Let's go to Japan! Okinawa(3) Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

After going to Shuri Castle,Okinawa World and Peace Memorial Park, it become the last day i stayed in Okinawa and this will be the last post of the Okinawa series. Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is loacated in Ocean Expo Park. Since I ran out of time, I only went through part of the Ocean Expo which is the Aquarium. It was built in 1975 for the Ocean Expo. It built along the coast which is about 3 kilometers long. It has shuttle buses operate around the park. There are more than 650 species of fish in the Aquarium with 3 massive whale sharks.

 

The Kuroshio Tank is the 2nd largest tank in Asia.
From this photo you may get the feeling of how big is the tank is:

There is a Okichan theater in the park has Dophin performance every day at 11am.

 

This pretty animal call Manatees. She is so cute!!! she actually would cover her face when see us putting up the camera at her.

 Nevertheless, there is a experience tank letting out to have a feeling of the starfishes. It feels a bit funny, you can tell by me and my sister's face.

Finally, My Okinawa trip has finished. The next destination I will talk about is Okinawa which is a Modern, Active, Sexy city which is totally different to Okinawa.





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Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 7pm(depends on the season)
Entrance fee: 1,800yen per adult




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Taipei City - The capital of Taiwan

Taipei City is the capital and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean. Another coastal city, Tamsui, is about 20 km northwest at the river's mouth on the Taiwan Strait. It lies in the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border. The city proper (Taipei City) is home to an estimated 2,618,772 people. Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung together form the Taipei metropolitan area with a population of 6,900,273. However, they are administered under different local governing bodies. "Taipei" sometimes refers to the whole metropolitan area, while "Taipei City" refers to the city proper. Taipei City proper is surrounded on all sides by New Taipei.

Taipei 101 Mall gathers the world top brands to create a high-end shopping experience.

Yangmingshan National Park is located in the north of Beitou. Yangmingshan was called Caoshan (Grass Mountain) during Japanese occupation of Taiwan, because it was covered with grass and seldom visited. After World War II, the KMT government renamed the mountain Yangmingshan and built a park here. Yangmingshan National Park is the only park in Taiwan that has volcanic geography and hot springs. It is next to Shamao Mountain and Qixing Mountain with Datun Mountain on the right and Guanyin Mountain in front. The magnificent mountainous scenery and comfortable weather have made Yangmingshan National Park a perfect summer resort. Total area of the park is 125 hectares, designed in traditional Chinese style. The natural beauty of the part has won it the reputation as urban forest and the Taipei garden.

The Miramar Entertainment Park is a new-age shopping and entertainment complex built with the idea of offering enough consumption and entertainment options to keep visitors occupied for a full-day stay. The most striking feature of this park, which was opened only at the end of 2004, is a 95-meter-high, 70-meter-in-diameter Ferris wheel that light up at night to add a strong touch of romance to the Taipei skyline.

Beitou hot springs region refers to an area covering the Hell Valley, Longfeng, Fenghuang, Hushan Village and Xingyi Road. In a narrow sense, the region mainly refers to an area consisting of Zhongshan Road, Guangming Road, Xinmin Road and Quanyuan Road surrounding the Beitou Hot Springs Waterside Park. The hot springs hotels in this area are larger both in scale and number, and the natural and humanities resources are also the most plentiful here.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is located in the heart of Taipei City. The area is 250,000 square meters and it is the attraction most visited by foreign tourists. Outside the gate of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, there are poles carrying the sign of true rightness. The architecture of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is inspired by Tiantan in Beijing. The four sides of the structure are similar to those of the pyramids in Egypt. The material is white marble. The roofs are decorated with deep-blue glass as part of the reflection of blue sky and bright sun. It adds a touch of grandeur. The garden is planted with red flowers. As a whole, the colors of blue, white and red express the National Flag and the spirit of freedom, equality and brotherhood.

