Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The World's Greatest Building, Structures in Biscuits

Something interesting which I captured on my Sony mobile phone when I was in the shopping mall today. I bet some of you will have seen some of these world's greatest building, structures etc. But something like this? Will you be tempted to take a bite? I have to warn you first, the biscuits used to make all these building, structures etc had been chemically treated and not for consumption.

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London and is sometimes mistakenly called London Bridge, though London Bridge is in fact the next bridge upstream. Tower Bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the Corporation of London. The Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognisable bridges in the World. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge

The Petronas Twin Towers (also known as the Petronas Towers or Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were the world's tallest towers from 1998 to 2004, if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top. Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until the Taipei 101 building, as measured to the top of their structural components (spires, but not antennas). Spires are considered integral parts of the architectural design of buildings, to which changes would substantially change the appearance and design of the building, whereas antennas may be added or removed without such consequences. The Petronas Towers remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas_Twin_Towers

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in approximately 1648. Some dispute surrounds the question of who designed the Taj Mahal; it is clear a team of designers and craftsmen were responsible for the design, with Ustad Ahmad Lahauri considered the most likely candidate as the principal designer.

The Taj Mahal (sometimes called "the Taj") is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. In 1983 the Taj became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. Until Lincoln Cathedral was built in 1300, it was the tallest building in the world. The base is over 13 acres in area.

There is no trace of any hyerogliphics or any markings of any kind on either the pyramids or the sphinx, nor has any treasure ever been found or claimed to have been discovered from the interior of the pyramids. The Sphinx, along with the sprawling sphinx temple, valley temple, and the base of the pyramids, were all built using 200 ton blocks. No one to this day knows how these massive monuments were built, nor can the time period they were first created be verified.

It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the only one of the seven to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians capped the peaks of their pyramids with gold and covered their faces with polished white limestone, though many of the stones used for the purpose have fallen or have been removed for other structures over the millennia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid

The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris, France.

The Parisian landmark is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the most recognized structures in the world. Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, 6,719,200 people visited the tower in 2006 and more than 200,000,000 since its construction. This makes the tower the most visited paid monument in the world per year. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 324 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.

At the time of its construction in 1887, the tower replaced the Washington Monument as the world's tallest structure, a title it retained until 1930, when New York City's Chrysler Building (319 m — 1,047 ft tall) was completed. The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France. The Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (225.11 m — 738.36 ft).

The structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tons. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in), due to thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6-7 cm (2-3 in) in the wind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower

The Great Wall of China (Simplified Chinese: 长城; Traditional Chinese: 長城; literally "Long wall") or (Simplified Chinese: 万里长城; Traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; literally "The long wall of 10,000 Li (里)" is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC, the most famous being the one built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. That wall was much farther north than the current wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, and little of it remains.
The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China


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Sunday, January 28, 2007

Begin in Beijing - Beijing Travel Information

The best way to kick off your Asian travels is in China’s progressive and even tragically hip capital city of Beijing. Traditional relics like the Tiananmen gate stand juxtaposed against the imposing modernist architecture of recent history, most notable in the Dashanzi Art District. The People’s Republic of China has its financial industries mainly in Shanghai and Hong Kong, but Beijing remains the nation’s true cultural and political center.

Orange County Meets Ming Dynasty in Beijing

When many travelers think of Beijing, they imagine the dictatorial atmosphere of Mao Zedong or television images of protesting citizens; however, Beijing has a tremendous history beginning as early as the 1st century BCE and has persevered through Kublai Kahn’s Mongols, Japanese invasion, and the Communist Civil War victory in 1949.

The Forbidden City is a fascinating journey through 500 years of Imperial secrecy. The head of state no longer resides here and the beautiful buildings and breathtaking gardens are open to the public year-round. The entrance to the Forbidden City is the infamous Tiananmen Square and gate, protected by four formidable marble lions. Nearby, the Temple of Heaven is another sublime representation of an era of dynasties and royal architecture. With airfare to Beijing, you also have the extra opportunity to see the Great Wall of China, which is only one and a half hours away by bus.

Although there are hundreds of historical sites in Beijing, the rapidly sprawling metropolis is also overflowing with contemporary wonders and luxuries. The National Zoo houses the largest inland aquarium in the world as well as China’s famous pandas. Next to the Imperial Palace, the Wan Fung Art Gallery provides insight into the artistic transition from regal and traditional to cutting edge contemporary. Most interestingly, the suburban sprawl has witnessed the creation of a $60 million American-inspired community called Orange County, complete with town homes and tract housing.

Chinese Cultural Centrifuge in Beijing

Experience two cultural traditions in one at the Laoshe Tea House where you will be both charmed by Chinese opera and soothed by a variety of traditional teas. For world-class shopping in Beijing, visit Wangfujing, or you can find your way into the many enchanting smaller districts for traditional Chinese shops and boutiques. Beijing is also home to several notable temples like the Miaoying, and even a mosque that was built in 996.

With such dynamic experiences to offer and the immaculate preservation of its past, Beijing is truly an international city and there’s no wonder the cosmopolis has been chosen for the Olympics. Get your airfare to Beijing now or wait for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Asia Beijing, China

About the Author: John Binder, for more information on
Beijing and cheap airfare & flight tickets, go to www.cfares.com.

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