1.
Prefecture-level city
–
Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative structure. Administrative chiefs of prefectural level cities generally have the rank as a division chief of a national ministry. Since the 1980s, most former prefectures have been renamed into prefectural level cities, a prefectural level city is a city and prefecture that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. The larger prefectural level cities span over 100 kilometres, prefectural level cities nearly always contain multiple counties, county level cities, and other such sub-divisions. To distinguish a prefectural level city from its urban area. The first prefectural level cities were created on 5 November 1983, over the following two decades, prefectural level cities have come to replace the vast majority of Chinese prefectures, the process is still ongoing. Most provinces are composed entirely or nearly entirely of prefectural level cities, shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou are the largest prefectural level cities with populations approaching or exceeding some sub-provincial cities. A sub-prefecture-level city is a city with powers approaching those of prefectural level cities. There are total of three classification of prefecture-level city, Regular prefectural level city which consist of counties, county level cities, consolidated district-governed prefectural level city which only consist of districts as it subdivisions. Thus, Bloomington, Indiana is indicated on the map by a point, which is distinct from, and enclosed by, in China, however, large cities such as City of Xianning may, in reality, contain both urban and rural elements. Moreover, they may enclose counties or other cities, on a less detailed map, City of Xianning would be indicated by a point, more or less corresponding to the coordinates of its city government. Other populous areas may also be exhibited as points, such as County of Tongshan, with no indication that County of Tongshan is, in fact, enclosed by City of Xianning. On a more detailed map, City of Xianning would be drawn as an area, similar to a county of the United States and this convention may lead to difficulty in the identification of places mentioned in older sources. For example, Guo Moruo writes that he was born in Town of Shawan, within Prefecture of Leshan, and attended primary school in Town of Jiading. A modern map is unlikely to show either town, Shawan, because it is too small, and Jiading, because it is the seat of City of Leshan, and is therefore indicated on the map by a point labelled Leshan. A more detailed map would show Shawan as a district within City of Leshan, statistics of China such as population and industrial activity are generally reported along prefectural city lines. Thus, the relatively unknown City of Huangshi has 2.5 million residents, more than most European capitals, but upon closer inspection, furthermore, Huangshi contains several other cities, such as City of Daye. If a person wished to calculate the population of the area of Huangshi, and had a map of Huangshi, and a table of its population by district
Prefecture-level city
–
A road sign shows distance to the "Huangshi urban area" (黄石市区) rather than simply "
Huangshi " (黄石). This is a useful distinction, because the sign is located already within Huangshi prefectural level city (immediately upon entering its
Yangxin County from the neighboring
Xianning), but still 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the Huangshi main urban area.
Prefecture-level city
–
Prefecture-level city Prefectural-level city
2.
Province of China
–
Provinces, formally provincial-level administrative divisions or first-level administrative divisions, are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 34 such divisions, classified as 23 provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions, the Peoples Republic of China claims sovereignty over the territory administered by the Republic of China, claiming most of it as its Taiwan Province. The ROC also administers some offshore islands which form Fujian Province and these were part of an originally unified Fujian province, which since the stalemate of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 has been divided between the PRC and ROC. Note that every province has a Communist Party of China provincial committee, the committee secretary is in effective charge of the province, rather than the nominal governor of the provincial government. The government of each province is nominally led by a provincial committee. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province, second-in-command is the governor of the provincial government, the Peoples Republic of China claims the island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including Penghu, as Taiwan Province. The territory is controlled by the Republic of China, a municipality or direct-controlled municipality is a higher level of city which is directly under the Chinese government, with status equal to that of the provinces. In practice, their status is higher than that of common provinces. The governor of each region is usually appointed from the respective minority ethnic group. A special administrative region is an autonomous and self-governing subnational subject of the Peoples Republic of China that is directly under the Central Peoples Government. Each SAR has an executive as head of the region. The regions government is not fully independent, as policy and military defence are the responsibility of the central government. Notes,1, as of 20102, per km23, km24, Abbreviation in the parentheses is informal 5, Since founding in 1949, however, the PRC has never controlled Taiwan. Taiwan currently administers Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, the subject of whether or not Taiwan is part of China is often debated, with no clear conclusion. The Ming Dynasty kept the system set up by the Yuan Dynasty, however. By the time of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644 there were 18 provinces, in addition, there was a zongdu, a general military inspector or governor general, for every two to three provinces. Outer regions of China were not divided into provinces, military leaders or generals oversaw Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Mongolia, while vice-dutong and civilian leaders headed the leagues, a subdivision of Mongolia. The ambans supervised the administration of Tibet, in 1884 Xinjiang became a province, in 1907 Fengtian, Jilin, and Heilongjiang were made provinces as well
Province of China
–
Map comparing administrative divisions as drawn by the PRC and ROC.
Province of China
–
Provincial division 省份 Shěngfèn
3.
Shaanxi
–
Shaanxi, formerly romanized as Shensi, is a province of the Peoples Republic of China. Officially part of the Northwest China region, it lies in central China, bordering the provinces of Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia and it covers an area of over 205,000 km2 with about 37 million people. Xian—which includes the sites of the former Chinese capitals Fenghao and Changan—is the provincial capital, Xianyang, which served as the Qin capital, is located nearby. The other prefecture-level cities into which the province is divided are Ankang, Baoji, Hanzhong, Shangluo, Tongchuan, Weinan, Yanan and Yulin. Shaanxi comprises the Wei Valley and much of the surrounding fertile Loess Plateau, stretching from the Qin Mountains and Shannan in the south to the Ordos Desert in the north. Along with areas of adjacent Shanxi and Henan, it formed the cradle of Chinese civilization, with its Guanzhong region sheltering the capitals of the Zhou, Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, and Tang dynasties. It does not include the territory of the Yellow Rivers Ordos Loop, with the Great Wall of China separating it from the grasslands. The name Shaanxi is a romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of the Chinese name 陕西. Because the Mandarin pronunciation of Shaanxi and its eastern neighbor Shanxi differ only in tone, the Peoples Republic of China therefore adopted the special official spelling Shaanxi for occasions when such marks are omitted. The first syllable is derived from Gwoyeu Romatzyh romanization, which reflects the tones of the vowels in their spelling. The second syllable—which would be shi in Gwoyeu Romatzyh—is instead given its usual pinyin spelling xi, when tone marks are noted, it is spelled Shǎnxī rather than Shǎanxī or Shaǎnxī. Shaanxi is considered one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, thirteen feudal dynasties established their capitals in the province during a span of more than 1,100 years, from the Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. Under the Han Dynasty, the Northern Silk Road was expanded to advance exploration and this Northern Silk Road is the northernmost of the Silk Roads and is about 2,600 kilometres in length. It connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xian to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei, under the Ming dynasty, Shaanxi was incorporated into Gansu but was again separated in the Qing dynasty. One of the most devastating earthquakes in history occurred near Hua Shan, in part of Shaanxi Province on January 23,1556. The end of the short-lived Jiangxi Soviet signalled the beginning of the Long March by Mao Zedong, the Lantian Man site, with hominin fossils of one million years ago, was found in Lantian County in northwestern Shaanxi province, near the city of Xian. Scientists classify Lantian Man as a subspecies of Homo erectus, the fossils are displayed at the Shaanxi History Museum, Xian, China. In between the Loess Plateau and the Qinling lies the Wei River Valley, or Guanzhong, a cradle of early Chinese civilization, going clockwise, Shaanxi borders Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia
Shaanxi
–
Temple of the
Chenghuangshen (City God) of
Weinan.
Shaanxi
–
Map showing the location of Shaanxi Province
Shaanxi
–
Guangren Temple of the
Tibetan Buddhist tradition in
Xi'an.
Shaanxi
–
Road to the
stupa of the
Famen Temple (Chinese Buddhist).
4.
