1.
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.
2.
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
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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.
3.
Standard Chinese
–
Its pronunciation is based on the Beijing dialect, its vocabulary on the Mandarin dialects, and its grammar is based on written vernacular Chinese. Like other varieties of Chinese, Standard Chinese is a language with topic-prominent organization. It has more initial consonants but fewer vowels, final consonants, Standard Chinese is an analytic language, though with many compound words. There exist two standardised forms of the language, namely Putonghua in Mainland China and Guoyu in Taiwan, aside from a number of differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, Putonghua is written using simplified Chinese characters, while Guoyu is written using traditional Chinese characters. There are many characters that are identical between the two systems, in English, the governments of China and Hong Kong use Putonghua, Putonghua Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, and Mandarin, while those of Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, use Mandarin. The name Putonghua also has a long, albeit unofficial, history and it was used as early as 1906 in writings by Zhu Wenxiong to differentiate a modern, standard Chinese from classical Chinese and other varieties of Chinese. For some linguists of the early 20th century, the Putonghua, or common tongue/speech, was different from the Guoyu. The former was a prestige variety, while the latter was the legal standard. Based on common understandings of the time, the two were, in fact, different, Guoyu was understood as formal vernacular Chinese, which is close to classical Chinese. By contrast, Putonghua was called the speech of the modern man. The use of the term Putonghua by left-leaning intellectuals such as Qu Qiubai, prior to this, the government used both terms interchangeably. In Taiwan, Guoyu continues to be the term for Standard Chinese. The term Putonghua, on the contrary, implies nothing more than the notion of a lingua franca, Huayu, or language of the Chinese nation, originally simply meant Chinese language, and was used in overseas communities to contrast Chinese with foreign languages. Over time, the desire to standardise the variety of Chinese spoken in these communities led to the adoption of the name Huayu to refer to Mandarin and it also incorporates the notion that Mandarin is usually not the national or common language of the areas in which overseas Chinese live. The term Mandarin is a translation of Guānhuà, which referred to the lingua franca of the late Chinese empire, in English, Mandarin may refer to the standard language, the dialect group as a whole, or to historic forms such as the late Imperial lingua franca. The name Modern Standard Mandarin is sometimes used by linguists who wish to distinguish the current state of the language from other northern. Chinese has long had considerable variation, hence prestige dialects have always existed. Confucius, for example, used yǎyán rather than colloquial regional dialects, rime books, which were written since the Northern and Southern dynasties, may also have reflected one or more systems of standard pronunciation during those times
Standard Chinese
–
A poster outside of high school in
Yangzhou urges people to speak Putonghua
Standard Chinese
–
Zhongguo Guanhua (中国官话/中國官話), or Medii Regni Communis Loquela ("Middle Kingdom's Common Speech"), used on the frontispiece of an early Chinese grammar published by
Étienne Fourmont (with
Arcadio Huang) in 1742
4.
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
5.
Cantonese
–
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a variety of Chinese spoken in the city of Guangzhou in southeastern China. It is the prestige variety of Yue, one of the major subdivisions of Chinese. In mainland China, it is the lingua franca of the province of Guangdong and some neighbouring areas such as Guangxi. In Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese serves as one of their official languages and it is also spoken amongst overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and throughout the Western World. When Cantonese and the closely related Yuehai dialects are classified together, Cantonese is viewed as vital part of the cultural identity for its native speakers across large swathes of southeastern China, Hong Kong and Macau. Although Cantonese shares some vocabulary with Mandarin, the two varieties are mutually unintelligible because of differences in pronunciation, grammar and lexicon, sentence structure, in particular the placement of verbs, sometimes differs between the two varieties. This results in the situation in which a Cantonese and a Mandarin text may look similar, in English, the term Cantonese is ambiguous. Cantonese proper is the variety native to the city of Canton and this narrow sense may be specified as Canton language or Guangzhou language in English. However, Cantonese may also refer to the branch of Cantonese that contains Cantonese proper as well as Taishanese and Gaoyang. In this article, Cantonese is used for Cantonese proper, historically, speakers called this variety Canton speech or Guangzhou speech, although this term is now seldom used outside mainland China. In Guangdong province, people call it provincial capital speech or plain speech. In Hong Kong and Macau, as well as among overseas Chinese communities, in mainland China, the term Guangdong speech is also increasingly being used among both native and non-native speakers. Due to its status as a prestige dialect among all the dialects of the Cantonese or Yue branch of Chinese varieties, the official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, as defined in the Hong Kong Basic Law. The Chinese language has different varieties, of which Cantonese is one. Given the traditional predominance of Cantonese within Hong Kong, it is the de facto official spoken form of the Chinese language used in the Hong Kong Government and all courts and it is also used as the medium of instruction in schools, alongside English. A similar situation exists in neighboring Macau, where Chinese is an official language along with Portuguese. As in Hong Kong, Cantonese is the predominant spoken variety of Chinese used in life and is thus the official form of Chinese used in the government. The variant spoken in Hong Kong and Macau is known as Hong Kong Cantonese, Cantonese first developed around the port city of Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta region of southeastern China
Cantonese
–
Street in
Chinatown, San Francisco. Cantonese has traditionally been the dominant Chinese variant among Chinese populations in the Western world.
Cantonese
–
Gwóngdūng Wah / gwong 2 dung 1 waa 6 (Cantonese) written in
traditional Chinese (left) and
simplified Chinese (right) characters
Cantonese
–
Chinese dictionary from Tang dynasty. Modern Cantonese pronunciation is more similar to Middle Chinese from this era than other Chinese varieties.
6.
Jyutping
–
Jyutping is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, an academic group, in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanisation Scheme, the LSHK promotes the use of this romanisation system. The name Jyutping is a contraction consisting of the first Chinese characters of the terms Jyut6jyu5, only the finals m and ng can be used as standalone nasal syllables. ^ ^ ^ Referring to the pronunciation of these words. There are nine tones in six distinct tone contours in Cantonese, however, as three of the nine are entering tones, which only appear in syllables ending with p, t, and k, they do not have separate tone numbers in Jyutping. Jyutping and the Yale Romanisation of Cantonese represent Cantonese pronunciations with the letters in, The initials, b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, s, gw, kw. The vowel, aa, a, e, i, o, u, the coda, i, u, m, n, ng, p, t, k. But they differ in the following, The vowels eo and oe represent /ɵ/ and /œː/ respectively in Jyutping, the initial j represents /j/ in Jyutping whereas y is used instead in Yale. The initial z represents /ts/ in Jyutping whereas j is used instead in Yale, the initial c represents /tsʰ/ in Jyutping whereas ch is used instead in Yale. In Jyutping, if no consonant precedes the vowel yu, then the initial j is appended before the vowel, in Yale, the corresponding initial y is never appended before yu under any circumstances. Jyutping defines three finals not in Yale, eu /ɛːu/, em /ɛːm/, and ep /ɛːp/ and these three finals are used in colloquial Cantonese words, such as deu6, lem2, and gep6. To represent tones, only tone numbers are used in Jyutping whereas Yale traditionally uses tone marks together with the letter h. Jyutping and Cantonese Pinyin represent Cantonese pronunciations with the letters in, The initials, b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, s, gw, kw. The vowel, aa, a, e, i, o, u, the coda, i, u, m, n, ng, p, t, k. But they have differences, The vowel oe represents both /ɵ/ and /œː/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas eo and oe represent /ɵ/ and /œː/ respectively in Jyutping. The vowel y represents /y/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas both yu and i are used in Jyutping, the initial dz represents /ts/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas z is used instead in Jyutping. The initial ts represents /tsʰ/ in Cantonese Pinyin whereas c is used instead in Jyutping. To represent tones, the numbers 1 to 9 are usually used in Cantonese Pinyin, however, only the numbers 1 to 6 are used in Jyutping
Jyutping
–
Jyutping Romanization.
7.
