Podcasts about Summer Palace

Assassin's Creed Chronicles India begins in the glorious Amritsar Summer Palace, and allows players to climb, jump and fight over its rooftops against the spectacular backdrop of the capital of the Sikh Empire.The Palace was the brainchild of Ranjit Singh. To help conjure the experience of visiting the Summer Palace, and to understand its wider significance, Matt Lewis is joined once again by Davinder Toor.Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Hosted by: Matt LewisEdited by: Michael McDaidProduced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnellSenior Producer: Anne-Marie LuffProduction Manager: Beth DonaldsonExecutive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen BennettMusic by Aaron Miller, Mark RutherfordIf you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

十九世紀中葉 shí jiǔ shì jì zhōng yè - mid-19th century西方列強 xī fāng liè qiáng - Western powers侵略 qīn lüè - invasion, aggression地理大發現 dì lǐ dà fā xiàn - Age of Discovery (Great Geographical Discoveries)船隻 chuán zhī - ships, vessels接觸 jiē chù - contact, interaction工業革命 gōng yè gé mìng - Industrial Revolution迅速 xùn sù - rapid, fast武器 wǔ qì - weapons先進 xiān jìn - advanced, sophisticated淪為 lún wéi - to become (a worse state), to be reduced to半殖民半封建 bàn zhí mín bàn fēng jiàn - semi-colonial and semi-feudal屈辱 qū rǔ - humiliation, disgrace鴉片貿易 yā piàn mào yì - opium trade清朝 qīng cháo - Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)戰敗 zhàn bài - to be defeated in war簽訂 qiān dìng - to sign (a treaty, contract)南京條約 nán jīng tiáo yuē - Treaty of Nanjing開放通商口岸 kāi fàng tōng shāng kǒu àn - opening trade ports割讓香港 gē ràng xiāng gǎng - ceding Hong Kong主權 zhǔ quán - sovereignty喪失 sàng shī - to lose (rights, sovereignty, etc.)實力 shí lì - strength, capability大幅下降 dà fú xià jiàng - to decline sharply八國聯軍 bā guó lián jūn - Eight-Nation Alliance (1900 invasion of China)侵華 qīn huá - invasion of China入侵 rù qīn - to invade以...為由 yǐ ... wéi yóu - using ... as an excuse鎮壓 zhèn yā - to suppress, to crack down義和團 yì hé tuán - Boxer Rebellion (anti-foreign movement in 1899-1901)攻進 gōng jìn - to attack and enter佔領 zhàn lǐng - to occupy紫禁城 zǐ jìn chéng - Forbidden City洗劫 xǐ jié - to loot, to plunder頤和園 yí hé yuán - Summer Palace辛丑條約 xīn chǒu tiáo yuē - Boxer Protocol (1901 treaty)賠款 péi kuǎn - reparations, indemnity白銀 bái yín - silver (currency in historical China)消弱 xiāo ruò - to weaken, to diminish處境 chǔ jìng - situation, plight艱難 jiān nán - difficult, tough偽滿洲國 wèi mǎn zhōu guó - Manchukuo (puppet state in Northeast China, 1932-1945)殖民統治 zhí mín tǒng zhì - colonial rule南京大屠殺 nán jīng dà tú shā - Nanjing Massacre (1937)殺害 shā hài - to kill, to murder不甘心 bù gān xīn - unwilling to accept, resentful打壓 dǎ yā - suppression, crackdown自尊心 zì zūn xīn - self-esteem, sense of dignity損害 sǔn hài - to damage, to harm致力於 zhì lì yú - to commit to, to devote efforts to話語權 huà yǔ quán - discourse power, right to speak in international affairsIf your goal in 2025 is to improve your Chinese, meet more Taiwanese friends, and discuss a variety of topics like politics, culture, war, news, economics, and more! I invite you to book a one-on-one trial lesson with me

##SCALAREPORT: PRC culture of knock-offs and bootlegs may inform Deepseek claims.  Chris Riegel CEO, Scala.com @Stratacache. 1900 Summer Palace

Welcome to the bunker! Says hello to the grunts (us), and one-shot voodoo guy who holds the whole thing together (Jesse). We're into the first episode of the second season, and we encourage the nutty bastard to step up to the rack, and pull him limb from limb like a piñata to see what falls out.Has he seen their plan, and is dad's plan better? How do we know he's not a double agent? And would he prefer Napoleon's penis pickled in a jar, or dried like a strip of beef jerky? Are we actually having this conversation? Yes, we are actually having this conversation. Remember this slant of light.We need to stuff some f***king raccoons up some guy's chimney - let's move ahead with that process, shall we?We're all pals here, we want you to speak freely: fuckoff@firecrotchandnormcore.comBuy us a silica mud treatment at an Icelandic spa: https://www.patreon.com/THEYLIKETOWATCHCome and see two human things, standing in front of you (at the Bill Murray Comedy Club in Islington, London at 3pm on the 25th January): https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/event-detail/they-like-to-watch-live-25th-jan-the-bill-murray-london-tickets-202501251500/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Awakening Creativity: An Unexpected Journey at the Summer Palace Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/awakening-creativity-an-unexpected-journey-at-the-summer-palace Story Transcript:Zh: 夏日的颐和园，炙热的阳光洒在湖面上，微风轻拂，掀起阵阵涟漪。En: In the summer at the Summer Palace, the scorching sunlight scatters across the lake, and a gentle breeze stirs up ripples.Zh: 园中正举办着一场传统艺术节，各种民族音乐、舞蹈、和艺术展示让整个园林充满了欢声笑语。En: A traditional arts festival is underway in the garden, with various ethnic music, dances, and art displays filling the place with laughter and joy.Zh: 明宇是一位年轻的画家，他在园中漫步，希望寻找灵感。En: Mingyu, a young painter, wanders through the garden, seeking inspiration.Zh: 他刚刚经历了创作的低谷期，心中充满了挫败和焦虑。En: He has just gone through a creative slump and is filled with frustration and anxiety.Zh: 走到一座小桥上时，他停下来，打开画本，开始随意地勾勒眼前的风景。En: When he reaches a small bridge, he stops, opens his sketchbook, and starts to casually sketch the scene before him.Zh: 他试图忘掉那些对画作的期望，只是享受这一刻。En: He tries to forget the expectations for his paintings and simply enjoy the moment.Zh: 另一方面，丽华是一位艺术评论家和历史学者。En: On the other hand, Lihua is an art critic and historian.Zh: 她在记录这次艺术节，准备为文化杂志撰写文章。En: She is documenting the festival to write an article for a cultural magazine.Zh: 她对传统艺术有深厚的热情，但今天的展览似乎对她来说缺乏新意。En: She has a deep passion for traditional arts, but today's exhibition seems to lack novelty for her.Zh: 她决定深入了解前来的游客和艺术家，希望寻找一些独特的视角。En: She decides to delve deeper into the festivalgoers and artists, hoping to find some unique perspectives.Zh: 在一片老柳树下，艺术节正展示一种几乎失传的绘画技法。这里聚集了不少观众。En: Under an old willow tree, the festival showcases an almost lost painting technique, attracting many spectators.Zh: 内心斗争中的明宇漫不经心地走过去，开始对这种技艺产生兴趣。En: Mingyu, amidst his internal struggle, casually walks over and begins to take an interest in this craft.Zh: 而就在此时，丽华也注意到了这个展位。她驻足，记录着技法的细节。En: Just then, Lihua also notices this booth, pausing to document the details of the technique.Zh: 不久之后，丽华注意到了明宇。En: Soon after, Lihua notices Mingyu.Zh: 他全神贯注地观察技法，似乎陷入了某种思考。En: He is intently observing the technique, seemingly deep in thought.Zh: 丽华出于职业的习惯，主动与他交流，分享自己对这种技法的理解和背后的文化故事。En: Out of professional habit, Lihua initiates a conversation with him, sharing her understanding of the technique and the cultural stories behind it.Zh: 她的见解如同一扇门，打开了明宇被困已久的艺术心路。En: Her insights act as a gateway, opening up Mingyu's long-blocked artistic path.Zh: 明宇的灵感顿时涌现，那些久违的创作欲望像滔滔江水般奔流不息。En: Inspiration flows through him instantly, and his long-lost creative desires surge like a mighty river.Zh: 这次不期的碰面不仅解开了明宇的创作瓶颈，也让丽华对自己的工作焕然一新。En: This unexpected encounter not only breaks Mingyu's creative block but also revitalizes Lihua's work.Zh: 她发现，传统艺术中隐藏的故事和技法，正是她文章中所寻找的亮点。En: She realizes that the hidden stories and techniques in traditional arts are the highlights she seeks for her article.Zh: 她决定写一篇关于如何复兴这些失传技艺的文章，并在文章中特别提到她与明宇的邂逅。En: She decides to write about reviving these lost skills and mentions her encounter with Mingyu.Zh: 随着艺术节接近尾声，明宇开始着手新系列的画作，他的信心大增。En: As the arts festival draws to a close, Mingyu begins working on a new series of paintings, his confidence greatly boosted.Zh: 丽华则忙于撰写那篇激动人心的文章，期待将这次经历带给更多人。En: Lihua is busy writing her exciting article, eager to share this experience with more people.Zh: 他们都认识到，灵感和艺术常常在不经意间，悄然降临。En: They both realize that inspiration and art often arrive quietly and unexpectedly.Zh: 他们期待着未来的合作和冒险。En: They look forward to future collaborations and adventures.Zh: 颐和园的湖水在夕阳中闪烁，犹如记录他们故事的无声见证。En: The lake at the Summer Palace shimmers in the sunset, silently bearing witness to their story. Vocabulary Words:scorching: 炙热的breeze: 微风ripples: 涟漪wander: 漫步slump: 低谷期frustration: 挫败anxiety: 焦虑sketch: 勾勒novelty: 新意spectators: 观众technique: 技法historian: 历史学者exhibition: 展览perspectives: 视角delve: 深入了解booth: 展位documenting: 记录habit: 习惯gateway: 扇门revitalize: 焕然一新encounter: 邂逅reviving: 复兴quietly: 悄然adventures: 冒险shimmers: 闪烁witness: 见证inspiration: 灵感confidence: 信心articles: 文章aimless: 漫不经心

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Family Adventures: A Spring Day at the Summer Palace Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/family-adventures-a-spring-day-at-the-summer-palace Story Transcript:Zh: 在一个温暖的春天，阳光明媚，鸟儿欢唱，花儿绽放。En: On a warm spring day, the sun was shining brightly, birds were singing joyfully, and flowers were in full bloom.Zh: 今天，小明、丽丽和大伟一家决定去颐和园野餐。En: Today, Xiaoming, Lili, and Dawei's family decided to go for a picnic at the Summer Palace.Zh: “小明，快点，我们要去颐和园了！”妈妈招呼道。En: "Xiaoming, hurry up, we are going to the Summer Palace!" Mom called out.Zh: 小明飞快穿好鞋子，背上包，一家人兴致勃勃地出发了。En: Xiaoming quickly put on his shoes, shouldered his backpack, and the family cheerfully set off.Zh: 来到颐和园，大门外挂满了五彩缤纷的花环。En: When they arrived at the Summer Palace, the gate was adorned with colorful flower garlands.Zh: “哇，真漂亮！”丽丽惊喜道。En: "Wow, it's so beautiful!" Lili exclaimed with delight.Zh: 他们走进公园，寻找野餐的好地点。En: They walked into the park, searching for a good spot for their picnic.Zh: 湖边有一片绿草地，水波荡漾，柳树倒映在湖面上。En: By the lakeside, there was a patch of green grass, with rippling water and willow trees reflected on the lake's surface.Zh: 爸爸铺开了一张大大的毯子，拿出食物：三明治、苹果、橘子，还有妈妈亲手做的鸡翅。En: Dad spread out a large blanket and took out the food: sandwiches, apples, oranges, and mom's homemade chicken wings.Zh: “小明，来帮我摘橘子。”大伟说。En: "Xiaoming, come help me pick the oranges," Dawei said.Zh: 他们准备了美味的食物，大家开始分享。En: They prepared their delicious food and everyone started to share.Zh: “爸爸，这里真美啊！”小明赞叹道。En: "Dad, this place is so beautiful!" Xiaoming admired.Zh: “是的，小明，颐和园不仅风景如画，还有很多历史故事。”爸爸微笑着回答。En: "Yes, Xiaoming, the Summer Palace not only has picturesque scenery but is also rich in historical stories," Dad responded with a smile.Zh: 美食当前，大家开心地聊着天。En: Amidst the delicious food, everyone chatted happily.Zh: 丽丽蹦蹦跳跳说：“我们可以坐船吗？”En: Lili bounced around and said, "Can we go boating?"Zh: “当然可以！”妈妈高兴地回应。En: "Of course, we can!" Mom replied cheerfully.Zh: 于是他们租了一条小船，在湖上悠闲地划行。En: So they rented a small boat and leisurely rowed on the lake.Zh: 水面波光潋滟，青山绿水，景色怡人。En: The water's surface shimmered, surrounded by verdant hills and lush greenery, the scene was pleasant and serene.Zh: 丽丽和小明指着远处的十七孔桥：“那座桥真壮观！”En: Lili and Xiaoming pointed toward the distant Seventeen-Arch Bridge: "That bridge is so magnificent!"Zh: 划完船，一家人继续在公园里漫步。En: After boating, the family continued to stroll through the park.Zh: 他们穿过花丛，听着风儿吹过树叶的沙沙声。En: They walked through the flower clusters, listening to the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.Zh: 小明突然看到前面的凉亭，兴奋地叫到：“爸爸妈妈，我们可以在那儿休息吗？”En: Suddenly, Xiaoming saw a pavilion ahead and excitedly called out, "Mom, Dad, can we rest there?"Zh: 凉亭里坐着几位游客，讲述着颐和园的历史。En: In the pavilion, several visitors were sitting and recounting the history of the Summer Palace.Zh: 他们听得津津有味，仿佛穿越时光，回到了古代。En: They listened attentively, as if they had traveled back in time to ancient eras.Zh: 时间飞快，一转眼就到了下午。En: Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was afternoon.Zh: 夕阳的余辉洒在湖面上，温暖而柔和。En: The sunset's afterglow cast a warm and gentle light on the lake's surface.Zh: “我们该回家了。”妈妈轻声说道。En: "It's time to go home," Mom said softly.Zh: 收拾好东西，一家人依依不舍地离开了颐和园。En: After packing up, the family reluctantly left the Summer Palace.Zh: 在回家的路上，小明、丽丽和大伟都满怀欢喜和回忆。En: On the way home, Xiaoming, Lili, and Dawei were filled with joy and memories.Zh: “今天真是美好的一天。”小明感叹道。En: "Today was such a wonderful day," Xiaoming sighed.Zh: 妈妈拍拍他的肩膀：“颐和园的景色永远欢迎我们。”En: Mom patted his shoulder: "The scenery of the Summer Palace will always welcome us."Zh: 在温馨的气氛中，一家人愉快地结束了这次难忘的公园野餐。En: In this warm atmosphere, the family happily concluded this unforgettable park picnic.Zh: 他们知道，以后还会有很多美好的时光等着他们去发现。En: They knew that many more beautiful moments awaited them in the future. Vocabulary Words:warm: 温暖spring: 春天joyfully: 欢唱bloom: 绽放hurry: 快点backpack: 背包adorned: 挂满garlands: 花环exclaimed: 惊喜道lakeside: 湖边rippling: 荡漾willow: 柳树surface: 湖面spread: 铺开blanket: 毯子delicious: 美味的picturesque: 风景如画historical: 历史amidst: 在…中bounced: 蹦蹦跳跳boating: 划船leisurely: 悠闲地verdant: 青lush: 绿水pleasant: 怡人magnificent: 壮观stroll: 漫步pavilion: 凉亭recounting: 讲述attentively: 津津有味

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Golden Afternoons: A Day at the Glorious Summer Palace Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/golden-afternoons-a-day-at-the-glorious-summer-palace Story Transcript:Zh: 太阳暖暖地照在颐和园的湖面上，湖水波光粼粼。En: The sun warmly shone on the surface of the lake at the Summer Palace, making the water glisten.Zh: 今天是个特别的日子，王伟和李娜决定来这里享受一个阳光明媚的秋日下午。En: Today was a special day, and Wang Wei and Li Na decided to come here to enjoy a sunny autumn afternoon.Zh: 颐和园是一个历史悠久的皇家园林，有许多美丽的景点。En: The Summer Palace is a historic royal garden with many beautiful sights.Zh: 王伟和李娜走在长廊里，欣赏着两旁的画。En: Wang Wei and Li Na walked along the long corridor, admiring the paintings on both sides.Zh: 长廊的画讲述了许多古老的故事，让他们觉得很有趣。En: The paintings in the corridor told many ancient stories, which they found very interesting.Zh: “你看那边的佛香阁，多壮观！”李娜指着不远处的一座高楼说。En: "Look at the Tower of Buddhist Incense over there, how magnificent!" Li Na pointed to a tall building in the distance.Zh: “是啊，从佛香阁可以看到整个颐和园的全景呢。”王伟回忆起他小时候来过这里的情景。En: "Yes, you can see the entire view of the Summer Palace from the Tower of Buddhist Incense," Wang Wei recalled the times he had visited when he was young.Zh: 他们沿着湖边继续走，看到了美丽的玉澜堂。En: They continued walking along the lakeside and saw the beautiful Hall of Jade Ripples.Zh: 玉澜堂的建筑非常精致，堂前还有古老的桥梁和流水。En: The architecture of the hall was very exquisite, with ancient bridges and flowing water in front.Zh: 李娜停下来，拍了几张照片，说想和朋友们分享这里的美景。En: Li Na stopped to take some photos, saying she wanted to share the beautiful scenery with her friends.Zh: 之后，他们登上了佛香阁。En: Afterwards, they climbed the Tower of Buddhist Incense.Zh: 站在阁楼上，王伟和李娜看到了颐和园的全貌。En: Standing on the pavilion, Wang Wei and Li Na saw the whole panorama of the Summer Palace.Zh: 树木金黄，湖水澄澈，一切都让人心旷神怡。En: The trees were golden, the lake water clear; everything was breathtaking.Zh: 站在高处，王伟对李娜说：“这里真美。我很高兴能和你一起分享这个美好的下午。”En: Standing at that height, Wang Wei said to Li Na, "This place is truly beautiful. I'm very happy to share this wonderful afternoon with you."Zh: 李娜微笑着点头，说：“我也是。这样的日子真是难得。”En: Li Na nodded with a smile and said, "Me too. Such days are rare."Zh: 时间过得很快，不知道不觉，太阳开始西沉。En: Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the sun began to set.Zh: 黄昏的颐和园更加美丽，金色的阳光洒在湖面上，像一幅画。En: The Summer Palace at dusk was even more beautiful, with golden sunlight casting over the lake, like a painting.Zh: “我们去苏州街走走吧，那里也很有意思。”李娜提议。En: "Let's go take a walk on Suzhou Street. It's also very interesting there," Li Na suggested.Zh: “好啊，我记得那里有很多小店，可以买到有趣的纪念品。”王伟笑着回答。En: "Sure, I remember there are many little shops where you can buy interesting souvenirs," Wang Wei replied with a smile.Zh: 他们走在苏州街的小路上，看到很多卖小吃和手工艺品的摊位。En: They walked along the small paths of Suzhou Street, seeing many stalls selling snacks and handicrafts.Zh: 王伟给李娜买了一对木雕的小鸟，说要纪念这一天。En: Wang Wei bought Li Na a pair of wooden carved birds as a memento of the day.Zh: “我们以后再来，好吗？”李娜拿着小鸟，眼神明亮。En: "Shall we come back again in the future?" Li Na asked, holding the birds with sparkling eyes.Zh: “当然，任何时候都可以。”王伟说。En: "Of course, anytime you'd like," Wang Wei replied.Zh: 天色渐暗，他们依依不舍地离开了颐和园。En: As the sky darkened, they reluctantly left the Summer Palace.Zh: 回到家的路上，李娜和王伟幸福地回忆着今天的经历。En: On their way home, Li Na and Wang Wei happily reminisced about the day's experiences.Zh: 这个阳光明媚的秋日下午在他们心中留下了难忘的回忆。En: This sunny autumn afternoon had left unforgettable memories in their hearts.Zh: 那样的美景，那样的快乐，总会在心中。En: Such beautiful scenery, such joy, would always remain in their hearts.Zh: 颐和园的风景如画，也见证了他们的友情与欢笑。En: The picturesque landscape of the Summer Palace also witnessed their friendship and laughter. Vocabulary Words:warmly: 暖暖地surface: 湖面glisten: 波光粼粼historic: 历史悠久admiring: 欣赏paintings: 画ancient: 古老stories: 故事magnificent: 壮观exquisite: 精致lakeside: 湖边take photos: 拍照scenery: 美景architecture: 建筑panorama: 全貌breathtaking: 心旷神怡pavilion: 阁楼rare: 难得stalls: 摊位souvenirs: 纪念品wooden carved: 木雕memento: 纪念sparkling: 明亮reluctantly: 依依不舍reminisced: 回忆unforgettable: 难忘picturesque: 风景如画laughed: 欢笑shared: 分享dusk: 黄昏