Shilin Night Market is the one of the largest night markets in Taipei. The market is centered on Yangming Theater and Cicheng Temple. The night market is formed by many prosperous shops on Wenlin Road, Dadong Road and Danan Road, etc. Among them, Shilin Market was built as early as in 1899 and the market is famous for various snacks and eatery. Many visitors have come to Shilin Night Market to enjoy the delicious foods, such as large pancake enfolding small pancake, hot pot on stone or Shilin sausage. Shilin Night Market has become a renowned place for great foods.

Malysia

Malysia is located in the southeast of Asia.

It is a multinational countries.

Let's start with Malysia and introduce some place of interest and the place you must visit.



 This the Nation Mosque.

The biggest Mosque in southeast Asia. It is built on the water, very amazing!

Imperial Palace

very southeast style atchitecture and heavily fortified.

 The most famous building in Kuala Lumpur, Malasia

The tallest building in Asia 5 years ago.

Indipendence Square

It was built in 1975 to celabrate Malysia broke away from British domination.

The Red House

Because Malasia had been established a coloni by Hollands in 17th centry, therefore, some buildings in here are full of Ducth style.

Very beautiful place.

This is a Idian temple.

when you come to Malysia, remenber to try the durian ice cream, very delicious!!

The cover of the soft drinks are very cute! cannot withhold to buy one.

Edit by SiSi.

Let's go to Japan! Okinawa(2) - Peace Memorial Park, Okinawa World

Peace Memorial Park

The 2nd place i went in Okinawa is Peace Memorial Park. It is built upon the final fighting of the battle of Okinawa. This park is in tribute to the hundreds of thousands who died in the "typhoon of steel" and includes the names of 1200 Americans who perished in the last great battle of WW2.

Okinawa Park

If you think the paece Memorial Park is boring.. (actually i think is boring too.. lol)
Then this Okinawa World i bet it won't bored you at all.
It is a theme park built for tourist to have fun in the park by showing Okinawa's culture and nature.

 this is me and my sister. The two lion/tiger decoration at the back are call "shisa". It is a traditional Ryukyuan decoration, often in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog. You can see them all around Okinawa.

The most attractable activity to do in this park is Gyokusendo Cave. It has beaultiful and eye catching stalactites in the cave.

 If you want to go into the cave. You got to beware the temperature will be keep in 20+ degrees with a very high humdity inside the cave. Wearing a non-slippery shoes would be a good idea.

 Also it has Kingdom Village. Everyday at 11:00am, it has traditional cultrural performance. It is a must-see show.

 Other then performance and stalactites, It also have wineyard demostrate how they make "snake wine". Also you can buy it if you are brave enough to drink.

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Okinawa World
opening time: April - October 9:00 - 18:30, November - March 9:00 - 18:00
Ticket: Gyukusendo Cave & Kingdom Village: Adult 1,200yen, Children 600 yen
address: 1336 Tamagusuku Maekawa, Nanjo city, Okinawa 901-0616
Contact phone number: 098-949-7421

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Kaohsiung - The second largest city in Taiwan

Kaohsiung is the 2nd largest Taiwan city that is also commonly known as “Gandu”, meaning harbour city. Kaohsiung is a prosperous city, which is highly industrialised and commercialised.

Visitors may explore this beautiful southern Taiwan city in short KRT rides, including the Dome of Light at the KRT Formosa Boulevard Station, Sizih Bay(Sizhiwan) at the KRT Sizihwan Station, Heart of Love River at KRT Houyi Station, and Love River at the KRT City Council Station. Travelers may also take KRT to KRT Kaohsiung International Airport Station to connect to other Taiwan cities and countries, KRT Zuoying Station for high speed rail and KRT Formosa Boulevard for entrain to other Taiwan destinations.

