China - Fragrant Hills in Beijing

This card is one more proof that participating in the postcrosing forum activities is a good way to receive wonderful card :) Actually, I really love the idea of official postcrossing, the surprise factor, the thrill each time I request a new address... But I've noticed that the cards tht I receive in unofficial exchange (froum & private swaps) are often of much better quality and that people put more effort to choose a card fitting my wishlist and to write a nice message. Of course, I've received many wonderful officials too and I like the huge majority of them, but some are a bit disappointing. I wonder, what's the reason... Maybe it's beacause unofficial exchange isn't so anonymous and people would be ashamed to send some trash to someone that they've agreed on swap with? Or maybe because people participating in the unofficial exchange are more serious about collecting cards? Anyway, I'm not going to give up sending officials, because that's what's actually postcrossing about, the forum is just a nice addition. And just because I love being surprised :)

I love this card, because I generally find mountains and hills in autumn time very beautiful. And the elements of traditional Chinese architecture hidden between the trees give some Asian feeling to this view :)


The stamps are also very interesting :) I still don't know, if it's just normal in China that you always get many huge stamps with a whole variety of pictures or if Chinese postcrossers are so kind to look for nice stamps, when they send cards abroad :) But I've already received quite a lot of Chinese cards sent by different people, so I think that getting nice stamps on China Post must be much easier than here :)

Fragrant Hills Park (Xiangshan Park; simplified Chinese: 香山公园; pinyin: Xiāngshān Gōngyuán) is a public park at the foot of the Western Mountains in the Haidian District, in the northwestern part of Beijing, China. It covers 1.6 km² (395 acres) and consists of a natural pine-cypress forest, hills with maple trees, smoke trees and persimmon trees, as well as landscaped areas with traditional architecture and cultural relics.

Fragrant Hills Park is recognized as one of the major tourist attractions in Beijing. When autumn arrives, the natural scenery in the park turns spectacular, with fiery red smoke tree leaves covering the mountain side. Every year, thousands of tourists ride the cable cars through the park in order see the hills in autumn colors. The grand opening of the annual Red Leaf Festival of Beijing takes place there.

China - Wu Hill

This wonderful card was sent from Hangzhou city, the capital of Zhejiang province and shows the sunset over Wu Hill. It seems to be a beautiful place itself (I saw some other pictures on the internet), but the rays of setting sun make this view even more breathtaking.
I've noticed that I usually receive Chinese postcards with many different and interesting stamps. I wonder if you always get such variety of stamps without asking on Chinese post or I'm just lucky with Chinese postcrossers, who care to choose nice ones for me :) Anyway, I find one of these stamps really unusual: it's a Chinese olympics stamp showing... another olympics stamp from Portugal :) I wish Polish postage stamps designers had so great ideas too :)

Wu Hill situates at the end of hills around the lake, is made up of 10 or more peaks. It stretches for several miles and extends into the downtown. Besides, it is locally called Chenghuang Hill. There are a lot of odd-shaped rocks and inscriptions on the hill. A strange cluster of rocks which is known as the “Twelve Animal Stones” appears like the twelve animals in the Chinese lunar calendar. On the hill, there are many camphor trees . One of them, the oldest one, “Song Camphor”, is more than 800 years old.

On the top of Wu Hill, there is a pavilion where you can have a view of both Qiantang River and West Lake as the hill locates between Qiantang River and West Lake. Recently, Panoramic View Pavilion and Tea Aroma Tower were built on the Wu Hill. Furthermore ginkgo, Chinese sweet gum, pine tree and evergreen camphor were planted all over the hill to accompany the “Song Camphor”. All these create a more attractive appearance of Wu Hill because the new scene blends perfectly with the old.

China - Wangshi Yuan garden (CN-58310)

I received this wonderful card last week and I would probably never guess it was showing a UNESCO site, if there wasn't a UNESCO WHS logo on the back side of this card with explaination in... Spanish :)) I was surprised to read "Vista interior de la Habitación Tiyun del Jardín Wangshi" on a Chinese card :) I wonder, if Spanish is considered to be a language of international communication in China or if there's any other reason, but it was quite complicated to check, which UNESCO site it was. I can't speak Spanish (and I also can't speak Chinese, I think that's not surprising for you) ;), but I understood it was a garden and it's name was Wangshi. Finally, I found out it was one of the 10 Suzhou gardens, which are listed as World Heritage sites.

