Interesting Facts About of Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven, is a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It has been regarded as a Taoist temple of heaven, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.

The Temple of Heaven was built in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1420) by the emperor Zhu Di in the royal garden. Once a year, at winter solstice, the emperors came here to worship Heaven and to solemnly pray for a good harvest. Since his rule was legitimized by a perceived mandate from Heaven, a bad harvest could be interpreted as his fall from Heaven's favor and threaten the stability of his reign. So, it was not without a measure of self-interest that the emperor fervently prayed for a very good crop.

Many books, magazines, and travel websites prefer to use the photos of the triple-gabled circular temple in the Temple of Heaven to represent Beijing. It has become one of Beijing’s truly prized landmarks.

Together with the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven is another supreme example of the imperial architecture in Ming Dynasty. All the architectures were decorated with colorful red to represent the dignity of the imperial court in ancient China.

Occupying an area of 2,700,000 square meters (3,529,412 square yards), the Temple of Heaven is 4 times larger than the Forbidden City.

The main structures in the Temple of Heaven lie along the south-north axis as with all temples in China.

The most striking building in the Temple of Heaven is the tall, circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. Its location was determined by the emperor’s Fengshui masters as the exact point where heaven and Earth met.

Seen from above, all the temple halls round and the base square, shapes also respectively symbolizing the heaven and earth. The wooden pillars support the ceiling without any nails or cement. 

Exploring The Myths And Misconceptions About Africa

Myths and misconceptions about Africa are commonplace in the West. On a recent episode of the American tv reality series, "Amazing Race", one of the contestants exclaims, "There's no snow in Africa!". Well, in fact there is. This is just one example of the kinds of things many people think they know about Africa, but in fact have quite wrong. Below are ten of the most common myths I've heard over the years, and now you can help shed some light on what too many people still think of as the dark continent.

These Africa facts  will help you refute some erroneous descriptions of Africa and its people. The commonly held misconceptions can be widely categorised into geographical, Africa cultural, social and economical misconceptions.                                

     
Africa is a Desert

While there are a few deserts in Africa (like the Sahara Desert in the North and the Namib Desert in the Southwest of Africa), large parts of Africa, especially central Africa, are tropical rainforests. On high mountains, like Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, are subarctic conditions. Furthermore, large areas in Africa have savannah plains, which are similar to prairies. So Africa is definitely not just a desert.

Everyone Lives in a Jungle

Again, living situations might vary from place to place depending on the landscape, with some more isolated tribes, and they may live more closely to wild animals. But how is that any different from someone who lives out in the country who lives more closely to bears and mountain lions? We have beautiful cities in Africa where one does not need to worry about those animals unless they choose to go out looking for them.

Africa is Poor and Disease Ridden

Poverty is obviously something that will strike you as a visitor to many African countries. But African countries are not all poor. It's the distribution of wealth that's the biggest problem. South Africa is an incredibly wealthy country. In fact its GDP outranks that of Belgium and Sweden. It has many natural resources, a good education system, excellent universities, sparkling business districts and very advanced hospitals. Unfortunately much of its population does not get to share the wealth.

Africa Has No History

It's a common misconception that Africa has no history beyond its people scrabbling about trying to survive in a harsh environment. But consider the ancient Egyptian monuments, the rock-hewn churches of Ethiopia, the Fes medina, and you obviously have proof of Africa's rich history. In the 11th Century a flourishing kingdom we know now as Great Zimbabwe was built in southern Africa. Its walls are still standing today.

Most Popular Food Festivals Around The World

Food is almost always used in human celebrations, but sometimes food festival is the reason to celebrate! Whether you like trying new ethnic foods, fine wines, garlic ice cream or worm milkshakes, there’s a food festival somewhere in the world calling your name. Here are ten of the best!

