Pearl River including the East River, the Xijiang and Beijiang tributary to the Guangzhou River confluence,,, very beautiful scenery. At night, lights,” Pearl River Pearl” on the tour ship carrying tourists from people’s bridge near Sai ferry, traveling east, the Liberation Bridge, Jiangwan bridge, Haizhu bridge. Haiyin bridge, Guangzhou bridge, Hedong Bridge, then return. Landscape on the way with Zhuhai loyalty, East Lake, Whampoa　 Yun Qiang, Etan lament,” Yangcheng eight scenic spots”, and the south building, Aiqun Hotel, Guangzhou Hotel, Hotel Landmark Canton, Le Grand Large Hotel Jiangwan Haizhu Square Gardens, two sand, White Swan Hotel, sand villa building. The whole two hours.

Lotus Mountain，covering an area of 2.33 square kilometers and with 108 meters above sea level, is situated by the bank of Lion Sea which is the estuary of Pearl River, thus it is provided with superior location and convenient communication. As a scenic spot combining the ancient ruggedness with the modern grace, it was awarded laureate titles such as “National AAAA Tourist Attraction”, “Provincial Scenic Spot”, “National Preserved Cultural Relic” and “Top 8 Tourist Attractions of the New Century in Guangzhou”.

The Ancient Quarry is well known as its unique spectacle which goes by the comment of “manpower exceeded nature’s engineering” .The Lotus Pagoda and Lotus Wall both are Provincial Preserved Cultural Relics.

Remarkably, the 40.88 meters high Guan-yin is the highest gold-foiled bronze one in the world and has been visited and worshipped by millions of pilgrims annually. Furthermore, various self-contained service facilities are well prepared for the visitors in GD Hotel & Resort. We all wish you an enjoyable visit and leisure herein Lotus Mountain.

Central Radio and TV Tower is located in western Beijing San Huan mid Road (xī sān huán zhōng lù 西三环中路), near Yuyuan Tan Park(yù yuān tán gōng yuán 玉渊潭公园) and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse(diào yú tái guó bīn guǎn 钓鱼台国宾馆) from east, the new West Railway Station(běi jīng xī zhàn 北京西站) in the west, and the Summer Palace (yí hé yuán 颐和园) is in the north. It’s 405 meters high and covers an area of 15.4 hectares. It is the fifth highest tower in the world.

There are VIP hall, rotating restaurant and terrace in the palace lantern-shaped tower, with an area of 6000 square meters. Rotating restaurant is on the 18th floor, which is 221 meters high. It can accommodate 250 people dining at the same time. The indoor viewing room is on the 19th floor, which is 225 meters high. There’s an open-air observation platform on the 22th floor with a height of 238 meters. It’s the biggest open-air observation platform on large towers in the world, which shows a 360-degree view of Beijing. And 20 times automatic telescope can be used for free. There’s a post office in the indoor viewing hall, it’s certenly the highest highest office in the air in Beijing. You can send a postcard with a stamp and medal of the post office in the air.

The ‘Pacific Underwater World Expo’, ‘Carting City Club’ and ‘Great Windmill ?? naughty cat paradise for children’ are in the pedestal of the tower. It’ll be good places for all ages of people for relax.

Travel information:
[Address]: No.11 Western Sanhuan mid Road Haidian District, Beijing
[Public Transport]: No.323, 8,624,809,811,40,64 Yuntong(运通)102, Yuntong103, Yuntong201, Yuntong108,374,394,944,836,631 Hangtian Bridge south(航天桥南)

[Whole price]: 50 yuan
[Time]: 8:30 – 22: 00
[Stop ticketing Time]: 21:30

[Lunch in rotating restaurant price]: 168 yuan (contains the whole price of visiting the tower 50 yuan and the Underwater World Expo ticket 75 yuan)
[Time(afternoon)]: 11:00 – 14: 00 (stop ticketing time: 13:30)

[Dinner in rotating restaurant price]: 298 yuan (contains the whole price of visiting the tower 50 yuan)
[Time(evening)]: 17:00 – 22: 00 (stop ticketing time 21:00)
[Business hours (night)]: Standard: 400 yuan /person, 600 yuan /person, 800 yuan /person (12 persons at most)

As the elite the Guilin landscape. the Lijiang  River is a bright pearl among China`s beautiful mountains and rivers. Originated in Mao`er Mountain at Xing`an County. northeast of Guilin City. the Lijiang River winds its way southeast for about 437 kilometers via Guilin City. Yangshuo City to Gongcheng Estuary of Pingle County in Guangxi Province. The 84-kilometer-long segment from Guilin City to Yangshuo City resembles a green silk belt. winding among the peaks and the chains of mountains. The miraculous peaks. green mountains and blue waters mutually embellish. just as a 100-kilometer-long scroll. For several thousands of years. a great number of bookmen and scholars have been intoxicated with it. A segment of the mountains and waters of the Lijiang River are printed on the back of the new version paper currency RMB 20.