Wax museum
–
A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes. Some wax museums have a special section dubbed the Chamber of Horrors, some collections are more specialized, as, for example, collections of wax medical models once used for training medical professionals. Many museums or displays in historical houses that are not wax museums as such use wax figures as part of their displays, the making of life-size wax figures wearing real clothes grew out of the funeral practices of European royalty. After the funeral these were displayed by the tomb or elsewhere in the church, and became a popular attraction for visitors. From the funeral of Charles II in 1680 they were no longer placed on the coffin but were made for later display. The effigy of Charles II, open-eyed and standing, was displayed over his tomb until the early 19th century, concerned for their revenue from visitors, the Abbey decided it needed a rival attraction for admirers of Nelson. In European courts including that of France the making of posed wax figures became popular, antoine Benoist was a French court painter and sculptor in wax to King Louis XIV. He exhibited forty-three wax figures of the French Royal Circle at his residence in Paris, thereafter, the king authorized the figurines to be shown throughout France. His work became so highly regarded that James II of England invited him to visit England in 1684, there he executed works of the English king and members of his court. A seated figure of Peter the Great of Russia survives, made by an Italian artist, the Danish court painter Johann Salomon Wahl executed figures of the Danish king and queen in about 1740. Philippe Curtius, waxwork modeller to the French court, opened his Cabinet de Cire as a tourist attraction in Paris in 1770, in 1783 this added a Caverne des Grandes Voleurs, an early Chamber of Horrors. He bequeathed his collection to his protegé Marie Tussaud, who during the French Revolution made death masks of the executed royals. Madame Tussauds, historically associated with London, is the most famous associated with wax museums, although it was by no means the earliest wax museum. In 1835 Madame Tussaud established her first permanent exhibition in Londons Baker Street, by the late 19th century most large cities had some kind of commercial wax museum, and for a century these remained highly popular. In the late 20th century it became harder for them to compete with other attractions. C, Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco and Hollywood. Louis Tussauds wax museum in San Antonio, Texas, is across the street from the historic Alamo, others are located on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, and Grand Prairie, Texas. One of the most popular wax museums in the United States for decades was The Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, California, the museum opened in 1962 and through the years added many wax figures of famous show business figures. Several stars attended the unveilings of the wax incarnations, the museum closed its doors on October 31,2005, after years of dwindling attendance
Wax museum
–
A typical modern wax sculpture of
Cecilia Cheung at
Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.
Wax museum
–
The funeral effigy (without clothes) of
Elizabeth of York, mother of
King Henry VIII, 1503,
Westminster Abbey
Wax museum
–
The Beatles at
Madame Tussauds London.
Wax museum
–
Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi) at Panoptikum Hamburg.
8.
Marie Tussaud
–
Anna Maria Marie Tussaud was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London. Marie Tussaud was born 1 December 1761 in Strasbourg, France and her father, Joseph Grosholtz, was killed in the Seven Years War just two months before Marie was born. At the age of six her mother, Anne-Marie Walder, took her to Bern, there the family moved into the home of local doctor Philippe Curtius, for whom Anne-Marie acted as housekeeper. Curtius, who Marie would call her uncle, wasnt only a physician and he initially used his talent as wax sculptor to illustrate anatomy but later for portraits. He moved to Paris in 1765 to establish a Cabinet de Portraits En Cire, in that year, he made a waxwork of Louis XVs last mistress, Madame du Barry, a cast that is the oldest work currently on display. A year later, Tussaud and her mother joined Curtius in Paris, the first exhibition of Curtius waxworks was shown in 1770 and attracted a large crowd. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling and she showed talent for the technique and began working for him as an artist. In 1777, she created her first wax figure, that of Voltaire, from 1780 until the Revolution in 1789, Tussaud created many of her most famous portraits of celebrities such as those of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. During this period her memoirs claim she became employed to teach votive making to Élisabeth, in her memoirs, she admitted to be privy to private conversations between the princess and her brother and members of his court. On 12 July 1789, wax heads of Jacques Necker and the duc dOrléans made by Curtius were carried in a protest march two days before the attack on the Bastille. Tussaud was perceived as a sympathizer, in the Reign of Terror she was arrested, along with Joséphine de Beauharnais. She was released thanks to Collot dHerbois support for Curtius and his household, Tussaud was then employed to make death masks of the revolutions famous victims, including Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Marat, and Robespierre. Her death masks were paraded through the streets of Paris, like revolutionary flags, conflicting accounts argue over whether Tussaud searched through the bodies of the dead to collect the most illustrious heads she could find, as stated in her memoirs. When Curtius died in 1794, he left his collection of wax works to Tussaud, in 1795, she married François Tussaud, a civil engineer. The couple had three children, a daughter who died after birth, and two sons, Joseph and François, in 1802, after the Treaty of Amiens, Tussaud went to London with her son Joseph, then four years old, to present her collection of portraits. She had accepted an invitation from Paul Philidor, a lantern and phantasmagoria pioneer, to exhibit her work alongside his show at the Lyceum Theatre. She did not fare well financially, with Philidor taking half of her profits. As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, Tussaud was unable to return to France so she travelled with her throughout the British Isles
Marie Tussaud
–
Madame Tussaud "at the age of 42, when she left France for Great Britain". Portrait study (1921) by
John Theodore Tussaud.
Marie Tussaud
–
Poster for the Tussaud wax figure's exhibition, London 1835.
9.
Peak Tower
–
The Peak Tower is a leisure and shopping complex located at Victoria Gap, near the summit of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It also houses the upper terminal of the Peak Tram, both the Peak Tower and the Peak Tram are owned by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels group, the owner of Hong Kongs famous Peninsula Hotel along with many other properties. The tower and tram are jointly promoted by the branding known as The Peak. The Peak Tower is located at an elevation of 396 m,156 m below the summit of Victoria Peak, in 1881, Alexander Findlay Smith, who owned a hotel on the Peak, petitioned for the right to introduce a funicular railway to Hong Kong. It took three years to build, as much of the equipment and rails had to be hauled uphill by the workers. A simple wooden structure was built for the first terminal, the Peak Tram was opened for public service on 28 May 1888 by the then Governor Sir George William des Voeux. The current Peak Tower is the second on the site, the original tower was designed by Hong Kong architect Chung Wah Nan. Construction of the first one started in 1960, and it was opened on 29 August 1969, the Tower Restaurant was situated on the top deck while the Peak Coffee Shop was located on the floor below. Both the upper floors were supported by two columns allowing a space between the upper and lower parts of the tower. This design feature has been retained in the tower. The first tower was demolished in 1993 and a ceremony on the new tower was held later the same year. The current Peak Tower was the work of the British architect Terry Farrell and it has seven floors with a total area of 10,400 m² with a wok shape at the top. A viewing platform located on the third floor overlooks Victoria Harbour, the building was altered from 2005-2006 at a cost of $100 million. The lower portion was glassed in to increase space. Apart from the Peak Tram terminal, viewing terrace, and gift shops, odditorium, Hong Kongs Historical Adventure and the Peak Explorer Motion Simulator. The Peak Tower is located close to a leisure and shopping centre
Peak Tower
–
Peak Tower viewed from
Lugard Road.
Peak Tower
–
First generation of the Peak Tower, in the 1970s.
10.
