Dr. Mark Nan Tu

I went to Ba Da Chu

Although it was sunny today, the weather was still cold. I went to the Beijing Continental Garden Hotel at one o

Coming back from Hainan, there are still several days left for the National Day Holiday. After a short rest, I decided to visit Wuling mountain with friends. Wuling mountain locates in the northwest of Xinglong, Chengde City, borders on Miyun county of Beijing City. It is a national natural protected area with total size of 14337 hectares. It rises to 2118 meters at the main peak Waitao, the highest point of Yanshan Mountain. It is called the first peak in Eastern Beijing, because of its height and beauty. People named it Wuling because of the cloud and fog surrounding the peak.

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The Grand Red Gate (Main entrance to the Mausoleums

Located on the south east coast of the China, Macau was ruled by the Prot

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The South Trail is a 2 hour difficult hike through the southen part of the Phoenix Mountain. There are some historical ruins of temples and pagodas along the path. The small pagoda on the top of a stone is recently added. This trail combines easy access and interesting historical sites.

2 / 10 Visit a giant cypress which is 2500 years old. Tour the Lulang Forest which has the world’s largest species of flora and fauna

We arrived in the birthplace of SongZhanGanBu. At the entrance, we met two local children asking for money. We gave them some money and took some pictures of them. People in Tibet region is still very poor. The money-making opportunities are mainly in the tourism industry. The employees in these sectors still need to become more professional. The restaurants are mostly owned by the Sichuanese cultures. Trading is mostly done by the Qinghai and Gansu people who are Muslims. The local Tibetans do make much money but yet they seem to live a very peaceful life. For the capitalistic society where we come from, it is very important to make money. But Tibetans lives in a completely different and isolated society where praying is more important than making money. Are the Tibetans better off to live in the primitive and closed society as they have done for thousands of years? Or are they better off by entering the modern society? Or we can ask another questions: do they have a choice??The same question also applied to the American Indians. When I was traveling in the wasteland in North Dakota, I see the Indians drinking in the local bars. I certainly know this: the arrival of the

30/ 9 Beijing -Lhasa flight CA4112
Before landing in Lhasa, we can see from the windows of the aircraft, the barren mountain that stretches in the distance. There is no vegetation. It is difficult to imagine how mankind can make a living here.

Upon arrival of the airport, driver Mr. Wang has been waiting for us. Our group was a six person team. There were three men and three women. Mr. Wang took us to the guesthouse by coaches. Although I felt fine, the girls in our group began to fell the altitude sickness They had headaches and difficult to walk. After reaching the hotel, they immediately lie down and rest. Mr. Wang told us to take it easy for today and rest in the hotels.

Instead of resting in the hotel, I decided to go to the Potala Palace Square. The square is only 10 minutes by foot.