Pingshan Hot Spring

A good time at TAIPINGSHAN and riding the BONG-BONG TRAIN (太平山/蹦蹦車好玩)

We recently went on a two-day trip to the great forest areas of Taipingshan and Qilan in Yilan County. In this video we are at Taipingshan, riding the Bong-Bong Train and going on a forest work.

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Travel in Taiwan Jan./Feb., 2020

By Owain Mckimm

Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area
The Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area (tps.forest.gov.tw; entrance fee: NT$150 Mon-Fri; NT$200 weekends/holidays) is the more bounteous of the two recreation areas in terms of the sheer number of nature trails, hikes, and opportunities for exploring and nature-watching.
In the not-too-distant past, Taipingshan – a 12,000ha expanse of dense forest, much of which is located between 1,500m and 2,500m above sea level – was best known as a logging area. In 1914, the Japanese (who controlled Taiwan as a colony from 1895 to 1945) began operations to harvest the centuries- and sometimes millennia-old cypress trees that grew here. Logging was finally banned in 1982, and you can learn about some of the industry's history at the Taipingshan Visitor Service Station in the recreation area’s main facilities sector.

Climbing the stone stairs to the right of the station brings you to a café and restaurant, the latter serving seven-dish set meals made with fresh local produce for NT$250 per head. At the top of the stairs (lined with Japanese maple trees, whose leaves turn a rich burgundy-red in autumn), you'll find one of the recreation area’s many trails – the Primitive Cypress Forest Trail, an easy 30-minute walk taking you through the intertwining canopies and twisting roots of members of Taiwan's two endemic cypress species (C. obtuse var. formosana and C. formosensis). Beyond this trail is the Chinese Hemlock Nature Trail, a longer and more challenging walk through largely coniferous forest which also contains several broadleaf species such as the Formosan rhododendron, with the viewing platform at the trail’s tail-end providing beautiful views of Taipingshan's breathtaking sea of clouds phenomenon.

Aside from hiking, one of the most popular activities at this recreation area is taking a ride on the Bong-Bong Train – a working relic from the old logging days. Its onomatopoeic name derives from the sound it made as it trundled log-laden along the snaking narrow-gauge rail track to nearby Maoxing Station, a bit higher in the mountains. The trains, now carrying tourists, run hourly from 7:30am until 2:30pm, and tickets cost NT$180 for a return trip. The journey to Maoxing takes roughly 20 minutes, the train twisting and turning along the mountainside through, on many days, dense mist that reveals only ghostly impressions of the forested ridges and slopes that lie beyond.
Arriving at Maoxing Station, you'll have around an hour to explore before the return train, which is plenty of time to make a thorough exploration of the area by walking the Maoxing Reminiscent Trail – a 900m path that follows and encircles the old train tracks. The forest around here once yielded around 3,000 cubic meters of wood per hectare. Today, a dense forest of new-growth cypresses, cedars, and firs exists in place of those felled ancients, whose gigantic stumps loom from within the mist like the ruined towers of some long-lost city.


To soothe your aching legs and tired feet, a highly recommended final stop is the Jiuzhize Hot Springs, situated further down-mountain near the recreation area’s ticket booth. Here, pale-blue alkaline sodium bicarbonate water bubbles from deep beneath the earth at temperatures of up to 140°C, its steam rising in giant white plumes from the boiling wells. The spa has both outdoor pools and private bathhouses, and prices range from NT$150 for access to the outdoor pool in summer to NT$700 for a private two-person bathhouse during winter. If you're peckish, you can rustle up some grub in the cooking area, where eggs and corn purchased in the visitor center shop can be boiled in specially designated springs.

