At least 23 people are reported to have died when a makeshift church building collapsed in eastern Nepal.

At least another 60 people were injured in the incident, in the town of Dharan, about 400km (240 miles) south-east of the capital, Kathmandu.

Police official Arjun Khadka told the AP news agency the victims had been staying in the building while they attended a Christian conference.

Nepal's home ministry said a temporary wall had collapsed on them.

Ministry spokesman Ekmani Nepal told the AFP news agency 23 people had been killed instantly and around 60 were injured.

Some of the victims are believed to have been children.

Police inspector Mohan Bikram Dahal told AFP the victims were on the ground floor of the temporary building preparing to go to sleep when the collapse happened.

"The wall was made of bamboo and it could not withstand the weight of the people in the church," he said.

More than 1,500 people are thought to have been inside the building at the time.

One day a peasant took his good hazel stick out of the corner and said to his wife, "Trina, I am going across country, and shall not return for three days. If during that time the cattle dealer should happen to call and want to buy our three cows, you may strike a bargain at once, but not unless you can get two hundred talers for them, nothing less, do you hear."

¡¡¡¡"In God's name, just go in peace," answered the woman, "I will manage that."

¡¡¡¡"You, indeed," said the man. "You once fell on your head when you were a little child, and that affects you even now. But let me tell you this, if you do anything foolish, I will make your back black and blue, and not with paint, I assure you, but with the stick which I have in my hand. And the coloring shall last a whole year. You may rely on that." Having said that, the man went on his way.

¡¡¡¡The next morning the cattle dealer came, and the woman had no need to say many words to him. When he had seen the cows and heard the price, he said, "I am quite willing to give that. Honestly speaking, they are worth it. I will take the animals away with me at once."

¡¡¡¡He unfastened their chains and drove them out of the stall, but just as he was going out of the farmyard gate, the woman clutched him by the sleeve and said, "You must give me the two hundred talers now, or I cannot let the cows go."

¡¡¡¡"Right," answered the man, "but I have forgotten to buckle on my money belt. Have no fear, however, you shall have security until I pay. I will take two cows with me and leave one, so you will have good collateral."

¡¡¡¡The woman saw the wisdom of this, and let the man go away with the cows, and thought to herself, "How pleased Hans will be when he finds how cleverly I have managed."

¡¡¡¡The peasant came home on the third day as he had said he would, and at once inquired if the cows were sold. "Yes, indeed, dear Hans," answered the woman, "and as you said, for two hundred talers. They are scarcely worth so much, but the man took them without making any objection."

¡¡¡¡"Where is the money?" asked the peasant. "Oh, I have not got the money," replied the woman. "He had happened to forget his money belt, but he will soon bring it, and he left good security behind him."

¡¡¡¡"What kind of security?" asked the man.

¡¡¡¡"One of the three cows, which he shall not have until he has paid for the other two. I have managed very cunningly, for I have kept the smallest, which eats the least."

¡¡¡¡The man was enraged and lifted up his stick, and was just going to give her the beating he had promised her, when suddenly he lowered the stick and said, "You are the stupidest goose that ever waddled on God's earth, but I am sorry for you. I will go out into the highway and wait for three days to see if I find anyone who is still stupider than you. If I succeed in doing so, you shall go free, but if I do not find him, you shall receive your well-deserved reward without any discount."

¡¡¡¡He went out into the great highway, sat down on a stone, and waited for what would come along. Then he saw a farm wagon coming towards him, and a woman was standing upright in the middle of it, instead of sitting on the bundle of straw which was lying beside her, or walking near the oxen and leading them.

¡¡¡¡The man thought to himself, "That is certainly one of the kind I am in search of," and jumped up and ran back and forth in front of the wagon like one who is not in his right mind.

¡¡¡¡"What do you want, my friend?" said the woman to him. "I don't know you, where do you come from?"

¡¡¡¡"I have fallen down from heaven," replied the man, "and don't know how to get back again. Couldn't you drive me up?"

¡¡¡¡"No," said the woman, "I don't know the way. But if you come from heaven you can surely tell me how my husband is, who has been there these three years. You must have seen him."

