Tagged With "China Railway International"
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, July 14, 2015: YanGuan -- a scenic little town to watch Qiantang’s Tidal Bore （钱塘江潮）in China
I have heard of the Qiantang Tidal Bore, which is the biggest in the World. The largest in Europe is that on the River Severn in South West England, which is highest near the equinoxes - a website details times and height predictions. I attach some pictures from a few years ago taken near a pub, conveniently located near a good viewing site. The bore is particularly popular with surfers, and I believe the world record for longest wave ride was recorded there.
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Re: Gallery: Haystacks
Those haystacks speak to the country girl in me. Love the photos and the commentary.
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Re: Gallery: Haystacks
Some incredibly beautiful and amazing photos! Thanks for sharing your "friends with us"!
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
yes, I have been in that tea house before, without a helmet !
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
Originally Posted by Dr.Y: yes, I have been in that tea house before, without a helmet ! You are a very brave man, Dr.Y! I hope the tea was good, at least.
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
Actually, the Hua Shan (Mountain Hua) is close to the city of Xi'an (where Terracotta warriors museum is located). I visited both in a same trip few years ago. Regarding to the Hua Shan trial, there was a local advise "if you want to climb to the tea house, better do it during night, because you do not see what is around you, ha ha! ". Of course, now a days, you can get there comfortably by riding a Gondola.
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
As a confirmed acrophobic, I had trouble even looking at the pictures. But then I can't have an accident if I can't even imagine doing the climb. I'll concentrate on not falling down the stairs in my home and maintain my preference for looking UP at mountains from flat ground or water.
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
To be precise, the Hua Shan trial has two sections. The longer scarier section with local advise to be done during night is now equipped with Gondola. Only the hard core climber will try that section now. There are park ranger standing by the entrance to screen if some one is really fit for the climb (after seeing the trial in person, i realized that the screen is not just for increasing the Gondola revenue! ). Not be too relaxed yet, even after the Gondola ride, to reach the tea house, one...
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
It reminds me of the pictures I've seen of that ridge just below the summit of Everest, without the snow, but equally terrifying and as unlikely you'll find me there in this lifetime. Dr. Y, may I request you scatter my ashes from that location?
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
Ha ha Port, if scattered from the "fish back", you will not likely reach the "flat ground or water" there. Most likely will be blown upwards towards the sky
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
Originally Posted by Dr.Y: " ...if scattered from the "fish back", you will not likely reach the "flat ground or water" there." Note I stipulated "in this lifetime". I figured if I'm to experience such a thing, it'll have to wait until I'm ashes. But better late than never, right?
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
DEFINITELY NOT the hike for me. I like hiking but I just hate standing beside a drop like this. And those boards just don't look strong enough.... But interesting to read about and see.
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Re: Family Takes Year Off to Travel the World
They did not take a year "off"; they took a year "on" to live life. What lucky kids ! What lucky parents ! Bully on this family for making that "luck" happen.
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Re: Family Takes Year Off to Travel the World
What a great adventure. Not for everyone, but I can't think of anything that would bond a family more than an experience like this. Thanks for sharing this one, Travelrob!
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Wow, an interesting way of living, but people are still living there or is just a tourist attraction?
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
These are living communities. A few have been abandoned in favor of apartment blocks and are melting back into the earth, as mud-brick construction does, but most of the thousands scattered through the hills of the province continue to be villages in themselves, enjoyed and maintained by the Hakka communities that occupy them. A few of the largest individual tulous and clusters have become tourist attractions but if you hurry you'll likely be, as I was, one of the only western tourists for ...
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Ah i understand now, thank you for the information, nice topic btw
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Amazing!! As you said, ahead of the crowd.....what an adventure!
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Thanks, Dgems. When I wrote this piece, last year, I didn't have access to my own photos. In the next month or so I plan to post a gallery of my own pictures of the tulou so you'll have a better idea of the variety of structures and ambiance of the area.
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Thank you for bringing us back these wonderful photos of a secret splendor. (I still want to know what happened to you without easy communication. Those are the moments that challenge and expand us, and they must have for you. )
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
HistoryDigger, I'll explain. At the end of the first day of tulou visits, the large tour bus rendezvoused with a small van and it was indicated that I should bring my things and come with a young man. Since no one could explain, I had to simply trust and go along, an interesting sensation. I later realized that I was the only one who had opted for the second day. The young man drove me to a very basic village of mostly new buildings built, I suspect but of course don't know, for...
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
I'm amazed at seeing this. At first I was thinking, well, communal dwelling, sort of like pueblos, and then I realized that this is much bigger, since you said there are hundreds of these. Do you know if they are in other areas of China, too? Are people still building like that now?
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Sisyphus, not to nit-pick, but thousands of them according to everything I've read, not hundreds. They're built by the Hakka people so confined to Fujian and neighboring provinces. I suspect there may not be many under construction as efforts seem to be going toward maintaining the ones standing. When I was walking through the clusters I visited there were a few abandoned and in disrepair but not many, at least that I saw. There very well may be more unmaintained in remoter areas. Young...
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Fascinating piece, PortMoresby! Truly a stranger in a strange (but fascinating) lang. Thanks for sharing it with us!
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
Thanks PortMoresby! Do you remember where you saw the original Photo.Glad to hear the adventurous spirit is alive and well.
