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PURPLEANNIE'S TRAVELS to CHINA
If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where might you like to visit? Purpleannie recently came back from a trip to the country of China. China is found on the continent of Asia. From the east coast of the United States, it took her 16 hours to reach the capital city of Beijing.Locate the country of China on a world map. Learn more about the country at China: The Forbidden City is located in Beijing, the capital city of China. It was the royal palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties.Since yellow was the color of the emperors(kings of China), you will see lots of this color in the Forbidden City. Because the number 9 is considered to be very lucky to the Chinese, there are 9999 rooms in the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City got its name because it was forbidden for anyone to enter the gates without permission. On the Great Wall of China with my friend, Gail,-a definite "pinch-me" moment! Oops, Gail had some difficulties lining up this photograph. To keep invaders out of China, walls were built across the northern area of the country. The walls were connected by Emperor Ch'in creating the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall stretchings about 5500 miles, snaking up and down mountains, deserts and grasslands. After climbing the Mutianju section of the Great Wall of China, a t-shirt was a must purchase from one of the vendors. A pagoda is a tier shaped temple. These temples, called the Sun and Moon Pagodas, are located on Banyan Lake in Guilin.The Sun pagoda, with its nine stories, is the tallest copper pagoda in the world. The Moon pagoda is seven stories tall. Tilt your head...Found by farmers in 1974, the terra cotta warriors guarding the tomb of the first emperor of China,Qin Shi Huang(Ch'in), are amazing.Thus far, over 8000 life-sized warriors have been unearthed,hundreds of horses and about 130 chariots, outside of the city of Xian, China. Each of the warriors have different hair styles and facial features.Once colorfully painted, exposure to light has faded their coloring. Opps, another photograph that isn't lined up.Walking the park called Sacred Way, you will see huge stone statues of humans and animals such as an elephant, camel, unicorn, dragon and lion. This road which was believed to lead to Heaven leads to the tombs of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644). The Sacred Way is found outside of the city of Beijing. The Temple of Heaven was built without the use of any nails in 1420 AD during the Ming Dynasty. Twice a year, the emperor would leave the Forbidden City and spend time at the Temple of Heaven, asking for good harvests.Throughout the complex, the number 9 can be seen, a symbol of good luck. Gail took another photograph of me sideways at a garden in the town of Suzhou, China. Gardens in China include plants, stones, water and Chinese architectual design. A pair of guardian lions are often found outside hotels, restaurants, and other buildings in China,such as the Forbidden City. The male is found holding his paw on a globe of the world and the female has a cub on its back. Beautiful scenery can be found along the Li River. In fact, the 20 Yuan(Chinese money) has a picture of the Li River and its mountains. Shanghai is China's second largest city and its skyline has thousands of skyscrapers!The city is also known for its famous walkway near the river,called the "bund", which means embankment. The Chinese were the first to invent silk fabric, dating back to 3500 BC. Silk is made from thousands of cocoons of silkworms which are unwound and woven into fabric. The worms eat the green leaves of the mulberry bush. Souvenirs to bring back home might include silk scarves, chopsticks, chops(a stamp with your name in Chinese Characters), jade(a precious stone), pearls, tea, and chinese paper-cuts. Chopsticks take a bit of getting used to as you hold them in one hand between the thumb and fingers. They can be made of plastic, ivory, bamboo and metal.In addition to China, chopsticks are the traditional eating utensil of Japanese,Vietnam, Korea and several other places in Asia. SILK MAKINGCocoons are sorted and those that are damaged are discarded. Silkworms are killed in an oven once they stop spinning their cocoon to prevent their damaging the cocoon./center> The next step is to soak the cocoons in water so the beginning of the thread can be found. Workers combine the ends of eight different cocoon threads and place them onto a spinning machine which continues to unravel the cocoons. The threads gathered onto spools are then use to weave into fabric. "Did you like reading about my travels to China. Which photograph of me did you like the best?Send me an email and let me know."Until my next adventure...Purpleannie. Dear Purpleannie
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