Tuntex Sky Tower is the tallest skyscraper in Kaohsiung and it was the tallest skyscraper in Taiwan until the Taipei 101 replaced its title. With high speed elevators for the 85 floors, the Tuntex Sky Tower is a multifunctional building with offices, residential apartments, department store, hotel (Grand Formosa Hotel), and an observation deck. From the observation deck, views of the Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung harbor can be seen. It is also an ideal place to watch the sunset in Kaohsiung.

KMRT O5/R10 Formosa Boulevard Station is located at the intersection of Jhongjheng Road and Jhongshan Road. It is also called the “heart of Kaohsiung MAss Rapid Transit (KMRT)” because it is the transport station of red line and orange line. This station is currently the largest round-shaped station in the world. The main exits with shell-shape were designed by a Japanese architect, Shin Takamatsu. It is a remembrance of the Formosa Incident.

In the recent post by a well-known travel website “BootsnAll”, Taiwan’s Kaohsiung MRT system gained 2 placings in the top 15 most beautiful train stations in the world. Formosa Boulevard Station is place 2nd in the list, being one of the busiest stations along Kaohsiung MRT system, it is certainly the most beautiful one.

Dome of Light is featured on the upper part of the Formosa Boulevard station, is known as the biggest public art installation all over the world. The author Narcissus Quagliata puts together the dome in a little less than four years, which including shipping art pieces of colored glass directly from Germany. The amazing art piece spans a 30-meter diameter, as visitors walk around, views of story of human life, transitioning from the section that represents water, the womb of life, to earth, which embodies the act of growing and prospering are to be seen. There are also sections on light and fire, the latter representing on the one hand destruction and on the latter rebirth. The main message that pervades the dome, however, is one of love and tolerance.

Sizih Bay (Sizihwan) is located on the west of Kaohsiung City. Situated between Wanshou Shan and Chichin Island, Sizih Bay is a sandy beach and with beautiful coral formations on the coastlines, offering magnificent views of the nature.

The most famous feature of Sizih Bay (Sizihwan) is its swimming beach. In the summer, the swimming beach is full of activities where sunbathers and volleyball players saturate the area. The beach is also known for its glistening blue water, gorgeous sunset, and natural coral reefs. As the coconut trees shuffle in the light ocean breeze and the white beach sand tickle the toes of beach-lovers, a tropical paradise is created at Sizih Bay. When the night approaches, the sunset appears. The sunset at Sizih Bay (Sizihwan) is acknowledged as one of the eight famous scenes of Kaohsiung. The beautiful glow of sunset extends into the water and sky where couples may enjoy romantic walks accompanied by the soothing sounds of the thrashing waves.

Love River is a twelve-kilometer long river that features beautiful river sceneries and coffee shops along the riverbanks. With great efforts of eliminating pollutions and smells, the river has restored its beauty thus become a popular Kaohsiung tourist spot.

In the evening, the Love River is decorated with neon lights, as well as the lights projecting on city structures that reflect upon the calm river forming a vivid and colorful river view. It is one of the most popular places in Kaohsiung that couples are fond of, they may stroll along the riverbanks to enjoy a romantic Kaohsiung travel. Other than appreciating joyful sceneries by the riverside, visitors may also enjoy cruising at the Love River in the evenings for a unique experience exploring the charms of Kaohsiung City surrounded by glittering neon lights and pleasant environment. As one of the landmarks of Kaohsiung, the Love River has similarities in roles of River Thames of London.

Heart of Love River is also a new landmark in Kaohsiung. It is also the terminal of the love boat travelling route. It is an artificial lake, which is divided into two parts: East and West. It is an ideal place for you to find a variety of plants and plankton. Also, the river is very close to the most prosperous downtown street, which is a good place for visitors to experience local culture. You can enjoy the natural beauty as well as the colorful city life, especially in the romantic night.

Cijin Wind-power Park is the first location in Kaohsiung City and Taiwan that combines tourism, leisure and nvironmental friendliness. The Park's energy is generated 100% by wind-power.