China Standard Time
–
The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08,00, despite China spanning five geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called Beijing Time domestically and China Standard Time internationally, daylight saving time has not been observed since 1991. The special administrative regions maintain their own authorities, with standards called Hong Kong Time. These have been equivalent to Beijing time since 1992, in addition, a second time standard is used in Xinjiang, two hours less than the Beijing Time, which is called Ürümqi Time or Xinjiang Time. In 1912, the Republic of China established five standard time zones, namely Kunlun, Sinkiang-Tibet, Kansu-Szechwan, Chungyuan, and Changpai. The unified time zone policy was adopted by the Communist Party of China or the Central People’s Government some time between 27 September 1949 and 6 October 1949, the date is unknown. However, recent research suggests that the policy was most likely adopted on 27 September 1949, daylight saving time was observed from 1986 to 1991. In 1997 and 1999, Hong Kong and Macau were transferred to China from the United Kingdom and Portugal, although the sovereignty of the SARs belongs to China, they retain their own policies regarding time zones for historical reasons. Due to their locations, both are within the UTC+08,00 time zone, which is the same as the national standard — Beijing time. Xinjiang Time, also known as Ürümqi Time, is set due to its location in the westernmost part of the country. The time offset is UTC+06,00, which is two hours behind Beijing, and is shared with neighbouring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Currently, timezone usage within Xinjiang is roughly split along the divide, with most ethnic Han following Beijing time. Some local authorities are now using both time standard side by side, the coexistence of two timezones within the same region causes some confusion among the local population, especially when inter-racial communication occur. Some ethnic Han in Xinjiang might not be aware of the existence of the UTC+6 Xinjiang Time because of language barrier, regardless, Beijing Time users in Xinjiang usually schedule their daily activities two hours later than those who live in eastern China. As such, stores and offices in Xinjiang are commonly opening from 10am to 7pm Beijing Time and this is known as the work/rest time in Xinjiang. Hong Kong maintains its own time authority after transfer of sovereignty in 1997, the Hong Kong Time is UTC+08,00 all year round, and daylight saving time has not been used since 1979. Greenwich Mean Time was adopted as the basis in 1904, before that, local time was determined by astronomical observations at Hong Kong Observatory using a 6-inch Lee Equatorial and a 3-inch Transit Circle. Macau maintains its own time authority after transfer of sovereignty in 1999, the Macau Standard Time is the time in Macau
China Standard Time
–
Obsoleted time zones used from 1918 to 1949
5.
Simplified Chinese characters
–
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of the two character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the Peoples Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to increase literacy and they are officially used in the Peoples Republic of China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese characters are used in Hong Kong, Macau. Overseas Chinese communities generally tend to use traditional characters, Simplified Chinese characters may be referred to by their official name above or colloquially. Strictly, the latter refers to simplifications of character structure or body, character forms that have existed for thousands of years alongside regular, Simplified character forms were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms of a sizable proportion of traditional Chinese characters. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms, some characters were simplified by applying regular rules, for example, by replacing all occurrences of a certain component with a simplified version of the component. Variant characters with the pronunciation and identical meaning were reduced to a single standardized character. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification, and are identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. Some simplified characters are very dissimilar to and unpredictably different from traditional characters and this often leads opponents not well-versed in the method of simplification to conclude that the overall process of character simplification is also arbitrary. In reality, the methods and rules of simplification are few, on the other hand, proponents of simplification often flaunt a few choice simplified characters as ingenious inventions, when in fact these have existed for hundreds of years as ancient variants. However, the Chinese government never officially dropped its goal of further simplification in the future, in August 2009, the PRC began collecting public comments for a modified list of simplified characters. The new Table of General Standard Chinese Characters consisting of 8,105 characters was promulgated by the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China on June 5,2013, cursive written text almost always includes character simplification. Simplified forms used in print have always existed, they date back to as early as the Qin dynasty, One of the earliest proponents of character simplification was Lubi Kui, who proposed in 1909 that simplified characters should be used in education. In the years following the May Fourth Movement in 1919, many anti-imperialist Chinese intellectuals sought ways to modernise China, Traditional culture and values such as Confucianism were challenged. Soon, people in the Movement started to cite the traditional Chinese writing system as an obstacle in modernising China and it was suggested that the Chinese writing system should be either simplified or completely abolished. Fu Sinian, a leader of the May Fourth Movement, called Chinese characters the writing of ox-demons, lu Xun, a renowned Chinese author in the 20th century, stated that, If Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die. Recent commentators have claimed that Chinese characters were blamed for the problems in China during that time
Simplified Chinese characters
–
Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese characters
–
The slogan 战无不胜的毛泽东思想万岁 (Zhàn wúbù shèng de Máo Zédōng sīxiǎng wànsuì; Long live the invincible
Mao Zedong Thought) on
Xinhua Gate in Beijing.
Simplified Chinese characters
–
The first batch of Simplified Characters introduced in 1935 consisted of 324 characters.
6.
Traditional Chinese characters
–
Traditional Chinese characters are Chinese characters in any character set that does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. They are most commonly the characters in the character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong. Currently, a number of overseas Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between both sets. In contrast, simplified Chinese characters are used in mainland China, Singapore, the debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters has been a long-running issue among Chinese communities. Although simplified characters are taught and endorsed by the government of Mainland China, Traditional characters are used informally in regions in China primarily in handwriting and also used for inscriptions and religious text. They are often retained in logos or graphics to evoke yesteryear, nonetheless, the vast majority of media and communications in China is dominated by simplified characters. Taiwan has never adopted Simplified Chinese characters since it is ruled by the Republic of China, the use of simplified characters in official documents is even prohibited by the government in Taiwan. Simplified characters are not well understood in general, although some stroke simplifications that have incorporated into Simplified Chinese are in common use in handwriting. For example, while the name of Taiwan is written as 臺灣, similarly, in Hong Kong and Macau, Traditional Chinese has been the legal written form since colonial times. In recent years, because of the influx of mainland Chinese tourists, today, even government websites use simplified Chinese, as they answer to the Beijing government. This has led to concerns by residents to protect their local heritage. In Southeast Asia, the Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative regarding simplification, while major public universities are teaching simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications like the Chinese Commercial News, World News, and United Daily News still use traditional characters, on the other hand, the Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified. Aside from local newspapers, magazines from Hong Kong, such as the Yazhou Zhoukan, are found in some bookstores. In case of film or television subtitles on DVD, the Chinese dub that is used in Philippines is the same as the one used in Taiwan and this is because the DVDs belongs to DVD Region Code 3. Hence, most of the subtitles are in Traditional Characters, overseas Chinese in the United States have long used traditional characters. A major influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States occurred during the half of the 19th century. Therefore, the majority of Chinese language signage in the United States, including street signs, Traditional Chinese characters are called several different names within the Chinese-speaking world
Traditional Chinese characters
–
Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese characters
–
Job announcement in a Filipino Chinese daily newspaper written in Traditional Chinese characters.
Traditional Chinese characters
–
A Series of Reading workbook in Traditional Chinese used in some Elementary schools in the Philippines.
7.
Pinyin
–
Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
Pinyin
–
A school slogan asking elementary students to speak
Putonghua is annotated with pinyin, but without tonal marks.
Pinyin
–
In
Yiling,
Yichang,
Hubei, text on road signs appears both in Chinese characters and in Hanyu Pinyin
8.
Wei River
–
The Wei River is a major river in west-central Chinas Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close to Weiyuan County – Wei yuan meaning Weis source – in Gansu province, less than 200 kilometres from the Yellow River at Lanzhou. However, due to the turn north the Yellow River takes in Lanzhou, the Wei. In a direct line, the Weis source lies 700 kilometres west of the city along its course. The length of the river is 818 kilometres and the area drained covers 135,000 square kilometres, the Wei Rivers tributaries include the Luo River, Jing River, Niutou River and the Chishui River. The valley of the Wei was one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, along which the capitals of the Zhou, Qin, Han. The area of Dingxi around its headwaters in Gansu has numerous stone age sites from early cultures. The Wei Valley is likely the earliest center of Chinese civilization, the headwaters of the Wei River are also notable in the development of the Northern Silk Road. In September 2003 extensive rainfall led to flooding caused over 30 fatalities. Ecological aspects of the Wei River have been examined with respect to rates in the Wei River
Wei River
–
Population concentration during the
Western Zhou Dynasty (1050–771 BC). Note the extension up the Wei valley.
Wei River
–
The drainage basin of the modern Wei.
9.