Hong Kong Island
–
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its density is 16, 390/km². The island had a population of about 3,000 inhabitants scattered in a dozen fishing villages when it was occupied by the United Kingdom in the First Opium War, the Central area on the island is the historical, political and economic centre of Hong Kong. The northern coast of the forms the southern shore of the Victoria Harbour. The island is home to many of the most famous sights in Hong Kong, such as The Peak, Ocean Park, many historical sites, the mountain ranges across the island are also famous for hiking. The northern part of Hong Kong Island, together with Kowloon and Tsuen Wan New Town and their combined area is approximately 88.3 square kilometres and their combined population is approximately 3,156,500, reflecting a population density of 35, 700/km². The island is referred to locally as Hong Kong side or Island side. This style was applied to many locations but is now only heard in this form and Kowloon side. Hong Kong Island comprises the following suburbs/localities of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Island is not part of the Islands District, Hong Kong island became a colony of the British Empire when their forces defeated the Chinese in the First Opium War. The island was populated by only a few thousand people when British empire colonized it, the Second World War was a dark period for Hong Kong. In the 1930s, the British anticipated a Japanese attack on Hong Kong, as Wong Nai Chung Gap was a strategic important place of defence, large-scale defensive works were constructed there, including anti-aircraft batteries, howitzers, and machine gun nests. The Battle of Hong Kong began on 8 December 1941, British, Canadian, Indian armies and the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Forces resisted the Japanese invasion commanded by Sakai Takashi, which began eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the Japanese were able to control of the Hong Kong skies on the first day of attack. The defenders retreated from the Gin Drinkers Line and consequently from Kowloon under heavy aerial bombardment, on 18 December, the Japanese had conquered North Point, reaching Wong Nai Chung Gap on the next day. However, Allied forces there were defeated by the Japanese on 23 December. As Wan Chai Gap had also fallen that day, the British had no choice. Hong Kong was surrendered on 25 December 1941, thereafter often called Black Christmas by locals. The Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Young, surrendered in person at the temporary Japanese headquarters, on the floor of the Peninsula Hotel
Hong Kong Island
–
Dusk view of Hong Kong Island as seen from
North Point.
Hong Kong Island
–
A view of
Middle Island in the foreground and
Repulse Bay in the background from the
Ocean Park cable car ride (in the Southern District)
Hong Kong Island
–
Kornhill and
Shau Kei Wan, located in the northern part of Eastern District
Hong Kong Island
–
Admiralty MTR station, the cross-platform interchange station of the Island Line and Tsuen Wan Line
11.
Madame Tussauds
–
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with smaller museums in a number of other major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and it used to be known as Madame Tussauds, the apostrophe is no longer used. Madame Tussauds is a major tourist attraction in London, displaying waxworks of famous people, Marie Tussaud was born as Marie Grosholtz in 1761 in Strasbourg, France. Her mother worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius in Bern, Switzerland, Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling. He moved to Paris and took his apprentice, only 6 years old. Tussaud created her first wax sculpture in 1777 of Voltaire, at the age of 17 she became the art tutor to King Louis XVI of France’s sister, Madame Elizabeth, at the Palace of Versailles. During the French Revolution she was imprisoned for three months awaiting execution, but was released after the intervention of an influential friend, other famous people whom she modelled included Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. During the Revolution, she modelled many prominent victims and she claims that she would search through corpses to find the severed heads of executed citizens, from which she would make death masks. Her death masks were held up as revolutionary flags and paraded through the streets of Paris and she inherited the doctors vast collection of wax models following his death in 1794, and spent the next 33 years travelling around Europe. She married Francois Tussaud in 1795, and the show acquired a new name, Madame Tussauds, in 1802, she accepted an invitation from Paul Philidor, a magic lantern and phantasmagoria pioneer, to exhibit her work alongside his show at the Lyceum Theatre, London. She did not fare well financially, with Philidor taking half of her profits. She was unable to return to France because of the Napoleonic Wars, so she traveled throughout Great Britain, from 1831, she took a series of short leases on the upper floor of Baker Street Bazaar, which later featured in the Druce-Portland case sequence of trials of 1898–1907. This became Tussauds first permanent home in 1836, by 1835, Marie had settled down in Baker Street, London and opened a museum. One of the attractions of her museum was the Chamber of Horrors. The name is credited to a contributor to Punch in 1845. This part of the exhibition included victims of the French Revolution and newly created figures of murderers, other famous people were added, including Lord Nelson and Sir Walter Scott. Some sculptures still exist that were done by Marie Tussaud herself, the gallery originally contained some 400 different figures, but fire damage in 1925 coupled with German bombs in 1941 has rendered most of these older models defunct. The casts themselves have survived, allowing the historical waxworks to be remade, the oldest figure on display is that of Madame du Barry, the work of Curtius from 1765 and part of the waxworks left to Tussaud at his death
Madame Tussauds
–
Madame Tussauds and the
London Planetarium
Madame Tussauds
–
Entry of Madame Tussauds in
Berlin
Madame Tussauds
–
Madame Tussauds in
New York City opened in 2000
Madame Tussauds
–
Madame Tussauds opened in
Washington, D.C. in 2007
12.
Victoria Peak
–
Victoria Peak is a mountain in the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak, with an elevation of 552 m, it is the highest mountain on Hong Kong island, ranked 31 in terms of elevation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The summit is occupied by a radio telecommunications facility and is closed to the public, however, the surrounding area of public parks and high-value residential land is the area that is normally meant by the name The Peak. It is a major tourist attraction that offers views over Central, Victoria Harbour, Lamma Island, the sixth Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Richard MacDonnell had a summer residence built on the Peak circa 1868. Those that built houses named them whimsically, such as The Eyrie, and these original residents reached their homes by sedan chairs, which were carried up and down the steep slope of Victoria Peak. This limited development of the Peak until the opening of the Peak Tram funicular in 1888, the boost to accessibility caused by the opening of the Peak Tram created demand for residences on the Peak. Between 1904 and 1930, the Peak Reservation Ordinance designated the Peak as a residential area reserved for non-Chinese. They also reserved the Peak Tram for the use of passengers during peak periods. The Peak remains a residential area, although residency today is based on wealth. The Peak is home to species of birds, most prominently the black kite. With some seven million every year, the Peak is a major tourist attraction of Hong Kong. It offers spectacular views of the city and its waterfront, the viewing deck also has coin-operated telescopes that the visitors can use to enjoy the cityscape. The number of visitors led to the construction of two major leisure and shopping centres, the Peak Tower and the Peak Galleria, situated adjacent to each other. The Peak is also accessible by taxi and private car via the circuitous Peak Road, the nearest MTR station is Central. Victoria Peak Garden is located on the site of Mountain Lodge, the Governors old summer residence and it can be reached from Victoria Gap by walking up Mount Austin Road, a climb of about 150 metres. There are several restaurants on Victoria Peak, most of which are located in the two shopping centres, however, the Peak Lookout Restaurant, is housed in an older and more traditional building which was originally a spacious house for engineers working on the Peak Tramway. It was rebuilt in 1901 as an area for sedan chairs. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Hong Kong, at the peak of The Peak, properties are more expensive than anywhere else in the world
Victoria Peak
–
Summit of Victoria Peak, seen from Findlay Road
Victoria Peak
–
The
Peak Tower from Peak Road. The entrance to the
Peak Galleria is to the right.
Victoria Peak
–
View from Victoria Peak looking north towards
Victoria Harbour and
Kowloon.
Victoria Peak
–
The
Peak Tram approaching the
Peak Tower
13.
Amsterdam
–
Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
14.
Las Vegas, Nevada
–
The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment and it is the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World and it is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any city in the world. Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one of the worlds most visited tourist destinations. The citys tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated American city founded within that century, population growth has accelerated since the 1960s, and between 1990 and 2000 the population nearly doubled, increasing by 85. 2%. Rapid growth has continued into the 21st century, and according to a 2013 estimate, perhaps the earliest visitors to the Las Vegas area were nomadic Paleo-Indians, who traveled there 10,000 years ago, leaving behind petroglyphs. Anasazi and Paiute tribes followed at least 2,000 years ago, a young Mexican scout named Rafael Rivera is credited as the first non-Native American to encounter the valley, in 1829. Trader Antonio Armijo led a 60-man party along the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, the area was named Las Vegas, which is Spanish for the meadows, as it featured abundant wild grasses, as well as desert spring waters for westward travelers. The year 1844 marked the arrival of John C, frémont, whose writings helped lure pioneers to the area. Downtown Las Vegas Fremont Street is named after him, eleven years later members of the LDS Church chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies. The fort was abandoned several years afterward, the remainder of this Old Mormon Fort can still be seen at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Las Vegas was founded as a city in 1905, when 110 acres of adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks were auctioned in what would become the downtown area. In 1911, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city,1931 was a pivotal year for Las Vegas. At that time, Nevada legalized casino gambling and reduced residency requirements for divorce to six weeks and this year also witnessed the beginning of construction on nearby Hoover Dam. The influx of workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic calamity during the Great Depression. The construction work was completed in 1935, in 1941, the Las Vegas Army Air Corps Gunnery School was established. Currently known as Nellis Air Force Base, it is home to the team called the Thunderbirds
Las Vegas, Nevada
–
In order from top left, clockwise: 1.