There's a Japanese garden in my city (I guess that people from Asia could probably tell me many differences between the Chinese and Japanese art of designing gardens and I would be very thankful for such information, as it's often quite difficult to distinguish parts of different Asian cultures for us, Europeans) and I find it very beautiful, even though it's not big, there are just some plants typical for Japan and a bridge built in "Asian" style. Visiting a real Chinese or Japanese garden, designed so well, would be a great experience... Looking at this card I feel want to go through this door :)

CN-58310

The Master of the Nets Garden or Wangshi Yuan (simplified Chinese: 网师园; traditional Chinese: 網師園; pinyin: Wǎngshī Yuán) is among the finest gardens in China. Recognized with nine other Suzhou gardens as United Nations World Heritage sites, it demonstrates Chinese garden designers’ adept skills for synthesizing art, nature, and architecture to create unique metaphysical masterpieces. The initial garden was first constructed over 800 years ago and even though its physical form has changed drastically since, the name and spirit of the garden still remain intact. The Master of the Nets is particularly regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery. While the garden’s primary uses have varied over time, its ability to inspire visitors intellectually and spiritual remains unchanged. Keen physical architecture combined with poetic and artistic inspirations makes the Master of the Nets garden a unique and incredible garden experience that has stood the test of time.

China - Banyan (CN-51391)

When I received this card, I tried to find any information about the picture in English... And I found just 2 words: "Ancient Banyan" :) What I thought was that this card shows some trees in the ancient city of Banyan (well, it sounds like a name of Chinese city, doesn't it?). I'm silly, you don't have to tell me :) In fact, banyan is name of a plant and that's what this card actually shows :)

CN-51391

A banyan is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree (or on structures like buildings and bridges). "Banyan" often refers specifically to the species Ficus benghalensis, though the term has been generalized to include all figs that share a unique life cycle, and systematically to refer to the subgenus Urostigma. The seeds of banyans are dispersed by fruit-eating birds. The seeds germinate and send down roots towards the ground, and may envelope part of the host tree or building structure with their roots, giving them the casual name of "strangler fig." The "strangling" growth habit is found in a number of tropical forest species, particularly of the genus Ficus, that compete for light. Any Ficus species showing this habit may be termed a strangler fig.

China - New Year card (CN-37539)

I find this Chinese New Year card really beautiful, although I don't understand Chinese at all and my knowledge about the Chinese culture is very limited... Maybe someone could explain, is fish a New Year symbol? And what's written on this card? :) Thanks in advance!

CN-37539

China - playing children :) (CN-30159)

This postcard shows Chinese children playing different games :) To be honest, most of them are very similar to games played by Polish children :) Well, I've always believed that children are always able to find a "common language" (even if they actually can't communicate with each other in any language). These are adults who make this world too complicated :)
And I love the Chinese text on the front of this card. No, I have no idea how to read it and what does it mean. But I love unknown scripts :)))

CN-30159

China - West Lake in autumn

This beautiful postcard shows the West Lake in Hangzhou in autumn. I really love sunny days in autumn, when it's quite warm and I can observe the colorful leafs :) But autumn in China is not only colorful, but looks also quite exotic (at least for me, because I haven't been there). The sender wrote that she loves the autumn in Hangzhou because of the aroma of the Osmanthus fragrans flowers. I don't know, what do they smell like, but I'm sure it must be a very pleasant aroma :)

China - a teapot

This postcard shows a traditional Chinese teapot, which makes me want to have some tea (although I don't have such a nice teapot). I also like the Chinese text on the front side of postcard, although I can't read it :) I just like "strange" (for me) signs and wondering, what could be their meaning :) I remember I had the same attitude to Cyrillic alphabet until I learnt it myself at age of 11 :)

Yixing clay teapots (simplified Chinese: 宜兴; traditional Chinese: 宜興; pinyin: Yíxīng; Wade-Giles: I-Hsing) (also called Purple Sand (simplified Chinese: 紫砂; pinyin: zǐshā; Wade-Giles: tsu sha ) are a traditional pots made from Yixing clay and commonly used to brew tea. They originated in China, dating back to the 15th century, and are made from clay produced in the region of the town of Yixing, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.

China - Mogao Grottoes (CN-27258)

This one was my 100th official postcard received through Postcrossing! :) I'm glad that the 100th is so beautiful and I'll remember it for sure :) It shows the frescoes in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.

The Mogao Caves, or Mogao Grottoes (Chinese: 莫高窟; pinyin: mò gāo kū) (also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas and Dunhuang Caves) form a system of 492 temples 25km (15.5 miles) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. Construction of the Buddhist cave shrines began in 366 CE as places to store scriptures and art. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient sculptural sites of China.