Jialing River
–
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows, the Jialing Rivers most notable characteristic was formerly its pellucid green waters. It is also notable for its sinuous course in its lower reaches, from Zhangwang Miao in Guangyuan to Longdongtuo in Hechuan, the distance as the crow flies is only slightly more than 200 kilometres. However the river travels over 600 kilometres. The most tortuous part of its course is between Nanchong and Wusheng, the name Jialing did not come into general use until the Tang Dynasty. Before that, it was known as the Ba, although it also appears as the Lang. In the 19th century, it was known by the Sichuanese as the Small or Little River, by comparison with the Jinsha, the source of the Jialing, in name, is in the Qin Mountains south of Baoji, Shaanxi. The river briefly flows through Gansu before reentering Shaanxi and then crossing south into Sichuan, the longest stem of the Jialing River, however, can be traced to a source in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan and the entire river is 1,345 kilometres long. This source is located at the head of the Baozuo River, considered a tributary of the Bailong River, itself the primary tributary, the branches named Jialing and Bailong meet in Guangyuan in Sichuan and continue as the Jialing to the Yangtze. The river reaches the floor of the Sichuan Basin at Langzhong and continues in a route into Chongqing. Besides the Bailong River which forms a portion of the stem, the largest tributaries of the Jialing River include the Xihan River, the Fu River. The Xiahan meets the Jialing in Shaanxi, while both the Fu and the Qu join the Jialings respective right and left banks in Hechuan, the cities along the Jialings course include Guangyuan, Langzhong, Nanchong, and Chongqing. Cities found within the Jialings basin and along its tributaries include Longnan, Mianyang, Suining, Bazhong, Wanyuan, Dazhou, a total of 151 species of fish inhabit the river, of which 51 species are endemic to the Yangtze River basin. The Han and Jialing basins were the heartland of the ancient state of Ba, the Jialing assumed greater importance when Chu expanded up the Han during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The Jialing figures in one of the surrounding the Tang-era artist Wu Daozi. During the Kaiyuan Era of the Emperor Xuanzong, Wu was commissioned to depict the course of the Jialing, supposedly, he returned to the imperial palace and completed it in a single day from memory. It is sometimes added that his technique was foiled by Li Sixun, to the extent that it is grounded in a real event, however, it probably only reflects Wus speed of execution and not a lack of reliance on sketches. Around 1880, four out of Chongqings 24 shipping guilds were concerned with shipping along the Jialing, Chongqing, Lingshi, Lezhi, and Hechuan all developed shipyards
Jialing River
–
The Jialing in Chongqing
Jialing River
–
Map of the Jialing River drainage basin
Jialing River
–
A view of Jialing River flowing through Hechuan,Chongqing
Jialing River
–
Carassius auratus
10.
Northern Silk Road
–
It is the northern-most branch of several Silk Roads providing trade, military movements and cultural exchange between China and the west. The route started at Changan, the capital of the Han Dynasty, the route was defined about the 1st Century BCE as Han Wudi put an end to harassment by nomadic tribes. One of the branch routes turned northwest to the north of the Aral and Caspian seas, hexi Corridor Kashgar Dunhuang Pictures from the Northern Silk Road
Northern Silk Road
–
Taklamakan Desert
11.
Wuwei, Gansu
–
Wuwei is a prefecture-level city in northwest central Gansu province. In the north it borders Inner Mongolia, in the southwest and its central location between three western capitals, Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinchuan makes it an important business and transportation hub for the area. In ancient times, Wuwei was called Liangzhou and is the terminus of the Hexi Corridor. People began settling here 5,000 years ago and it was a key link for the Northern Silk Road, and a number of important archaeological finds were uncovered from Wuwei, including ancient copper carts with stone animals. Other graves found along the Hexi Corridor show Xiongnu and other minority influence and they attacked the town of Zhenzhong but, having stayed for more than forty days without being able to subdue it, they withdrew. Following this, the kings of Shule killed one another repeatedly and, for its part, in 121 BC Han emperor Wudi brought his cavalry here to defend the Hexi Corridor against the Xiongnu Huns. His military success allowed him to expand the corridor westward and its importance as a stop along the Silk Road made it a crossroads of cultures and ethnic groups from all over central Asia. Numerous Buddhist grottoes and temples in the area attest to its role as a path for bringing Buddhism from India, during the Three Kingdoms period, Liangzhou was governed by Qiang leader Ma Teng. After the death of Ma Teng, Ma Chao assumed the post and governed the province for a time before it fell into the hands of Cao Cao. Famous cultural relics from Wuwei include the Galloping Bronze Horse, Western Xia stele, White Tower Temple, Tianti Mountain Grotto, Luoshi Temple Tower, wuweis geography is dominated by three plateaus, the Loess, Tibetan, and Mongolian. Elevation can be generalized as, the south is high and the north is low, average annual temperature is 7.8 °C. The climate is arid with rainfall between 60 to 610 mm. Evaporation is from 1,400 to 3,000 mm, there are 2200–3000 sunlight hours each year and from 85–165 frost free days. Temperatures during summer in excess of 45.0 °C in the shade are by no means unheard of, southwest of Wuwei, there is a 230 metres thick Tianzhu Formation made of clastics intercalated with sandy shale and shale. Minerals deposits occurring in the vicinity of Wuwei include graphite, iron, titanium, a species of stone loach, Triplophysa wuweiensis, is named after Wuwei where it was first discovered. 1 urban district,2 counties,1 autonomous county,116 towns, urban,509,600 with 38 ethnic groups represented including Han, Hui, Mongol, Tu, Tibetan, etc. Consistent sunlight and fertile soil make agriculture one of Wuwei’s biggest industries, other important industries are textiles, metallurgy, and construction materials. Melons, vegetables, wine and livestock are all major agricultural products, organic farming is a trend with more land being set aside for “green farming” each year
Wuwei, Gansu
–
The square at the Wuwei railway station
Wuwei, Gansu
–
Wen Miao
Confucian temple.
Wuwei, Gansu
–
Bell tower.
12.
Kashgar
–
Kashgar is an oasis city in Xinjiang and is the westernmost Chinese city, located near the border with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Located historically at the point of widely varying cultures and empires, Kashgar has been under the rule of the Chinese, Turkic, Mongol. The city has also been the site of a number of battles between various groups of people on the steppes. The city itself has a population of 506,640, and its area covers 15 km2. The city was made into a Special Economic Zone in 2010, Kashgar also forms a terminus of the Karakoram Highway, whose reconstruction is considered a major part of the multi-billion dollar China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. The modern Chinese name is 喀什, a form of the longer. Ptolemy, in his Geography, Chapter 15. 3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasi” and its western and probably indigenous name is the Kāš, to which the East Iranian -γar, cf. Pashto and Middle Persian gar/ġar, from Old Persian/Pahlavi girīwa was attached. Alternative historical Romanizations for Kashgar include Cascar and Cashgar, non-native names for the city, such as the old Chinese name Shule 疏勒 and Tibetan Śu-lig may have originated as an attempts to transcribe the Sanskrit name for Kashgar, Śrīkrīrāti. - The postal romanization was 疏附 Shufu 1900s/50s, bilingual postmarks readingSHUFU /date/疏附 were used in this period, 疏附 Shufu was also used on contemporary bilingual maps. The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han dynasty envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west, ptolemy speaks of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a “Kasia Regio”, probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar and Kashgaria are formed. The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. In the Book of Han, which covers the period between 125 BC and 23 AD, it is recorded there were 1,510 households,18,647 people and 2,000 persons able to bear arms. By the time covered by the Book of the Later Han, the Book of the Later Han provides a wealth of detail on developments in the region, In the period of Emperor Wu, the Western Regions1 were under the control of the Interior. The Imperial Government established a Colonel Envoys there to direct and protect these countries, Emperor Xuan changed this title to Protector-General. Emperor Yuan installed two Wuji Colonels to take charge of the garrisons on the frontiers of the king of Nearer Jushi. During the time of Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping, the principalities of the Western Regions split up, wang Mang, after he usurped the Throne, demoted and changed their kings and marquises. Following this, the Western Regions became resentful, and rebelled and they, therefore, broke off all relations with the Interior and, all together, submitted to the Xiongnu again. The Xiongnu collected oppressively heavy taxes and the kingdoms were not able to support their demands, in the middle of the Jianwu period, they each, sent envoys to ask if they could submit to the Interior, and to express their desire for a Protector-General
Kashgar
–
A minaret in Kashgar close to
Id Kah mosque
Kashgar
–
An old Kashgar city street
Kashgar
–
Mural with
Ban Chao & King Yule (Zhong) of Kashgar in 73
CE
Kashgar
–
Kashgar’s Sunday market
13.