World Market Center Las Vegas; 2.
Fremont East; 3.
Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health; 4.
Smith Center for the Performing Arts; 5.
Downtown Las Vegas with the
Las Vegas Valley in the background; 6.
Grand Central Parkway Interchange; 7.
Symphony Park; 8.
Downtown Arts District; 9.
Las Vegas industrial district looking North away from the
Las Vegas Strip during
First Friday
Las Vegas, Nevada
–
Southern
Paiutes at
Moapa wearing traditional Paiute basket hats with Paiute cradleboard and rabbit robe
Las Vegas, Nevada
–
Golden Nugget and
Pioneer Club along
Fremont Street in 1952.
Las Vegas, Nevada
–
Astronaut photograph of Las Vegas at night
15.
HK$
–
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of Hong Kong. It is the thirteenth most traded currency in the world, the Hong Kong dollar is subdivided into 100 cents. It is also used in nearby Macau, where the official currency, in formal Cantonese, the 圓 or 元 character is used. In spoken Cantonese, 蚊 is used, perhaps a transliteration of the first syllable of “money”, the dollar is divided into 100 cents, with the character 仙 used on coins and in spoken Cantonese. However, 仙 is now used in the stock market, as now it no longer has a note or coin form due to its small value. The amount of 10 cents is called 1 houh in Cantonese, the mil was known as the man or tsin in Cantonese. To express prices in spoken Cantonese, for example $7.80, the phrase is 七個八, in terms, where integer values in cents exist, e. g. $6.75. A slang term in English sometimes used for the Hong Kong dollar is Honkie, when Hong Kong was established as a free trading port in 1841, there was no local currency in everyday circulation. Foreign currencies such as Indian rupees, Spanish and Mexican 8 reales, the Chinese did not however receive these new Hong Kong dollars well, and in 1868 the Hong Kong Mint was closed down with a loss of $440,000. The machinery at the Hong Kong mint was sold first to Jardine Matheson and in turn to the Japanese, in 1873, the international silver crisis resulted in a devaluation of silver against gold-based currencies. London eventually acquiesced and legislation was enacted in attempts to regulate the coinage, new British trade dollars were coined at the mints in Calcutta and Bombay for use in both Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements. In 1906, the Straits Settlements issued their own silver dollar coin and this was the point of departure as between the Hong Kong unit and the Straits unit. By 1935, only Hong Kong and China remained on the silver standard, in that year, Hong Kong, shortly after China, abandoned silver and introduced a crawling peg to sterling of £1 = $15.36 to $16.45. It was from this point in time that the concept of a Hong Kong dollar as a unit of currency came into existence. The One-Dollar Currency Note Ordinance of that led to the introduction of one-dollar notes by the government. It was not until 1937 that the tender of Hong Kong was finally unified. In 1939, the Hong Kong dollar was put on a peg of $16 = £1. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese military yen were the means of everyday exchange in Hong Kong
HK$
–
Banknotes
HK$
HK$
–
A 100 Japanese military yen note
16.
Central, Hong Kong
–
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui. The area was the heart of Victoria City, although that name is used today. As the central district of Hong Kong, it is the area where many multinational financial services corporations have their headquarters. Consulates general and consulates of countries are also located in this area, as is Government Hill. The area of Chung Wan, named Central in English, was one of the districts in Victoria City. The English name Central became prevalent after the Island Line of the MTR metro system was built in the early 1980s, on some older maps, it and the area to its west are named Kwan Tai Lo below Victoria Peak. It formed a channel, Chung Mun, with Tsim Sha Tsui, the eastern part of Central District has been known as Admiralty since the completion of Admiralty Station in the early 1980s. Central is located on the shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui. It is bordered in the west by Sheung Wan, with the border being along Aberdeen Street and it is bordered in the east by Admiralty, an eastern extension of the central business district. As such, Admiralty is sometimes considered a part of Central, Central is bordered in the south by Mid-levels, an area halfway up Victoria Peak. The boundary between Central and Mid-levels is not clearly defined, for district council elections purposes, the area, together with Admiralty, correspond roughly to the Chung Wan constituency. The boundaries of such constituencies may be subject to modification, the British landed on Possession Point of Sheung Wan in 1841. They soon decided to build a city on the north coast of Hong Kong Island, and the present-day Central was chosen to house major military facilities and an administrative centre. The area soon attracted both Westerners and Chinese to trade and live in the area, and a Canton Bazaar was built between Cochrane Street and Graham Street in 1842, the area was soon zoned for Westerners only, and the Chinese residents were restricted to Sheung Wan. The area was dominated by the presence of Victoria City. The popularity of this area would also boost the population of Hong Kong from 5,000 in 1841 to 24,000 in 1848, Government House and other Hong Kong Government buildings were completed during this period on Government Hill. Various barracks, naval base and residence of Commander, Flagstaff House were built on the east end of the district, between 1860 and 1880 the construction of City Hall, Theatre Royal and other financial structures made Central the heart of Hong Kong
Central, Hong Kong
–
Central as viewed from
Tsim Sha Tsui, on the opposite side of
Victoria Harbour
Central, Hong Kong
–
View of Central and Victoria Harbour from
Victoria Peak. Tsim Sha Tsui is visible across the harbour.
Central, Hong Kong
–
Admiralty, Central and the
Central and Wan Chai Reclamation, view from the east in 2010.
Central, Hong Kong
–
The
General Post Office, the
City Hall, and the surrounding business buildings in Central, viewed from the west.
17.
Peak Tram
–
The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and offers views over the harbour. The Peak Tram is owned and operated by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, the line, along with HSHs Peak Tower leisure complex at the lines summit, is promoted using the brand The Peak. The Peak Trams route from Central district to Victoria Peak covers a distance of about 1.4 kilometres, the line has two pronounced curves, one to the left immediately after leaving the lower terminus, and the other to the right in the upper half of the ascent. The gradient also varies throughout the ascent. It is a single track route and a loop, with two trams. The lower terminus station, Garden Road, is located on Garden Road near St. Johns Cathedral, the original station was incorporated into St. Johns Building, an office tower, with the tram terminus at the ground level. The station comprises a track, with platforms on both sides. One platform is used for boarding, the other for exiting the tram, the upper terminus, The Peak is located below the Peak Tower shopping and leisure complex at Victoria Gap, some 150 metres below the summit of Victoria Peak. The station has the same arrangement of boarding and alighting platforms as the lower terminus, the haulage and control equipment for the funicular is located in a basement below the station. There are also four intermediate stations, each of which is a request stop consists of a stepped platform. Located on Kennedy Road, named after Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy, located on MacDonnell Road, named after Sir Richard MacDonnell, a former Governor of Hong Kong, depot located here and storage of historic car May Road. Located on May Road, named after Sir Francis Henry May, located on Barker Road, named after General George Digby Barker, a former military commander and acting administrator of Hong Kong. In 1881 Alexander Findlay Smith first put the project of a Peak Railway into shape, the necessary legislation was passed two years later. Findlay Smith did not approach the project rashly, the actual construction was begun in September 1885 and in May 1888 the line was officially opened. Smiths business partner, N. J. Ede, owned and lived in the next to the Upper Terminus, originally named Dunheved. It took three years to build the Peak Tram, most of the heavy equipment and rails needed for the construction were hauled uphill by the workers with no mechanical support. As a revolutionary new form of transport for Asia at the time, a wooden structure was built for the terminal
Peak Tram
–
Peak Tram
Peak Tram
–
Uphill tram route 1897
Peak Tram
–
Peak Tram Car from 1956, now plinthed near the upper terminus, and still carrying a headboard celebrating the lines centenary in 1988
18.
