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Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
The 1931 China floods or the 1931 Yellow River floods were a series of devastating floods that occurred in the Republic of China.<br/><br/> The floods are generally considered among one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded. Estimates of the total death toll range from 145,000 to between 3.7 million and 4 million. The Zhenfeng Pagoda was originally built in 1570 during the Ming Dynasty. Due to its location near a bend in the Yangtze River, the pagoda was formerly used as a lighthouse, and contains niches for lanterns.[ After construction, the pagoda was initially called the 'Ten-thousand Buddha' pagoda due to its interior containing over six hundred statues of the Buddha.
Wang Wei was one of the most famous men of arts and letters of his time. Many of his poems are preserved, and twenty-nine were included in the highly influential 18th century anthology 'Three Hundred Tang Poems'.<br/><br/> Wang Shimin was a Chinese landscape painter during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).
They are known, variously, as sadhus (saints, or 'good ones'), yogis (ascetic practitioners), fakirs (ascetic seeker after the Truth) and sannyasins (wandering mendicants and ascetics). They are the ascetic – and often eccentric – practitioners of an austere form of Hinduism. Sworn to cast off earthly desires, some choose to live as anchorites in the wilderness. Others are of a less retiring disposition, especially in the towns and temples of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley.<br/><br/> If the Vale of Kathmandu seems to boast more than its share of sadhus and yogis, this is because of the number and importance of Hindu temples in the region. The most important temple of Vishnu in the valley is Changunarayan, and here the visitor will find many Vaishnavite ascetics. Likewise, the most important temple for followers of Shiva is the temple at Pashupatinath.<br/><br/> Vishnu, also known as Narayan, can be identified by his four arms holding a sanka (sea shell), a chakra (round weapon), a gada (stick-like weapon) and a padma (lotus flower). The best-known incarnation of Vishnu is Krishna, and his animal is the mythical Garuda.<br/><br/> Shiva is often represented by the lingam, or phallus, as a symbol of his creative side. His animal is the bull, Nandi, and his weapon is the trisul, or trident. According to Hindu mythology Shiva is supposed to live in the Himalayas and wears a garland of snakes. He is also said to smoke a lot of bhang, or hashish.
The Xun River (Chinese: 浔江, pinyin: Xún Jiāng) is the name of a short section of the main branch of the Pearl River system upstream from the Xi Jiang in China.<br/><br/>Although less than 150 km long, it is of considerable importance in Guangxi Province as it drains the majority of the province.<br/><br/>The Xun River in name is formed by the Yu and Qian rivers, with the Qian being the greater of the two tributaries. The Xun then flows out of Guiping and through Pingnan, finally joining with the Gui Jiang in Wuzhou to form the Xi Jiang. The Xun is also a section of the Pearl's longest tributary.
The Xun River (Chinese: 浔江, pinyin: Xún Jiāng) is the name of a short section of the main branch of the Pearl River system upstream from the Xi Jiang in China.<br/><br/>Although less than 150 km long, it is of considerable importance in Guangxi Province as it drains the majority of the province.<br/><br/>The Xun River in name is formed by the Yu and Qian rivers, with the Qian being the greater of the two tributaries. The Xun then flows out of Guiping and through Pingnan, finally joining with the Gui Jiang in Wuzhou to form the Xi Jiang. The Xun is also a section of the Pearl's longest tributary.
The Xun River (Chinese: 浔江, pinyin: Xún Jiāng) is the name of a short section of the main branch of the Pearl River system upstream from the Xi Jiang in China.<br/><br/>Although less than 150 km long, it is of considerable importance in Guangxi Province as it drains the majority of the province.<br/><br/>The Xun River in name is formed by the Yu and Qian rivers, with the Qian being the greater of the two tributaries. The Xun then flows out of Guiping and through Pingnan, finally joining with the Gui Jiang in Wuzhou to form the Xi Jiang. The Xun is also a section of the Pearl's longest tributary.
The small but historic town of Hoi An is located on the Thu Bon River 30km (18 miles) south of Danang. During the time of the Nguyen Lords (1558 - 1777) and even under the first Nguyen Emperors, Hoi An - then known as Faifo - was an important port, visited regularly by shipping from Europe and all over the East.<br/><br/> By the late 19th Century the silting up of the Thu Bon River and the development of nearby Danang had combined to make Hoi An into a backwater. This obscurity saved the town from serious fighting during the wars with France and the USA, so that at the time of reunification in 1975 it was a forgotten and impoverished fishing port lost in a time warp.
