….

I will now take you inside these famous structures. More specifically to their kitchens. Do you think Chinese food is the same in China than in Norway? than in Brazil? the U.S.? No! its definitely not! Is not even the same throughout China! Did you know that in Shanghai food is sweeter? That in the Sichuan province they prefer spicy and have a lot of lamb? What about that people in the south eat more white rice while in the north more noodles.

China has one of the widest varieties of spices and flavors I have seen and you will definitely not cease to entertain your palate. This along with the breathtaking views, the detailed to the millimeter ancient architecture are all the results of a society with more than 5,000 years of recorded history. When I try to find the overall value of this experience and forget the little nicks and nacks like overpopulation (I guess not so little), people sneezing and bumping into your personal space, or others, I can confidently more than recommend China. It surpassed my expectations above and beyond. It has definitely changed my point of view and helped me grow as a person and I hope you can visit too!

….

I would now like to climb you down the mountains and talk about the millimeter precise architecture that you see everywhere across China. From the grounds of Zhanjiajie, to the mausoleums in Nanjing, to the hundreds of temples and gardens like Yue Garden in Shanghai. This style of architecture has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. One of the main features to talk about is the emphasis on bilateral symmetry, which signifies balance. From palaces to humble farmhouses you will always find their strive for symmetry. Another main characteristic is it’s floating like ceilings and large roofs. These stress the visual impact of the width of the buildings, making them sometimes look like a woman’s skirt.

Regardless, all of this would not seem like much if I would not mention the extreme amount of symbolism and imagery that appears in these buildings. I am talking about the use of colors like red for good fortune, yellow as the imperial color, blue to symbolize the sky, or black, because the gods were inspired to descent to earth by the black color. I am specially, also talking about the different talismans carved in stone, wood, or precious metals that lie all around the buildings, representing different gods, animals, fruits, creatures, that come all together in one building to give you a detailed to the millimeter visual show and a perfectionist eye feast. This is the kind of ancient unique architecture you will find in China.

Ni Hao! Hello! I am Santiago Salazar and I am studying at East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. This will be the first of a three series posts I will share. Hope you enjoy! 🙂

Breathtaking pilar like, floating like mountains formed more than 1,800 years ago. Detailed to the millimeter ancient architecture wonders. Hundreds of different flavors in your palate and an extensive, strongly shaped for more than 5,000 years rich culture and history that makes it all happen. I would love to share with you, my experiences in China. I want you to be able to have the feeling and visual representation of what I have lived and someday for you to first hand enjoy it.

So, without further due, I would like to first ask you. Have you seen the movie Avatar? Regardless, let me take you there! Imagine you are walking up steep wooden steps in the side of a mountain. Going up, you can only see trees, greenery, and nature side by side. You can only hear the birds chirping and the wind crashing against the leaves. You are reaching the top of the mountain when you take a deep breath of fresh natural air. You now get to the top and set your eyes forward to one of the most majestic landscapes you have ever seen. From side to side in full panorama, you see a series of single mountains of different shapes and sizes, they look like pillars and they seem to be reaching out of the clouds and sky to individually seem like they are floating. In short, this was my experience in the breathtaking Zhangjiajie, the first national park of China, one of the most surreal places to visit on earth and the film site of the movie “Avatar.”……

Breathtaking Avatar mountains at Zhangjiajie, China.