¡¡¡¡"Oh, yes, I have seen him, but not everyone can get on well. He herds sheep, and these creatures give him a great deal to do. They run up the mountains and lose their way in the wilderness, and he has to run after them and drive them together again. His clothes are all torn to pieces too, and will soon fall off his body. There is no tailor there, for Saint Peter won't let any of them in, as you know by the story."

¡¡¡¡"Who would have thought it?" cried the woman. "I tell you what. I will fetch his Sunday coat which is still hanging at home in the cupboard. He can wear that and look respectable. You will be so kind as to take it with you."

¡¡¡¡"That won't be possible," answered the peasant. "People are not allowed to take clothes into heaven. They are taken away at the gate."

¡¡¡¡"Then listen to me," said the woman. "I sold my good wheat yesterday and got a lot of money for it. I will send that to him. If you hide the purse in your pocket, no one will know that you have it."

¡¡¡¡"If you can't manage it any other way," said the peasant, "I will do you that favor."

¡¡¡¡"Just sit still where you are," said she, "and I will drive home and fetch the purse. I shall soon be back again. I do not sit down on the bundle of straw, but stand up in the wagon, because it makes it lighter for the cattle."

¡¡¡¡She drove her oxen away, and the peasant thought, "That woman has a perfect talent for folly. If she really brings the money, my wife may think herself fortunate, for she will get no beating."

¡¡¡¡It was not long before she came in a great hurry with the money, and with her own hands put it in his pocket. Before she went away, she thanked him again a thousand times for his courtesy.

¡¡¡¡When the woman got home again, she found her son who had come in from the field. She told him what unexpected things had befallen her, and then added, "I am truly delighted at having found an opportunity of sending something to my poor husband. Who would ever have imagined that he could be suffering for want of anything up in heaven?"

¡¡¡¡The son was full of astonishment. "Mother," said he, it is not every day that a man comes from heaven in this way. I will go out immediately, and see if he is still to be found, he must tell me what it is like up there, and how the work is done.

¡¡¡¡He saddled the horse and rode off with all speed. He found the peasant who was sitting under a willow tree, and was about to count the money in the purse. "Have you seen the man who has come from heaven?" cried the youth to him.

¡¡¡¡"Yes," answered the peasant, "he has set out on his way back there, and has gone up that hill, from whence it will be rather nearer. You could still catch him up, if you ride fast."

¡¡¡¡"Alas," said the youth, "I have been doing tiring work all day, and the ride here has completely worn me out. You know the man. Be so kind as to get on my horse, and go and persuade him to come here."

¡¡¡¡"Aha," thought the peasant. "Here is another who has no wick in his lamp."

¡¡¡¡"Why should I not do you this favor?" said he, and mounted the horse and rode off at a quick trot. The youth remained sitting there until night fell, but the peasant never came back.

¡¡¡¡"The man from heaven must certainly have been in a great hurry, and would not turn back," thought he, "and the peasant has no doubt given him the horse to take to my father." He went home and told his mother what had happened, and that he had sent his father the horse so that he might not have to be always running about.

¡¡¡¡"You have done well," answered she. "You still have young legs and can go on foot."
¡¡¡¡When the peasant got home, he put the horse in the stable beside the cow which had been left as security, and then went to his wife and said, "Trina, as your luck would have it, I have found two who are still more stupid fools than you. This time you escape without a beating. I will store it up for another occasion."

¡¡¡¡Then he lighted his pipe, sat down in his grandfather's chair, and said, "It was a good stroke of business to get a sleek horse and a great purse full of money into the bargain, for two lean cows. If stupidity always brought in as much as that, I would be quite willing to hold it in honor."

¡¡¡¡So thought the peasant, but you no doubt prefer the simpletons.

A Chinese university said Tuesday it had started to build the world's largest quake simulator, a week after the first anniversary of the deadly earthquake in southwest China.

It will be used to accurately test the designs of bridges, tunnels, subways, stadiums and skyscrapers, Shanghai's Tongji University said in an emailed statement.

The four vibrating platforms, capable of carrying 200 tonnes, will generate a simulated quake to test a model's capacity to withstand the destructive power generated by the movement of the Earth's crust.

Currently the world's largest quake simulator is at the University of Nevada in the United States, but it can only handle about half the capacity of the Tongji simulator, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

"With a larger total bearing ability, we can set up a bigger and more elaborate model of a structure to put on the vibrators," civil and structural engineering professor Li Jianzhong was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

It will take two years to complete the construction of the Tongji centre.

