Lake Baikal

Wonderful Unesco card from Siberia(it is very special to me ,my dad was born in Siberia)

We visited Siberia in 1990 or 1991 ..I guess.I remeber it was really hot but I loved it.

Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake; it is the second most voluminous lake, after the Caspian Sea. As the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, with an average depth of 744.4 m (2,442 ft), Lake Baikal contains roughly 20% of the world's surface fresh water, and is located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia (between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, near the city of Irkutsk).
At 1,642 metres (5,387 ft), Lake Baikal is the deepest, and among the clearest of all lakes in the world. At more than 25 million years old, Baikal is also the world's oldest lake. Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley, having the typical long crescent shape with a surface area of 31,722 km2/12,248 sq mi, less than that of Lake Superior or Lake Victoria. Baikal is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is also home to Buryat tribes who reside on the eastern side of Lake Baikal, rearing goats, camels, cattle and sheep, where the regional temperature varies from a minimum of −19 °C (−2 °F) in winter to maximum of 14 °C (57 °F) in summer.

South Korea

It has been ages when I posted something here.Wel,l now I have a reason to do it.I received a card from Korea some days ago.And now I want to share it with you:)It is showing aerial view of Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone,It belongs to Unesco World Natural Heritage Jeju.

Jeju is a volcanic island formed during the fourth epoch of the Cenozoic Era. With its well-preserved geological features, the island is scientifically valuable for study of volcanic activities and subsequent lava cave formation. In 2007 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes on the World Natural Heritage List in recognition of their prominent scientific value and aesthetic scenery. The designation covered three sites-the Mt. Halla Nature Reserve, the Geomunoreum lava tube system and the Seongsan Ilchulbong, an archetypal tuff cone.

The World Natural Heritage in Jeju consists of three sites covering a total of 188.4 square kilometers, including some 187.2 square kilometers of land, which is 10.1 percent of the island' s total territory, and 1.2 square kilometers of publicly owned water surface. Mt. Halla (Hallasan) has a vast array of plant and animal species and superb natural scenery that features the crater lake Baengnokdam (White Deer Lake) on the top, fantastic cliffs and waterfalls. The mountain, rising 1,950 meters above sea level, has a unique vertical distribution of plants of diverse zones ranging from the subtropical, warm temperate and temperate to frigid zones.

The tuff cone of Seongsan Sunrise Peak, created by undersea volcanic eruption, has a dramatic landscape. The fortress-like peak, with its walls rising out of the ocean, has exceptional exposures of its structural and sediment characteristics, including the crater preserving its original shape. It is a world-class location for understanding the process of volcanic formation and Surtseyan-type eruptions.

The Geomunoreum lava tube system, regarded as the finest of its kind in the world, comprises a lateral volcano and five lava caves. They were created some 100,000-300,000 years ago when magma erupted from Geomunoreum and flowed through natural conduits slanted northeast toward the coastline, which are now empty caves displaying unique spectacles of multi-colored carbonate roofs and floors. Varying in length, structure and component, the five caves are Bengdwi Cave, Manjang and Gimnyeong Caves, Yongcheon Cave and Dangcheomul Cave. The Geomunoreum lateral volcano is Natural Monument.

Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Slot (in english Kronborg castle) is situated near the town of Helsingør (immortalised as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet) on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 km wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a fortress at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea. The castle has for centuries been one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list on November 30, 2000.

The castle's story dates back to a fortress, Krogen, built in the 1420s by the Danish king,Eric of Pomerania. The king insisted on the payment of sound dues by all ships wishing to enter or leave the Baltic Sea; to help enforce his demands, he built a powerful fortress controlling the sound. It then consisted of a number of buildings inside a surrounding wall.

Stamped with Copenhagen Opera House stamp.Value 7.75 DKK.

The Copenhagen Opera House (in Danish usually called Operaen) is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built with construction costs well over 500 million U.S. dollars.. It is located on the island of Holmen in the center ofCopenhagen.

Prague,Czech Republic

CZ- 33144

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included Praga mater urbium/Praha matka měst ("Prague – Mother of Cities") in Latin/Czech,Stověžatá Praha ("City of a Hundred Spires") in Czech or Zlaté město/Goldene Stadt ("Golden City") in Czech/German.

Situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. For many decades during theGothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the permanent seat of two Holy Roman Emperorsand thus was also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

Today, the city proper is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million.

Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list ofWorld Heritage Sites, making the city one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.1 million international visitors annually, as of 2009.

Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

A beautiful swap card from Irene(quivive).It shows Sigiriya Rock and the Frescoes 5th Century.

Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin situated in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos), which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. The Sigiriya was built during the reign of King Kassapa I (AD 477 – 495), and it is one of the seven World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountainmonastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the Buddhist Sangha. The garden and palace were built by King Kasyapa. Following King Kasyapa's death, it was again a monastery complex up to about the 14th century, after which it was abandoned. . The Sigiri inscriptions were deciphered by the archaeologist Senarath Paranavithanain his renowned two-volume work, published by Oxford, Sigiri Graffiti. He also wrote the popular book "Story of Sigiriya".