Andy Lau
–
Andy Lau Tak-wah, BBS, MH, JP is a Hong Kong actor, singer and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kongs most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, in the 1990s, Lau was branded by the media as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop. Lau was entered into the Guinness World Records for the Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist, by April 2000, he had already won a total unprecedented 292 awards. In 2005, Lau was awarded No.1 Box office Actor 1985–2005 of Hong Kong, yielding a total box office of HK$1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years. In 2007, Lau was also awarded the Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia by the Nielsen Company, Andy Lau was born in Tai Po, Hong Kong. A son of a fireman, as a young boy Lau had to fetch water for his family up to eight times a day because their house was not equipped with plumbing. He later graduated from a Band One secondary school, Ho Lap College in San Po Kong and he was named as Lau Fook-Wing during his academic years. Lau converted to Buddhism in the 1980s and he was raised in a nominally Buddhist household and is now a follower of the Lingyan Mountain Temple in Taiwan. In 2008, Lau married Malaysian Chinese Carol Chu after 24 years of speculation over their relationship, the couple were married in Las Vegas. On 9 May 2012, Chu gave birth to his first child, in January 2017 Lau was seriously injured after being thrown off a horse during a film shoot in Thailand. In 1981, Lau signed up for the artist training program offered by TVB, the lead role which led to his initial popularity was in the 1982 TVB series The Emissary. In 1983, Laus role as Yang Guo in the TVB wuxia series The Return of the Condor Heroes further increased his popularity, from then on, he would take on many of the lead roles in many of the TVB series. In September 1983, TVB was looking to increase their ratings in competition with Korea, the station then created the show TVB All-star challenge featuring almost the entire line-up of the most popular actors and singers at the time. Lau along with Tony Leung, Michael Miu, Felix Wong, in the late 80s, Lau left TVB due to contract problems. TVB wanted to him to an exclusive five-year contract which Lau refused to sign. He then focused on his film career, in 1981, Lau made a guest appearance in one of Susanna Kwans music video and caught the eye of the manager Teddy Robin. Teddy Robin then gave Lau a chance to play a role in the movie Once Upon a Rainbow. This was the first step in Laus film acting career and he was then given a role in Ann Huis 1982 film, Boat People
Andy Lau
–
Andy Lau being interviewed at the 29th
Hong Kong International Film Festival (2005).
Andy Lau
–
Andy Lau's wax figure at
Madame Tussauds Hong Kong
Andy Lau
–
Lau's hand print and autograph at the
Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong
Andy Lau
–
Andy Lau in concert 2011
19.
Mould
–
A mold or mould is a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. In contrast, fungi that can adopt a single-celled growth habit are called yeasts, molds are a large and taxonomically diverse number of fungal species in which the growth of hyphae results in discoloration and a fuzzy appearance, especially on food. The network of these tubular branching hyphae, called a mycelium, is considered a single organism, the hyphae are generally transparent, so the mycelium appears like very fine, fluffy white threads over the surface. Cross-walls may delimit connected compartments along the hyphae, each containing one or multiple, the dusty texture of many molds is caused by profuse production of asexual spores formed by differentiation at the ends of hyphae. The mode of formation and shape of spores is traditionally used to classify molds. Many of these spores are colored, making the much more obvious to the human eye at this stage in its life-cycle. Molds are considered to be microbes and do not form a taxonomic or phylogenetic grouping. In the past, most molds were classified within the Deuteromycota, molds cause biodegradation of natural materials, which can be unwanted when it becomes food spoilage or damage to property. They also play important roles in biotechnology and food science in the production of foods, beverages, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals. There are thousands of species of molds, which have diverse life-styles including saprotrophs, mesophiles, psychrophiles and thermophiles. They all require moisture for growth and some live in aquatic environments, like all fungi, molds derive energy not through photosynthesis but from the organic matter on which they live, utilising heterotrophy. Typically, molds secrete hydrolytic enzymes, mainly from the hyphal tips and these enzymes degrade complex biopolymers such as starch, cellulose and lignin into simpler substances which can be absorbed by the hyphae. In this way molds play a role in causing decomposition of organic material. Many molds also synthesise mycotoxins and siderophores which, together with lytic enzymes, molds can also grow on stored food for animals and humans, making the food unpalatable or toxic and are thus a major source of food losses and illness. Many strategies for food preservation are to prevent or slow growth as well as growth of other microbes. Molds reproduce by producing large numbers of spores, which may contain a single nucleus or be multinucleate. Mold spores can be asexual or sexual, many species can produce both types, other mold spores have slimy sheaths and are more suited to water dispersal. Mold spores are spherical or ovoid single cells, but can be multicellular
Mould
–
Mold growing on a
clementine
Mould
–
Mold growth covering a decaying
peach. The frames were taken approximately 12 hours apart over a period of six days.
Mould
–
Spinellus fusiger growing on the mushroom
Mycena haematopus
Mould
–
Moldy tomatoes
20.
Acrylic paint
–
Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints are water-soluble, but become water-resistant when dry, acrylic paint is typically used for crafting, or in art classes in schools because it does not require any chemicals, and rinses away with just water. It also is likely to leave a stain on clothes than oil paint. As early as 1934, the first usable acrylic resin dispersion was developed by German chemical company BASF, the synthetic paint was first used in the 1940s, combining some of the properties of oil and watercolor. Between 1946 and 1949, Leonard Bocour and Sam Golden invented a solution acrylic paint under the brand Magna paint, acrylics were made commercially available in the 1950s. Following that development, Golden came up with an acrylic paint called Aquatec. Otto Röhm invented acrylic resin, which was transformed into acrylic paint. These two product lines were the very first acrylic emulsion artists paints, water-based acrylic paints were subsequently sold as latex house paints, as latex is the technical term for a suspension of polymer microparticles in water. Interior latex house paints tend to be a combination of binder, filler, pigment, exterior latex house paints may also be a co-polymer blend, but the best exterior water-based paints are 100% acrylic, due to elasticity and other factors. Vinyl, however, costs half of what 100% acrylic resins cost, soon after the water-based acrylic binders were introduced as house paints, artists and companies alike began to explore the potential of the new binders. Water-soluble artists acrylic paints were sold commercially by Liquitex beginning in the 1950s, in 1963, Rowney was the first manufacturer to introduce artist’s acrylic paints in Europe, under the brand name Cryla. Before the 19th century, artists mixed their own paints, which allowed them to achieve the color and thickness. While suitable media and raw pigments are available for the production of acrylic paint, hand mixing may not be practical because of the fast drying time. Acrylic painters can modify the appearance, hardness, flexibility, texture, watercolor and oil painters also use various media, but the range of acrylic media is much greater. Acrylics have the ability to bond to many different surfaces, in these cases it is recommended that the surface first be sealed with an appropriate sealer. Acrylics can be applied in layers or washes to create effects that resemble watercolors. They can also be used to build layers of paint—gel and molding paste media are sometimes used to create paintings with relief features that are, quite literally. Acrylic paints are used in hobbies such as train, car, house
Acrylic paint
–
Tubes of acrylic paint (made by
Caran d'Ache).
Acrylic paint
–
Red acrylic paint squeezed from a tube.
Acrylic paint
–
Detail of acrylic painting showing finishes that resemble both oil and watercolor
Acrylic paint
–
Experimental pictures with floating acrylic paint.
21.