Parthia
–
Parthia is a historical region located in north-eastern Iran. It was the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, the name Parthia is a continuation from Latin Parthia, from Old Persian Parthava, which was the Parthian language self-designator signifying of the Parthians who were an Iranian people. In context to its Hellenistic period, Parthia also appears as Parthyaea, Parthia roughly corresponds to a region in northeastern Iran. It was bordered by the Karakum desert in the north, included Kopet Dag mountain range and it bordered Media on the west, Hyrcania on the north west, Margiana on the north east, and Aria on the south east. During Arsacid times, Parthia was united with Hyrcania as one unit. As the region inhabited by Parthians, Parthia first appears as an entity in Achaemenid lists of governorates under their dominion. Prior to this, the people of the region seem to have been subjects of the Medes, according to Greek sources, following the seizure of the Achaemenid throne by Darius I, the Parthians united with the Median king Phraortes to revolt against him. Hystaspes, the Achaemenid governor of the province, managed to suppress the revolt, the first indigenous Iranian mention of Parthia is in the Behistun inscription of Darius I, where Parthia is listed among the governorates in the vicinity of Drangiana. The inscription dates to c.520 BC, the center of the administration may have been at Hecatompylus. This has rightly caused disquiet to modern scholars, following the defeat of Darius III, Phrataphernes surrendered his governorate to Alexander when the Macedonian arrived there in the summer of 330 BC. Phrataphernes was reappointed governor by Alexander, following the death of Alexander, in the Partition of Babylon in 323 BC, Parthia became a Seleucid governorate under Nicanor. Phrataphernes, the governor, became governor of Hyrcania. In 320 BC, at the Partition of Triparadisus, Parthia was reassigned to Philip, a few years later, the province was invaded by Peithon, governor of Media Magna, who then attempted to make his brother Eudamus governor. Peithon and Eudamus were driven back, and Parthia remained a governorate in its own right, in 316 BC, Stasander, a vassal of Seleucus I Nicator and governor of Bactria was appointed governor of Parthia. For the next 60 years, various Seleucids would be appointed governors of the province. In 247 BC, following the death of Antiochus II, Ptolemy III seized control of the Seleucid capital at Antioch, taking advantage of the uncertain political situation, Andragoras, the Seleucid governor of Parthia, proclaimed his independence and began minting his own coins. Meanwhile, a man called Arsaces, of Scythian or Bactrian origin, elected leader of the Parni, a short while later the Parni seized the rest of Parthia from Andragoras, killing him in the process. Arsaces II sued for peace and accepted vassal status, and it was not until Arsaces IIs grandson Phraates I, from their base in Parthia, the Arsacid dynasts eventually extended their dominion to include most of Greater Iran
Parthia
–
Young man with Parthian costume.
Palmyra,
Syria, 1st half of the 3rd century AD. Decoration of a funerary stela.
The Louvre.
Parthia
–
Achaemenid Provinces during the rule of
Darius I
Parthia
–
Coin of
Andragoras, the last Seleucid satrap of Parthia. He proclaimed independence around 250 BC.
Parthia
–
Parthian horseman now on display at the
Palazzo Madama, Turin.
14.
Tang dynasty
–
The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is generally regarded as a point in Chinese civilization. Its territory, acquired through the campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The dynasty was founded by the Lǐ family, who seized power during the decline, the dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Second Zhou dynasty and becoming the only Chinese empress regnant. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty maintained a service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century. Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era, it is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Two of Chinas most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, there was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works. The adoption of the title Tängri Qaghan by the Tang Emperor Taizong in addition to his title as emperor was eastern Asias first simultaneous kingship, there were many notable innovations during the Tang, including the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became an influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state, subsequently declining in influence, although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage, which includes the Tang poet Li Bai, the Tang Emperors also had Xianbei maternal ancestry, from Emperor Gaozu of Tangs Xianbei mother Duchess Dugu. He had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan rose in rebellion in 617, along with his son and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang, who raised and commanded her own troops. In winter 617, Li Yuan occupied Changan, relegated Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang or retired emperor, and acted as regent to the puppet child-emperor, Emperor Gong of Sui. On the news of Emperor Yangs murder by General Yuwen Huaji on June 18,618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang
Tang dynasty
–
History of China
Tang dynasty
–
Tang dynasty circa 700
Tang dynasty
–
Portrait painting of
Emperor Yang of Sui, commissioned in 643 by
Taizong, painted by
Yan Liben (600–673)
Tang dynasty
–
Emperor Taizong (r. 626–649) receives
Gar Tongtsen Yülsung, ambassador of
Tibet, at his court; painted in 641 AD by
Yan Liben (600–673)
15.
Yandi
–
The Yan Emperor or the Flame Emperor was a legendary ancient Chinese ruler in pre-dynastic times. Modern scholarship has identified the Sheeps Head Mountains just north of Baoji in Shaanxi Province as his homeland, a long debate has existed over whether or not the Yan Emperor was the same person as the legendary Shennong. An academic conference held in China in 2004 achieved general consensus that the Yan Emperor, another possibility is that the term flame emperor was a title, held by dynastic succession of tribal lords, with Shennong being known as Yandi perhaps posthumously. Accordingly, the term flame emperors would be more correct. The succession of these emperors, from Shennong, the first Yan Emperor, until the time of the last Yan Emperors defeat by the Yellow Emperor. No written records are known to exist from the era of Yan Emperors reign, however, he and Shennong are mentioned in many of the classic works of ancient China. Yan literally means flame, implying that Yan Emperors people possibly uphold a symbol of fire as their tribal totems, Wu speculates that this appellation may be connected with the use of fire to clear the fields in slash and burn agriculture. At this time it appears there were only the bare beginnings of written language. The Zuo Zhuan states that in 525 BC, the descendants of Yan were recognized as long having been masters of fire and having used fire in their names. Yan Emperor was known as Emperor of the South The last Yan Emperor, the exact location of this battle is disputed among modern historians, due to multiple locations adopting the same name at various points through history. Possible candidates include Zhuolu County and Huailai County in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, Yanqing District in Beijing, Fugou County in Zhoukou, Henan, and Yanhu District in Yuncheng, Shanxi. The Yan Emperor, retreating from a recent invasion from the forces of Chi You, came into conflict with its neighbouring Youxiong tribes. Under the Yellow Emperors leadership, the combined tribes then went to war and defeated Chi You in the Battle of Zhuolu. Since the Battle of Banquan is treated as a fact by Sima Qian in his Records of the Grand Historian. Ironically, Yan Emperor enters history only with his submission to the will of the Yellow Emperor, both Huangdi and Yandi are considered in some sense ancestral to Chinese culture and people. Also, the tradition of associating a certain color with a dynasty may have begun with the Flame Emperors. According to the Five Elements, or Wu Xing model, red, fire, should be succeeded by yellow, edited by Wang Shuxin, Meng Shikai
Yandi
–
Shennong tastes herbs to discover their qualities
Yandi
–
A temple dedicated to the worship of Yandi in
Baoji,
Shaanxi
16.