The Mahavamsa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, describes King Kasyapa as the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his brother Mogallana, Dhatusena's son by the true queen. Mogallana fled to India to escape being assassinated by Kasyapa but vowed revenge. In India he raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka which he considered was rightfully his. Knowing the inevitable return of Mogallana, Kasyapa is said to have built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya as a fortress and pleasure palace. Mogallana finally arrived and declared war. During the battle Kasyapa's armies abandoned him and he committed suicide by falling on his sword. Chronicles and lore say that the battle-elephant on which Kasyapa was mounted changed course to take a strategic advantage, but the army misinterpreted the movement as the King having opted to retreat, prompting the army to abandon the king altogether. Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura, converting Sigiriya into a monastery complex.

Alternative stories have the primary builder of Sigiriya as King Dhatusena, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Still other stories have Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya a pleasure palace. Even Kasyapa's eventual fate is mutable. In some versions he is assassinated by poison administered by a concubine. In others he cuts his own throat when isolated in his final battle. Still further interpretations have the site as the work of a Buddhist community, with no military function at all. This site may have been important in the competition between the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions in ancient Sri Lanka.

Vietnam

This beautiful card arrived today.From Valerie.Thank you,Val:)

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north,Laosto the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east. With a populatsion of over 86 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world.

The people of Vietnam regained independence and broke away from China in AD 938 after their victory at the battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive dynasties flourished along with geographic and political expansion deeper into Southeast Asia, until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving a nation divided politically into two countries. Fighting between the two sides continued during the Vietnam War, ending with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.

This card shows Ha Long Bay(belongs to UNESCO)

Ha Long Bay is a Unesco World Heritage site located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cam Pha Town and part of Van Don District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate and cultural characters. Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km², incuding 1,960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km² with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The diversity of the enivironment, climate, geology, geography, and geomorphology in the area have created biodiversity, including tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.

Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area ten of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhụ Culture around 18,000-7,000 BC, the Cái Bèo Culture 7,000-5,000 BC and the Hạ Long Culture 3,500-5,000 years ago. Ha Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Thơ Mout, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy.

Nowadays, Ha Long Bay is one of the most popular travel destinations in Vietnam.

500 years ago, Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Ha Long Bay in his verse Lộ nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it "rock wonder in the sky". In 1962 the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam listed Ha Long Bay in the National Relics and Landscapes. In 1994 the core zone of Ha Long Bay was listed by UNESCO in its World Heritage Sites according to criteria vii and listed for a second time according to criteria viii. Together with Nha Trang Bay and Lang Co of Việt Nam, Hạ Long Bay is recognized as one of the 33 most beautiful bays of the world.

Kyoto

Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.

Kyoto is located in a valley, part of the Yamashiro (or Kyoto) Basin, in the eastern part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands. The Yamashiro Basin is surrounded on three sides by mountains known as Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama, with a height just above 1000 meters above sea level. This interior positioning results in hot summers and cold winters. There are three rivers in the basin, the Ujigawa to the south, the Katsuragawa to the west, and the Kamogawa to the east. Kyoto City takes up 1.9% of the land in the prefecture with an area of 827.9 km².

The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese geomancy following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an (present-day Xi'an). The Imperial Palace faced south, resulting in Ukyō (the right sector of the capital) being on the west while Sakyō (the left sector) is on the east. The streets in the modern-day wards of Nakagyō, Shimogyō, and Kamigyō still follow a grid pattern.

Today, the main business district is located to the south of the old Imperial Palace, with the less-populated northern area retaining a far greener feel. Surrounding areas do not follow the same grid pattern as the center of the city, though streets throughout Kyoto share the distinction of having names.

Kyoto sits atop a large natural water table that provides the city with ample freshwater wells. Due to large scale urbanization, the amount of rain draining into the table is dwindling and wells across the area are drying at an increasing rate.

Venice

From Edo.RAS
Venice is a city in northen Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 (census estimate January 1, 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). The city historically was an independent nation. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It is often cited as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 62,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large franzione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon.

mt.Lushan

Show the card you offer tag from Zhuangyt.
Thank you:)

Jinxiu Valley(Mt.Lushan)

Lushan Quaternary Glaciation National Geoparkis located in the Mount Lushan region of Jiangxi Province in the People's Republic of China, and extends across a 500 km² area to the Lake Poyang basin.

It is a favoured domestic tourist destination. It features exceptional upthrows from the Quaternary age, amidst stunning landscapes: summits and peaks, valleys, gorges, gullies, rock formations, caves and waterfalls. The area also contains large numbers of Taoist and Buddhist temples, as well as several landmarks of Confucianism.

In 1996, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2004, the Lushan Quaternary Glaciation National Geopark became a UNESCO Geopark, and is included in UNESCO's International Network of Geoparks (which includes forty-eight geoparks, eighteen of which are located in China).