Xi'an China International Horticultural Exposition 2011 | China

This postcard was sent from Jingchen from China via Postcrossing [CN-1777415].

It was postmarked on 20 October 2015. The first stamp is from Xi'an China International Horticultural Exposition 2011.

Peking Opera II

Another postcard from Peking Opera, this time sent by my postcard pal Valerie! She sent this one as she was on her way to Vancouver and had a transfer in Beijing. The card shows "the stage of Peking Opera, an expressive demonstration of reproducing largeness through triviality".

For more information about Peking Opera see this post.

Peking Opera

This beautiful postcard was sent by ShengSheng from China as a private swap! It is from "Peking Opera" and the dynasty on the card is "The Three Kingdoms".

Known as China's national opera, Peking Opera, which originated in the late 18th century, is a synthesis of music, dance, art and acrobatics. It is the most influential and representative of all operas in China. Based upon traditional Anhui Opera, it has also adopted repertoire, music and performing techniques from Kun Opera and Qingqiang Opera, as well as traditional folk tunes in its development, eventually forming its own highly stylized music and performing techniques. Peking Opera can be divided into "civil" pieces, which are characterized by singing, and "martial" ones, which feature acrobatics and stunts. Some operas are combination of both.

Long Wall of Ten Thousand Li

This postcard of the Great Wall of China was sent to me by Lucas from Shanghai as a Private Swap.

Known to the Chinese as the 'Long Wall of Ten Thousand Li', the formidable defensive structures built to ward off invasion of the Celestial Empire by barbarians is called the Great Wall or the Wall of China by Europeans. The principle of these extraordinary fortifications goes back to the Chunqiu period (722-481 BC) and to the Warring States period (453-221 BC).

The construction of certain walls can be explained by feudal conflicts, such as that built by the Wei in 408 BC to defend their kingdom against the Qin. Its vestiges, conserved in the centre of China, antedate by many years the walls built by the Kingdoms of Qin, Zhao and Yan against the northern barbarians around 300 BC. Beginning in 220 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the founder of the Empire of the Ten Thousand Generations, undertook to restore and link up the separate sections of the Great Wall which had been built in the 3rd century BC, or perhaps even earlier, and which stretched from the region of the Ordos to Manchuria.

Shang Dynasty

This card was sent to me by Zoe from China via postcrossing [CN-302704]. It shows a bronze Fang Zun [rectangular wine container] inscribed with characters indicating ownership by Xu Ya clan [Shang Dynasty].

The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝) or Yin Dynasty (殷代) was according to traditional sources the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia Dynasty. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley. According to the chronology based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Shang ruled between 1766 BC and 1122 BC, but according to the chronology based upon the Bamboo Annals, they ruled between 1556 BC and 1046 BC. The results of the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project place them between 1600 BC and 1046 BC. According to historical tradition, the Shang Dynasty followed the (possibly mythical) Xia Dynasty and preceded the Zhou Dynasty.

Xiaoyaojin Park

This card was sent to me by Shijunjun from China as a private swap. It shows Xiaoyaojin Park, which is famous fro its beautiful sceneries.

Xiaoyaojin Park, known as Leisure Ford Park in English, is a famous battlefield. A long time ago, Zhang, taking almost all of his troops, initiated a night attack on the Sun barracks, which were unprepared, and this led to a long bloody battle. The outcome was the defeat of Sun's army. However, Sun escaped death by jumping over the neighboring canal. Today, the place is a park and is of much interest to those who love plants and animals. There is a botanical garden here, consisting of bonsai and rare Chinese plants, as well as a local zoo.[link]

Xidan crossroads | China

Another postcrossing card [CN-282175], this time from MaYan from China. On the card it sais: "The T-shaped juncture at the crossroads of Xidan. In the 1950's, the West Chang'an Avenue ended at Xidan. During the rebuilt, the old Judicial Department Street (on the right) and Baozi Street (on the left) were torn down and the place became today's crossrads."

Yu Garden, Shanghai

An amazing card from the Shanghai Expo 2010 sent by Maki! On the card there is Yu Garden, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Shanghai. So excited that I got a card from the Expo :D

Yu Garden, located at No. 132. Anren Street in the center of the Old City next to the Chenghuangmiao area in Shanghai, China, is considered one of the most lavish and finest Chinese gardens in the region. The garden is accessible from the nearby Yuyuan Garden station on the Shanghai Metro line 10. There is also a hotel with the same name, between the metro station and the garden. The garden was first established in 1559 as a private garden created by Pan Yunduan, who spent almost 20 years building a garden to please his father Pan En, a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, during his father's old age. Over the years, the gardens fell into disrepair until about 1760 when bought by merchants, before suffering extensive damage in the 19th century. In 1842, during the Opium Wars, the British army occupied the Town God Temple for five days. During the Taiping Rebellion the gardens were occupied by imperial troops, and damaged again by the Japanese in 1942. They were repaired by the Shanghai government from 1956–1961, opened to the public in 1961, and declared a national monument in 1982. [wikipedia]

Nakhi

Amazing postcard sent by Xueqian Zhu from China as a private swap! I really love this one! It shows Nakhi people  playing ancient music in Lijiang County, China.


The Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Nakhi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India. They were brought to the attention of the world by two men: the American botanist Joseph Rock and the Russian Taoist doctor Peter Goullart, both of whom lived in Lijiang and travelled throughout the area during the early 20th century. Peter Goullart's book Forgotten Kingdom describes the life and beliefs of the Nakhi and neighbouring peoples, while Joseph Rock's legacy includes diaries, maps, and photographs of the region. The Nakhi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
 Nakhi music is 500 years old, and with its mixture of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha, Dongjing, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments. [wikipedia]

The stamp shows two little birds on a branch.

 Thanks Xueqian Zhu for the beautiful card :)

The Great Wall, China

"Not a lucky hero until one reaches the great wall"

The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared.

Unfortunately I haven't been in China, yet..But I hope some day I will :)