Fibreglass
–
Fiberglass is a type of fiber-reinforced plastic where the reinforcement fiber is specifically glass fiber. The glass fiber may be arranged, flattened into a sheet. The plastic matrix may be a polymer matrix – most often based on thermosetting polymers such as epoxy, polyester resin. The glass fibers are made of various types of glass depending upon the fiberglass use and these glasses all contain silica or silicate, with varying amounts of oxides of calcium, magnesium, and sometimes boron. To be used in fiberglass, glass fibers have to be made very low levels of defects. Fiberglass is a lightweight material and is used for many products. Although it is not as strong and stiff as composites based on fiber, it is less brittle. Its bulk strength and weight are also better than many metals, other common names for fiberglass are glass-reinforced plastic, glass-fiber reinforced plastic or GFK. Because glass fiber itself is referred to as fiberglass, the composite is also called fiberglass reinforced plastic. This article will adopt the convention that fiberglass refers to the glass fiber reinforced composite material. A patent for this method of producing glass wool was first applied for in 1933, Owens joined with the Corning company in 1935 and the method was adapted by Owens Corning to produce its patented fibreglas in 1936. Originally, fibreglas was a wool with fibers entrapping a great deal of gas, making it useful as an insulator. A suitable resin for combining the fibreglass with a plastic to produce a material was developed in 1936 by du Pont. The first ancestor of modern polyester resins is Cyanamids resin of 1942, peroxide curing systems were used by then. With the combination of fiberglass and resin the gas content of the material was replaced by plastic and this reduced the insulation properties to values typical of the plastic, but now for the first time the composite showed great strength and promise as a structural and building material. Confusingly, many glass fiber composites continued to be called fiberglass, ray Greene of Owens Corning is credited with producing the first composite boat in 1937, but did not proceed further at the time due to the brittle nature of the plastic used. In 1939 Russia was reported to have constructed a boat of plastic materials. The first car to have a body was a 1946 prototype of the Stout Scarab
Fibreglass
–
Glass reinforcements used for fiberglass are supplied in different physical forms, microspheres, chopped or woven.
Fibreglass
–
Typical material appearance of a fiberglass
Cryostat
Fibreglass
–
Several large fiberglass tanks at an airport
Fibreglass
–
A fiberglass dome house in
Davis, California
22.
Miriam Yeung
–
Miriam Yeung, RN, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Before entering the entertainment business, she was a nurse at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong. She studied at the Holy Family Canossian College Kowloon and she began her career as a singer and actress after coming third in the TVB 14th annual New Talent Singing Awards competition in 1995. In 2012, Yeung won the Best Actress Award at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards for Love in the Buff, in 2005, she was elected one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong. Yeung has released more than 40 albums in Cantonese and Mandarin, many of her songs have been mainstream hits and award winners, such as Maidens Prayer, Sisters, Unfortunately Im an Aquarius and Small City, Big Things. She also performed a Cantonese version of Its A Small World, as an actress, Yeung has appeared in over 30 films with a total box office of around US$50 million worldwide, and had voice roles in three Korean and Thai movies. She won the Most Popular Artiste Award at Italys Udine Far East Film Festival in 2002 and her notable works include Sound of Colors, Drink, Drank, Drunk, Hooked on You, Perfect Wedding, Love in a Puff and Love in the Buff. In 2011, Yeung won her first Best Actress award for Perfect Wedding at the 17th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award, in 2013 she won another Best Actress award for Love in the Buff at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards. Yeung is also involved in literature and drawing and she published “Miriam experience of school entry” in 1998, which encompasses short passages about her reflections on life, travel journals, and sharing with friends. In 1997, she made her first attempt to write her own lyrics to a song named “The Writing is on the Wall”, in 2007, Yeung began dating ex-VRF member Real Ting Chi-ko. The couple married on 11 August 2009 in Las Vegas and she gave birth to their first child, a son named Torres RMB Ting, on 5 June 2012. In early 2013, Yeung was admitted to hospital for surgery after an asthma attack. Miriam Yeungs official website Miriam Yeung at the Internet Movie Database Miriam Yeung at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
Miriam Yeung
–
Miriam Yeung Chin-wah
23.
Regalia
–
Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a sovereign. The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, regal, itself from rex and it is sometimes used in the singular, regale. The term can refer to rights, prerogatives and privileges enjoyed exclusively by any sovereign regardless of title An example is the right to mint coins, especially with ones own effigy. In many cases, especially in feudal societies and generally weak states, some emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia possessed by rulers are a visual representation of imperial, royal or sovereign status. Some are shared with divinities, either to symbolize a gods role as, say, king of the Pantheon or to allow mortal royalty to resemble, identify with, the term crown jewels is commonly used for regalia items designed to lend luster to occasions such as coronations. They feature some combination of materials, artistic merit. Seals, such as the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, represented imperial authority under the Mandate of Heaven in China, Regalia can also stand for other attributes or virtues, i. e. what is expected from the holder. As this ceremony is not public, the regalia are by tradition only seen by the emperor and certain priests, some regalia objects are presented and/or used in the formal ceremonial of enthronement/coronation. Cage with a bird or wren hunting in Celtic ceremonies Coronation stone e. g. Stone of Scone or Lia Fáil, apart from the sovereign himself, attributes can be used for close relatives who are allowed to share in the pomp. For example, in Norway the queen consort and the prince are the only other members of the royal family to possess these attributes. In the Roman Empire the colour Tyrian purple, produced with an extremely expensive Mediterranean mollusk extract, was in principle reserved for the Imperial Court, in late Imperial China, the colour yellow was reserved for the emperor, as it had a multitude of meanings. Consequently, peasants and noblemen alike were forbidden to wear robes made out of yellow. The Imperial Regalia, insignia, or crown jewels are the regalia of the emperors, the most important parts are the Imperial Crown, the Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword. Today they are kept at the Schatzkammer Treasury in the Hofburg palace in Vienna, during the late Middle Ages, the word Imperial Regalia had many variations in the Latin language. The regalia were named in Latin, insignia imperialia, regalia insignia, insignia imperalis capellae quae regalia dicuntur and it is also known as academicals and, in the United States, as academic regalia. By analogy, regalia is also applied to formal insignia in other contexts, such as the dress worn by Aboriginal peoples in Canada for ceremonial purposes
Regalia
–
King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway with their regalia.
Regalia
–
Regalia of the
erstwhile kings of
Bavaria,
Schatzkammer,
Munich
Regalia
–
Austrian Imperial Crown
Regalia
–
The Royal Sceptre of
Boris III of
Bulgaria
24.
Yuan Dynasty
–
The Yuan dynasty, officially the Great Yuan, was the empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan. His realm was, by point, isolated from the other khanates and controlled most of present-day China and its surrounding areas. Some of the Mongolian Emperors of the Yuan mastered the Chinese language, while others used their native language. The Yuan dynasty is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty and it was the khanate ruled by the successors of Möngke Khan after the division of the Mongol Empire. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song dynasty, the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, yet he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu. In addition to Emperor of China, Kublai Khan also claimed the title of Great Khan, supreme over the other khanates, the Chagatai, the Golden Horde. As such, the Yuan was also referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan. However, while the claim of supremacy by the Yuan emperors was at times recognized by the khans, their subservience was nominal. In 1271, Kublai Khan imposed the name Great Yuan, establishing the Yuan dynasty, dà Yuán is from the clause 大哉乾元 in the Commentaries on the Classic of Changes section regarding Qián. The counterpart in Mongolian language was Dai Ön Ulus, also rendered as Ikh Yuan Üls or Yekhe Yuan Ulus, in Mongolian, Dai Ön is often used in conjunction with the Yeke Mongghul Ulus, resulting in Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus, meaning Great Mongol State. Nevertheless, both terms can refer to the khanate within the Mongol Empire directly ruled by Great Khans before the actual establishment of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1271. Genghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and he and his successors expanded the Mongol empire across Asia. Under the reign of Genghis third son, Ögedei Khan, the Mongols destroyed the weakened Jin dynasty in 1234, Ögedei offered his nephew Kublai a position in Xingzhou, Hebei. Kublai was unable to read Chinese but had several Han Chinese teachers attached to him since his early years by his mother Sorghaghtani and he sought the counsel of Chinese Buddhist and Confucian advisers. Möngke Khan succeeded Ögedeis son, Güyük, as Great Khan in 1251 and he granted his brother Kublai control over Mongol held territories in China. Kublai built schools for Confucian scholars, issued paper money, revived Chinese rituals and he adopted as his capital city Kaiping in Inner Mongolia, later renamed Shangdu. Many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols to fight against the Jin, two Han Chinese leaders, Shi Tianze, Liu Heima, and the Khitan Xiao Zhala defected and commanded the 3 Tumens in the Mongol army. Liu Heima and Shi Tianze served Ogödei Khan, Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led armies against Western Xia for the Mongols
Yuan Dynasty
–
History of China
Yuan Dynasty
–
Yuan dynasty circa 1294
Yuan Dynasty
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Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
–
Painting of a 14th-century Yuan dynasty
junk
25.
