All posts by Liu li

a freelance photographer, based in Taiwan.

China National Silk Museum, where there are wonderful stories of the Silk Road, is a good place for research study and sightseeing

China National Silk Museum_01

Today, if you want to understand silk culture, you must go to the China National Silk Museum.

China National Silk Museum is located at the foot of Yuhuang Mountain in the West Lake Scenic Area of Hangzhou. It is the largest textile and clothing museum in China and the largest silk museum in the world. It is open to tourists; entrance is free.

The museum is divided into four exhibition halls – the Silk Road Hall, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Hall, the cultural relic restoration Exhibition Hall and the Fashion Hall. The Silk Road Hall is based on traditional silk, focusing on Silk Road; the Intangible Cultural Heritage Hall displays techniques such as sericulture, printing and dyeing, and embroidery; the Restoration Hall mainly displays the repaired ancient textiles and related cultural relics; the Fashion Hall showcases a large number of Chinese and Western apparels.

Today, Paris, New York, and Tokyo are recognized as the fashion cities in the world. For a long time in ancient times, as the birthplace of silk, China was said to be the world’s fashion capital because of advanced cultivating silkworms and silk weaving technology. The beautiful silk and silk skills also gave birth to the famous overseas Silk Road.

From various tools to a wide range of silk products, here, people can see the past and present of silk and the development and evolution of Chinese clothing.

The Jinyuan silk garment and silk trousers supposedly dating from the Han Dynasty are treasures in the collection. The exquisite silk weaving technology makes this suit look quite delicate, it can be said that it is low-key luxury.

Drawn in the Ptolemy map before the great sailing ships era, China was marked as Serica (meaning silk). Although the West knew little about China at that time, the unique silk had spread all over the world.

At the period of Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, silk garment had undergone relatively large changes compared with previous eras. From the appearance, it had obvious ethnic minority styles.

Sui, Tang and Five dynasties was the most magnificent period in feudal society, silk technology was more developed, and silk products also prospered greatly. Now people can always see the luxurious costumes in Sui-Tang Dynasties from historical movies and TV play. People are presented with more authentic cultural relics in the exhibition halls, the silk garments here are not very fancy appearances compare with those on television. But people can still see the gorgeous style and rich color at that time.

The clothing of the Ming and Qing Dynasties abandoned the low-key and elegant style and was more close to a gorgeous silk clothing. Even after a hundred years, people still feel their texture and aura.

Clothes hide the unique aesthetics and historical and cultural deposits of the Chinese people. If you travel to Hangzhou and want to visit a different museum, you don’t miss this once unique “Made in China” in the world.

Gannan, What Sort Of Place Is It? Don’t Miss These Experiences, It’s So Beautiful

Gannan is a place of no excessive ultraviolet rays and no Gobi desert or no altitude sickness. Gannan is an excellent choice for those people who want to go to Tibet but are afraid of painstaking and lack of physical fitness. The natural scenery and humane culture in Gannan is not inferior to that of Tibet.

Gannan is located in the southwest of Gansu Province. It is such an existence–I went once, even if a gap of a couple of years, in retrospect, I still remember what it’s like. When traveling to Gannan, I recommend the following tourist attractions.

Labrang Monastery

Labrang Monastery is located in Xiahe County, Gannan. More precisely, the county is built around Labrang Monastery. Labrang Monastery is one of the largest monasteries in China and enjoys the reputation of World Tibetan Institute.

Labrang Monastery has the longest prayer corridor in the world. Multistage corridors compose a closed-loop and surround the monastery. If you want to walk around the corridor a circle, it will take an hour. There are always Tibetans make their pilgrimage in the long corridor from morning to night.

Zagana

Zagana is located in Diebu County, Gannan. Zagana means stone box in Tibetan, here is indeed a typical stone city. The whole village is located in a intermontane basin, surrounded by mountains. From a distance, a clear blue sky over our head, green grass beneath our feet, a superb panorama of the mountains before us, the ancient village still retains the simplicity and quiet.

The neat farmlands, criss-crossed rivers and row upon row of residences with the surrounding mountain forests and grasslands against each other. Yaks and Tibetan sheep take a walk at leisure on the grass carpet, like the blooming flowers on the grassland. A pastoral life is presented in front of our eyes.