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Summer Palace Stories: A Day of Beauty & Growth Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/summer-palace-stories-a-day-of-beauty-growth Story Transcript:Zh: 太阳高高挂在天上，金色的光辉洒满了大地。En: The sun hung high in the sky, casting its golden rays across the land.Zh: 今天是一个特别的日子。En: Today was a special day.Zh: 小明、丽华、和建国与他们的同学们一起，去颐和园秋季郊游。En: Xiaoming, Lihua, and Jianguo, along with their classmates, went on an autumn outing to the Summer Palace.Zh: 颐和园美丽极了。En: The Summer Palace was incredibly beautiful.Zh: 湖水清澈见底，古老的建筑让人心生向往。En: The lake was crystal clear, and the ancient buildings were awe-inspiring.Zh: 小明和同学们边走边看，不禁感叹自然的美好。En: As Xiaoming and his classmates walked, they marveled at the beauty of nature.Zh: 丽华指着远处说：“大家看，那是佛香阁，真漂亮！”En: Lihua pointed to the distance and said, "Everyone look, that's the Tower of Buddhist Incense, it's so beautiful!"Zh: 建国点点头：“确实很壮观！”En: Jianguo nodded, "It truly is magnificent!"Zh: 这时，老师宣布了一项任务：“同学们，我们今天要进行一次中文作业比赛，写一篇关于颐和园的作文。”En: At that moment, the teacher announced a task: "Class, today we will have a Chinese essay competition to write about the Summer Palace."Zh: 同学们开始忙碌起来。En: The students got busy right away.Zh: 小明坐在湖边，思考着该写些什么。En: Xiaoming sat by the lake, pondering what to write.Zh: 他看着宁静的湖面，心中有了灵感。En: As he gazed at the serene lake surface, inspiration struck him.Zh: 丽华坐在长凳上，仔细观察周围的景色。En: Lihua sat on a bench, carefully observing the surrounding scenery.Zh: 她拿出笔，用心记录下每一个细节。En: She took out her pen and meticulously recorded every detail.Zh: 建国则选择了倚在树下，一边看景一边写。En: Jianguo chose to lean against a tree, writing as he took in the view.Zh: 他的笔不停地在纸上移动。En: His pen moved continuously across the paper.Zh: 时间飞快流逝，比赛很快结束。En: Time flew by, and the competition soon ended.Zh: 老师收集了大家的作文，开始逐一阅读。En: The teacher collected everyone's essays and began reading them one by one.Zh: “小明，你写得不错，描写了湖水的宁静。”En: "Xiaoming, your writing is great. You captured the tranquility of the lake."Zh: “丽华，你也很好，细节丰富，感情真挚。”En: "Lihua, yours is excellent too, rich in detail and sincere in emotion."Zh: “建国，你的文章很有深度，表达了对颐和园的热爱。”En: "Jianguo, your essay is very profound, expressing your love for the Summer Palace."Zh: 最后，老师宣布：“今天丽华的作文最好，她是我们的冠军！”En: Finally, the teacher announced, "Lihua's essay is the best today; she is our champion!"Zh: 同学们纷纷鼓掌，丽华脸上露出了开心的笑容。En: The classmates applauded, and a joyous smile appeared on Lihua's face.Zh: 郊游结束时，大家依依不舍地离开了颐和园。En: As the outing came to an end, everyone reluctantly left the Summer Palace.Zh: 回家的路上，小明、丽华和建国讨论着作文比赛，心情愉快。En: On the way home, Xiaoming, Lihua, and Jianguo discussed the essay competition, feeling cheerful.Zh: 这次郊游让他们不仅欣赏了美景，还提高了写作水平。En: This outing not only allowed them to appreciate the beautiful scenery but also improved their writing skills.Zh: 同学们互相鼓励，一同成长，这次秋季郊游将永远留在他们的记忆中。En: The students encouraged each other and grew together; this autumn outing would remain forever in their memories.Zh: 故事结束了，然而美丽的颐和园和那次特别的比赛，将在他们心中永久流传。En: The story ends, but the beautiful Summer Palace and that special competition will live on in their hearts forever. Vocabulary Words:hung: 挂casting: 洒golden: 金色的rays: 光辉outing: 郊游crystal clear: 清澈见底awe-inspiring: 让人心生向往truly: 确实magnificent: 壮观task: 任务competition: 比赛pondering: 思考inspiration: 灵感serene: 宁静carefully: 仔细meticulously: 用心surrounding: 周围的observing: 观察continuously: 不停地profound: 有深度tranquility: 宁静sincere: 真挚champion: 冠军reluctantly: 依依不舍appreciate: 欣赏encouraged: 鼓励grew: 成长improved: 提高了memories: 记忆forever: 永久

Continuing the chat about the Beijing trip Sean and Alex went on, this time they're focusing on some must-visit sights such as the Summer Palace, Jingshan Park, Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall and Happy Valley Beijing! All of these destinations blew them away, including Beijing's original large-scale theme park!

①China issues guidelines for enforcement of 10-year Yangtze River fishing ban②China's Queqiao-2 relay satellite enters orbit around the moon③Old Summer Palace themed exhibition opens at Hong Kong Palace Museum④French musical "Don Juan" starts China tour⑤Over 2.5 million Chinese run marathons, half-marathons in 2023⑥Hydrogen-powered vehicles making SW China greener⑦Flower-themed cultural products bloom as flowering season comes⑧85 ancient sites unearthed along China's Grand Canal

The Battle of the Taku Forts (otherwise known as the storming of the Taku Forts) took place during the Second Opium War in 1860.7 Victoria Crosses were awarded, including to the youngest recipient ever.Get my free weekly newsletterThis story, which is the 2nd of two episodes on this Opium War, tells the story of those VC recipients as well as the storming of the Taku Forts in 1860, the British (and French) occupation Beijing and their  forcing the Chinese to sign a peace treaty, which still impacts China's view of the west to this day.Along the way you will also hear how the Emperor of China's Summer Palace was burned to the ground by the British, including the future General Charles Gordon (Gordon of Khartoum). You will also learn how the future General Sir Garnet Wolseley narrowly missed being beheaded by the Chinese, and how Private John Moyse was beheaded and became a Victorian legend.Support the show

Our hosts Trenty and Big Westi enlist the help of local legend QianQian and her beautiful hands to guide them through the drama of episode 38. One of the girls gets a big promotion and you will NOT believe who it is! Zhen Huan continues to play it cool, despite the heat of the Summer Palace as Hua Fei acts the house down boots. We spread some whispers in the palace and play a new game called "LISTEN!" --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whitegaze/message

We've got the Summer Palace; they've got Versailles. We've got Shaolin Temple; they've got Notre Dame. They've got stinky cheese; we've got stinky tofu. They, eau de toilette; us, squat toilettes. We're the Paris of the east; they're... Paris. In this podcast, learn about the city of romance and fall in love with it all over again in your new passion... Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0866

We've got the Summer Palace; they've got Versailles. We've got Shaolin Temple; they've got Notre Dame. They've got stinky cheese; we've got stinky tofu. They, eau de toilette; us, squat toilettes. We're the Paris of the east; they're... Paris. In this podcast, learn about the city of romance and fall in love with it all over again in your new passion... Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0866

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Lost in Beijing: A Journey of Discovery through Food and Flavor Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/lost-in-beijing-a-journey-of-discovery-through-food-and-flavor Story Transcript:Zh: 迎面吹来的微风里夹杂着北京浓郁的香料气味，轻轻地扣动了张伟的心弦，立即打断了他对北京地图的注意。一直以来，这个古老的首都对他来说都是个迷，一个挤满了历史又充满了营养和风味的迷。En: A gentle breeze mingled with the rich scent of spices in Beijing blew directly onto Zhang Wei's heartstrings, immediately interrupting his focus on the map of Beijing. This ancient capital had always been a mystery to him, a place filled with history, nourishment, and flavor.Zh: 张伟，一个来自南部小城的青年，初次踏入北京这座充满历史与现代冲突的城市，他兴奋而又茫然。他的手里紧紧抓着一张北京的地图，就像一名海员抓着罗盘。只是这一次，他的罗盘似乎没有指明方向。En: Zhang Wei, a young man from a small southern town, felt excited yet bewildered as he stepped foot into Beijing, a city brimming with conflicts between the past and the present. He tightly held a map of Beijing in his hands, like a sailor holding a compass. However, this time, his compass seemed to offer no direction.Zh: 他原本打算去参观那些著名的北京地标：雄伟的天安门、古老的故宫，或者是著名的颐和园，但他在繁复的路线中找不到方向。然而，命运似乎给他设计了一个更美妙的计划。走进一条窄窄的胡同，他发现了一片异彩纷呈的街头小吃市场。En: He had originally planned to visit the famous landmarks of Beijing: the majestic Tiananmen Square, the ancient Forbidden City, or the renowned Summer Palace. However, amidst the intricate routes, he couldn't find his way. However, fate seemed to have a more wonderful plan in store for him. Stepping into a narrow alley, he stumbled upon a vibrant street food market.Zh: 彼时，夕阳的余晖照亮了小吃摊上摆设的琳琅满目的快餐，热气腾腾的包子，新鲜香滑的肉夹馍，还有五彩斑斓形状各异的糖画。这一切都让张伟暂时忘记了自己的目标，他惊异并充满好奇。En: At that moment, the lingering rays of the sunset illuminated the impressive array of fast food set up on the food stalls: steaming hot buns, freshly smooth meat sandwiches, and colorful sugar paintings of various shapes. All of this momentarily made Zhang Wei forget his original goal, as he was astonished and filled with curiosity.Zh: 张伟沉浸在了这片市集的生动气氛中，他开始尝试各种小吃，咀嚼着满口异国风味。酸辣的地方菜，香甜的糖油饼，全新的味蕾体验让他深深着迷。仿佛在这个繁忙的小吃市场里，他找到了一种的存在感，一种不同于那些地标建筑的存在感。En: Zhang Wei immersed himself in the lively atmosphere of the market, trying various snacks and savoring the exotic flavors. The spicy local dishes, the fragrant and sweet pastries, and the entirely new experience for his taste buds fascinated him. It seemed that in this busy food market, he found a sense of existence, a feeling different from that offered by the landmarks.Zh: 在那个晚上，他没有去天安门，也没有去故宫，但他找到了一种属于他自己的，对北京的理解和悦享。他发现了北京的烟火气，了解了她的风情万种，尝到了她的酸甜苦辣。他明白了，迷路，也许是一场最美妙的遭遇。En: On that evening, he didn't go to Tiananmen Square, nor did he visit the Forbidden City, but he found his own understanding and enjoyment of Beijing. He discovered the city's vibrant energy, understood its diverse charms, and tasted its sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors. He realized that getting lost may sometimes be the most wonderful encounter.Zh: 这个故事告诉我们，有时候，生活中的"迷路"也许会带我们走向意想不到的生活体验。并且不是所有的失落与困扰都需要解决，有些时候，我们需要的只是放手一搏，享受那一份属于自己的体验与成长。En: This story tells us that sometimes, getting "lost" in life can lead us to unexpected experiences. Not all losses and troubles need to be resolved. Sometimes, all we need to do is take a chance and enjoy our own unique experiences and growth. Vocabulary Words:gentle: 轻柔breeze: 微风spices: 香料Beijing: 北京heartstrings: 紧扣心弦interrupting: 打断focus: 注意map: 地图capital: 首都mystery: 谜history: 历史nourishment: 营养flavor: 风味young man: 年轻人town: 小城市excited: 兴奋的bewildered: 茫然的brimming: 充满conflicts: 冲突past: 过去present: 现在sailor: 海员compass: 罗盘direction: 方向planned: 计划landmarks: 地标majestic: 雄伟的Tiananmen Square: 天安门广场Forbidden City: 故宫renowned: 著名的

①Haidilao opens first campus store to students' delight ②Walking around a city is China's golden week travel trend ③Hong Kong's talent trawl OKs over 100,000 admission applications ④China's gigantic telescope detects new fast radio burst from space ⑤Expert with a broom enlightens Summer Palace visitors ⑥China strives to promote child, adolescent mental health

A short video showing a member of the cleaning staff at the Summer Palace in Beijing explaining Buddhist scenic spots drew a lot of traffic on different social media platforms recently, with netizens marveling at his mastery of traditional Chinese culture.近日，一段北京颐和园保洁员向游客介绍佛教景点的短视频爆火，网友纷纷对这位熟练掌握中国传统文化的保洁员赞叹不已。He has been dubbed the most powerful cleaning monk by netizens, originally appearing in Chinese writer Louis Cha's novel Tianlong Babu (demigods and semi-devils) as an unknown martial art master who disguises himself as a cleaning monk in the Shaolin Temple in Henan province.网友称他为“最强扫地僧”，原型出自中国作家金庸的小说《天龙八部》。小说中的人物是不知名的武林高手，扮作河南省少林寺扫地的僧人。In the video, the worker, Zhang Xu, 40, explains the cultural connotations of the sites to several tourists, who were doing research.视频中，40岁的清洁员张旭向几名做研究的游客介绍了景点的文化内涵。What makes it special is his recitation of a list of dozens of hard-to-pronounce Buddhist sites. He speaks with such ease and confidence that it seems he is doing a tongue twister. People thought he must be a tour guide or expert, yet he was wearing the uniform of a janitor and holding a broom.最特别的是张旭背出了一连串拗口的佛教景点。他说起来轻松自信，像是在说绕口令。人们还以为他是导游或者专家，但他穿着门卫的工作服，手里拿着扫帚。After his explanation, Zhang smiled and returned to his work as though nothing had happened.讲解结束后，张旭笑着继续做起了他的工作，像什么都没发生过一样。The video was posted by the researchers on social media platforms on Oct 7 and immediately became a trending topic online. Netizens expressed amazement at how ordinary people can become experts in certain areas.10月7日，这段视频被研究人员发到了社交媒体平台上，立刻引起了热烈讨论。网友感叹，一个普通人也可以在特定的领域成为专家。"In Beijing, no matter what you do, you can acquire a deep understanding of history and culture. Sometimes ordinary people are willing to explain things to complete strangers in exchange for a simple thumbs-up," said one netizen on social media platform Xiaohongshu.一位网友在社交媒体平台小红书上说道，“在北京，无论你从事什么工作，你总能对历史和文化有深入的理解。有时大家都很乐意为陌生人进行讲解，只为得到对方简单的肯定。”Zhang is better than regular tour guides, and the palace should offer him a job as a docent, another commented.另一位网友评论道，“张旭比普通的导游还要好，园区应该安排他去做讲解员。”Zhang lives in Beijing's Yanqing district. He said he had not thought of becoming famous online, as he only wanted to help the tourists who seemed puzzled. He told Beijing Daily that he had been interested in architecture since he was a child. His father works in the construction industry.张旭住在北京延庆区。他说他没有想过成为网红，因为他只是想帮助遇到困惑的游客。他告诉北京日报的记者，他从小就对建筑感兴趣。他的父亲从事建筑工程行业。He himself has been a security guard and construction worker and has always had a strong interest in traditional architecture. He often refers to books or finds information online in his spare time.张旭做过保安，当过建筑工，也一直对传统建筑有浓厚的兴趣。他经常在空闲时翻看相关书籍或上网查找资料。Zhang joined the cleaning staff at the palace in late 2021 and is required to walk about 40,000 steps inside the palace every day, so he knows a lot about it.张旭于2021年底成为了颐和园的清洁员，每天要在园区步行约4万步，所以对一切都非常熟悉。"The traditional architecture of the palace is not just an assembly of bricks and layers. These elements are friends who have deep history and know how to speak to people who understand them," he said.张旭说，“颐和园的传统建筑并不仅仅是堆砌的砖瓦。这里的一砖一瓦都是饱含历史的朋友，能够同懂这段历史的人交谈。”They are historic marvels with distinctive Asian aesthetic, he said.他认为这些砖瓦都是承载着独特亚洲艺术的历史奇迹。The Summer Palace is a well-known imperial garden originally built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and served as a retreat for emperors to escape the summer heat and engage in political and recreational activities.颐和园最早建造于清朝（1644-1911），是一座远近闻名的皇家花园，也是当时皇帝夏季避暑、参与政治及娱乐活动的去处。The palace complex spans a vast area and is renowned for its beautiful landscaping, featuring an artificial lake, numerous pavilions, bridges, temples and gardens.园区占地面积广大，景色秀美，以人造湖、数不尽的亭、桥、寺和花园而闻名。The most powerful cleaning monkn.最强扫地僧

On the Nameless Day, when shadows grow long, our friends visit the now dilapidated Summer Palace, stained by the memory and fear of the Nameless god. Alea- Jay Dragon Addison Radle- Aldern Feathersbee Alex Bryan- Raindrop Quakers Zach Berry- Squeakers Onassis Soren Budge- Hamish Hog Music By Gary Argyle Produced by Winter Hawk Podcasts and Gary Argyle Edited by Addison Radle The Wanderhome RPG is written by Jay Dragon and published by Possum Creek Games Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heavy floods triggered by torrential rains have displaced thousands of people across the country as Beijing and areas nearby experienced a brief respite from recent scorching temperatures.由于暴雨引发的严重洪灾，致使全国各地数以千计的人口流离失所，而北京及其周边地区最近的炎热天气得到了暂时的缓解。The country may continue to simultaneously suffer floods and sweltering heat waves this month, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.根据中国应急管理部的数据，本月内，中国可能继续同时遭受洪涝灾害和酷热天气。Downpours have battered parts of Hunan province since Thursday, with the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture one of the worst-hit areas, according to the province's flood and drought control headquarters.湖南省防汛抗旱指挥部称，从6月29日开始，暴雨袭击了湖南省的部分地区，其中湘西土家族苗族自治州是受灾最严重的地区之一。Over 95,000 people in the prefecture have been affected, and more than 14,000 of them were relocated or evacuated, local authorities said on Sunday. Direct economic losses are estimated to be around 575 million yuan ($79.5 million).7月2日，当地政府表示，该自治州已有超过9.5万人受灾，其中超过1.4万人被重新安置或疏散。直接经济损失估计约为5.75亿元人民币（约合7950万美元）。"The rain was so heavy that the water level rose by over 1 meter within about 10 minutes," Luo Jiashun, a resident of Mengke village in the prefecture's Baojing county, recalled about the time when the rain started to pour down on Friday, triggering floods that left the lowlying village isolated.“好大的雨，眼看着水位十分钟猛涨出一米多高。”村民罗家顺回忆起6月30日雨势倾盆时的情景，湖南省湘西土家族苗族自治州保靖县阳朝乡猛科村被洪水包围沦为“孤岛”。Forty-four houses in the village were swamped, over 50 hectares of farmland were inundated and 163 residents were evacuated. Local authorities are still trying to restore water and power supplies to help get village life back to normal.猛科村里有44间房屋被淹，50多公顷的农田被淹，163名村民被紧急转移。当地政府仍在全力抢修，恢复水电供应，以加快恢复生产生活秩序。Shortly before 1 pm on Tuesday, the Xiangxi meteorological station issued a yellow alert for heavy rainfall, warning of maximum hourly precipitation of 24 millimeters from noon to 6 pm in Fenghuang county. The alert was soon upgraded to orange, as the latest forecast showed that the largest hourly precipitation from 1 pm to 4 pm may reach 36 mm.7月4日下午1点前不久，湘西州气象台发布暴雨黄色预警信号，预计预计凤凰县12时至18时最大小时雨强24毫米。随后，最新预警显示，预计凤凰县13时至16时最大小时雨强36毫米，预警很快由黄色升级为橙色。China has a four-tier, color-coded weather alert system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.中国有一个四级色彩编码的天气预警系统，其中红色代表最严重的预警，其次是橙色、黄色和蓝色。Local observatories in at least four counties in the prefecture also issued yellow or orange alerts for downpours on Tuesday afternoon.该自治州至少四个县的地方气象台也在7月4日下午发布了暴雨黄色或橙色预警。In Zhenba county, Shaanxi province, downpours from 6 pm Sunday to 6 pm Monday forced the evacuation of more than 7,800 people, according to the emergency services bureau of Hanzhong city, where the county is located.陕西省汉中市镇巴县的应急管理局称，7月2日18时至7月3日18时，暴雨迫使全县撤离群众7800多人。The bureau said workers are still laboring round the clock to clear 80 roads cut by floods and restore power supply to affected areas. Luckily, the rain subsided in the county on Tuesday.镇巴县应急管理局表示，正在全力除险保畅受损中断的80条道路，并恢复受灾地区的供电。幸运的是，该县在7月4日雨势减弱。In Sichuan province, local authorities have evacuated more than 85,300 people as of 7 am on Tuesday to avoid potential dangers from a downpour forecast to strike vast stretches from Monday to Tuesday.在四川省，截至7月4日7时，当地政府已经疏散了85300多人，以避免7月3日到4日大范围暴雨带来的潜在危险。The rain was expected to affect five prefecture-level cities, including Guang'an, Luzhou and Panzhihua, and parts of Yibin city and Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, bringing a maximum precipitation of 100 to 120 mm, Sichuan meteorological station said.四川省气象台表示，预计降雨将影响广安、泸州和攀枝花等五个地级市，以及宜宾市和甘孜藏族自治州的部分地区，最大降水量将达到100至120毫米。In Henan province, 66 of its 157 county-level areas were pummeled by heavy rainfall from 8 am Sunday to 7 am Monday, and 26 of them received more than 100 mm of precipitation. Downpours continued in many of the counties till Tuesday morning, local authorities said.从7月2日8时到7月3日7时，河南省157个县级行政单位中有66个受到强降雨的袭击，其中26个县级行政单位的降水量超过100毫米。当地政府表示，许多县区的暴雨一直持续到7月4日上午。In Queshan county in the province, a car with five passengers was washed away by floods when it was passing a bridge on Monday evening. One of the passengers was saved, but the other four remain missing, according to media reports.7月3日晚，河南驻马店确山县发生事故，一辆载有五名乘客的汽车在经过一座桥时被洪水冲走。据媒体报道，其中一名落水人员获救，但其他四人仍处于失联状态。Many other regions were expected to experience torrential rains from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to the National Meteorological Center.根据国家气象中心的预报，预计从7月4日到5日，国内许多地区将迎来暴雨天气。On Tuesday, the center renewed a blue alert for downpours, warning of maximum hourly precipitation of 20 to 50 mm in parts of the Inner Mongolia and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions, and Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in the 24 hours starting 2 pm on Tuesday.7月4日，国家气象中心再次发布降雨蓝色预警，预计当天14时开始，未来24小时内，内蒙古和广西壮族自治区部分地区以及黑龙江、吉林、辽宁、云南和贵州等省的最大小时雨强将达到20至50毫米。Precipitation in northern Liaoning may even reach 100 to 120 mm, the center said, adding that some areas in these regions may be hit by severe convective weather — a sudden and destructive weather phenomenon that often includes thunderstorms, hail, gales and heavy rain.该中心表示，辽宁北部的降水甚至可能达到100至120毫米，并补充说，这些地区的部分地方可能会受到剧烈的对流天气影响，这是一种通常包括雷暴、冰雹、大风和大雨的突发和破坏性天气现象。Sometimes spanning only 10 kilometers, such events can produce intense precipitation.这种天气现象有时在只有10公里的范围内发生，可以产生密集的降雨。In contrast, a light rain that lasted from Monday night to Tuesday morning allowed Beijing to have some respite from heat waves with temperatures above 35 C. The capital, however, is forecast to be enveloped by sweltering heat with temperatures up to 38 C once again from Wednesday to Thursday.相比之下，从7月3日晚到7月4日早的一场小雨让北京从超过35摄氏度的热浪中得到了短暂的缓解。According to the National Climate Center, the number of days with temperatures above 35 C in June in Beijing outpaced the same month in all other years since 1961. A tour guide was reported to have died of heatstroke in the capital on Sunday at the Summer Palace, as the scorching heat wave lingered in the city.根据国家气候中心的数据，今年6月以来，北京35摄氏度以上的平均高温日数是自1961年以来同期最多的。据报道，7月2日，在北京市颐和园，一名导游因中暑而不幸身亡，而炎热的天气仍在城市中持续蔓延。The Ministry of Emergency Management has warned of a grim situation for flood control and drought relief this month.中国应急管理部警告称，本月的防汛抗旱形势严峻。The precipitation in central and eastern parts of Northeast China, the northern part of Central China, and western part of Southwest China will receive more precipitation than the yearly average in July, it said.该部门称，中国东北地区中部和东部、华中地区北部以及西南地区西部7月份的降水量将超过全年平均水平。It forecast floods in parts of the country's two longest watercourses — the Yangtze and the Yellow — and in some sections of Qiantang and Songhua rivers. Torrential rains may raise water levels in these rivers above their warning marks, it said.据预测，全国两大最长水系，即长江和黄河的部分地区，以及钱塘江和松花江的一些河段可能会发生洪水。暴雨可能导致这些河流的水位上涨超过警戒线。It said higher temperatures and less precipitation are expected in many other areas, including the northern part of North China and some areas in Inner Mongolia.据称，预计包括华北北部和内蒙古部分地区在内的许多其他地区将出现较高的气温和较少的降水量。"The supply of water and power will be relatively tight in these regions," it noted.并指出，“这些地区可能出现水电供应偏紧的情况。”Torrential英/təˈrenʃ(ə)l/ 美/təˈrenʃ(ə)l/adj.（水）奔流的；（雨）倾泻的Flood英/flʌd/美/flʌd/n.洪水，水灾

