Take Only Photographs Leave Only Footprints

Eastern China is the country's boom-belt and its heart is the Pearl of the Orient, Shanghai, a city which was recently wonderfully described to me as "Hong Kong on steroids." Shanghai is the country's most modern city, but manages to retain both its Chinese and European history and its economic development is also helping a renaissance in culture and the arts, along with a shopping and nightlife scene matched only by Beijing and Hong Kong. Around Shanghai, the Water Towns have picturesque canals lined with classic Ming architecture and can make for great day trips, and a little further out, the city of Suzhou offers more of the same, albeit on a larger scale, along with some of the country's finest gardens and the opportunity for some serious silk shopping. Nearly 100 miles south along the Grand Canal, the former Southern Song dynasty (1126-1279) capital of Hangzhou is set on pretty West Lake and is a prime tea-growing region. Away from the lake the city is much like any other Chinese city, but the surrounding countryside and its smattering of temples and tea villages make for some excellent bike rides. Some 110 miles west of Hangzhou, Huangshan is arguably the most beautiful of eastern China's mountains and offers the region's finest scenery and best hiking. The mountain's mist-shrouded, jagged peaks, lone pines and perched temples are straight from a watercolor and it's no wonder Huangshan attracts so many visitors. But fortunately there are enough paths to ensure you can always find yourself a quiet spot. Known as the Pearl of the Orient, Shanghai has endured a boom-bust cycle like no other city in China and is a must-see for a glimpse into the China of the future. It currently has some 20 million residents. A walk along the Bund on the banks of the Huangpu River offers a cityscape to rival Hong Kong's, taking in the glory of Shanghai's colonial past, while at the same time giving views across the river to the city of tomorrow, Pudong. Less than 20 years ago, this was just marshy farmland, but today it boasts countless skyscrapers, among them China's highest tower, the Pearl Oriental TV Tower, and loftiest lodgings, the 88-floor Grand Hyatt. Traditional Chinese sights are a little sparse due to Shanghai's comparative youth, but its colonial and revolutionary history over the past 150 years has left it with a series of significant political buildings. What is more, there are modern activities aplenty, reflecting the city's dynamic and modern heart -fine dining, nightlife, shopping and a kaleidoscope of exhibition centers and good museums await. This a highly detailed guide to everything you need to know about Shanghai and its surroundings - the places to stay, the restaurants, and what to see and do - along with an extensive introductory section on China as a whole. The author lives in China and has been a tour guide there full-time for close to 10 years. This guide is an excerpt from his much larger guide to all of China, also published by Hunter, which is 650 pages in the print edition.

Arrive in Beijing and spend a few days soaking up the Imperial sights a€" the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palaces and the Great Wall. Spend your evenings enjoying Beijing duck, opera and maybe a trip to the acrobats. If you have time, take a train up to Chengde and spend a couple of days enjoying the imperial retreat before returning to the capital and flying on to Xi'an. Allow a full day at the Terracotta Warriors and another day to explore the fascinating walled city. Make sure you enjoy a Dumpling Banquet, as well as dinner in the Muslim markets. Reflect on your trip in the overnight train back to Beijing. Beijing, literally translated, means Northern Capital, a title it has held since the Ming Dynasty (see History) and a name that still holds true today. Whether imagining the past or marveling at the future, this city is most definitely still the cultural, political and, to the Pekinese, geographical, heart of the Middle Kingdom. While Beijing's modern appearance owes much to the Communist era and the recent influx of capitalist cash, its most impressive and inspiring monuments are recognition of its long imperial tradition. The scale of the city, with its population of 15 million, can initially be overwhelming, but even a short meander into one of Beijing's remaining hutong districts brings you close to the realities of daily life and all of a sudden the city seems human again. While the vast number of construction sites, flyovers and mirrored skyscrapers can come as a shock to those hoping for a view of the years when Beijing was the emperor's seat, a visit to any one of the principal imperial sights (the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven or the Summer Palaces) easily remedies this. However, the greatest of Beijing's, if not the world's, sights lies north of the city. The Great Wall never ceases to amaze and it's worth spending a couple of days out of the city to fully appreciate its majesty. If you have enough time and want more imperial splendor, the rugged countryside around the capital holds Ming and Qing tombs, while, farther afield, the Mountain Resort at Chengde was long a popular emperor's haunt and has some wild scenery along with its subdued palaces and grand temples. This a highly detailed guide to everything you need to know about Beijing and its surroundings - the places to stay, the restaurants, and what to see and do - along with an extensive introductory section on China as a whole. The author lives in China and has been a tour guide there full-time for close to 10 years. This guide is an excerpt from his much larger guide to all of China, also published by Hunter, which is 650 pages in the print edition.