Food festivals have certainly come a long way in the past couple of years. No longer are they sparsely attended fringe events popping up in hotel ballrooms. Festivals in the year 2013 have become star-studded affairs, complete with heady promises of once-in-a-lifetime meals and coveted VIP ticket packages that cost north. Food Festival Republic is here to point you towards the most exciting festivals of the new calendar year in the United States and overseas. Truffles and hot chicken even get their own celebrations. My, what a long way we have come.    

       
Baltic Herring Festival, Finland

Helsinki comes alive every year when the Baltic Herring festival around the corner. The annual fair attracts thousands of visitors to the capital’s South harbour. People flock in to taste as well as buy some of the best herring available to them. It one of those festivals where the price is very reasonable, for example, one carton of Baltic herring in a range of marinades could be purchased for a mere 5 Euros.

Hatch Chile Festival, Mexico

New Mexico’s Hatch Valley is known for its prolific production of spicy Hatch chiles, and these red firecrackers take center stage at this spicy celebration. Expect chile eating competitions, cook-offs, carnival rides and a huge assortment of spicy healthy food festival to sample.

Galway Oyster Festival: Ireland

Easily the most famous food festival of Ireland and also the oldest oyster festival in the world, Galway Oyster festival is known for vast platters of shellfish, pints of the famous Guiness beer and great live music. Started in September 1954 by Brian Collins, the festival includes beer as well as Oyster tasting which offers some great varieties of oyster. World Oyster Opening Championships and the ‘Elegant Lady’ competition are the highlights of the festival.

Grub Street Food Festival, New York

Grub Street Food Festival, New York A destination’s real flavours are always in its streetfood. From Colombian arepas to New York cheesecake, this festival is the trendiest way to experience the melting pot of the Big Apple.

Abergavenny Food Festival, United Kingdom

One of Wales’ biggest food festivals, Aber has over 150 stalls offering great local Welsh produce. Abergavenny food fest has everything ranging from great food on the event to master classes from chefs like Pierre Koffmann. Local pubs and restaurants come alive when the fest is around the corner as they offer special menu like home smoked garlic to Welsh Onion bread to a perfect martini! Along with the masterclass, there will be tutored tastings food talks with food critics and coveted chefs and guided walks to learn about harvest of field and hedgerow this year.

The History of Buddha Park in Vientiane

The Buddha Park, also known as Xieng Khuan or Spirit City, is a collage of concrete moulded statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities and other bizarre figures, 25k outside of Vientiane, Laos. It’s a large collection of all shapes and sizes, a theme park of religious imagery but one that includes rabbits, insects, skulls and a giant pumpkin along with hundreds of other curiosities.

The main attractions of this park are the reclining Buddha and the giant pumpkin. This giant pumpkin is a 3 storey structure. The entrance to this structure is through a demon mouth. On each floor you have external galleries which consist of internal chambers. Theses internal chambers are filled with various statues. If you climb all the way up, you get a magnificent view of the entire park.                      

               
The Buddha Park as Xieng Khuan, which means 'Spirit City'. Forget the typical Buddha images seen in temples across Southeast Asia; the Buddha Park near Vientiane contains over 200 sometimes-menacing statues portraying Buddhist and Hindu lore.A 390-foot-long reclining Buddha is the crown jewel of the collection. The religious-themed statues are spread over a peaceful lawn and certainly capture the main attractions of all visitors.A three-story dome allows visitors to enter through the gaping mouth of a demon and then climb staircases through the dark, dusty structure from 'Hell' to 'Earth' and eventually emerging at 'Heaven' on top of the dome for a spectacular view of the park.

Buddha Park was built in the year 1958 by Bunleua Sulilat, a spiritual leader in turn sculptor who emigrated to Thailand during the Communist occupation. In Thailand, he created a park similar to the Buddha of Vientiane, Sala Kaew Ku Park Park.The Buddha Park is full of bizarre sculptures and constructions, all of them made in reinforced concrete. Some of these sculptures were built thanks to the donation of a benefactor, whose name was engraved on a plaque at the base of the work. Buddha Park not only there are sculptures of Buddha, but there are also anthropomorphic sculptures, animals, gods and demons.

