1.
Chinese garden
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The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. They create a miniature landscape, which is meant to express the harmony that should exist between man and nature. The earliest recorded Chinese gardens were created in the valley of the Yellow River and these gardens were large enclosed parks where the kings and nobles hunted game, or where fruit and vegetables were grown. Early inscriptions from this period, carved on tortoise shells, have three Chinese characters for garden, you, pu and yuan and you was a royal garden where birds and animals were kept, while pu was a garden for plants. During the Qin Dynasty, yuan became the character for all gardens, a famous royal garden of the late Shang dynasty was the Terrace, Pond and Park of the Spirit built by King Wenwang west of his capital city, Yin. The immaculate cranes have plumes of a brilliant white, the Emperor makes his promenade to the Pond of the Spirit, The water is full of fish, who wriggle. - translation in Jardins de Chine, ou la quête du paradis Another early royal garden was Shaqui, or the Dunes of Sand, built by the last Shang ruler, King Zhou. It was composed of a terrace, or tai, which served as an observation platform in the center of a large square park. It was described in one of the classics of Chinese literature. According to the Shiji, one of the most famous features of this garden was the Wine Pool, a large pool, big enough for several small boats, was constructed on the palace grounds, with inner linings of polished oval shaped stones from the sea shores. The pool was filled with wine. A small island was constructed in the middle of the pool, where trees were planted, King Zhou and his friends and concubines drifted in their boats, drinking the wine with their hands and eating the roasted meat from the trees. Later Chinese philosophers and historians cited this garden as an example of decadence, during the Spring and Autumn period, in 535 BC, the Terrace of Shanghua, with lavishly decorated palaces, was built by King Jing of the Zhou dynasty. In 505 BC, a more elaborate garden, the Terrace of Gusu, was begun. It was located on the side of a mountain, and included a series of terraces connected by galleries, from the highest terrace, a view extended as far as Lake Tai, the Great Lake. An ancient Chinese legend played an important part in early garden design, on this island were palaces of gold and silver, with jewels on the trees. There was no pain, no winter, wine glasses and rice bowls were always full, and fruits, in 221 BC, Ying Zheng, the King of Qin conquered other rival states and unified China under the Qin Empire, which he ruled until 210 BC. He heard the legend of the islands and sent emissaries to find the islands and bring back the elixir of immortal life, at his palace near his capital, Xianyang, he created a garden with a large lake called Lanchi gong or the Lake of the Orchids
2.
City God Temple of Shanghai
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The City God Temple or Temple of the City Gods, officially the City Temple of Shanghai, is a folk temple located in the old city of Shanghai, China. It commemorates the elevation of Shanghai to municipal status and is the site of the veneration of three Chinese figures honored as the city gods of the town. It is also known by locals as the Old City God Temple. In Chinese, Chenghuangmiao is also used as the name of the district near the temple. This is generally known in English as Yu Garden, after a nearby Chinese garden, the district is now incorporated under the name Yuyuan Tourist Mart. Regardless of size, many walled cities in ancient China contained a dedicated to one or more immortal or god as the spirit or protector of the city. The City God Temple in Shanghai originated as the Jinshan God Temple, dedicated to the spirit of Jinshan, or Gold Mountain and it was converted into a City God Temple in 1403, during the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, the temple grew popular, residents of the old city as well as nearby areas visited the temple to pray for good fortune and peace. The temple reached its largest extent in the Daoguang era, the popularity of the temple also led to many businesses being set up in the area, turning the surrounding streets into a busy marketplace. During the Cultural Revolution, the temple was closed down and used for other purposes, for many years, the main hall was used as a jewellery shop. In 1951, the Board of Trustees of the City God Temple was dissolved, the institution made changes to the temple, removing statues representing folk underworld personalities such as Yama, the judge of the dead, and placing an emphasis on Taoist spirituality instead. In 1994, the temple was restored to its use as a temple. The Temple, together with nearby Yuyuan Garden and the streets, are now part of a large pedestrian zone dedicated to restaurants. A complete restoration of the City God Temple took place between 2005 and 2006, in October 2006 the place of worship was reopened and reconsecrated by Taoist clergymen. The temple is dedicated to three city gods, Huo Guang was a famous Han Dynasty Chancellor and he is remembered for his role in deposing one young emperor and replacing him with another. Huo Guang was the original City God for the County of Shanghai from the Yuan Dynasty, qin Yubo lived in Shanghai and served in the late Yuan Dynasty civil service. When the Hongwu Emperor founded the Ming Dynasty, he resisted two summons to serve at the court and he finally relented, and served in various roles including chief Imperial examiner. After his death, he was anointed City God of Shanghai by the Hongwu Emperor, chen Huacheng was a Qing Dynasty general, responsible for the defence of Shanghai during the First Opium War
3.
