The Three Gorges are grand canyons situated in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. At the place where the river reaches the eastern Sichuan Basin, it makes its way deep into and through the Wushan Mountains, forming the most spectacular and absorbing gorges. The Three Gorges, namely Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge, with breath-taking sceneries, extend 192 km from Baidi City of Fengjie in the west to Nanjin Pass of Yichang in the east.

The Qutang Gorge, known for its magnificence, is the shortest and most marvelous one among the three gorges. Its magnificence lies in mountains and waters. The precipitous peaks, steep cliffs and roaring currents present a splendid sight. The Wu Gorge is famed for its deep valley and quiet beauty. On the banks of the Wu Gorge are exquisite sceneries. To cruise here is like wandering in a natural art gallery. The most absorbing scene here is the twelve peaks, like a string of emerald jades dotted on the banks, among which the Goddess Peak is the most exquisite and famous. The Xiling Gorge, full of turbulent currents and whirlpools as well as rising cliffs and rugged rocks, is one of the most dangerous shoals. Notable tourist attractions in the Three Gorges area include Baidi City, Fengdu City, General Zhang Fei’s Temple, Shibao Fortified Village, and Baiheliang Hydrological Inscriptions and Carvings.

At the two ends of the Three Gorges locate two plains—the Chengdu Plain in the west and Jianghan Plain in the east. The two plains are homes to two different but equally brilliant ancient civilizations - Shu and Chu. The Three Gorges area can be compared to a book of Chinese culture and history with cultural relics and historic sites reserved from the Paleolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty.

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The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during various successive dynasties. Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains; it lay farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall currently stretches over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total; a more recent archaeological survey using advanced technologies points out that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

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Introduction to Beijing and Touring

Beijing Overview:

Beijing is getting a facelift for the 2008 Olympics - you'll be amazed at the amount of construction going on in the city. But in between the jackhammers and cranes, you'll find some of China's most historic and beautiful national treasures. You could spend weeks seeing all there is to see in Beijing, but if you only have a few days, make the most out of them.

Best Way to See Beijing:

I'm a very independent traveler, but the first time I visited Beijing, I booked a few tours. There are pros and cons to this approach, but I find it's a great way to sight-see and glean the history out of a place where the guidebooks leave you short. My recommendation is to combine independent travel with private or group sight-seeing to make the most out of a short trip to Beijing. Booking tours is very easy through your hotel in Beijing. Once you have your reservations, contact your hotel and they will help you set up a group or private tour.

More on Group Tours:

Pros:

• A good way to see highlights, quickly (there won't be enough time for you to get "templed out")
• You'll get the history of the location from an English-speaking guide

Cons:

• Between each historic spot on the agenda is usually an unannounced stop at a shopping location - usually overpriced and unwelcome if you're really into seeing the historic attractions
• Lunch is always part of the day and it's generally bad Westernized-Chinese food. Yuck!

Getting Around Beijing

Taxis are an inexpensive and easy way to get around. However, most drivers don't speak any English so you usually have to show them where you're going, for example, on a Chinese map or with a business card.

Hotels will have "taxi cards" for you to keep with you to get back and they usually provide a little card with the major sights listed in Chinese as well. Be sure to pick a few up for your bag.

There are tourist maps available in the hotels and Beijing is easy to walk around too, although it is very big. The subway is very easy to navigate in Beijing. This is a good option during peak traffic hours and it's also much less expensive than an already inexpensive taxi.

Day One Morning - a Self-Guided Introduction to Tiananmen Square

The following itinerary assumes you have three full days. You can obviously tailor this itinerary down if you have less time.

A good first-impression destination for Beijing, and an infamous one at that, is Tiananmen Square. There's not much to see on the square itself - it's really just a huge plaza. But it gives you an inkling of the sheer size of monuments - even a public plaza - that Beijing offers. Of course, millions of people paraded through the square on occasion under Chairman Mao and the Square became famous in the West in 1989 as the news broadcast the army clashing against pro-democracy demonstrations. Now it's a place for kite flying and strolling - bikes must be walked across the square. The square is surrounded by heavy Communist monuments such as the Chinese Revolution History Museum and the Great Hall of the People.