The voyage of the Lijiang River from the Guilin City to the Yangshuo City is about 83 kilometers. and it can be divided into the following three segments:

The first segment is from Guilin City to Yangdi (total 46km; 4 hours’ voyage). The scenic spots are a bit far from the waterway. The scenic spots near Guilin City include the Elephant Trunk Hill, the Pagoda Hill (Sword Hill), etc. Two hills named ” Chuanshan” on the east bank and ” Guishan” on the opposite west bank resemble a pair of fighting roosters.

The second segment is from Yangdi to Xingping (total 17km; 40 minutes’ voyage). This segment has the most beautiful landscape of waters and hills. Many scenic spots are on both banks of the Lijiang River. For example, the ferry precipices of the Half-Side Ferry seem cut by knife, which is seldom seen in the world; the peaks are standing upright on both banks and the flying waterfall is being suspended highly at the Erlang Gorge; the precipice of the Mural Hill is even straight as if cut by knife, interlaced and decorated with the colors of white, yellow, gray and black, etc. After boating out of the Siwang, one can see nine horses on the precipice of the Mural Hill, so it is commonly called as the Nine-Horse Painting.

The third segment is from Xingping to Yangshuo (total 20km; 2 hours’ voyage). When you can see the highest Green Lotus Peak in Yangshuo, you will reach Yangshuo City soon. Seen from the front side, the Green Lotus Peak is as smooth as a mirror, so it is also called the Jianshan (mirror hill).

One of the advantages to visit the Lijiang River is that the tourists do not need to worry about the change of the weather, since the views of the Lijiang River have different characteristics in different weather conditions: Tourists can view the inverted images of green peaks in sunny days ; view the clouds and mists covering the hills in overcast days and view the misty rain of the Lijiang River in rainy days. Even in the overcast and rainy days, the mist over the water is wreathing, the chain of mountains is gleaming, drifting clouds are moving among the miraculous peaks, and the rain curtain is covering the waters and hills as the lengthwise yarn, looking like many splash-ink watercolor paintings.(via MySpace.cn)

Only 60 km away from China`s huge capital Beijing there is this lovely little village called Chuandixia. This village is known for its well preserved 689 Ming and Qing dynasty-style houses owned by 76 families.

These houses are built on the side of a hill. surrounded by mountains and forests. Steep stairs and lanes paved with rocks are simple and unadorned.

The village was rated as a village of great tourist value and has been placed under national level cultural relics protection. It is a great place to take photos. Almost every family at the village now receives tourists.

The village is also near spots like Shuanglong Gorge. with its rivers and falls. the Pearl Lake and the Longmenjian grand canyon.

To get there: take bus 929 from Pingguoyuan subway station to Chuandixia village.
Tel: 010-6981-9333

The grottoes were started around the year 493 when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) moved the capital to Luoyang and were continuously built during the 400 years until the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The scenery measures 1,000 metres (about 1,094 yards) from north to south where there are over 2,300 holes and niches, 2,800 steles, 40 dagobas, 1,300 caves and 100,000 statues. Most of them are the works of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the flourishing age of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Lots of historical materials concerning art, music, religion, calligraphy, medicine, costume and architecture are kept in Longmen Grottoes.

Fengxian Temple is the biggest grotto in Longmen Grotto. It was built in the Tang Dynasty with a width of 36 metres (about 118 feet) and a length of 41 metres (about 136 feet). There are nine major figures of various facial appearances and temperaments in the temple that were built in accordance with the Buddhist rite and their relationships by the artists.