Old City (Shanghai)
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The Cochin or Cochin China, is a breed of chicken. In China itself, the name 九斤黄 is actually used for any large chicken or even a dish made from one and this chicken was originally bred in China and later exported to Britain and America in the mid 19th century. As a very distinctive breed of chicken, it created a bit of a craze among poultry lovers in the English-speaking world. It was successfully bred into other birds, there is also a bantam version, which is often called the Pekin bantam, but this should not be confused with the separate and true Pekin bantam. As above, the most distinctive feature of the Cochin is the excessive plumage that covers leg, the skin beneath the feathers is yellow and the egg colour is light brown. Eggs are also medium in size, standard weight is 5 kg for a cock,4 kg for a cockerel,3.9 kg for a hen, and 3.2 kg for a pullet. Colour varieties include buff, black, partridge, blue, silver laced, splash, golden laced, cochins can be frizzled, with the feathers curling outwards. Cochins are well known as mothers, even as foster mothers for other breeds, and they can lay many eggs. Cochins are also known to be good pet hens for the garden, as they are tame, cochins are rather quiet chickens, and tend to be quite calm as well. Delayed feathering in chickens, a found in this breed. Media related to Cochin at Wikimedia Commons
4.
Yuyuan Tourist Mart
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Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Co. Ltd. is the largest retailing conglomerate in China. As at 19 November 2016, Yuyuan Tourist Mart is a constituent of SSE180 Index, Yuyuan Tourist Mart was formerly Yuyuan Shopping Mall, which was not a company but an administrative organization to manage the shops in Yuyuan Garden. In 1980s, some of the shops in there were integrated to form an enterprise, in 1987, Yuyuan Shopping Mall was approved to become the first commercial holding company in Shanghai. In 1988, its shares were listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, in 1992, to unify the operations and management of the shopping mall, Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Co. Ltd. was established and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to replace the old listed company. In 2002, a consortium of Fosun High Technology and its major shareholder Guangxin Technology, acquired 20% of shares of Yuyuan Tourist Mart, Fosun High Technologys parent company became Fosun International some time later, as well as Fosun High Technology acquired the 10% stake from Guangxin Technology. Yuyuan Garden Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Company Limited
5.
Shanghai Metro
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The Shanghai Metro is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, China, operating urban and suburban rail transit services to 13 of its 16 municipal districts and to Huaqiao Town, Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Opening in 1993 with full-scale construction extending back to 1986, Shanghai Metro is the third oldest rapid transit system in China, after the Beijing Subway and the Tianjin Metro. It has seen growth, significantly during the years leading up to the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The metro system is heavily tied with other forms of public transport in Shanghai. Currently, the Shanghai Metro system is the worlds largest rapid transit system by route length and it also ranks second in the world by annual ridership after the Beijing Subway, with 3.4 billion rides delivered in 2016. The daily ridership record was set at 11.7 million on March 20,2017, further plans to connect the Shanghai Metro with the metro systems of Suzhou and Wuxi are under active review. The first line connecting Shanghai Metro Line 11 and Suzhou Metro Line 3 is projected to be completed in 2020, ambitious expansion plans call for 25 Lines with over 1,000 km of length by 2025. By then, every location in the area of Shanghai will be within 600 meters of a subway station. May 28,1993 – Southern section of Line 1 enters operation, April 10,1995 – Line 1 enters operation. December 28,1996 – Southern extension to Line 1 enters operation, sept 20,1999 – Line 2 enters operation. December 26,2000 – The eastern extension to Line 2, november 25,2003 – Line 5 enters operation. December 28,2004 – Northern extension to Line 1 enters operation, December 31,2005 – Line 4 enters operation, except the section between Lancun Road and Damuqiao Road that was delayed due to a construction accident. December 18,2006 – Northern extension to Line 3 enters operation, December 30,2006 – Western extension to Line 2 enters operation. December 29,2007 – Five lines or sections enter operation on the day, Second northern extension to Line 1 Delayed section of Line 4. Line 6 Line 8 Line 9 December 28,2008 – Line 9 is extended from Guilin Road to Yishan Road, July 5,2009 – Southern extension to Line 8 enters operation. December 5,2009 – Line 7 enters operation, December 31,2009 – The downtown section of Line 9 and the first section of Line 11 open. February 24,2010 – Short section of extension of Line 2 enters operation. Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park station is rebuilt underground, March 16,2010 – Second western extension to Line 2 enters operation, connecting Hongqiao Airport to the metro system
6.