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
No, Rob. Sorry, I don't remember. I read a lot of publications, online and off, and the original picture got lost in the dust of enthusiasm to research logistics. I don't think there's any lack of enthusiasm in the world but that obscure places are getting less obscure every day. What I do think is lacking is imagination. We tend to read about places people have enjoyed, as here on TravelGumbo and follow, rather than setting out for parts unknown. I believe if a place is hard to get to it...
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Re: Good news, bad news on UNESCO's world heritage
I enjoy traveling to UNESCO sites because most of them are very interesting destinations. I even know of some travelers whose goal it is to see "every" UNESCO listing. Good luck to them! I really think UNESCO is doing it's job by identifying important places and encouraging their conservation. I shudder at the thought of a global UNESCO police swooping in to "defend" these sites. It's up to the countries that govern them to do so. Some do a great job; others don't. Some citizens care, others...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Aug 5th 2014: Incense Coils, Hong Kong
I find this a captivating image, Islandman. I can easily see myself staring at these coils from a thousand angles, trying to get the right angle on them, as I imagine you did!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, October 28, 2014: The changing landscape of Shanghai
Sounds like an interesting city. Do you like the old or new Shanghai better, DrY?
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Re: United, Air China sign up new codeshares
Good to hear. I just took an Air China flight and the airline has some good points for the longf distance budget traveler, like free meals and free video options.
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Re: China amusement park gets full-size Titanic
I wonder if there's a "made in China" label on this boat?
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Re: China amusement park gets full-size Titanic
I'm sure there is...they're proud of their shipbuilding industry. There's also a "Made-in-Britain" objection to one aspect of the project. It seems the new Titanic comes with a shake-and-rumble-and-flashing-lights simulator to give the feeling of hitting an iceberg and give visitors a fear they are drowning. Some descendants of Titanic passengers have objected ( MORE ). Su Shaojun, head of the group behind the project, said the aim was to “spread the spirit of the Titanic."
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Re: One 'Ghost Airport' in China Plans to Expand Again
The video on the link even shows China's version of a bridge to nowhere.
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Re: Stolen bike recovered, cyclist heads on to 30,000km+ goal
A very cool story and I liked his photos. I wonder if Wang Pingan ever saw Pee Wee's Big Adventure? /
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Re: One 'Ghost Airport' in China Plans to Expand Again
Seems as if someone really believes "if you build it, they will come."
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, August 11, 2015: Zhou Zhuang (周庄), a scenic little water town of southern China
It reminds me of a Chinese Venice! Beautiful place...thanks for sharing.
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Re: Boeing Announces the Biggest Aircraft Order Ever by China
The deal is worth a $38 billion to Boeing in the short term. What the long term costs will be to the company are impossible to know. There's also details on this story at this link .
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Re: Most of China's Wall in danger: Can it be saved?
I'm not sure it's even a good idea to rebuild the entire thing, but certainly significant sections should be restored and preserved. I think most of us agree this great human site should survive.
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Re: Most of China's Wall in danger: Can it be saved?
This is old news. Very old. Villages in proximity to the wall have been built from it's bricks for eons and the parts that people love to visit and pretend are historical are nothing of the kind, but completely newly built and Disney-fied versions for the tourists, foreign & domestic. The Chinese government, in its (lack of) wisdom has no more interest in cultural preservation than it does in playing fair in any area of endeavor. History and its artifacts are tools having no value beyond...
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Re: Big boom in glass-bottom bridges
I'm with you there...I love spectacular views as much as the next guy, but when I'm looking down a long way I feel nervous chills...add that to a swaying bridge, and I'm, well, not there!
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Re: The Forbidden City - Beijing China
Interesting your comparison to Versailles, on size (which omits the gardens, of course). The comparison that came to my mind was Topkapi, in Istanbul, where a series of courtyards encloses a huge space, with increasingly restricted access to each. In the first courtyard there were troops, palace services and more; the second was restricted to government officials and prominent visitors, in the third only the highest officials of the Sultan and in the last, only the family and its servants.
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Re: The Forbidden City - Beijing China
That's a fascinating visit, Jonathan, thanks for sharing it. I can easily see where you'd have wanted a full day to explore the amazing architecture of the place -- and everything else!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 10, 2013: Zhangjiajie National Park, China
The intensity of those colors is astonishing...even in pictures! Thank you!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 10, 2013: Zhangjiajie National Park, China
Oh my, I had no idea that this existed. Makes me happy to have eyes. Thank you.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 10, 2013: Zhangjiajie National Park, China
Thanks Paul and Louie for your comments. Glad you enjoyed the pictures. Yes, my family did have jaw cramping for a while after visiting that place
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 10, 2013: Zhangjiajie National Park, China
That place reminds me of Carlsbad caves in New Mexico. It's beautiful! I like how the guy in the bottom right (white shirt) gives you an idea of how big it is. Wonder which one is bigger? Carlsbad or this one?
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 10, 2013: Zhangjiajie National Park, China
Thanks Theo for your comment. That was exactly the intention to include a person in the picture Have not been in Carlsbad caves yet, perhaps should be added to the next destination list. The mountain pinnacles in Zhangjiajie stretch mils and mils, kind like Yellowstone. I was told the underneath cave system is the same. However, only a small fraction is explored and even smaller ones are currently open for visitors.