China's Top 10 Leisure SpotsChina's Top 10 Leisure Spotshttp://www.kaixin4china.com/chinas-top-10-leisure-spots/2013-04-03T20:41:06ZSquarespaceSuzhou, Jiangsu provincehttp://www.kaixin4china.com/chinas-top-10-leisure-spots/2010/11/6/suzhou-jiangsu-province.htmlZhou Xiaosui2010-11-06T05:53:16Z2010-11-06T05:53:16Z
China's Top 10 Leisure Spots
Suzhou
A traditional and historical garden in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province
Tiger Hill in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province
Suzhou 苏州 (pronounced sue joe) is a major metropolitan in the province of Jiangsu. Built in 514 BC it houses over 2,500 years of rich historical roots. The historical abundance of the past are maintained to this day. "The double-chessboard layout of Suzhou, with 'the streets and rivers go side by side while the water and land routes run in parallel', are preserved basically intact. Strolling the streets, you can feel the unique lingering charm of this landscape left by its long history". Suzhou is a prefecture-level city on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake in the province of Jiangsu, China. The city is renowned for its stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens which have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions within China. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Suzhou has also been an important centre for China's silk industry and continues to hold that prominent position today. The city is part of the Yangtze River Delta region. (Wikipedia)
Tourists flock to Laolongtou (Old Dragon's Head) in Qinhuangdao, North China's Hebei province
A couple takes pictures at Geziwo Park in Qinhuangdao city of North China's Hebei province
Qinhuangdao 秦皇岛 is a city in Hebei province, China. It is about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea.
Since the elevation of Tianjin to a provincial-level municipality, Qinhuangdao is the chief port of Hebei province. The Qin emperor Qin Shi Huang is said to have sought immortality on an island in the Haigang district, but did not find it.
Qinhuangdao has three main developed areas:
* Beidaihe: A summer seaside resort for senior government officials. Many political decisions affecting China are made here, making it the equivalent to resorts in Maine or Camp David in Maryland in the United States. * Haigang District: the harbor city. Qinhuangdao proper. Home of Yan Shan University, the leading university in NE Hebei province. * Shanhaiguan: a popular tourist destination, featuring the eastern end of the Great Wall.
Jiaoshan (Qinhuangdao) - The Beginning of the Great Wall
Guilin 桂林 is a prefecture-level city in China, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city.
Huangshan 黄山 literally "Yellow Mountain" is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. The area is well known for its scenery, sunsets, peculiarly-shaped granite peaks, Huangshan Pine trees, and views of the clouds from above. Huangshan is a frequent subject of traditional Chinese paintings and literature, as well as modern photography. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of China's major tourist destinations.
Originally known as Mt. Yishan it was renamed Mt. Huangshan in 747 AD in recognition of the legendary Huang Di, who was the reputed ancestor of the Chinese people and who made magic pills for immortality here.
Shexian county of Huangshan city, East China's Anhui province
Xin'an River in Huangshan city, East China's Anhui province
CHANGSHA / BEIJING - Jutting out from a sheer cliff 1,430 meters high, the glass skywalk in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park makes mice of men.
"My girlfriend blamed me for not acting bravely," said a man from Shandong province, who refused to give his name because he was ashamed of not having the guts to walk across the see-through walkway.
"I will challenge the road next time, when I'm ready for the height, and then I will shout my name out loud."
The glass skywalk spans 60 meters of a 2-km loop encircling the vertical cliffs of Tianmen Mountain in Hunan province, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
"Tourists can walk, run or even jump on the walkway as the fence and planks are all tempered glass," said Tian Huilin, deputy general manager at the tourism office of the Tianmen Mountain Scenic Spot.
Yantai 烟台 is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.
The largest fishing seaport in Shandong and a robust economic center today, Yantai used to be known to the West as Chefoo, a misnomer which refers, in Chinese, solely to Zhifu Island, which is historically governed by Yantai.
The contemporary name of Yantai came from the watchtowers constructed on Mount Qi in 1398, during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (yan—smoke; tai—tower). The towers served to raise alarms against invasions of Japanese pirates. (Wikipedia)
A sunset glows over the seaside of Yantai city, East China's Shandong province
Chengdu 成都 known formerly as Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province, of Southwest China, maintaining sub-provincial administrative status. Chengdu is also one of the most important economic centres, transportation and communication hubs in Western China. According to the 2007 Public Appraisal for Best Chinese Cities for Investment, Chengdu was chosen as one of the top ten cities to invest in out of a total of 280 urban centers in China.
More than four thousand years ago, the prehistorical Bronze Age culture of Jinsha (Chinese: 金沙; pinyin: Jīnshā) established itself in this region. The fertile Chengdu Plain, on which Chengdu is located, is called Tianfuzhi guo 天府之国 in Chinese, which literally means "the country of heaven", or more often seen translated as "the Land of Abundance". It was recently named China's 4th-most livable city by China Daily. (Wikipedia)
Tourists walk through an alley in Jinli tourist resort in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province
The hustle and bustle of Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province
Nightscape of Lijiang's old town in Southwest China's Yunnan province
Lijiang 丽江市 is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of 21,219 square kilometres (8,193 sq mi) and a population of 1,137,600 as of 2005.