Nine-story Buddhist pavilion

The nine-story Buddhist pavilion is located in the north of Hezuo City, Gannan. Founded in AD 1777, dating back over 200 years. The nine-story Buddhist pavilion is very special. Each floor of the nine-story Buddhist pavilion has a different theme,They represent a sect or era of Tibetan Buddhism, and include famous Tibetan cultural celebrities that have been deified in the past.

In the pavilion, there are many statues of Vajra-based Buddhas, many guarding Buddha statues of various types, and many other types His murals are of superb painting skills. On the outer wall of the Buddhist pavilion, there are an endless stream of Tibetans walking and worshiping every day, turn to, and pray for the Buddha to give them a beautiful and stable next life.

Langmu Monastery

Backed by the green hills, the golden dome of Langmu Monastery glitters with gold. Langmu Monastery is divided into two by the river, one belongs to Gansu and the other belongs to Sichuan. The former is dominated by traditional Tibetan culture and small town commercial markets, while the latter is dominated by primitive natural landscapes.

The best time to visit Langmu Monastery is from May to September when the climate is the most agreeable. Though winter here is cold, there are various Buddhist festivities at this time of year when visitors can get a glimpse of the folk customs.

Gahai Lake

As the largest freshwater lake in Gannan, Gahai is a holy place in the minds of Tibetans. According to one legend, a long time ago, on the beautiful grassland of Gahai beach, the seven fairies sang and danced. When they picked wild flowers, they dropped a jade and turned it into a holy lake with boundless blue waves. Since then, Gahai Lake has become the source of moistening the life of Gahai grassland.

Rich water and flourishing grass in the lake, the blue sky and white clouds are reflected in the water, the water and the sky are of one hue, mists and waves stretch far into the distance.

Tibetan food

The traditional diets in Gannan is Tibetan food. When you travel here, you must taste a unique gourmet food with characteristics. Such as the snow-white and thin-skinned Gannan Tibetan buns, the fragrant buttered tea, the dry fried lamb chops with tender meat and crispy skin, the fragrant fern hemp pork, the appetizing Gannan yogurt, the nourishing lamb sausage and so on. Tibetan food is good in color, flavor and taste. It’s addictive.

Meihuazhou is a millennium historic town in Jiaxing City, where people can enjoy the slow time in south china, little has been known about it

The place near water is apt to develop the poet in man. Not only because of the abundance of water in south china, but also Jiaxing City is near the canal, along the way, the names I hear are full of poetry, pondering is boundless — Meihuazhou Scenic Area is one of them.

Meihuazhou Scenic Area is located in Fengqiao Town, the largest town in Nanhu District, Jiaxing City. The place name of Meihuazhou had a long history and continued to use till present since the Ming Dynasty. Meihuazhou is divided into five petals due to the twists and turns of large and small rivers, when viewed from above, it is like a plum blossom, so it is called the “Plum Blossom Chau”.

Meihuazhou has a history of over 1500 years. After 1500 years of wind and rain vicissitudes of life, here is still well preserved and has been nothing short of a miracle. Today’s Meihuazhou, many buildings have been refurbished, in the scenic area, people can also see the 1500 year old stone buddha temple, millennium ginkgo tree, the old houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and so on.

The buildings in the scenic area are built along the river, the five-petal land is connected by tiny bridges, white walls and gray tiles, endless green trees, endless flowing water, little boats shuttle on the river, Meihuazhou has the mostdistinctive features of Chinese Jiangnan (south of the Yangtze River) town.

Being in the south of the Yangtze River is always surrounded by greenery, the scenic area is full of vitality as far as the eye beholds. The grass grow thicker, the trees grow taller, on this ancient lands with thousands of years of history, there is delicate and beautiful solidification, there is also free and wild growth.

Although the long covered bridge supported by large logs is newly built, it retains an ancient cultural atmosphere. Meihuazhou Scenic Area does not have a great many tourists and noisy bars, it gives a feeling of ancient and tranquility.

Surrounded by green trees, the waterfront landscape is beautiful, as into the picture of the beautiful and charming scenery of water villages in Jiangnan. The refreshing river flows quietly, the clean and tidy courtyard is quiet and peaceful, varying shades of blue also makes an impression.

