Have you seen the only surviving battleship that served in both World Wars?
I had the opportunity to go on board this battleship in 2010 when I visited the US. It is the BattleshipTEXAS now at San Jacinto in Texas. It is also the nation's first permanent memorial battleship and designated a National Historic Engineering Landmark.
The Battleship TEXAS
Battleship TEXAS is the last of the world's 'dreadnoughts', the big-gun battleships designed and built at the beginning of the 20th century. When she was commissioned in 1914, TEXAS was the most powerful weapon on earth and the most complex product of an industrial nation that was becoming a force in global events. It is the world's only surviving battleship that served in both the World Wars.
TEXAS served in World War I as part of the Battleship Force of the Atlantic Fleet. It participated with the American squadron in manoeuvres in the North Sea against threats from.. the German High Seas Fleet. Although TEXAS did not involve in combat action in World War I, it sailed with the Grand Fleet in November 11, 1918 escorting the German Fleet to Scotland for surrender.
Testing the gun
My Family in front of the ship
In 1925, TEXAS underwent major modifications with new boilers, stronger tripod masts and torpedo blisters for protection against torpedo attack. It emerged from the Norfolk Navy Yard in 1927 as the flagship of the American Fleet. For the next 12 years it streamed the Atlantic and Pacific, representing American Naval Power.
During World War II, TEXAS was an ageing ship, but she remained up-to-date with the addition of radar, fire-control and communication equipment, and new anti-aircraft batteries between 1941 and 1945. The Battleship participated in the invasions of North Africa (November 1942), Normandy (June 1944) and Southern France (August 1944).
During the attack on the port of Cherbourg in France, TEXAS was truck twice by large-calibre enemy's defence guns, the only known casualties in action during the ship's long service. In late 1944, TEXAS provided support for the landing at Iwo Jima and the invasion of Okinawa where for six weeks it bombarded the coast and fired over 2000 rounds of 14-inch ammunition. When it withdrew from Okinawa, it was untouched by the attacks from enemy guns and swarms of suicide planes.
Barber's cabin
At the end of the war, TEXAS carried many prisoners of war from the Philippines to Pearl Harbour, and made three voyages form from Pearl Harbour to California, bringing nearly 5000 troops home from the Pacific.
After her service, Battleship TEXAS was retired to Hawkins Point, Baltimore. The ship was scheduled to be used as a bombing target, but Texas citizens launched a successful statewide fund drive to save her. The US Navy then towed her to Texas to become the nation's first permanent memorial battleship, and she was officially transferred to the state in ceremonies at San Jacinto Battleground on April 21, 1948.
For first timers to the Province of Yunnan in China, the tour itinerary always include cities like Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. At Lijiang, the highlight of the tour is always a visit to the ancient town of Lijiang. This old town is famous for a system of waterways that blend well with the architecture of the township and the surroundings. The ancient town of Lijiang has retained a historic townscape of beautiful houses, waterways and cultures that have come together over many centuries. It is indeed a pleasure to stroll along the streets of Lijiang old town and admire its peaceful and tranquil surroundings.
Waterways of Lijiang
In the 13th century AD the ancestors of the ruling Mu family moved to a new town known as Dayechang (later Dayan), where they began building houses surrounded by a city wall and moat. In the 1250s under the Yuan Emperor Hubilie, Dayechang became an administrative centre. The Lijiang Junmin prefecture was established when the region came under Ming rule in 1382.
Panorama View of Old Town
Streets of Lijiang
The old town of Lijiang is built on a mountain slope running from north-west to south-east, facing a deep river. The northern part of the city was a commercial district. The main streets in this part of the old town radiate from the broad street known as Sifangjie, which has traditionally been the commercial and trading centre of the north-western part of Yunnan Province. On the west side of the Sifangjie is the imposing three-storied Kegongfang (Imperial Examination Archway), which is flanked by the Western and Central rivers.
Lijiang Old Town
The streets in this ancient town are paved with slabs of a fine-grained stones. Water flows from here to the Shuangshi Bridge, where it branches into three tributaries. These subdivide into a network of channels and culverts to supply every house in the town. This water supply is supplemented by many springs and wells within the town itself. A system of waterways of this complexity necessitates a large number of bridges of varying sizes. There are 354 bridges altogether; they take several forms. It is from these structures that Lijiang derives its name, the 'City of Bridges'.
