Lies on the south bank of the Yangtze River, Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, is one of the most delightful of Chinese cities. Known as the Capital City of Six or Ten Dynasties in China’s history, it has a brilliant cultural heritage.

History

Yuecheng, the first recorded military defense constructed in early 472 B.C., opened the long history of Nanjing. In the following years, the city reached its height of splendor at various times. In 229, Sun Quan, one of the three heroes in China’s Three Kingdoms Period (220 – 280), to strengthen his influence in the middle valley of the Yangtze River, moved the capital of his kingdom to Jianye – present Nanjing. From that time on, the city served as the capital for several dynasties in China’s history. In 1356, in a peasant rebellion, Zhu Yuanzhang, later the Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), conquered the city and renamed it Yingtian Fu. In 1368, Zhu established the Ming Dynasty – the last feudal dynasty ruled by the native Han people – and gave Yingtian Fu the new name of Nanjing. Ten years later, the emperor made Nanjing the capital of the country. The mausoleum of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang is perching on the southern slope of the Mount Zijinshan in the northeastern part of the city.

Following officials’ advice of “building walls and producing grain to consolidate the rule”, the emperor ordered the construction of city walls. Today’s majestic walls in Nanjing, the longest of its kind in the world, are the result of that phase of construction. Zhonghua Gate, simply meaning ‘Chinese Gate’, is a noted attraction for tourists in the present city center.

In spite of its glorious times, the city also witnessed the hardest moment of this nation. In 1839, the Opium War burst out after Lin Zexu, an assiduous official, burnt twenty thousand boxes of opium in Humen. On a battleship in Nanjing’s Xiaguan, the corrupt Qing government, under threat by Britain troops, signed the notorious Nanjing Treaty, the first of the ‘Unequal Treaties’ which ceded Hong Kong away from China for more than hundred years. Following this treaty, invasions and colonial rule of the western countries intensified and China sank into a harder and darker time.

Peasant groups of Taiping rebelled against the Qing government in 1853 and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Jinling, Nanjing’s name at that time, and formed an army. Unfortunately, the peasant regime was short-lived and in 1864, troops of Qing government won the city back. Nowadays, in Xuyuan Garden , one can still see part of the palace of Heavenly King of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

It was the Revolution of 1911, the Chinese bourgeois democratic revolution led by Dr.Sun Yat-Sen that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. On the first day of 1912, Dr. Sun Yet-sen gave his simple but sublime address on the inauguration held of the new Republic of China. Today, a memorial hall in the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, houses a statue of Dr. Sun sculpted out of white marble.

There are two further negative memories of the city. On April 18th, 1927, Chiang Kaishek launched the counter-revolutionary 4.12 Coup and established his power in Nanjing. Also, in 1937, the inhuman Nanjing Massacre happened. In six weeks, more than 300,000 Chinese people were killed including women and children.

No atrocity can go unpunished. After eight years of resistance, in 1945 the brave Chinese people eventually drove the barbarous Japanese invaders out of China’s homeland and the war criminals got what they deserved. However Chinese people will never forget the history. Pictures of the atrocities of Japanese soldiers taken by Japanese army photographers are exhibited in the Memorial Hall to the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre.

Finally, on April 23rd, 1949, Nanjing was liberated by the People’s Liberation Army and Kuomintang’s power in China was ended.

Cultural City

In addition to historical sights, memorials, museums and cultural sights also attract thousands of travelers. The famous Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) is not only a memorial place for the Great Sage in China but has a surrounding area bustling with shops, restaurants and a snack street housed in traditional Chinese architectural buildings. In the city center, Nanjing Museum is a must for travelers with a collection of more than 420 thousand pieces, including about 2,000 that are rare and valued. The observatory on Zijinshan Mountain to the east of the city center was the first modern observatory built in China.

Qin Huai River , in the southwest of the city, extends one hundred kilometers. The river used to be the most flourishing part of Nanjing in the old days. In many Chinese novels, it is renowned as a place which nurtured beauties and romance. Today, it is a place for people to recall the old splendor of this historical city. Like all sights in Nanjing, it tells the story of past, present and future of the city.

