USA - Utah - Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

From the high vantage point of the Snowbird tram, Salt Lake City shines at night among its mountain borders, which are created by the Wasatch Mountains in the eastern foreground and the Oquirrh Mountains on the western horizon.

Sent by Liv from Salt Lake City, USA.

Salt Lake City (Navajo: Sooléí), often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The population was 199,723 at the 2020 census, while the Salt Lake City metropolitan area has an estimated 1.3 million residents, the 46th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is also part of the larger Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo combined statistical area, an urban corridor along a 120-mile (190 km) segment of the Wasatch Front with a population of approximately 2.8 million. It is the principal urban center within the Great Basin, along with Reno, Nevada.

Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by settlers led by Brigham Young who were seeking to escape persecution they had experienced while living farther east. The Mormon pioneers, as they would come to be known, entered a semi-arid valley and immediately began building an extensive irrigation network that could feed the population and foster future growth. Salt Lake City's street grid system is based on a standard compass grid plan, with the southeast corner of Temple Square serving as the origin of the Salt Lake meridian. Owing to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City; the word "Great" was dropped from the city's name in 1868. Immigration of international members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the West". It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913. Two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, now intersect in the city. The city also has a belt route, I-215.

Salt Lake City has developed a strong tourist industry based primarily on skiing, outdoor recreation, and religious tourism. It hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and will host the 2034 Winter Olympics. It is known for its politically liberal culture, which stands in contrast with most of the rest of the state's highly conservative leanings. It is home to a significant LGBT community and hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival. It is the industrial banking center of the United States. Salt Lake City and the surrounding area are also the location of several institutions of higher education including the state's flagship research school, the University of Utah (read more).

USA - Utah - Salt Lake Temple

The SALT LAKE TEMPLE on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sent by unoriginalusername08 from Salt Lake City in Utah, USA.

The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At 253,015 square feet (23,505.9 m²), it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846. The temple was closed in December 2019 for a general remodelling and seismic renovations, which were initially estimated to take approximately four years. Subsequent updates extended the estimated completion to 2026, for a total renovation timeline lasting an anticipated six or seven years.

The Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the 10-acre (4.0 ha) Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Like other Latter-day Saint temples, the church and its members consider it sacred and a temple recommend is required to enter, so there are no public tours inside the temple as there are for other adjacent buildings on Temple Square. In 1912, the first public photographs of the interior were published in the book The House of the Lord, by James E. Talmage. Since then, various photographs have been published, including by Life magazine in 1938. The temple grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction.^[9] Due to its location at church headquarters and its historical significance, Latter-day Saints from around the world patronize the temple (read more).

Germany - Middle Rhein Valley (Mittelrhein)

Various scenic locations in Middle Rhein Valley (Mittelrhein) in Germany. 

Sent by Katrin from Potsdam in Brandenburg, Germany.

Middle Rhine (German: Mittelrhein, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩ˌʁaɪn]; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (Oberes Mittelrheintal), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, about 130 metres (430 ft) from the top of the rocks down to the average water-line.

The Middle Rhine is one of four sections of the Rhine between Lake Constance and the North Sea (the others being the High Rhine, Upper Rhine and Lower Rhine). The upper half of the Middle Rhine (Rhine Gorge) from Bingen (Rhine-kilometer 526) to Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a striking cultural landscape with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages, unique terraced vineyards, and many wine villages. The lower half, from Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) to Bonn (Rhine-kilometer 655), is famous for the formerly volcanic Siebengebirge, with the Drachenfels volcano. Both parts together are known as "the romantic Rhine" (read more).

Germany - Saxony - Königstein Fortress

Königstein Fortress in Saxon Switzerland (Sächsische Schweiz), Germany.

Sent by Sophia from Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Königstein Fortress (German: Festung Königstein), the "Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one of the largest hilltop fortifications in Europe and sits atop the table hill of the same name.

The 9.5-hectare (23-acre) rock plateau rises 240 metres (790 ft) above the Elbe and has over 50 buildings, some over 400 years old, that bear witness to the military and civilian life in the fortress. The rampart run of the fortress is 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) long with walls up to 42 metres (138 ft) high and steep sandstone faces. In the centre of the site is a 152.5-metre-deep (500 ft 4 in) well, which is the deepest in Saxony and second-deepest well in Europe.

