Gugong – Forbidden City

Forbidden City (Gugong) is in the center of the capital of China – Beijing, north of the famous Tiananmen Square. According to prayer: “Heaven meets Earth, wind and rain come together and Ying and Yang live in harmony here”. This palace of the emperor is the world’s largest palace by number of rooms and is about 600 years old.
During the reign of the Ming and Qing one of the main religious rituals of emperors was praying. The emperor was considered sacred, born by Mother Earth and Father Heaven, so he alone was allowed to worship the god of the earth and the god of the sky.
The Yongle Emperor (personal name Zhu Di or Chu Ti), who ruled from 1403 to 1423, ordered to build a wonderful temple close to the center of Beijing. The construction began in 1406 and was completed 14 years later. Walls, fences, roofs were constructed by around a million workers. In 1420 the building was ready but it was forbidden to cross its borders for mere mortals. Only the emperor and his family, eunuchs, concubines, guards and servants could be there.
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Kenya – Cradle of Humanity

It’s believed that some of the very earliest humans lived in Kenya. That is why some people call it the “cradle of humanity.”
Kenya is an African country, a land of natural beauty. Kenya borders Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The country has a southeastern coastline along the Indian Ocean. Kenya’s area is 582,488 square kilometers. Its official name is Republic of Kenya.
Nairobi is the capital of the country and its largest city. It was named after a watering hole that was in the area before the city was built. The Masai people called the watering hole Enkare Nairobi, which means “cold water.”
Lake Victoria (the largest lake in Africa) makes up part of Kenya’s western borders.
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Uganda – Country of Lakes and Rivers

Uganda is a beautiful African country with many lakes and rivers. There are eight main rivers and six major lakes. Lake Victoria is the world’s second largest freshwater lake, after Lake Superior in North America. Uganda shares borders with Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its area is 236,040 square kilometers. Its official name is Republic of Uganda.
Kampala is the capital city, which is built on seven hills. In the local language, Kampala means “the hill of antelopes.”
Uganda is home to many kinds of animals. There are hippopotamuses and crocodiles, zebras, giraffes, antelope and many others exotic animals. The country has several national parks to protect its animals. The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park contains nearly half the world’s population of mountain gorillas. Ruwenzori Mountains National Park covers the main part of the Ruwenzori mountain chain in the west. The park contains glaciers, waterfalls, and lakes and also serves as a habitat for many endangered species.
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Castle of the Holy Angel

At the request of the Emperor Hadrian people began to build his tomb in 130. Emperor was fifty-four years old and it was time to think about the last resting place. He ordered to build a magnificent tomb for himself and his family.
The Roman, like the Greek, funerals had always been considered a sacred ritual. The Romans believed in the sad fate of unburied men. Therefore, many emperors had wonderful tombs. The imperial funeral processions were luxurious, with musicians, actors and mourners.
Hadrian was called the Restorer, because during the years of his reign a number of buildings were built in Rome. The most interesting of them are the temple of Venus and Circus Maximus. Hadrian decided to build a mausoleum and surround it with a wall. The building was supposed to reflect the greatness of the emperor. They decided to build it on the right bank of the Tiber. But Hadrian did not see his mausoleum completed. His tomb was fully completed only a year after his death. Since then Hadrian’s mausoleum became the burial place of the emperors.
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Ireland – The Emerald Isle

Ireland occupies five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the eastern part of the North Atlantic. Its area is 70,280 square kilometers. It lies at the westernmost edge of Europe, to the west of Great Britain. The smaller northern part of the island is called Northern Ireland and is part of the United Kingdom.
Ireland is bounded on the east by the Irish Sea, on the southeast by St. George’s Channel, on the south by the Celtic Sea, and on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean.
The land is covered with grasslands and green mosses. Some people call Ireland the Emerald Isle because it is so beautifully green.
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Huang He – Yellow River

The Huang He is the second longest river in China after the Yangtze River. The name Huang He means “Yellow River” in Chinese. It got its name from the color of its muddy waters. The river is 5,464 kilometers long. It begins in mountains in western China. Much of it runs through the Loess Plateau and a lot of soil washes into the river. The river runs across the North China Plain and flows into the Yellow Sea. The chief tributaries of the Huang River are the Wei and Fen Rivers.
The Huang River has made at least five major direction changes from 602 B.C.E. to today. In the 1200s the river changed its course from northern to southern Shandong Province, flooding 7,769 square kilometers of farmland. In 1850s the river again began flowing through northern Shandong Province, destroying large areas of farmland. In 1938 General Chiang Kai-shek ordered to destroy the levees to flood a valley to stop the advance of Japanese troops. Many of the enemies were killed and more than 1 million Chinese civilians drowned.
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Grand Canyon – Nature’s Masterpiece

The Grand Canyon is in northern Arizona in the United States. It is the most beautiful and spectacular canyon in the world. It is known for its fantastic shapes and colors. It is a natural symbol of North America. Each year, nearly 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon.
The word ‘canyon’ comes from the Spanish word cañón, which means ‘tube’.
The Grand Canyon is 446 kilometers long and about 0.2 to 29 kilometers wide. It has been carved by the Colorado River and stretches in a zigzag course. Wind and rain have helped the erosion process. Some of the rock towers look like castles and temples. The canyon is of different colors – red, yellow, gray, green, pink, and violet.
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