The bridge always means the connection to two places, being passed through as a medium, rather than a destination. Therefore, the bridge also has special lingering charm, it is not a full stop, but it is full of unknown ellipsis. There are many kinds of bridges over the rivers in Jiaxing City, whether it is old or newly built, these bridges have longevity because they are memorable for one reason or another.

Meihuazhou is also the birthplace of Majiabang Culture, Songze Culture and Liangzhu Culture, because of its rich natural and cultural resources, it is now also a popular science education base, the river water ripple under the bridge, the small boats lie at the bank, the water village green sends out magical powers to make everyone ecstasizing. Not far away, there is a glimmer of light in the sky, the sunshines brightly through the pure and fresh air. Everything is so quiet, this almost makes one wish that time is stopped and this moment is frozen.

The famous Two Bridges in Three Steps in Meihuazhou. According to legend, when Stone Buddha Temple was completed, the two rivers in front of the temple blocked the way for going to temple pilgrimages, therefore, the monks built two bridges at the intersection of the two rivers, since people who came down the first bridge only walked three steps on the second bridge, therefore, it is called the “Two Bridges in Three Steps”. According to legend, this bridge has a history of more than 1250 years and is one of the remaining ancient buildings in the scenic area.

The Stone Buddha Temple was built in the reign of Emperor Suzong of Tang (757 AD), It is said that the villagers were farming here and dug up four stone Buddha statues with a grin, therefore, the temple was built and named “Stone Buddha Temple”.

There are so many bridges in the south of the Yangtze River, the never-ending bridges, people never get tired of walking on the bridges, the small and exquisite bridges stand lightly above the rivers. The people walk by on the bridge, the boats shuttle back and forth under the bridge, the scenery of the water village quietly breaks into everyone’s dreams.

Shanghai Museum is a place where cultural traveling enthusiasts must go, Have you seen the greatest treasures of the museum?

Everyone has a fixed travel habit, some people arrive in a city, the museum is a place where they must go. Walking in the city, what people see is all about the present. Only walking into a museum is the best traceback of a city. When you come to Shanghai, Shanghai Museum has been hailed as half of all Chinese cultural relics, you can’t miss Shanghai Museum.

Shanghai Museum is located at No. 201 Renmin Avenue, the scale of the exhibition hall can be seen from the building, there are eleven special halls, three exhibition halls, and nearly one million cultural relics, including 120,000 precious cultural relics, bronze ware, chinaware, calligraphy and painting is the best part of the museum.

The exhibition is organized chronologically. The audiences walk into contemporary era step by step in time sequence and gain a deeper understanding of the city and historical development, the original chaotic impression becomes vivid, stereoscopic and clear.

The unswerving pursuit of beauty is the inherent nature of mankind from the date of birth. Looking at these artifacts from the Bronze Age, people always wonder and always want to know how to make ancient Chinese people perform such exquisite carvings when the tools were so backward.

More and more people like to visit urban cultural places such as museums and art galleries, although there is no lack of the cursory visitor, but more people look at these cultural relics carefully and experience a period of history with their heart. From making a sightseeing tour to savoring the history of the city, it’s a pleasure to see such changes.

Big Grams Tripod in the bronze exhibition hall is quite famous in China and is one of the three treasures in Shanghai. After apperciating precious cultural relics one by one, I find that various artifacts have become more and more exquisite with the development of the times. Beautiful shapes, exquisite grooves, fastidious craft…… all show the affluence and abundance of dynasties and regions.

Zizhong ginger plate in the Spring and Autumn Period is among the ten greatest treasures in Shanghai Museum. This is a bronze ware for washing hands and face in the early Spring and Autumn period, the whole bronze ware is simple but steady, a male bird with a crown is centered over the plate, on the sides are four fish, the outer ring of plate are four female birds, the female birds form are lively and vivid. But more amazingly, all the animals here can rotate up to 360 degrees in situ, this is special case in Shang Dynasty bronze vessels and Zhou Dynasty bronze vessels.

The unearthed chimes in the late Spring and Autumn Period. There is a real chime before our eyes, the chimes music spreading to our ears can make us immerse.