The park is situated on 7.5 hectares and has seven, tri-blade, wind turbines of a unique design.

The power generated is sufficient to provide the park with four hours of illumination at night. The park has hundreds of coastal plants as well as wide expanses of lawn so visitors can enjoy nature, picnics or fly kites. In front of the turbines, there is also a viewing platform and a performance square where artistic events are held.

Liouhe Night Market covers the area of Zhongshan Rd to Zili Rd, which is close to the Kaohsiung Railway Station and KRT Formosa Boulevard Station.

Here at the Liouhe Night Market, you are provided with a variety of street food, local flavor snacks and fresh seafood. You may find mouthwatering delicacies along both sides of the road. Providing all visitors a safe and convenient night market travel, the area of Liouhe Night Market is restricted from vehicles to enter in the evening. The popular delicacies of Liouhe Night Market are Zheng’s papaya milk, congee, BBQ, seafood, steak, etc.



Edited by Carol ;)

Beijing----the capital of China

Beijing is the capital of China and the political, economic, cultural center of China.

It is located in the northern plain in China. Beijing has the history of over 3000 years, and has been the capital of China for over 800 years.

As you can see from the map, it is a very well organised city. It is structured in a square shape and the most important government offices are in the centre of Beijing.

As I mention above, Beijing has been the capital from 800 years ago, therefore, all the important historical builings for the ancient royal family were built along the 'Axile Wire' in Beijing. And Chinese called it 'Long Mai' (Dragon Vein), that means it is the most important location in Beijing even China, which involed the  theory of 'fengshui'.

The Forbidden City (Impirial Palace), drum-tower, bell-tower, the national grand theater, Temple of Heaven, Olympic Park (Bird's Nest & the Water Cube) ect. are all located on the 'Long Mai'.

Let's start our journey from going along the 'Long Mai'.

 Forbidden City: located in the centre of Beijing, total 720,000 square metre.

This is the north gate of Foridden City, red wall and yellow root, very traditional architecture of royal family, because only the royal family can use bright yelloy color.

It is very Magnificent and very beautiful ancient China's architecture. The buildings and the design are the fruit of labour and culture. When I was walking in here, I could event feel the footfrint of ancient people.

The building behind is the main entrance of Forbidden City, and nowadays, it is called 'Tian An Men'. And the street behind is Chang An Street, which is the longgest and widdest street in the world.

This was the place where the King dicussed national and political issues with officers. 

Bell-tower: used to report time to the people in beijing

It is a Chinese clock which counted the time used the techonogy of water and machenic. It used to be very accurate, but unfortunately the Eight-Nation Allied Army destroyed it when they progress againt China about 100 years ago.

This is the Drum-tower, just located in the oppersite side of bell-tower, because they are related. When the Chinese New Year eve comes, the drums will be hit in the drum-tower to report a new year according to the accurate time reported by bell-tower.

Temple of Heaven: It was used for the royal family to pray for the nation's peace and stabllise.

In ancient, only the King could hold the ceremony.

The Olympic Park: 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

This is the main stadium: Bird's Nest.

Let's go inside.

Red is the main color in China, as it represent luck, fortune and happyness.

★Recommendations by SISI★

This is a very famous business street in Beijing. The map of it looks like a pine, so it is called 'Yandai Byway'.

 The shops in this byway sell so many traditionaly Chinses staffs.

It is worth to come here to have a look and buy some souveniers.

famous Beijing opera's facial make up toys

Dongzhimen Street: it has been a business street since Qing Dynasty.

you can also find some instresting Chinese staffs in here.

★Tips for travell★

1. The rushhour's traffic in Beijing is very mass so that try to avoid the rushhour to transform from different places.

2. The weather in beijing is very dry. drink more water and get a hand balm with you.

3. If you travell to Beijing in wintter, you may properlly see the snow. It is very georgous to visit the Forbidden City with snow.

Edit by SiSi (sijie song)