China/Nepal (8,848 m) – Tallest Mountain in the World/Asia At 8,848 meters above Sea Level, Mount Everest is general acknowledged as the highest peak on Earth, though this distinction is challenged by the standards of prominence, base-to-cone and distance from the center of the Earth. Located at the heart of the Himalayan Mountains of Central Asia, it is in one of the … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF HUAIHAI (HUAIHAI BATTLEFIELD)
Xuzhou, China (1948 AD) The Battle of Huaihai was one of the three great Communist victories of the Chinese Civil War. Following directly after the Liaoshen Campaign in Manchuria and fought simultaneously with the Pingjin Campaign north of Beijing, Huaihai witnessed the almost total annihilation of the main Nationalist army. By the outcome of the battle, the fall of Chiang … [Read more...]
BATTLES OF CHANGSHA (CHANGSHA BATTLEFIELD)
Changsha, China (1939–1944 AD) The Battles of Changsha were a series of four major battles between China and Japan during World War II. Three times, in 1939, 1941 and 1942, the Chinese held off immense Japanese assaults on the highly strategic city of Changsha. This made Changsha one of the bloodiest and important battlefields of World War II, on a par perhaps with … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF YANGXIA (YANGXIA BATTLEFIELD)
Wuhan, China (1911 AD) The Battle of Yangxia was the final great battle of the Xinhai Revolution. It led directly to the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the overthrow of the last emperor of China, a position that had been in existence for thousands of years. Actually a series of battles that took place in and around Wuhan, Yangxia was a pivotal moment in Chinese history, one … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF MUKDEN (MUKDEN BATTLEFIELD)
Shenyang, China (1905 AD) The Battle of Mukden was the climactic engagement of the Russo-Japanese War for control of northeastern China. It was a landmark battle for several reasons: First, it was the largest battle fought using modern weaponry between the Napoleanic Wars and World War I. Second, it was the first time in history an Asian power fielded a truly massive, modern … [Read more...]
BATTLES OF CANTON (CANTON BATTLEFIELD)
Guangzhou, China (1841 AD, 1856 AD & 1857 AD) The Battles of Canton were a series of four military engagements that took place in and around the city of Canton during the two Opium Wars. Canton, the largest port in China at the time, was also the principal city for European trade in the Orient. During some periods it was the only port permitted for European use in … [Read more...]
GREAT MOSQUE OF XI’AN
Xi’an, China The first Muslim envoys reached China almost as early as the first Muslim armies reached North Africa, and began peacefully establishing communities there almost immediately. These ancient Islamic settlements of China, small though they were, are nevertheless among the oldest continually active Muslim communities in the world. The Great Mosque of Xi’an is a … [Read more...]
RUINS OF ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
Macau, China Although the Catholic Church did not penetrate very far into China, or northeast Asia in general, it did gain a strong foothold in the Portuguese territory of Macau, the first and last European colony in China. Its principal church, the Cathedral of St. Paul, was established by Jesuit Missionaries, and for many years was the largest Christian edifice in the Far … [Read more...]
WALLED CITY OF PINGYAO
Pingyao, China Pingyao is the greatest surviving walled city in the Far East. As in the west, many of China’s greatest cities were defended by walls in the Middle Ages. But few of these survive intact to the present day. This makes Pingyao the best preserved medieval city in China, and one of that country’s greatest historical sites. The walls and towers of Pingyao are … [Read more...]
GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Northern China The Great Wall of China is more than aptly named. Built to put an end to nomadic maurauders from Central Asia, this fortification is one of the world’s most mind-blowing sites. This fact was confirmed by the Great Wall’s inclusion into the list of the New Seven Wonders which was chosen by hundreds of millions of voters around the world. Contrary to popular … [Read more...]