Last year's 8.0-magnitude Sichuan earthquake left nearly 87,000 dead or missing.

At least 5,335 students were killed or went missing when their classrooms crumbled on them.

Nearby structures stood firm, and devastated parents have blamed local cadres for pocketing construction money and building low-quality schools.

SINGAPORE, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Travel is the top pursuit for nearly three-quarters of high income Asia-Pacific households, according to a survey released on Monday.

    According to the Spending Patterns and Perspectives of High Income Households survey, some 73 percent of high income Asia Pacific households said travel is their top personal interest over the next two years, well ahead of food (43 percent) and music (31 percent), and 63 percent of respondents said they went away for weekends overseas every six months or so.

    The survey, conducted by Visa in late 2008, interviewed 4,106 people from countries and regions such as Singapore, South Korea, Australia, India, Japan, China, China's Hong Kong and Taiwan. All respondents were aged 18 and above with equal gender split and were from the top 20-40 percent of households for each marketplace.

    The survey also showed that respondents from China's Hong Kong and India are the region's most frequent travelers. And the most popular destinations among the region's high income respondents were Japan, Australia and the United States.

BEIJING, March 17 -- For art historians, Xu Beihong (1895-1953) is a pioneer of modern Chinese art whose style straddles the East and the West. But for the average Chinese, he is simply a master painter of galloping horses, roaring lions and lovely birds.

Chinese artist Xu Beihong excelled at wow gold capturing the vivid expressions, free will, endurance and vigor of galloping horses.

The largest retrospective show to honor the master painter has been drawing throngs of visitors from all walks of life since it opened at Yanhuang Art Museum in northern Beijing.

On display are over 80 of Xu Beihong's signature sketches, ink and oil paintings. The highlights are Xu's monumental ink paintings with historical themes like Yu Gong Moves the Mountain, Jiu Fang Gao and Galloping Horses, his oil works like Lady with a Flute and Self Portrait, and his early pencil sketches of horse herders and female nudes.

The exhibition coincides with the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and the 90th anniversary of the May Fourth New Culture Movement.

In fact, Xu's career as an artist and his personal experiences are closely associated with Chinese history, says Peking University art professor Zhu Qingsheng.

"Based on his deep understanding and deliberate choice of Western painting traditions, Xu advocated a Realist approach and style for Chinese art. He played a pivotal role in transforming modern Chinese art," Zhu says.

Born in Yixing, Jiangsu province, in 1895, Xu grew up in an artistic family and showed talent at an early age.

He studied classic Chinese buy wow gold works and calligraphy with his father Xu Dazhang when he was 6 and Chinese painting, when he was 9.

In 1915, he went to study in Shanghai, a melting pot of Chinese and Western cultures where he met the scholar and political reformer Kang Youwei (1858-1927), who became his mentor and greatly influenced his thinking about the need to integrate Western practices and ideas into Chinese art.

"Xu felt that traditional Chinese art had become a mere copying of other paintings and was divorced from nature and social reality," says Central Academy of Fine Arts professor Huang Xiaoming.

"Xu was not the first to formulate the idea but he was one of the first to seek a solution and a direction."

Xu came up with the idea of applying Western scientific methods, using very precise anatomical proportions and integrating Western approaches, such as perspective and shading in his works, notes Huang.

In 1917, Xu traveled to Tokyo to study art. On his return to China, he began to teach at Peking University's art school at the invitation of principal Cai Yuanpei (1868-1940) in 1918.

Xu became one of the major figures of the artistic revolution of the May Fourth New Culture Movement in 1919.

(Source: Chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)

Guiyuan Temple (Temple of Original Purity), situated on Cuiwei Street, is one of the four biggest temples for Buddhist meditation in Hubei as well as an important Buddhist temple in China.

¡¡¡¡First built in the early Qing dynasty (1644-1911) by two monks named Baiguang and Zhufeng on the base of Sunflower Garden owned by a poet, the temple got its name form Buddhist chants: "With purity kept in mind, one has the thoroughfare everywhere." buy wow gold Guiyuan Temple has survived through more than 300 hundred years of repeated cycles of prosperity and decline, above all else, it is always leading the other temple in Wuhan with prosperous public worship, flourishing Buddhist ceremony and many pilgrims.

