A trek up Mount Taishan – a Peaceful, Powerful Venture
The harmony on Mount Tai between the man made masterpieces and the strength of nature, has long inspired Chinese scholars and artists. In its magnificence it has been called the greatest of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism and remains to this day a great symbol of ancient Chinese culture, civilisation and religious beliefs.
This most majestic wonder rises from the plains in the province of Shandong, where in ancient times it was called Dai Shan. In Chinese Tai means peace and the wonderful Mount Tai’s many temples and relics have brought thousands of pilgrims to its slopes for over 3,000 years. Before ascending to the throne, seventy two emperors climbed Mount Tai to lay before Heaven and Earth, and their ancestors, their prayers for peace and prosperity. These special pilgrimages brought fame to the mount as dynasty after dynasty showed reverence to the mount.
Yellow Mountain – the Loveliest Giant amidst a Sea of Clouds
Mount Huang is known as the ‘loveliest mountain in all of China’. It is a pilgrimage for poets, painters, visitors and photographers alike. Its magnificent granite peaks rise out of a seemingly endless sea of clouds, making it a spectacular site to all who behold it.
The mountain range is located in the south of the Anhui Province of eastern China, and is home to the evergreen Huangshan Pine. As a major tourist attraction it has been a stunning subject for traditional Chinese paintings and literature.
Sunrise over the Giant Buddha – A spectacle of Mount Emei
In the first century AD, the first Buddhist temple was built in Leshan City in the Sichuan Province of China. Situated amidst the scenic tranquillity of the summit of Mount Emei, the other temples constructed around the site, has allowed it to become one of the holiest Buddhist sites in China.
Mount Emei is one of Buddhism’s Four Sacred Mountains. There are around seventy beautiful ancient monasteries from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The temples architectural style blends and adapts naturally to the adjoining landscape. Even to the untrained eye, it is obvious that the buildings designers ignored architectural plans of the time and modified them to fit the natural environment.
Along the back of a Winding Dragon – Experience the Great Wall of China
The extraordinary Great Wall of China has for thousands of years inspired the strength and pride of a nation. It is undoubtedly one of the greatest wonders on the earth, as it winds majestically through grasslands, over mountains and plateaux and across desert plains.
The sections of the Great Wall were built by different dynasties, during different periods of ancient Chinese history. It stretches an extraordinary 5,500 miles from East to West. The wall started as a defensive line in the State of Chu, as the sates of China warred against each other around 700BC. When the country was unified by the Qin, there seemed to be no more need for the magnificent structure. However the nomad of the North often tried to invade the peaceful territory. Soon the Qin Emperor Shihuang ordered the expanding of the defence wall, to guard against these ‘Huns’. It was called the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Li.
The Ancient City of Pingyao – A whisper from the Past
It was the Wall Street of the ancient Chinese civilisation. Today Pingyao is the only Chinese city to have maintained its original layout and structures for thousands of years. The Ancient City of Pingyao is the finest example of a Han city from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The urban layout was centred around the financial hub of the city and ultimately the economic centre of China on a whole. It is most renowned for its defensive lines, the extraordinary twelve metre high city wall. The Ancient City of Pingyao is located to the South of Taiyuan, in the northern Shanxi Province. In December 1992, it was entered into the World Cultural Heritage list compiled by UNESCO.
A Prayer to the Skies – The Most Sacred Temple of Heaven
In ancient times, Chinese Emperors called themselves the Sons of Heaven, believing that they had the divine right to rule over their countrymen. In 1420, the magnificent and holy Temple of Heaven was built where the Ming Emperors use to perform sacred heaven worshipping rituals.
This beautiful, hallowed place was called the Temple of Heaven and Earth, but was expanded and renamed by the Ming Emperor Jiajing in 1530. Since then many colourful and symbolic changes have been made during the Qing dynasty. The layout of the Temple of Heaven reflects the ancient beliefs of the Chinese peoples, of a Round Heaven and Square Earth. The corners of the Temple compound is squared and edged, whilst the corners at the north is curved and rounded.
Tea, Temples and Tropical Forests – Mount Wuyi’s Simplest Treasures
In the Fujian Province of China, nature has beautifully arranged thirty six striking peaks with vibrant red sandstone cliffs, and entwined it in a winding stream to create the spectacular Mount Wuyi. Populated with plant species that are centuries old and animals that are unique to the Chinese region, Mount Wuyi has become an area infamous for its ancient and cultural aspects of Chinese civilisation.
Mount Wuyi rises 650 metres above sea level and has been called an extraordinary zone for biodiversity conservation. Human activity in the area dates back over four thousand years, making it as culturally affluent, as it is naturally prosperous. Its many visitors find floating on a bamboo raft along the Nine Bend River and almost surreal experience.
A Most Harmonious Delight – The Summer Palace in Beijing
Beijing is the home of one the most beautiful imperial gardens in the world, the elegant Summer Palace. It was reconstructed by China’s last feudal dynasty, the Qing, from preceding imperial gardens. The landscape of the Summer Palace is graceful, almost poetic and the manmade structures are the finest examples of ancient art and artefacts.
The gardens were sadly destroyed by fire, during the British-French invasion of 1860. However, in 1888, funds were embezzled from the navy by the Empress Dowager Cixi to rebuild the magnificent Summer Palace, also known as the Garden of Harmony.