Naxi Minority Dance
Special attention is paid to the decoration of the houses, especially in the arches over gateways, the screen walls, the external corridors, the doors and windows, the courtyards and the roof beams. Wooden elements are elaborately carved with domestic and cultural elements - pottery, musical instruments, flowers, birds, etc. - and gate arches take several elegant forms.
A wooden pagoda built during the Liao Dynasty in the year 1056 AD survived the test of time and today becomes a major tourists' attraction in Ying County of Shanxi Province in China. It is the Pagoda of Fogong Temple (佛宫寺释迦塔) built by Emperor Daozong of Liao (Hongji) at the site of his grandmother's family home.The pagoda, which has survived several large earthquakes throughout the centuries and the Sino-Japanese war, has been given the nickname of the "Muta" ( 木塔 "Timber Pagoda") and is the oldest wooden pagoda in existence in China.
When we visited the Pagoda 2 years ago, we were amazed to find the wooden pagoda still in very good conditions. The pagoda stands on a 4 m tall stone platform, has a 10 m tall steeple, and reaches a total height of 67.31 m tall. The wooden staircases inside the pagoda remained structurally sound and we were able to climb to the top floor without any imminent danger. Ancient builders of the pagoda really got all their sums and designs right as evident from the fact that the structure remains standing elegantly after so many centuries. Even earthquakes and wars did not harm the integrity and soundness of its structure.
The Wooden Pagoda
The pagoda was placed at the centre of the temple ground, which was called Baogong Temple until its name was changed to Fogong in 1315 during the Yuan Dynasty.Although the size of the temple ground was described as being gigantic during the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty (1115–1234), the temple began to decline during the Ming Dynasty.
Complicated joints
One amazing thing about the pagoda is that many different kinds of joints are used in its construction. Between each outer story of the pagoda is a mezzanine layer where the joints are located on the exterior. The pagoda is able to survive so long is because of these unique joints that held the structure together. The tour guide told us that even today carpenters are not able to figure out how this complicated joints work. A ring of columns support the lowest outstretching eaved roof on the base floor, while the pagoda also features interior support columns. A statue of the Buddha Sakyamuni sits prominently in the centre of the first floor of the pagoda. The windows on the eight sides of the pagoda provide views of the countryside, including Mount Heng and the Songgan River. On a clear day, the pagoda can be seen from a distance of 30 km.
There is a famous bridge across the Yangtze River built in the 1960s. This bridge is unique in a way as it was built entirely by the effort of Chinese engineers with the help of local people using own resources at the time when technology was still not advance compared to the western nations and the nation was experiencing a revolution of a different kind, the Cultural Revolution.
During our tour to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing in 2006, we visited this old bridge which is known as the Nanjing Changjiang Great Bridge ( 南京长江大桥), a double-deck road and rail bridge across the Yangtze River in Central China. The bridge was built during the Chinese Cultural Revolution entirely by Chinese engineers and peasants, after the Russians withdrew support and took away the design plans in 1960. The construction of the bridge was completed in 1968. On the sides of the top deck there are statues of soldiers crossing the river. It is the second bridge ever to span the Yangtze River. A highway bridge on the upper floor is 4,589 meters long, 15 meters wide. Four big cars can run shoulder by shoulder on this highway. In addition there is a more than 2-mete wide footway on both sides of the highway. A railway bridge on the lower floor is 6,772 meters long, 14 meters wide. This railway is double-tracked, which means that two trains can run to the opposite directions at the same time. There are 200 cast iron embossments on the balusters on each side of main bridge of the highway bridge. 150 pairs of elegant and purely white magnolia-flower-shape street lamps stand side by side. Every time when nightfall comes, those street lamps will light up at the same time, the scenery is spectacular. The bridge deck provides a good view of the river. It is possible to walk from one side of the bridge to the other.
The Nanjing Changjiang Bridge
Visitors can access the bridge from the Great Bridge Park to the north of Zhongshan Bei Lu. There are elevators taking tourists up to the decks which afford a great view not just of the murky and gargantuan river, but also of the bridge's structure and architecture.
If you live in this part of the world where summer is all year round and the feeling of winter is almost non-existence. Don't worry, if you want to experience the coldness of winter and at the same time enjoy the beautiful scenery of snow-capped mountains and glaciers, there is something here for you. You do not have to endure the long journey to northern Europe or Alaska. You also don't have to climb very high altitude mountains. There is one glacier park not too far from Chendu (4 hours flight from Singapore), in the province of Sichuan in China. It is called Hailuogou National Glacier Forest Park. It is located on the eastern side of Gonggar
Mountain in Luding County of Sichuan
Province. At a height of below 3000 metres, you are able to view the spectacular view of glaciers and frozen water falls.