Many parents take their children to visit the museum. For children, in this colorful world, suddenly discovering so many unknown worlds should be a wonderful experience in childhood.

It is also the greatest treasures of the museum —— antique China Yongzheng Sign Pastel Eight peaches Olive bottle. The whole body is decorated with pastels. The fairy peaches are full, rich in color, peach branches are vigorous and powerful, decorated with five bats, five bats” homonym five blessings. Peach is a symbol of longevity. Drawing five bats centripetally around the peach, meaning “five blessings holding longevity”. The brightly-colored bottle is noble and generous, with natural and smooth lines, minimalistic but not simple.

I have seen many pottery figurines, most of them have a glazed expressions, the pottery figurines that have elegant facial temperament are a minority. Shanghai Museum seems to have many such cultural relics in glass showcases, it is a place fascinated by people.

The sycee is a cultural relic in Southern Song Dynasty.

There are many ways to take in sounds of the city, visiting a museum is most likely to touch the spiritual core. The modern Shanghai is certainly eye-catching, Shanghai’s long-gone history is equally wonderful. If you want to know the other side of the city, you might as well come to the Shanghai Museum to listen to the stories told by cultural relics.

Yu Garden is the best-known Chinese style place in Shanghai

People’s impression of Shanghai mostly comes from films, in the neon of metropolis, uninhibited Shanghai evening show, the stylish women who dress in cheongsam walk gracefully out from a nearby alleyway. Shanghai was once chopped up into the concessions of western powers, different cultures coexisted peacefully, to this day, Shanghai old colonial architecture still record that part of history and remain a relic of the old world, Yuyuan Garden is the oldest and the best-known Chinese style place in Shanghai.

Yuyuan Garden was built in the Ming Dynasty, it turned out to be the Pan family private garden. Qianlong reign, the Pan family began to wane, Yuyuan Garden gradually was dilapidated. Nowadays, there are lots of goods in Yuyuan Tourist Mart, here brings together all specialty products in Shanghai, especially snacks.

The City God Temple is a bustling place, where various lively activities such as performances and Lantern Festival take place, naturally, City God Temple, located in Yuyuan Tourist Mart, is a symbol of old Shanghai.

The City God Temple was also built in the Ming Dynasty, it was Yimiao in Shanghai County at that time, the swarming crowds and endless stream of pilgrims. Before the opening of Shanghai to the world, the City God Temple was the only place where the citizens of Shanghai had all kinds of entertainments.

The three-story imitations of Ming-and-Qing-dynasty-style buildings, grey tiles and vermilion handrails, antique —— the famous Green Wave Hall Restaurant is a classic old store in Shanghai, it has played host to many foreign leaders such as Queen Elizabeth of the UK, US President Bush and so on. The Green Wave Hall Restaurant used to be the pavilion in inner garden, the owner Pan family is in decline, the pavilion transfered out one after another, although after several owners, it became a teahouse until the republic of China.

After the opening of Shanghai to the world, the public parks, bars, dance halls and other places in the concessions of western powers became the new places for entertainment. Various shops gradually opened in the City God Temple and Yuyuan Garden area, where evolved into a very popular marketplace. Until now, Yuyuan Garden is still favored by many old Shanghainese and tourists from all over the world, there are many well-known snacks here, such as spiced beans, Pear-syrup candy and so on, small steamed bun has become the most familiar Shanghai labels.

Shanghai Lao City God Temple Snack Square brings together nearly all famous Shanghai snacks —— steamed crab dumplings, Pork-and-Crab Soup Dumplings, Doufu Hua(Bean Curd Jelly), Shanghai Wonton Soup, Shumai(Shao Mai)with Sticky Rice…… here is undoubtedly a paradise for foodies.

The shops are closely connected, every plaque and brick show an ancient smell, the Yuyuan Garden logo Zigzag Bridge, the green waves reflect the red walls, obviously the feeling of old Shanghai.

Yuyuan Garden has always been a busy place in Shanghai, occasionally, there is a peace and quiet nobody’s corner, Yuyuan Garden looks like the Jiangnan landscaped garden.

A hundred years have passed by, Yuyuan Garden has never left the life of Shanghainese, it seems to be quiet outside of time, never changes.