.The twig-like structural elements and the bowl-shaped roof are the masterpiece of the project,yet they pose great challenges to technicians and workers who need to make the building stand on its own feet.The constructors have made decisive efforts to let the “Bird’s Nest” support its own weight without relying on any of the supporting structures.

The large steel skeleton of the project weights 42,000 tons,with the roof and the hanging parts around it accounting for 11,2000 tons.To bear such a heavy load,78 supporting structures were temporarily installed and distributed in different points under stress.Through accurate calculation and careful argumentation,experts came to understand that the unloading process of the supporting frameworks should be divided into seven steps and each step should abide by the sequence of outer circle,middle circle,inner circle,middle circle and innercircle.In other words,35 mini-steps are needed to complete the whole process.

To unload a supporting structure,or to load the insitu steel skeleton,a lifting jack is used.Jacking pads with a height of 100mm to 200mm are placed on the top of the supporting structures.When the lifting jack rises,it replaces the structure to bear the load of the steel skeleton,and a jacking pad is removed.Then the jack descends slowly to give the remaining load again to the column,thus repeating a total of 35 times until the steel skeleton is able to bear its own weight.

Accuracy is required during the process.The maximum descent of the outer circle is limited to  68-286mm,the middle circle 161-178mm and inner circle 208-286mm.If the descent of the steel structure,which relies on its own supporting capability,exceeds the extent,or cracks appear somewhere in the skeleton,then problems might exist in the design,manufacturing or construction stages in the past three years.In a word,the unloading process is a proof of “the Bird’s Nest” Quality.

Singapore will be hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 August 2010. The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games will receive some 3,600 athletes and
800 officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), along with estimated
800 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers, and more than
500,000 spectators. Young athletes – aged between 14 and 18 years – will compete in
26 sports and take part in Culture and Education Programme.

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games aims to inspire youth around the world to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. It will create a lasting sports, culture and education legacy for Singapore and youths from around the world, as well as enhance and elevate the sporting culture locally and regionally.

For more information, please visit www.singapore2010.sg

The Savoy will once again lay claim to its long-standing status as London’s premier social destination when it unveils the culmination of a circa GBP100 million restoration programme in early 2010 – the most expensive hotel refurbishment in London’s history.

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Paying homage to its original Art Deco heritage, The Peace Hotel Shanghai, managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will once again lay claim to its long-standing status as China’s most iconic hotel and premier social destination when it unveils the culmination of its restoration programme in 2010.

The newly revitalised Fairmont Peace Hotel Shanghai will offer approximately 269 deluxe guestrooms and suites with a selection of eight restaurants and lounges. Included among these is the much-loved Jazz Bar, a Shanghai institution since the 1930s. In addition, a lobby lounge on the ground floor, a mezzanine-level sushi, wine and cigar bar as well as a heritage Chinese restaurant on the 8th floor and the Peace Grill Restaurants on the 9th floor will offer a new level of elegance and comfort befitting of today’s discerning travellers. The 9th floor will also host the famed Peace Hall, where the property’s iconic sprung-wooden dance floor still evokes memories of old Shanghai cabarets and gala parties.

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Located in the west of Henan Province in central China, Luoyang city occupies an very important geographic location. It’s in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and is encircled by mountains and plains. Thus, Luoyang was selected as the capital city by 13 dynasties starting from the Xia Dynasty (21st-16th century BC) . In the period following the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), and particularly during the Sui (581 -618 AD) and Tang (618-907 AD) dynasties, the city experienced a period of growth and prosperity and ranked as one of the international metropolitans of the time.

Its long history endows Luoyang with a profound sense of culture. The city is the cradle of Chinese civilization where many Chinese legends happened, such as Nvwa Patching the Sky, Dayu Controlling Flood and the Chinese Ancestor Huangdi Establishing the Nation. The city is also famed as the ‘Poets Capital’ as poets and literates of ancient China often gathered there and left grand works, including Book of Wisdom (Dao De Jing), Han History (Han History) and Administrative Theory of Admonishing Official (Zi Zhi Tong Jian). Religious culture once thrived here. Taoism originated there and the first Buddhist temple set up by the government was located there. Luoyang is also the hometown of many of the scientific inventions of ancient China, such as the seismograph, armillary sphere, paper making, printing and the compass.