Forbidden City
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The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and it served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings, the palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, part of the museums former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. With over 14.6 million annual visitors, the Palace Museum is the most visited art museum in the world, the common English name, the Forbidden City, is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng. The name Zijin Cheng first formally appeared in 1576, another English name of similar origin is Forbidden Palace. The name Zijin Cheng is a name with significance on many levels, zi, or Purple, refers to the North Star, which in ancient China was called the Ziwei Star, and in traditional Chinese astrology was the heavenly abode of the Celestial Emperor. The surrounding celestial region, the Ziwei Enclosure, was the realm of the Celestial Emperor, the Forbidden City, as the residence of the terrestrial emperor, was its earthly counterpart. Jin, or Forbidden, referred to the fact no one could enter or leave the palace without the emperors permission. Today, the site is most commonly known in Chinese as Gùgōng, the museum which is based in these buildings is known as the Palace Museum. When Hongwu Emperors son Zhu Di became the Yongle Emperor, he moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, construction lasted 14 years and required more than a million workers. Material used include whole logs of precious Phoebe zhennan wood found in the jungles of south-western China, the floors of major halls were paved with golden bricks, specially baked paving bricks from Suzhou. From 1420 to 1644, the Forbidden City was the seat of the Ming dynasty, in April 1644, it was captured by rebel forces led by Li Zicheng, who proclaimed himself emperor of the Shun dynasty. He soon fled before the armies of former Ming general Wu Sangui and Manchu forces. By October, the Manchus had achieved supremacy in northern China, the Qing rulers changed the names on some of the principal buildings, to emphasise Harmony rather than Supremacy, made the name plates bilingual, and introduced Shamanist elements to the palace. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, Anglo-French forces took control of the Forbidden City, in 1900 Empress Dowager Cixi fled from the Forbidden City during the Boxer Rebellion, leaving it to be occupied by forces of the treaty powers until the following year. Under an agreement with the new Republic of China government, Puyi remained in the Inner Court, while the Outer Court was given over to public use, the Palace Museum was then established in the Forbidden City in 1925
7.
Ming dynasty
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The Ming dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China – then known as the Empire of the Great Ming – for 276 years following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming, described by some as one of the greatest eras of orderly government, although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1683. He rewarded his supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. One, Zheng He, led seven enormous voyages of exploration into the Indian Ocean as far as Arabia, the rise of new emperors and new factions diminished such extravagances, the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor during the 1449 Tumu Crisis ended them completely. The imperial navy was allowed to fall into disrepair while forced labor constructed the Liaodong palisade, haijin laws intended to protect the coasts from Japanese pirates instead turned many into smugglers and pirates themselves. The growth of Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch trade created new demand for Chinese products and produced an influx of Japanese. This abundance of specie remonetized the Ming economy, whose money had suffered repeated hyperinflation and was no longer trusted. While traditional Confucians opposed such a prominent role for commerce and the newly rich it created, combined with crop failure, floods, and epidemic, the dynasty collapsed before the rebel leader Li Zicheng, who was defeated by the Manchu-led Eight Banner armies who founded the Qing dynasty. The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty ruled before the establishment of the Ming dynasty, consequently, agriculture and the economy were in shambles, and rebellion broke out among the hundreds of thousands of peasants called upon to work on repairing the dykes of the Yellow River. A number of Han Chinese groups revolted, including the Red Turbans in 1351, the Red Turbans were affiliated with the White Lotus, a Buddhist secret society. Zhu Yuanzhang was a peasant and Buddhist monk who joined the Red Turbans in 1352. In 1356, Zhus rebel force captured the city of Nanjing, with the Yuan dynasty crumbling, competing rebel groups began fighting for control of the country and thus the right to establish a new dynasty. In 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated his archrival and leader of the rebel Han faction, Chen Youliang, in the Battle of Lake Poyang, arguably the largest naval battle in history. Known for its ambitious use of ships, Zhus force of 200,000 Ming sailors were able to defeat a Han rebel force over triple their size, claimed to be 650. The victory destroyed the last opposing rebel faction, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang in uncontested control of the bountiful Yangtze River Valley, Zhu Yuanzhang took Hongwu, or Vastly Martial, as his era name. Hongwu made an effort to rebuild state infrastructure. He built a 48 km long wall around Nanjing, as well as new palaces, Hongwu organized a military system known as the weisuo, which was similar to the fubing system of the Tang dynasty. With a growing suspicion of his ministers and subjects, Hongwu established the Jinyiwei, some 100,000 people were executed in a series of purges during his rule
8.