Last time we spoke about the battle of the Yalu River. It was an absolutely catastrophic week for the Qing dynasty. Within just two days they suffered a major land defeat and now a defeat at sea that practically annihilated the Beiyang fleet. Corruption and incompetence ran rampant as the Beiyang fleet crews found themselves undertrained, understaffed, lacking ammunition and what ammunition they did have, some of it was filled with concrete and porcelain. The Qing dynasty's corruption problems were shown on full display as the IJN combined fleet outperformed them, despite having smaller warships and less of them. Quick firing guns defeated the big guns at Yalu and now the Japanese held control over the seas. The Beiyang fleet now flee's to Weihaiwei to try and repair their ships for another chance at a decisive naval battle, but will it ever come to be?   #52 The First Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1895 Part 4: The Battle for Port Arthur   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. After the battle of the Yalu River, the Japanese had a enormous boost to their propaganda campaign. Despite this the Qing backed press continued their charade of blemishing the losses, take this article from the North China Herald "In spite of the reiterated denials of the Japanese authorities that any of their vessels were badly injured in the recent naval fight, information which we have been able to gather from quarters entitled to all credence, corroborates in a very circumstantial manner the statement that the Japanese lost four vessels in the actual fight, and more probably later on, as the Chinese heavy guns treated them very severely. The Chinese engaged fought with wonderful bravery; there were no skulkers." Despite their claims, by September the 20th the jig was up for the Qing government as foreign military advisers who had participated or witnessed the battle at Yalu arrived to Tianjin. They began spilling the story to the western press, and unlike the Japanese press, the Qing could not simply write them off as mere propaganda. The foreign press corroborated the Japanese reports that 5 Qing warships were had been sunk and “to a man regard the statement that the Japanese lost no ships as a barefaced lie”. Even the foreign eye witnesses could not believe not a single Japanese ship was sunk. The reports caused severe issues for Beijing. This alongside other issues prompted Emperor Guangxu to take an unprecedented move, he summoned Inspector General Constantin von Hanneken, a Prussian officer who was working as a military adviser to the Beiyang fleet for an imperial audience. Von Hanneken was also one of the engineers who helped build the defenses at Port Arthur known to the Chinese as Lushunkou and at Weihaiwei. He of course was present at the battle of the Yalu and the EMperor demanded to learn what actually transpired from him. It certainly says a lot about your Empire, when you would trust a foreigner over your officials.   It is also at this point Japan altered its position on foreign reporters. As mentioned near the beginning of this series, the Japanese opted to have a blackout on news about the war. On August 2nd of 1894 an Imperial Ordinance had been published requiring all newspapers and other publicans to submit any information concerning diplomatic or military affairs to the Japanese government authorities prior to publication. Well after the victories at Pyongyang and Yalu, the Japanese government decided to undermine the Qing war propaganda efforts by allowing foreign correspondence to accompany the IJA. Foreigners would not be given the same accommodation for the Qing ground forces. As explained by a reporter for the Peking and Tientsin times “no one could guarantee the safety of a foreigner accompanying the Chinese troops. Two interpreters accompanying the Second Japanese Army were captured and killed by Chinese forces”. Another major event occurred after the disaster at Yalu, Empress Dowager Cixi abandoned her plans for her extravagant 60th birthday celebration, which really adds to the myth about the embezzlement of naval funds. On September 25th, EMperor Guangxu issued this edict “"H.I.M. the Empress-Dowager, in view of the continuation of the war with Japan, cannot bear to be celebrating her birthday anniversary with great rejoicing while her subjects and soldiers are all suffering from the hardships of war, hence she has commanded that the triumphal progress from Eho [the Summer Palace or Yiheyuan, to the Forbidden City and the celebrations at the former place be given up, and only the ordinary celebrations settled upon in the Palace be observed on the auspicious day. We did our best to try to pray her Majesty to reconsider the above decision, but the grace and virtue of her Majesty has resisted our prayers." It was estimated by the French press that Empress Dowager had spent nearly 80 million francs in preparation for the celebration that was canceled. This is about the time you hear rumors of Empress Dowagers infamous embezzling scandal. It was said by many that she had siphoned naval funds in the figure of 100 million taels which was the reason why the Qing Navy received no significant funding after 1889. As I mentioned in the previous episode, its not so black and white, but indeed the summer palace did see serious renovations. Some of those renovations costs upto 14 million taels and it seems like at least 11 million did come from funds originally dedicated to the navy. There is also a huge amount of irony, as one of these renovations was to refurbish a marble pavilion in the shape of a boat for one of the palace gardens. Too good to be true some would say. The first two key battles of the war were focused on expelling the Chinese from the Korean Peninsula. After the victory at Yalu, the war theater now shifted to Manchuria. The IJA wanted to clear a way from the Korean border to the Liaodong Peninsula in preparation for an attack upon one of her grandest and most important fortresses and naval bases, Port Arthur. The Fortress of Port Arthur took over 16 years to build and its naval station was considered superior to that of Hong Kong. If Port Arthur were to fall, the Qing would be unable to repair their best damaged ships and would succumb to a naval war of attrition. Guarding the southern shores of the Bohai was China's second most important naval base, that at Weihaiwei. Weihaiwei and Port Arthur worked together to check any sea approaches to Beijing. If both fell, the rest of the war would literally descend into mop up operations. Japan's war plan was to execute a pincer attack against Beijing. Their forces would advance in 3 columns. 1) Part of the 1st IJA would move south through Manchuria towards the Liaodong Peninsula; 2) the 2nd IJA would land on the Liaodong Peninsula and advance upon Port Arthur; 3) another part of the 1st IJA would advance from the Korean border towards Mukden, hoping to seize it and use it as a down payment later on to decapitate the Qing dynasty. Once Port arthur was taken, the 1st IJA would continue their land campaign in Manchuria to clear a path to Beijing while the 2nd IJA would amphibious attack Weihaiwei. If successful this would obliterate the Qing southern naval forces and leave Beijing at their mercy. As a coup de grace, the Japanese were also organizing a 3rd IJA at Hiroshima in anticipation for amphibious landings at Dagu to march upon Beijing. However the Japanese were under no illusions of this all coming to be, they figured great powers would intervene at some point to limit their war aims. The Qing counterstrategy was quite minimal; it rested upon the assumption the Japanese would never be capable of crossing the Yalu River. After their defeat at Pyongyang the Qing ground forces made their next stand 125 miles to the north along the Yalu River. The river constituted the boundary between Korea and China. It was deep and wife, making it a formidable obstacle for the advancing Japanese army. Two fortified outposts faced another fromm opposite sides of the river, one at Jiliancheng on the Manchurian side and the other at Uiji on the Korean side. These became the headquarters for the opposing armies. General Song Qing fortified the northern bank of the Yalu for 7 miles going as far south as Andong and 10 miles north to Hushan. General Song Qing was 74 years old, famous for helping suppress the Taiping 30 years prior. He was one of Li Hongzhang's subordinates during the campaign against the Taiping and Nian rebellion. Since 1880 he had served as an assistant to Li Hongzhang, overseeing the defenses of Manchuria. By 1882 he alongside his troops took up a station at Port Arthur, and apparently there he had done very little to modernize the Manchurian army. After the battle of Pyongyang, Li Hongzhang put him in charge of directing the war and gave him authority to reorganize the army. Meanwhile the 1st IJA led by Field Marshal Count Yamagata Aritomo departed from Pyongyang on October 23rd. The 56 year old Yamagata was the father of the modern Japanese army, a leading Meiji era statesman. He had overseen the introduction of national conscription in 1873, the reorganization of the army along first French, then Prussian lines in 1878 and the adoption of an independent General staff system. During the 1880s he also oversaw the organization of the national police force and system of local government. He was prime minister from 1889-1891, during his time he introduced the imperial rescript on education. So needless to say he was a colossal figure. His plan was based on Napoleons successful tactic of making a feint to the front while delivering a blow to the flank, this time directed at Hushan. He planned to use a small force to attack the Qing left flank, in the hopes of turning its flank and feinting the movements of the main bulk of his army. The main bulk would concentrate on the center of the Qing lines. But to do all of this, he had to cross the Yalu.  The Japanese had learned bitter lessons about fording large rivers at Pyongyang, they could have massively lost the battle because they never prepared the tools to ford such things. This time the IJA carefully prepared themselves. Yamagata occupied Uiju by October 23rd with around 10,000 troops of the 3rd and 5th divisions of the 1st IJA. On the other side of the Yalu, General Song Qing had 16 km's of fortifications in the form of hundreds of redoubts and trenches manned by nearly 23,000 troops.  On the night of October 24th, the Japanese crept up to the Yalu river near Uiji and secretly erected a pontoon bridge to get the main body of their forces across. Miraculously this went undetected. The IJA 3rd division led by General Katsuro Taro performed a night attack against Hushan. Incredibly, upon attacking Hushan, the Japanese found the Qing garrison had deserted their fortifications the night before! Simultaneously the IJA 5th division led by General Nozu Michitsura sent his men over the pontoon bridge and attacked Jiuliancheng, also finding positions deserted. In fact only a Qing rear guard even bothered to make a token resistance! In less than 3 hours of combat the fortifications at Hushan and Juliancheng were already in Japanese hands? According to a military analyst named Du Boulay, "The Chinese garrison [at Jiuliancheng] which might have inflicted great damage on the hostile army from behind battlements of solid masonry, silently decamped during the night, keeping up a desultory fire in the meantime, in order to encourage the belief that they intended to retain possession of the stronghold." When the Japanese came to Dandong the situation was the very same. The Qing had abandoned enormous quantities of weapons, rice and other war materials. The battle to stop the Japanese from entering Manchuria resulted in about 34 deaths and 111 wounded or the Qing and practically nothing for the Japanese.  It had turned out the field commanders, Generals Yikteang'a, Ye Zhicheng and Nie Shicheng had all retreated to Fenghuangcheng. Yiketang'a was a Manchu general in control of banner forces from Heilongjiang province and not under direct command of Li Hongzhang. The 1st IJA split into two groups to pursue the fleeing Qing forces. One group was commanded by Lt General Taro who advanced northwards towards Fenghuangcheng chasing after General Nie Shichengs men. At Fenghuangcheng, Yiketang and Nie chose to torch the city and fled the scene by October 30th. By November 15th, the Japanese seized Xiuyan just due west of Fenghuangcheng. By taking both these cities the land approaches to Port Arthur were now severed.  Meanwhile the other Japanese group led by Lt General Oku Yasukata were advancing north towards Mukden. Severe winter conditions began to hit the region as General SOng Qing moved his forces to Liaoyang to block the Japanese advance upon Mukden. Because of the descending winter, both sides went into winter quarters. The Qing sources at this point stopped claiming victories, and instead began presenting events as brave encounters against overwhelmingly superior numbers. Take this from the North China Herald on November 2nd "When the Japanese army of forty odd thousand attacked Chiuliench'eng [Jiuliancheng] on the 24th of October there were only a little over 5,000 Chinese troops to oppose the enemy. But it took the latter two whole days to take the city. When the city was abandoned all the modern Krupp and Hotchkiss guns, over twenty in number, were carried along with the army, the ones left to the enemy being some thirty odd old muzzle-loading pieces, a hundred years old, which had been placed there many years ago as a defence against possible native or Corean marauders." Because of the absence of decent telegraph lines or good roads, communications were extremely slow to come out of the Manchurian campaign. Initial coverage tended to be based more so on rumor than fact, kind of like social media today. It would often take more than a month for a comprehensive account to become known.  General Song Qing's forces had retreated in the general direction of Liaoyang to protect Mukden. It was after all the ancestral home of the Manchu, thus it held tremendous symbolic importance for their dynasty. The city could not afford to lose if the Manchu hoped to still control China. But for the Japanese, Mukden was like their trump card to play later, their primary target of course was Port Arthur. The Manchu leadership were following the traditional strategy focusing on the land war and dynastic continuity while overlooking the need to deny the Japanese access to the coast to continue landing their forces. They assumed China's vast territory and population would prove too much for the Japanese Army, that time was on their side and a war of attrition would deliver victory. This was a possibility of course, a strong government could abandon their capital and continue to fight, but the Manchu's fought under the belief they would lose the dynasty if they left the capital too long. If they were absent too long, perhaps the Han would strike a deal with the Japanese. Thus it was imperative to the Manchu they must thwart Japanese landings in China proper; the key to this of course was to deny Japan access to the key ports in Bohai. To do this they had to hold Port Arthur which held the only repair facilities capable of maintaining their best warships. Their land forces needed to concentrate at Port Arthur, not disperse in Manchuria.  The next order of business for the Japanese was to seize Jinzhou and then Dalian which were on either neck of the Liaodong Peninsula. Once they were taken the Japanese could launch a land offensive against Port Arthur whose primary defenses anticipated an attack by sea. The 2nd IJA of Major General Nogi Maresuke and Lt General Baron Yamaji Motoharu began arriving at  Pi-tse-Wo, present day Pikou along the Liaodong Peninsula on October 24th. Their first objective was Jinzhou, the most important fortified town in southern Fengtian province. It was a major transportation intersection, located at the fork in the road from China proper to the Liaodong Peninsula and Korea. One route followed the western coast of the Peninsula going to Niuzhang and further to parts of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan. The other route went northward to the Yalu River. Jinzhou held a garrison of 1500 soldiers equipped with four 240mm, two 210mm and two 150mm artillery pieces. On November the 6th, General Nogi's men stormed Jinzhou, taking it with very little resistance. Jinzhou was actually quite a tough position to defend because it was surrounded by hills, making it easy for an enemy to position their artillery to batter the fortifications. The next day General Nogi's men advanced upon Dalian. Dalian was garrisoned by 3500 soldiers equipped with 5 forts and batteries consisting of eight 240mm, four 210mm, 6 150mm and two 120mm artillery pieces. It was a formidable fortress and it was taken without a single shot fired. Yes Dalian defenders had all fled to Port Arthur the night prior. Taking Jinzhou and Dalian was literally a cake walk. Dalian was a port town and its dock facilities greatly aided the Japanese supply lines. The Qing defenders of Dalian had left so fast they had even abandoned plans that showed the minefield locations for Port Arthur's defenses. While all of this was going on, the Beiyang fleet and limped back to Port Arthur by early November only to receive orders from Li Hongzhang over in Tianjin, to withdraw to Weihaiwei. It seemed Li Hongzhang did not want to risk another tussle with the IJN combined fleet. Thus Port Arthur would not be reinforced by the Beiyang warships big guns, and to add insult to injury, as the Beiyang fleet was pulling  into Weihaiwei, the battleship Zhenyuan struck some rocks at the entrance to her harbor and had to be beached. The only dockyards capable of repairing either of the two giant German built battleships were at Port Arthur, thus one of China's best warships was out of commission. The commander of the Zhenyuan, Commodore Lin Taizeng, who was the grandson of the famous Lin Zexu who had legendary destroyed the crates of Opium that led to the opium wars was so ashamed of what had happened he committed suicide via opium overdose. That is quite the case of bad luck.  After the battle of Yalu, both Li Hongzhang and Admiral Ding Ruchang's top priority was the preservation of the Beiyang Fleet. Ding was given instructions throughout the rest of the war to defend the Bohai coast from Weihaiwei to the Yalu, basically this meant protecting Beijing where the Manchu leadership were. This strategy wasted the Beiyang fleet on convoy duty instead of interrupting the IJN transportation of troops and materials to the theater of war. But from the Manchu point of view, the top priority was the protection of the dynasty and their most dangerous enemy was not necessarily the Japanese, but rather the Han population of China. Before the battle would commence over Port Arthur, Colonel J.F Maurice of the British Royal artillery informed the London and China express this “a comparatively small Chinese naval force could make it very difficult for the Japanese to transport large quantities of troops to the Asian mainland. Yet Admiral Ding did nothing to impede their troop build up to assault Port Arthur”. The Japanese Weekly Mail were complete dumbfounded at this time and produced this in an article “"When we begin to think what the loss of Port Arthur would signify for the Chinese Fleet, and what the abandonment of the place to its fate would imply under the circumstances, we can not but marvel at China's apparent inaction. Port Arthur is the only dock in north China. Did it come into Japanese possession, the Chinese war-ships would have no place to go for repairs and consequently dare not risk an engagement. Moreover, Port Arthur alone is not invested. The Japanese are holding the entrance to Pechili [Bohai] Gulf...Yet despite its easy accessibility for purposes of relief, and despite the crippling consequences involved in its capture, the Chinese seem resolved to leave it to its fate." It was unbelievable from the Japanese point of view. The very lifeline of the Japanese military relied upon her sealanes and transport. It was so direly needed, even merchant ships were helping the Japanese military to perform the task and they did so completely undaunted. As explained by the North China Herald “ordinary unarmed merchantmen, have been regularly plying to and fro without any escort, and they could have been waylaid and sent to the bottom time after time had China but risen to the occasion. The movement of the Chinese fleet have throughout the war been. . . utterly and incomprehensibly imbecile. . . The Chinese fleet has not attempted to meet the Japanese fleet in the open sea, or weighed a single anchor to hinder and debar the unprotected transports of Japan passing to and fro with their freight of eager invaders”. After the war, Hilary A Herbert the United States secretary of the navy provided an analysis on China's performance against the Japanese. "China had in this war a chance, and only one chance to win, and that lay in her fleet. To seize this chance required aggressive and daring use of that navy. Instead, China had entered upon a losing game of transporting troops to Korea, the battle ground Japan had chosen, in competition with an enemy, whose lines by sea were shorter and whose transports were as three to one. The result of this game was shortly seen in the numbers that met each other at the battle of Ping Yang [P'ydngyang]. Japan, having beaten China in transporting troops to Korea, was then allowed to choose her own time and place for a sea fight in the battle off the Yalu. The first of the untoward results of the unfortunate policy of scattering her war ships upon which China had embarked, was that she was worsted off Asan [at Feng Island], where three of Japan's ships attacked two of the Chinese vessels." The Chinese were doomed. To defeat Japan, China needed to be aggressive and daring. But the whole incentive system in the Qing dynasty penalized anyone who left its traditional war path, which was losing them said war. To break with the norm, to defy traditions and such, even if met with success in battle meant the creation of enemies within the Qing court. No one was willing to take daring action, not even the champion of China at this time, Li Hongzhang.  With Dalian in hand, the Japanese had gained yet another perfect location to have their massive convoys deliver troops and materials. Dalian in many ways was the perfect base of operations to launch an attack upon Port Arthur. Reports began to circulate that within the fortress of Port Arthur, the soldiers had lost all discipline. The foreign military advisor Captain Calder reported this to Li Hongzhang “at Port Arthur with the growing unruliness of the so-called defenders, that the fabric was tottering. The Generals did little else but quarrel amongst themselves and act in opposition. Soldiers were wandering about in mobs, taking pot-shots at electric light lamps and destroying everything in the most wanton way. In some of the smaller forts the soldiers were finding amusement in discharging the smaller guns at everything and anything a small fishing boat for instance”. Before the Japanese made it to Port Arthur, the Chinese defenders of the city began looting it. The North China Herald stated on December 21st "commander of the submarine mines and torpedo corps, in his fright, cut the connecting electric wires and carrying away the firing apparatus immediately fled, his example being well imitated by those under him, so that of the 600 odd torpedoes laid in the harbour not a single one was fired against the enemy. "news of the fall of Port Arthur has been expected every day...Foreigners from Newchwang [Niuzhuang] and Port Arthur give a most deplorable account of the state of things among the common people. All who can are fleeing with such of their possessions as they can take away."" Skirmishes between the Japanese and Chinese began on November 20th on the outskirts around Port Arthur. The next day the main attack began. The Japanese lacked the proper grade and range of ammunition for their larger siege guns, thus the Qing held an enormous advantage in artillery. But the Japanese were able to storm the forts. As reported by the Japan Weekly Mail on December 8th "Chinese gunnery was hopelessly ineffective...What fighting followed was mere carnage...The Chinese officers abandoning their men to their fate, got on board two small steamers that remained in the harbour and put out to sea." It proved unnecessary for the Japanese to besiege the fortress, because the Chinese had given up quickly. The Japanese had begun their assault at midnight on the 21st under some heavy fire initially, but they had stormed all the important landward defenses by noon the following day. Defense by land required coordination among the forts on the semicircle hills surrounding the fortress. But the Chinese were not coordinating, thus the Japanese picked the smaller forts off one by one, turning their fort guns upon the others. Eventually the Japanese took forts closer to Port Arthur and began using their guns on the dockyards and arsenal. The shore fortifications held out a bit longer, but the final one was neutralized by 5pm. During the night of the 22nd, the Chinese defenders began deserting their remaining positions. Most of the Qing officers fled using two small boats in the port, literally ditching their men to their fate. The Qing had abandoned 57 large caliber and 163 small caliber artillery pieces. Within the fortifications and the dockyards were enormous stores of coal that the Japanese would readily take for their warships.  The taking of Port Arthur was a colossal victory for Japan. There were outrageous estimates from the Japanese that they had inflicted over 4000 casualties upon the Qing at Port Arthur and only received 300 in return. Regardless of the real figures, it was the turning point of the war from the perspective of the western world. But while it was a grand victory it would represent a defeat for the Japanese. Ever since the sinking of the Kowshing, the Japanese had striven to acquire a reputation for absolute impeccable behavior on the battlefield. Since then they had demonstrated their military prowess, their high degree of civilization and their humane treatment of civilians and POW's. From a public relations viewpoint, they were brilliant. Even the anti-Japanese North China Herald reluctantly had to agree "Official corruption has certainly sapped China's strength and brought about defeat and loss, and Japan's humane treatment has certainly been the chief cause of her victories." Japan had signed the Geneva Convention and Minister of War Marshal Oyama Iwao had alerted the IJA of their responsibilities as such “Japanese soldiers must never forget that however cruel and vindictive the foe may allow himself, he must nevertheless be treated in accordance with the acknowledged rules of civilization; his disabled must be succored and his captured kindly and considerately protected.Our Army fights for the right and in accordance with the principles of civilization. Our enemies are the military forces of the country with which we are at war, not the individuals of the country. Against the force of our foe we must fight with all resolution, but as soon as any of his soldiers surrender, are taken prisoners, or receive wounds, they cease to be enemies, and it becomes our duty to treat them with all kindness." But at Port Arthur the Japanese would fail tremendously. Because of how the Japanese had treated civilians so well, alongside Oyama's publicized promises, countless civilians stayed within Port Arthur when the Japanese took it. When the Japanese patrols first entered the Port Arthur region on November 18th, they came upon mutilated Japanese bodies. Thomas Cowan of the London Times and James Creelman of the New York World were traveling with the Japanese patrol forces and witnessed this. Cowan had this to say "The sight was most revolting and was sufficient to excite revengeful feelings in the hearts of the best disciplined men." Creelman described what they saw when entering Port Arthur “the Japanese troops found the heads of their slain comrades hanging by cords, with the noses and ears gone" and "a rude arch in the main street decorated with bloody Japanese heads." Throughout the war, the IJA would discover severed heads and other mutilated body parts of their fallen comrades, but until Port Arthur they had not taken their revenge it seemed. One particularly bad incident occurred on November 18th when the IJA found a large group of wounded soldiers they had left behind in an area, were severely mutilated with their hands and feet cut off. As one eye witness, James Allan wrote after the war "Strongly as the massacre by the Japanese troops in Port Arthur is to be condemned, there is not the slightest doubt in the world that the Chinese brought it on themselves by their own vindictive savagery towards their enemies...[O]ne of the first things I saw on the morning of the 19th was a pair of [Japanese] corpses suspended by the feet from the branches of a huge camphor tree...They had been disemboweled; the eyes were gouged out, the throat cut, the right hand severed. They were perfectly naked, and groups of children were pelting them with mud and stones." When the Japanese began moving into the region on November 18th, the Qing government had issued bounties on POW's. Up to 50 taels were given for Japanese heads or other body parts.  When the Japanese came to the fortress of Port Arthur there were several mutilated body parts of their comrades displayed at the entrance to the city. Several soldiers including Lt Kijiro Nanbu vowed revenge. The IJA entered the city at around 2pm and they began killing everyone who remained in the city.  Here is a diary entry from Makio Okabe of the 1st division “As we entered the town of Port Arthur, we saw the head of a Japanese soldier displayed on a wooden stake. This filled us with rage and a desire to crush any Chinese soldier. Anyone we saw in the town, we killed. The streets were filled with corpses, so many they blocked our way. We killed people in their homes; by and large, there wasn't a single house without from three to six dead. Blood was flowing and the smell was awful. We sent out search parties. We shot some, hacked at others. The Chinese troops just dropped their arms and fled. Firing and slashing, it was unbounded joy. At this time, our artillery troops were at the rear, giving three cheers [banzai] for the emperor.” James Allen tells us "Nobody was spared, man, woman, or child, that 1 could see. The Chinese appeared to offer no resistance. Many of them prostrated themselves on the ground before the butchers with abject submission, and were shot or stabbed in that posture. The dead were mostly the townspeople; their valiant defenders seemed to have been able to make themselves scarce.the diabolical orgy of murder and mutilation, rape, lust, and rapine."" Thomas Cowan had this to say during the first day of the cities capture "I was greatly surprised next day to find them still killing the Chinese. They practically routed out the whole of the town: every house was entered and searched; the Chinese were driven out and killed; some were even killed in the houses." The Japanese press tried to place the blame of the massacres upon coolies working for the IJA, but as Cowan explained “The murders were all done by soldiers in uniform; not the work of coolies, so far as I could see." The Japanese press also tried to argue the case that it was difficult to distinguish civilians from combatants, and indeed many Qing soldiers wore civilian clothing, but this did not account for the killing of women and children. Again Cowan tells us  "the hillsides around Port Arthur were strewn with their uniforms. I saw scores of Chinese hunted out of cover, shot down and hacked to pieces, and never a man made any attempt to fight...I watched intently for the slightest sign of cause, confident that there must be some, but I saw none whatever. The Japanese perhaps also are barbarous at heart, like the Chinese. To prove it, for the fact remains that a dozen white men saw these Japanese commit these savageries for four clear days after the day of the fight." Western press reports like Cowan were corroborated by diaries from Japanese soldiers.  Creelman ran into a Japanese legal advisor named Agria Nagao of the 2nd IJA who told him this "On the night of the second day [of the massacre] the legal adviser of the army told me that Field Marshal Oyama regarded the continued slaughter as quite justifiable. 'Prisoners are a burden.We took a few hundred prisoners at Pingyang [Pyongyang], and we found it very expensive and troublesome to feed and guard them. We are taking practically no prisoners here."'" The massacre lasted several days, and one of the reports many Western audiences would remember was this chilling one from Cowan “Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were spent by the soldiery in murder and pillage from dawn to dark, in mutilation, in every conceivable kind of nameless atrocity, until the town became a ghastly Inferno to be remembered with a fearsome shudder until one's dying day. I saw corpses of women and children, three or four in the streets, more in the water ... Bodies of men strewed the streets in hundreds, perhaps thousands, for we could not count – some with not a limb unsevered, some with heads hacked, cross-cut, and split lengthwise, some ripped open, not by chance but with careful precision, down and across, disembowelled and dismembered, with occasionally a dagger or bayonet thrust in the private parts. I saw groups of prisoners tied together in a bunch with their hands behind their backs, riddled with bullets for five minutes and then hewn to pieces. I saw a junk stranded on the beach, filled with fugitives of either sex and of all ages, struck by volley after volley until – I can say no more.”  The scale of the killing has long been debated. Figures range dramatically. Scout reports sent by Li Hongzhang placed civilian deaths at 2700 within the city, but this did not account for the countless people slaughtered in the surrounding area. After WW2 the CCP built a cemetery proclaiming the death toll to be 20,000, this figure includes the soldiers as well, but the number has been orthodoxy ever since. Creelman asserted 60,000 were slain, which would have represented the entire population around Port Arthur. It was a atrocious beyond imagination. As Creelman explains in the greater context of national status "The Japanese troops entered Port Arthur on Nov. 21 and massacred practically the entire population in cold blood. The defenseless and unarmed inhabitants were butchered in their houses and their bodies were unspeakably mutilated. There was an unrestrained reign of murder which continued for three days. The whole town was plundered with appalling atrocities. It was the first stain upon Japanese civilization. The Japanese in this instance relapsed into barbarism." Japan's meticulous crafted public image as the only civilized nation in the Far East was shattered. It would even threaten to upset the ratification of an American-Japanese treaty providing japan juridical equality. Japan had undone so much they had worked for in just a few days of senseless slaughter. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The victory and capture of Port Arthur was a major turning point of the war, but it represented not just victory but also a defeat in many ways for Japan. Her public image had been shattered by senseless slaughter, would it undue everything?  