Worth a stop if you have a vague interest in seeing embalmed Communist leaders, is the Mao Mausoleum. There will be an enormous line to get in so you'll have to wait, and make sure to bring your passport. The line moves fast; people are shuffled quickly past the Chairman's embalmed body.

Lunch Break: It's your first day and if you can't stop sight-seeing to eat, bring along some snacks or a packed lunch from your hotel. There are plenty of spots to stop and rest in the Forbidden City. There aren't a lot of lunch choices once you're inside. Stop in the snack bar or restaurant at the Great Hall of the People before heading off to the Forbidden City.

Day One Afternoon - a Self-Guided Walk to the Forbidden City

From Tiananmen Square, the large portrait of Chairman Mao overlooking the Square from Tiananmen Gate is hard to miss. Make this your next stop as you walk over to the Forbidden City also commonly called the Palace Museum. Upon entering from the south, you'll make your way through the maze of palaces and pavilions that housed Ming and Qing emperors until 1911 when the last emperor, Pu Yi, abdicated. Read the full profile for more history and essentials about visiting the Forbidden City. The exit is on the north side.

Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City take a solid morning to early afternoon. If you go to the mausoleum it's probably a whole day. If you get finished with the Forbidden City and feel like seeing more, Beihei park is a few minutes walk from the northern exit of the Forbidden City. It's got a few interesting temples and sights and is easily combined with Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Walking through Beihai Park is a nice way to unwind from the massive historical sights you've just witnessed.

Dinner: It's your first night in Beijing and you're probably pooped out from all the walking and sight-seeing. Don't let this stop you from sampling some traditional Beijing cuisine. Nip back to the hotel for a shower and a quick rest and then go out for some delicious Beijing Duck, it's the specialty in Beijing, after all. If you're really tired, your hotel probably has a restaurant that serves it. Otherwise, ask for a recommendation of somewhere nearby.

Day Two - the Great Wall & Ming Tombs with a Guide

You can certainly see the Great Wall on your own. However, having done it with a tour group and on my own with a private guide, I'd definitely recommend going with a private guide. You'll get to spend as much time as you want on the wall and you'll get to see a less-congested part. I recommend visiting the Mutianyu section. The views are awesome and the wall itself is in great shape. You can walk for miles, though some of it is very steep.

Lunch Break: After your visit to the Mutianyu section, ask your guide to stop at one of the local trout restaurants for lunch. Fresh trout restaurants line the roadway to the Wall and the gimmick is that you catch your own. The food at these restaurants is very inexpensive but quite good.

After the Great Wall, most private and group-tours will head to the Ming tombs. There are thirteen of them and different tours go to different tombs. Most go to Dingling, the tomb of Emperor Wanli (reigned 1537-1619). You'll visit the Sacred Way, a long path leading to the tombs flanked on both sides by mythical and real stone animals as well as the tomb compound itself. The Great Wall and Tombs lie 1-1.5 hours outside Beijing.

Dinner: You most likely had a little nap on the way back from your Great Wall and Ming Tomb adventure, so surely you'll be rested enough to splurge on a fancy dinner at one of Beijing's finest destinations. For a nouveau Chinese dinner that will leave you stunned, try the Green T. House.

Day Three Morning - Self-Guided Sight-Seeing the Temple of Heaven

Get an early start and get to the early. The temple complex is surrounded by a large park and many local Chinese people go and just hang out there. It's fun to see oldies playing cards and singing traditional songs.

The Temple of Heaven was the most important temple for Ming and Qing emperors. Once a year, the emperor came to worship the heavens and pray for a bountiful year. An architectural rendering of heaven (round) and earth (square), the temples are circular with square bases. Key sights are the Round Altar, Echo Wall, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.

Getting there: public transport to the east gate, bus no. 807 or no. 812 from just north of the Chongwen Men metro stop (209, exit B) to Fahua Si. The best approach is from the south gate. Taking a taxi is a good option.

