Established in 1923, St. Paul’s Church is the first official Christian church in Nanjing. The church’s design is meant to imitate the style of European churches in rural areas. It is gothic architecture with  exquisite decoration. The inner structure reflects traditional Chinese style. The walls were built with polished stones taken from Nanjing’s ancient city walls. However, the main structure is built from delicately carved white marbles. Lections were carved carefully on the inner walls and are adorned with some gold foil. A bell tower which contains a bell 2 meters in diameter sits on the roof of the church.

Sanya is one of the most beautiful places in China,and it is always the first choice for many tourists who want to enjoy the beach and sunshine. Golden beaches and golden people,sun,sand,sea,food,and surf..and somewhere between the blue skies and the palm trees...we're hooked.

Orographically, Mt. Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are known as Daxiangling.A large surrounding area of countryside is geologically known as the Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province, a large igneous province generated by the Emeishan Traps volcanic eruptions during the Permian Period. At 3,099 metres (10,167 ft), Mt. Emei is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.

Administratively, Mt. Emei is located near the county-level city of the same name (Emeishan City), which is in turn part of the prefecture-level city of Leshan. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Attractions:1.As one of the Four Well-Known Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.

                    2.Buddhist architecture on Emei.

                    3.Sunrise and clouds sea.

                    4.Climate.

                    5.Plenty of monkeys.

Yellow Dragon Cave, squared at 100,000 square meters, is the longest one in Asia; it is an incomparable realm of gigantic subterranean chambers, fantastic cave formations, and extraordinary features. Many of the wonders of Yellow dragon cave are well known, yet the experience of exploring its chambers is every bit as exciting. The cave remained mystic to local villagers before the first caving adventure took place in 1982. In the cave there’s a stalagmite length at 19.2m in the cave, in 1998 the Yellow dragon cave company has bought one hundred million insurance for it, that’s the event to make this cave become so famous in China.

There's even a river in side and you can enjoy 10 minutes boat riding in the cave! While in the cave, there're lots of steps up, around 2000 steps altogether, takes about 2 hours to visit it.

Meili Snow Mountain, also known as Prince Snow Mountain, is located 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) northeast of Deqin County of Yunnan Province. It sits on the border of Yunnan Province and Tibet, where the three famous rivers, namely the Jinsha, Mekong (Nu) and Salwen (Lancang) flow.

Known for the grandest view in Yunnan Province, Meili Snow Mountain boasts numerous snow-clad ridges and peaks, thirteen of which exceed 6,000 meters (19.685 feet) above the sea level. The most splendid view is of the Kawagebo Peak, the highest in Yunnan Province rising about 6,740 meters (22,112.86 feet). It is still a 'virgin peak' for no one has ever reached the top. Thus, Meili Snow Mountain is a challenge for all mountain explorers from home and abroad.

Visitors are treated to spectacular view from all vantage points. The continuous mountain ridges feature snowy peaks and the sun throws golden lights on the low-floating clouds which form various extraordinary shapes, affording yet another splendid view! But mostly, the mountain presents itself as mystery when dense fog and clouds made it a gleaming sight to see and you could hardly resist the temptation to unveil it. You can have a panoramical view of the thirteen towering peaks from the Feilai Temple which is in the west of Deqin County.

From the foot of the Kang Karpo Peak, you see the peculiar low-altitude glaciers formed in modern times. Strong updrafts collide with cloud airflow from the inner continents in this area producing frequent dense fog and heavy snow. The resulting topographic extremes include hanging glaciers, icefalls and snow slides. The Mingyong Glaciers, in particular, rushes from an elevation of 5,500 meters (18.045 feet) down to the forest zone 2,700 meters (8,858 feet) above the sea level in rainy seasons. From afar it looks like a huge white snake wriggling its way among the verdant mountains. On the south side of the peak, a waterfall named 'holy collapsing rain' falls from thousands of meters high. Pure water splashed from snow cracks and with the help of the sunlight, rainbows are often seen hanging above the fall.

Owing to its high altitude, the mountain owns several climatic zones with a diversity of plants, vast expanse of grassland and rich fungi species that are vertically distributed. The types of vegetation here range from the Torrid Zone to Frigid Zone vertically. From the altitude of 2,000 meters (6562 feet) to 4,000 (13123 feet) meters, forests flourish with varieties of spruce. The depth of the forest is an exotic world of rare birds and animals. The meadows surrounding the forests are embellished by countless flowers which add more vitality and charm.

Meili Snow Mountain is one of the most sacred mountains of Tibetan Buddhism. 'Kang Karpo Peak' means the God of Snow Mountain in Tibetan, and is a holy land for worshiping. Pilgrims from Tibet, Qinghai Province, Sichuan Province,and Gansu Province come here at the beginning of each winter to worship. Thousands of devout pilgrims worship together and encircle the holy mountain, adding even more mystery and loftiness to it.