According to the folklore, this park consists of a Savan, located at one end of the park, where the spirits of noble people are present. These spirits are considered to bring harmony to all. There are various statues of Buddha; Avalokiteshvara a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas and is portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. There are numerous sculptures of Buddha, and Hindu Gods and mythological figures including Shiva, Vishnu and Arjuna.

The best way to get to the Buddha Park is by local bus. Take bus number 14 at the Vientiane Central Bus Station just opposite the Morning Market. The buses leave every 15 minutes from 6:00 am until 3:45 pm and the last bus from the Buddha Park back to the city center is at 4:45 pm. The cost is 6,000 kip and takes about 45 minutes. Another means to visit the Park is to hire a Tuk Tuk. A two way trip that lasts half a day costs under 200,000 kip ($25 USD).

Most Popular Ancient Greek Temple of Zeus

The massive temple of Zeus, the most important building in the Altis, standing in its very centre, is the largest temple in the Peloponnese, considered by many to be the perfect example of Doric architecture. It was built by the Eleans from the spoils of the Triphylian war and dedicated to Zeus. Construction began c. 470 and was completed before 456 BC, when an inscribed block was let into the east gable to support a gold shield dedicated by the Spartans in commemoration of their victory at Tanagra. The architect was Libon of Elis; the sculptor of the pediments is unknown.

Built not as places of mass worship, but rather as homes for the deities, Ancient  Greek temples were symbols of a Ancient Greek city’s status, culture and achievement. Though the earliest ancient Greek temples would have been made of wood or mud brick, by around the 6th century BC the stone and marble structures which have come to epitomise these temples began to appear, with the best examples such as the Parthenon being built in the 5th century BC.

Ancient Greece, temples were not places of worship but monuments dedicated to the beloved gods and goddesses. Many important ancient greek temples are located in Greece and other countries, such as Italy, which were then part of the ancient Greek empire.                                      

   
Temple of Olympian

The Temple of Olympia Zeus in Athens it does not take much imagination to realize that this was one gigantic temple. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project had begun.

Temple of Apollo Epicurius

The Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae is not the first to occupy the site artifacts have been discovered that date to the seventh century B.C., and votive offerings from far earlier it was completed a handful of years before the Parthenon, making it the oldest remaining temple from Classical Greece. Its isolated location at 3,710 feet above sea level on Mount Kotilion in the Peloponnese was instrumental in its preservation through the centuries; it simply would have been too much work to loot the temple's stone and use it to build new places of worship in developing population centers.

Temple of Hephaestus

The Temple of Hephaestus, dedicated to the god of metal-working and craftsmanship, is located in Athens, Greece. The temple was designed by Ictinus, one of the Parthenon’s architects. The Temple of Hephaestus is the best-preserved ancient Greek temple in the world.

Temple of Zeus at Cyrene

Cyrene was the most important monuments of the five Greek colonies in present-day Libya. High up from the rest of the city, lies the Temple of Zeus, dating back to the 5th century BC. It was destroyed during a Jewish rebellion in 115 AD, and was restored 5 years later by the Romans on order of Emperor Hadrian. In 365 AD an earthquake reduced the temple to rubble once more and it was not rebuilt until modern times by British and Italian archaeologists. This temple is larger than the Parthenon, a reflection of the wealth and importance of Cyrene in the ancient Greek world.

Most Popular Tourist Places in France

France is the world’s most popular tourist attractions France, a country with world-beating art and architecture. It is home to the Europe’s popular landmark the vertiginous Eiffel Tower. The Musee d’Orsay is home to impressionist and post-impressionist art while the Louvre Museum is home to several masterpieces, including the ‘Mona Lisa’, ‘Aphrodite’, ‘Liberty leading the people’, etc. Visit the fairyland destination of Mont Saint-Michel or learn about the volcanic eruptions at Vulcania.

Palace of Versailles

One of the best known tourist attractions in France, few places better showcase the opulence and grandeur of the French monarchy better than the Palace of Versailles. There’s a huge amount to see here, from stunning architecture to fabulous furniture, art and antiques and of course the magnificent gardens. Audio headsets are available as are guided tours probably a good idea given the sheer scale of the place.