Imperial examination
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The Chinese imperial examinations were a civil service examination system in Imperial China to select candidates for the state bureaucracy. The examination helped to shape Chinas intellectual, cultural, political, shopping, arts and crafts, the increased reliance on the exam system was in part responsible for Tang dynasty shifting from a military aristocracy to a gentry class of scholar-bureaucrats. Starting with the Song dynasty, the system was regularized and developed into a roughly three-tiered ladder from local to provincial to court exams, the content was narrowed and fixed on texts of Neo-Confucian orthodoxy. Critics charged that the system stifled creativity and created officials who dared not defy authority, wealthy families, especially merchants, could opt into the system by educating their sons or purchasing degrees. In the 19th century, critics blamed the system, and in the process its examinations, for Chinas lack of technical knowledge. The influence of the Chinese examination system spread to neighboring Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Korea, Japan, following the initial success in that company, the British government adopted a similar testing system for screening civil servants in 1855. Other European nations, such as France and Germany, followed suit, modeled after these previous adaptations, the U. S established its own testing program for certain government jobs after 1883. However, the structure of the system was extensively expanded during the reign of Wu Zetian. Thus the system played a key role in the selection of the scholar-officials, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the system contributed to the narrowness of intellectual life and the autocratic power of the emperor. The system continued with some modifications until its 1905 abolition under the Qing dynasty, other brief interruptions to the system occurred, such as at the beginning of the Yuan dynasty in the 13th century. The modern examination system for selecting civil servants also indirectly evolved from the imperial one and this changed during the Sui, when recruitment into the imperial civil service bureaucracy became to be considered an imperial prerogative, rather than a duty to be performed by the lower levels. By the Tang dynasty, most of the recruitment into central government bureaucrat offices was being performed by the bureaucracy itself, the regular higher level degree examination cycle was nominally decreed in 1067 to be 3 years. The jinshi tests were not an event and should not be considered so. Oral examination on policy issues were sometimes conducted personally by the emperor himself, beginning in the Three Kingdoms period, imperial officials were responsible for assessing the quality of the talents recommended by the local elites. This system continued until Emperor Yang of Sui established a new category of recommended candidates for the mandarinate in AD605, for the first time, an examination system was explicitly instituted for a category of local talents. However, the Sui dynasty was short-lived, and the system did not reach its mature development until afterwards, a pivotal point in the development of imperial examinations arose with the rise of Wu Zetian. Up until that point, the rulers of the Tang dynasty were all members of the Li family. Reform of the examinations to include a new class of elite bureaucrats derived from humbler origins became a keystone of Wus gamble to retain power
9.