The most impressive figure is the statue of Vairocana Buddha sitting cross-legged on the eight-square lotus throne. It is 17.14 metres (about 56.23 feet) in total height with the head four metres (about 13 feet) in height and the ears 1.9 metres (about 6.2 feet) in length. Vairocana means illuminating all things in the sutra. The Buddha has a well-filled figure, a sacred and kindly expression and an elegant smile. According to the record on the epigraph, the Empress Wu Zetian together with her subjects took part in the ceremony of Introducing the Light (a Buddhist blessing that the Buddha opens the spiritual light of himself and shares it with others).

At the sides of Vairocana there are two statues of Vairocana Buddha’s disciples, Kasyapa and Ananda, wearing prudent and devout expressions. The figures of Bodhisattvas and devas can also be found in the temple. Some have dignified and genial expressions, while others are majestic and fiery. The various appearances and delicate designs are the representations of Empire Tang’s powerful material and spiritual strength as well as the high crystallization of people’s wisdoms.

Wanfo Cave, completed in 680, is a typical chronological cave of the Tang Dynasty of two rooms and square flat roofs. Its name is due to the 15,000 small statues of Buddha chiseled in the southern and northern walls of the cave. The main Buddha Amida sits on the lotus Sumeru throne, having a composed and solemn face. The wall behind Amida is carved with 54 lotuses upon which there are 54 Bodhisattvas in different shapes and with various expressions.

In addition, there are lifelike reliefs of pretty and charming singers and dancers on the wall. The singers are accompanied by various kinds of instruments and the dancers dance lightly and gracefully to the music. The whole model in the cave has created a lively and cheerful atmosphere. On the southern wall outside the cave is carved a statue of Kwan-yin of 85 centimetres (about 33 inches) in height, holding a pure bottle in the left hand and deer’s tails (as a symbol of brushing off the dust in spirit) in the right hand. This figure is well designed and is regarded as an example of Bodhisattva statues of Tang Dynasty in Longmen.

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is located in Pudong Park in Lujiazui, Shanghai. The tower, surrounded by the Yangpu Bridge in the northeast and the Nanpu Bridge in the southwest, creates a picture of ‘twin dragons playing with pearls’. The entire scene is a photographic jewel that excites the imagination and attracts thousands of visitors year-round.

This 468 meters high (1,536 feet) tower is the world’s third tallest TV and radio tower surpassed in height only by towers in Toronto, Canada and Moscow, Russia. However, even more alluring than its height is the tower’s unique architectural design that makes the Oriental Pearl TV Tower one of the most attractive places anywhere.

The base of the tower is supported by three seven-meter wide slanting stanchions. Surrounding the eleven steel spheres that are ’strung’ vertically through the center of the tower are three nine-meter wide columns. There are three large spheres including the top sphere, known as the space module. Then there are five smaller spheres and three decorative spheres on the tower base. The entire structure rests on rich green grassland and gives the appearance of pearls shining on a jade plate.

Visitors travel up and down the tower in double-decker elevators that can hold up to fifty people at the rate of seven meters per second. The elevator attendants recite an introduction to the TV Tower in English and Chinese during the rapid 1/4-mile ascent. Once you reach your destination, you will be amazed at the variety of activities available as the various spheres and columns actually house places of interest, commerce, and recreation.

The inner tower is a recreational palace, while the Shanghai Municipal History Museum is located in the tower’s pedestal. The large lower sphere has a futuristic space city and a fabulous sightseeing hall. From here, on a clear day a visitor can see all the way to the Yangtze River. The base of the tower is home to a science fantasy city. The five smaller spheres are a hotel that contains twenty-five elegant rooms and lounges. The pearl at the very top of the tower contains shops, restaurants, (including a rotating restaurant) and a sightseeing floor. The view of Shanghai from this height fills you with wonder at the beauty that surrounds you. When viewed from the Bund at night, the tower’s three-dimensional lighting makes it a delight of brilliant color.

It is amazing that this ultra-modern tower combines ancient concepts such as the spherical pearls, with 21st Century technology, commerce, recreation, educational and conference facilities. All of this and it really is a TV and radio tower that services the Shanghai area with more than nine television channels and upwards of ten FM radio channels. Truly, ‘oriental pearl’ is the most suitable name for this tower.