Louvre Museum

the former royal palace of French Kings, the Louvre is an incomparable museum that ranks among the top European collections of fine arts. Many of Western Civilization's most famous works are found here including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci, the Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese, and the 1st-century-BC Venus de Milo sculpture. The collection owes its wealth to the contributions of various kings who lived in the Louvre.

Loire Valley Châteaux

Traveling through the Loire Valley feels like turning the pages of a children's storybook. Throughout the enchanting countryside of woodlands and river valleys are fairy-tale castles complete with moats and turreted towers. The entire area of the Loire Valley, a lush area known as the "Garden of France," is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral, devoted to the Virgin Mary is one of the most beautiful churches in the world. It was inaugurated in 1260 and has been well preserved till today. The church has been a major pilgrimage tourist destination since the Early Middle Ages. Chartres Cathedral is highly praised for its sculpture, much celebrated stained glass as well as its high gothic style.

Musee d’Orsay

The Musee d’Orsay exhibiting the world’s famous art is constructed upon the site of the former Gare d’Orsay railway station. The museum is home to the world’s biggest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art. The exhibits at the museum are broadly categorized under six heads: Painting collection, Sculpture collection, Objects d’art collection, Photographic collection, Graphic arts collection, and Architecture.

Funny Facts About on South Africa

South Africa, Africa's southernmost nation, is also Africa's largest and most developed economy. Diamond and gold strikes in the late 19th century began transforming this land of African tribespeople, Boer farmers, and British traders into an industrial colossus. Today South Africa produces high tech equipment and is a world leader in the output of gold and diamonds. On South Africa's high grassland plateau, or veld, lies its premier city, Johannesburg (usually shortened to Jo'burg). Johannesburg and its satellite cities are home to more than 8 million people generating 9 percent of all economic activity in Africa.

South Africa is one of the most diverse and enchanting countries in the world. Exotic combinations of landscapes, people, history and african culture offer the traveller a unique and inspiring experience. Here are the quick facts to get you started.South Africa is located on the southern tip of the African continent, bordered by northern neighbours Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It encompasses the independent mountain kingdoms of Lesotho and Swaziland and is flanked by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the warm Indian Ocean on the east giving the country its spectacular range of biodiversity.      

Geography

South Africa, on the continent's southern tip, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and by the Indian Ocean on the south and east. Its neighbors are Namibia in the northwest, Zimbabwe and Botswana in the north, and Mozambique and Swaziland in the northeast. The kingdom of Lesotho forms an enclave within the southeast part of South Africa, which occupies an area nearly three times that of California.The southernmost point of Africa is Cape Agulhas, located in the Western Cape Province about 100 mi (161 km) southeast of the Cape of Good Hope.

Economy

Economy A lesser known fact on South Africa Tribes is that it has achieved steady economic growth in gross domestic product (GDP) since the late 90s. The country, regarded as an emerging market, has a well developed financial sector and active stock exchange. Financial policies have focused on building solid macroeconomic structures. The country’s central bank is the Reserve Bank.

Tourism

Tourism Since the demise of apartheid, international tourist arrivals have surged, making tourism one of the fastest growing sectors. The tourism industry is well-established with an exciting sector of emerging entrepreneurs. The country is strong on adventure, sport, nature and wildlife travel and is a pioneer and global leader in responsible tourism.

Education

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is a pioneer of tertiary distance education and is the largest correspondence university in the world, with 250,000 students. South Africa’s matric pass rate has improved from 49% in 1994 to 70% in 2004, but students receiving university exemptions have remained at 18%.
The first MBA program outside of the US was started by the University of Pretoria in 1949.

National Symbols

National Symbols of South Africa is a multi-lingual country and there are 11 official languages including: English, Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Composed by Enoch Sontonga in 1899, the Xhosa hymn 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is South Africa's national anthem.