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The Beijing city wall was a series of fortifications built between the early 1400s and 1553. The Inner city wall was 24 km long and 15 meters high, with a thickness of 20 metres at ground level and 12 metres at the top. It had nine gates. This wall stood for nearly 530 years, but in 1965 it was removed to allow construction of the 2nd Ring Road and the Line 2, Beijing Subway.<br/><br/> Only one part of the wall is extant, in the southeast, just south of Beijing Railway Station. The Outer city walls had a perimeter of approximately 28 kilometres. The entire enclosure of the Inner and Outer cities had a perimeter of nearly 60 kilometres.
International attention to Shanghai grew in the 19th century due to its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze River. During the First Opium War (1839%
Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an (original name of Xi'an) began in 194 BCE and lasted for four years. The existing wall was started during the Ming Dynasty in 1370. It encircles a much smaller city of 14 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi). The wall measures 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) in circumference, 12 metres (39 ft) in height, and 15–18 metres (49–59 ft) in thickness at the base.<br/><br/> Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty.<br/><br/> Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held that position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army.
Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an (original name of Xi'an) began in 194 BCE and lasted for four years. The existing wall was started during the Ming Dynasty in 1370. It encircles a much smaller city of 14 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi). The wall measures 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) in circumference, 12 metres (39 ft) in height, and 15–18 metres (49–59 ft) in thickness at the base.<br/><br/> Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty.<br/><br/> Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held that position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army.
Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of more than 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the developed world. The Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people, home to over half of South Koreans along with 632,000 international residents.<br/><br/>During the Korean War, Seoul changed hands between the Chinese-backed North Korean forces and the UN-backed South Korean forces several times, leaving the city heavily damaged after the war. One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war, at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins. In addition, a flood of refugees had entered Seoul during the war, swelling the population of Seoul and its metropolitan area to an estimated 2.5 million, more than half of them homeless.
Edwin Lord Weeks (1849 – 1903), American artist and Orientalist, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1849. He was a pupil of Léon Bonnat and of Jean-Léon Gérôme, at Paris. He made many voyages to the East, and was distinguished as a painter of oriental scenes.<br/><br> Weeks' parents were affluent spice and tea merchants from Newton, a suburb of Boston and as such they were able to accept, probably encourage, and certainly finance their son's youthful interest in painting and travelling.<br/><br> As a young man Edwin Lord Weeks visited the Florida Keys to draw and also travelled to Surinam in South America. His earliest known paintings date from 1867 when Edwin Lord Weeks was eighteen years old. In 1895 he wrote and illustrated a book of travels, From the Black Sea through Persia and India.
Watercolour by William Alexander (1767-1816) of the Western Gate of Beijing, 1799. Alexander accompanied Lord Macartney on his embassy to the Chinese Emperor and painted in an extravagantly Orientalist style.
Just a part of one of the shorter sides of Nakhon Si Thammarat's long, original rectangle of walls is still standing, but this section has been carefully restored. These impressive remains still gives a clear impression of what the fortifications must have been like when they stood within defensive moats, resisting first King Taksin, and then the invading Burmese, during the early Rattanakosin period.<br/><br/> The remains of the ancient brick-built walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat are topped with crenellated battlements in the familiar shape of Buddhist bai sema. The imposing structure is broken by part of the only surviving city gate, the northern one, which boasts a strongly fortified gate house and a wide, high arch. In times past the walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat were defended by four strong corner-forts, but these have totally disappeared.<br/><br/> Originally the wall enclosed an area measuring about half a kilometre from East to West, by just over two kilometres from North to South. Today only the north gate, Pratu Chai Neua or Pratu Chai Sak, still survives – at least, in part. The former south gate has completely disappeared and is today only remembered in the nearby road named Thanon Pratu Chai Tai, or 'South Gate Road'.
Just a part of one of the shorter sides of Nakhon Si Thammarat's long, original rectangle of walls is still standing, but this section has been carefully restored. These impressive remains still gives a clear impression of what the fortifications must have been like when they stood within defensive moats, resisting first King Taksin, and then the invading Burmese, during the early Rattanakosin period.<br/><br/> The remains of the ancient brick-built walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat are topped with crenellated battlements in the familiar shape of Buddhist bai sema. The imposing structure is broken by part of the only surviving city gate, the northern one, which boasts a strongly fortified gate house and a wide, high arch. In times past the walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat were defended by four strong corner-forts, but these have totally disappeared.<br/><br/> Originally the wall enclosed an area measuring about half a kilometre from East to West, by just over two kilometres from North to South. Today only the north gate, Pratu Chai Neua or Pratu Chai Sak, still survives – at least, in part. The former south gate has completely disappeared and is today only remembered in the nearby road named Thanon Pratu Chai Tai, or 'South Gate Road'.