小額贊助支持本節目： https://open.firstory.me/user/ck2ymcbpa2cpi0869qq23bkji 留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/user/ck2ymcbpa2cpi0869qq23bkji/comments 【H&M 365】#PODCAST 1989-06-04 天安門事件 避而不談，其實你知我知大家都知 《頤和園》Summer Palace, 2006 - ▶️ 收看YouTube影片：https://youtu.be/shUbcxVykmw ▶️ 收聽PODCAST聲音：https://open.firstory.me/story/clih9hqd300o901uxbnuebmuc/platforms - 「管他黑貓白貓，會捉耗子的就是好貓。」 鄧小平 . 1980年代後，時任中共領導人鄧小平開始實施改革開放政策，經濟、社會、政治都面臨到巨大的變化；市場化的結果開始出現通貨膨脹以及缺乏彈性的官僚體制，對這個社會主義國家來說都是一大挑戰；加上中共派系的鬥爭，鄧小平的權力地位也在這樣的改革氣氛中受到了動搖。 - 1980年代末，民間也開始出現思想上的解放，對於自由、人權、政府組織等議題，也開始在學生族群間討論；當時與鄧小平在政治地位不分上下的前中共中央委員會總書記胡耀邦，傾向政治體制改革的作為，與鄧小平的政治立場形成強烈對比，也因此胡耀邦在1989年4月中旬因病去世後，引發了學生群眾自發性地聚集悼念。學生群眾慢慢地在北京天安門廣場的人民英雄紀念碑附近，發起小規模及會，北京和清華大學也在校園內設置胡耀邦的靈堂；這起活動也因為人潮逐漸聚集後，逐漸升溫、擴大，最後演變成為要求政府立即改革的民主化運動、學運，政府與民眾之間的衝突就在崩潰邊緣。 - 就在政府與學生代表對話沒有共識，各地衝突不斷，情勢逐漸升溫的情況下，鄧小平決定以強硬的方式將天安門聚集的群眾驅散，在6月3日晚間爆發嚴重的流血衝突。解放軍以優勢的武力和人數，開始進入天安門廣場；此時，對外的通訊被切斷，清場的過程也遭到官方封鎖，僅有少數的影像畫面被西方媒體以新的通訊方式帶出，才讓外界知道這起嚴重的流血事件。當然，就在六四天安門事件發生後，中國強硬的作為遭到國際共同譴責，改革的腳步也喊停，直到江澤民被確立為新一代的領導核心後，才逐漸恢復政治改革的氣氛。但1980年代後，中共的民主化直到今日仍朝著讓人不安的方向前進。 - - -