The Old Town of Lijiang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Lijiang City, Yunnan, China. The town has a history going back more than 800 years and was once a confluence for trade along the old tea horse road.
The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents the Nakhi people, therefore people there are called 胖金哥 and 胖金妹 (male and female respectively).
Lijiang old town (including Dayan, Baisha and Shuhe) was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List on December 4, 1997.[1] Since then, the local government has taken more responsibility for the development and protection of the old city. Lijiang's tourism also boomed, and travellers from around the world flooded in; although many locals fear that due to much of the development, the old town of Lijiang will lose its appeal. (Wikipedia)
Lijiang city's old town in Southwest China's Yunnan province
Tourists flock to the beach of Dadonghai in Sanya, South China's Hainan province
Sanya 三亚 is the southernmost city in China and is a part of Hainan Province. In 2006, it had a population of 536,000, making it, after the provincial capital (Haikou), the second most populous city on the island. The city is renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination, also serving as the training site of the Chinese national beach volleyball team. Sanya is home to small concentrations of Utsul people in this city.
The ancient name of Sanya is Yazhou (崖州), which literally means "cliff state". Its history can be dated back to the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC, more than 2,200 years ago). Since then, it has always been within the territory of the Chinese dynasties. Due to its remoteness, Sanya is sometimes called Tianyahaijiao (天涯海角), meaning "the end of the sky and ocean". Some prime ministers in various dynasties were exiled there and a monk named Jiangzhen accidentally sailed there and used the place as one of his harbors for his long Buddhist missionary journey to Japan.(Wikipedia)
A rainbow spans over the beach of Yalongwan in Sanya, South China's Hainan province
The eastern seaside of Qingdao, East China's Shandong province
People walk on the Zhanqiao (trestle bridge), a scenic spot in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province
Tsingtao Brewery 青岛啤酒厂 is China's largest brewery. It was founded in 1903 by German settlers and now claims about 15% of domestic market share.The beer is produced in Qingdao in Shandong province (and more recently in other breweries owned by the company as well).
Tsingtao Beer, a well-hopped standard pilsner of 4.7% alcohol, is the flagship brew, accounting for most of the brewery's production. An unpasteurised version is sold as Tsingtao Draft Beer. Tsingtao Beer was long advertised as being "brewed with mineral water from the Laoshan Spring," which contributed to its characteristic flavor; however, this now applies only to beer produced in Qingdao, not to that produced in the company's other breweries. Originally, Tsingtao Beer was brewed in accordance with the German Reinheitsgebot ('Purity Law') of 1516, therefore the only ingredients that were used were water, barley, and hops. However, after privatization the recipe changed; like many other beers made in China, Tsingtao Beer contains a proportion of the less-expensive rice as an adjunct in the mash.(wikipedia)
Qingdao International Beer Festival August 13th-28th (to be confirmed), 2011
A festival in honor of the nectar of the gods, beer -- how great is that? Every summer, starting the second weekend of August, Qingdao hosts the largest beer festival in Asia with international breweries from all over the globe flocking to the sandy shores of China's Shandong Province. If you are a serious drinker or a casual weekend enthusiast, you'll see the best of China's beer drinking culture at this event. If karaoke is your thing, you can test your singing skills in front of huge crowds, and even buy a CD recording of your song if you so desire.
Picture huge tables filled with beer-swilling, elated Chinese and beautiful women performing on stage as the sound of Gan Bei ! (bottoms up) rings out across the numerous beer tents. With music of all kinds featured at the numerous stage venues and beers from around the globe: Bittberger from Germany, Heineken from Holland, Pabst Blue Ribbon from the states, and of course China's Tsingtao, just to name a few, it truly is an international event that should not be missed.
The event lasts for two weeks and begins with a grand opening ceremony, followed by beer tasting, evening entertainment, drinking competitions, and concluded with a themed final ceremony. Besides beer there's tons of food, both Chinese and Western, to gorge on when you get the munchies. And don’t forget beautiful Shilaoren beach is just a 10 minute walk away!
As a foreigner, you'll be swamped with offers of free beers to "GanBei." I've gone to the beer festival in the past and not had to buy a single beer. The Chinese are so generous and kind, they are happy to show foreigners a good time. I've seen only a couple of fights all the times I've been there, and that's pretty amazing considering the amount of drinking that's going on. How good is the Qingdao Beer Festival? I'm living in Southern China right now, and I'm taking a special trip up to Qingdao to make sure I'm there for the fourth year in a row. Take it from a professional drinker, you'll have a good time!
A sunset casts a glow over Xihu Lake in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province
Hangzhou 杭州, formerly known as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern china. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2004, its entire administrative division ("shì", 杭州市) or prefecture had a registered population of 6.4 million people.he Urban agglomeration of the Hangzhou metropolitan area (杭州市区) has a resident population of 3.9319 million as of 2003, of which 2.6367 million are permanent residents. There are 1.91 million residents in the six urban core districts.
A core city of the Yangtze River Delta, its position on the Hangzhou Bay 180 kilometres (110 mi) southwest of Shanghai gives it economic power, and moreover, it has also been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, due in part to its beautiful natural scenery; the city's West Lake is its most well-known attraction.
People flock to Duanqiao Bridge to enjoy the snow-covered landscape in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province