Admission Fee:  Mingyong Glacier Combo Ticket: CNY 228 (including Moon Bay, Misty Summit, Temple Flying Afar)
Yubeng Village Combo Ticket: CNY 230 (including Moon Bay, Misty Summit, Temple Flying Afar)
Temple Flying Afar Combo Ticket: CNY 150 (including Moon Bay and Misty Summit)

·This building was built in the Yuan Yuan twenty-two years, has been more than 700 years of history. Experience on behalf of 50 multiple expansion upgrading, covers an area of 76,000 square meters, the existing scale, the level of the construction and preservation of soundness, are second only to the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province and Beijing Confucius Temple, among the best in the the large Confucian Temple in the country. As a national key cultural relics protection units.

1. Hutong's Origin
The word "hutong" is Mongolian in origin, meaning a "water well". In the old time with the digging of new wells, came the new communities. Later it was referred to as narrow streets or lanes formed by quadrangle courtards.

The word " hutong" with the meaning of narrow lanes was formed during the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century when the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, occupied Beijing, then the capital of the Jin Dynasty. In 1260 Kubla Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty. Kubla Khan chosed Beijing as his capital 1264.

During the takeover by the Mongols, the old city had been largely demolished, and so he decided to rebuild the city. When the new city was finished, there were clear definitions of streets, lanes and hutongs. A 36 metre wide road was called a "big street". An 18 metre wide one a "small street", and a 9 metre wide lane was called a "hutong".

Surrounding the Imperial Palace, hutongs were established throughout the Yuan (1206-1341), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. Most of the hutongs we see today were built during the Ming and Qinq. You only still find a very few hutongs preserved from the Yuan Dynasty.

2. Hutong's names
Like streets, hutongs have their names. Some have had only one name since their establishment and others have had a few names throughout their history. Beijing was once a consumer city. A lot of hutong names are linked to the names of food.

Some hutong names are connected to the names of the places, the temples, daily necessities, trades, light industry, plants, people's names and even government's organs.

Food names, such as Miancha Hutong ( noodle and tea )
Temples, Baoguosi Hutong ( Baoguo Temple )
Daily necessities, Caomao Hutong ( straw hat )
Place names, as Inner Xizhimen Hutong
Plants, such as Liushu Hutong (Liushu means willow)
Light industry, as Damuchang Hutong ( big wood factory )
People's names, as Songguniang Hutong ( Ms Liu )
Government organs, as Jingcha Hutong ( Police Bureau )

3. Hutong Development
When the new city of Yuan Dynasty was established, it is recorded that there were about 390 roads formed by the rows of quadrangles. Some of were called streets and lanes, and some "hutongs". There were over 900 hutongs listed in Qing Dynasty. The records were increased to 1,330 by 1949.

Now many of the old hutongs have been turned down and replaced by the high buildings and wide roads of today's Beijing. Many citizens have to leave the narrow lanes where their families have lived there for generations, and residing in apartment buildings with modern facilities.

However,some of Beijing's ancient hutongs still survive, due to the local government's protection policy and people's request. Many have been listed as protected areas. So these ancient neighborhoods today provide a glimpse of the real life in the capital city as it has been for generations.

Many hutongs are being restored and renovated. In Beijing, there are mainly two hutong areas well preserved - Shichahai area in Dongcheng District and Qianmen area in Xuanwu District. The hutongs in the area of the Bell Tower and Shichahai Lake are especially well preserved which attract lots of tourists who travel the hutongs by pedicabs.

4. Siheyuan (quadrangle courtyard) and its layout
It is a private residence very popular in China, but most common in Beijing. Siheyuan literally means a courtyard house, a house enclosed by four walls, called a quadrangle courtyarrd. In Chinese history, the Siheyuan building was the basic system of the building for housing, palaces, temples, and government offices.

In 1264, Kubla Khan chosed Beijing as his capital. Then he began the large scale of city coonstruction which saw the emergence of the residential quadrangle courtyards along with the palaces, government office buildings, street blocks and hutong in Beijing.

There are three kinds of Siheyuan - small, medium and big courtyard houses. For small and simple Siheyuan, the main gate is open to the south; the main rooms in the north for grandparents are facing south; the corner rooms for grandchildren; the west rooms and east rooms are for sons or daughters; the rooms by the main gate facing north are used as the living room or studio.

For medium and big courtyard houses, there are more than one yard, two, three or even more yards with lots of rooms for some high ranking officials or rich merchants. The layout of a typical courtyard is actually a vivid showcase of traditional Chinese morality.

