UNESCO - Fanjingshan, China

Located within the Wuling mountain range in Guizhou Province in southwest China, Fanjingshan ranges in altitude between 500 - 2570 metres above sea level, favouring highly diverse types of vegetation and relief. It is an island of metamorphic rock in a sea of karst, home to many plant and animal species that originated in the Tertiary period.

Also Fanjingshan is considered a sacred mountain of Chinese Buddhism, ranking just behind The Four Sacred Mountains. During the Ming Dynasty 48 Buddhist temples were built on the mountain, many of which have since been destroyed; the ones that remain are now significant pilgrimage sites. This postcard shows the New Golden Summit, or the Red Clouds Golden Summit.

Again thanks to Tianyi :)

UNESCO - Mount Sanqingshan National Park, China

Mount Sanqingshan National Park, located in the west of the Huyaiyu mountain range in the northeast of Jiangxi Province, has been inscribed for its exceptional scenic quality, marked by the concentration of fantastically shaped pillars and peaks, many of which resemble human or animal silhouettes.

Which could this one be, perhaps an eagle sitting on a branch..? 

Thank you Tyanyi :)

UNESCO - Lushan National Park, China

Mount Lushan, in Jiangxi, is one of the spiritual centres of Chinese civilization. Buddhist and Taoist temples, along with landmarks of Confucianism, where the most eminent masters taught, blend effortlessly into a strikingly beautiful landscape which has inspired countless artists who developed the aesthetic approach to nature found in Chinese culture. Thanks to LeiYing :)

Shanghai Night View

Fantastic night view of the Shanghai Old Town, possibly the Yuyuan Garden Bazaar area. Sent by 'aeronest' for one of the Vacation RRs...all those great stamps and cancellations, many thanks :) 

I was thinking of going back to swapping on the forum, I do have a stash of postcards and stamps left over...

Peking Opera Dan

This beautiful lady is one of the five female characters (Dan) in Peking Opera, probably the Guimen Dan, or maybe a Daoma Dan? Many thanks to Nan :)

Painting Of Mount Qingcheng, China

One of the nicer cards I've received through the official Postcrossing last month...Its a lovely painting of Mount Qingcheng, which only today I realised is a part of an UNESCO site. As it is not a real photo I won't include it in my collection but is nevertheless a thought by the sender to be appreciated, thank you Xiao Shui.

UNESCO - Site Of Xanadu, China

North of the Great Wall, the Site of Xanadu encompasses the remains of Kublai Khan’s legendary capital city, designed by the Mongol ruler’s Chinese advisor Liu Bingzhdong in 1256. Over a surface area of 25,000 ha, the site was a unique attempt to assimilate the nomadic Mongolian and Han Chinese cultures. From this base, Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty that ruled China over a century, extending its boundaries across Asia. As the place where Kublai Khan rose to power, hosted religious debates and entertained foreign travellers whose writings gave inspiration down the centuries, it has achieved legendary status in the rest of the world and is the place from where Tibetan Buddhism expanded.

The Site of Xanadu was abandoned in 1430. The large archaeological site now generally covered by grassland preserves the overall urban plan and city site of Xanadu as built and used in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Many thanks to Zihu for this card. I was curious to see what this place would have looked like in its days of glory, but oddly enough I couldn't find anything...

UNESCO - Kaiping Diaolou, China

Again I've shortened the full title of the whs by omitting 'and the Villages', at least until I somehow manage to get by a postcard that shows the actual villages...This card travelled a long time, three months in total - and when you look closer at the cancellation on the left. you can see why: it was missent to Georgia, so it took a month and a half to get there, and equal amount of time to get from there to here. All's well that ends well! Thank you Kira for this lovely view :)

The Kaiping Diaolou are fortified multi-storey towers, generally made of reinforced concrete. They display a complex and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western structural and decorative forms.

The building of defensive towers was a local tradition in the Kaiping area since Ming times in response to local banditry. The nominated Diaolou represent the final flourishing of this tradition, in which the conspicuous wealth of the retuning Chinese contributed to the spread of banditry and their towers were an extreme response.