We did just that in 2007. We visited Hailuoguo glacier park in Sichuan. Altough it was in mid March, there was still plenty of snow and the ground was still very icy. Glaciers in Hailuogou are typical modern marine
glaciers, which are rarely found either in low-latitude places or at low
altitude. Its lowest point is only 2,850 meters above sea level. Glaciers cover 31 square kilometres of the Gully. Classified as Modern Glacier, they came into being 16 million years ago. The Grand Glacier Cascade -- 1,000 meters in height and 1,000 meters in width -- is the only one in the world. Its 6 km glacier tongue penetrates into the virgin forest, forming a rare natural landscape with the blend of glacier and forest.
The spectacular view of glacier of Hailuoguo
The park boasts
many geographic attractions, including ancient glaciers, grand glacier cascade,
virgin forests, wild animals and hot springs, etc.
In front of glacier
Hailuoguo
When we reached the destination, we had to take a cable car up the eastern side of Mount Gonggar. From there we walked for quite a distance on a snow filled mountain track to a confined area where tourists gathered to view Mount Gonggar and its glaciers. The children in the group could not resist the fun of throwing snow balls at each other. Initially the sky was cloudy and misty and the view became very hasty. We thought that we could have come at a wrong time as the whole place was so foggy that could hardly see anything. As we waited in anxiety, suddenly the mist began to clear. After a couple of minutes, the full view of the snow-capped mountain appeared before our eyes. And then amidst the snow-filled mountain, the long anticipated glacier finally appeared. We could hear the crowd roared at the view of the glacier. We were all stunned at such awesome view. Without delay, you could see tourists running here and there, busily clicking away on their cameras to capture the scenery. This time lady luck was really on our side, we could see the full view of the glacier and it was so close to us that we felt we could almost touch it.
The Grand Glacier Cascade, with a drop of 1,080 meters,
is made up of numerous ice cubes. Looking like the milky way descending from
heaven, it sends out brilliant rays in the sunshine.
Outdoor hot springs
Snow-capped mountain
Beyond the
cascade there is a snow basin -- the source of the glacier. When the frozen
water accumulates to a certain amount and the surplus ice and snow need to find
a way out, there will be an avalanche. So, for safety’s case, the snow basin can
only be seen from afar, which is a pity for such a unique attraction. Moreover,
the glacier fall may collapse at any time, too. During spring and summer, the
dynamic seasons for glaciers, over 1,000 avalanches may happen in a day. In one
such collapse, the falling ice can reach 1 million cubic meters.
The mist slowly clearing
Initially, the view is misty
Since the vista
is several kilometres from the Grand Glacier Cascade, tourists do not need to
worry about harms from even the biggest avalanche.
Another special attraction of Hailuoguo is its hot
springs hidden either in virgin forests or under the cover of snow and ice. The
most noted ones are at No.1 and No. 2 campsites.
In No.2
Campsite, hot springs gush out from rock cracks year round, with a daily flow of
8,900 tons. Water temperature at the mouth can reach a temperature of 90 °C. The hot springs gush into a small pond, from where they drop down
along a cliff to form a waterfall of eight meters wide and 10 meters high. The
spring water is believed to be effective in curing diabetes, neuralgia,
arthritis and gastroenteritis. Nearby, a swimming pool has been built in the
open air for tourists’ convenience. There are also a
big swimming pool and small-scale bathrooms in No.1 Campsite. The famous Gonggar
Miraculous Fount is located at 1,600 meters above sea level, where travellers
don’t need to worry about altitude sickness. Still, most of the visitors favour
hot springs in No.2 Campsite because they are rustic, with more natural taste.
The experience of immersing yourself in hot springs during winter was beyond imagination. On one hand your upper body was feeling the freezing cold temperature of the open. On the other hand your lower body was feeling the heat of over 40 °C of the pool temperature from the hot springs. As long as you were in the pool, it was sheer relaxation as the heat from the water kept you wanting for more. But when you got up and left the pool, the extreme coldness of the winter air would make you shiver from inside. Hence, once we had enough of the hot springs, we had to rush to the changing room before catching the cold.