My friends Peter likes tourism, whenever he is free he loves to travel around. He said that the pressure of work is big, travel to enable him to relax physically and mentally. He has been to Alaska, Xi’an, China, and other location. He likes photography, every place he would take a lot of photos, He will put these pictures on the Internet to share with friends,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pccm/

He’s a very good photo shoot.
Last time I saw him, he said he would like to do a web site on tour and  hotel reservation, similar to Ctrip(http://www.ctrip.com/)
The establishment of such a site requires a great deal of work,such as web site development, Hotel information provider, Web site promotion etc. If there are appropriate resources, I suggested that he might try.
Of course, if I have time I will help him, because I like the development of the Internet site.

Now there are a lot of Internet hotel reservation sites.You know, looking for an affordable and beautiful hotel is not easy. I have found that a Web site, hotelscombined,  is to provide hotel price comparison service,the URL is  http://www.hotelscombined.com
This site provides us all on the hotel provided by the Web site, there is a price comparison, so that we can make better choices. We can search for hotel we need, and link to relevant sites to do hotel reservations.It can search for hotel from many web sites,such as hotels.com, Booking.com, TotalTourist.com, etc. We can search a specified hotel on the hotel page,for example, China Royal Hotel Macau:

http://www.hotelscombined.com/Hotel/Royal_Hotel_Macau.htm

This model is also worth considering, and this need to establish a good relationship with major travel sites. Therefore, the work needs to be done may be more. To consider what kind of model, we need well-considered. In any case, I hope he can achieve his dream.

Foreign restaurants: American. Australian. French. German. Japanese. Indian. Italian. Korean. Latin American. Muslim. Russian. Southeast Asia. Thai. Turkish. Vegetarian.

Chinese restaurants: Cantonese. Sichuan. Beijing. Seafood.

Please find the restaurants on the below list according to the above order.

Foreign restaurants:

Euramerican Food
Name:Gail’s Place American Food & Bar
Address: 96 Hengfu Lu, by Huanshi Lu, by the Guangdong Second Chinese Medical Hospital
Tel: 0086-20-8359 2080, 0086-20-8359 3878
Business Time: Daily 10.30am-midnight. No cards.

Name:JJ’s American Restaurant & Bar
Address: 28 Taojin Jie
Tel:0086-20-8359 15097
Business Time: Daily 11am-midnight. No cards.

Name:Madison American Food and Drink Specialty
Address: 313-317 Yi An Plaza, 33 Jianshe Liu Ma Lu
Tel: 0086-20-8363 3870
Business Time: Daily 11am-midnight. All cards

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Guangzhou became a part of China in the 3d cent. B.C. Hindu and Arab merchants reached Guangzhou in the 10th cent., and the city became the first Chinese port regularly visited by European traders. In 1511, Portugal secured a trade monopoly, but it was broken by the British in the late 17th cent.; in the 18th cent. the French and Dutch were also admitted. Trading, however, was restricted until the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) following the Opium War, which opened the city to foreign trade. Following a disturbance, French and British forces occupied Guangzhou in 1856. Later the island of Shameen (Shamian) was ceded to them for business and residential purposes, and this reclaimed sandbank with its broad avenues, gardens, and fine buildings was known for its beauty; it was restored to China in 1946.

One tagged place of Guangzhou history is Chen Clan temple. The ancestral temple for the whole clan of the Chen in Guangdong Province, also called Chen Clan Academy, was designed by Li Julin and built from 1890 to 1894, Qing Dynasty when Emperor Guangxu reigned over the country. The whole structure faces the south and covers 15,000 square meters with 6,400 square meters as principal section.

Chen Clan Temple is known for its superb art of decoration for it epitomizes the folk decoration art of Guangdong. It is also famous for “three kinds of carving, three kinds of sculpture and one kind of iron casting”, including Stone carving, wood carving, Brick carving, Pottery Sculpture, plaster sculpture, painted sculpture and iron casting.

Universally recognized as one of the great cuisines of the world, Chinese food in all its variety  and complexity is unquestionably one of the finest pleasures a visitor can experience in China.

There is a vast rang of restaurants, from street stalls serving noodles to revolving restaurants top hotels and converted courtyards where the imperial family once dined.

China’s vast territory and long history have give birth to distinct regional cuisines over the centuries. The precise number of regional cuisines in China is till under dispute, but experts agree on at least eight: Sichuan, Shangdong, Guangdong(Cantonese), Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Huan and Anhui, the eight provinces in China.

Eight Distinct Regional Cuisines in China

Guangdong Cuisine

One of the eight major schools of China’s culinary art, Guangdong Cuisine is perhaps the most

popular. Guangdong Cuisine, known as Cantonese Cuisine in the West, was developed in Guangzhou, Huizhou and Chaozhou, and Hainan Island. As the climate of Guangdong is hot, these dishes are fresh, tender, and lightly seasoned. The raw material for Guangdong Cuisine is very rich, which includes snake, cat and pangolin. Cooked snake is considered a delicacy. The most famous snake dish is the Dragon and Tiger Locked in Battle, in which cobra, leopard cat, and over twenty spices are used.