The fortress, which for centuries was used as a state prison, is still intact and is now one of Saxony's foremost tourist attractions, with 700,000 visitors per year (read more).

Czechia - Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec

Kutná Hora

Originally a mining settlement, it was founded in the 13th century during the reign of Wenceslas II. The name Mons Kuthna first appeared in 1289. In 1300, Wenceslas II issued a new mining law and Prague groschen began to be minted in Kutná Hora. In 1318, Kutná Hora was promoted to a city. From the 1380s, the yield from the mines declined, and during theHussite Wars, the city was burned down twice. In 1471, Vladislav II Jagiellon was elected King of Bohemia and silver mining increased again thanks to new technologies. After 1530, production began to decline again and in 1727, the mine was closed.

Sent by Vlad'ka from Neratovice in Czechia.

The historic town centre of Kutná Hora with the Church of St Barbara and the Church of Our Lady at Sedlec are located in Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Kutná Hora has developed as a result of the discovery and exploitation of the rich veins of silver ore since the end of the 13th century. In the 14th century, it became a royal city endowed with buildings that symbolized its enormous prosperity. The Church of St Barbara and the former Cistercian monastery church of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist in Sedlec, located at a distance of approximately 1.5 km to the north-east of the historic centre, were to influence considerably the architecture of Central Europe. Today, these masterpieces, representing cathedral architecture, form the dominants of a well-preserved medieval town-planning structure filled with Gothic and Baroque urban fabric.

The most striking of Kutná Hora is the church of Saint Barbara, the Gothic jewel whose interior is decorated with frescoes depicting the secular life of the medieval mining town of Kutná Hora. This piece of art had a major influence on the architecture of central Europe. The former Cistercian cathedral, Our Lady of Sedlec, which is at a distance of 1.5 km northeast of the historic centre, was restored in the Baroque style in the early 18th century by Jan Blazej Santini. For the first time, he used his conception of the Baroque Gothic style which strongly influenced the history of architecture.

The oldest neighbourhoods Vlassky dvur (Italian courtyard which includes the southeast tower) are dating back to the early 14th century. The royal chapel is Gothic and boasts a remarkable interior design. Attached to the Italian court, we find the church of St Jacob from the 14th century whose furniture date back mostly to the end of the Gothic period. The Hradek (little castle) is an interesting example of Gothic palazzetto of Central Europe which has kept both inside and outside in its original condition (read more).

Taiwan - Jiufen - Shuqi Road

Shuqi Road, Jiufen.

Night time in Jiufen is nothing like the day; the atmosphere is mysterious and silent.

Sent by Peini from Taipei, Taiwan.

Feel spirited away in this decommissioned gold mining mountain town, originally built by the Japanese and now a maze of lanes and alleyways with rich history and culture.

Founded during the Qing Dynasty, this small town was a relatively isolated village until the discovery of gold during the Japanese occupation in 1893, quickly developing the town due to a gold rush. Many buildings in the town remain unchanged to this day, reflecting the Japanese influence on both architecture and culture on the island. During World War II, the town housed a Japanese prisoner of war camp where captured Allied Force soldiers (mainly British) were forced to work in the gold mines. After the war, gold mining activities declined, and the town today exists mainly as a tourist destination remembering and celebrating Taiwanese history and culture.

A convenient way to visit Jiufen (as well as Shifen in Pingxi 平溪) is to take a shuttle bus from Ximen, leaving in the morning and returning before dinner.

From the beginning of the 1990s, Jiufen experienced a tourist boom that has shaped the town into an attraction easily accessible from Taipei City as a nice day trip (around 2 hours away roundtrip by public transit). Today, the town is filled with both retro Chinese and Japanese style cafés, tea houses, and souvenir shops, as well as fantastic views of the ocean (read more).

Lithuania - "Archer" (Golden Boy)

"Archer". Sculptor Stanilovas Kuzma. 1986.