First Opium War
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European silver flowed into China when the Canton System, instituted in the mid-18th century, confined the sea trade to Canton and to the Chinese merchants of the Thirteen Factories. The British East India Company had a monopoly of British trade. The British East India Company began to auction opium grown on its plantations in India to independent foreign traders in exchange for silver, the opium was then transported to the Chinese coast and sold to local middlemen who retailed the drug inside China. This reverse flow of silver and the numbers of opium addicts alarmed Chinese officials. In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor, rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium, Lin confiscated around 20,000 chests of opium without offering compensation, blockaded trade, and confined foreign merchants to their quarters. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade, in China, the war is considered the beginning of modern Chinese history. Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the Portuguese leased an outpost at Macau, after the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, the exchange of goods between China and western Europe accelerated dramatically. From 1565, the annual Manila Galleon brought in enormous amounts of silver to the Asian trade network, from 1700–1842, Guangzhou came to dominate maritime trade with China, and this period became known as the Canton System. Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the British East India Company, the British East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino-European trade from its position in India. From the inception of the Canton System in 1757, trade in goods from China was extremely lucrative for European, however, foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong and were restricted to Canton. Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories, near Shameen Island, while silk and porcelain drove trade through their popularity in the west, an insatiable demand for tea existed in Britain. However, only silver was accepted in payment by China, which resulted in a trade deficit. From the mid-17th century around 28 million kilograms of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, Britain had been on the gold standard since the 18th century, so it had to purchase silver from continental Europe and Mexico to supply the Chinese appetite for silver. Attempts by a British embassy, a Dutch mission, Russias Golovkin in 1805, by 1817, the British realized they could reduce the trade deficit as well as turn the Indian colony profitable by counter-trading in narcotic Indian opium. Opium was produced in traditionally cotton-growing regions of India under British East India Company monopoly, both areas had been hard hit by the introduction of factory-produced cotton cloth, which used cotton grown in Egypt. The opium was auctioned in Calcutta on the condition that it be shipped by British traders to China, Opium as a medicinal ingredient was documented in texts as early as the Tang dynasty but its recreational use was limited and there were laws against its abuse. British sales of opium began in 1781, and sales increased fivefold between 1821 and 1837, by 1820, just when the Qing treasury needed to finance the suppression of rebellions, the flow of silver had reversed, Chinese merchants were now exporting it to pay for opium. The imperial court debated whether or how to end the opium trade, Napier was instructed to obey Chinese regulations, communicate directly with Chinese authorities, superintend trade pertaining to the contraband trade of opium, and to survey Chinas coastline
10.
Taiping Rebellion
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The war was mostly fought in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei, but over 14 years of war the Taiping Army had marched through every province of China proper except Gansu. Hostilities began on January 1,1851, when the Qing Green Standard Army launched an attack against the God Worshipping Society at the town of Jintian, Guangxi. Hong declared himself the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace, the Taipings began marching north in September 1851 to escape Qing forces closing in on them. On March 19,1853, the Taipings captured the city of Nanjing and Hong declared it the Heavenly Capital of his kingdom. For a decade the Taiping occupied and fought much of the mid and lower Yangzi valley. Qing imperial troops proved to be ineffective in halting Taiping advances. In Hunan Province a local irregular army called the Xiang Army or Hunan Army, under the leadership of Zeng Guofan. Zengs Xiang Army proved effective in turning back the Taiping advance in the western theater of the war. In 1856 the Taiping were weakened after infighting following a coup led by the East King, Yang Xiuqing. During this time the Xiang Army managed to retake much of Hubei. While Taiping forces were preoccupied in Jiangsu, Zengs forces moved down the Yangzi River, in May 1862 the Xiang Army began directly besieging Nanjing and managed to hold firm despite numerous attempts by the numerically superior Taiping Army to dislodge them. Hong died on June 1,1864, and Nanjing fell shortly after, the terms used for the movement often reflect the viewpoint of the writer. The Qing referred to the Taiping as Yue Bandits in official sources, in the 19th century Western observers, depending on their ideological position, referred to the Taiping as the revolutionaries, insurgents or rebels. The conflict in general has been called the Taiping Rebellion by many Western historians and they argue, instead, that the conflict should be called a civil war. The government, led by ethnic Manchus, was seen by many Han Chinese as ineffective, anti-Manchu sentiments were strongest in southern China among the Hakka community, a Han Chinese subgroup. In 1837 Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka from a mountain village, once again failed the imperial examination. He returned home, fell sick and was bedridden for several days and it was his duty to spread his message and overthrow the Qing dynasty. One of Hongs associates, Yang Xiuqing--a firewood merchant from Guangxi--also declared that he heard the voice of God