Han Chinese
–
The Han Chinese, Han people or simply Han are an ethnic group native to East Asia. They constitute approximately 92% of the population of China, 95% of Taiwan, 76% of Singapore, 23% of Malaysia, Han Chinese are the worlds largest ethnic group with over 1.3 billion people. Similarly, the Chinese language also came to be named the Han language ever since, in the Oxford Dictionary, the Han are defined as The dominant ethnic group in China. In the Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, the Han are called the dominant population in China, as well as in Taiwan, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the Han are the Chinese peoples especially as distinguished from non-Chinese elements in the population. The name Hanzhong, in turn, was derived from the Han River, which flows through the regions plains. The river, in turn, derives its name from such as Tianhan, Yinhan, Xinghan or Yunhan, all ancient Chinese poetic nicknames for the Milky Way. This gave rise to a commonly used nowadays by overseas Chinese for ethnic identity – Huaren. The term is used in conversation and is also an element in the Cantonese word for Chinatown. The vast majority of Han Chinese – over 1.2 billion of them – live in areas under the jurisdiction of the Peoples Republic of China, where they constitute about 92% of its population. Han Chinese also constitute the majority in both of the administrative regions of the PRC—about 95% and 96% of the population of Hong Kong and Macau. There are over 22 million Han Chinese in Taiwan, they began migrating from the coastal provinces of mainland China to Taiwan during the 13th to 17th century. At first, these migrants chose to settle in locations that bore a resemblance to the areas they had left behind in mainland China, hoklo immigrants from Quanzhou settled in coastal regions, and those from Zhangzhou tended to gather on inland plains, while the Hakka inhabited hilly areas. Clashes between these groups over land, water, and cultural differences led to the relocation of some communities, of about 40 million overseas Chinese worldwide, nearly 30 million live in Southeast Asia. They are collectively called Nanyang Chinese, according to a population genetic study, Singapore is the country with the biggest proportion of Hans in Southeast Asia. Up until the past few decades, overseas Han communities originated predominantly from areas in southern China, christmas Island has a Chinese majority at 70%, large Chinese populations also live in Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to the 1965 split, Malaysia and Singapore used to have the largest overseas Chinese population in the world and this position has since been taken by Thailand. The prehistory of the Han ethnic group is closely intertwined with both records and mythology. Han Chinese trace their ancestry from a confederation of late neolithic/early bronze-age agricultural tribes that lived along the Guanzhong, the Yellow Emperor is traditionally credited to have united with the neighbouring Shennong tribes after defeating their leader, Flame Emperor, at the Battle of Banquan
Han Chinese
–
1983 Map of ethnolinguistic groups in
mainland China and
Taiwan (Han is in olive green)
Han Chinese
–
A female servant and male advisor dressed in
silk robes, ceramic figurines from the Western Han era
Han Chinese
–
Han Chinese man wears a
queue in compliance with Manchu custom during the Qing dynasty
Han Chinese
–
Zhang Zeduan 's painting
Along the River During the Qingming Festival captures the daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's
Kaifeng.
17.
Three Kingdoms
–
The Three Kingdoms was the tripartite division of China between the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu, following the Han dynasty and preceding the Jin dynasty. The term Three Kingdoms itself is something of a mistranslation, since each state was eventually headed not by a king, nevertheless, the term Three Kingdoms has become standard among sinologists. Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 AD and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin dynasty in 280. The earlier, unofficial part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei, the usurpation of Wei by the Jin dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. While the census may not have been particularly accurate due to a multitude of factors of the times, technology advanced significantly during this period. Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox, suggested to be a form of the wheelbarrow. Wei mechanical engineer Ma Jun is considered by many to be the equal of his predecessor Zhang Heng, although relatively short, this historical period has been greatly romanticized in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It has been celebrated and popularized in operas, folk stories, novels and in recent times, films, television. The best known of these is Luo Guanzhongs Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shous Records of the Three Kingdoms, along with Pei Songzhis later annotations of the text. There is no set time period for the era, and many definitions are given. The strictest rule of dating would be to deem the era to be from the point where all three states coexisted as independent states up until the downfall of the Shu-Han states. Mao Zonggang, a commentator on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, mentions in his commentary on Chapter 120 of the novel that, the Han royal house declined when the eunuchs abused the sovereign and officials subverted the government. In doing so, he suggests that the historiography of the Three Kingdoms should begin at the rise of the Ten Eunuchs to power. He further argues that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms defines the end of the era as 280, to end the tale before Hans enemy had itself met its fate would be to leave the reader unsatisfied. The novel could have ended with the fall of Wei, to end the tale before Hans ally had fallen would be to leave the reader with an incomplete picture. So the tale had to end with the fall of Wu, the power of the Eastern Han dynasty went into depression and steadily declined from a variety of political and economic problems after the death in 105 of Emperor He
Three Kingdoms
–
History of China
Three Kingdoms
–
A Chinese Three Kingdoms era decorated brick taken from the wall of an underground tomb, with miniature paintings depicting people in domestic scenes
Three Kingdoms
–
Map of Chinese provinces in the prelude of Three Kingdom period (In the late Han dynasty period, 189 AD).
18.
History of China
–
Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1500 BC under the Shang dynasty. Ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Bamboo Annals describe a Xia dynasty, with thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the worlds oldest civilizations, and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization. Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy developed during the Zhou dynasty. This is one of multiple periods of failed statehood in Chinese history, between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled parts or all of China, in some eras control stretched as far as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang united the warring kingdoms and created for himself the title of emperor of the Qin dynasty. Successive dynasties developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the emperor to control vast territories directly, in the 21 centuries from 206 BC until AD1912, routine administrative tasks were handled by a special elite, the Scholar-officials. Young men were selected through difficult examinations and were well-versed in calligraphy and philosophy. What is now China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than a million years ago, recent study shows that the stone tools found at Xiaochangliang site are magnetostratigraphically dated to 1.36 million years ago. The archaeological site of Xihoudu in Shanxi Province is the earliest recorded use of fire by Homo erectus, the excavations at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Homo erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in 1923–27, fossilised teeth of Homo sapiens dating to 125, 000–80,000 BC have been discovered in Fuyan Cave in Dao County in Hunan. The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to about 10,000 BC, Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC. The earliest evidence of cultivated rice, found by the Yangtze River, is carbon-dated to 8,000 years ago, farming gave rise to the Jiahu culture. At Damaidi in Ningxia,3,172 cliff carvings dating to 6000–5000 BC have been discovered, featuring 8,453 individual characters such as the sun, moon, stars, gods and these pictographs are reputed to be similar to the earliest characters confirmed to be written Chinese. Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 7000 BC, Dadiwan from 5800 BC to 5400 BC, Damaidi around 6000 BC, some scholars have suggested that Jiahu symbols were the earliest Chinese writing system. With agriculture came increased population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, Later, Yangshao culture was superseded by the Longshan culture, which was also centered on the Yellow River from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Bronze artifacts have been found at the Majiayao culture site, The Bronze Age is also represented at the Lower Xiajiadian culture site in northeast China. Sanxingdui located in what is now Sichuan province is believed to be the site of a ancient city. The site was first discovered in 1929 and then re-discovered in 1986, Chinese archaeologists have identified the Sanxingdui culture to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu, linking the artifacts found at the site to its early legendary kings
History of China
–
History of China
History of China
–
Approximate territories occupied by
the various dynasties and states throughout the history of China
History of China
–
Oracle bones found dating from the Shang Dynasty
History of China
–
Remnants of advanced,
stratified societies dating back to the Shang found primarily in the Yellow River Valley
19.
Renminbi
–
The renminbi /ˌrɛnmɪnˈbiː/ is the official currency of the Peoples Republic of China. The yuan is the unit of the renminbi, but is also used to refer to the Chinese currency in general. The distinction between the terms renminbi and yuan is similar to that between sterling and pound, which refer to the British currency and its primary unit. One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiao, and a jiao in turn is subdivided into 10 fen, the ISO code for renminbi is CNY, or also CNH when traded in off-shore markets such as Hong Kong. The currency is often abbreviated RMB, or indicated by the yuan sign ¥, in Chinese texts the currency may also be indicated with the Chinese character for the yuan, 圆. The renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau, renminbi is sometimes accepted in Hong Kong and Macau, and are easily exchanged in the two territories, with banks in Hong Kong allowing people to maintain accounts in RMB. The currency is issued by the Peoples Bank of China, the authority of China. Until 2005, the value of the renminbi was pegged to the US dollar and it has previously been claimed that the renminbis official exchange rate was undervalued by as much as 37. 5% against its purchasing power parity. Since 2006, the exchange rate has been allowed to float in a narrow margin around a fixed base rate determined with reference to a basket of world currencies. The Chinese government has announced that it gradually increase the flexibility of the exchange rate. As a result of the rapid internationalization of the renminbi, it became the worlds 8th most traded currency in 2013, and 5th in 2015. On 1 October 2016, the RMB became the first emerging market currency to be included in the IMFs special drawing rights basket, a variety of currencies circulated in China during the Republic of China era, most of which were denominated in the unit yuán. Each was distinguished by a name, such as the fabi, the gold yuan. During the era of the economy, the value of the renminbi was set to unrealistic values in exchange with western currency. The unrealistic levels at which exchange rates were pegged led to a black market in currency transactions. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, China worked to make the RMB more convertible, through the use of swap centres, the exchange rate was brought to realistic levels and the dual track currency system was abolished. As of 2013, the renminbi is convertible on current accounts, the ultimate goal has been to make the RMB fully convertible. From 1949 until the late 1970s, the state fixed Chinas exchange rate at a highly overvalued level as part of the countrys import -substitution strategy
Renminbi
–
Renminbi banknotes of the 2005 series
Renminbi
–
"People's Bank of China Ten Yuan" written in 5 different languages. From top to bottom and left to right:
Mandarin pinyin,
Mongolian,
Tibetan,
Uyghur, and
Zhuang languages.
