A 1,400 year old Gingko biloba at the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in China’s Zhongnan Mountains bathes the temple garden in a sea of gold.
A 1,400 year old Gingko biloba tree at the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in the Zhongnan Mountains of China is seen shedding its golden leaves this past Autumn, bathing the temple garden in a sea of golden yellow.
The incredible sight has attracted visitors from the surrounding area to revel in the ancient tree’s beauty one final time before the looming winter.
[via Colossal]
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
A 300 meter long (984 ft) glass suspension bridge, 180 meters (591 ft) above ground recently opened in Hunan, China’s Shiniuzhai National Geological Park. Dubbed Haohan Qiao or ‘Brave Men’s Bridge’, crossing it will give adventurous visitors an experience they won’t soon forget.
Although originally meant to be made of wood, the designers decided to make the crossing out of extra strong, extra thick glass instead. Another glass bridge is set to open in Hunan later this year in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon area. When it is complete it will be the world’s highest and longest glass bridge at 430 meters (1411 ft) long and 300 meters (984 ft) high.
[via Arch Daily, CNN, China News]
Seen here are the stunning Longsheng Rice Terraces located in Guanxi, China after a fresh watering.
Seen here are the stunning Longsheng Rice Terraces located in Guanxi, China after a fresh watering. According to english.news.cn the terraced rice fields were created over 650 years ago and they range from 600 to 1200 meters above sea level.
The terraced rice fields wind all the way up from the river to the mountain top, dividing the mountain into layers of water in spring, layers of green rice shoots in summer, layers of rice in fall and layers of frost in winter.
A fishing village is abandoned when the fishers move mainland due to the ease of transport and sale for their daily catches.
At the mouth of the Yangtze River you will find the Shengsi Archipelago; comprised of 394 islands, each with an area more than 500 sqm and just 18 of which are inhabitable. [source]
The subtropical region boasts beautiful reefs, beaches and cliffs for visiting tourists and the area is also a notable fishery that attracts over 100,000 fishers every winter. [source]
Because of this seasonality, an old fishing village on the island of Shengshan was abandoned when it became more economical for the fishers to live and work mainland where fresh catches could be more easily transported and sold.
The abandoned coastal village now stands as a relic and nature has slowly overtaken the buildings and roads.
When Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov scaled the Shanghai Tower last year (see here and here) the Internet went nuts (the video alone has been viewed over 41 million times).
The notoriety inspired them to attempt an equally crazy climb of the Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzhen, China. When complete it will be the tallest building in China and second tallest building in the world (antenna spire 660 m/2,165 ft; roof 555.1 m/1,821 ft). You can watch the heart stopping video below along with some photos of the daring feat.
In this jaw-dropping panoramic by Trey Ratcliff, we see the incredible landscape of the northern region of Guangxi, just to the south of the Guizhou and Hunan provinces of China.
In a post on Google+, Ratcliff explains:
“It was a muggy day, the sort where you feel your t-shirt sticking to you before you even realize it. We hired some local guides, who then hired some even more local guides to help show the way to the spire we wanted to ascend. Boy was it grueling! Jagged rocks, thorny bushes, all-fours most of the way. Sometimes the only thing to hold onto was a thorn bush or a glassy-evil-jaded rock. At the top, I looked down to see all kinds of grisly lacerations… but gathered my wits to get this photo! This photo is a panorama, which I don’t normally do, but the Dr. Seuss countryside there is so vast and overpowering, it was kind of the only way to bring it all together.”
Be sure to check out the full-size (and zoomable!) 19,000 pixel wide panorama on Google+
In this breathtaking aerial photograph by Jialiang Gao, we see the amazing terraced rice terraces of Yunnan, China. Yunnan’s Yuanyang County is a popular destination with photographers due to the vast areas of nearby mountains which have been cultivated into terraced rice paddies for at least the past 1300 years by the Hani people.
Situated in the former French Concession area of Shanghai you will find a nondescript sandwich shop called, The Press. There’s not much to the place aside from a neon sign with a whimsical epithet and an old Coca-Cola machine in the corner…
Alberto Caiola, the designer of The Press adds:
At first glance, The traditional diner setting of The Press looks immediately familiar to passerby, but a number of edgier, more contemporary details call for a second look: the smooth, finished countertops in colourful shades, neon lighting strips and polished minimalism of the furnishings set against unfinished walls, rough concrete walls and floors, plus a dramatic, asymmetrical drop ceiling create an unconventional scene that inspires curiosity in the space. The centrepiece of the room is a vintage Coca-Cola vending machine, which is split vertically to swing open and reveal the entrance to Flask.
Through a tunnel visitors will step into an environment of extreme contrast with the sandwich shop up front. Welcome to Flask; a dimly lit, contemporary take on the classic speakeasy.
Flask was also designed by Caiola and the first thing you’ll notice is the impressive floor-to-ceiling shelving unit right next to the entrance, featuring 25 individually illuminated whiskey bottles.
The second piece you’ll notice is a wall installation featuring rows of flasks that are hidden behind a mysterious layer—like the speakeasy itself, the surfaces of these flasks are hidden, with only the outline of their shapes to give the viewer an idea of what lies beneath.
The rest of the space is designed to feel private and personal. Lighting is kept minimal and muted, with several base points throughout the venue each emitting a warm glow of light that bounces off one another. The most prominent of these is the copper lighting arrangement in the inside of the drop ceiling, which diffuses subtle amber light from the overhead.
Millionaire Chinese businessman Xiong Shuihua returned to his childhood village of Xiongkeng to do something special for the residents that treated him and his family so well growing up.
The 54-year-old business tycoon—who amassed millions from the construction and steel industries—returned to his village and bulldozed wooden huts and muddy roads, replacing them with brand new luxury homes and paved streets for 72 families. All for free.
According to the Daily Mail, the businessman also built free luxury villas for 18 families that he said were particularly kind to him and his family growing up. Xiong also pledged three free meals daily to all elderly and low-income residents.
The village of Xiongkeng is located in the city of Xinyu in Southern China. The entire project is said to have cost the businessman over $6 million USD. He tells the Daily Mail:
‘I earned more money than I knew what to do with, and I didn’t want to forget my roots. I always pay my debts, and wanted to make sure the people who helped me when I was younger and my family were paid back.’
For more information see the entire article on the Daily Mail.
Seen here is the famous Five Fingers Peak of Huangshizhai, located in the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China since 1992.
Wulingyuan is noted for its more than 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars and peaks across most of the site, many over 200 metres (660 ft) in height, along with many ravines and gorges with attractive streams, pools and waterfalls. It features 40 caves, many with large calcite deposits, and two natural bridges, Xianrenqiao (Bridge of the Immortals) and Tianqiashengkong (Bridge Across the Sky).
The site is situated between 29°16’0″N 110°22’0″E and 29°24’0″N 110°41’0″E in the Zhangjiajie City and lies about 270 kilometres (170 mi) to the northwest of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. Wulingyuan forms part of the Wuling Mountain Range. The scenic area comprises several national parks, one of which is the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. [source]
This is a downsized version from the incredible original panorama on Wikimedia Commons. Click here to see the 13,206 x 6,676 pixel image (watch out, it’s 97.28 mb!).