The small but historic town of Hoi An is located on the Thu Bon River 30km (18 miles) south of Danang. During the time of the Nguyen Lords (1558 - 1777) and even under the first Nguyen Emperors, Hoi An - then known as Faifo - was an important port, visited regularly by shipping from Europe and all over the East.<br/><br/> By the late 19th Century the silting up of the Thu Bon River and the development of nearby Danang had combined to make Hoi An into a backwater. This obscurity saved the town from serious fighting during the wars with France and the USA, so that at the time of reunification in 1975 it was a forgotten and impoverished fishing port lost in a time warp.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
Phnom Penh lies on the western side of the Mekong River at the point where it is joined by the Sap River and divides into the Bassac River, making a meet place of four great waterways known in Cambodian as Chatomuk or 'Four Faces'. It has been central to Cambodian life since soon after the abandonment of Angkor in the mid-14th century and has been the capital since 1866.<br/><br/> An elegant Franco-Cambodian city of broad boulevards and Buddhist temples, it was considered one of the jewels of Southeast Asia until Cambodia became involved in the Second Indochina War in 1965. Ten years later victorious Khmer Rouge forces captured the city. These extreme left-wing communists, led by the secretive Pol Pot, ordered the immediate evacuation of Phnom Penh causing up to two million deaths during the period 1975-79. During this time the city was abandoned and fell into ruin. Since the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 it has been gradually recovering, but still bears scars of a terrible past.
This sketch by Louis Delaporte is one of dozens he drew during his two-year venture (1866-68) with the Mekong Exploration Commission sponsored by the French Ministry of the Navy, the intention of which was to lay the groundwork for the expansion of French colonies in Indochina. Traveling the Mekong by boat, the small French delegation voyaged from Saigon to Phnom Penh to Luang Prabang, then farther north into the uncharted waters of Upper Laos and China's Yunnan province, before returning to Hanoi in 1868 by foot, accompanied by porters and elephants.
Oiran (花魁) were the courtesans of Edo period Japan. The oiran were considered a type of yūjo (遊女) 'woman of pleasure' or prostitute. However, they were distinguished from the yūjo in that they were entertainers, and many became celebrities of their times outside the pleasure districts. Their art and fashions often set trends among the wealthy and, because of this, cultural aspects of oiran traditions continue to be preserved to this day.<br/><br/> The oiran arose in the Edo period (1600–1868). At this time, laws were passed restricting brothels to walled districts set some distance from the city center. In the major cities these were the Shimabara in Kyoto, the Shinmachi in Osaka, and the Yoshiwara in Edo (present-day Tokyo).<br/><br/> These rapidly grew into large, self-contained 'pleasure quarters' offering all manner of entertainments. Within, a courtesan’s birth rank held no distinction, which was fortunate considering many of the courtesans originated as the daughters of impoverished families who were sold into this lifestyle as indentured servants. Instead, they were categorized based on their beauty, character, education, and artistic ability.<br/><br/> Among the oiran, the tayū (太夫) was considered the highest rank of courtesan and were considered suitable for the daimyo or feudal lords. In the mid-1700s courtesan rankings began to disappear and courtesans of all classes were collectively known simply as 'oiran'.<br/><br/> The word oiran comes from the Japanese phrase oira no tokoro no nēsan (おいらの所の姉さ) which translates as 'my elder sister'. When written in Japanese, it consists of two kanji, 花 meaning 'flower', and 魁 meaning 'leader' or 'first', hence 'Leading Flower' or 'First Flower'.
The Great Leap Forward (simplified Chinese: 大跃进; traditional Chinese: 大躍進; pinyin: Dà yuè jìn) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China (CPC), reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern communist society through the process of rapid industrialization, and collectivization. Mao Zedong led the campaign based on the Theory of Productive Forces, and intensified it after being informed of the impending disaster from grain shortages.<br/><br/> Chief changes in the lives of rural Chinese included the introduction of a mandatory process of agricultural collectivization, which was introduced incrementally. Private farming was prohibited, and those engaged in it were labeled as counter revolutionaries and persecuted. Restrictions on rural people were enforced through public struggle sessions, and social pressure.<br/><br/> The Great Leap ended in catastrophe, resulting in tens of millions of excess deaths. Estimates of the death toll range from 18 million to at least 45 million.<br/><br/> In subsequent conferences in 1960 and 1962, the negative effects of the Great Leap Forward were studied by the CPC, and Mao was criticized in the party conferences. Moderate Party members like Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping rose to power, and Mao was marginalized within the party, leading him to initiate the Cultural Revolution in 1966.
The Yu Ji Tu or 'Map of the Tracks of Yu', carved into stone in 1137, is located in the Stele Forest of Beilin Museum at Xi'an.<br/><br/> The 3 ft (0.91 m) squared map features a grid of 100 li squares. China's coastline and river systems are clearly defined and precisely pinpointed on the map. 'Yu' refers to Yu Gong (Yu the Great), a Chinese deity described in the geographical chapter of the Classic of History, dated 5th century BCE.