Comments for China Travel Blog

Comment on How Is The Great Wall Of China Important Regarding China’s Culture And Heritage? by moroccob

moroccob — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:15:16 +0000

In the north of China, there lies a 6,700-kilometer-long (4,161-mile-long) ancient wall. Now well-known as the Great Wall of China, it starts at the Jiayuguan Pass of Gansu Province in the west and ends at the Shanhaiguan Pass of Hebei Province in the east. As one of the Eight Wonders in the world, the Great Wall of China has become the symbol of the Chinese nation and its culture.
Lots of beautiful legends and stories about the Great Wall took place following along the construction, and since that time these stories have spread around the country. Those that happened during construction are abundant, such as Meng Jiangnu’s story and the legend of the Jiayuguan Pass. Meng Jiangnu’s story is the most famous and widely spread of all the legends about the Great Wall. The story happened during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC). It tells of how Meng Jiangnu’s bitter weeping made a section of the Great Wall collapse. Meng Jiangnu’s husband Fan Qiliang was caught by federal officials and sent to build the Great Wall. Meng Jiangnu heard nothing from him after his departure, so she set out to look for him. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the great wall, she discovered that her husband had already died. Hearing the bad news, she cried her heart out. Her howl caused the collapse of a part of the Great Wall. This story indicates that the Great Wall is the production of tens of thousands of Chinese commoners.
Another legend about the Jiayuguan Pass tells of a workman named Yi Kaizhan in the Ming Dynasty (1368BC-1644BC) who was proficient in arithmetic. He calculated that it would need 99,999 bricks to build the Jiayuguan Pass. The supervisor did not believe him and said if they miscalculated by even one brick, then all the workmen would be punished to do hard work for three years. After the completion of the project, one brick was left behind the Xiwong city gate. The supervisor was happy at the sight of the brick and ready to punish them. However Yi Kaizhan said with deliberation that the brick was put there by a supernatural being to fix the wall. A tiny move would cause the collapse of the wall. Therefore the brick was kept there and never moved. It can still be found there today on the tower of the Jiayuguan Pass.
In addition to the above-mentioned stories about the construction of the Great Wall, there are also plenty of stories about current scenic spots. A famous one is the legend of the Beacon Tower. This story happened during the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-711 BC). King You had a queen named Bao Si, who was very pretty. King You liked her very much, however Bao Si never smiled. An official gave a suggestion that setting the beacon tower on fire would frighten the King’s subjects, and might make the queen smile. King You liked the idea. The subjects were fooled and Bao Si smiled at the sight of the chaos. Later enemies invaded Western Zhou, King You set the beacon tower on fire to ask for help. No subjects came to help because they had been fooled once before. Thus, King Zhou was killed by the enemy and Western Zhou came to an end.
Beautiful stories and legends about the Great Wall help to keep alive Chinese history and culture. In each dynasty after the building of the Great Wall, many more stories were created and spread

Comment on How Is The Great Wall Of China Important Regarding China’s Culture And Heritage? by Babito

Babito — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:07:39 +0000

The great wall represents China’s history. It was first built in the 7th century B.C. when China was still divided into many small states. After the unification of China in 221 B.C., the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (you must have heard of his teracotta army) linked the walls of the three states in the north. It also significant for China’s culture. The Great Wall has long been incorporated into Chinese mythology and popular symbolism. The most beautiful of several legends is about the collapse of a section of the Great Wall caused by Meng Jiangnu, who cried bitterly over the death of her husband in the construction of the Great Wall. This legend has been spread widely through textbooks, folk songs and traditional operas.

Comment on Please Suggest A Good Travel Guide Book For Egypt? by Passion

Passion — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:56:18 +0000

lonely planet for sure

Comment on Please Suggest A Good Travel Guide Book For Egypt? by The Ministry of Common Sense

The Ministry of Common Sense — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:30:06 +0000

Go to travel agencies and they will give u travel guide books for free. U can find a travel agency almost every where. This website may also help you: http://www.tripadvisor.com. Good luck!

Comment on Please Suggest A Good Travel Guide Book For Egypt? by Zoser II

Zoser II — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:05:25 +0000

Lonely Planet is a very good guide.

Comment on Please Suggest A Good Travel Guide Book For Egypt? by SAM

SAM — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:03:25 +0000

One of the best:http://openlibrary.org/b/OL9694000M/Blue…
and it is sold through Amazonhttp://www.amazon.com/Blue-Guide-Egypt-V…

Comment on Please Suggest A Good Travel Guide Book For Egypt? by Wilona

Wilona — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:42:20 +0000

I always use the Lonely Planet Guides….they are pocket size , comprehensive & up to date !http://www.lonelyplanet.com/egypt

Comment on Please Suggest A Good Travel Guide Book For Egypt? by JOHN D

JOHN D — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:35:40 +0000

You can read about my personal trip to Egypt few months back (Cairo to be exact) and take notes

Comment on Please Suggest A Good Travel Guide Book For Egypt? by Aussie

Aussie — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:34:42 +0000

Hi it sound as if your a sightseer not a Beach person,there are books at your travel agent which will show you all the sites you can visit. From Cairo [museum,pyramids spinx ] To luxor with its temple,temple of light,over the nile to valley of the kings tombs more temple,and up to the aswan dam and more ancient ruins. Good Holidaying John

Comment on What Is The Best Travel Guide To Paris? by tee2

tee2 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:57:54 +0000

I LOVED Paris!!!!! You will have an absolute BLAST!!! Best guide by far was the Unofficial Guide to Paris. It was easy to read. Easy to navigate. Told you the best places to go, to see..things normally one wouldn’t do. I got mine on amazon.com really cheap. Paris..they dress how ever they want haha. I saw everything there. I wore jeans..classy jeans nothing with holes..nice shirts everyday. You see a lot of button downs. Just a casual fashionable look. The French are SO nice, the rumor of them hating Americans (not sure if you are) is not true at all. Just learn “do you speak english” “Hi” “Bye” “Excuse Me” “Thank you” “Please” in French and you will be fine. If you show them that you are trying their language they are way receptive to speaking to you. Eiffel Tower- We went right before sunset. It is STUNNING at sunset!! Every hour on the hour they light it up with the flashing lights, its great. But they close the 3rd story at sunset, so if you want to go all of the way to the top get there a bit early. BUt I highly highly recomment the tower at sunset…I got the best pictures!! I brought a very good camera, with a good zoom. Make sure it runs on batteries, with the difference in power outlets it just makes it easier..I had a spare set with me and it worked wonderfully. Keep your purse in front of you or hold on to it, pick pockets are bad. If you want to keep it, do not keep it in your pocket. Get a good bag that has a latch on it, so no one can reach in and yank it out. Try the croissants, pastries, sandwiches, Snails (they are awesome!), Creme Brulee, Mussels, the food is amazing!! The Louvre is a great museum too, save an entire day for that. GO shopping!!! Window shopping in France is awesome, its all so expensive but so great to look at!!! The best shopping was right behind the Opera house..there is the best shops!! Expensive but great to look at. If you want good deals, look up markets. Also, there are parts of the outter Paris that have stores with great deals. I went to Disneyland Paris as well, was fun for sure! I have more ideas if you are interested, just message me!! Have fun!! Ohhhh take a journal and write down everything you do, see, try…I did it and am SO glad I did. You see so much it all blends together..is great to go back and go OH YEAH I DID THAT!! ENJOY!!!