Passport to the best of Cape Town, South Afrca is relevant not just to the first time traveller to this city, but the second and third time visitor too, serving travellers from around the world as well as fellow South Africans.

Featuring thirty-two pages of full-color examples, this under-$25 guide is the perfect digital photography reference for serious amateurs as well as nonprofessional photographers who use a digital camera on the job Walks readers through the entire digital photography workflow, from shooting photos and editing them in the digital darkroom to cataloging, printing, and publishing images online Topics covered include selecting cameras, printers, and accessories; mastering basic digital camera techniques; getting great results when shooting sports, nature, landscapes, and people; and working with Photoshop and other image-editing and image-management software Features step-by-step tutorials, full-color before-and-after images, and a companion Web site with bonus sample images plus a mini take-along field guide that readers can print out

Fly into Hong Kong and spend a few days discovering its diverse attractions -from shopping in bustling Kowloon to hiking along one of the islands' well-marked lush trails. Eat dim sum downtown and head up Victoria Peak for an after-dinner drink to remember. Take a boat or a train to Guangzhou and sample yet more Cantonese delights, along with some fine colonial architecture, maybe stopping off in modern Shenzhen for a peek at the new China. From Guangzhou, take a bus, train or flight to Guilin and spend a day visiting its mountainous and man-made attractions. The following morning take a boat along the Li River to Yangshuo, where you can spend the next few days hiking and cycling through the famed idyllic limestone scenery. Head back to Guilin for the return flight to Hong Kong. Take the ferry over to Macau and enjoy a day or two soaking up the splendid architecture, fine cuisine, small fishing villages, temples and beaches. Whether flying into the vast, ultra-modern Chek Lap Kok Airport and being whisked into the city center on the hi-tech, ultra-fast Airport Express, or arriving by boat at the China Ferry Terminal, Hong Kong, with its population of seven million, never fails to impress. You instantly know you're somewhere special, particularly the first time you lay eyes on the spectacle of the skyscraper-filled island from the Kowloon side. After weeks or months on the road in China, Hong Kong is the perfect spot for some dining, shopping and splurging. But if it's the great outdoors you're after, there are plenty of hikes and beaches in the territory as well. Hong Kong is a place where even the mildest exploration can offer stark contrast and both traditional Chinese and colonial history lurk beneath the city's slick modern exterior. Whether swimming in the sea or hiking an island trail to a small shrine through lush tropical undergrowth on one of the outlying islands, it's difficult to imagine that the gleaming skyscrapers are only a short boat ride away. Forty miles across the water, Macau also served its time as a colony and its Portuguese history has engendered a laid-back ambiance unique in China, which remains to this day despite a recent building boom. Walking through the architectural monuments of Macau's stunning historic center you'd easily believe you were in Lisbon, were it not for the occasional Taoist temple. Conversely, a trip out to the islands will take you on a journey into Macau's casino-laden future at Cotai and then back to its past amidst the small fishing villages and beaches of yesteryear on Coloane. This a highly detailed guide to everything you need to know about Hong Kong, Macau and their surroundings - the places to stay, the restaurants, and what to see and do - along with an extensive introductory section on China as a whole. The author lives in China and has been a tour guide there full-time for close to 10 years. This guide is an excerpt from his much larger guide to all of China, also published by Hunter, which is 650 pages in the print edition.

This resource is for any busy teacher looking to enrich their lesson planning and support the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and metacognition skills. Designed for use in Grades 5–10, each of these 21 tools is paired with a real-world issue or ethical dilemma to guide students through complex social, emotional, and intellectual topics and can even be used within your existing lessons. Every chapter introduces a different visual thinking tool and a step-by-step approach for a range of topics from challenging bias and promoting self-awareness to reflecting on social interactions. Stories from the classroom and world, a range of ethical issues, and student and educator examples illustrate how the tools can be used. Ideal for in-service teachers in Grades 5–10 across content areas regardless of curriculums, these tools will inspire your students to be open-minded and actively engage in classroom discussions while developing new and different perspectives about themselves, your lessons and the world around them. The 21 Harbord & Khan Thinking Tools © featured in the book are available to download for classroom use at www.routledge.com/9781032662923.