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#

I took the first photos just after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Olympic displays were on Tiananmen Square, except for the two at the entrance to the tomb of Emperor Wanli. I added photos from Kaifeng and from the Great Wall. In November, 2009, I visited Olympic Park again and took the closeup photos then. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/BeijingOlympics2008#

Red Flag Canal is a man-made water project built during the 1960s to alleviate drought in Linzhou City and the border region between Henan and Hebei Provinces. The 1500-kilometre canal runs through the Taihang Mountains, in some places cut right into the rock face. The region now caters to tourists who may ride boats through tunnels which were cut for the canal. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/RedFlagCanal#

Communism in China today is as scarce as hen’s teeth. The free market has totally transformed China, leaving only symbols of the past. The closest thing to communism I have found is the Nanjie Commune in Henan Province. It is actually organized as on old-fashioned commune with each member receiving a nominal allowance, plus free food & housing. A few members are engaged in agriculture, but most work in the commune’s 20 or so industries, which produce beer, bricks, and a famous brand of noodles. Also tourism. People visit Nanjie to see a model commune in action, and also a quite attractive greenhouse exhibit. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjieCommune#

On 3-28-2009 a group of foreign & Chinese teachers from Sias University took a hike over Song Shan mountain near Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng. This was a real hike over goat trails – not the typical tourist mountain “hike” over paved walkways and stairs. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/SongShanLotusTempleDengfengHenan#

The peony is the national flower, celebrated every year by a festival in Luoyang. Departing from my usual practice of photographing artifacts and historical stuff, I’ve created an album taken from several peony festivals in Luoyang. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/LuoyangPeonyFestival#

This is a May, 2009, visit to Yuntai Mountain. You can see photos from a 2005 visit included in my “Mountains of Central China” album. The antique autos were in a restaurant inside the mountain park. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/YuntaishanWorldGeoPark#

Shizu Shan is a mountain near Xinzheng with a 5000-year history and a spectacular view. On clear days we can see it from our dormitory. I finally climbed it in August, 2009. It had more steps than anything I have ever seen in my entire life. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/ShizuShan#