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Princess' first real train ride.
she thinks its so cool to sit on the table. Sorry this one isnt quite finished yet.
At the mention of Jinhua, the first thing that comes to a Chinese person's mind is perhaps Jinhua ham, a local specialty. Few people, however, know that it is also the hometown of Immortal Huang, a man who practiced Taoism here and become a local god.
It borders the provincial capital of
Hangzhou to the northwest,
Quzhou to the southwest,
Lishui to the south,
Taizhou to the east, and
Shaoxing to the northeast.
Its population was 5,361,600 at the 2010 census including 1,077,300 in the built-up area. One can notice that the cities of
Dongyang and
Yiwu are now in the same agglomeration, a built-up area of 2,038,400 inhabitants bigger than the one of Jinhua itself.
Jinhua is rich in
red soil and forest resources. The longest river Jinhua River (or Wu River) flows through Lan River, Fuchun River and Qiantang River, and reaches the Grand Canal and other coastal ports.
The city is best known for its dry-cured
Jinhua ham.
The history of Jinhua goes back to the 2nd century BC, when it was a county subordinate to
Shaoxing. It was given the name Jinhua under
DSC_0312
just relaxin up against the window the
Sui dynasty in 598, and later became the seat of a
prefecture. The present city and its walls date to the time of the
Mongol emperors in 1352.
The most famous native of Jinhua is the
Immortal Huang, a
Daoist holy man of the 4th century, whose descendants still live in the area.
Wuyang Shan (Reclining Sheep Mountain) is said to be a sheep which was turned to stone by the Immortal Huang, a trick which he learned through his years of diligently studying Daoism.
Economically Jinhua has always prospered from its position as the regional collecting and processing center for agricultural and forestry products (chiefly rice and bamboo). It is currently the second most important grain producing area in
Zhejiang. In 1985 Jinhua was promoted to City status, and now is responsible for administering four cities, four counties and a district. Animals raised there include dairy cattle, meat hogs (for the production of
Jinhua ham, a famous local product for 900 years) and honeybees. Jinhua's industrial sector has developed more recently, producing machinery, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, building supplies and electrical and electronic equipment.
The
Tang dynasty painter
Guan Xiu (Kuan-hsiu) was born in Jinhua. He is known for his paintings of
Buddhistholy men.
princess with people
this is on her first train ride ever. There are numerous scenic and historical sites in the Jinhua region, including many places associated with the Immortal Huang, and a palace of the Dukes of the
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Jinhua Architecture Park, a collection of 17 pavilions designed by Chinese and international architects, set on the banks of the
Yiwu River.
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Now you know something of the city, now its my turn to write about it. This part is of my journey to the city of Golden Brilliance. My journey begins in Shenyang, of Liaoning province. I board the train knowing that it will take almost a day and a half to get where I am going 34 hours to be exact. So I found my seat and sat down preparing myself for the ride. I tried to purchase a ticket for the bed so it would be easier to rest but I had a seat and I had to make due with what I had. It was obvious from the beginning that I was going to be a popular person among the people sitting around. All the people were interested in asking me the typical questions like, 'Where are you from?, Where are you going?' Everyone
was enjoying sitting around talking with the foreigner. As darkness continued to descend upon the train I figured that the people would slowly move down and fall into their own rest. I was correct but forgotten that they were still enthralled with my presence in the seat section of the train and not in the sleeper section. friendly and understanding when I explained to them that my Chinese wasn't the greatest. The people were The train itself and gotten into its rhythmic movement which felt very relaxing and normal.
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