标签中国下的文章

玄武湖公园的金色银杏叶，中国南京 Golden ginkgo leaves at Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China (© SIPA Asia/ZUMA Wire/Alamy)

A tree of many memories

As autumn takes hold in China, a blanket of fan-shaped golden leaves—like this one at Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing—becomes a familiar sight. And it's been that way for longer than anyone can remember, thanks to a native tree with a lineage going back eons, the ginkgo.

Even though most medical experts say it's no special boon to the brain, maybe Ginkgo biloba is touted as a memory enhancer for a reason—after all, many Chinese ginkgoes are known to be at least 1,400 years old. The order they belong to, Ginkgoales, is 270 million years old—meaning the sole remaining member species, Ginkgo biloba, survived the extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. Ginkgo biloba originated in China, but has been cultivated all over the world for centuries as a food source, medicinal plant, and splendid symbol of resilience.

陆家嘴金融贸易区，中国上海 Lujiazui Financial District, Shanghai, China (© Jackal Pan/Getty Images)

Tall, taller, tallest

Piercing the clouds above Shanghai as we celebrate National Skyscraper Day, each of these three supertall spires could be seen as a freeze-frame of China's swift economic growth in the past couple of decades. Jin Mao Tower (right, 1,380 feet) was China's tallest building from 1999 until the Shanghai World Financial Center (left, 1,614 feet) opened in 2007 and took the title. Shanghai Tower (center, 2,139 feet) topped out in 2013, besting the SWFC and becoming the second-tallest skyscraper in the world (behind Dubai's Burj Khalifa).

朝圣者将风马旗扔向甘登寺上方的空中为新年祈福，中国西藏 Pilgrims throwing wind horses into the air above Ganden Monastery for the New Year in Tibet, China (© Ian Cumming/plainpicture)

Wind horses carry wishes for a new year

For the first day of Losar, or the Tibetan New Year, we're paying a visit to these Buddhist pilgrims at the Ganden Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet. Losar is celebrated for 15 days, but most events occur in the first three days. They include wishing family members a prosperous year, praying at monasteries or temples, exchanging gifts, burning incense, chanting, wrestling, horse racing, and more. Celebrations for the new year end with Chotrul Duchen, or the Butter Lamp Festival. The pilgrims in today's image are releasing prayer flags called 'wind horses' or lungtas, a ritual they perform during Losar and during the rest of the year as well. Upon releasing the prayer flags, the pilgrims ask the mountain deity to 'increase their fortune like the galloping of a horse and expand their prosperity like the boiling over of milk.'

张家界天门山，中国 Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China (© Bogdan Dyiakonovych/Shutterstock)

Take the stairs

If you want to celebrate Take the Stairs Day in style, look no further than China's Tianmen Mountain (literally Heaven's Door). About 5,000 feet above sea level, the hole in the mountain is the highest naturally formed arch in the world. Originally a cave, it became an arch in 263 AD when the backside of the mountain collapsed, creating the dramatic opening we see today. You'll have to climb 999 steps to make it to the top, but we promise the view is worth it.

北京颐和园昆明湖上的十七孔桥，中国 The Seventeen-Arch Bridge over Kunming Lake in Beijing Summer Palace, China (© Jia Wang/Getty Images)

Seventeen arches at sunset

When it's winter solstice time in the Northern Hemisphere, the setting sun shines under the Seventeen-Arch Bridge of the Summer Palace in Beijing, causing this romantic glow. In the 18th century, during the reign of the Qing dynasty of China, Emperor Qianlong ordered the construction of this 1.1 square mile collection of gardens, lakes, and various structures including temples and small palaces. Today it's one of Beijing's premier attractions and will be crowded today with visitors headed to the bridge in time for sunset.

【今日冬至】老君山，河南，中国 Laojun Mountain in Henan, China (© Sino Images/Getty Images) (© Sino Images/Getty Images)

Mt Laojun, wonderland on Earth

This is the Mount Laojun which was located two and a half hours south-west of Luoyang, it is one of the most popular destinations in Henan province. Laojun Mountain is a great scenery in all seasons, and only the winter snow scenery is better, Our picture show the beauty scenery of the DongZhi. If you do not feel like climbing, it’s possible to climb the gondola with a spectacular view of the region and the characteristics of the mountain: small waterfalls, green trees, rocks with original shapes … At the top from the mountain is a gilded roof pavilion attracting the majority of visitors.

Wheels up in Beijing

Last Wednesday, September 25, China officially opened the world's largest airplane terminal, Beijing Daxing International Airport. Constructed to alleviate pressure on the city's existing airport, Beijing Capital International, the bright orange starfish look-alike took more than four years to construct. And travelers, hold on to your hats, because Daxing International will connect to China's capital city—about 30 miles away—with a high-speed train that travels at top speeds of more than 200 mph.

Sitting on 18 square miles of land, the massive terminal was designed by legendary architect Zaha Hadid, who also masterminded China's Guangzhou Opera House. In a nod to traditional Chinese architecture, the building consists of a central hub with six curved spokes—bringing organization to the interconnected spaces around a central courtyard and minimizing the building's environmental footprint. Inside, passengers will feel like they're in anything but an airport with dark, polished-stone floors and white ceilings that open intermittently to big, beautiful skylights.

The 'moon' rises for Mid-Autumn Festival

Shenzhen, China—seen in our photo today—is a drone manufacturing hub. So, when this city celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival, a synchronized fleet of drones took to the skies over Shenzhen Talent Park and lit up in a crescent-moon shape to celebrate the lunar holiday. At other times in the performance, the drones created the shape of Chinese characters reading 'Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!' So, what is the Mid-Autumn Festival? It's a harvest celebration that's been observed by Chinese and other Asian peoples for thousands of years. The date of the celebration changes each year on our Gregorian calendar, falling on the first full moon of the harvest season, which arrives today. One major feature of the lunar holiday? A sweet pastry called 'mooncake.' Let it be known that we fully embrace any holiday that includes cake.

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