Just a part of one of the shorter sides of Nakhon Si Thammarat's long, original rectangle of walls is still standing, but this section has been carefully restored. These impressive remains still gives a clear impression of what the fortifications must have been like when they stood within defensive moats, resisting first King Taksin, and then the invading Burmese, during the early Rattanakosin period.<br/><br/> The remains of the ancient brick-built walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat are topped with crenellated battlements in the familiar shape of Buddhist bai sema. The imposing structure is broken by part of the only surviving city gate, the northern one, which boasts a strongly fortified gate house and a wide, high arch. In times past the walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat were defended by four strong corner-forts, but these have totally disappeared.<br/><br/> Originally the wall enclosed an area measuring about half a kilometre from East to West, by just over two kilometres from North to South. Today only the north gate, Pratu Chai Neua or Pratu Chai Sak, still survives – at least, in part. The former south gate has completely disappeared and is today only remembered in the nearby road named Thanon Pratu Chai Tai, or 'South Gate Road'.
Just a part of one of the shorter sides of Nakhon Si Thammarat's long, original rectangle of walls is still standing, but this section has been carefully restored. These impressive remains still gives a clear impression of what the fortifications must have been like when they stood within defensive moats, resisting first King Taksin, and then the invading Burmese, during the early Rattanakosin period.<br/><br/> The remains of the ancient brick-built walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat are topped with crenellated battlements in the familiar shape of Buddhist bai sema. The imposing structure is broken by part of the only surviving city gate, the northern one, which boasts a strongly fortified gate house and a wide, high arch. In times past the walls of Nakhon Si Thammarat were defended by four strong corner-forts, but these have totally disappeared.<br/><br/> Originally the wall enclosed an area measuring about half a kilometre from East to West, by just over two kilometres from North to South. Today only the north gate, Pratu Chai Neua or Pratu Chai Sak, still survives – at least, in part. The former south gate has completely disappeared and is today only remembered in the nearby road named Thanon Pratu Chai Tai, or 'South Gate Road'.
Wenchang Ge (Pavilion of Flourishing Culture) was built in 1596 during the Ming Dynasty era. The building is noted for its exquisitely decorated doors and windows as well as its gently raised eaves. Today it serves as a pleasant tea house.<br/><br/> Guiyang is the capital of China's Guizhou province and is situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. It was first constructed as early as 1283 AD during the Yuan Dynasty. It was originally called Shunyuan (順元), meaning obeying the Yuan (the Mongol rulers).
Wenchang Ge (Pavilion of Flourishing Culture) was built in 1596 during the Ming Dynasty era. The building is noted for its exquisitely decorated doors and windows as well as its gently raised eaves. Today it serves as a pleasant tea house.<br/><br/> Guiyang is the capital of China's Guizhou province and is situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. It was first constructed as early as 1283 AD during the Yuan Dynasty. It was originally called Shunyuan (順元), meaning obeying the Yuan (the Mongol rulers).
Wenchang Ge (Pavilion of Flourishing Culture) was built in 1596 during the Ming Dynasty era. The building is noted for its exquisitely decorated doors and windows as well as its gently raised eaves. Today it serves as a pleasant tea house.<br/><br/> Guiyang is the capital of China's Guizhou province and is situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. It was first constructed as early as 1283 AD during the Yuan Dynasty. It was originally called Shunyuan (順元), meaning obeying the Yuan (the Mongol rulers).
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.
Fenghuang is Chinese for Phoenix and refers to the mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) the Phoenicians.<br/><br/> Legend suggests that two phoenixes on discovering the town hovered overhead for some considerable time before reluctantly flying away.<br/><br/> Fenghuang town is a well-preserved ancient town supposedly dating back to 248 BC. It is home to the Miao and Tujia minorities. The distinctive architecture includes Ming and Qing styles.