Roast snake with Chrysanthemum Blooms is provided in autumn. The dish is creamy in colour and is garnished with beautiful petals of chrysanthemum, mushrooms, and various flavorings. Other delicacies in Guangdong Cuisine include Roast Suckling Pig, Duck Web in Oyster Sauce, and Braised Chicken Feet with Wild Herbs.

Sichuan Cuisine

Sichuan Cuisine is well-known for its hot and pungent at flavoring. Yet the highly distinctive pungency is not its only characteristic. In fact, Sichuan cuisine boasts a variety of flavors and different methods of cooking. A Sichuan dish can be hot, sweet, sour, salty, or tongue-numbing. Typical dishes of Sichuan are Twice cooked pork Slices, Spicy Diced Chicken with peanuts, Dry-fried Shark Fin, and Fish-flavored Pork Shreds. One of the popular dishes is Pockmarked Women’s Bean Curd which was invented by a Chengdu Chef’s pockmarked wife decades ago. Te cubed bean curd is cooked over a low flamed in a sauce which contains ground beef, chili, and pepper. When served, the bean curd is tender, spicy and appetizing.

Shandong Cuisine

Shandong Cuisine includes many well-known seafood dishes. The dishes are usually fresh, tasty, but not greasy. Some of the famous dishes are Deep-fried Red-scale Fish.
Shandong Cuisine has been influenced by the “Confucius Family Dishes”, which are renowned for their taste, aroma, colors and shape. Most famous ones are Jadeite Shark Fin, Agate Sea Cucumber, Shrimps Wearing Jade Belts, and Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.

Jiangsu Cuisine

Developed from the local food of the four cities, Suzhou, Yanghzou, Nanjing and Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Cuisine is popular in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is characteristically sweet. Sweet-sour Fish, Sweet-sour pork and Sweet-sour soup are common dishes at the table of the ordinary families. The most popular dishes are Sweet-sour Boneless Fried Fish, Watermelon Chicken, Salted Duck and Creamed Abalone Soup.

Zhejiang Cuisine

Developed from the local food of the four cities in zhejiang province: Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Wenzhou. Zhejiang Cuisine makes crisp, tender, light and fresh dishes. The ways of the cutting and the temperature of cooking are closely observed, which is the key to the success of Zhejiang Cuisine.

Fujian Cuisine

Fujian Cuisine is developed from the local food of the three cities of Fujian Province: Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen. This region is very close to the sea and sea food making is, of course, the chef’s culinary art. They are good at steaming, frying, braising the food, particularly good at pickling 7 the ingredients before cooking. The popular dishes are Wined Chicken, Wined Sliced Fish, Deep-fried Prawns, Wined Sea Cucumber with Brown Sauce, and Braised Abalone with OysterSauce, Flavor, color and appearance are important in Fujian Cuisine.

Hunan Cuisine

Hunan Cuisine is developed from the local food of the Xiangjiang Valley, Dongting Lake Area, and Western Mountainous Hunan Province. Its characteristics are: a great variety of ingredients, shiny and strong colors, hot and spicy tastes, smoked and pickled flavors. Cooking techniques are pickling, smoking, spicing, simmering, steaming, braising and frying. The noted dishes are Hot and Spicy Chicken, Simmered Shark’s Fin in Brown Sauce, Gold-Coir Fish, and Sweet Lotus Seeds Soup.

Anhui Cuisine

Anhui Cuisine is developed from the local food at the Yangtze banks In Anhui Province, the Huai River Valley, and Huizhou region. Is characteristics are natural ingredients selected; original color and flavor preserved. Deep-frying, roasting, simmering and steaming are the usual cooking techniques applied. The noted dishes are Fuli Stewed Chicken, Salted Mandarin Fish, milky Fish King, Ham Simmered with Bamboo Shoots and Ham Simmered with Softy-shelled Turtles.

As the famous saying goes, “Eating in Guangzhou”, Catering has been the relatively active industry of the economy of Guangzhou and also the sensitive industry to the society. Judging from the history, as long as the society is stable, the economy develops, the restaurants must be flourishing. Therefore, people regard catering industry as the weather glass of the politics and economy of the society.

The “morning tea”, which becomes popular all of China, has delicate and tasty dim sum.The most famouse one you can’t miss is Guangdong Dim-sums!!It’s the best way for you to join Chinese Guangdong Food culture.

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