Jingdezhen, China’s Porcelain Capital

21 December 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Shanghai Museum - Underglaze blue lotus-shaped dish with Sanskrit inscriptions, Jingdezhen ware, Wanli Reign, 1573-1620 © Gerbil/cc-by-sa-3.0

Shanghai Museum – Underglaze blue lotus-shaped dish with Sanskrit inscriptions, Jingdezhen ware, Wanli Reign, 1573-1620 © Gerbil/cc-by-sa-3.0

Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city, in northeastern Jiangxi province, with a total population of 1.7 million (2018), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the “Porcelain Capital” because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for at least 1,000 years, and for much of that period Jingdezhen porcelain was the most important and finest quality in China. The city has a well-documented history that stretches back over 2,000 years. Jingdezhen is situated in the north-east of Jiangxi and borders on Anhui; the city center area is located in the north-east of the Poyang Lake Plain. Its area is 5,256 km² (2,029 sq mi). The highest point is 1,618 m (5,308 ft), with plains on the southern part having an average altitude of 200 m (660 ft). There are some cities and counties between Jiangxi and Anhui Province around Jingdezhen. To its north, northwest and northeast are Dongzhi, Xiuning and Qimen County of Anhui province. To its south are Wannian County and Yiyang County. To its west is Poyang County. Lastly, to its southeast are Wuyuan County and Dexing City. Jingdezhen’s natural resources include kaolin, coal, manganese, and lime, but it is the kaolin that has made the city famous in China and the world. For over a millennium, its unique kaolin has enabled Jingdezhen to make high-quality porcelain. (The word “Kaolin” came from “Gaoling” or “Kaoling”, a village located in Ehu Town, Fuliang County, Jingdezhen).   read more…

Macao, Las Vegas of the East

18 December 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  19 minutes

Marina at Macau Fisherman's Wharf © Mfwmarketing/cc-by-sa-4.0

Marina at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf © Mfwmarketing/cc-by-sa-4.0

Macau, also spelled Macao and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, is a city and special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a population of about 650,000 and an area of 32.9 km² (12.7 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world. Macau is a former colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887, when it gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China. Macau is a special administrative region of China, which maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China under the principle of “one country, two systems“. Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands, the territory has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism, with a gambling industry seven times larger than that of Las Vegas. The territory is highly urbanised and most development is built on reclaimed land; two-thirds of the total land area is reclaimed from the sea.   read more…

Beijing Daxing International Airport

1 August 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  10 minutes

Model of Beijing Daxing International Airport at the Five-Year Achievements Exhibition © N509FZ/cc-by-sa-4.0

Model of Beijing Daxing International Airport at the Five-Year Achievements Exhibition © N509FZ/cc-by-sa-4.0

Beijing Daxing International Airport, located on the border of Beijing and Langfang, Hebei Province, is Beijing’s second international airport. The name of the airport was announced on September 14, 2018. It has been nicknamed “starfish“. The terminal building is one of the largest single-structure airport terminals in the world, with an area of more than 700,000 m² (7,500,000 sq ft). It was completed on June 30, 2019. The opening ceremony for the airport was held on September 25, 2019, and the airport opened to the public on September 26, 2019. The first commercial flight, China United Airlines KN5302 from Ordos, landed at Beijing Daxing at 10:12 (UTC+8), September 26, 2019.   read more…

Beijing in China

11 September 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  28 minutes

Central Business District © 郭友柏/cc-by-sa-4.0

Central Business District © 郭友柏/cc-by-sa-4.0

Beijing (“Northern Capital”) is the capital of the People’s Republic of China, the world’s third most populous city proper, and most populous capital city. The city, located in northern China, is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of central government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together the three divisions form the Jingjinji metropolitan region and the national capital region of China.   read more…

One Belt and One Road Initiative, the new Silk Road

31 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  19 minutes

President of China Xi Jinping © The Russian Presidential Press and Information Office

President of China Xi Jinping © The Russian Presidential Press and Information Office

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organizations in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. “Belt” refers to the overland routes for road and rail transportation, called “the Silk Road Economic Belt“; whereas “road” refers to the sea routes, or the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It was known as the One Belt One Road (OBOR) and the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road until 2016 when the Chinese government considered the emphasis on the word “one” was prone to misinterpretation. The Chinese government calls the initiative “a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future”. Some observers see it as a push for Chinese dominance in global affairs with a China-centered trading network. The project has a targeted completion date of 2049, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.   read more…

Theme Week China – Tianjin

27 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Ancient Culture Street entrance © William M Benson

Ancient Culture Street entrance © William M Benson

Tianjin, alternately romanized as Tientsin, is a coastal metropolis in northern China and one of the nine national central cities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with a total population of 15,621,200 as of 2016 estimation. Its built-up (or metro) area, made up of 12 central districts (all but Baodi, Jizhou, Jinghai and Ninghe), was home to 12,491,300 inhabitants in 2016 and is also the world’s 29th-largest agglomeration (between Chengdu and Rio de Janeiro) and 11th-most populous city proper.   read more…

Theme Week China – Nanjing

26 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  16 minutes

Qinhuai River and Fuzimiao with Kuiguang Pavilion and Great Spirit Screen © flickr.com - SQFP/cc-by-2.0

Qinhuai River and Fuzimiao with Kuiguang Pavilion and Great Spirit Screen © flickr.com – SQFP/cc-by-2.0

Nanjing, formerly romanized as Nanking and Nankin, is the capital of Jiangsu province and the second largest city in the East China region, with an administrative area of 6,600 km² (2,500 sq mi) and a total population of 8,270,500 as of 2016. The inner area of Nanjing enclosed by the city wall is Nanjing City, with an area of 55 km² (21 sq mi), while the Nanjing Metropolitan Region includes surrounding cities and areas, covering over 60,000 km² (23,000 sq mi), with a population of over 30 million.   read more…

Theme Week China – Harbin

25 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  18 minutes

© 北纬30度

© 北纬30度

Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang province, and largest city in the northeastern region of the People’s Republic of China. Harbin is the eighth most populous Chinese city. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Harbin has direct jurisdiction over nine metropolitan districts, two county-level cities and seven counties. Harbin has 5.3 million inhabitants, while the total population of the sub-provincial city was up to 10.98 million. Harbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural, and communications hub in Northeast China, as well as an important industrial base of the nation.   read more…

Theme Week China – Foshan

24 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Downtown of Guicheng © Lindley/cc-by-sa-3.0

Downtown of Guicheng © Lindley/cc-by-sa-3.0

Foshan, formerly romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers 3,848.49 km² (1,485.91 sq mi) and has an urban population around 7.1 million. It forms part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, which includes Guangzhou to the east and northeast and Zhongshan to the southeast. Foshan is regarded as the home of the Cantonese versions of Chinese opera, kung fu and lion dance. Foshan lies on the Fen River in the estuaries making up the west side of the Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou lies 25 kilometers (16 mi) to the northeast, Zhongshan to the southeast, Jiangmen to the south, Qingyuan to the west, and Zhaoqing to the west.   read more…

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