Sent by TOMA from Šiauliai in Lithuania

The extraordinary 750th anniversary of the city's existence in 1986 motivated the proper acknowledgment of the significance of this date. The competition for the reconstruction of the square was announced in 1981, and it was won by a trio of architects from Šiauliai:

A. Èerniauskas, R. Jurëla and A. Vyšniûnas. The centrepiece of Sundial Square is the gilded and bronze-ornamented decorative sculpture Šaulys (Archer) by Stanislovas Kuzma. It is almost four metres high. The sculpture, often referred to as the Golden Boy, and the numbers 12, 3 and 6, indicating the hours and infused into the pavement of the square in a way unify the three symbols of Šiauliai: the sun, representing the Battle of the Sun that took place on the city grounds, the archer that the city's name derives from, and the time that has passed since the name of the city was mentioned for the first time (in 1236). It is the highest sundial in Lithuania (read more).

Mexico - Pátzcuaro - Dance of the Little Old Men

La Danza de los Viejitos (Dance of the Little Old Men) in Pátzcuaro, Mexico.

Sent by Denisse from Michoacán México.

The Danza de los viejitos (Spanish: Dance of the little old men) is a traditional folk dance in Michoacán, Mexico.

The Danza de los Viejitos is said have begun as a dance in the Mexican State of Michoacán in the Purépecha Region. The men that perform this dance are known as Danzantes or "Dancers." This dance was performed by four men that represent fire, water, earth, and air. Four dancers are also believed to be the correct number to dance in this traditional performance because there are four colors that make corn which is red, yellow, white, and blue. The dancers ask El Dios Viejo (The Old God) for good harvest, communication with spirits, and to learn about the past or to predict the future.

A Danzante wears a top and bottom made out of a white blanket. It is topped with a "sarape," which is a blanket worn as a cloak in Latin America. Each sarape contains different designs and colors. They wear a hat made out of straw with adorned lengthy pieces of ribbon, each one a different color. The ribbon is parted down the middle of the hat, each one hanging 10 cm on the sides. Their shoes are sandals that have a wooden sole in order to make a tapping noise throughout their dance, followed by a wooden cane they also use. The dancers also wear a mask made out of either wood, cornstalk paste, or clay with an elderly man's face painted on it (read more).

China - Beijing - Hutong People

Hutong People in Beijing.

Sent by Ying Huang from Beijing, China.

Few cities can match Beijing for big-hitting historical sites. From the Forbidden City to the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the incomparable Great Wall, there’s a richness of culture to be found in China’s capital that’s hard to beat. But beyond the main attractions, it’s the Beijing hutong (胡同), the city’s ancient residential alleyways, that leave the deepest impression. 

These grey-brick, tree-shaded small streets are where local life unfolds: a game of xiangqi (Chinese chess) drawing a crowd; songbirds in cages; fruit-sellers and scrap collectors; a cleaver-sharpener doing the rounds. These residential areas are where you’ll find an older generation living their lives in traditional dwellings, removed from the breakneck pace of change in the rest of the city.

More recently, multiple hutong have become homes to hip cafés, cocktail bars and boutique hotels, meaning there are even more alleyway gems for the curious traveller to discover (read more).

Taiwan - Sky Lantern at Shihfen

Sky Lantern at Shihfen, Pingsi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Sent by Patricia from New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Shifen Sky Lantern Square is located in front of Shifen Tourist Center. It is a place used as parking lot during the day; however this place will turn into a popular spot for holding the Sky Lantern Festival during the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar every year. On this day, you will see over 100,000 sky lanterns rising into night sky during the events; it will be a magical and breathtaking sight that you will cherish forever.

Sky lantern” was invented during the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-265) by Zhuge Liang aka Kongming. In the beginning, the sky lantern was created to use for transmit military information. In 19th century the Lantern Festival tradition has brought to Taiwan, and ever since then starting from the spring of planting season, people would release “sky lanterns” into the air with their prayers for the coming year. The American Discovery Channel TV Program ranked "The Fantastic Festivals of the World" has highlighted the Taiwan Lantern Festival as one of the best festivals in the world. The sky lanterns are constructed from oiled rice paper on a bamboo made frame, and contain a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material. After lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, same concept of a hot air balloon which raises the lantern into the sky. People usually write their wishes on the sky lanterns because it is believed as the lantern fly into the sky; it is a way to pass on your wishes to gods above(read more).