Last time we spoke about the assassination of Kim Ok-kyun and the Donhak Rebellion. Conflicts between China and Japan had heated up to the boiling point at last. The pro Japanese politician Kim Ok-kyun was assassinated serving also as an insult towards Japan. The Beiyang Fleet's visit to Nagasaki resulted in embarrassment and an awkward threat for Japan. Japan was not happy with the SINO situation and actively began building her navy to have the capability of facing off against the Beiyang fleet. Then a violent rebellion of the Donghak faith emerged in Korea prompting a very panicked King Gojong to call upon his Qing allies for aid. The Qing took up the call for help and although it differs from source to source, did or did not notify the Japanese of their actions. Regardless, both China and Japan prepared forces that would embark for Korea. The chess pieces were on the board and now things were set into motion that could not be undone.   #49 The First Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1895 Part 1: The Battle of Pungdo   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The Tonghak rebels can be seen more as a symptom than a disease of the ailing Joseon dynasty. She was a nation stuck between two tigers, two tigers who were both trying to eat her. The turmoil of the later half of the 19th century was tearing Korea apart. Her citizens were forced into this quasi black and white choice between China or Japan, particularly when it came to the topic of modernization. The Tonghak followers were rallying against a tyrannical government who were overtaxing them. Major revolts occurred in 1885, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892 and 1893. By February of 1894 the unrest rose dramatically and in April the Tonghaks were in a full scale open rebellion. The target of their hatred were the corrupt officials oppressing them through over taxation and incompetency. But one thing that is funny about the Tonghak story, one that is almost never mentioned, is rumors spread to the Tonghaks that China and Japan were on the verge of sending troops and this prompted them on June 1st to agree to a cease-fire to remove the possibility of foreign intervention. Well that should have been the end of our story, China and Japan keep their boys home and the 3 nations lived happily ever after? On June 2nd, the Japanese cabinet decided to send troops to Korea, if China did so, they also made sure to muzzle any political opposition by asking the emperor to dissolve the lower chamber of the diet. We have the official documentation to back this, thus if China did not send troops, Japan would not have a justification to send there's, however a problem arose. The next day, King Gojong on the recommendation of the Min clan and Yuang Shikai, requested China send troops to help suppress the rebellion. King Gojong had thus unwittingly given the hawkish Japanese military leaders the pretext they desired for so long, another chance to intervene in Korea on a large scale. Why did the Min clan push King Gojong to do this despite the Tonghak basically calling a truce? Turns out the Tonghak's were particularly targeting the Min clan and their allies and there were rumors they had contact with the Daewongun. Within a few days Japan is on a military footing. On June 5th the first IJA HQ is established and on the 6th the ministries of the IJA and IJN issued instructions to the press not to print any information concerning warlike operations, they mean business. Despite this many Japanese news outlets ignore the order, leading to countless being suspended for a day. Now again the sources are sticky with how this part goes down, but on June 7th, China notified Japan in accordance with the Treaty of Tianjin. The notification states that China is sending 2000 troops to Nanyang, which is located on the coast between Seoul and Asan. Within hours of receiving the notification, Japan sends its own notice to China that it is also sending troops, which is in line with the treaty. Also at this same time the Asahi Shinbun reports that Russia is sending ground forces and warships to Korea. It seems the Asahi Shinbun made this report largely to compare the actions of Japan and China to a western power, alongside noting how much Japan had modernized. Remember, Japan's Meiji restoration began exclusively as a means to thwart colonization, but by this point Japan now seeks to become a world power. Japan is emulating the greatest nations of the world, and the actions she will take for the following years certainly emphasize that. Within days, 2000 Japanese IJA forces have landed and are marching towards Seoul despite the Korean government pleading for them to refrain from sending forces. It is far too late however, the troops are arriving and it seems Japan was prepared well in advance to do this. In accordance with the treaty of Tianjin, the end of the rebellion meant that China and Japan no longer had legitimate grounds to send forces and should have withdrawn. But Japan began making claims their troop deployment was necessary for the protection of their embassy, consulates and citizens within Korea. Now by the 8th, 4000 Japanese soldiers and 500 sailors have landed at Jemulpo, current day Incheon. A public ceasefire acknowledge for the Donghak rebellion is issued on the 11th, though it is already known days before. The harbor of Incheon looks like its participating in an international naval show. On the 13th 9 IJN warships and transports along with 4 Beiyang warships are anchored there. Alongside them are an assortment of international ships from nations like Russia, Britain, France and America. Also on the 13th the Japanese government sends a telegraph to the commander of Japanese forces in Korea, Otori Keisuke to keep the forces within Korea for as long as possible despite the public announcement that the Donghak rebellion is over. On the 15th another 8 more Japanese transports arrive with 6000 troops disembarked. On the 16th Japanese foreign minister Mutsu Munemistu meets with the Qing ambassador to Japan, Wang Fengzao to discuss the future status of Korea. Wang states the Qing government intends to pull out of Korea once the Donghak rebellion is fully suppressed and expects Japan to do the same. But he also acknowledges that China will retain a resident to look after Chinese primacy in Korea, ie: Mr Yuan Shikai. Soon there are 10 IJN warships actively patrolling Korean waters and on the 18th the ministry of the IJN issues new naval fleet regulations. On the other side, Li Hongzhang is trying desperately to avoid war and maintain stable relations with Japan. He has been spending years doing this, trying to get other Western powers to take a more active role in Korea to thwart Japan's ambitions over her. During this period and even in the upcoming war, Li Hongzhang continues to try and involve western powers to end the conflict. When King Gojong pleaded for help, Li Hongzhang made sure the troops would not go directly to Seoul, which he knew would upset Japan. The troops instead went to Nanyang and Asan where they could hit the Donghak before they marched northwards from Cholla upon Seoul. Li Hongzhang had hoped by doing this, the Japanese would choose not to become involved, but he was gravely wrong. Once Japan began sending troops, Li proposed to the Japanese that both nations should agree to withdraw. On the 16th Japan made a counterproposal, stating China and Japan should cooperate in assisting Korea to undertake the major steps to promote modernization. However it was obvious to all, Japan sought to promote economic development in Korea for its own interests, to obtain Korean grain at cheap prices. Thus Japan's proposal was refused. On the 22nd Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi told his fellow politician colleague Matsukata Masayoshi, he believed the Qing empire was making military preparations and that “there is probably no policy but to go to war”. Mutsu Munemitsu likewise sends word to Otori Keisuke to press the Korean government on Japanese demands. On the 26nd Otori presents a set of reform proposal to King Gojong, but instead of accepting them, he insists on troop withdrawals. At about this time, Yuan Shikai see's the paint on the wall and on the 27th requests permission from Li Hongzhang to return to China. However Li Hongzhang only sent a response 20 days later granting it. On July 19th, Yuan Shikai would disguise himself as a Chinese servant of a Russian military attache and flee Seoul for Peking. In the later half of June, Japanese newspapers are ramping things up. The Japan Weekly Mail read this “It is apparent that the restless energies of the people yearn for employment in a foreign war”, a week later “The Tokyo journals unite in urging upon the Government the importance of utilizing the present opportunity for wiping away the stain left on the national honor by th fatal error of 1884”. The bitter lesson learnt from 1884, next time bring more men. Such news articles were working wonders as during the last week of June, Japanese public petitions from multiple prefectures were requesting permission to raise troops. In early July an imperial ordinance established extraordinary powers to regulate the sale of goods with military applications raising public concern. By the third week of july, the “Korean question” was the only thing in the Japanese press and the Japan Weekly Mail predicted “It now looks as though war is inevitable”. Indeed on July 7th the British ambassador to China openly acknowledged the mediation between China and Japan had failed. Now initially China just sent 2-3 thousand forces, while Japan matched them with 8000, these are the numbers they are reporting officially, the real numbers for both are much higher. Regardless, once the fighting begins, both sides toss troops into Korea at such a high rate it was hard for people to keep actual figures. Now Li Hongzhang made no war preparation attempts to match the increasing Japanese numbers coming into Korea. His strategy remained to avoid hostilities. He hoped to secure European intervention to rein in the Japanese, this was his primary strategy. Li Hongzhang was the commander of the Qing's most modern military force and had a considerable amount of knowledge about Japan because of his role as a diplomat. He knew the Qing forces were no match for the IJA, for that there is no doubt. Li worked like a mad dog to push European powers to rescue the Korea situation, but he had overestimated their willingness to intervene and to be honest their disgust with the Qing political situation. Li Hongzhang seems to have misread the political situation in Japan as well. Many Chinese officials in Japan were feeding reports back to China about feuding between the Diet and Cabinet and their conclusions were that the political divisions would most likely prevent Japan from launching an effective military campaign. Its sort of interesting they came to such conclusions, as it may have been more of a understanding of their own Chinese political situation rather than Japan. The Manchu-Han division was indeed hampering Chinese foreign policy for example, but Japan shared a national identity, it was a case of apples and oranges. Li Hongzhang first turned to Russia for help in mid June, but it came to nothing. Britain made an effort, but failed. Italy tried mediation and like Britain failed. King Gojong went to the Americans for help, but they were employing an isolationist policy at the time. Yes good old isolationist America, back in the ol days.  Now when the Japanese made their counter proposal and the Qing declined it on June 21st, Japan responded by stating they did not intend to withdraw from Korea until their reforms were implemented. Li responded “On the approach of the Chinese forces the insurgents [Tonghaks] dispersed. China now desires to withdraw, but Japan refuses to evacuate simultaneously with China, and proposes a joint occupation, the administration of Korean finances, and the introduction of reforms. These are tasks which China cannot accept." The reality of the matte for the Japanese government was that the current Korean situation did not meet her national security interests nor her economic ones. As Japan poured her troops into Korea, her politicians also put relentless pressure on King Gojong to implement their desired reforms. The Korean government unsuccessfully tried to convince Japan that they would adopt the reforms if they withdrew their troops.  On July 22nd, the Japanese received word, Li Hongzhang had overcome domestic opposition with the Qing court and now large reinforcements were going to be sent to Korea. Though Li Hongzhang wanted to avoid hostilities, his hands were tied, if the Qing did retain a presence in Korea it would threaten the legitimacy of their Manchu dynasty. But in a typical Qing fashion, the troops were delayed and would not make it to Korea in time. Well the Japanese were done dancing with the Chinese and Korean, on the 23rd the IJA forces in Seoul suddenly stormed the Joseon royal palace and took King Gojong hostage. The New York Times had this to say "The Japanese have announced that they will hold the King of Corea as a hostage until the internal reforms demanded by Japan shall have been satisfactorily guaranteed." Well the Tonghak rebellion flared right back up and took rapid momentum, going from what was a regional event to a national uprising. The IJA were brutal in their suppression of the Tonghaks and this fueled the Korean public against them. Likewise the Qing were placed with their backs against the wall, if they did nothing about Japans seizure of King Gojong, they were basically giving up suzerainty over Korea. Japan's actions were obvious, they wanted war and they were going to get it. On the afternoon of the 23rd, with King Gojong in hand, the IJA began storming and disarming Korean garrisons in Seoul. By the end of the day the capital of Korea was in Japanese hands. The Japanese then recalled the Daewongun to oversee the Japanese style reform program. Yes the anti-foreign, isolationist icon ironically was chosen. The Daewongun always looking for an opportunity to regain power had little options laid bare to him so he took up the job, on the sole condition Japan refrain from annexing any Korean territory. That day the Daewongun met with King Gojong at the royal palace, they had not seen each other for nearly a decade. The father scolded his son for misrule and Gojong apologized requesting the Daewongun become regent again. I will add these sources are coming from Japan, I am sure it did not at all go down like this. Give the sort of feeling when you read about Hernan Cortez and Moctezuma II, if you know the sources for that one, well you know. The Daewongun went to work, immediately exiling the Min clan to some small islands and the new government renounced multiple treaties with the Qing dynasty, thus severing its tributary ties.  The Japanese backed reform program became known as the Kabo reform movement, which would go on from July 1894 to February 1896. It was not all bad to be honest, a lot of it was to create an efficient and honest government. Posts were given fixed responsibilities and salaries; a national budget was established; better tax structure; the military/judiciary and educational system were given overhauls and the nation's infrastructure was modernized rapidly. The most significant reform was taking away the Yangbang class monopoly on public offices, basically an end to the Chinese examination system. In a single stroke the Japanese had destroyed Korea's aristocracy, the elites were destroyed. As for the Daewongun, ever the plotter, he secretly envisioned a pincer movement on Seoul with the Tonghaks from the south and the Qing from the north. Unfortunately for him, the Japanese found out about this later on when they found documents containing such plans and this would lead later on to him being forced into retirement.  Li Hongzhang knew Qing forces were no match for the Japanese. Zhili, Shandong and the Fengtian provinces had around 40 battalions with 20,000 or so first-line action men and 20 battalions only fit for garrison duty. All of the rest were Green Standards who were pretty useless. And lets be honest, this series has shown the Green Standards to be …well nothing less than so. He faced around 50,000 Japanese to his estimates, and he concluded they would need to recruit 20-30 additional battalions which would set back the dynasty 2-3 million taels. William Ferdinand Tyler who served in the Beiyang northern squadron and witness the battles of Yali and Weihaiwei later on had this to say of Li's position "the Viceroy's game was merely bluff, not genuine defence; his army and navy were the equivalent of the terrifying masks which Eastern medieval soldiers wore to scare their enemy. He knew that if it came to actual blows he would stand but little chance; but he carried on his bluff so far that withdrawal was impossible, and the Empress Dowager urged him on - probably much against his will. And Japan 'saw him,' as they say in poker." Just about everyone believed China would stomp Japan however. British envoy to China, Sir Robert Hart embodied the worldview stating “999 out of every 1000 Chinese are sure big China can thrash little Japan”. But China was fractured realistically. Empress Dowager Cixi's authority over the dynasty was only held because it was fractured, she could not allow the nation to have a real unified government. Such a government would most certainly unify against her and the Manchu. To stay in power Cixi checked every possible rival, even Li Hongzhang. All of the internal turmoil undermined the Qing's ability to modernize its military and this also caused factional rivalries within the military. Cixi controlled the funds for the Qing navy and infamously siphoned naval funds for the renovation of the Summer Palace. Li Hongzhang could not do anything about this specific matter because he would lose favor with her, and her favor was all that kept his authority so he could deal with the conflict. Yet all these internal problems were non existent in the minds of the elites in China nor the western onlookers who simply believed China would give Japan a quick spanking, take this from the North China Herald  "the breaking out of war between China and Japan is only a question of days, perhaps of hours. The real reason for Japan's desire for war was "that the Japanese government prefers a foreign to a civil war. The discontent of the majority of the House of Representatives was getting serious...A foreign war, however, is expected to reunite the people; it is an outlet for the bad blood which has been accumulating of late years in the body politic."  While the Japanese were doing everything possible to stir up a war, Li Hongzhang was extremely careful to minimize the possibility of a clash. He ordered the Qing forces to encamp 80 miles to the south of Seoul around Asan. He was in contact with the Tonghak and indeed a pincer maneuver was agreed upon. The Qing forces took up a stance between Asan and Pyongyang and the Japanese realized it would be much easier to hit their reinforcements at sea rather than commence with a land offensive. On July 16th, when 8000 Qing forces arrived to Pyongyang, the Japanese sent Li Hongzhang an ultimatum, threatening to take action if any additional forces were sent to Korea. At the same time orders were given to General Oshima Yoshimasa leading the 9th brigade of the 5th division at Chemulpo and the commanders of IJN warships there to initiate military operations if any more Chinese troops were sent to Korea. Li Hongzhang suspected Japan was bluffing and therefore sent reinforcements to the commander at Asan, General Ye Zhichao, 2500 troops who left Dagu on 3 transports, the Irene, Fei Ching and Kowshing. The first two transports carrying 1300 of the troops left on the night of July 23rd with cruiser Jiyuan, torpedo boats Kwang-yi and Tsao-kiang as escort, they could also rely on the cruiser Weiyuan at port in Chemulpo for support. The two transports successfully landed their troops on the 24th. The IJN had deployed a component of their combined fleet to Korean waters by this point. The IJN sent 15 major warships and 7 torpedo boats under Vice Admiral Ito Sukeyuki from Sasebo to Gunsan on July 23rd. There was also the flying squadron of Rear Admiral Tsuboi Kozo who was dispatched to Chemulpo to aid the weak forced anchored there. At Chemulpo were the ships Yaeyama, Musashi and Oshima, while Tsuboi was bringing the cruisers Yoshino, Akitsushima and Naniwa. Tsuboi's task was to prevent any Qing landings. The, Captain Fang Boqian of the Jiyuan received word of the Japanese actions in Seoul and Chemulpo from the Weiyuan and on July 25 ordered the Irene and Fei Ching to head back to Dagu, while the Weiyuan would head for Weihaiwei to report to Admiral Ding Ruchang of the situation unfolding in Korea. However the third transport, the Kowshing was late, thus Fang Boqian decided to remain at Asan bay with cruiser Jiyuan and torpedo boat Kawng-yi to protect its landing.  On the morning of the 25th the Jiyuan and Kwang-yi departed Asan to meet up with the Kowshing and Tsao-kiang. Near the small island of Pundo the Qing vessels would run into the Tsuboi's squadron. Tsbuoi's had gone to Pungdo trying to rendezvous with the Yaeyama and Oshima. At around 6:40am, the Japanese spotted two warships heading south-west, these were the Jiyuan and Kawng-yi. Tsuboi guessed they were escorting Qing transports and went in to investigate. Captain Fang Boqian spotted the incoming Japanese warships, greatly alarmed by their appearance. He ordered the Qing ships to increase speed to escape and this prompted the Japanese to do the same. Yoshino headed the formation with Naniwa and Akitsushima behind, trying to outmaneuver the Qing and prevent their escape.  At 7:45am the Yoshino and Jiyuan were closing in around 3km from another, then at 7:52 Naniwa suddenly opened fire on the Jiyuan. After Naniwa, the Yoshina and Akitsushima began firing. Yoshina and Naniwa concentrated on Jiyuan while the Akitsushima fired upon the Kwang-yi which was around a km behind Jiyuan. The Qing ships returned fire, but the Japanese had distinctly taken the advantage by opening up first. The first shells hit Jiyuan's conning tower, demolishing it and severely damaged her steering mechanism. The second volley hit her forward barbette guns taking them out of action and soon shells were hitting her midship causing carnage and panic amongst her crew. Qing commanders had to quell the panic with their revolvers pointed at the gunners until they regained their composure and continued to fire upon the enemy. The Jiyuan made a dash for open sea as her crews tried to repair her steering mechanism. Meanwhile the Kwang-yi was hit at the offset of battle, the Akitsushima had fired a shell penetrating her hull below the waterline and damaging her boiler room. She rapidly took on water, prompting Captain Lin Kuohsiang to ordered her beached. Enveloped by fire, smoke and steam Kwang-yi turned southeast to beach along the shore while Naniwa began firing on her. Kwang-yi's crews quickly abandoned ship as the Naniwa shelled her ferociously causing numerous explosions and turning her into a fiery wreck. 37 of her crew died while 71 including captain Lin Kuohsiang swam to shore.  While the Kwang-yi was destroyed, the Japanese cruisers continued to pursue the Jiyuan which they caught up to at 8:10am. Yoshino and Naniwa were almost abeam of her prompting Captain Fang to prepare to surrender his warship, but then they all saw smoke from the horizon, two more warships were approaching Asan. It was the Kowshing and Tsao-Kiang. The Japanese immediately turned their attention to the new ships bolting towards them as the Jiyuan attempting sneakingaway. Upon spotting the Japanese coming at them, the Tsao-Kiang immediately turned around for Weihaiwei as the poor Kowshing continued slowly towards Asan. Upon seeing what Qing warships were before him, Tsuboi sent Naniwa over to investigate the Kowshing, Yoshino to hunt the Jiyuan and Akitsushima after the Tsao-Kiang. The Tsao-Kiang was caught by 11:37 and surrendered without a fight to the Akitsushima. At 12:05pm the Yoshino ran down the Jiyuan and began firing upon her from 2.5kms away. Captain Fang made daring move and steered his ship among some shoals, managing to escape the Yoshino who would not risk the dangerous waters. Meanwhile the Kowshing, which was a British vessel captained by Thomas Ryder Galsworthy chattered last minute by the Qing had no knowledge of the battle that had occurred. Galsworthy felt safe under the protection of the British civil ensign and just kept sailing. At 9am the Captain of the Naniwa, Captain Togo Heihachiro, yes the future legendary fleet admiral of the IJN combined fleet who would win the legendary battle of Tsushima ordered the Kowshing to follow him as he would escort it to the Japanese squadron. Galsworthy made a protest citing British neutrality, but complied nonetheless. The unfortunate issue, was the Qing soldiers on his ship who did not comply. The Qing soldiers began threatening to kill the crew if they continued to sail over with the Japanese. Galsworthy tried negotiating with the angry Qing soldiers, but when it became obvious they were in real danger he along with the British crew jumped overboard, swimming for the Naniwa. Allegedly, as the sources are Japanese mind you. The Qing soldiers began firing upon the British in the water killing all but Galsworthy and two other sailors who were rescued by the Naniwa. Upon seeing all of this, the Naniwa then opened fire on the Kowshing, completely obliterating her. Very few aboard managed to swim to safety. It was carnage. The Kowshing launched 2 lifeboats full of Qing soldiers which were fired upon by the Naniwa. 1100 Chinese died in what became known as the battle of Pungdo, 800 alone from the Kowshing. As a foreign commentator said of the event "It was truly a pitiable sight that such a number of officers [on the Kowshing], amongst whom were two generals, should not have sufficient military experience to understand the absurdity of attempting resistance in a merchant vessel against a powerful man-of-war.". The Japanese had damaged a cruiser, captured a gunboat and sank another. Something was noted by a reporter of the Japan weekly mail about the battle "the Chinese ships made a miserable fight. There seemed to be a problem with bad ammunition. The Qing had scored a hit, but  the shell had failed to explode and thus did no significant damage. It is suspected to be a result of bad equipment or careless inspection." For those of you who know about the first Sino-Japanese war, or perhaps just know the general history of Empress Dowager Cixi and the corruption of the late Qing dynasty, this is indeed one of the earliest pieces of evidence of what will be a large problem for the Qing Navy. The battle of Pungdo and sinking of the Kowshing would be soon followed by formal declarations of war. On August 1st, Japan declared war on China, stating Korea was an independent state and that China was trying to hold her as a dependency and had rejected Japan's offer to cooperate. Japan had to declare war because China had made “warlike preparations and sent large reinforcements and had opened fire on Japanese ships”. Sounds about right? There was no mention of Japanese much larger warlike preparations, the taking of King Gojong and the first shots being fired from IJN vessels. However the Japanese clearly were writing a declaration not aimed solely at China, but at the world powers, because the thing she coveted most was to join them of course. The declaration made in the name of Emperor Meiji used specific terms like “family of nations, law of nations, international treaties and such”. Japan was being very diplomatically minded. On the other side, Emperor Guangxi on the same day Japan declared ware made the formal declaration of war against Japan and did so by calling the Japanese “Woren” multiple times in the declaration. The declaration showed disdain for the Japanese, and to even make a point the Qing had it translated in English specifically referencing what Woren meant haha. The declaration wreaked of the traditional way the Qing spoke of those they considered inferior and showcased to the world powers, China had not changed much.  The world's press still remained certain, Japan would be crushed by big China. On July 24th, the Times of London predicted China would win because of her size, population and that time was on her side. British advisor to the Qing military, William Lang was interviewed by Reuters and predicted the Japanese would lose. Lang thought that the Chinese navy was well-drilled, the ships were fit, the artillery was at least adequate, and the coastal forts were strong. Weihaiwei “ was impregnable. Although Lang emphasized that everything depended on how China's forces were led, he had faith that 'in the end, there is no doubt that Japan must be utterly crushed'. Only time would tell. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. It seems despite all the efforts, war has finally broken out amongst the siblings of China and Japan. The world seemed convinced big brother would defeat little brother, but little did they know how wrong they would be.