Renminbi
–
On November 24, 2010,
Vladimir Putin announces that Russia's bilateral trade with China will be settled in
ruble and
yuan, instead of
U.S. dollars.
Renminbi
–
On October 15, 2013, the
British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announces that the
pound sterling and the renminbi will be traded directly in
London and
Shanghai.
20.
Mount Taibai
–
Mount Taibai is a mountain located on the border between Mei, Taibai and Zhouzhi counties in the south west of Shaanxi Province, China. The mounts highest point, Baxian Tower, rises to a height of 3,750 m and is the tallest in the Qinling Range, Mount Taibai is also the highest mountain in Eastern China. During the reign of the legendary, morally perfect Three Sovereigns Mount Taibai was called Mountain of Rich Goods, during the Xia Dynasty it was known as Mount Tai Yi, referring to the brightest star in Chinese astrology with all other stars orbiting around it. In Taoism, Tai Yi is a deity and the mountain its physical representation. Furthermore, Tai Yi symbolises Tai Ji, the god who stands for balance and it was Tai Ji who gave birth to everything and therefore occupies a prominent place in Taoism. The Shui Jing Zhu records, During the time of Emperor Wu of Han, a Daoist temple already existed on Mount Taibai that was dedicated to Gu Chun, a man recorded in the Lie Xian Zhuan. The Tang Dynasty work Lu Yi Ji says, The Essence of the Golden Star fell upon the west of Zhongnans main peak, here, the spirit of the Golden Star metamorphosed into magnificent white jade. Ever since, the mountain has been known as Taibai Shan, literally Great White Mountain, taoists believe that the sacred mountains are interconnected via an underground network of dong tien, or grotto-heavens, with dong meaning to penetrate something and tien referring to heaven. Going back as far as the century, grotto-heavens were places where heaven. By entering a grotto-heaven you penetrate deep within the mountain and arrive in the world of immortals, Mount Taibai has dozens of grotto-heaven. One of the grotto-heavens is called Place of Charm and Beauty, Peach blossoms refers to the legendary Peach Blossom Valley where deep in the mountains, in a different world, happy people live who know nothing of our existence. Sacred Mountains each have their own god or several gods and Mount Taibai is no exception, Chinese gods are often historical figures, such as Lao Zi, who are elevated to gods first through their popularity amongst ordinary folks and then by the ruling emperor. Stories about the origin of the three gods of Mount Taibai therefore go back a long way. The oldest tale is about a man from Li Yang by the name of Gu Chun, meaning ‘Spring Valley’, when he died, his family buried him but during the night his body got up and they saw him leave. Local residents thus believed that he was the god of Mount Taibai and built a temple for him, more recent stories talk of not just one but three Taibai gods because, during the Yuan Dynasty, there were three lakes on Taibai Shan. These lakes were revered for their water and cooling effect and were represented by the three Taibai gods, who were known as Ku Ji, Hui Min and Ling Ying. Local residents, however, called the three gods Da A Fu, Er A Fu and San A Fu. But according to poet and politician Yu Youren, the three Taibai gods are Yao, Shun and Yu, or the three demi-gods Earth, Heaven and Water from Chinese legend
Mount Taibai
–
Mount Taibai
Mount Taibai
–
Birds-eye panorama, taken from the Bodhisattva Temple at 2300m.
Mount Taibai
–
A panorama in the heart of Taibai (with small hut in the center), taken from Doumu Palace, elev. 2900m.
21.
Three Kingdoms Period
–
The Three Kingdoms was the tripartite division of China between the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu, following the Han dynasty and preceding the Jin dynasty. The term Three Kingdoms itself is something of a mistranslation, since each state was eventually headed not by a king, nevertheless, the term Three Kingdoms has become standard among sinologists. Academically, the period of the Three Kingdoms refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 AD and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin dynasty in 280. The earlier, unofficial part of the period, from 184 to 220, was marked by infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. The later part of the era was marked by the conquest of Shu by Wei, the usurpation of Wei by the Jin dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. While the census may not have been particularly accurate due to a multitude of factors of the times, technology advanced significantly during this period. Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang invented the wooden ox, suggested to be a form of the wheelbarrow. Wei mechanical engineer Ma Jun is considered by many to be the equal of his predecessor Zhang Heng, although relatively short, this historical period has been greatly romanticized in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It has been celebrated and popularized in operas, folk stories, novels and in recent times, films, television. The best known of these is Luo Guanzhongs Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the authoritative historical record of the era is Chen Shous Records of the Three Kingdoms, along with Pei Songzhis later annotations of the text. There is no set time period for the era, and many definitions are given. The strictest rule of dating would be to deem the era to be from the point where all three states coexisted as independent states up until the downfall of the Shu-Han states. Mao Zonggang, a commentator on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, mentions in his commentary on Chapter 120 of the novel that, the Han royal house declined when the eunuchs abused the sovereign and officials subverted the government. In doing so, he suggests that the historiography of the Three Kingdoms should begin at the rise of the Ten Eunuchs to power. He further argues that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms defines the end of the era as 280, to end the tale before Hans enemy had itself met its fate would be to leave the reader unsatisfied. The novel could have ended with the fall of Wei, to end the tale before Hans ally had fallen would be to leave the reader with an incomplete picture. So the tale had to end with the fall of Wu, the power of the Eastern Han dynasty went into depression and steadily declined from a variety of political and economic problems after the death in 105 of Emperor He
Three Kingdoms Period
–
History of China
Three Kingdoms Period
–
A Chinese Three Kingdoms era decorated brick taken from the wall of an underground tomb, with miniature paintings depicting people in domestic scenes
Three Kingdoms Period
–
Map of Chinese provinces in the prelude of Three Kingdom period (In the late Han dynasty period, 189 AD).
22.
Longshan culture
–
The first archaeological find of this culture took place at the Chengziya Archaeological Site in 1928, with the first excavations in 1930 and 1931. The culture is named after the modern town of Longshan in Zhangqiu. The culture was noted for its polished black pottery. The population expanded dramatically during the 3rd millennium BC, with settlements having rammed earth walls. It decreased in most areas around 2000 BC until the area evolved into the Bronze Age Erlitou culture. A distinctive feature of the Longshan culture was the level of skill in pottery making, including the use of pottery wheels. This pottery was widespread in North China, and also found in the Yangtze River valley, until the 1950s, such black pottery was considered the principal diagnostic, and all of these sites were assigned to the Longshan culture. For example, the culture of the lower Yangtze area is now described as the Liangzhu culture. At the same time, researchers recognized the diversity within the Yellow River valley by distinguishing regional variants in Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi from the Shandong or classic Longshan. Also in the 1980s, Yan Wenming proposed the term Longshan era to encompass cultures of the late Neolithic across the area, the most important crop was foxtail millet, but traces of broomcorn millet, rice and wheat have also been found. Rice grains have been found in Shandong and southern Henan, specialized tools for digging, harvesting and grinding grain have been recovered. The most common source of meat was the pig, sheep and goats were apparently domesticated in the Loess Plateau area in the 4th millennium BC, found in western Henan by 2800 BC, and then spread across the middle and lower Yellow River area. Dogs were also eaten, particularly in Shandong, though cattle were less important, small-scale production of silk by raising and domesticating the silkworm in early sericulture was also known. Remains have been found in Shaanxi and southern Henan of scapulae of cattle, pigs, sheep, evidence of human sacrifice becomes more common in Shaanxi and the Central Plain in the late Longshan period. Excavations in the 1950s in Shanxian, western Henan, identified a Miaodigou II phase transitional between the preceding Yangshao culture and the later Henan Longshan, some scholars argue that the late Dawenkou culture should be considered the early phase of the Shandong Longshan culture. Miaodigou II sites are found in central and western Henan, southern Shanxi, the tools and pottery found at these sites were significantly improved from those of the preceding Yangshao culture. Agriculture was intensified, and the consumption of domesticated animals greatly increased, similarities in ceramic styles of central Henan Miaodigou II with the late Dawenkou culture to the east and the late Qujialing culture to the south suggest trade contacts between the regions. There were also expansions from middle and late Dawenkou sites toward central Henan, the late period of the Longshan culture in the middle Yellow River area is contemporaneous with the classic Shandong Longshan culture
Longshan culture
–
Black eggshell pottery of the Shandong Longshan
Longshan culture
–
Longshan culture
Longshan culture
–
Jadeware from the Shandong Longshan
23.