Taiwan - Xia-Hai City God Temple

Xia-Hai City God Temple, Taipei.

The red thread circled around the incense to break bad luck and to bring fortune.

Sent by Patricia from New Taipei City, Taiwan.

The Taipei Xia-Hai City God Temple (Chinese: 大稻埕霞海城隍廟; lit. 'Dadaocheng Xia-Hai God Temple') is a temple dedicated to the City God or Cheng Huang Ye (城隍爺) in Taipei, Taiwan.

The Xia-Hai City God Temple was built in 1859, and maintained by a single family to the present day. The Ministry of the Interior designated the site an historical monument in 1985. It is located on Dihua Street in Dadaocheng, which is today part of Datong District in Taipei. The temple houses over six hundred deities in its 152 square meters of area, resulting in the highest statue density in Taiwan. Currently, due to the temple enshrining Yue Lao (God of Marriage and Love), it is one of the popular pilgrimage sites among believers in Taiwan who seek for relationships and marriage (read more).

Taiwan - Face Threading

Night Market, Taipei.

Face threading is the oldest facial purifying technique by using just one single cotton thread to transform all girls into superstars.

Sent by Patricia from New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Chinese facial threading is an ancient beauty practice--still very alive today--that makes your face smoother and brighter, using only a spool of thread and white powder. Most Taiwanese associate this cosmetic skill with their grandmothers' era and it is relatively simple, using just two staggered threads to remove extra hair on one's face, shaving/shaping eyebrows and exfoliation (read more).

Taiwan - Zhongli Tourist Night Market

Zhongli Tourist Night Market, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.

Sent by Patricia from New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Zhongli Tourist Night Market is located on Xinming Road in Zhongli District; it can be found at the intersection of Zhongyang West Road and Minquan Road, covering a distance of around 700m. The Zhongli Tourist Night Market is one of the top tourist night markets in Taoyuan. With many schools close by, the street is being used as a regular road during the day. Many school buses will pass by until approximately 17:00pm, where vendors being to setup their stalls. At this hour, this section of Xinming Road which is normally filled with cars becomes a hub for vendors and stalls. The market is formed with stalls on either side of the road, as well as stalls neatly lined-up in the middle of the road, attracting a large crowd. During weekends and holidays, the night market is completely packed with visitors, becoming even more fun as the night grows.

Zhongli Tourist Night Market is mainly set up on Xinming Road with three major product categories: lifestyle products, food and snacks, and fruits. Most of the stalls here are old and well established shops; they include all kinds of snacks, men and women’s clothing, hardware stores, daily items, ornaments and decorations, cold drinks and ices, anything ranging from food to toys can be found here. The first half of the night market is mainly clothing stores, convenience stores, and entertainment products from Korea and Hong Kong. The second half of the market is a food heaven where numerous well-known stalls offering local delicacies such as sweet potato balls, fried spareribs, mixed tofu-pudding, and hot and spicy stinky tofu are all gathered in one place. Other local snacks such as pork intestine noodle soup, fried pineapple shrimps, oyster pancakes, freshly cooked squid, and mini egg cakes are just as tasty as those from other night markets! (read more)

Taiwan - Longshan Temple

Longshan Temple, Taipei.

Two palms together, I wish all the peace for the families.

Sent by Patricia from New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Bangka Lungshan Temple (also Lungshan Temple of Manka, Mengjia Longshan Temple) is a Taiwanese folk temple in Wanhua District (alternately known as Bangka/Mengjia), Taipei, Taiwan. The temple was built in Taipei in 1738 by settlers from Fujian during Qing rule in honor of Guanyin. It served as a place of worship and a gathering place for the Chinese settlers. In addition to its Chinese Buddhist elements, it includes halls and altars to Chinese folk deities such as Mazu and Guan Yu.

This temple originated its name from the ancient Lungshan Temple established in Chin-chiang county of Fukien province in the seventh century. Immigrants from the three counties Chin-chiang, Nan-an and Hui-an of Fukien came to Manka in the beginning of the eighteenth century. As they were pious followers of that ancient Lungshan Temple in their home town, they erected this one as a branch temple at Manka and named it after the root temple when they created a new settlement here in Taipei. Lungshan Temple of today is no longer in the original buildings constructed in 1738. It was rebuilt in 1919 and completed in 1924 (read more).