¡¡¡¡The temple was destroyed and rebuilt for several times in its history and the present temple dates from the early Republic of China (1912-1949). Covering an area of 46,900 square meters with a floor space of 20,000 square meters, the temple mainly consists of Daxiongbaodian Hall, Arhat Hall, Sutra Collection Pavilion, etc.

¡¡¡¡Daxiongbaodian Hall

¡¡¡¡It is the main hall of the temple. Statue of Sakyamuni, who preached Buddhism for 45 years as the founder of Buddhism, is enshrined in this hall. On his right is a statue of Mahakasyapa, one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni. It is said that he was of eminent virtue and was reckoned to be the first patriarch. After Sakyamuni died he continued his career. On the left is a statue of Ananda. Also one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni, Ananda was the master of hearing and memory and was reckoned to be the second patriarch. He followed Sakyamuni for more than 20 years and is said to have compiled the Buddhist sutras.

¡¡¡¡Arhat Hall

¡¡¡¡First built in 1850AD eve isk during the reign of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing dynasty, the hall is the most characteristic building of the Temple with its constructional layout being in the four-in-one-square shape. In the Arhat Hall are five hundred statues of the disciples Buddha sculpted by two artists between 1822 and 1831. Sitting, standing or reclining, in anger, sadness or delight, they stimulate people's imagination. The 500 arhats are now the best-preserved and very high artistic-valued group carvings in China.

¡¡¡¡Sutra Collection Pavilion

¡¡¡¡Built in 1696AD during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing dynasty, this structure is an indicative building in the temple for collecting Buddhist scriptures and art treasure. In this hall, a statue of Sakyamuni carved from a single block of white jade is most attractive. The statue, harmonizing well with the tranquility of the chambers and pavilions, companying with the incense smoke filtering through the sky, gives the temple a majestic magic. Besides, over 7000 Buddhist sutras and sutras from Japan, India, Burma, Thailand, etc are all stored in this hall.

¡¡¡¡Guiyuan Temple was in fashion for a time although its history was shorter than White Horse Temple, the best Buddhist Temple in China. It is famous not only for spreading Buddhism throughout the whole country, but also for perfect architecture, excellent sculpture and rich collection of Buddhist doctrine among Buddhist temples. In 1956 Guiyuan Temple was listed as preserved antiques unit of Hubei province and in 1983, it was appointed as one of the key Buddhist temple of Han nationality district in China by the State Council.

¡¡¡¡The temple has been a popular interesting place for tourists to visit, especially in recent ten years.

¡¡¡¡Useful Information

¡¡¡¡Location: It is located at Cuiwei Road, Hanyang

¡¡¡¡Ticket Price:
¡¡¡¡RMB 50 on the first and fifteenth day in lunar calendar and on the birthday of Caishen who is a mystical elder bringing fortune to people.
¡¡¡¡RMB 30 on the first day of a year and in spring festival
¡¡¡¡RMB 20 at other times

¡¡¡¡Opening Time: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

¡¡¡¡Tips: The vegetarian diet made in the Guiyuan Temple is very famous. You should taste when you arrive there.

MIAMI ¨C Seeking a getaway despite the downturn, Olivia Gonzalez called her travel agent with an agenda.

"I said, what kind of deals do you have?" said the Miami resident, who is in her 60s, standing outside the Port of Miami. What she found was a six-day, five-night cruise through the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos for $299 a person.

That was all the convincing Gonzalez and thousands of other passengers have needed lately to set sail. Though vacations are disposable when money gets tight, the cruise industry has kept ships full with deep discounts and some itinerary changes to shorter, cheaper voyages. Norwegian Cruise Line is sailing three-and four-day swings for the first time since 2004. Carnival Corp. is offering free state room upgrades and more Caribbean choices ¡ª a quick skip from the Miami port ¡ª in 2009 to accommodate demand.

"Consumers are looking for more value for their vacation dollar," said Howard Frank, Carnival's chief operating officer, on a recent conference call with analysts. "And our shorter, less expensive Caribbean cruise products are performing much better than our premium and luxury, longer cruise products. So we are seeing a consumer trade-down to value."