太平山鳩之澤溫泉MVI_7329.MOV {The Taiping Mountain Jiuzhize hot spring} Taiwan

China Yunan Longjiang Bridge_Asia's First Steel Box Suspension Bridge

China Yunan Longjiang Bridge_Asia's First Steel Box Suspension Bridge.
The Long River Bridge or Longjiang Bridge (龙江特大桥) is a suspension bridge near Baoshan, Yunnan, China. The main span of the bridge is 1,196 m (3,924 ft) making it one of the longest ever built.[2][3] The bridge is also one of the highest in world sitting 280 m (920 ft) above the river below. The bridge completed construction in April, 2016, and is expected to open to public on May 1, 2016.
The project cost around 1.96 billion Yuan.

CCTV A Bite of China- Chinese New Year(click cc for Eng Sub)

A Bite of China Celebrating the Chinese New Year
Copyright belongs to CCTV

Train ride from Taipei to Hualien (1/4) - Taiwan 2009

After having married in Taipei on 14th November 2009, Amie and me together with my father went on a trip to Southern Taiwan. Our first destination was Hualien, which we reached in a two hours train ride with Taroko-Express from Taipei.

Shijiazhuang

Shijiazhuang, formerly romanized Shihkiachwang, is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about 263 kilometres southwest of Beijing, and it administers 8 districts, 2 county-level cities, and 12 counties.
At the 2013 census, it had a total population of 12,763,700, with 4,303,700 in the central area comprising the 7 districts and the county of Zhengding largely conurbated with the Shijiazhuang metropolitan area as urbanization continues to proliferate. Shijiazhuang's total population ranked twelfth in mainland China.


This video is targeted to blind users.

Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video

Hebei | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:



00:01:44 1 History
00:07:56 2 Geography
00:09:16 2.1 Climate
00:09:51 3 Administrative divisions
00:10:42 3.1 Urban areas
00:10:51 4 Politics
00:11:25 5 Economy
00:13:09 5.1 Economic and technological development zones
00:13:25 6 Demographics
00:14:44 6.1 Religion
00:16:52 7 Culture
00:18:36 8 Notable individuals
00:19:12 9 Media
00:19:24 10 Transportation
00:21:36 11 Tourism
00:23:56 12 Sports
00:24:30 13 Education
00:27:41 14 See also



Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.

Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain

Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.

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Speaking Rate: 0.9550108284721958
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-B


I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates


SUMMARY
=======
Hebei (河北; alternately Hopeh) is a province of China in the North China region. The modern province was established in 1911 as Chihli Province (Zhili Province). Its capital and largest city is Shijiazhuang. Its one-character abbreviation is 冀 (Jì), named after Ji Province, a Han dynasty province (zhou) that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei literally means north of the river, referring to its location entirely to the north of the Yellow River.The modern province Chili Province was formed in 1911, when the central government dissolved the central governed area of Chihli, which means Directly Ruled (by the Imperial Court) until it was renamed as Hebei in 1928. A common alternate name for Hebei is Yānzhào (燕趙), after the state of Yan and state of Zhao that existed here during the Warring States period of early Chinese history.
Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities, which border each other, were carved out of Hebei. The province borders Liaoning to the northeast, Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, and Shandong to the southeast. Bohai Bay of the Bohai Sea is to the east. A small part of Hebei, Sanhe Exclave, consisting of Sanhe, Dachang Hui Autonomous County, and Xianghe County, an exclave disjointed from the rest of the province, is wedged between the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.
With a population of over 74 million people, Hebei is China's sixth most populous province. The Han majority comprise 96% of the population, followed by a minority of Manchu, Hui and Mongol peoples.

Hebei | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Hebei


00:01:27 1 History
00:07:41 2 Geography
00:08:58 2.1 Climate
00:09:33 3 Administrative divisions
00:10:16 3.1 Urban areas
00:10:25 4 Politics
00:10:58 5 Economy
00:12:41 5.1 Economic and technological development zones
00:12:58 6 Demographics
00:14:17 6.1 Religion
00:16:26 7 Culture
00:18:11 8 Notable individuals
00:18:47 9 Media
00:18:59 10 Transportation
00:21:11 11 Tourism
00:23:32 12 Sports
00:24:06 13 Education
00:27:18 14 See also



Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.

Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain

Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.

You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:


You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:




The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates



SUMMARY
=======
Hebei (河北; formerly romanised as Hopeh) is a province of China in the North China region. The modern province was established in 1911 as Zhili Province or Chihli Province. Its one-character abbreviation is 冀 (Jì), named after Ji Province, a Han dynasty province (zhou) that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei literally means north of the river, referring to its location entirely to the north of the Yellow River.The modern province Chili Province was formed in 1911 after the central government dissolved the central governed area of Chihli, which means Directly Ruled (by the Imperial Court) until it was renamed as Hebei in 1928.
Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities, which border each other, were carved out of Hebei. The province borders Liaoning to the northeast, Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, and Shandong to the southeast. Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea is to the east. A small part of Hebei, Sanhe Exclave, consisting of Sanhe, Dachang Hui Autonomous County, and Xianghe County, an exclave disjointed from the rest of the province, is wedged between the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.
A common alternate name for Hebei is Yānzhào (燕趙), after the state of Yan and state of Zhao that existed here during the Warring States period of early Chinese history.

Shenzhen | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Shenzhen


00:01:48 1 Etymology
00:02:38 2 History
00:03:16 2.1 Nantou
00:05:19 2.2 Market town
00:05:56 2.3 Special Economic Zone
00:08:00 3 Geography
00:09:44 3.1 Climate
00:11:27 4 Cityscape
00:11:36 5 Politics
00:12:13 6 Administrative divisions
00:14:46 7 Economy
00:18:44 7.1 High-Tech Industry
00:19:54 7.1.1 Industrial zones
00:20:59 7.2 Economic cooperation with Hong Kong
00:24:33 7.2.1 Qianhai
00:25:56 8 Demographics
00:29:04 8.1 Metropolitan area
00:29:26 8.2 Languages
00:31:23 8.3 Religion
00:32:18 9 Education
00:32:27 9.1 Colleges and universities
00:33:30 9.2 International schools
00:34:01 10 Transport
00:34:10 10.1 Public transport
00:37:12 10.2 Roads
00:39:00 10.3 Railway
00:41:16 10.4 Air
00:42:14 10.5 Ferries
00:43:29 10.6 Connection with Hong Kong
00:45:04 11 Architecture
00:49:19 12 Parks and recreation
00:49:28 12.1 Parks and gardens
00:52:24 12.2 Theme parks
00:54:02 13 Culture
00:54:38 13.1 Overseas Chinese Town (OCT)
00:55:19 13.2 Beaches
00:55:35 13.3 Museums and exhibition centers
00:56:10 14 Media
00:56:42 15 Sports
00:58:35 16 Sister cities
01:00:43 17 See also



Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.

Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain

Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.

You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:


You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:




The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates



SUMMARY
=======
Shenzhen ([ʂə́n.ʈʂə̂n] (listen)) is a major city in Guangdong Province, China; it forms part of the Pearl River Delta megalopolis north of Hong Kong. It holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than a province.
Shenzhen, which roughly follows the administrative boundaries of Bao'an County, officially became a city in 1979, taking its name from the former county town, whose train station was the last stop on the Mainland Chinese section of the railway between Canton and Kowloon. In 1980, Shenzhen was established as China's first special economic zone. Shenzhen's registered population as of 2017 was estimated at 12,905,000. However, the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee estimates that the population of Shenzhen is about 20 million, due to the large unregistered floating migrant population living in the city. Shenzhen was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world in the 1990s and the 2000s. And has been ranked second on the list of ‘top 10 cities to visit in 2019Shenzhen's cityscape results from its vibrant economy - made possible by rapid foreign investment following the institution of the policy of reform and opening-up in 1979. The city is a leading global technology hub, dubbed by media as the next Silicon Valley.Shenzhen hosts the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous multinational companies such as JXD, Vanke, Hytera, CIMC, Shenzhen Airlines, Nepstar, Hasee, Ping An Bank, Ping An Insurance, China Merchants Bank, Tencent, ZTE, Huawei and BYD. Shenzhen ranks 12th in the 2018 Global Financial Centres Index. It has one of the busiest container ports in the world.