USA - Texas - The Lost Mine Trail

CASA GRANDE FROM LOST MINE TRAIL

Big Bend National Park, Texas

The Lost Mine Trail starts at Panther Pass and skirts the slope of Casa Grande to the Juniper Canyon. Overlook the trail then continues to the top of Lost Mine Peak, with an elevation of 7,500 feet.

Sent by K. Jones from Colorado, USA.

From the very first step, the Lost Mine Trail leads hikers into a different world - a woodland-grassland ecosystem with some of the best scenic views in the park. Walk this trail and learn why so many park staff and visitors alike list it as their favorite hike in Big Bend National Park.

The Lost Mine Trail rises 1,100 feet over 2.4 miles (4.8 miles round-trip) and provides excellent views of the surrounding mountains and desert. The average time to complete this trail is around three hours, so take plenty of water and a snack (read more).

United Kingdom - England - Blackheath

Clouds over Blackheath village, London SE3.

Sent by Simon from Blackheath, England.

Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. Historically within the county of Kent, it is located 1-mile (1.6 km) northeast of Lewisham, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Greenwich and 6.4 miles (10.3 km) southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London.

The area southwest of its station and in its ward is named Lee Park. Its northern neighbourhood of Vanbrugh Park is also known as St John's Blackheath and despite forming a projection has amenities beyond its traditional reach named after the heath. To its west is the core public green area that is the heath and Greenwich Park, in which sit major London tourist attractions including the Greenwich Observatory and the Greenwich Prime Meridian. Blackheath railway station is south of the heath (read more).

Japan - Ishikawa Prefecture - 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art at Kanazawa

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.

Sent by Makiko from Toyo, Japan.

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (金沢21世紀美術館, Kanazawa Nijūisseiki Bijutsukan) is a museum of contemporary art located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.

The museum was designed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the architectural office SANAA in 2004. In October 2005, one year after its opening, the Museum marked 1,570,000 visitors. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic it attracted only 971,256 visitors, a drop of 63 percent from 2019, but it still ranked tenth on the list of most-visited art museums in the world.

The Museum is located in the center of Kanazawa, near Kenroku-en garden and the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art. The building has a circular form, with a diameter of 112.5 metres. This shape aims to keep the appearance of the overall building volume low, to mitigate the scale of the project and allows access from multiple points of entry. The transparency of the building further manifests the wish to avoid the museum being perceived as a large, introverted mass (read more).

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Srebrenik

Srebrenik Fortress in Srebrenik, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sent by Lejla from Srebrenik, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Srebrenik (Serbian Cyrillic: Сребреник) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla. As of 2013, the city had a population of 39,678 inhabitants, while the urban centre itself had a population of 6,694.

The earliest historical record documenting Srebrenik is the edict of Stephen II to Ragusa signed on 15 February, 1333. According to documents from the same period, Srebrenik was under the administration of župa Usora. Srebrenik fortress, a medieval fortress dating back to at least 1333, is located on the Majevica mountain, providing an important strategic stronghold in the area.

In September 1363, king Louis I of Hungary sent an army to Bosnia, led by his palatine Nicholas Kont. This army suffered substantial losses of Hungarian soldiers and materials in Srebrenik. Among the lost materials was the royal seal, which was replaced afterwards (read more).

USA - Alaska - State Flag Song

ALASKA - THE MAGNIFICENT 49TH STATE

Sent by Erica from Alaska, USA.

The words to the song Alaska's Flag were written by Marie Drake, a long-time employee of the Alaska Department of Education, and set to music composed by Elinor Dusenbury, whose husband was commander of Chilkoot Barracks at Haines from 1933 to 1936. The Territorial Legislature adopted Alaska's Flag as Alaska's official song in 1955.

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue,
Alaska's flag, may it mean to you,
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes and the flowers nearby,
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams,
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear," the "Dipper," and shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
O'er land and sea a beacon bright,
Alaska's flag to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier (read more).