Tibetan Folk Costume

One card from the set of ethnic people in China, I found this a very interesting headwear :) There are no details on the back but mention of Tibetan peoples living in Chinese provinces, I wish I had more info about this, but am nevertheless happy to have this card in my collection, thank you Hanna :)

 

The Great Wall In The Snow

I have covered the Great Wall in another post, but there are always different views of this magnificant site, it being so huge and all...and I do LOVE snowy views! Thanks Jarod :)

A Panda Scene (and more)

I love this panda card because it looks like a scene in which each panda should have...you know those speech bubbles, and the one on the right would surely say something sarcastic looking at those two! Thank you Mengyao, pandas are always cute :) But especially on the video that was circling the social media in the last few days - a giant panda enjoying snow! Have a look if you haven't managed so far, trust me it'll make you happy just by seeing the fella happy :D

Momi Café, China

You look at the postcard, see its a café, they sell books and postcards, and there is even a cat outside... perfect? Actually I was looking at someone else's swap album today, and noticed they have Momi cafe postcards. I remembered this postcard and looked it up - there is a wikipedia entry about it! And quite frankly, it sounds awesome.

Momi Café (Chinese: 猫的天空之城) is a coffee house located in Pingjiang Road in Suzhou, China. It has many branches, including stores in Wuxi, Shanghai, Xitang and many other cities. The cafe sells books only covering three categories: travel, art and literature; also magazines and postcards.

There is a wall named "Mail to Future". There are 365 small cells on this wall, and each cell stands for one day in a year. Everyone can choose a postcard, write down the receiver’s name, the address, the zip code, and then put it into any cell and the postcard will be sent off on that day. What’s more, all the postcards are designed by the shopkeepers.

So...what did I tell you? Thank you DongXiao, stamps are amazing too!

 

Café Shelves

These coffee cups and mugs are just lovely aren't they? Jameson and Bailey's just the same :D Another thought for the future café, and many thanks to Min Xiao :)

Waterway In Suzhou, China

Another one of those views that lure me to visit China...This may be any waterway in Suzhou or perhaps its best-known one, Seven-mile Shantang. Or indeed a canal near the quaint Pingjiang Road. Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin in Eastern China, adjacent to Shanghai Municipality.

UNESCO - Summer Palace, An Imperial Garden In Beijing, China

 

The Summer Palace in Beijing – first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886 – is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value.

Thanks to Kun and Yuen :)

 

Longji Rice Terraces, China

Also called Dragon's Backbone ( because the rice terraces resemble a dragon's scales, while the summit of the mountain range looks like the backbone of the dragon ), they are located in Longsheng County, about 100 kilometres from Guilin, Guangxi, South China. The harvest season is depicted here, I hope to witness it one day! Thanks a lot Jian Lun for offering in a tag :))

Namtso Lake, China

Another stunning view from China - Namtso or Lake Nam is a mountain lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, approximately 112 kilometres NNW of Lhasa. It  lies at an elevation of 4,718 m and has a surface area of 1,920 square km (but is still far from being the highest lake).

There are five uninhabited islands of reasonable size - they have been used for spiritual retreat by pilgrims who walk over the lake's frozen surface at the end of winter, carrying their food with them. They spend the summer there, unable to return to shore again until the water freezes the following winter. This practice is no longer permitted by Chinese authorities.

Many thanks to Shu, I got this via a tag on the forum, and now i'm thinking its been ages since i participated in tags...well 'ages' can be a relative term; for someone sending postcards every week, months is a long time..!

Fenghuang Ancient City, China

Fenghuang City is located in the southwest of Hunan Province -  it has an exceptionally well-preserved ancient town that harbors unique ethnic languages, customs, arts as well as many distinctive architectural remains of Ming and Qing styles. It is a gathering place for Miao and Tujia ethnic minority.

I will say no more as I really REALLY hope to get more postcards of this gorgeous town to post here. I have just realised its the same town I have in my favourites, and if you google it you'll know why. Also gorgeous stamps, thanks Kolly! :))

 

Map Of The Summer Palace In Beijing, China

End of last year I got the opportunity to swap for this amazing shaped map card showing one of the 45 Unesco sites in China - just one glimpse at it and you can tell its an awesome place. I mean who can doubt the combination of historical buildings, lakes and grassy fields..?! Was tricky to scan...crookedness is the word here :) many many thanks to heng yao xD

The Summer Palace covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres, three-quarters of which is water.  Its a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces  first built in 1750 - later largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design.

Now a little secret is about to be revealed...i am hoping to see this place next winter. I have already mentioned the times I've fallen in love with China through postcards (esp unesco!) and the time has come to look into it and check if I can make it my next destination. China is so vast and wonderful in so many aspects, it'll be really hard to choose where to go! And I do have to choose, time and resources are limited...tough job being a jury here. Btw I have looked at all the 45 Unesco sites briefly - estimate is one could easily spend (at least) $600 on entrance fees..!

Shaolin Buddhist

The first glance at this postcard was horizontal...and it managed to confuse me (thats not very difficult, mind you :)) and my friend 'helped' by drawing a little person on it, ttt :) let me turn it so you can see it properly!