The major cruise lines are also seeing vacationers wait longer to commit. Before the downturn, bookings averaged about six months in advance, maybe eight months for luxury trips, said Bob Sharak, executive director of the Cruise Lines International Association.

"People are deferring their purchases to the last minute," he said. "They're booking, but it causes the operators some degree of agitation, because it takes longer to put that sailing on the books.

"I don't think that's something unique to our cruise business right now. I think all travel is like that."

Carnival is offering three- and four- day trips to Mexico and the Bahamas starting at $209 for the lowest-level rooms at the last minute, a nearly 50 percent discount in some cases. A four-day Baja California, Mexico cruise sailing in February and now selling at that rate would cost $399 later, while a three-day Bahamas vacation leaving Jan. 23 is available for $219 instead of $349. Norwegian's short Bahamas cruises were starting at $229 through mid-April.

Long considered a good vacation value, the cruise industry is holding up better than some competitors in this climate. The Port of Miami saw record cruise traffic of 3.8 million passengers from January to November 2008, a 10.5 percent increase over the previous year. Sharak predicts overall occupancy will continue to increase, despite grim predictions for 2009 in the industry and economy overall.

Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean have suspended stock dividends, a sign of some distress, and last month Carnival lowered its revenue predictions for 2009.

"I'm not minimizing today's situation. We've not seen an economic situation like this in America or globally in my lifetime," Sharak said. "However, if history is an indicator of the future, the business itself has been resilient in these varied markets, and I think right now we're showing that as well."

Carnival has rolled out a new pricing scheme to entice further advance commitments. The "Early Saver" program offers 25 percent discounts for certain trips booked up to three months before departure, plus a guarantee those passengers will get the same savings if rates drop.

"The good news is that consumers are still taking their vacations, but the vacation decision is for next month, rather than next year," Frank told investors.

For consumers, the cruise lines' push to fill big ships can mean big savings. Shannon McClelland was shopping for a birthday gift for her boyfriend two months ago when she found a five-day cruise sailing out of Miami for $1,500 a couple, including airfare from New York.

"Today is his birthday, so this is his birthday present," said McClelland, of New York. "I was just looking for something nice, it seemed doable, so we did it."
Source: chinadaily.com.cn

Guiyuan Temple (Temple of Original Purity), situated on Cuiwei Street, is one of the four biggest temples for Buddhist meditation in Hubei as well as an important Buddhist temple in China.

¡¡¡¡First built in the early Qing dynasty (1644-1911) by two monks named Baiguang and Zhufeng on the base of Sunflower Garden owned by a poet, the temple got its name form Buddhist chants: "With purity kept in mind, one has the thoroughfare everywhere." Guiyuan Temple has survived through more than 300 hundred years of repeated cycles of prosperity and decline, above all else, it is always leading the other temple in Wuhan with prosperous public worship, flourishing Buddhist ceremony and many pilgrims.

¡¡¡¡The temple was destroyed and rebuilt for several times in its history and the present temple dates from the early Republic of China (1912-1949). Covering an area of 46,900 square meters with a floor space of 20,000 square meters, the temple mainly consists of Daxiongbaodian Hall, Arhat Hall, Sutra Collection Pavilion, etc.

¡¡¡¡Daxiongbaodian Hall

¡¡¡¡It is the main hall of the temple. Statue of Sakyamuni, who preached Buddhism for 45 years as the founder of Buddhism, is enshrined in this hall. On his right is a statue of Mahakasyapa, one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni. It is said that he was of eminent virtue and was reckoned to be the first patriarch. After Sakyamuni died he continued his career. On the left is a statue of Ananda. Also one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni, Ananda was the master of hearing and memory and was reckoned to be the second patriarch. He followed Sakyamuni for more than 20 years and is said to have compiled the Buddhist sutras.

¡¡¡¡Arhat Hall

¡¡¡¡First built in 1850AD during the reign of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing dynasty, the hall is the most characteristic building of the Temple with its constructional layout being in the four-in-one-square shape. In the Arhat Hall are five hundred statues of the disciples Buddha sculpted by two artists between 1822 and 1831. Sitting, standing or reclining, in anger, sadness or delight, they stimulate people's imagination. The 500 arhats are now the best-preserved and very high artistic-valued group carvings in China.