Koreans
–
Koreans are an ethnic group native to the whole Korean Peninsula and southeastern Manchuria. Over the course of the 20th century, significant Korean communities have emerged in Australia, Canada, United States and, to a lesser extent, as of 2013, there were an estimated 7.4 million ethnic Korean expatriates around the planet. South Koreans refer to themselves as Hanguk-in, or Hanguk-saram, both of which mean Korean nation people, when referring to members of the Korean diaspora, Koreans often use the term Han-in. North Koreans refer to themselves as Joseon-in or Joseon-saram, both of which literally mean Joseon people, using similar words, Koreans in China refer to themselves as Chaoxianzu in Chinese or Joseonjok in Korean, which are cognates that literally mean Joseon ethnic group. Ethnic Koreans living in Russia and Central Asia refer to themselves as Koryo-saram, alluding to Goryeo, Koreans are the descendants of the peoples that migrated for over 13. 000-7.000 years from Southeast Asia and todays Russian Far East into the Korean Peninsula and southern Manchuria. Later Chinese and other, often said to be Siberian or paleo-Asian tribes migrated into parts of Korea, archaeological evidence suggests that most of the later arriving tribes were migrants from south-central Siberia. During the Four Commanderies of Han some Chinese clans migrated to northern Korea, susumu Ōno, Ki-Moon Lee and Choong-Soon Kim suspect that proto-Dravidian people migrated to Korea and parts of Japan. Susumu Ōno suggest also an Austronesian immigration into the Korean peninsula, the largest concentration of dolmens in the world is found on the Korean Peninsula. In fact, with an estimated 35, 000-100,000 dolmen, Korean males also exhibit a moderate frequency of Haplogroup C-M217. About 2% of Korean males belong to Haplogroup D-M174, the D1b-M55 subclade has been found with maximal frequency in a small sample of the Ainu people of Japan, and is generally frequent throughout the Japanese Archipelago. Haplogroup D4 is the modal haplogroup among Koreans and among Northeast Asians in general. Haplogroup B, which very frequently in many populations of Southeast Asia, Polynesia. Haplogroup A has been detected in approximately 7% to 15% of Koreans, Haplogroup A is the most common mtDNA haplogroup among the Chukchi, Eskimo, Na-Dene, and many Amerind ethnic groups of North and Central America. The language of the Korean people is the Korean language, which uses Hangul as its writing system with some Hanja. There are more than 78 million speakers of the Korean language worldwide, estimating the size, growth rate, sex ratio, and age structure of North Koreas population has been extremely difficult. Until release of data in 1989, the 1963 edition of the North Korea Central Yearbook was the last official publication to disclose population figures. After 1963 demographers used varying methods to estimate the population, thus, on the basis of remarks made by President Kim Il-sung in 1977 concerning school attendance, the population that year was calculated at 17.2 million persons. During the 1980s, health statistics, including life expectancy and causes of mortality, were made available to the outside world
Koreans
Koreans
–
North Korean soldiers in the
Joint Security Area
Koreans
–
A
Russian stamp honoring Soviet rock star
Viktor Tsoi.
26.
Animatronic
–
Animatronics refers to the use of robotic devices to emulate a human or an animal, or bring lifelike characteristics to an otherwise inanimate object. A robot designed to be an imitation of a human is more specifically labeled as an android. Modern animatronics have found applications in movie special effects and theme parks and have, since their inception. Animatronics is a field which integrates anatomy, robots, mechatronics. Animatronic figures are often powered by pneumatics, hydraulics, and/or by electrical means, motion actuators are often used to imitate muscle movements and create realistic motions in limbs. Animatronics is portmanteau of animate and electronics The term audio-animatronics was coined by Walt Disney in 1961 when he started developing animatronics for entertainment, Audio-Animatronics does not differentiate between animatronics and androids. 1515, Leonardo da Vinci designed and built the Automata Lion,1738, The construction of automata begins in Grenoble, France by Jacques de Vaucanson. 1770, Pierre Jaquet-Droz and his son Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz, both Swiss watchmakers, start making automata for European royalty, once completed, they had created three dolls. One doll was able to write, the other play music,1801, Joseph Jacquard builds a loom that is controlled autonomously with punched cards. The animatronic galloping horse was also on display at the 1939 Worlds Fair,1939 New York Worlds Fair 1961, Heinrich Ernst develops the MH-1, a computer-operated mechanical hand. 1961, Walt Disney coins the term audio-animatronics and begins developing modern animatronic technology,1963, The first animatronics, called Audio-Animatronics, created by Disney were the Enchanted Tiki Birds. Disneyland 1964, In the film Mary Poppins, animatronic birds are the first animatronics to be featured in a motion picture,1965, The first animatronics figure of a person is created by Disney and is Abraham Lincoln. 1968, The first animatronic character at a restaurant is created, goes by the name Golden Mario and was built by Team Built in 1968. 1977, Chuck E. Cheeses opens its doors, as the first restaurant with animatronics as an attraction,1980, ShowBiz Pizza Place opens with the Rock-afire Explosion 1982, Ben Franklin is the first animatronic figure to walk up a set of stairs. 1989, The first A-100 animatronic is developed for The Great Movie Ride attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios to represent The Wicked Witch of the West,1993, The largest animatronic figure ever built is the T. rex for the movie, Jurassic Park. 1998, Tiger Electronics begins selling Furby, a pet with over 800 English phrases or Furbish. Vernon Hills, Illinois May 11,1999, Sony releases the AIBO animatronics pet, tokyo, Japan 2008, Mr. Potato Head at the Toy Story exhibit features lips with superior range of movement to any other animatronic figure previously. Disneys Hollywood Studios October 31,2008 –July 1,2009, the Hall of Presidents September 28,2009, Disney develops Otto, the first interactive figure that can hear, see and sense actions in the room
Animatronic
–
Lucky the Dinosaur, an
audio-animatronic at
Walt Disney World in 2005 was the first one to walk on land.
Animatronic
–
All three of Vaucanson's Automata: The Flute Player, The Tambourine Player, and Digesting Duck
Animatronic
–
The Enchanted Tiki Room
Animatronic
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Tyrannosaurus animatronic, the largest animatronic, used for Jurassic Park
27.
Silicone
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They are typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, and are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, cooking utensils, and thermal and electrical insulation. Some common forms include silicone oil, silicone grease, silicone rubber, silicone resin, more precisely called polymerized siloxanes or polysiloxanes, silicones consist of an inorganic silicon-oxygen backbone chain with organic side groups attached to the silicon atoms. So, silicones are polymers constructed from inorganic-organic monomers, Silicones have in general the chemical formula n, where R is an organic group such as alkyl groups, or phenyl groups. In some cases, organic side groups can be used to two or more of these -Si-O- backbones together. By varying the -Si-O- chain lengths, side groups, and crosslinking, silicones can be synthesized with a variety of properties. They can vary in consistency from liquid to gel to rubber to hard plastic, the most common siloxane is linear polydimethylsiloxane, a silicone oil. The second largest group of materials is based on silicone resins. F. S. Kipping and Matt Saunders coined the word silicone in 1901 to describe polydiphenylsiloxane by analogy of its formula, Ph2SiO, with the formula of the ketone benzophenone, Ph2CO. Kipping was well aware that polydiphenylsiloxane is polymeric whereas benzophenone is monomeric and noted that Ph2SiO, Silicone is sometimes mistakenly referred to as silicon. The chemical element silicon is a crystalline metalloid widely used in computers, polysiloxanes are among the many substances commonly known as silicones. Molecules containing silicon-oxygen double bonds do exist and are called silanones, despite this, silanones are important as intermediates in gas-phase processes such as chemical vapor deposition in microelectronics production, and in the formation of ceramics by combustion. Most common are materials based on polydimethylsiloxane, which is derived by hydrolysis of dimethyldichlorosilane and this dichloride reacts with water as follows, n Si2Cl2 + n H2O → n + 2n HCl The polymerization typically produces linear chains capped with Si-Cl or Si-OH groups. Under different conditions the polymer is a cyclic, not a chain, for consumer applications such as caulks silyl acetates are used instead of silyl chlorides. The hydrolysis of the produce the less dangerous acetic acid as the reaction product of a much slower curing process. This chemistry is used in consumer applications, such as silicone caulk. Branches or cross-links in the chain can be introduced by using organosilicon precursors with fewer alkyl groups. Ideally, each molecule of such a compound becomes a branch point and this process can be used to produce hard silicone resins. Similarly, precursors with three groups can be used to limit molecular weight, since each such molecule has only one reactive site
Silicone
–
Silicone caulk can be used as a basic sealant against water and air penetration.