Apart from snow-capped mountains, glaciers and hot springs, this region has huge virgin forests
covering an area of 70 square km. The forests boast 4,800 species of plant, including fir, wild sweet-scented
osmanthu, wild rhododendron, ginkgo, algum, magnolia, single-leafed grass, and
such medicinal herbs as Chinese caterpillar fungus, caladium, pseudo-ginseng and
tuber of elevated gastrodis.The legendary
place is also home to over 400 kinds of wild animals, including 28 endangered
species under state protection. While roaming through the area, tourists may
luckily encounter animals such as blue sheep, macaques, or even pandas and
sunbirds.
Fancy owning a villa in the Lushan 庐山 region of Jiangxi Province in China?
If you live in this region in the late 1800s, the answer is probably yes; if you have enough cash.
In 1895 a European missionary and opportunist businessman, Edward Selby Little, secured the lease of a big parcel of land along the valley of Mount Lushan from the Qing government for a period of 999 years through a combination of bluff, bribery and persuasion. He then divided this huge land parcel into smaller plots of land and sold them to prospectice buyers at a price of 300 yuan per plot. These plots of land were subsequently snapped up by wealthy Westerners who then built villas for residence purposes. Edward Selby Little gave this new place a name Kuling with an implication of "cooling" for the Western settlers. He also built a 12 mile track up the mountain that wound through tea plantations. A British family ran the general store and the Fairy Glen Hotel.
There were reasons behind the popularity of this site for building villas among the rich. A great number of Westerners came to the Mt.Lushan area during the period from the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) to the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908). There they engaged in business, missionary work, cultural and educational work, scientific research, and the operation of hospitals. Mt Lushan is an ideal retreat from the heat of summer for the western expatriates based there. The middle and lower portions of the Yangtze river plains get extremely hot in summer and European settlers from Shanghai to Nanjing were literally getting hot under the collar. Because of its mild summers, the mountain town of Lushan is often referred to as 'Nature's Air Cooler'. Many Westereners used to spend the summer months in the mountains to avoid the heat of nearby cities. This explained why when the plots of land offered by Edward Selby Little were quickly snapped up by the rich for building summer villas. The opportunist busnessman made a huge fortune from the land he leased from the Qing government.
Splendid architecture of a villa in Kuling
Western style architecture
The son of a London banker opened the Journey's End Inn on the lower slopes and is reputed to have equipped the rooms with both bibles and volumes of French pornography.
By the 1920s, Lushan was already home to more than 800 villas representing the architectural styles of 20 nations, including the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. The western-style villas left by Edward Selby Little and his followers used to be Lushan's most precious attractions.
European Villa
The most famous of the houses built there is Meilu Villa, which in its time was the residence of both Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek, the former leader of Kuomintang and later 'founder' of Taiwan.
“Meilu” was constructed in 1903 by a British madame, and later presented by her as a gift, to her friend Soong Mei-ling, wife of Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the then central government.
Kuling was handed back to China by the British in 1935 but by then Edward Selby Little had long since departed.
Inside a church in Kuling
Lushan ( 庐山) situated in the northern part of Jiangxi province in southeastern China, and is one of the most renowned mountains in the country. The oval-shaped mountains are about 25 km long and 10 km wide, and neighbours Jiujiang city and the Yangtze River to the north, Nanchang city to the south, and Poyang Lake to the east. Its highest point is Dahanyang Peak (大汉阳峰), reaching 1,474 metres above sea level, and is one of the hundreds of steep peaks that towers above a sea of clouds that encompass the mountains for almost 200 days out of the year. Mount Lu is known for its grandeur, steepness, and beauty, and is part of Lushan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, and a prominent tourist attraction, especially during the summer months when the weather is cooler.
Lushan
Prior to 1949, Lushan was a frequent training area for the nationalist Kuomintang army. The then President of China, Chiang Kai-Shek often visited Lushan whilst on vacation. It was here that in 1946 the U.S. special diplomatic mission representing the President of the United States led by General George C. Marshall met with Chiang Kai-Shek to discuss the role of post-WWII China. After the communist revolution in China in 1949, it became famous as a favoured meeting place for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Have you been to the residence of the world's most corrupt official?
In Beijing, you will find one such residence. We had seen how grand and spacious the palace-like residence was when we were at Beijing a few years ago. The residence with its interior decor was built according to imperial designs. This residence belongs to Heshen 和珅, a high ranking official of the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Qianlong Emperor. The residence was later given to Prince Gong after Heshen was found guilty and executed for crimes against the Emperor. If you know the wealth this man had amassed while in power, you would agree that he was the world's most corrupt official. His total property was estimated at around 1,100 million taels of silver, an amount equivalent to the revenue of the Qing government for 15 years. Even his chief butler, Liu Quan, amassed treasures of 240,000 taels of silver, land and properties.