¡¡¡¡Sutra Collection Pavilion

¡¡¡¡Built in 1696AD during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing dynasty, this structure is an indicative building in the temple for collecting Buddhist scriptures and art treasure. In this hall, a statue of Sakyamuni carved from a single block of white jade is most attractive. The statue, harmonizing well with the tranquility of the chambers and pavilions, companying runescape gold with the incense smoke filtering through the sky, gives the temple a majestic magic. Besides, over 7000 Buddhist sutras and sutras from Japan, India, Burma, Thailand, etc are all stored in this hall.

¡¡¡¡Guiyuan Temple was in fashion for a time although its history was shorter than White Horse Temple, the best Buddhist Temple in China. It is famous not only for spreading Buddhism throughout the whole country, but also for perfect architecture, excellent sculpture and rich collection of Buddhist doctrine among Buddhist temples. In 1956 Guiyuan Temple was listed as preserved antiques unit of Hubei province and in 1983, it was appointed as one of the key Buddhist temple of Han nationality district in China by the State Council.

¡¡¡¡The temple has been a popular interesting place for tourists to visit, especially in recent ten years.

¡¡¡¡Useful Information

¡¡¡¡Location: It is located at Cuiwei Road, Hanyang

¡¡¡¡Ticket Price:
¡¡¡¡RMB 50 on the first and fifteenth day in lunar calendar and on the birthday of Caishen who is a mystical elder bringing fortune to people.
¡¡¡¡RMB 30 on the first day of a year and in spring festival
¡¡¡¡RMB 20 at other times

¡¡¡¡Opening Time: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

¡¡¡¡Tips: The vegetarian diet made in the Guiyuan Temple is very famous. You should taste when you arrive there. (cheap runescape power leveling)

¡¡Jinzhou is also called Jianglin City and it is a famous historical cultural city in China. The city walls winds ups and downs along mountains and lakes, like a swimming dragon. The ancient city has a history of 2,000 years. It was originally built in Qin and Han Dynasties; Brick city was built after Five Dynasties and it was ruined and rebuilt several times in the Song, Yuan and Qing Dynasties. The city walls coming into eyes today is the ones which were built according to the city walls of Ming Dynasty in the third year of in the reign of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (A.D.1646). Recently many scenic spots have been built along the city walls.
¡¡¡¡Many sites of the Three Kingdoms are here, such as, big iron pots and mangers which were used by warriors of Guanyu, Zhijia Mountain where soldiers threw away their weapons when general Lvmeng¡¯s making a surprise a attack on Jinzhou. There are some sites about Guanyu in the outside of the city.

¡¡¡¡A long history leaves runescape gold Jinzhou numerous ancient relics. There are over 3,000 relics preserved in Jinzhou Museum and the most famous one is a sword that was used by the king of Yue country in the period of Warring States and was excavated in north of Jinzhou in 1965. The inscription is still legible ¡°the king of Yue country makes it to use by himself¡±. The sword was carved with diamond-shaped figures, embedded with a kallaite and three-color glass. The edge of the blade is extremely sharp.

¡¡¡¡Legend:

¡¡¡¡There is a legend. General Guanyu of Shu Country guarded Jinzhou. One day he suddenly met nine fairies that came down to the human world. They told general Guanyu that goddess Wangmu decided to take back Jinzhou to holy land because of numerous fighting here. Guanyu had an idea to preserve Jinzhou, so he said to them, ¡° Let¡¯s compete. The winner is the owner of Jinzhou. We separately build a city of 5,000 steps in circumference. The one who completes first is the winner. You build it in the northwest and I build it in the southeast. We start when it is dark and stop at the crow of the rooster.¡± The fairies agreed. They pocketed earth with their robes to build the city, while Guanyu built the city with reeds. When Guanyu completed his city, the fairies didn¡¯t complete. But time was not up. Guanyu shook the chicken coop and then rooster crowed. The nine fairies went back ashamedly. This is the history of Nine Fairies Statue in the outer of north gateway of Jinzhou city. It is said that Zhangfei also shouldered earth to help his brother, but he was late. So he poured the earth in the outside of the east gateway, nowadays two little hills here are called ¡°zhangfei Yidantu¡±

¡¡¡¡How to get there: Ancient Jinzhou City is the inner cities of Jinzhou, so it is convenient for visitors to get there by bus or by taxi.