Hotel Group Brands (4 winners)

China’s Most Popular International Hotel Group Brand of 2009

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts

China’s Most Popular Local Hotel Group Brand of 2009

Jinling Hotels & Resorts

China’s Most Popular Serviced Residence Brand of 2009

Ascott Property Management (Shanghai)Co., Ltd

China’s Most Popular Economical Chain Hotel Brand of 2009

Home Inn

Hotel Management Companies (2 winners)

2009 China’s Most Investment-value International Hotel Management Company

Accor China

2009 China’s Most Investment-value Local Hotel Management Company

New Century Hotels & Resorts

Individual Hotels (30 winners)

China’s Top 10 Most Popular Business Hotels of 2009

Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai

Grand Hyatt Shanghai

Jinling Hotel Nanjing

InterContinental Hong Kong

Sofitel Wanda Beijing

New Century Grand Hotel Hangzhou

InterContinental Shenzhen

The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street

Kowloon Shangri-La

Sheraton Shenzhen Futian Hotel

China’s Top 10 Most Popular Resort Hotels of 2009

Banyan Tree Lijiang

The Venetian?? Macao-Resort-Hotel

Yalong Bay Mangrove Tree Resort

Kayumanis Nanjing Private Villa & Spa

Sofitel Zhongshan Golf Resort Nanjing

The Interlaken OCT Hotel

Sanya Hilton Hotel

Sheraton Suzhou Hotel & Towers

Le Meridien Sheshan Shanghai

Wuyi Mountain Yeohwa Resort

China’s Top 10 Best New Opening Hotels of 2009

Park Hyatt Shanghai

Banyan Tree Sanya

Park Hyatt Beijing

The Ritz-Carlton, Sanya

JW Marriott Shenzhen

The Ritz-Carlton, Shenzhen

New Century Grand Hotel Beiji

Grand Soluxe Hotel & Resort Sanya

Howard Johnson Resort Sanya Bay

Howard Johnson ITC Plaza Chongqing

Hotel Figures (10 winners)

Best Hotel Managers of 2009 (2 winners)

Mr. Cetin Sekercioglu，Vice President and General Manager of Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai

Mr. Claudio Nardini，General Manager of Sheraton Shenzhen Futian Hotel

Figures with Distinguished Contributions to China’s Hotel Industry in 2009(5 winners)

Mr.SunJian, CEO of Home Inn

Mr. Chen Miaolin, Chief of Board, President of Zhejiang NewCentury Tourism Group

Mr.Wilburt Chang，Chairman & CEO，Howard Johnson International (China)

Mr. Wang Jinjun, President of Gloria Hotels & Resorts

Leaders of the Hotel Industry of 2009 (3 winners)

Mr.Robert Murray，Senior Vice President-Accor Greater China

Mr.Jerry Huang，Senior Vice President Operations Greater China IHG

Mr.Qian Jin，Senior Vice President,Operations,China & Taiwan Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Separate Items: (30winners)

Separate Items of Hotel Group Brand (6 winners)

China’s Most Competitive Local Hotel Brand of 2009

HNA International Hotels & Resorts Management Co., Ltd

China’s Local Hotel Brand with Most Developing Potential of 2009
Gloria Hotels & Resorts

China’s Most Competitive Hotel Management Company of 2009
Howard Johnson International (China)

2009 China’s Most Influential Serviced Residence Brand
Frasers Hospitality

China’s Best New Opening Middle and High range Business Hotel of 2009
H Hotels

Separate Items for Individual Hotels:(24 winners)

Business Hotels (13winners)

China’s Most Cultural Characteristics Business Hotel of 2009

New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo

China’s Best Business Hotel in Sports Theme of 2009

Hilton Shanghai

China’s Most Innovative Business Hotel of 2009

Jin Jiang Tower

China’s Top Luxury Boutique Hotel of 2009

Sky Fortune Boutique Hotel Shanghai

Best Business Hotel in North-East China of 2009

Kempinski Hotel Shenyang

Most Popular Hotel in Shanghai with Bund Landscape of 2009
Broadway Mansions Hotel

Most Popular Business Hotel in West China of 2009

Crowne Plaza Chengdu

Most Popular Business Hotel in East China of 2009

The Eton Hotel，Shanghai

China ‘s Best Business Conference Hotel of 2009

Hua Ting Hotel & Towers Shanghai

China’s Business Hotel with Most Developing Potential of 2009

Songjiang New Century Grand Hotel Shanghai

Most Luxury Business Hotel in West China of 2009

Sofitel Forebase Chongqing

Best Business Hotel in Central China of 2009

Sheraton Changsha Hotel

Best Business Hotel in Southwest China of 2009

Sheraton Guiyang Hotel

Resort Hotels (1 winners)