Why such a layout? Well, the four buildings in a single courtyard get different amount of sunlight. The northern rooms receives the most, thus using as the living room and bedroom for the eldest, usually the Siheyuan owner. The eastern and western rooms get less, and used as the rooms for the young or the guests. The southern rooms, just opposite the owner's rooms, get the least sunlight, and usually served as the rooms for service staff or studios.

The northern, eastern and western rooms are linked by pretty decorated passages. These passages are used as shelters from the sunshine during the day, and offer a cool shade and have a good view of the courtyard at night. Behind the northern rooms, there would often be an independent building for unmarried daughters.

In the old China, unmarried girls were not allowed directly to be seen in the public, hence living in the most secret building in the courtyanrd house. What's more, a Sheyuan has a scientific, human-oriented feature.

The wall in the north-western building are normally higher than the other walls to stop the inner building from the cold winds, blowing from the north-west side in the winter. The curved eaves helps the the accumulated rainwater flow along the curved rather than dropping direcctly down. The ridge-type rooftop gives much shade to have the rooms escape from the heat in the summer.

5. Siheyuan (quadrangle courtyard)'s present and future
Many of the city's residents in still live in the traditional courtyards within the second ring road, which features the limits of old Beijing. Part of the central part of Beijing is composed of hutongs or narrow lanes caused by the quadrangle courtyards. The well preserved residential quadrangles are mainly scattered over the East District, West District of the city.

However, Beijing faces much problem of housing shortage. Beijing is a city that is growing both spatially with its population growing at a fast rate. Many old quadrangle courtyards are being torn down to address problems of overcrowding, replaced by modern apartment blocks. So quite a few of those who have lived in the courtyards for generations have now moved to high-rise apartments of blocks in new residential areas.

As Beijing advances into one of the world 's metropolises, laws have also been formulated in Beijing to protect its 25 hutong ( lanes ) and quadrangle courtyards in the ancient areas, rangging from Prince Gong's Mansion to the common houses that have still kept the most complete forms of the courtyard dwellings.

6. Reasons to visit Beijing old hutong and courtyard
1) A stroll along shady Chengxian Street, the east-west roadway, starting about 700 years ago with its structures built in line with ancient Chinese customs,once one of the China's most important humanist centers.- the Confucius Temple and Guozijian (Imperial College). On the street, you will visit "Rongbu Tang" with a century old craftsmanship at its boutique store on Chengxinjie Street. The title of Rongbu Tang is given to a famous craftman - Tang Qiliang, a well-known elder craftsman in making toys with downy materials including wool and cotton (rongbu) which is listes as the intangible cultural heritage in China.

2) Ascending the 4-meter high and two-story Drum Tower dating from 1420, seeing the big drum tower and having bird's eye view of the surrounding communities of hutongs and siheyuan - existing traditional Beijing.

3) Walk along Yandai Xiejie ( Tobacco Pipe Lean Street ), a quaint 800-year-old hutong located directly north of Yinding Bridge between Qianhai and Houhai and the south of the Drum Tower, used to be well-known for sellers of long-stemmed pipes, hence the name. Standing on the Silver Ingot Bridge ( Yinding Bridge ) , a narrow channel joining Qianhai Lake and the Houhai Lake, the hub of Shichhai area with surrounding quiet hutongs

4) Visiting the Prince Gong' Mansion. It was once the private living place of He Shen, a favorite minister of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it was first constructed in 1777. In 1851, the mansion was offered to Prince Gong by Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1862), hence the name. Now it is the most well preserved mansion in Beijing.

5) Experiencing some typical hutongs in the Shichahai area like Da Jinsi Hutong Tao, the most famous hutongs keeping the original layout of Hutong Area and also visit a local nursery.

6) Taking a boat cruising on the Shichahai Lake in the center of old Beijing. The lake is the only remaining water system, dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (13th Century). The lake is a scenic area with 34 hectares which is surrounded by former princes'houses, well kept Chinese courtyards and residencess of celebrities.

7) Interviewing with Mr.Dacheng Bai, a local folk craftsman, famous for making "Zongren Bai", a traditional "Zongren", a kind the figurines of drama characters made of the hair of a pig or a horse, cloth and silk, listed a city-level intangible cultural heritage in Beijing.

8) Immersing with an ordinary family courtyard home, having lunch there and exploring the real local life in Beijing. In addition, you can have a hand-on experience with Beijing Opera make-up and performance learning!

9) Visiting the former residence of Mr.Mei Lanfang (1894 - 1961),the best known Beijing Opera master ever, the greatest artist the world, founder of one of the three greatest acting methods created by Shakespeare Stanislavsky and Meilanfang.

10) Visiting the former residence of Soong Ching Ling ( 1890-1981 ), once a garden of one of the Qing Dynasty princes's mansions. She was late Honorary Chairman of the People's Republic of China, be known as "the Mother of China".