¡¡¡¡Tips:
¡¡¡¡1.Jinzhou is the birthplace of Chu Culture; so catering culture here has a long history and has its special features. There are four famous dishes: ¡°dragon with phoenix¡±, ¡°fish balls¡±, ¡°eel¡± and ¡°soup of white gourd with calipash¡±. Besides, Chinese rice pudding and a yellow cake are also popular here.
¡¡¡¡2.Recommended Time:two days

¡¡¡¡source: chinatravel.com(cheap runescape power leveling)

Guiyuan Temple (Temple of Original Purity), situated on Cuiwei Street, is one of the four biggest temples for Buddhist meditation in Hubei as well as an important Buddhist temple in China.

¡¡¡¡First built in the early Qing dynasty (1644-1911) by two monks named Baiguang and Zhufeng on the base of Sunflower Garden owned by a poet, the temple got its name form Buddhist chants: "With purity kept in mind, one has the thoroughfare everywhere." Guiyuan Temple has survived through more than 300 hundred years of repeated cycles of prosperity and decline, above all else, it is always leading the other temple in Wuhan with prosperous public worship, flourishing Buddhist ceremony and many pilgrims.

¡¡¡¡The temple was destroyed and rebuilt for several times in its history and the present temple dates from the early Republic of China (1912-1949). Covering an area of 46,900 square meters with a floor space of 20,000 square meters, the temple mainly consists of Daxiongbaodian Hall, Arhat Hall, Sutra Collection Pavilion, etc.

¡¡¡¡Daxiongbaodian Hall

¡¡¡¡It is the main hall of the temple. Statue of Sakyamuni, who preached Buddhism for 45 years as the founder of Buddhism, is enshrined in this hall. On his right is a statue of Mahakasyapa, one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni. It is said that he was of eminent virtue and was reckoned to be the first patriarch. After Sakyamuni died he continued his career. On the left is a statue of Ananda. Also one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni, Ananda was the master of hearing and memory and was reckoned to be the second patriarch. He followed Sakyamuni for more than 20 years and is said to have compiled the Buddhist sutras.

¡¡¡¡Arhat Hall

¡¡¡¡First built in 1850AD during the reign of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing dynasty, the hall is the most characteristic building of the Temple with its constructional layout being in the four-in-one-square shape. In the Arhat Hall are five hundred statues of the disciples Buddha sculpted by two artists between 1822 and 1831. Sitting, standing or reclining, in anger, sadness or delight, they stimulate people's imagination. The 500 arhats are now the best-preserved and very high artistic-valued group carvings in China.

¡¡¡¡Sutra Collection Pavilion

¡¡¡¡Built in 1696AD during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing dynasty, this structure is an indicative building in the temple for collecting Buddhist scriptures and art treasure. In this hall, a statue of Sakyamuni carved from a single block of white jade is most attractive. The statue, harmonizing well with the tranquility of the chambers and pavilions, companying with the incense smoke filtering through the sky, gives the temple a majestic magic. Besides, over 7000 Buddhist sutras and sutras from Japan, India, Burma, Thailand, etc are all stored in this hall.

¡¡¡¡Guiyuan Temple was in fashion for a time although its history was shorter than White Horse Temple, the best Buddhist Temple in China. It is famous not only for spreading Buddhism throughout the runescape gold whole country, but also for perfect architecture, excellent sculpture and rich collection of Buddhist doctrine among Buddhist temples. In 1956 Guiyuan Temple was listed as preserved antiques unit of Hubei province and in 1983, it was appointed as one of the key Buddhist temple of Han nationality district in China by the State Council.

¡¡¡¡The temple has been a popular interesting place for tourists to visit, especially in recent ten years.

¡¡¡¡Useful Information

¡¡¡¡Location: It is located at Cuiwei Road, Hanyang

¡¡¡¡Ticket Price:
¡¡¡¡RMB 50 on the first and fifteenth day in lunar calendar and on the birthday of Caishen who is a mystical elder bringing fortune to people.
¡¡¡¡RMB 30 on the first day of a year and in spring festival
¡¡¡¡RMB 20 at other times

¡¡¡¡Opening Time: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

¡¡¡¡Tips: The vegetarian diet made in the Guiyuan Temple is very famous. You should taste when you arrive there. (cheap runescape power leveling)