Golden Temple Park - Jindian Park- Yunan - Chinese

Golden Temple Park, or Jindian Park (traditional Chinese: Jīndiàn Gōngyuán), is the largest Taoist Tongwa (bronze-tiled) temple in China and has been preserved almost completely since it was first built.

It is located on the Mingfeng Mountains, seven kilometres to the east of Kunming city, there is a fine building made of bronze. It is commonly known as Jindian (the "Golden Temple").

The Golden Temple was first built in the 30th year of Emperor Wanli's rule (1602) in the Ming Dynasty. Yunnan was ordered to send the bronze ore from Dongchuan to central China to make coins. But a war blocked the road. The governor of Yunnan, Chen Yongbing, and Qianguogong, the Duke of Guizhou Province, Mu Changzuo, ordered that the bronze be used to build a temple in imitation of the Taihe Palace and the Golden Temple on Tianzhu Peak in the Wudang Mountains, Hubei Province. The temple was later moved to the Jizu Mountains in western Yunnan. During the reign of the Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722), Wu Sangui, a military general, rebuilt the temple, keeping the original Hubei design. The bronze used weighed over 200 tons.The temple walls were made with cast panels covered with exquisite and diverse designs. They are examples of the smelting and casting techniques in Yunnan a few centuries ago.

In front of the staircase outside the Golden Temple, the wide branched camellias are called "Diechi" (Butterfly Wings). They are covered with thousands of flowers in the depth of winter. The two myrtles close by were planted in the Ming Dynasty.

At the top of the mountain behind the temple hangs a 14-ton "Great Bell of the Ming Yongle Era". 2.1 meters tall and 6.7 meters in circumference, the bell was cast in the 21st year of the Yongle era (1424), over 560 years ago. It used to hang in Xuanhua Mansion in Kunming to announce the time. When Kunming expanded however, it was moved to the Golden Temple. In recent years, the Temple has been expanded several times when the "Parrot Garden", the "Camellia Garden", and the "Orchid Garden" were added.

Source : Wikipedia

Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple - Kyoto - Japan

Kinkaku-ji or "Golden Pavilion Temple" is the informal name of Rokuon-ji or "Deer Garden Temple" in Kyoto, Japan. It was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as part of his estate then known as Kitayama.[1] It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple was burned down twice during the Ōnin War.

The Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku, is a three-story building on the grounds of the temple. The top two stories of the pavilion are covered with pure gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha (Buddha's Ashes). The top floor is built in traditional Chinese style, and the middle floor in sober Zen-style. The ground floor is rendered in shinden-zukuri-style, without gold leaf. The building is often linked or contrasted with Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion Temple, which is also located in Kyoto.

The Golden Pavilion is set in a magnificent Japanese strolling garden (kaiyū-shiki). The pond in front of it is called Kyōko-chi (Mirror Pond). There are many islands and stones on the pond that represent the Buddhist creation story.

In 1950, the pavilion was burned down by a monk, who then attempted suicide on the Daimon-ji hill behind the building. He survived, but during the investigation after the monk's arrest, his mother was called in to talk with the police; on her way home, she committed suicide by jumping from her train into a river valley. The monk was sentenced to seven years in prison; he died of illness during his imprisonment in 1956. At that time, the statue of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was burned. A fictionalized version of these events is at the center of Yukio Mishima's 1956 book The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.

The present structure dates from 1955. Recently, the coating of Japanese lacquer was found a little decayed, and a new coating as well as gilding with gold-leaf, much thicker than the original coatings, was completed in 1987. Additionally, the interior of the building, including the paintings, was also restored. Finally, the roof was restored in 2003.

Source : Wikipedia

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

Rio Carnival

Once a pagan celebration in ancient Rome, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is now considered one of the greatest shows on Earth. Rio de Janeiro is known as the cultural capital of Brazil and was the administrative capital from 1822 to 1960, when Federal Government moved to the new capital, Brasilia. The first festivals of Rio date back to 1723.

Parade

The famous carnival parade has been going on since the 1930s. The parade starts Sunday evening and continues into early morning Monday of the celebration. Until 1984, when it was moved to Av. Presidente Vargas, the parade took place at Praca Onze. In 1984 the parade finally found its permanent home, the Sambadrome ["sambódromo" in Portuguese]. The Sambadrome is a large structure that was built in the downtown area, which includes several buildings that make a circular open area in the middle. In the off season, the buildings of the Sambadrome are used as classrooms for the local public schools.

Street Carnival

As the parade is taking place in the Sambadrome and the balls are being held in the Copacabana Palace and beach, many of the carnival participants are at other locations. Street festivals are very common during carnival and are highly populated by the locals. Elegance and extravagance are usually left behind, but music and dancing are still extremely common. Anyone is allowed to participate in the street festivals. Bandas and bondos are very familiar with the street carnival especially because it takes nothing to join in on the fun expect to jump in. One of the most well known bandas of Rio is Banda de Ipanema. Banda de Ipanema was first created in 1965 and is known as Rio’s most irreverent street band.

Source : Wikipedia

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China"The long wall of 10,000" is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall stretches over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

Source : Wikipedia

Opera House Sydney - Australia

Lest go to Sydney Australia, its some interesting places in the world. Its called Opera House Of Sydney.
An Australian icon of modern architecture, Sydney's Opera House commands a formidable reputation as a modern wonder of the world. The building, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, was officially opened on 20 October 1973 and has inspired awe in visitors ever since.

The Sydney Opera House is a 5 to 7 minute walk from Circular Quay. Buses, trains and ferries provide easy access to Circular Quay.

There is a free shuttle bus service, designed for elderly and less mobile customers. Seating is limited and available only on a first come, first served basis. The bus departs Circular Quay at stand E in front of Wharf 2. Pick-ups for return trips are near the vehicle turning area at the Opera House, close to all the venues.

Source : http://www.travellerspoint.com/