China’s Best Spa Resort Hotel of 2009

New Century Grand Hotel Kaifeng

New Opening Hotels (10 winners)

China’s Best New Opening Resort Hotel of 2009

Le Meridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa

China’s Best New Opening Theme MICE Hotel of 2009

Crowne Plaza Sun Palace Beijing

China’s Most Comfortable Sleep Hotel of 2009

Sofitel Wanda Ningbo

Marco Polo Wuhan

Best New Opening Business Hotel in East China of 2009

Howard Johnson Business Club Hotel Shanghai

Best New Opening Business Hotel in North China of 2009

InterContinental Beijing Beichen

China’s Best New Opening Resort Villa Hotel of 2009

Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort &SPA

China’s Best New Opening Luxury Business Hotel of 2009

Kempinski Hotel Suzhou

China’s Best New Opening Convention and Exhibition Hotel of 2009

Doubeltree by Hilton Huaqiao,Kunshan

China’s Best New Opening Leisure Business Hotel of 2009

Yao Jiang New Century Grand Hotel

A Predator Lagoon is full of sawsharks, barracudas and stingrays. A 100-foot (30 m) clear acrylic tunnel runs underwater, allowing visitors unobstructed views of the marine environment.

Behind Shanghai’s skyscrapers, Art Deco edifices, and colonial bungalows lies a maze of lanes lined with teahouses, ancient markets, and sidewalk stalls—a parallel world that reveals an untold history. Recent transplant Emily Prager steps out her back door and into a hidden city few outsiders ever find

I had lived in Shanghai for about two months when I learned that behind every building which fronts the street is a second and far more enticing world: a labyrinth of winding lanes and alleyways that contains all kinds of eclectic little businesses and historic houses. It is an intimate Shanghai, and one that I got to know mostly by setting out and searching on foot.

I had moved here from Manhattan with my twelve-year-old daughter, Lulu, and had rented a lane house in the former French Concession. For the first few weeks, all of our movements were concentrated on the front of the house. Then one day, I unlocked the back door and stepped outside.

Here was a narrow sunlit passage with two-story, gray-brick lane houses like mine on both sides. It was lunchtime, and the weather-beaten wooden doors and rusty casement windows were flung open wide, and inside, people were bending over sizzling woks on hot plates in tiny hallway kitchens. Brown sparrows swooped and chirped and alighted on bamboo poles overhead, prancing on the laundry hanging there. Some women were laughing and chatting with one another as they scrubbed greens at an outdoor sink, and others squatted over pink and red tin basins of water, peeling root vegetables. Farmers, their faces dark brown from countryside sun, hawked cherries with a songlike cry, the fruit piled in woven baskets hung on shoulder poles across the back of their bent necks.

I walked slowly down this lane, turned the corner, and found that the lane wound on, connecting to an even narrower alley which led to two other lanes that twisted and turned around a natural garden of fruit trees and rose bushes and eventually snaked out onto Xinle Road, the street parallel to mine.

I stared up at the old Art Deco apartment buildings which line that road, and I thought that they were almost like storefronts on a movie set. Behind them, thousands of people lived unseen. Further, there were secret ways to move around the city incognito. I determined in that moment to perform a Cheever-esque act. I would try to cross the entire French Concession by secret lanes without ever using a main street or avenue.

Two distinct worlds have existed in Shanghai since the end of the First Opium War in 1842. After the British attacked the Tao-Kuang emperor and took the city, they demanded that Shanghai become an open trading port and that Britain be granted city land for an exclusive settlement run entirely under British law. Not long after, the French and the Americans each claimed the same thing, and lands along the Huangpu River were designated the International Settlement and the French Concession, behind which lay the all-Chinese city proper.

In time, the foreign settlements expanded and eventually encroached on the Chinese city, shoving it back behind the new, elaborate colonial buildings (which we now identify as the Bund), forcing it to squeeze itself into a warren of alleyways and lanes. So was born a Westernized, urban Shanghai, peopled for the most part by foreigners, rich Chinese and their retainers, and the desperately poor. That modern, bustling Shanghai of the 1920s and ’30s flourished until the Japanese invaded in 1939.