Looking Down from the Top

 

Looking down to the bottom of this particular section of the wall makes one reflect on the unbelievable scope of the job of construction of just a small portion of the Great Wall of China.

Badaling Gate

 

1700 steps to the top at the far right of the picture. Tough going in the 34C heat!

The Great Wall of China

 

The Great Wall is one of the world's longest human-made structures, stretching over approximately 6,400 km from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. This is a view from the Badaling Gate area.

Empress' Headdress

 

This headdress was worn by an empress during the Ming Dynasty and forms part of an exhibition of period clothing and royal articles inside the Ming Tombs.

The Sacred Walk - Ming Tombs

 

This is the gate at the start of the sacred walk leading to the tombs.

The Ming Tombs

 

Located about 50 km. north of Beijing, 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in this area. The site of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Tombs was carefully chosen according to Feng Shui principles. According to these, bad spirits and evil winds descending from the North must be deflected; therefore, an arc-shaped area at the foot of the Jundu Mountains north of Beijing was selected. This 40 square kilometer area - enclosed by the mountains in a pristine, quiet valley full of dark earth, tranquil water and other necessities as per Feng Shui - would become the necropolis of the Ming Dynasty.

The National Museum of China

 

Located along the eastern side of Tiananmen Square, it is the merger of two museums formerly separate buildings on the same site: the Museum of the Chinese Revolution in the northern wing, and the National Museum of Chinese History in the southern wing. In front is a countdown clock to the Beijing Olympics. It was unfortunately closed for renovations while I was there, as was the mausoleum of Chairman Mao Zedong.

The South Gate - Tiananmen Square

 

Called Zhengyangmen gate. As dictated by tradition, the Emperor would dismount from his horse to walk through this gate.

Flagpole in Tainanmen Square

 

The huge flag of China is raised and lowered daily at surise and sunset and is usuallly viewed by several thousand people. It is claimed that as many as 250,000 people have crowded the square to view the flag ceremony. Chairman Mao pushed a button at the north gate the first time it was raised, but now it is raised and lowered manually by soldiers.

Gate to the Forbidden City

 

Standing at the base of the flagpole, we see the north gate of Tiananmen Square leading to the Forbidden City, overlooked by a portrait of Chairman Mao.

Tiananmen Square

 

Here we see the Monument to the People's Heroes in the middle of the square. Originally built in 1417, the square is 440,000 square meters in area and is the largest open-urban square in the world.

Temple in Suzhou

 

This temple is an interesting landmark in the shopping district of Suzhou.

Sarah and Anthony in Souzhou

 

Went shopping with some friends in Suzhou. Bought jeans using Anthony's excellent negotiating skills for bargaining.

Pagoda in Shenzhen

 

This pagoda is on a hill near the Parkview Hotel.

Elaborate Costumes at Sambodromo

A total of 13 top schools, each with over 3000 participants in a variety of different costumes adds up to a lot of costumes - although not all of them require a lot of material! Preparation for the competition takes the full 12 months. Each year the bottom 2 schools will be dropped out of the Sambodromo competition and two new schools elevated from the 'minor leagues for the following year.

Steam Locomotive Theme

This float flashed lights and erupted steam as it paraded by.

The Bateria - Viradouro School

Every school has a bateria, or drum corps. This float is 40 m long and holds 300 percussionists! But the amazing thing is that when it came into view it was empty, and the 300 drummers marched onto it while it was moving. Then half way along the parade area, they marched off and then back on again as the float advanced so that the other half of the stadium could see them do it! This was my favourite school by far. They placed 4th in the competition.

Enormous Lion Float - Estacio School

This float with the lion on the front is part of an Egyptian sub-theme presented by this school. It is several stories tall, with dancers at several levels, and a couple of hundred feet long.

A New Float Comes into View

This shot gives a better idea of the scale of the show! Each school is divided into groups or 'wings' of 20 to 300 people in a similar costume or performing a similar function. We see 2 such wings ahead of the float.

An Animated Float

This float flashed lights and the hat of the character on the float shot sparkling confetti into the air.

Sambodromo

The Sambodromo in Rio is the permanent home of the Samba parade. During two successive nights of Carnaval, the top 13 samba schools perform in a fierce competiton that has fans just like a major sports event. The Sambodromo holds 70,000 people and 6 schools one night and 7 schools the next night perform. Each performance takes over one hour. Each school has over 3000 costumed performers and musicians and dancers as well as 7 or 8 elaborate floats in the parade. The Sambodromo is a half mile long, and each school's parade exceeds the length of the stadium. Each school has a king and queen. The queen carries the school's flag and the king dances around her, to 'protect' her. The schools can score poorly if the king and queen's movements do not conform to strict rules.

View from my Hotel Window

The beach at Barra stretches off into the distance in both directions.

The Beach at Barra (Rio de Janeiro)

Temperatures were above 30C on this beautiful clear day. Great sand and surf and cold beer brought right to you for about $1.50. Pretty nice. Oh, and the scenery is pretty nice too!

Statue of the Bandeirantes

These were early explorers that travelled West and North to the Amazon River. They are responsible for "establishing" Brasil's vast borders in South America. By planting the Portuguese flag far away from the Atlantic Coast the Spanish Crown had to recognize their marked territory as part of the Portuguese Empire. They were courageous, but often brutal killing thousands of the indigenous population. They searched for gold, emeralds, and other precious stones. São Paulo was their primary staging area.

Museu Paulista

The Museu Paulista of the University of Sao Paulo, best known as Museu do Ipiranga, is one of the most important museums inBrazil. A historic museum, it contains a collection of objects, mobiles and art with historic relevance, especially those that have a relationship to the era of Brazilian Independence.

Catedral da Sé de São Paulo, Sao Paulo Cathedral

On Saturday, Feb. 17, I took a tour of Sao Paulo. The history of the Cathedral of São Paulo goes back in time to 1589, when it was decided that a main church (the Matriz) would be built in the small village of São Paulo. This church was demolished and rebuilt twice. The present cathedral was built under Duarte Leopoldo e Silva, the first archbishop of São Paulo. The works began in 1913 on the site of the demolished colonial cathedral. Works proceeded slowly and the inauguration of the new Cathedral happened only in 1954, with the towers still unfinished, but in time for the celebration of São Paulo's Fourth Centenary. The towers would only be completed in 1967.

The Royal Palm Plaza Hotel, Campinas, Brazil

I started my stay in Brazil with a day to recover from jet lag spent getting a bad sunburn around this pool at my hotel in Campinas

On the Water in ZhouZhuang

The best way to tour China's oldest and most famous water town is by boat. Here you see our boat pilot in full song as she sings about the history of the town - or so I am told! 

From our Restaurant

We ate lunch at a restaurant built on one of the bridges. We had earlier taken a boat ride all around town on one of the gondola-type boats in this picture. 

ZhouZhuang, Chin'a First Water Town

The city of ZhouZhuang is about a 30 minute drive from Kunshan. It is the most famous of China's water towns. Covering only .4 square kilometers, the streets are water navigated by boats. There are many ancient houses centuries old to visit and streets lined with shops and vendors. 

Shanghai

Taken from the Space Module at the 350 meter level of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai spreads out as far as the eye can see in any direction. A city of over 12 million people, it bristles with modern skyscrapers and new construction is springing up everywhere.