Chinese and World History

Photos feature Yuntai shan (mountain), Jiyuan shan, and Chaya shan in north central China. Jiyuan shan hosts an ancient Palace of Greeting built for a visiting emperor. Monkey Mountain is named that for reasons which may be apparent from the photos. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/leefoxx1949/MountainsOfCentralChina#

Sanya, on the southern tip of Hainan Island, is the site of China’s only subtropical beaches. Large numbers of Russian tourists frequent the beaches, so most signs are in Russian. Westward along the coast lies Nanshan (South Mountain) Culture Zone, a Buddhist theme-park with a 108-meter tall statue of the 3-faced Boddhisattva Guanyin built out in the ocean. It is the second tallest statue in the world. The site also contains the world’s largest gold & jade buddha statue. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/leefoxx1949/HainanIsland#

Mostly scenic photos of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, plus some photos of my wife Amy at Hong Kong Disney. I’ve created a separate posting for the History Museum. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/leefoxx1949/HongKong#

Teotihuacan (c. 200 BC - c. 600 AD) was once one of the largest cities in the world. It was given its name “City of the Gods” by the later Colhua Mexica (Aztecs), whose emperors made frequent pilgrimages there. El Tajin was contemporary and perhaps related. It is located near Veracruz. Neither culture left a written history. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Mexica and was destroyed by Hernan Cortez & his Tlaxcalan allies in 1521. The Templo Major (Great Temple) was the site of thousands of human sacrifices to the war god Huitzilopochtli and rain god Tlaloc. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/leefoxx1949/AncientMesoamericaTeotihuacanElTajinTenochtitlan#

Tikal flourished in the Peten region of Guatemala from at least 250 AD until nearly 900 AD when it was abandoned. It was one of the greatest of all the Maya cities of the Classic Age, with a rich history recorded on stone monuments. Yaxha lies about 30 km from Tikal, but remains largely unexcavated, and has little known history. Much note has been made of the similarities between Mesoamerican and Chinese art. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/leefoxx1949/AncientMayaTikalYaxha#

The ancient Maya sites of Chichen Itza, Uxmal, the Puuc Route, Edzna, Mayapan & Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula span the time period from Late Classic to Terminal Post-Classic. Tulum was apparently still inhabited when Columbus sailed by there in 1502. Historical records are generally lacking, but architecture is among the finest in ancient Mesoamerica. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/leefoxx1949/YucatanMayaChichenItzaUxmalPuucSitesEdznaMayapanTulumOthers#