China is witnessing a travel boom during this year's five-day May Day holiday, the first such holiday since the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures. Domestic travel bookings for the holiday, which starts on April 29 this year, have surged more than 700 percent from last year, the latest data from online travel agency Trip.com Group shows.今年五一假期是中国优化新冠疫情防控措施后的第一个假期，中国正在经历一场旅游热潮。据在线旅游机构携程旅行网最新数据显示，今年五一假期，国内旅游预订量同比增长超过700%。Below are seven Chinese cities that are among the top holiday travel choices for tourists. Apart from first-tier cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, smaller ones like Zibo of Shandong province are gaining prominence due to their various attractions.以下7个城市是游客最喜欢的热门旅游目的地。除了北京、上海等一线城市外，山东淄博等规模较小的城市也因其各具魅力而名列前茅。Beijing北京As a historic and cultural city, the Chinese capital is undoubtedly one of the most popular destinations. This year, Beijing recommends 16 tourism routes highlighting the city's ancient relics, royal gardens, parks, museums and venues for the Olympic Games and Winter Olympics. The Great Wall, the Palace Museum, the Summer Palace and the National Stadium, also known as Bird's Nest, are covered by the routes.Nearly 300 plays and 1,170 performances will be put on during the holiday, including symphonies and dance dramas, providing a cultural feast for audiences to enjoy in the country's cultural center.作为一座历史文化名城，中国首都无疑是最受欢迎的旅游目的地之一。今年，北京推荐了16条旅游线路，重点介绍了北京的古迹、皇家园林、公园、博物馆和奥运会及冬奥会场馆。长城、故宫博物院、颐和园和国家体育场，也包含在这些路线中。五一期间，北京上演近300部戏剧和1170场演出，包括交响乐和舞蹈剧，让人们在这个文化中心享受美妙的文化体验。Shanghai上海Boasting the Bund, the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Disney Resort, Shanghai is listed among the top 10 destinations by multiple online travel platforms.As an emerging means of travel following COVID-19, more and more tourists prefer a city walk, enjoying the historic buildings and street views along various interesting roads, such as Wukang Road and Anfu Road.Located in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai has also witnessed a growth in regional tours radiating out from the city. Train tickets from Shanghai to nearby tourist cities such as Suzhou, which is famous for its traditional gardens, and Hangzhou, where West Lake is located, have almost sold out.上海因其拥有外滩、东方明珠塔和上海迪士尼度假区等著名景点，被多个在线旅游平台列为目的地前十名之一。在新冠疫情之后，越来越多的游客更喜欢步行游览城市，欣赏沿途历史建筑和街景，如武康路和安福路。作为长江三角洲核心地带，上海还见证了从城市辐射出去的区域旅游的增长。从上海到周边旅游城市（如以传统园林闻名的苏州和西湖所在地杭州）的火车票几乎已售罄。Xi'an西安Xi'an, a city with over 3,100 years of history, is home to the Terracotta Warriors, Weiyang Palace and the ancient city wall of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).After visiting the cultural ruins in the daytime, tourists can dress in traditional Chinese costumes to immerse themselves in the historic city in the evening, strolling through ancient buildings, having a taste of local snacks and watching the acrobatics and lion-dance shows in the street imitating the ancient street scenes of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).西安是一座拥有3100多年历史的城市，有兵马俑、未央宫和明代（1368-1644）古城墙等著名景点。白天游览文化遗址后，可以穿上中国传统服饰，傍晚沉浸在历史名城中，漫步古建筑，品尝当地小吃，在街道上观看模仿唐代（618-907）古街景的杂技和舞狮表演。Guangzhou广州The southern city of Guangzhou attracts tourists with its landmark Guangzhou Tower, old and famous Cantonese restaurants, street night markets and night-cruise tours along the Zhujiang River.The Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort is a must-see destination for families with children. Not only can visitors find some 20,000 precious wild animals, including the giant panda triplets, in the safari park, but they can also watch an international circus attended by more than 300 performers from more than 20 countries. A fair featuring Chinese traditional costumes and an electric music night party are also held in the resort during the holiday.南方城市广州以其地标性的广州塔、古老而著名的粤菜餐厅、街头夜市和珠江夜游吸引着游客。对于带孩子的家庭来说，广州长隆旅游度假区是一个必去的目的地。游客不仅可以在野生动物园里看到2万多只珍贵的野生动物，包括大熊猫三胞胎，还可以观看来自20多个国家的300多名表演者参加的国际马戏团。五一期间，度假村还将举办中国传统服装博览会和电子音乐晚会。Chongqing重庆Known as a "mountain city," Chongqing in Southwest China attracts people with its beautiful scenery, such as uneven roads and architecture built on hills and along the Yangtze River.Among the famous destinations are two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Wulong Karst Scenic Area and the Dazu Rock Carvings. The former is famous for its giant sinkholes, natural bridges and caves, while the latter features an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the 9th to the 13th century.In the city proper, the ancient town of Ciqikou, dating back some 1,000 years to the Song Dynasty, the temple fair and night tours allow tourists to enjoy the culture in the "mountain city."重庆素有“山城”之称，以崎岖不平的山路、长江沿岸的建筑风光吸引着人们。在著名的旅游景点中有两处联合国教科文组织评选的世界遗产：五龙喀斯特风景区和大足石刻。前者以其巨大的天坑、天然桥梁和洞穴而闻名，后者则以9世纪至13世纪的一系列不同寻常的石刻为特色。在市区内，具有1000多年历史的宋代古镇磁器口、寺庙庙会和夜游让游客充分感受这座“山城”的文化。Sanya三亚Nicknamed "Oriental Hawaii," Sanya, in the island province of Hainan, has long been on the list of hot destinations for tourists in China.In the past, the site mainly relied on its sea views to attract visitors, but nowadays, it offers a variety of tourism programs, as Sanya increasingly looks to refine its tourism sector. Tourists can ride a motorboat on the blue sea, sip coffee while reading in a seaside bookstore, enjoy a candlelight dinner and simply unwind with some self-brewed tea on the beach under the starry night sky.绰号为“东方夏威夷”的三亚，位于海南省，长期以来是中国游客的热门目的地。过去，这里主要依靠海景吸引游客，但现在，随着三亚越来越致力于发展旅游业，提供的旅游项目也越来越丰富。游客可以在碧海上骑摩托艇，在海边书店里读书品尝咖啡，享用烛光晚餐，在星空下的沙滩上煮茶放松心情。Zibo淄博Zibo, in east China's Shandong province, has become a new choice for travelers due to its iconic barbecues.The city shot to national fame earlier this year after social media influencers hyped up the unique local barbecue -- grilled meat wrapped in pancakes with shallots. Initially popular among college students due to its unique taste, DIY style and affordability, the dish has now attracted swarms of tourists to the city.While sparing no efforts to rein in hotel price hikes and implement tourist-friendly policies to cater to the holiday fervor, the city's authorities issued a letter noting that the influx of tourists has exceeded the reception capacity and asked tourists to travel off-peak or consider other cities in Shandong.位于中国山东省东部的淄博，因为烧烤而成为游客的新选择。今年早些时候，这个城市在社交媒体上广泛宣传当地独特的烤肉——将烤肉配上葱，裹在薄煎饼里。这道菜最初因其独特的口味、DIY风格和价格低廉而深受大学生欢迎，现在吸引了成群游客来到这个城市旅游。为了更好的旅游体验，淄博市政府不遗余力地抑制酒店涨价。同时他们还发出了一封信，指出游客的涌入已经超过了接待能力，建议游客在旅游淡季旅游或考虑前往山东省的其他城市。In addition to the above-listed cities, tourists also flock to Chengdu to watch giant pandas, to Xiamen to hear the sea breeze lying on the beach at Gulangyu Islet, and to Changsha to taste the yummy snacks at the night fair.Some netizens said they would like to travel to any destination for which they can secure a plane or train ticket.Railway trips in China hit a record high of 19.66 million passenger trips on Saturday, the first day of the holiday. About 120 million domestic trips are expected to be made by Chinese railway passengers from April 27 to May 4, an increase of 20 percent from the 2019 level. Meanwhile, the number of flight bookings for the holiday has already exceeded 6 million, generally equivalent to the level registered during the same holiday in 2019.The holiday travel spree in China shows that the tourism sector is recovering at full tilt in the post-epidemic era, and the world's second-largest economy is regaining its vitality.除上述城市外，游客还蜂拥到成都观赏大熊猫，到厦门听鼓浪屿的海风，到长沙品尝夜市的美味小吃。一些网民说，他们想去任何可以买到飞机或火车票的地方。4月29日，中国铁路客运量创历史新高，为1966万人次。从4月27日到5月4日，中国铁路客运量预计将达到1.2亿人次，比2019年增长20%。同时，假期航班预订量已超过600万，基本相当于2019年同一假期登记的水平。中国的假日旅游热表明，在后疫情时期，旅游业正在全面恢复，世界第二大经济体正在恢复活力。

Today, Josh Wigler (@roundhoward), Jess Sterling (@TheJessSterling) and Grace Leeder (@HiFromGrace) recap Season 2 Episode 1 of "Succession." The post Succession Season 2 Episode 1 Recap, ‘The Summer Palace' | The Daily Succession Rewatch appeared first on PostShowRecaps.com.

Today, Josh Wigler (@roundhoward), Jess Sterling (@TheJessSterling) and Grace Leeder (@HiFromGrace) recap Season 2 Episode 1 of "Succession." The post Succession Season 2 Episode 1 Recap, ‘The Summer Palace' | The Daily Succession Rewatch appeared first on PostShowRecaps.com.

Today, Josh Wigler (@roundhoward), Jess Sterling (@TheJessSterling) and Grace Leeder (@HiFromGrace) recap Season 2 Episode 1 of "Succession." The post Succession Season 2 Episode 1 Recap, ‘The Summer Palace' | The Daily Succession Rewatch appeared first on PostShowRecaps.com.

Last time we spoke the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, Tianjing had finally fallen to the forces of Zeng Guofan and his Xiang army. Hong Xiuquan, the self proclaimed brother of Jesus was dead. All the remaining Taiping Kings and Hong's son were hunted down and executed. History's bloodiest civil war was over, claiming the lives of 20-30 million people. Yet this civil war was just one event amongst many simultaneously occurring in the Qing dynasty. Foreign encroachment and internal strife were breaking down the dynasty brick by brick. China was facing an uncomfortable situation, she had to modernize to survive against threats abroad and within. Another nation, just across the sea, faced the same cataclysm, but would undergo a vastly different approach. Henceforth the two nations, China Big Brother and Japan, little brother, would never be the same again. #36 This episode is China & Japan: Big Brother & Little Brother   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Now I want to say this right off the bat, for those of you who are fans of my Youtube channel and have seen my content, you already know my background from the beginning was more so the history of Japan. It was in fact my love of Japanese history that led me to the history of China and I think that says something about these two nations. You simply cannot speak about one's history without the other. I could delve deeply into the opening of Japan, its turbulent Bakumatsu period, my personal favorite, the Boshin war, the Meiji restoration, the Satsuma rebellion, etc etc. But this podcast is about the Fall and Rise of China. While my personal channel deals with both nations trying to give an equal amount of narrative to explain both their developments, I want to try my very best to keep it to the hip so to say. If you want more details about the historic events of Japan from 1600-1890 or so, check out my personal channel or perhaps become a Patreon over at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel and scream at me to do some podcasts in depth on those subjects, I certainly would love to dabble more into it, like for example a podcast dedicated to the Shinsengumi, the samurai police who fought to the bitter end to defend the Tokugawa shogunate during its death throes, just an idea.  The last time we spoke, I went over the end of the Taiping Rebellion, a momentous part of the history of Modern China. I literally sighed with relief upon completing that large series….then I stared at a blank page. Where do I even begin now? The first thing that came to my mind is how to explain what occurred to both China and Japan in the mid 19th century. Both nations were forced to modernize lest they become colonized by foreign powers. For China this was brutal, she was quite literally being carved up, but for Japan who had spent 265 years almost completely isolated under her Sakoku policy, she was opened up, went through hyper modernization and thwarted colonization as a result. Japan's story is quite different for numerous reasons, major ones being that she got the enormous benefit of seeing what was happening to China and learnt directly from China's predicament.  After the west defeated China during the Opium Wars and Commodore Perry opened up Japan in 1853, Asia could no longer maintain a separate existence. Both nations were forced to begin the process of becoming part of the world. Japan had many natural advantages over China. She was made up of 4 islands, very compact, sea transportation was widely available, her communications did not have to link very far. China would only get its first telegraph in the 1880s, and it took their governmental communications nearly a month to travel from one end of the country to the other. Japan being an island had always felt vulnerable to dangers from the sea. This sense of danger prompted Japan to seek knowledge of the outside world to protect herself. Chinese leaders had to worry about enemies coming over land from multiple directions, thus they were less concerned about the seas. Japan, had isolated herself for 265 years, while China had become the literal pinnacle of civilization, hoarding the worlds silver. Thus as you can imagine Japanese leadership were not as confident as the Chinese who saw themselves on top of the world, and you know that saying or the game, king of the mountain? Well its hard to sometimes see people coming after you when your on top. Japan was also more homogeneous, whereas China had hundreds of differing people, Han, Manchu's, Mongols, Uighurs, Tibetans, etc. Unifying such people and maintaining domestic harmony was pretty much impossible. China was also undergoing a population boom in the 19th century alongside massive food shortages. This led to the terrible rebellions such as the Taiping Rebellion, I think we covered that one pretty well, the Nian Rebellion which we talked about a little bit, but of course there were others. So I think we all know now the Taiping Rebellion encompassed many issues ongoing in China. For the Nian rebellion, it occurred mostly in the north and was basically peasants banding together to survive. Natural disasters had taken a toll, food was scarce and when bad times come, especially in China, bandits begin to roam. To fight off the bandits the Nian formed militias, but as you might imagine the Qing saw this and freaked out. The main purpose of the Nian was survival and resisting taxation, something I personally can subscribe to haha. Inevitably the Nian looted and raided as a means to keep their group going on, clashing with bandits, the Qing and other rebel groups like the Taiping. Much like the Taiping, the Nian failed to topple the Qing dynasty and were quelled gradually through the Qing ruthless campaigns that used scorched earth tactics. The Nian also were in the north and thus faced the forces of Mongol general Senggelinqin. Seng defeated the Nian and killed their greatest leader Zhang Lexing in 1863 from which the never recovered. After the 2nd opium war was done, the Qing simply were more able to deal with the internal rebellions, and the Nian unfortunately were close to Beijing and not as formidable as the Taiping. Now while all that was going on, multiple muslim rebellions occurred. There was the Hui Muslim backed Panthay Rebellion in southwestern China, mostly in Yunnan province. Panthay is the Burmese word used by Burmese for Chinese muslims who arrived from Burma to Yunnan. They were fighting discrimination and like many other rebellions during this time, they saw the Manchu weakened as a result of the opium wars and decided there was an opportunity to become independent. By the way while I am referring to this as a quote muslim rebellion it was not at all exclusively muslim, many non-muslims joined them such as the Shan and Kachin people of Burma. Once the Taiping were dealt the Qing had a stronger hand south and gradually quelled them by 1868. To the northwest of China came the Dungan revolts led mostly by Hui muslim chinese in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia provinces. These revolts raged from 1862-1877 and they began from conflicts between Hui and Han chinese. It was a terrible time leading to massacres, famines, massive migrations of people, plagues, simply awful stuff. In northwest China its estimated something like 21 million people died. Zuo Zongtang, a subordinate of Zeng Guofan rose to prominence and created his own army based on the Xiang model called the “chu army”. He largely was responsible for quelling the Dungan revolts.  So ye China was dealing with a lot. The 1860's in general were a turning point for China and Japan. Both nations gained new governing structures and resumed official contacts with another for the first time in over 2 centuries. For Japan the 1860's were part of what is called the Bakumatsu period, its this very messy point in their history where the leadership of Japan was frantically trying to figure out how to save themselves from colonization. Over in China the 1860's leads us into a period known as the Tongzhi restoration named after the new emperor. The Taiping by the early 1860's were on a steady decline and this gave the Qing leadership finally a moment to try and rebuild national strength. For Japan this period saw the Shogun being overthrown in 1868, and this also led to a bitter war called the Boshin war of 1868-1869. One of my personal favorite wars by the way, I have an episode on it over on my personal channel the Pacific War channel if you want the full rundown and a ton of Chimbara film clips to give it flavor. To brutally summarize, there was a call to end the Tokugawa shogunate, they even gave the Tokugawa family a great severance package, but the Shogun did not go down without a fight. Loyal hans and the Shinsengumi fought to retain the SHogunate while the hans of Satsuma/Choshu and Tosa rose up and defeated them. After the shogunate was dissolved Japan went into the Meiji restoration, which I also have a full episode on sorry for the plug ins over at my Youtube. I perhaps will get into it later, but to summarize the Meiji restoration is the greatest feat of Modernization I would say in human history. Its a hyper modernization process where Japan took the very best aspects of the outside world, while trying to retain important parts of their own culture to mold Japan into a modern state. They were extremely successful and as a result achieved the number one goal of the Meiji restoration, thwarting colonization. The Japanese had resolutely responded to the challenges from the west. As for China, with the death of Emperor Xianfeng in 1861 came the enthronement of Emperor Tongzhi at the age of 5. The Qing leadership were eager to restore the social order that had been severely damaged by the Taiping Rebellion, the Second Opium War and countless other rebellions. Xianfeng who died at the age of 30 was considered a failed emperor and I mean I would have to strongly agree. The guy spent all his time getting high, messing with his harem and fled the capital, never returning to it. China had been left in a disastrous state, but with the defeat of the Taiping came new leadership. That leadership was not Emperor Tongzhi, but rather a mix of Prince Gong and Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress Dowager proved to be very skilled in managing court politics and quickly became the dominant power during the Tongzhi period and that power would last basically until her death in 1908.  Prince Gong and other officials realized that to cope with the foreigners, new skills and new technology, especially that of shipping and weaponry would be required. But many Qing officials remained focused on cultivating the moral qualities that they considered essential for national vitality. Empress Dowager Cixi and many Qing officials believed that the essence of China's problems stemmed from the loss of a true confucian spirit. To address this problem, they sought to restore the importance of the imperial examination system and to eliminate the major corrupt issue that had emerged, that of buying and selling offices. As I had pointed out in the Opium War series, while in the past the integrity of the Qing dynasty and the other dynasties before it lay in officials being appointed by the merits after taking the imperial examination, starting around the 19th century this kinda fell apart. Officials were gradually purchasing their appointments and other high ranking officials began selling appointments, such as the Cohong merchants who basically inherited an incredible debt upon taking their role and were expected to extort funds back to their backers. The Qing dynasty was extremely corrupt and would just keep getting worse and worse. Cixi valued the importance of symbolism and undertook the building of the new summer palace after it was burnt down during the 2nd opium war. Her name would infamously be attached to the building of the summer palace which was unbelievably expensive. Many accusations and myths for that matter would involve Cixi utilizing funds for necessities of the empire instead for the palace. Now in 1861, China launched a self-strengthening movement. This focused upon training troops, building their ships and producing their own weaponry. Self-strengthening movements were not new to China, they had been seen countless times such as when the Ming began seeking foreign aid to fend off the Qing invasion all the way back in the 16th century. Now as we saw during the end half of the Taiping rebellion series, Zeng Guofan tackled self-strengthening head on. One of Zeng Guofans scholar colleagues was a man named Feng Guifen who had sent him a series of essays in 1861 highlighting the issue of self-strengthening. Feng spent considerable time focusing on studying warfare against the Taiping, specifically in the east around Shanghai. He was very impressed by the western military technology present there and would often write to Zeng Guofan about it. Likewise Zeng Guofan wrote in his diaries about self-strengthening and how western technology could be used to defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Zeng Guofan's second hand man, Li Hongzhang likewise wrote of self strengthening during this time period and identified how Western power lied upon their technology and that China must learn to construct the same machines they did. He advocated first to apply this to the military, but gradually it must also apply to industry at large. As we saw during the Taiping Rebellion, there was a large struggle by both the Qing and Taiping to get their hands on western arms. Zeng Guofan purchased many western arms for his Xiang army and the Qing famously employed the EVA forces. By 1860 the majority of Qing leadership types including the scholar class were aware they had to move with the times and study western technology. By 1861 China officially began a self strengthening movement which can be seen to have three phases the first going from around 1861-1872, the second from 1872-1885 and the third from 1885-1895. The first phase focused on training of troops, building ships and the production of arms. With support from Prince Gong, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and other officials began major projects. Zeng Guofan established a arsenal in Shanghai, Li Hongzhang built one in Nanjing and Tianjin and Zuo Zongtang built a dockyard at Fuzhou. The arsenals were created with help from foreign advisors and administrators who also set up schools for the study of specific sciences like mechanics. The Qing government likewise created the “Tongwen Guan” “school of combined learning” in Beijing. The purpose of the school was initially to teach foreign languages, but it would gradually expand course curriculum towards astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, medicine and so on. The school would begin a transformative process and lead to the construction of similar schools. Li Hongzhang for example would go on to create language schools in shanghai, Guangzhou and Fuzhou pioneering western studies. Zeng, Li and Zuo initially used foreign workers to build up their factories and arms, until their own native chinese could learn the skills necessary to replicate the processes. At Li Hongzhangs Jiangnan arsenal they began producing Remington breech loading rifles. They began production in 1871 and by 1873 produced 4200 rifles. The rifles were expensive to make and inferior to actual remington arms, but it was a start. The naval dockyards at Fuzhou amongst others had a much more difficult job ahead of them. By the time they began producing ships, they turned out to be twice as expensive than simply purchasing ships from Britain. This led China to purchase more ships to meet the demand and by the 1880s China would be purchasing and creating more ships than Japan. Also in the 1880s Li Hongzhang established the CHina Merchants steam navigation company to help China create its own commercial shipping, something necessary for modern trade. Another big process of modernization in the 19th century was of course, trains. Chinese laborers famously traveled to north american to help build the great railroad systems in both the United States and Canada. This prompted Qing officials to advocate for the same thing in China, famous figures like Lin Zexu and Hong Rengang called for this. However the hardline conservative types, most notably Empress Dowager Cixi were very reluctant about steam engine technology and that of trains. There were various reasons they were wary over railroad development. In 1865 a British merchant built a 600 meter long railroad outside Xuanwu Gate in Beijing to demonstrate the technology to the Qing imperial court. The courts reactions was mixed, they were certainly impressed by its functionality, but also found it very noisy and strange, so they had it quickly dismantled. It would not be until 1876 when the first railroad was established known as the Woosung road. It went from the American concession in Shanghai to Woosung, present day Zhabei district. It was built by Jardine Matheson & co, the nefarious company that had sunk its teeth into China since the first days of opium smuggling began under it. The construction of the railroad was done without approval from the Qing government and thus would get dismantled the next year. Then in 1881 another railway was created, the Kaiping Tramway and Imperial Railways of north china. British engineer Claude William Kinder spearhead the project with the support of Li Hongzhang, creating a line from Tangshan to Xugezhuang. It would expand eventually to Tianjin in 1888 and Shanhaiguan by 1894. It got the name Guanneiwai railway and was met with multiple attempts by conservative Qing officials to be dismantled. Famously Empress Dowager Cixi fought against Li Hongzhang who persisted to tell her railways were necessary to advance China. She was against their construction because she believed their noise would disturb the emperors tombs. Li Hongzhang tried everything he could to get her on board and at one point she tried to compromise with him asking if the train carts could be horse drawn instead. Yet despite her rather hilarious attempts to thwart railway construction by the 1890s great railways were created to link up eastern and central China.  Now over in Japan, after the Boshin War was over, Japan famously sent a mission out to the west known as the Iwakura Mission of 1871-1873. The purpose of the mission was to study the most important aspects of the west from the most powerful nations. The diplomats and students that went on the mission would become key leaders in the new Meiji government of Japan driving the restoration. China also performed its own Iwakura Mission, but it was not as large in scale, and those who went on it did not exactly end up being the great drivers of modernization like their Japanese counterparts were. Three years before the Iwakura mission, a Chinese delegation known as the Burlingame Mission arrived in the United States. The delegation extended its journey to Britain, France, Prussia, Russia and visited smaller nations briefly before returning to China in 1870. The purpose of the delegation was to investigate how westerners conducted diplomacy so the Qing could figure out a means to get rid of the unequal treaties. It was the very same reason the Japanese would send their Iwakura mission. Anson Burlingame, a US minister and envoy to Beijing was appointed by the Qing to lead the delegation. Around 30 members attended the mission, and in 1870 Burlingame died of Pneumonia forcing two of the Chinese delegates, Zhigang and Sun Jiagu to take the reins of it. They met with heads of state, visited factories, shipyards, mines, all things big industry. They got to see electricity, machinery many scientific wonders, but also the plight of their own people. Yes they got to witness the conditions Chinese workers went through on the railways in places like California. They saw Chinese going into mines and not coming back out. This prompted some delegates to ask the question “why do Christian missionaries who do such good work in China, bully Chinese workers in California?”. The delegate Zhigang would publish some of these observations in a book giving very harrowing accounts.  Another delegate, Zeng Jize, the eldest son of Zeng Guofan came back with extremely positive opinions of everything he saw in the west and was met with harsh criticism from conservative officials for being too sympathetic towards foreign customs. Li Hongzhang and other officials however grabbed the delegates when they got back to China, extremely eager to hear all about what they had seen. Li Hongzhang was particularly interested in the political and economic aspects of the west. Empress Dowager Cixi personally met with some delegates when they got back asking questions about things happening aboard. Even the conservative types were gravely concerned with how things were moving in the west. But the end result did not lead to a Meiji restoration. While Japanese leaders were investing in industry and infrastructure, Chinese leaders were looking to restore their national spirit instead. Its hard to blame the Qing leaders, unlike Japan who largely avoided conflict with the west, though there were a few fights in Satsuma against the British for example, well the Qing was like an old boxer who just got KO'd a few times too many. The opium wars and internal rebellions had destroyed the Chinese public's faith in their government, the fabric of the mandate of heaven was unraveling. So instead of putting all the money into industry, many projects were enacted to re-envigorate the grandeur of the Qing.As I had said, the Empress Dowager Cixi famously invested incredible sums of money to renovate the Summer Palace in Beijing. Infamously she took funds intended for modernizing the navy and used them to build a marble boat pavilion at the summer palace.  Li Hongzhang believed in addition to the factories, arsenals and shipyards, China needed to update its school system and wanted to send students abroad just like Japan was doing. He also advocated that the civil service exams should offer technical knowledge alongside the cultural knowledge and he was met with large scale protest. By 1885 conservatives in Beijing began cracking down on the modernization. So while Chinese students stayed for the most part in China, Japan sent countless aboard to learn everything they could from the west. Now the Iwakura mission that went to the west also came to China on its way back. After witnessing 15 nations and all their wonders, they came to Shanghai where they spent 3 days. They were hosted by the Shanghai official Chen Fuxun and they were shocked by what they saw in the city. That shock was at the lack of change, the travelers who had grown up in a world where China was Big Brother were shocked that big brother seemed to have fallen behind. Kume Kunitake, the chief chronicler of the voyage said this of his first impressions of Shanghai  “There are no sewers, and urine flows along the streets. Amid all this, the inhabitants seem quite unconcerned.” Believing that the Japanese were harboring illusions about Chinese sophistication based on the past, he tried to correct the view of his countrymen who “regarded every Chinese to be a refined gentleman well versed in literature and the arts. Thus [in Japan] the custom still persists of holding any curios, calligraphy, paintings, poetry or literature from China in high esteem. . . . Under the Qing dynasty, learning has been stagnant in China.” The members of the Iwakura mission had all studied history and knew of the great Tang dynasty and the greatest of China, but now in 1873 they thought there was very little to learn from her anymore. They shared a kinship with China, wished she could resist the western encroachments and remain a great civilization, but it looked to them China had no great leadership. China, Japan and even Korea had young emperors, but only Emperor Meiji would acquire real authority. In China emperor Tongzhi took the throne at 5, but it was Cixi who really ran the show. In Korea Emperor Gojong took the throne at the age of 12 in 1864, but his father Taewongun really held the power. Both Gojong and Tongzhi would be hampered by their relatives and isolated from advisors who might educate them on western advances. Emperor Meiji meanwhile was tutored by senior advisers starting in 1868 preparing him for his role in leadership. Lack of leadership led to a lack of ability to reign in certain aspects of modernization necessary for progress. In Japan key individuals working with Emperor Meiji grabbed the reigns of foreign affairs gradually dismantling the unequal treaties the west had forced upon Japan. The key individual in China who would undertake foreign affairs was Li Hongzhang who was for the most part doing everything on his own initiative and had to fight off conservatives. In Japan, foreign affairs specialists emerged, but this was not the case in China. Even emperor Meiji himself took an interest to learn about foreign affairs. Japan hired many western specialists in all aspects of governmental bureaucracy to help train the Japanese. When Chinese officials went to Japan in 1877 to set up a legation, they were astonished to find the Japanese bureaucracy for foreign affairs, unlike that in China had completely adopted European procedures and protocols.  One of the Iwakura missions delegates was a man named Ito Hirobumi and he would serve in the foreign office before becoming prime minister in 1885. He studied in England, learning quickly that Japan was weaker than her and that Japan needed to learn from her to become strong. With his ability to speak english, Ito became the key man responsible for negotiations with other nations. He was to be Li Hongzhangs Japanese counterpart, and helped negotiate the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858 with Li. Both men would have a special relationship that was long lasting. The first time Chinese and Japanese officials met after two centuries was when the Senzaimaru arrived in Shanghai in 1862. The officials were strangers without precedents, they had no idea how to move forward. The Japanese members of the first Senzaimaru trip were carefully selected for their ability not only to learn about potential markets for Japanese goods, but also to investigate the political situation so Japan could open formal relations with China. 51 Japanese took part on the mission which lasted 2 months. The highest Chinese official in Shanghai, was our old friend Wu Xu. Since no Chinese were in Japan prior to notify about the mission, they literally just showed up to Shanghai and this certainly perplexed Wu Xu as to what he should do. Wu Xu reported the delegations arrival to Beijing but received a reply with no clear directions, thus he acted with caution. The Dutch helped the two sides speak and assured Wu Xu that the Japanese were reliable traders and this prompted Wu Xu to accept selling their goods. The Japanese brought things they already knew the Chinese market most likely desired, sea products, lacquerware, paper fans, nothing too fancy. Trade was slow, no treaties or relations were established, but the Japanese gathered great intelligence on the status of the Qing dynasty. They had not yet recovered from the Taiping Rebellion, to the Japanese China looked like chaos. They were shocked by the poverty, filth, the lack of hygiene. They were disappointed to find what their ancestors considered the greatest civilization seemed to be in rubles. They were outraged to find out how mistreated the Chinese were at the hands of westerners. They thought westerners extremely arrogant, mistreating Chinese like slaves in their own country it was so shameful. They worried what the British and French had done to the Chinese during the Opium Wars might come to Japan and indeed the British made a minor attack in Satsuma in 1863 and Choshu in 1864 raising concerns. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. China and Japan went through their own processes of modernization, which were dramatically different to say the least. Li Hongzhang was emerging at the forefront and he desperately was trying to help China modernize, but he was but one man amongst many.