Hanzi
–
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and some other Asian languages. In Standard Chinese, and sometimes also in English, they are called hànzì. They have been adapted to write a number of languages including, Japanese, where they are known as kanji, Korean, where they are known as hanja. Collectively, they are known as CJK characters, in English, they are sometimes called Han characters. Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world, Chinese characters number in the tens of thousands, though most of them are minor graphic variants encountered only in historical texts. Studies in China have shown that literacy in written Chinese requires a knowledge of between three and four thousand characters. In Japan,2,136 are taught through secondary school, the characters used in Japan are distinct from those used in China in many respects. There are various national standard lists of characters, forms, in South Korea, when Chinese characters are used they are of the traditional variant and are almost identical to those used in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Old Chinese, most words were monosyllabic and there was a correspondence between characters and words. Rather, a character almost always corresponds to a syllable that is also a morpheme. However, there are a few exceptions to this correspondence, including bisyllabic morphemes. Modern Chinese has many homophones, thus the same syllable may be represented by many characters. A single character may also have a range of meanings, or sometimes quite distinct meanings, cognates in the several varieties of Chinese are generally written with the same character. They typically have similar meanings, but often quite different pronunciations and these foreign adaptations of Chinese pronunciation are known as Sino-Xenic pronunciations, and have been useful in the reconstruction of Middle Chinese. When the script was first used in the late 2nd millennium BC, words of Old Chinese were generally monosyllabic, increasing numbers of polysyllabic words have entered the language from the Western Zhou period to the present day. The process has accelerated over the centuries as phonetic change has increased the number of homophones and it has been estimated that over two thirds of the 3,000 most common words in modern Standard Chinese are polysyllables, the vast majority of those being disyllables. The most common process has been to form compounds of existing words, words have also been created by adding affixes, reduplication and borrowing from other languages. Polysyllabic words are written with one character per syllable
Hanzi
–
Chinese characters
Hanzi
–
"Chinese character" in
traditional (left) and
simplified form (right)
Hanzi
–
Ox scapula with oracle bone inscription
Hanzi
24.
Hanyu Pinyin
–
Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
Hanyu Pinyin
–
A school slogan asking elementary students to speak
Putonghua is annotated with pinyin, but without tonal marks.
Hanyu Pinyin
–
In
Yiling,
Yichang,
Hubei, text on road signs appears both in Chinese characters and in Hanyu Pinyin
25.
Precipitation
–
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel, Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and precipitates. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated, Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers, moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain. This process is active when freezing rain is occurring. A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain, provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content, the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds, namely stratus and cumulonimbus. Eventually, the droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy, thundersnow is possible within a cyclones comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, on the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the trough, or intertropical convergence zone. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 cubic kilometres of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres over land. Given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres, Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Precipitation may occur on celestial bodies, e. g. when it gets cold, Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 km3 of it over the oceans, given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective, stratiform, and orographic rainfall, Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice
Precipitation
–
A thunderstorm with heavy precipitation
Precipitation
–
Long-term mean precipitation by month
Precipitation
–
Late-summer
rainstorm in
Denmark
Precipitation
–
Lenticular cloud forming due to mountains over Wyoming
26.
Lanzhou Military Region
–
The Lanzhou Military Region was one of seven military regions in the Peoples Republic of China. It directed all military and armed forces in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia. The Ali area of northwest Tibet also falls under this Region and it is headquartered in Lanzhou in Gansu Province. It is bordered to the south by the Chengdu Military Region, and to the north by Mongolia, the Altai Republic, which is a subdivision of the Russian Federation. This region is now part of the Western Theater Command due to the reforms of 2015. The Region included two Group Armies plus two Armed Police Units, the known smaller formations included the 12th Armoured Brigade at Jiuquan, Gansu. Between 2006 and 2013 Blasko moved his listing for this brigade from the 21st Group Army to the 47th Group Army. nl says the 3rd Army Aviation Brigade is part of the 47th Group Army, 12th Artillery Division was previously with 47th Group Army. Main source for this listing is Scramble. nl/cn. htm, 6th Fighter Division 16th Air Regiment 18th Air Regiment Air Regiment - the Lanzhou MR Training Base was formed from 46th Div. In April 2012 this Regiment was re-subordinated to 6th Division, 36th Bomber Division 107th Air Regiment 108th Air Regiment Urumqi Base 111th Brigade - 111th Regiment, 37th Fighter Division became a brigade in 2012, according to Scramble. nl/cn. htm. Brigade - ex 110th Air Regiment, 37th Division, Brigade - until 1988 the Regiment operated as 16th Division based at Ertaizi, after which it was transformed into Shenyang Military Region Training Base. JJ-7A aircraft were declared operational in July 2011, April 2012 the Regiment changed into a Brigade and got subordinated to Urumqi Base and moved to Malan. Brigade - the Regiment used J5 and later J6 until 2002 when J8Hs arrived and these were replaced by J8F in 2006. In 2008 the Regiment moved from Kuerla, north of the city, in 2012 37th Div/109th Reg turned into a Brigade. China-Military. org indicates that the 6th Division gained the 139th Regiment from the deactivated 47th Division sometime in 1998, the 106th Air Regiment of the 36th Bomber Division disbanded in 2004. Chapter 8, PLA Ground Forces, by Dennis J Blasko, in The Peoples Liberation Army as Organisation, RAND, CF182
Lanzhou Military Region
–
The
garrison in
Linxia City, Gansu
Lanzhou Military Region
–
Lanzhou Military Region (highlighted)
27.
Wayback Machine
–
The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
Wayback Machine
–
Wayback Machine
28.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
29.
Provinces of China
–
Provinces, formally provincial-level administrative divisions or first-level administrative divisions, are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 34 such divisions, classified as 23 provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions, the Peoples Republic of China claims sovereignty over the territory administered by the Republic of China, claiming most of it as its Taiwan Province. The ROC also administers some offshore islands which form Fujian Province and these were part of an originally unified Fujian province, which since the stalemate of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 has been divided between the PRC and ROC. Note that every province has a Communist Party of China provincial committee, the committee secretary is in effective charge of the province, rather than the nominal governor of the provincial government. The government of each province is nominally led by a provincial committee. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province, second-in-command is the governor of the provincial government, the Peoples Republic of China claims the island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including Penghu, as Taiwan Province. The territory is controlled by the Republic of China, a municipality or direct-controlled municipality is a higher level of city which is directly under the Chinese government, with status equal to that of the provinces. In practice, their status is higher than that of common provinces. The governor of each region is usually appointed from the respective minority ethnic group. A special administrative region is an autonomous and self-governing subnational subject of the Peoples Republic of China that is directly under the Central Peoples Government. Each SAR has an executive as head of the region. The regions government is not fully independent, as policy and military defence are the responsibility of the central government. Notes,1, as of 20102, per km23, km24, Abbreviation in the parentheses is informal 5, Since founding in 1949, however, the PRC has never controlled Taiwan. Taiwan currently administers Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, the subject of whether or not Taiwan is part of China is often debated, with no clear conclusion. The Ming Dynasty kept the system set up by the Yuan Dynasty, however. By the time of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644 there were 18 provinces, in addition, there was a zongdu, a general military inspector or governor general, for every two to three provinces. Outer regions of China were not divided into provinces, military leaders or generals oversaw Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Mongolia, while vice-dutong and civilian leaders headed the leagues, a subdivision of Mongolia. The ambans supervised the administration of Tibet, in 1884 Xinjiang became a province, in 1907 Fengtian, Jilin, and Heilongjiang were made provinces as well
Provinces of China
–
Map comparing administrative divisions as drawn by the PRC and ROC.
Provinces of China
–
Provincial division 省份 Shěngfèn
30.