Silicone
–
Silicon dioxide (silica), used in the manufacture of all silicones.
Silicone
–
Soup ladle and pasta ladle made of silicone.
Silicone
–
A silicone food
steamer to be placed inside a pot of boiling water.
28.
Brad Pitt
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William Bradley Brad Pitt in Shawnee Oklahoma. He is an American actor and producer and he has received multiple awards and nominations including an Academy Award as producer under his own company Plan B Entertainment. Pitt first gained recognition as a hitchhiker in the road movie Thelma & Louise. His first leading roles in big-budget productions came with the dramas A River Runs Through It and Legends of the Fall, Pitt starred in the cult film Fight Club and the heist film Oceans Eleven and its sequels, Oceans Twelve and Oceans Thirteen. As a public figure, Pitt has been cited as one of the most influential and powerful people in the American entertainment industry, as well as the worlds most attractive man and his personal life is also the subject of wide publicity. Divorced from actress Jennifer Aniston, to whom he was married for five years and they have six children together, three of whom were adopted internationally. In September 2016, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt, William Bradley Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to William Bill Alvin Pitt, manager of a trucking company, and Jane Etta, a school counsellor. The family soon moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he lived together with his siblings, Douglas. Pitt has described Springfield as Mark Twain country, Jesse James country, having grown up with a lot of hills, Pitt attended Kickapoo High School, where he was a member of the golf, swimming and tennis teams. He participated in the schools Key and Forensics clubs, in school debates, following his graduation from high school, Pitt enrolled in the University of Missouri in 1982, majoring in journalism with a focus on advertising. As graduation approached, Pitt did not feel ready to settle down and he loved films—a portal into different worlds for me—and, since films were not made in Missouri, he decided to go to where they were made. Two weeks before earning his degree, Pitt left the university and moved to Los Angeles, while struggling to establish himself in Los Angeles, Pitt took lessons from acting coach Roy London. Pitts acting career began in 1987, with uncredited parts in the films No Way Out, No Mans Land and his television debut came in May 1987 with a two-episode role on the NBC soap opera Another World. In November of the same year Pitt had a guest appearance on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains and he appeared in four episodes of the CBS primetime series Dallas between December 1987 and February 1988 as Randy, the boyfriend of Charlie Wade. Later in 1988, Pitt made a guest appearance on the Fox police drama 21 Jump Street, in the same year, the Yugoslavian–U. S. Co-production The Dark Side of the Sun gave Pitt his first leading film role, the film was shelved at the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence, and was not released until 1997. He made guest appearances on television series Head of the Class, Freddys Nightmares, Thirtysomething, and Growing Pains. Pitt was cast as Billy Canton, an addict who takes advantage of a young runaway in the 1990 NBC television movie Too Young to Die. the story of an abused teenager sentenced to death for a murder
Brad Pitt
–
Pitt at the premiere of
Fury in Washington D.C, October 2014
Brad Pitt
–
Pitt at the 2007
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Brad Pitt
–
Pitt,
George Clooney,
Matt Damon,
Andy García,
Julia Roberts, cast of
Ocean's Eleven and director
Steven Soderbergh in December 2001
Brad Pitt
–
Pitt in 2001
29.
Jay Chou
–
Jay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, film producer, actor and director. In 2000, Chou released his album, titled Jay. He has sold more than 30 million albums and has received awards for his musical works. Chou has also songs for other artists whilst working on his albums. In 2003, he was the story of Time magazine, titled New King of Asian Pop. He has since held six world tours, performing in cities around the world to more than 10 million people. Chou debuted his career in the film Initial D, followed shortly by his role as the honorable son, Prince Jai, in the multi-nominated Mandarin Chinese epic. Chou also manages his own record and management company JVR Music, in 2016, he re-entered Hollywood to play a role named Li in the film, Now You See Me 2. Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan, both his parents were secondary school teachers, his mother, Yeh Hui-Mei who was a music teacher, taught fine arts, while his father, Chou Yao-Chung, is a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of four, during his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he interested in music theory. He was a child and loved to play piano, imitate TV actors. His favorite composer was, and still is to this day and his parents divorced when he was 13 and he was teased by his classmates, which caused him to become reclusive and introverted. He had no friends and preferred to be alone, listening to music, at Tamkang Senior High School, he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music, Chou was conscripted for mandatory military service after graduating from high school with inadequate grades for university. Meanwhile, he himself a job as a waiter. Chous mother initially inspired Chou to become a teacher, while Chou remained relatively clueless on what to do with his life. Without his knowledge, a friend entered both their names in a talent show called Super New Talent King in 1998, Chou played the piano accompaniment for his friend, whose singing was described as lousy
Jay Chou
–
Chou at the premiere of
Secret in
Seoul, South Korea, January 2008
Jay Chou
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Jay Chou's 3D enhanced stage at his Singapore concert in 2010, as part of his The Era World Tour
Jay Chou
–
Chou's 2007 tour outfit exhibited at the
Hard Rock Cafe 40th anniversary tour in
Seattle, 2011
Jay Chou
–
Jay Chou at a promotional event for
Kung Fu Dunk in January 2008
30.
Michelle Yeoh
–
Tan Sri Dato Seri Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Chinese Malaysian actress, best known for performing her own stunts in the Hong Kong action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s. Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, she was chosen by People as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997, in 2008, the film critic website Rotten Tomatoes ranked her the greatest action heroine of all time. In 2009, she was listed by People – as the only Asian actress – as one of the 35 All-Time Screen Beauties and she is credited as Michelle Khan in some of her earlier films. This alias was chosen by the D&B studio who thought it might be more marketable to international, Yeoh later preferred using her real name. Yeoh was born in Ipoh, Malaysia, to an ethnic Chinese family of mixed Cantonese and her parents are Janet Yeoh and Yeoh Kian Teik, a lawyer and MCA politician. She was keen on dance from an age, beginning ballet at the age of four. At the age of 15, she moved with her parents to the United Kingdom, Yeoh later studied at the Royal Academy of Dance in London, majoring in ballet. However, an injury prevented her from becoming a professional ballet dancer. She later received a B. A. degree in Creative Arts with a minor in Drama, in 1983, at the age of 20, Yeoh won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant. She represented Malaysia at the Queen of the Pacific 1983 beauty pageant which was held in Australia and she was also Malaysias representative at the Miss World 1983 pageant in London. From there, she appeared in a commercial with Jackie Chan which caught the attention of a fledgling Hong Kong film production company. Yeoh started her career acting in action and martial arts films such as Yes, Madam in 1985. The D&B Group in Hong Kong was run by Dickson Poon, Yeoh married Poon in 1987 and retired from acting. After the couple divorced in 1992, Yeoh returned to acting, yeohs performance in Police Story 3, Super Cop marked her comeback. She acted in The Heroic Trio in 1993, and the Yuen Woo-ping films Tai Chi Master, Yeoh learned English and Malay before Cantonese. She learned the Mandarin lines for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon phonetically and she played Wai Lin in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. Brosnan was impressed, describing her as an actress who was serious. He referred to her as a female James Bond in reference to her combat abilities and she wanted again to perform her own stunts but was prevented because director Roger Spottiswoode considered it too dangerous
Michelle Yeoh
–
Yeoh at the
TIFF,2011
Michelle Yeoh
–
Yeoh at the
2009 Cannes Film Festival
Michelle Yeoh
–
Michelle Yeoh on the "Avenue of Stars" in Hong Kong