The residence of Heshen
Heshen 和珅 was born the son of a Manchu military officer and was selected to go to the most privileged school for Manchu aristocratic boys. He was an excellent student, knowing several languages besides Mandarin and Manchu. In 1772, he began working in the Imperial Palace as a bodyguard stationed at the gates to the Forbidden City. At the age of 25, Heshen found favour in the eyes of Qianlong Emperor. Within a year, he was promoted to vice-president of the Ministry of Revenue, and two months later was made a Grand Councillor. As Emperor Qianlong liked him very much, within three months, he was promoted even further to a minister of the Imperial Household Department, a post usually filled with the most meritorious officials. In 1777, at the age of 27, Heshen was given the privilege of riding a horse within the Forbidden City, a prestigious privilege given only to high-ranking officials of elderly age. It was not long before Heshen was given control of both the Ministry of Revenue and the Civil Council, allowing him to control the revenue of the entire empire, and appoint his own henchmen to important posts within the officials. Heshen's relation to Qianlong Emperor was further strengthened when his son was married to the emperor's tenth and favourite daughter in 1790 .
On securing Qianlong Emperor's favour, Heshen enjoyed almost complete freedom of his actions. He became openly corrupt and practiced extortion on a grand scale. His supporters within the imperial court followed his lead, and his military associates prolonged military campaigns just to receive additional state funds. He regularly stole public funds, taxes and even tributes meant for the emperor. It was not until Qianlong's death on 7 February 1799 that his successor, the Jiaqing Emperor, was able to hatch a plot to arrest and prosecute Heshen. On February 12 (5 days after the death of Emperor Qianlong), Heshen was arrested along with military officer Fuchang'an (福長安) while conducting funeral rituals for Qianlong Emperor. Declared guilty by an imperial edict, he was condemned to death by slow slicing (a punishment by slowly slicing off fresh from the body of the condemned prisoner in public until he died). As he was connected to the imperial family through marriage, Jiaqing Emperor eventually spared Heshen this horrible death, and instead ordered him to commit suicide (by hanging himself with a rope of golden silk) in his home on 22 February, sparing his family members.
The building that Heshen kept his treassures
The scale of Heshen's corruption came to light when Qianlong Emperor abdicated in February 1796 with the full damage of the corruption finally realised. However, Qianlong continued to rule China behind the scenes under the grand title of Taishang Huang (Retired Emperor) and Jiaqing Emperor was unable to bring Heshen to justice. From the 24 years that Heshen caught the Qianlong Emperor's attention and favour, he had amassed an incredible fortune.
When Jiaqing Emperor confiscated Heshen's property after his execution, his assets included: 3,000 rooms in his estates and mansions, 8,000 acres (32 km²) of land, 42 bank branches, 75 pawnbroker branches, 60,000 taels of copper alloyed gold, 100 large ingots of pure gold, (1,000 taels each), 56,600 medium silver ingots, (100 taels each), 9,000,000 small silver ingots, (10 taels each), 58,000 pounds of foreign currency, 1,500,000 copper coins, 600 lb of top-quality Jilin ginseng, 1,200 jade charms, 230 pearl bracelets (each pearl comparable in size to large cherries or longans), 10 large pearls (each the size of apricots), 10 large ruby crystals, 40 large sapphire crystals, 40 tablefuls of solid-silver eating utensils, (serves 10 per table), 40 tablefuls of solid-gold eating utensils, (serves 10 per table), 11 coral rocks (each over a metre in height), 14,300 bolts of fine silk, 20,000 sheets of fine sheep-fur wool, 550 fox hides, 850 raccoon dog hides, 56,000 sheep and cattle hides of varying thickness, 7,000 sets of fine clothing (for all four seasons), 361,000 bronze and tin vases and vessels, 100,000 porcelain vessels made by famous masters, 24 highly decorative solid-gold beds (each with eight different types of inlaid gemstones), 460 top-quality European clocks, 606 servants, 600 women in his harem. There was a saying among the locals: the downfall of Heshen indeed brought good fortune to Jiaqing.To date there are 2 drama series produced by CCTV of China on the life of Heshen and also many books published on his life story.
The assets he amassed were incredible, no wonder he was considered the world's most corrupt official. What a pity, he was not able to enjoy any of the wealth he accumulated, besides bringing shame to his family and death to himself.