The 16:9 PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY SCREENFEED – DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT I spent a few days in London, UK ahead of Integrated Systems Europe - in part to break up the trip and flights, but much more so to meet with several companies and see some projects that I'd only been able to see in photos and videos. The one I particularly wanted to see was Outernet London, a very ambitious, multi-faceted development in the city's center that has, as its visual centerpiece, a huge set of wall and ceiling LED screens that are fully open to the public and positioned in such a way that they can't be missed as people flow from a main exit of the busy Tottenham Court Road Underground station. I assumed, wrongly, that this exists primarily to run Digital Out Of Home advertising and compete with big screens like those in nearby Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. But there is much more to Outernet, as I learned walking and talking with the developments Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Maher. The audio may be a bit hit and miss, as we did this on the go and in the crowds that were there even on a chilly January afternoon. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS TRANSCRIPT Ben Maher: We have this incredibly famous set of assets on this side of the district, which is Denmark Street. So as a business, we've been a landlord on Denmark Street for over 25 years looking after the music stores and we've made, as we said, a huge number of acquisitions, meaning that we own nearly all of the property there by Parcel two or three, and we run a baker for Baker Policy. So if we lose a music store, we replace it with music because we wanna maintain it, sorry, I don't know how familiar you're with Denmark Street, but as an asset, we wanna maintain this as one of the nice, iconic music streets in the world.  The first music store opened in 1911, Charlie Chaplin wrote the song, Smile here in 1926. The Melody Maker was founded here in 1954. The Enemy was found here. The owner of the Enemy went around the street with a ledger of all of the music that was sold, and that became the first-ever music chart, which was compiled on this street. Elton John had his first job as a runner here, and it was the home of the labels, the writers, it was the home of the lawyers, and the management, so people would hang out here in the hope of being discovered. But importantly, talent would wanna be discovered and they'd hang out in the cafe here, this was called the Gioconda Cafe and you'll see Tim Hannaly, the home of British music. But importantly it would be people like Marc Bolan, it would be Jimmy Hendrick, and David Bowie moved and converted an ambulance onto the street and lived here. So it really was an incredible, authentic crucible for music. We've maintained the music stores. We put in a 55-room luxury hotel residence, so you stay in the rooms where Frankie Fraser, the Richardson, the Gangland fame, their bar, which was called the Pannaly Bar. Number six Here, out the back is the News House that Malcolm McLaren rented for the Sex Pistols. So you can now stay in that, that's the Anarchy Suite. It's complete with their original graffiti.  Did big pressure wash it down?  Ben Maher: No. For better or worse, it's there and it's good. It has a great two listings on it now, but again, in a building like this, incredible history, and Hypnosis were based here. They were the world leading album cover designers. So they created album covers for the likes of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon was created in that room. When you stay in the rooms, they have names. Like Hypnotized for that room, and then Kiss the Sky is the name of the room where Hendrick used to jam. This is the store where Bob Marley bought his most famous guitar, which was destined for a dustbin for a car mechanic from Essex. This is where the Stones did some of their first-ever recordings and people recorded here all the way through to the likes of the Brit Brats, Adele, and other incredible artists. So all of this is part of the district, and as I said, we've not tried to Disney-fy this area. We've tried to preserve it. The area dates back all the way to about the 7th century when the church was created to support the Hospital. But once you build infrastructure, communities develop, so this became one of the first slums in London. It was home to 3000 residencies, and over 500 distilleries and this is where Hogarth depicted the Gin riots. So when you see things like that's where that occurred, and this is where it's depicted. You have elements like Dickens who live down the road in Bloomsbury, wrote Oliver Twist here, and Robert Stevenson. There's incredible history to the area. That is all really important when you're creating platforms and telling stories so that you understand the context within which you exist, not just the recent history. I'll come to some of the other music venues. So now we're going to enter the district. Importantly, we have 30,000 square feet of offices, we have 18 retail units, we have popups. We have 13 bars and restaurants and we obviously have screen-enabled spaces. So this first space is the arcade, The Now Arcade. As you can see, it's a full-screen enabled, three-mill pixel-pitched laden environment. All are equipped with acoustic audio. So we have venue-quality audio in all our spaces.  And the audio is on the bars down below?  Ben Maher: The district as a whole, through all the spaces, is made up of 230 million pixels. It has 192 kilometers of CAT6 table enabling this and I think it is really important, we have positioned this as a canvas. We've positioned this as a storytelling platform, and that's really important to start with content first so that you can establish the context and the interest of the audience to allow you to tell better brand stories and deliver brand messages. So that has always been the ethos of what we're doing. We don't stand with one editorial voice or polarizing thought around what we say. We try to democratize access to the platform. So we try to provide as many different interest groups and users to create for the platform because, in all honesty, screens are relatively cheap against the cost of actually feeding them, and creating environments that remain interesting all the time is the biggest challenge we have. So again, one of the things we want to do by using multi-sensory environments is to hand back some of that control to the audiences, not only to create for the platform but also to control their experiences. So although we start with audio-visual, we're on a sort of a technical journey on a path to bleed out new technologies and ensure that people can then interact and control generative experiences for themselves.  All of the spaces have cameras in them, for example, which will allow for interactivity. So you can come into this space, you might receive a standing ovation or trigger a Mexican wave. The joy of technology as it stands at the moment, and you won't hear talk of Covid. But the reality is people now understand better the reasons to be utilizing QR codes. So these screens can become a launchpad or anything: to commerce, obviously AR experiences, or anything else that we wanna leave. It makes data exchange a much cleaner and more natural sort of methodology. So really important for us to be able to control all of those elements. As we head down, this provides a queuing function for our venue as well, we have a 1500-person capacity music venue underground, which is the largest new music venue built in central London in the 1940s. This is load in, load out, for the venue. So again, we've configured the streets so that we can have a clean, easy ecological load in, and load out so vehicles can come and jack power straight from the main rather than running their engines and things like that, which is smart. As we come into the district now, you'll see that we have what was a very traditional maze of News Street. So this was Denmark Place, and we've got here the ability to gate and control the environment so we can create all sorts of experiences and fields and allow people to have events or dress a district in any interesting manner. So five different egress and ingress points across the district. On this side, we've got 14 more hotel rooms because the residences are based in 16 different buildings. So a really different unique point for the hotel.  Here we have what will be the Denmark Street Recording Studio which will be a pro bono recording studio, again, adding to the ecosystem that we have, bringing people and rewarding talent, just as Denmark Street always did. This is the more historical and music side of the district. This is the more modern screen-enabled place. On the rooftop here. We have an 8000-square-foot modern Chinese restaurant called Tattoo. We have another restaurant on the fourth floor, which will open later this quarter that's called Cavo. They have a rooftop garden here which is joined by a glass bridge, which leads over to the fourth-floor restaurant. So what you'll see here is we have 2600 LEDs across the runway here. So when we create a red carpet leading to the venue, we can light it up through LED color hues so that we can control those environments.  So you've got show control, so you can orchestrate the whole thing? Ben Maher: Brand colors, mood, you name it. We've obviously lifted up causes such as Holocaust Memorial and also for the Ukraine crisis and things like that, that's really important. We understand our environment, we understand the mood.  If you think of the context of certainly out-of-home and. storytelling, smart cities, and IoT play a big part in city planning now, and our environment should be able to adjust to those needs and requirements. We shouldn't just be screaming at audiences. We should be creating dialogue and also understanding the context within which we sit. So for example, or within GDPR, if somebody comes in, I know if they're looking for WiFi, where their SIM card originates. I know what their default language is. I don't need to invade their privacy. But I can assume when the 50th Dutch person or the 200th Canadian crosses the threshold, I might play the national anthem and change the color of the district. So that creates incredible surprise and delight.  And that would be data triggered?  Ben Maher: Completely. We can utilize a custom stack, which controls all of the programs for the district, and that proprietary technology allows us to configure different environments, to configure the different spaces, either in unison or alternatively to have them operate autonomously. And I think it's really important, our point of difference is having that versatility of space. It doesn't just do one thing. We do four core things. We can hold events in our spaces, so that could be a private or public events. We have 32s spots in our spaces, which is, essentially a standard TVC, monetization. We can do sponsorship. BMW has been a sponsor of our art program. We've presented our wellness program in association with Panadol and importantly, this new stage is gonna be about branded content, telling stories in a slightly longer form in an audiovisual sense in the public domain, and I think it was one of the most incredible moments I've had since being here, reaffirming that we've got an environment that has that versatility and what we wanna do is bring that longer storytelling moment to the form because brands are doing things with brand advocates, with talent. They're doing things based on purpose or the craft that they create. So we've had driving stories. We've had the launch of the Beatle's actual master Revolver album, the videos that went with that, and again, that creates a different environment. It creates a different context. We've done interactive games, so again, as I said, what you don't wanna be in any environment is a terrible magician. If you do your best trick on the first day, or second day, it's diminishing returns. You're not doing anything innovative or different.  That's a mistake made over and over again? Ben Maher: Yeah, and I think it's also quite been quite cathartic knowing that we don't know everything about this space because no one's ever done this anywhere in the world. So to say that we don't fully understand how the public reacts to work, we have to embrace versatility. So knowing, for example, on the left here we have popup two. On the back corner of the building, we have another popup, which is about twice the size. These spaces are fully screen-enabled and audio enabled as you see here. If they're not being used for an event, they'll be programmed with our content so that they're relevant. TMP, for example, Take More Photos is a grassroots creative collective. They release briefs on social media and people can submit their photographs and then it curates an exhibition based on the brief. So they do one on Welcome to London. So this one's Welcome to Love in London. They'll do one for International Women's Month, or they'll do one for Black History Month. They did one for the World Cup, for example. Now these are organizations that don't have budgets typically. So this is pro bono stuff, right?  Ben Maher: Very much, but again, it exactly comes down to what I said before, which is we want to give access to the platform. We wanna hear different voices to be representative and inclusive of our communities. Was that part of the pitch as well to Westminster Town Council or something like that? Look, we're building, but it's going to have all sorts of community involvement?  Ben Maher: Good question. So importantly, when we were talking before, when I showed you everything in front of us, that's Westminster, the road here literally the line down the middle is Camden. So Camden has a very different approach to Westminster. They're just different borrows and it's what you expect, different councils. So we were applying to Camden for our licenses. This area historically had a number of late licenses and bar licenses for the different premises that were here previously and have historically been a musical district. So again, it's quite an entertainment-based space.  Yeah, I was gonna say they'd be in the mindset anyways for this.  Ben Maher: Importantly, they have embraced what we're doing, but they have also gone on the journey of understanding what we're doing. Because it's very new. So that is always a challenge. The building and its main purpose of it though is an interesting public space. So if we had created a new private, totally private and shut environment, I don't think we would've been received in the same manner.  If you've got a second, you might want to stop for a second only because we're gonna watch the Summer Palace and it's about two and a half minutes long and you'll want to see this, but this is a good example of our house content. Something we commissioned to play in the public domain, which allows brands to sit alongside incredible experiences, and as you can see, people naturally get their phones out to record. I'll tell you the story about how it began. So we ran a camp home for Italian Airways before Christmas, they were one of the first brands to use the space for a commercial message, and they made us nervous. We didn't know what was gonna come cause no one had we've got best practice guides. We've got creative specs, and they created an experience where planes fly over the head of amazing landmarks in Italy and people applauded. For somebody who's worked for 25 years in advertising, yeah, that's an incredible thing to be able to say, quite a lovely experience. But this was part of the commission that we did or RFP that we did for people to create for the space, and it's an ethereal journey through space-time. But interesting it uses the ceiling as the main communication plan.  I'm a big fan of these kinds of environments where you look at it and there will be any number of people here who will assume that that's real. Ben Maher: Oh yeah, and the joy is we're using a 3mm pixel pitch so you can create that depth of illusion. The total resolution size here is about 6k, so it's not without its challenges, and we have found it unforgiving for things like raw photo footage because it's just so unforgiving on talent so then we can use templating and things like that to accommodate lower resolution assets, but still have them looking credible in the space. The use of negative space. So not always trying to fill every pixel is also incredibly powerful, so we're trying to utilize that as well. For this, I used to present this in VR, so people are presenting on teams and zoom in VR during the lockdown, trying to explain what we're doing because it's one. It's one thing explaining a new ad format, but it's a different thing explaining a new environment altogether.  Yeah, I'm somebody who's been around this medium, if you wanna call it the technology for 20+ years now and not seen something like this before, particularly the way it's stitched together with everything else, quite honestly, not just, here's this big screen. Be excited! Ben Maher: Yes, and I think we have to create, as I said, multipurpose and interesting use environments because cities deserve them. You've got, as I said, as many on the weekends as 350,000 people coming through this area and it is becoming an attraction. You, we have six to eight hours of free art programming in this building on a Sunday. And people email and go, can I see this? When is this happening? And that I think is a good testament to doing things the right way. It's new. We are learning. When we first opened the now trending space, which is the smallest of the spaces, that silver Line proved an incredibly challenging threshold for some people. Because it was like an anthropological experiment. They didn't know whether they could step in. They didn't know what the transaction was. Because they'd never seen a free public entertainment space like that, and as you'd expect children and people who'd had a drink were the first ones to cross the threshold. But then interestingly put seating in there and people act completely differently. So the psychology of the spaces is also important. Another thing that may be of interest is that this hero screen here on the south wall and the east wall here is permanent deployments, as you can see the slight lines between the wall here, these screens on the north and west are on rails and they can completely retract ah, and the building can open up. So it's one of the first buildings in the world with kinetic staging built in.  You do have doors too, so you can close the area off for private events?  Ben Maher: You can see better with the white there. You can see the slacks between how they work. So we'll be bringing new appointments to view to city centers where you'll come with a real-time of day to actually see something happen. You can see, in fact, these ones are usually completely closed and they've been open today for windows. The small area here can operate as a retail unit. It's been a trainer store for Puma. It was a classroom for Mercedes F1 MG with Toto Wolff. It was a studio for the photographer ranking. It was a red carpet zone for Sky. It's been a party for Apple, and NBCU. So again, having addressable spaces that can do a lot, this pixel pitch at 3mm is akin to what they use in the Unreal Engine SFX studios. So that's essentially the backdrop that they shoot. White, shiny floor shows content. The resolution there, as I say, is 3mm-5mm pitch on the outside here because up higher which is still the highest resolution out of in Europe currently certainly at that scale.  Yeah, I've heard a few 6mm in New York, but not 5mm.  Ben Maher: So we're really pleased with it. But at that resolution, it's interesting. We do need higher-quality content. Because of that pitch, it can be unforgiving. You'll see Netflix is doing an incredible job. They're a very frequent client of ours, but the animation on here will always look incredible cause it obviously scales infinitely almost. But they produce beautiful output and the resolution is incredible.  That space, is it also leasable for if BMW wanted to launch a new electric vehicle or something, you could block off this? Ben Maher: Absolutely. So we held the launch of the new FIFA 23 there and did the FIFA Women's Summit. We've done live boxing with DAZN and Matchroom, so we've held boxing there. We've done events for UNICEF. We've done events for Mothers of Gucci, which is a Gala event. So yeah, we can do private things, but the best way we like the district is having the public in because the more spaces that you privatize, the less inviting the world is, and we want people to come in, experience things free, be entertained, and create moments that ultimately they wanna share and create a destination In the cities we're in. What would you do if there was a big England football match and I remember Lester Square got kinda destroyed, would you just close this off? Ben Maher: So we face the challenges that any public destination would face, and we have to manage the environment. So we do risk assessments on anything. We have a really good security team and we do all of the listening and monitoring of those feeds to know what's happening. We get advice from our partners like TFL, which are local. We've got Camden, and then we liaise with the greater London authorities and also the Emergency response services. So we got a good understanding of what's happening. But yes, we'll make a call based on what's going on to decide how we manage the district because we wanna keep people safe.  How many people work on this, setting aside security and all that, working with the canvas, and everything else? Ben Maher: So the Outernet team as a whole is around 80 people. So that'll divide up between everything from the scheduling to the sales teams to the data and center people, creative teams, et cetera. When did it open? Ben Maher: Officially, the arcade and the trending spaces opened around late August, and what they're now building came online from midday each day in November. So it's not been open for long, we're still very much in our infancy but it's nice as I said, to see the behavior of the public and have been here just over four years, to see it come to fruition is very rewarding.  Did it go through a lot of revisions?  Ben Maher: Yes, in terms of what you were good at? I think there were about 11 years of planning before I was even anywhere near this, and then once the planning is in place, you have to then reinterpret it as an experience as a platform, both for how stories are told, how stories are configured, how content is rendered out, how content is served and then how it can be taken to market for brands, storytellers, creators, you name it. So yes, a lot of revisions, and we're still revising.  There's a number of businesses, operating hotels, everything else. Is this element of it or its own business unit with its own P&L? Ben Maher: Outernet is a media business, and we control the screen-enabled spaces that you see above ground here.  I'm gonna assume that you're not plugged into programmatic or anything like that because it's a very distinct kinda canvas. Ben Maher: That is correct. We're not plugged into programmatic. It's not to say that we would never do it, but the reality is the way that the content needs to be served today, it is very unique. As I said, it's a proprietary stack. It uses lots of familiar techs but it's more programmed like a channel like a traditional broadcast channel as opposed to a media. There's a little bit of rendering that's required, let's just say.  I assume you know who was the LED supplier? Ben Maher: The screens are from AOTO. We went and did an analysis globally of the best screen providers and for what we needed AOTO had a great product, and this is certainly the biggest one of the first in, certainly the biggest deployment that they've done of this product. We're running one triple GPS and are now building a load. We did go as far as doing a sort of quality assessment. We visited factories. We even went as far as looking at where raw materials were mined, because of the importance of having single-batch silicon on a canvas of this scale to ensure that you didn't get that different, particularly obviously on the reds within this car, within this canvas was really important. Another important thing about the LEDs, we degrade panels at the same pace that they are running, so that if we need to replace them, we're replacing them either from our own environments or right into the environment. So again, they're in the same life stage of the panels to ensure high quality.  You have a pretty big spares pool, I would imagine? Ben Maher: We try our best, it's a revolving. If you look at this, this is a drone shoot done by one of the Wrigley Scott Associate directors that we met, and he shot it on an Icelandic beach and it is a music video. But if you look at how some of the B rolls so creating doesn't need all new assets, it can come from existing architecture. The supplier of this kind of creativity told you, here's what we would like you to do with it, or do they give you a license to say, look we'd like to do an edit, this is how it's gonna look?  Ben Maher: It depends on the creator, and it depends on where they are with them. If they're shooting for us, then we'd say, this is the brand kit and this is what you need to produce and this is how you need to play it out. We're always updating our learnings. We get new challenges and new opportunities and we learn from those. But as we see these mega canvases across the world. These sorts of fantastic pieces become more relevant because they'll play out across networks. Across other major cities. I think one of the questions you posed was, is London a model for elsewhere? It is, and we're in discussions in New York, LA, the Middle East, and Asia, at launching these networks and then sharing experiences, interestingly, might always be this exact look and feel. This was put together over 26 years across a horizontal plane. If you go to Manhattan, you're probably gonna have to use a vertical plane, and so it becomes a completely different onboarding process and journey. So it's gonna be interesting how we take our learnings and then we utilize those in other environments.  If you're gonna take this to other locations, does it have to be multifaceted in the same way, and that there's a retail component, there's a hospitality component, there's a restaurant component? Ben Maher: Every case is different. So if you look at environments creating a campus or a district in other cities, particularly New York, or more challenging real estate payment tables or even the planning commissions. So we have to look at them in each case often partnering with other established institutions is wise. We're lucky enough to have a huge foot here. In places like Manhattan, you have those big footfalls. In the other cities, you don't necessarily have this natural footfall. So you have to create a different style of destination or with another key destination to ensure the right sort of, so yeah each case on its own and understanding the needs and nuances of those cities and audiences as well. Yeah, because there are a lot of immersive attractions popping up now. They're almost all projection, but they're very much ticketed locations and it's programmed and it starts at this time and you're there for 45 minutes and exit through the gift shop.  Ben Maher: We're very happy to have you exit through the gift shop here as well. And don't get me wrong, there is some incredible projection technology out there. We've looked at it in our venues and in other places. We have other locations with theaters and other things and, we would certainly consider projection there, but for the kinda canvas and certainly some of the gaming engines and things and future-proofing, we wanted to do this pixel pitch to create a very unique and beautiful canvas that to be fair, I don't think we could have achieved in the same way with projection.  Yeah, it's very interesting. I've written about it and but it's so much more interesting to see it in person, but I think more than anything else, to kinda understand the macro idea as opposed to, oh look, a very big set of screens.  Ben Maher: What are these guys doing?  Why did they do that? Ben Maher: Which again, isn't a difficult question always, and I think just seeing the way the public interacts with it has been enough of a validation that cities deserve these interesting cultural spaces and they deserve to be free and in the public domain.  We're early in our journey. We need more brands coming and telling their stories as well, but telling them in a way that will ingratiate themselves to the public and, out-of-home has done an incredible job at providing public utility forever, in major cities. If we can this model out, certainly for multisensory spaces delivering that as well, I think it sets a good precedent for other cities and other developers across world. Are you affected at all by energy conservation requirements or requests?  Ben Maher: Yes, of course. We are obviously subject to the rising costs of energy as anyone naturally would be, but we have developed the most energy-efficient product that was available on the market. So the sort of coolness and the control of the environment, importantly, isn't prohibitive to doing this. We're not creating a huge carbon footprint that we cannot manage. We have all the relevant ESG scorecards. We're working with the ISO qualifications for energy and for our social corporate responsibilities. But it's also this sort of magnet or those people who are concerned about all the voice energy on these things, do they really need them versus other stuff that's drawing way more energy, but it's not anything you think about? Ben Maher: I think the fact that we're providing a storytelling platform and we're not just screaming at people in the public domain. We're supporting arts and culture everywhere. We have a charitable foundation that donates time, and money for different projects. So we've done projects around sustainability with Unger. We're doing things around social mobility. We've done things for AIDS charities, so we work with lots of different interest groups to provide them with platforms. We even audit the popups so that when we're looking at the brands we're working with, we're not just working with the same generic brands that you get on every high street in the world, right? We wanna ensure that these spaces are different and unique. So whether it's non-white owned businesses, whether it's LGBTQ+ owned business, female-owned, sustainable business, so again, being a conscious member of society, we don't just wanna be a bastian for people who want a big ass billboard.  So I think we've gone around things in a very different way. There is some incredible landmark out home structures in the UK and across Europe. But I do think we have good USPs and we do complement what is already in the market but with enough points of difference, yeah. We wanna attract people to this space and not cannibalize out-of-home budgets by sticking the same offering up. So if we can get more AV budget and that encourages people to do better and more in out-of-home, then that's a fantastic thing.  That's very impressive. Obviously, people like it.  Ben Maher: We're getting there. There's a piece called Heaven's Gate that is the new art exhibition and it is on Sunday and it was absolutely crackers in here, it was just crazy to see how people enjoyed it and it just says conceiving something and then seeing it come to fruition is such a unique and pleasurable thing to be able to do. So we're very proud of what we've done here.

