Mid-April during a short stay in Barcelona, I took a day trip by bus to Tossa De Mar. This is an old, pleasant town on the ‘Costa Brava” northeast of Barcelona.
My timing was good. The day was warm but it was too early in the season to be overly crowded with (other!) tourists.
This spot was inhabited as far back as the neolithic period. But the existing “old quarter” of the town dates to the 12th century. It was built on a hill, surrounded by a protective wall.
Now I will quit gabbing, and let the photos speak for themselves. (Remember that if you click on a photo, you will see an enlarged version.)
This could be a nice spot for a return visit and a hotel overlooking the beach and sea!
It also means “nose to the grindstone” as I work on a variety of projects.
Before leaving Denver, I uploaded an updated version of my “Learning Chinese Provinces: Part One”. Lots of nice improvements included the requested “hint” box that now includes full pinyin with tone marks. If the word “pinyin” leaves you scratching your head, don’t worry. People studying Chinese will understand, and the rest of us will not even notice that item!
Unfortunately, for the moment the new video seems to be somewhat “invisible” because it shares the same name as the older version that I released about a year ago. That version is quickly approaching 6,000 views. OK, I know that number is not very impressive in the overall context of Youtube, especially when measured against “hate videos” which garner hundreds of thousands of views…
Oh well… an educational video is no match…
(Update February 2024: Well, several updates later, there is a new version of this “Part One” which now has over 40 thousand views. (Still a tiny fraction of even the stupidest posts available on YouTube, and a tiny fraction of the number of views for offensive racist/hate-speech videos! oh well!)
Parts Two and Three have completed the provinces series. There are now Spanish and French versions of that series and an Italian version of just the first part. I have expanded the videos to include a series on the provincial capitals as well as a couple of miscellaneous ones related to China! More coming in the future! If you want to see, skip the dreaded YouTube copies, and instead take a look at my “Pere-X” site. (Click HERE for the Pere-X site.)
On that site you can choose to navigate in English, Spanish, French, Italian, or Chinese!
January of 2019 has me concurrently working on several projects which include an effort to update the three-video series “Learning Chinese Provinces”, a new video about provincial capitals, and posts to my Pere’s Ramblings blog to include photos and accounts of both my 2017 and 2018 visits to China.
In the course of my work, as I research and attempt to create accurate works that disseminate information about China, I am confronted with clumsy inaccuracies in published materials. And sometimes I make my own mistakes!
This is NOT the “Forbidden City”!
What!? Not the Forbidden City?!
In the middle of Beijing, just north of Tiananmin Square, visitors have a view of this impressive structure with the famous portrait of Mao Zedong. Thanks to numerous mislabeled photos and misguided web sites across the internet, it is easy to believe that this is the “Forbidden City”. It is not. Well, then what is it?
Tiananmen 天安门
Hold onto you hat, this is (drum roll) “Tiananmen” 天安门, or in English “The Gate of Heavenly Peace”. Chairman Mao’s portrait hangs there to commemorate his proclamation of the People’s Republic of China in October, 1949.
And the real entrance to the Forbidden City? Continue another quarter mile north and you can enter the Forbidden City through the “Meridian Gate”. Well, all that bad online information had me confused as well. 🙂
Meridian Gate – Wikimedia Commons Photo by Leonard G.
NOT “Tiananmen Tower”
While we are in the neighborhood, let’s take a look at another Internet misrepresentation. This one is from a web page that advertises itself as the definitive guide to 50 “must see” places in China. The page presents this photo with the caption “Tiananmen Tower is one of several highlights of the Tiananmen Square area”. The author goes on to claim that it is 600 years old and that you can pay a small fee to climb this “tower”. The stone monument is not 600 years old. It was erected in 1958 and is actually the “Monument to the People’s Heroes”. Don’t try to climb it! (I noted a disproportionate number of errors on that particular site, considering its limited scope. )
OK, continuing in Beijing:
Temple of Heaven?
“Temple of Heaven”?
This beautiful and iconic temple is often labeled as “The Temple of Heaven”. Is it? Well, perhaps this is an issue of semantics. This building is indeed to be found within the Temple of Heaven park and is one of several buildings that make up the Temple of Heaven complex. This particular building is called the “Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests” (祈年殿).
Even the most pleasant visits eventually come to an end. Today I return to Denver. I am excited to be heading back home to Rhonda. But of course I am sad to have to leave family and friends in Spain.
Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
This time, my exit city is Barcelona. What better way to bid farewell to that city than with a night visit to the Sagrada Familia. The ongoing construction of this beautiful and unique cathedral designed by Gaudi never ceases to interest me. For decades I have watched it’s slow, but steady, progress. And now that several of the larger towers have begun their stretch skyward, it feels like a whole new phase.
Chinese paper currency features images of some popular travel destinations.
In late 2017 I realized that I had been to all the places depicted on the current bills, except the “Three Gorges” of the Yangtze (Changjang 长江) river.
So, I thought, why not “follow the money”, and add a cruise through the Three Gorges during my 2018 trip to China! So I did!
As a preparation to posts about my 2018 adventures, here is a review of China’s one yuan to 100 yuan notes, and photos from my visits to the scenic spots shown:
One Yuan: Hangzhou – West Lake
(Hangzhou: Visited in 2017)
Hangzhou is a beautiful city in Zhejiang province on the east coast of China. One of the most famous attractions of the city is West Lake. The one yuan note has a close-up view of the three stone pagodas on the lake. Here is a description from visithangzhou.com:
“There are four beautiful islands in West Lake and the largest one of called named Three Pools or The Lesser Yingzhou Isle. The isle itself is a man made landscape from 1607 and its beauty is almost beyond imagination. The delightfulness and richness of gardening and harmony is astonishing. The islet itself has a minor lake so it’s an islet in a lake with a lake you are entering when here…
At the southern part on the island, rising from the water, there are three 2-meters high and hollow stone pagodas from the late 11th century. On a full moon night people can row out to the pagodas, place a candle in the stone and a light will come out of the five equally spaced windows reflecting the moon into the water and making it look like there were several magic moons in the water.”