Lunch Break: After your Temple visit, skip over to the Noodle Loft for an adventure in Shanxi cuisine, which is based on, you guessed it, the noodle. Open for lunch between 11-2:30pm (dinner 5:30-10:30pm), the Noodle Loft is a fun diversion in noodle culture as well as a pit stop in itself. Dawang Road #20, tel 010 6774 9950. Getting there: Metro stop - Dawang Lu (123) or taxi.

Day Three Afternoon - Self-Guided Sight-Seeing the Summer Palace

After a nice lunch, grab a cab, it's a bit of a hike to the Summer Palace, an enormous park filled with temples, pavilions, theatres, bridges and walkways. The Palace was originally an escape for the imperial court to cool off in the hot summer months that baked the Forbidden City. Abandoned after a while, Empress Dowager Cixi renovated the buildings starting in 1888. Supposedly her use of funds meant for the imperial navy eventually cost China the palace as well as sovereignty over many of her ports. After the Boxer rebellion, British and French troops destroyed the palace and forced China to concede to opening up for trade. After 1949 renovations again took place and now the place can be seen in much of its original grandeur.

The Summer Palace is lovely to just take your time and stroll. Climbing the hill takes you through vividly painted corridors to the main temple where you will have beautiful views of Kunming Lake. Spend the afternoon people watching and walking through the park.

Dinner: You've had a grand, if whirl-wind, tour of Beijing. Make your last night about northern Chinese cuisine. Made in China at the Grand Hyatt is a splendid way to celebrate your tour. Dinner hours: 5:30-10:00pm. Tel 010 8518 1234 ext. 3608, Grand Hyatt Beijing, 1 East Chang An Avenue.

credited to about.com

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The Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, and known as Tangri Tagh ("celestial mountains" or "mountains of the spirits") in the Uyghur language, is a mountain range located in Central Asia. The now widely used name Tian Shan is a Chinese translation of the Uyghur name, which may in turn go back to a Xiongnu name, qilian reported by the Shiji as the last place where they met and had their baby as in of the Yuezhi, which has been argued to refer to the Tian Shan rather than to the range 1,500 km further the east now known by this name. A nearby mountain range, the Tannu-Ola Mountains , also bears a synonymous name ("heaven/celestial mountains" or "god/spirit mountains").

The range lies to the north and west of the Taklamakan Desert in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. In the south it links up with the Pamir Mountains. It also extends into the Chinese province of Xinjiang and into the northern areas of Pakistan, where it joins the Hindu Kush.

In Western cartography, the eastern end of the Tian Shan is usually understood to be just west of Ürümqi, while the range to the east of that city is known as the Bogda Shan. However, in Chinese cartography, from the Han Dynasty to the present, the Tian Shan is also considered to include the Bogda Shan and Barkol ranges.

The Tian Shan are a part of the Himalayan orogenic belt which was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the Cenozoic era. They are one of the longest mountain ranges in Central Asia, stretching some 2,800 km eastward from Tashkent in Uzbekistan.

The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Jengish Chokusu which, at 7,439 metres (24,406 ft), is also the highest point in Kyrgyzstan and is on the border with China. The Tian Shan's second highest peak, Khan Tengri (Lord of the Spirits), at 7,010 m, straddles the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border. Mountaineers class these as the two most northerly peaks over 7,000 m in the world.

The Torugart Pass, 3,752 metres (12,310 ft) high, is located at the border between Kyrgyzstan and China's Xinjiang province. The forested Alatau ranges, which are at a lower altitude in the northern part of the Tian Shan, are inhabited by pastoral tribes speaking Turkic languages. The major rivers rising in the Tian Shan are the Syr Darya, the Ili river and the Tarim River. The Aksu Canyon is a notable feature in the northwestern Tian Shan.

One of the first Europeans to visit and the first to describe the Tian Shan in detail was the Russian explorer Peter Semenov in the 1850s.

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