Modern Metropolis

Like most major cities in China, Nanjing is developing rapidly. Great changes have taken place in the city. Modern highways and railways connect the city with most major cities throughout the country and it is becoming a sparkling metropolis akin to Shanghai and Beijing with skyscrapers, luxury hotels, fashion shopping malls, supermarkets and highly-developed economic zones throughout the city. Transport in the city is very convenient with the new metro service in addition to taxis, public buses, tourist special lines and other means of transport. Modern amenities in luxury hotels make your trip a comfortable one. Dazzling shopping malls and department stores can be found in the commercial areas of the city with stocked plenty of international brand names. Nanjing is also home to several colleges and universities and a large foreign population. The city is become an international metropolis with new faces every day.

Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei.

It, along with Herculaneum (its sister city), was destroyed, and completely buried, during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days on 24 August 79 AD.

The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pompeii has become a popular tourist destination for centuries (it was on the Grand Tour); with approximately 2.5 million visitors a year, it is the most popular tourist attraction in Italy.[citation needed] It is now part of a larger Vesuvius National Park and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. To combat problems associated with tourism, the governing body for Pompeii, the Soprintendenza Archaeological di Pompei have begun issuing new tickets that allow for tourists to also visit cities such as Herculaneum and Stabiae as well as the Villa Poppaea, to encourage visitors to see these sites and reduce pressure on Pompeii.

Pompeii is also a driving force behind the economy of the nearby town of Pompei. Many residents are employed in the tourism and hospitality business, serving as taxi or bus drivers, waiters or hotel operators. The ruins can be reached by simply walking from the modern town to the various entrances, there are adequate car parks and the entrances are also accessible to tourists through the train line to the modern town, or else a private train line, the Circumvesuviana, that runs directly to the ancient site.

 
A paved streetExcavations in the site have generally ceased due to the moratorium imposed by the superintendent of the site, Professor Pietro Giovanni Guzzo. Additionally, the site is generally less accessible to tourists, with less than a third of all buildings open in the 1960s being available for public viewing today. Nevertheless, the sections of the ancient city open to the public are extensive, and tourists can spend many days exploring the whole site.

Taiwan lies like a spindle in the southeast of Asia. It is a rare tropical mountain-island in the world, two thirds of which is covered with high mountain ranges. The most famous of the mountains, Ali Mountain, is the symbol of charming Taiwan.

Located in the subtropical ocean, Taiwan offers tourists comfortable weather and has no winter all the year round. With the pleasant climate, Taiwan can sustain vast biology resources. It is worth to visit Taiwan for its natural sights, such as the high and steep mountains and the dense atmosphere of seashore holidays. The island has another Portuguese name, Formosa, which means ‘beautiful island’. In addition, Taiwan has many wonderful man-made tourist recourses, such as the famed Matsu Temple and Taipei National Palace Museum.

Overlooked from Fujian Province, Taiwan is neighbored by Japan in the north and Philippines in the south. Unsurprisingly, the island has become a hub for travel between places in Asia and is one of the tourist destinations with the most convenient transportation in the world.

Concurrently home to different groups mainly from the southern Fujian Province, Hakka and the local people, Taiwan also features various colorful human cultures. You will detect the harmonious and prosperous atmosphere in Taiwan’s religions, architectures, languages and dining. Tourists should take special care not to miss the dainty dishes here – in fact, Taiwan is dubbed the ‘Kingdom of Delicacies’ by gourmets.

During the past decades, Taiwan’s economy emerged as a miracle. As of today, it is the primary source of foreign capital for South-East Asian countries, thus allowing them to provide complete and high-quality tourist services and facilities.

If you have an opportunity to visit the southeast of Asia, make sure to include Formosa in your travel plan. The beautiful island will offer you an appealing trip that you will find it hard to tear yourself away from.