Additional information can be seen at: China Daily Justgola
Five Yuan: Taishan (Mount Tai)
(Taishan: Visited in 2017)
(No my friends, contrary to the assumption of many in the XJTU program, the image is NOT Huashan!)
Taishan (Mount Tai) is located in Shandong province near the city of Jinan.
Of China’s “Five Sacred Mountain”, Taishan is considered the most important. Ascending the mountain was a ritual for Chinese emperors. Located in eastern China, from its heights they say you get the first view in China of the sun’s rays at dawn.
On a visit to Jinan, my friend (and calligraphy teacher) Xu Gang was kind enough to accompany me to the top of the mountain. The mountain has been the scene of pilgrimages by Confucius, Laozi (Lao Tze), many Chinese Emperors, and even Mao Zedong. Information on the UNESCO site
Ten Yuan: Three Gorges
(Three Gorges: Visited in 2018)
Spectacular scenery of the mighty Yangtze (Chiangjiang) river. The region’s water level rose with the completion of the Three Gorges Dam. Leisurely cruises either upriver or downriver provide an opportunity to enjoy beautiful views and to pass through history. With my friend Marlene Miyamoto, I was a passenger on the “Victoria Selina”, embarking in Chongqing. The trip ended with a visit to the impressive Three Gorges Dam and a drop-off point of Yichang. Along the way we visited interesting historic sites, some connected with the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.
(Li River: Visited in 2015)
Famous sections of the Li River lie between Guilin and Yangshou in Guangxi province. The scenery is beautiful whether you travel on the river in a small boat or a cruise ship. You pass small villages, and see stunning karst mountains. Highly recommended! Also, from Guilin you can visit picturesque agricultural areas and traditional towns of China’s ethnic minorities. In 2018 I returned to see the Longsheng/Longji rice terraces and the Dong community in Changyang.
(Lhasa: Visited in 2015)
The Potala Palace is an imposing landmark. It is said that it so inspired the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, that he kept a photograph of it in his study.
The inside of the building is filled with incredible treasures of sacred Buddhist artwork. I was stunned that so much had survived the destructive “Cultural Revolution” (1966 – 1976).
One Hundred Yuan: Great Hall of the People – Beijing
(Beijing: visited in 2015 and 2018)
The Great Hall of the People stands on the west side of Tianamen Square. I must confess that on both my visits to Beijing, I was more focused on the Forbidden City than on the landmark shown on the 100 yuan note. There is a lot so see in Beijing. Maybe I will have to visit again!
(Clicking on any of the images will enlarge it. In many cases, clicking a second time will make it even bigger)
At the end of November (2016) I had a chance to visit Villena.
The town is located in the province of Alicante, but is just over a half hour distant from Xàtiva by train.
Those who are familiar with Spanish literature might know of the nephew of King Alfonso X “el Sabio”, Don Juan Manuel. Living in the 14th century, this Prince of Villena wrote a number of books and is considered one of the most important authors of his era. His series of stories involving the “Conde Lucanor” are delightful.
Villena also has some fame for footwear and wines produced in the area. It was the birthplace of Ruperto Chapi, composer of symphonies and zarzuelas (a Spanish cross between a musical and opera).
Tourist attractions in the town include a lovely 11th century castle, and the “Tesoro de Villena” (treasure of Villena), which was a trove of gold bowls and bracelets that have been dated to the bronze age 3,000 years ago.
Heading into town, I encountered the church of Santiago (Saint James) and a small plaza with municipal buildings
It was pleasing to see a banner hanging from the town hall which read: “In favor of a Europe with open doors. Borders kill”.
On this stormy day, the view of the Santa Maria church (15th century) with its mountain backdrop was stunning.
The Atalaya Castle was built in the eleventh century by the Islamic rulers of Spain. It sits on a hill more or less in the middle of town.
(Rhonda and I had attempted to visit the castle several years earlier. But at that time it was closed due to damage from an earlier lightning strike.
“Torre de Homenaje” or “Castle Keep”
Interior stairs led to the top of this inner tower, and from the top the views were phenomenal.
Treasure Discovery Video
After enjoying the castle, I went to see the “Tesoro de Villena” (Treasure of Villena) which is housed in the José Maria Soler museum within the municipal building. The “Treasure” is a trove of (mostly) gold objects over 3,000 years old that were found in a large clay container. This incredible find came to light in 1963 when a worker found a large pure gold bracelet in some gravel fill being used in conjunction with the construction of a building.
The initial thought was that someone in town had dropped it. But then it was taken to authorities and the town archaeologist got involved. In conjunction with the workers, the origin of the fill material was located and excavation revealed the clay vessel which contained 28 bracelets, 11 bowls, and other miscellaneous objects. Today this valuable collection is in a locked case in the museum.
My visits to the castle and museum completed, I had enough time left in town to enjoy wandering around, exploring side streets and people watching.
My timing was good. The day was warm but it was too early in the season to be overly crowded with (other!) tourists.
Now I will quit gabbing, and let the photos speak for themselves. (Remember that if you click on a photo, you will see an enlarged version.)
That means great food!
