Discover China

Jiuzhaigou, or “the Valley of Nine Villages,” in Sichuan Province has been a National Park for three decades. Tourists celebrate Jiuzhaigou for its dazzling lakes and mountains of stunning multi-colored foliage, but the heavenly expanse of wilderness is not deserted throughout the winter season. A new attraction has opened – the “Ice Waterfall Tourism Festival”. Waterfalls turn into elaborate ice sculptures as the mercury falls, and stunning trails wind into thickly forested hills. A photography exhibition and forum on tourism are also being held. Find out more in the CNTV Culture Express story Ice Waterfall Tourism Festival hails Jiuzhaigou.

China’s long and complex history has given rise to a range of different architectural styles. They not only fuse cultures’ structural and decorative forms, but are also influenced by Chinese concepts such as feng shui and yin and yang. The Shenzhen Daily presents the ten best examples of Chinese architecture in this series of articles:

• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (I) – Kaiping diaolou and Wang Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (II) – Imperial Prime Minister’s Palace, Fujian tulou and Qiao Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (III) – Dayi Liu Manor, Hongcun Village and Xidi Village
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (IV) – Kang Baiwan Manor and Yulin Manor of Jiang Yaozu

I had the pleasure of visiting the Hongcun and Xidi ancient villages on my trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang in 2009.

Tai’er Zhuang, a city in Shandong Province, is renowned for a successful campaign against the Japanese invaders in 1938. Now the city has a new tourism attraction – an Ancient Town. The Town has so far created 80,000 jobs and has helped raise the city from the least economically-active to the second most active one in the Province. Step inside and find out more in the CNTV Culture Express story Historic town reinvented in Shandong Province.

The capital of Heilongjiang province is located in Northeast China near the border of Russia and its neighbor’s influence is clearly seen in the city’s charming European architecture. Harbin’s biggest tourist attraction is the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival each year – find out more in the China Daily article Ice to see you.

In the China Daily life article Singing the praises of Xibaipo Mike Peters writes that a tour of the revolutionary sites of Hebei province ideally takes in Xibaipo Museum, an interactive guide to China’s civil war, Ranzhuang’s Underground Tunnel Museum account of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the military base of Handan – leaving time for the attractions of Baiyangdian Lake and Goddess Nuwa’s Temple as a natural counterpoint to history.

In the further China Daily article The light at the end of the tunnels of war, Angela Shen writes that visiting the Underground Tunnel Museum in Ranzhuang is easily one of the most stimulating ways to experience China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945).