CN-27258

China - Old Town of Lijiang

I received this postcard in UNESCO RR (the temptation to count all of my UNESCO cards and to start collecting them seriously is already quite strong). This card has a very special atmosphere... probably I just like sepia :)

The Old Town of Lijiang is a famous UNESCO Heritage Site located in Lijiang City,Yunnan,China.

The town has a history going back more than 800 years and was once a confluence for trade along the old tea horse road. The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents the Nakhi people, therefore people there are called 胖金哥 and 胖金妹 (male and female respectively).

Lijiang old town (including Dayan, Baisha and Shuhe) was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 4, 1997. Since then, the local government has taken more responsibility for the development and protection of the old city. Lijiang's tourism also boomed, and travellers from around the world flooded in; although many locals fear that due to much of the development, the old town of Lijiang will lose its appeal.

China - a painting

I received this beautiful card in the World Languages RR. It was written in Ukrainian! :)
Unfortunately, the information about this card is in Chinese, with only one sentence in English: "Appreciation of Famous Chinese Paintings. Wang Hui". And I guess it was painted in 1685, because I can see this date in the Chinese text ;)

China - Yingying - Mascot of the Olympics in Beijing (CN-25673)

Yingying is one of the 5 mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. I don't know, if the sender decided to choose a postcard exactly with this one intentionally, but that's my favorite one... Why? Yes, because it's orange! ;)

Cultural inspiration: Tibetan antelope, Tibetan and Xinjiang ethnic costumes.
Olympic Ring: Yellow/Orange
Represented Element: Earth
Actual Fengshui Element: Earth
Personality: lively, independent
Represented sport: track and field

Notes: The Tibetan antelope is an endangered species native to the Tibetan Plateau, known for its swiftness. Yingying's headgear incorporates elements of Tibetan and Xinjiang ethnic costumes.

CN-25673

China - the Palace of Heavenly purity

I received this postcard in World Languages RR (it was a Russian group, not Chinese) ;) I like it very much, because it shows the Chinese architecture, which is so unusual for me, living in Europe for all of my life...

The Palace of Heavenly Purity, or Qianqing Palace (Chinese: 乾清宫; pinyin: qiánqīng gōng) is a palace in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. It is the largest of the three halls of the Inner Court (the other two being the Hall of Union and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility), located at the northern end of the Forbidden City. During the Qing dynasty, the palace often served as the Emperor's audience hall, where he held council with the Grand Council.

The Palace of Heavenly Purity is a double-eaved building, and set on a single-level white marble platform. It is connected to the Gate of Heavenly Purity to its south by a raised walkway. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the residence of the Emperor. The large space was divided into nine rooms on two levels, with twenty-seven beds. For security, on any one night the Emperor would randomly choose from any of these beds. This continued through the early Qing Dynasty. However, when the Yongzheng Emperor ascended to the throne, he did not wish to inhabit the palace occupied by his father for sixty years. He and subsequent emperors lived instead at the smaller Hall of Mental Cultivation to the west. The Palace of Heavenly Purity then became the Emperor's audience hall, where he held court, received ministers and emissaries, and held banquets. At the centre of the Palace, set atop an elaborate platform, is a throne and a desk, on which the Emperor wrote notes and signed documents during councils with ministers. A caisson is set into the roof, featuring a coiled dragon. Above the throne hangs a tablet reading "Justice and Honour" (Chinese: 正大光明; pinyin: zhèngdàguāngmíng). From the Yongzheng Emperor onwards, the Emperor designated his heir in secret, with one copy of the will hidden behind this tablet and another carried at all times by the Emperor.

China - traditional painting

I received this postcard in a private swap from a Chinese postcrosser from Shanghai. I like it very much, although I can't give you any information about it. The sender writes that it was a traditional Chinese painting. But all the information printed on the postcard is in Chinese (and, "surprisingly", I can't read it)... Well, with a small part of it in Latin transcription - "Dai Dun Bang Hua Tang Shi". I tried to google it, but with no result. So, I just enjoy this painting, whatever it is :)

China - a Hutong of Old Beijing City (CN-17752)

What is a Hutong? That's what Wikipedia says:
Hutongs are narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China.
In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan, to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.
Since the mid-20th century, the number of Beijing hutongs has dropped dramatically as they are demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, some hutongs have been designated as protected areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history.
The sender of this postcard writes that the living enviroment of common people in Beijing was very bud, but now it's completely different.
My first Chinese postcard :)

CN-17725