Lintong District
–
Lintong District is one of nine districts of Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, China. The Terracotta Army and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was discovered in March 1974 near this district and it was renamed to its present name in 2001. The name of the district comes from two rivers, lin river is on the east side and Tong river is on the west side of the district. Official website of Lintong District Government
Lintong District
–
The
Terracotta Army
31.
Tongchuan
–
Tongchuan’s main industries are coal, building materials, machinery, textile and chemical and aluminium industry. Pottery and porcelain, with Yaozhou Kiln products are well known. Tongchuan also produces medicines and food products, farm products include apples, hot peppers, Chinese prickly ash, garlic, flue-cured tobacco, walnuts and precious Chinese medicine herbs. Apple wine, apple vinegar, apple soft drink which are made of apples and processing products of hot pepper, China National Highway 210 There are the ruins of the Yaozhou Kiln, the remains of Yuhua Palace, and many rare historical relics. The Forest of Stone Sculptures on Yaowang Mountain is a historical relic under state protection
Tongchuan
–
Location of Tongchuan Prefecture within Shaanxi
32.
Xianyang
–
Xianyang is a Chinese city that was the capital of China in the Qin dynasty. It is a prefecture in modern-day Shaanxi province, on the Wei River and it has a total area of 10,213 square kilometres. Because the city lay south of the Jiuzong Mountains and north of the Wei River - both sunlight-rich orientations - it was named Xianyang, meaning fully yang. Under Duke Xiao of Qin, minister Shang Yang designed Xianyang in 350 BC, in 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang eliminated all six other vassal states to establish the first centralized empire in Chinese history. Xianyang became the centre of politics, economy and culture of the Qin empire, the Emperor had a lavish mausoleum built near the capital, complete with his Terracotta Army. Qin Shi Huang expanded Xianyang beyond the walls, then he built replicas of the palaces of all the conquered states along the Wei River. In 220 BC, he built Xin Palace and later renamed it Apex temple to be the equivalent of the apex star. He continued with the theme of earth as the mirror of heaven building a network of 300 palaces in the Wei valley connected by elevated roads, in 212 BC, he built the Hilltop Palace. Shortly after the First Emperors death in 210 BC revolts erupted, at the beginning of December 207 BC, then King of Qin Ziying surrendered to rebel leader Liu Bang. Liu Bang went on to capture Xianyang, but was forced to hand it over to rebel leader, Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu then killed Ziying and burned Xianyang in 206 BC, in 202 BC, after defeating Xiang Yu, Liu Bang built a new city near the old Xianyang and named this new capital Changan. The Han-era town of Anling was located nearby and houses some of the Han dynastys mausoleums, from the end of the 1950s until the middle of the 1990s, archaeologists discovered and excavated a large numbers of Qin era sites in Xianyang, including palaces, workshops and tombs. Chinese Bureau of Statistics lists the population of the city at 316,641, rising to 814,625. Despite being a national capital, the city suffers from extreme air pollution. China National Highway 312 Xian Xianyang International Airport Xianyang Qindu Railway Station Xian Metro Line 1 Cotterell, the Imperial Capitals of China - An Inside View of the Celestial Empire. Xianyang Network Xianyang Forum Official website of Xianyang Government
Xianyang
–
Xianyang 咸阳市
33.
Hancheng
–
Hancheng is a city in Shaanxi Province, Peoples Republic of China, about 125 miles northeast of Xian, at the point where the south-flowing Yellow River enters the Guanzhong Plain. It is a historic city, containing numerous historic mansions. As of 2005, it has a population of around 385,000 people, in ancient times, Yu the Great bored a tunnel in the nearby Mount Longmen to alleviate the frequent flooding that occurred in the area, which led to the area being called Dragon Gate. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the area was bestowed on the Han Marquises, during the Spring and Autumn period, the area was under the administration of the State of Jin and became known as Hanyuan or Land of the Hans. In the Warring States period, the area belonged to the State of Wei and was called Shaoliang, towards the end of the Warring States Period, the State of Qin conquered and designated the area as Xiayang County. In the Sui Dynasty, the received its present name of Hancheng. In 1983, Hancheng County became Hancheng City, in 1986, the city was named a National Historic and Cultural City and, in 2007, was added to the list of Prime Tourist Cities of China. Hancheng has the biggest power plant in western China, generating over 2,400,000 kW, the famed Chinese historian Sima Qian was born in Hancheng in the Han Dynasty and buried nearby. Hancheng government website Famous historical names from 韓城, 清朝第一位陕西籍状元王杰
Hancheng
–
Skyline of Hancheng
Hancheng
–
Brown-glazed Jar with Design of Three Fish. Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368 CE. Excavated from Hancheng City
34.
Tongguan County
–
Tongguan County is a county in Shaanxi, China, administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Weinan. Its eponymous county seat, formerly romanized as Tungkwan, lies south of the confluence of the Wei and it is the southeastern corner of the Ordos Loop, the point at which the Qin Mountains turn the Yellow River sharply eastward, forcing it into the North China Plain. During the Middle Ages, the Tong Pass or Tongguan pass was an important chokepoint, protecting Xian and it now lies at the intersection of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan. Chinese civilization first grew up along the Wei, Luo, the state of Qin fortified the Hangu Pass to the east of Tongguan as its eastern border and it continued to protect the Chinese heartland from outside attack during the Qin and Han dynasties. During the Eastern Han that succeeded Wang Mangs short-lived Xin dynasty, from the time of the AD211 Battle of Tongguan, however, Tongguan replaced the Hangu Pass as the principal strategic post between the Guanzhong area and the North China Plain. Under the Tang, the fall of Tongguan to An Lushans rebels led directly to their capture of the capital Changan
Tongguan County
–
Tongguan
35.
Hanzhong
–
Hanzhong is a prefecture-level city in southwest Shaanxi province. It is known as Chinas charm city, Hanzhong is located at the nowadays headwater of the Han River, the largest tributary of the Yangtze River. This might explain the name, since its location was historically once the middle point of the ancient Han River. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was enfeoffed as the king of the Hanzhong region after overthrowing the Qin dynasty. During the Chu-Han contention, Liu Bang shortened his title to the King of Han, Hanzhong city covers 27,246 square kilometres and consists of one urban district named Hantai. There are ten surrounding rural counties, and one national economics, in 2013, the population was approximately 3.84 million. The local dialect of Hanzhong is the Chengdu-Chongqing dialect of Southwestern Mandarin, there are few references to Hanzhong before the Qin dynastys unification of China in 221 BC. From 900 BC, the area has been called Nanzheng, however, the veracity of this story is controversial. In the Qin dynasty the area was governed as the Hanzhong Commandery, whose seat was in current day Nanzheng County, in 207 BC, the Qin dynasty collapsed. Liu Bang, who would become the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, was made lord of Hanzhong. He spent several years there before raising an army to challenge his archrival, Xiang Yu, in 206 BC, after the victory at Gaixia, Liu Bang named his imperial dynasty after his native district, as was customary. However, he chose Hanzhong rather than his birthplace Pei County, thus, Hanzhong gave its name to the Han dynasty. In the second century AD, the Eastern Han dynasty gradually weakened, outsiders from the Ba region attacked the Hanzhong area, as they had in the past. Zhang Lu, supported by followers of a Taoist sect, Way of the Celestial Masters, thirty years later, after the Battle of Yangping, Zhang Lu surrendered Zanghong to the warlord, Cao Cao. Prior to and during the Three Kingdoms period, Hanzhong was a strategically important site. It is located at a point along the route an army would take from the Central Plain to the Sichuan Basin. At this time, Cao Cao lost control of Hanzhong to Liu Bei, ruins and landmarks of the Three Kingdoms era remaining in Hanzhong include the tomb of the Shu Han chancellor Zhuge Liang. Much of this period of Hanzhongs history is retold in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in Hanzhong, between the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty there was political turmoil
Hanzhong
–
Night view of the city
Hanzhong
–
Bao River (褒河)
Hanzhong
–
Gilded Bronze Ruler - 1 chi = 231 cm. Western Han (206 BCE - CE 8).
Hanzhong City, China
Hanzhong
–
Panorama of southeastern Hanzhong.
_on_Baoji.jpg)
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Baoji (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 宝鸡; traditional Chinese: 寶雞; pinyin: Bǎojī) is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China.
