Yaoji Township (硗碛）is a small village in Baoxing County, Ya'an, with an average elevation of 2500m, an area of 880 square kilometers, and with a population of only 5000 people. The current village of Yaoji is nestled in a couloir, carved out by a glacier many eions ago. The village was formerly located in the valley below, but was flooded by a hydroelectric project and reservoir in 2003. only 150km from Sichuan basins, Yaoji is one of Sichuan's "gateway" to the Tibetan plateau. Given its close proximity to Ya'an and Chengdu, the culture of Yaoji shows strong influences from Han culture and lifestyles. historically Yaoji was an important gathering oint for Jiarong speaking Tibetan peoples, and a trading center between Tibetan and Han ethnicities. It was the seat of the Muping tuisi( 土司） or ethnic Tibetan hereditary headman recognized by the Qing and later Nationalist governments.

Furthermore, the village is near the site of the Long March crossing over Jiajin mountain. the Long March ( October 1934-October 1935) was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang( KMY of Chinese Nationalist Party) army. The main long march from Jiangxi province which began in October 1934. The First Front Army of the Chinese Soviet Republic, led by an inexperienced military commission , was on the brink of annihilation by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's troops in their stronghold in Jiangxi province. The Communists, under the eventual command of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, escaped in a circling retreat to the west and north, which reportedly traversed over 5,000 kilometers ver 370 days. The route passed through some of the m ost difficult terrain of western China before concluding in Ya'an. where the Communists established a base and began their resurgence.  Jiajin Mountain(5000m +) was the first high mountain crossed by the Red Army, whose soliders were ill prepared for the snow and the cold, and many of whom perished. There is a memorial commemorating their efforts not far from Yaoji, which has become an important destination for modern history buffs and political pilgrims. 

Residents of the village are Gyalrong/Jiarong(嘉绒） Tibetan. in the past, Jiarong was a topographical and political refernce to a far wider area than the present day linguistic demarcation. The legendary 18 kingdoms of the Jiarong extended down as far as the present-day Muya territory. By contemporary linguistic definition, the 150,000 speakers of the different Jiarong languages are distributed across serval counties of central and southern Aba Prefecture, and corners of Ganzi Prefecture and Ya'an District. These Qiangic languages have traditionally been divided into Sibaba(northwestern) , Chabao( northeastern) and Situ( eastern). Situ, referring to an area formerly governed by four kings( Tusi), is the most widely spoken form of Jiarong and has at least two dialects. Outside the larger towns, Jiarong is still widely spoken across all ages and domains of society. Many older Jiarong people are monolingual, but Sichuan dialect is becoming widely spoken by the young and middle aged.

Jiarong tend to be people of the valleys, farming the land in terraced plots up the mountainside, though a few take to the high plateaus where they live semi-nomadic tending their yal. The Jiarong culture: their impressive stone houses decked with praer flags, ancient stone watchtowers, and women clad in colorful hand-woven belts, aprons and headresses. most Jiarong Tibetans worshop mountain gods and practice Tibetan Buddhism, though about 10% follow the pre-Buddhist religion of Bon.

Possible Topics to Explore:

1. Local culture and lifestyle, compared to Han Chinese and otherr Tibetan-subgroups 

2. History of Yaoji, including pre-Communist history. and any knowledge 

3. Changes in the village, way of life, and residents' attitudes over time

4. How China's economic boom has affected Yaoji

built from  366 to 1371,Mogao Grottoes get another name as thousands buddist scultures cave.it is the largest scale & the richest content among anyother buddist relics.now there are 4500 square meters colorful painting ,2415 sculture exiting in 75 caves.for its unique histories background ,in 1987 it isIncluded in the World Heritage List.
 

it is one of ten most wonder of landform,appraised by an american magazine<american geography> in 2011.zhangye danxia lanform started to form 600 thsounds years ago,covering 510 thousand square meter.known as biggest & best for it is spectacularity & the most unusal shape.you will just marvel at the work of nature.

Xinduqiao is fascinating "photography heaven", is located on Highway 318 national road in the South, North Fork, is a picturesque paradise.Magic light, boundless grasslands, crooked Creek, Golden Bo Yang, the hills rolling, and Tibetan villages scattered sheep and cattle graze peacefully ... ... Western Sichuan plain scenery of beautiful flowers.This is the new bridge, enchanting "world of light and shadow", "paradise for photographers."

Dazhao Temple, 'Wuliang Si (Infinite Temple)' in Chinese, is the oldest building and the largest temple in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Locally, people usually refer to it as the Silver Buddha Temple (Yinfo Si) for it is here that there is a rare silver statue of Sakyamuni that measures 2.5-meter-high (8.2-foot-high).
The construction of the temple was completed in 1580 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and it is therefore the oldest Lamaist Buddhist temple in Inner Mongolia. There was a major reconstruction in 1640 although much of the original architectural style was retained.

Dazhao Temple owns its fame to a visit by the third Tibetan Dalai Lama in 1586, when he came to dedicate the Silver Buddha statue. As a consequence Hohhot became a religious center for people from all over Mongolia who came to worship. Another notable event in the temple's long history was a visit by Emperor Kangxi during the early part of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The temple is now a well-known tourist attraction because of the impressive buildings, splendid statues, delicate frescos, musical instruments and fine collection of Buddhist scriptures. Of its abundant religious relics perhaps the most notable are the 'Three Marvelous Treasures', a title given to the Silver Buddha, the carved dragons on the huge golden pillars on either side of the statue and the murals commemorating the Emperor's visit.

 
Except for the main hall, the existing buildings within the temple complex are nearly all in the Han style. The main hall is a lamasery combining both Tibetan and Han styles of architecture. It has three parts. The front part is a two-story hall with an empty pavilion in the first floor; Jing Tang (the hall for chanting) and Fo Tang (the hall for worshiping Buddha) are central and rear sections. The perfectly preserved Silver Buddha lies in Fo Tang as it has for some four hundred years. In the splendid and solemn front of the hall, there is a pair of iron lions with their heads held high.

How to get there : Bus Route: take bus no. 6, 38, 42, 58 or 59 and get off at Dazhao Station.

Zhjiang is famous for Zhijiang Shouxiang Jinian Fang,  Zhijiang Surrender Memorial Hall built in 1946. But I love it for the local atmosphere.  I became fond of walking because of the four months I spent in Zhijiang. It's very relaxing to take a walk to explore the alleys and villages everyday. I will write more about it later.

With the length of 1,606 meters, Pingjiang Road parallels with Pingjiang River. The typical houses of ancient Suzhou with white walls and black tiles are standing by the street, simple and unsophisticated. Today, the old town of Suzhou centred around Pingjiang Road in the northeast, remains little changed since Song Dynasty, some 800 years ago.

For many centuries, Pingjiang Road has been a center of Suzhou's cultural life. The street is lined with bookshops and local opera theaters. There are also many teahouses, where people gather for performances of Suzhou Pingtan, an elegant performance of storytelling and ballad singing in Suzhou dialect. Besides, the Pingtang Museum and Kunqu Opera Museum and School are along the road.