Shenzhen | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:



00:02:33 1 Etymology
00:03:35 2 History
00:04:22 2.1 Nantou
00:06:59 2.2 Market town
00:07:44 2.3 Special Economic Zone
00:10:33 3 Geography
00:12:45 3.1 Climate
00:14:55 4 Cityscape
00:15:04 5 Politics
00:15:43 6 Administrative divisions
00:18:58 7 Economy
00:24:00 7.1 Technology industry
00:25:26 7.1.1 Industrial zones
00:26:47 7.2 Economic cooperation with Hong Kong
00:31:21 7.2.1 Qianhai
00:33:05 8 Demographics
00:36:04 8.1 Historic
00:36:47 8.2 Other Statistics
00:39:14 8.3 Metropolitan area
00:39:40 8.4 Ethnic groups
00:39:49 8.4.1 Koreans
00:42:38 8.5 Languages
00:45:09 8.6 Religion
00:46:17 8.7 Crime
00:48:08 9 Education
00:49:21 9.1 Colleges and universities
00:51:01 10 Transport
00:51:10 10.1 Public transport
00:55:36 10.2 Roads
00:57:55 10.3 Railway
01:00:48 10.4 Air
01:02:00 10.5 Ferries
01:03:36 10.6 Connection with Hong Kong
01:05:27 11 Architecture
01:10:59 12 Parks and recreation
01:11:09 12.1 Parks and gardens
01:14:54 12.2 Theme parks
01:18:23 12.3 Beaches
01:18:59 13 Culture
01:20:51 13.1 Cuisine
01:21:55 13.2 Museums and exhibition centers
01:22:56 13.3 Theaters and concert halls
01:23:21 14 Media
01:24:54 15 Sports
01:27:14 16 Sister cities
01:27:57 17 See also



Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.

Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain

Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.

Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:

Other Wikipedia audio articles at:

Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:

Speaking Rate: 0.8136272377662801
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-D


I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates


SUMMARY
=======
Shenzhen (, Mandarin: [ʂə́n.ʈʂə̂n] (listen)) is a major city in Guangdong Province, China; it forms part of the Pearl River Delta megalopolis, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Huizhou to the northeast, and Dongguan to the northwest. It holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than those of a province.
Shenzhen, which roughly follows the administrative boundaries of Bao'an County, officially became a city in 1979, taking its name from the former county town, whose train station was the last stop on the Mainland Chinese section of the railway between Canton and Kowloon. In 1980, Shenzhen was established as China's first special economic zone. Shenzhen's registered population as of 2017 was estimated at 12,905,000. However, local police and authorities estimate the actual population to be about 20 million, due to large populations of short-term residents, unregistered floating migrants, part-time residents, commuters, visitors, as well as other temporary residents. Shenzhen was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world in the 1990s and the 2000s and has been ranked second on the list of ‘top 10 cities to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet.Shenzhen's cityscape results from its vibrant economy - made possible by rapid foreign investment following the institution of the policy of reform and opening-up in 1979. The city is a leading global technology hub, dubbed by media as the next Silicon Valley.Shenzhen hosts the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous multinational companies such as JXD, Vanke, Hytera, CIMC, SF Express, Shenzhen Airlines, Nepstar, Hasee, Ping An Bank, Ping An Insurance, China Merchants Bank, Tencent, ZTE, Huawei, DJI and BYD. Shenzhen ranks 14th in the 2019 Global Financial Centres Index. It has one of the busiest container ports in the world.