"Still addled from the events in England, Kendall tries to make amends with his dad; Logan receives some unvarnished advice from his financial banker; Tom maneuvers for a new position in the company." karsten runquist - @runquistkarsten christian borkey - @bustedbizbureau instagram - @succoffpod

It was freezing cold as the temperature was below minus 15 degrees Celsius outside. However, a hotpot fanatic surnamed Wang was enjoying the renowned Chinese cuisine on the frozen surface of the country's second-longest river.酷爱美食的中国人将铜火锅搬上了冰封的黄河冰面。火锅迷小王冒着低于零下15摄氏度的严寒，脚踩冰面享用美食。The steaming-hot pot, about two meters in diameter, was filled with various local specialties, such as fried tofu, local ribs, and meatballs, as well as fresh fish and shrimp caught through newly-cut holes in the ice.这个直径约两米的蒸汽火锅里装满了各种当地特色菜，有炸豆腐、当地排骨、肉丸子，还有从刚凿的冰窟里冬捕上来的新鲜鱼虾。The pot stood on the frozen surface of the Yellow River at its section of Pianguan county, North China's Shanxi province. The ice was around 60 centimeters thick, safe enough for the tourists.冰上火锅位于中国北部山西省偏关县的黄河河段。冰层厚度约60厘米，对游客来说足够安全。"It was definitely the best experience ever in my life so far," Wang said, with his face brimming with laughter, satisfaction, and a crimson nose.小王说：“这绝对是迄今为止我人生中最棒的一次经历。”尽管鼻子冻得通红，他的脸上还是洋溢着笑声和满足感。Besides "hotpot on ice," Wang, together with his wife and daughter as well as other tourists, also enjoyed other activities on the ice, such as go-karts, snowmobiles, and bumper cars.除了“冰上火锅”，小王和他的妻子、女儿以及其他游客还享受了其他冰上活动，如冰上卡丁车、冰上摩托和冰上碰碰车。For the Chinese, family reunion is the eternal theme of the Spring Festival. Among all kinds of holiday activities, traveling with families is gaining increasing popularity.对于中国人来说，阖家团圆是春节永恒的主题。在各种各样的节日活动中，全家出游也变得越来越受欢迎。After China optimized the COVID-19 response policies, the pent-up demand of the public for travel has been unleashed.在中国优化新冠病毒应对政策后，人们被压抑的出行需求得到了释放。Data from Alibaba's travel branch Fliggy showed the number of domestic long-term tour orders during the Spring Festival increased by more than 500 percent year-on-year, domestic air ticket bookings by more than 40 percent, and train ticket bookings by nearly 80 percent.据阿里巴巴旗下旅游部门“飞猪”的数据显示，春节期间国内长期旅游订单量同比增长超过500%，国内机票预订量增长超过40%，火车票预订量增长近80%。Localities across the country also spared no effort to hold various cultural and tourist activities to woo tourists.全国各地也积极举办各种文化旅游活动来吸引游客。A total of 25 parks in Beijing, including the Summer Palace and Beihai Park, greeted visitors with winter sports such as ice cars, ice slides, and snow frisbees. On Thursday alone, the sixth day of the week-long Spring Festival holiday, Beijing parks received 630,000 visits. The Summer Palace registered over 75,400 visits, said the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau.北京共有25个公园，包括颐和园和北海公园。冰车、冰滑梯和雪上飞盘等丰富多彩的冬季运动也在迎接游客的到来。仅在1月26日，也就是春节假期的第六天，北京的公园就接待了630,000人次。据北京市园林绿化局介绍，颐和园共接待游客7.54万人次。The Universal Beijing Resort also promoted a Spring Festival-themed event, having more tourists from across the country than last year's holiday.北京环球度假区还推出了春节主题的活动，与去年相比，来自全国各地的游客数量有所增加。According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this year's Spring Festival holiday has seen 308 million domestic trips, up 23.1 percent year-on-year, recovering to 88.6 percent of 2019 level.根据文化和旅游部的数据，今年春节假期国内游达3.08亿人次，同比增长23.1%，恢复到2019年水平的88.6%。Domestic tourism revenue reached around 375.8 billion yuan ($55.52 billion), up 30 percent year-on-year, recovering to 73.1 percent of that registered in 2019, the ministry added.文化和旅游部补充说，国内旅游收入达到约3758亿元（555.2亿美元），同比增长30%，恢复到2019年登记的73.1%。Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, predicted that this year's Spring Festival will be the best and most prosperous for tourism market recovery in the past three years.中国旅游研究院院长戴斌预计，今年春节将是近三年来旅游市场复苏最好、最旺的一年。Besides the tourism market, China's cinemas also welcomed crowds of moviegoers during the holiday.除了旅游市场，中国的电影院也在春节期间迎来了大批观众。The holiday box office sold a total of more than 187.6 million tickets as of 12:00 pm Friday, generating a whopping revenue of 67.6 billion yuan, according to box office tracker Maoyan.据票房跟踪机构猫眼网的数据显示，截至1月27日中午12点，假日票房累计售出1.876亿张，创造了676亿元的巨额收入。The earnings overtook that of the same holiday last year, making this year's Spring Festival holiday the second highest-grossing to date.这一收益超过了去年同期，使今年的春节假期成为迄今为止票房收入第二高的假期。"The audiences are all back!" said Dong Wenxin, a cinema manager in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan, Shandong province.中国东部城市山东省济南市的电影院经理董文新说：“观众都回来了！”Diameter英 [daɪˈæmɪtə(r)] 美 [daɪˈæmɪtər]n. 直径Prosperous英 [ˈprɒspərəs] 美 [ˈprɑːspərəs]adj. 繁荣的

Last time we spoke the Europeans licked their wounds after their nasty defeat to the Taku Forts. Elgin returned to China and a even larger coalition force now set itself on a warpath to march upon Beijing, but this time they went around the Taku Forts. They seized Kowloon, Chusan, Shanghai, Beitang, Tianjin, Danggu and then exacted their revenge upon the Taku Forts. The key to their success was the devastating Armstrong field gun which ripped asunder anything the Qing threw at them. Prince Seng lost the battle for Zhangjiawan utterly humiliating the Qing, but the great General did not simply call it quits, for now he reorganized the forces and put together a last stand at Baliqao. Could Prince Seng stop the European menace before they got to Beijing? Only time will tell.   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. #23 This episode is Part 6 of the Second Opium War: The Burning of the Summer Palace   Prince Seng and Prince Sengbao, the brother of Emperor Xianfeng had gathered a force of the Green Standard Army, reinforced by imperial guards of the 8 Banner Army, for a combined force nearly 30,000 strong. After their victory at Zhangjiawan, both Grant and Montauban were overly confident that they could simply march on Beijing. As they marched, the 101st regiment led by General Jamin arrived to increase their numbers. On the morning of September 21st as the European columns moved past Tongzhou they saw the Qing force in position in front of the Baliqao bridges. The Qing force was formidable with its left on the canal, reinforced by the village of Baliqao, another village in the center and a third on the far right. The road to Beijing passed through a rolling wooden terrain veering towards the canal and the Baliqao bridges. Seng had re-established order to his army and strengthened their resolve by bringing 100 guns and positioning them in the villages, on the other side of the canal and along his entire front. The Green Standard army were the majority, while the 8 Banner Army units were kept in reserve at the bridges. Seng also had of course a large cavalry force which was being led by Sengbao on their formation flanks. Grant kept inline with what he had done in the previous battle, he took the left while Montauban took the center and right to protect his flank. Montauban used the wooden terrain to hide his lack of numbers, sending the first column to hit the Qing center. General Jamin moved to Collineau's right to hit the Qing left. Grant moved to the far left of Collineau hoping to flank the Qing. General Collineau took the advance guard consisting of the elite companies of the 101 and 12nd regiments, two companies of the 2nd Chasseuers a pied, an engineer detachment, two batteries of horse artillery and a battery of 4 pound foot artillery. Montauban and Jamin commanded the 101 regiment along with the 2nd Chasseurs a pied, a battery of 12 pounders and a Congreve rocket section. Collineau's infantry sped through the woods towards the Qing center and their speed shocked Sengbao as he moved most of the cavalry from the wings to protect the center. The French advance guard moved into skirmish order forming a long line towards Baliqao. Montauban ordered Jamin to go forward as two large bodies of Qing cavalry, around 12,000 charged at each of the French columns. Collineau's artillery rained hell into the Mongol and Manchu cavalry, while the elite company's rifle fired from secure locations along the sides of the main road. The accurate rifle fire took a massive toll on the cavalry, but Collineau soon found himself embroiled in hand to hand combat. Montauban and Jamin also used their artillery to devastating effect while their infantry formed two squares before the cavalry hit their position. The French 12 pound battery was positioned between Collineau and Jamin, continuously shelling the enemy. After some time the Qing cavalry broke off their attack having failed to break the French square formations or to overrun Collineau's men. A brief lull allowed Montauban to re-form and advance upon the villages being defended by Green Standard battalions. Prince Sengbao and Seng did not renew their cavalry assaults, because Grants column was marching onto their right flank. The 101st stormed into the village of Oua-kaua-ye in the center scattering the defenders with each and suffering little casualties from the enemies artillery. Montauban followed this up by sending both brigades to march upon the village of Baliqao. Collineau advanced along a road with his elite companies firing upon Qing forces trying to hold the road towards the village. Large cannons in the streets and across the canal fired upon the french columns,but Jamin brought up his batteries to fire upon the cannons easily overwhelming them. The village and bridge of Baliqao were defended by the 8 banner army units and they did not falter nor give ground. Collineau brought up his artillery to form a crossfire with Jamins batteries slaughtering the 8 bannermen. Collineau then formed his forces into a column and stormed the village. Fighting raged on at close quarters for 30 minutes as Montauban led the 101st to Collineaus support securing the village. Suddenly a Qing messenger was sent from Sengbao to Montauban proclaiming that they had two captured colleagues, the French cleric named Abbe Duluc and the British Captain Brabazon of the royal artillery on one of the bridges and would execute them both if the Europeans did not halt their attack. Without pause Montauban pressed the attack. Collineau then reformed his command and rapidly advanced upon the bridge with the French batteries providing cover fire. Most of the Qing artillerymen were killed by European artillery and with them gone the rest of the 8 banner army men were forced to cede ground and the bridge was overwhelmed. The French bayonet charged across the bring as Qing troops leapt into the canal for their lives. Prince Sengbao made good on his threat and had Duluc and Brabazon executed and tossed over into the canal. The bridge was now in the French hands. Grant's column dislodged the Green stand troops from their village while the British and Indian cavalry rolled up the line overwhelming the Qing cavalry trying to hold their ground. Grants line of attack brought him within sight of the bridge that cross the canal 1 mile west of Baliqao. The arrival of the British on Seng's right flank collapsed his forces in the face of their attack and Seng was compelled to pull his army from the field before being trapped on the right side of the canal. The French claimed 3 dead 18 wounded, the British 2 dead and 29 wounded while the Qing had upto a possible 1500 casualties. The shocking triumph prompted Napoleon III to ennoble de Montauban, who would chose his place of victory for his new aristocratic title, Comte de Baliqao, joining the list of name-place conquerors like Scipio Africanus, the Duke of Marlborough or Germanicus. Over on the other Baliqao bridge General Hope was not enjoying the same easy going time the French had. Grant thought a horde of Mongol cavalry in the distance were French and didn't open fire. The mongols mistook this to mean Grants men were cowards and charged upon them. When the British realized it was the enemy they opened fire at close range and blew the Mongolians to pieces with Armstrong guns. Tongzhou surrendered without a fight, but still suffered the same fate as Zhangjiawan. They plundered the town and General Grant had 3 rapists flogged with 100 strokes by a cat o nine tails then hanged one of them, but all 3 of the said rapists happened to be coolies. The British claimed many of the rapes also came at the hands of Sikhs, but again these sources always seem to wash away the British and French from the bad stuff. Oh and the British and French placed blame at one another of course. One French soldier said of the plunder of Beitang “Quant aux anglais, ce sont nos maîtres: on ne trouve pas un clou où ils ont passé.” (“As for the English, they are our superiors [when it comes to looting]. You can't find a nail where they have passed.” Prince Seng panicked after the last two obstacles to Beijing had fallen, Tongzhou and Zhangjiawan. Beijings only remained defense were its thick walls at 40 feet high and 60 feet thick, bristling with towers that housed defenders armed with more antique guns, bows and arrows and spears. Both Elgin and Gros pleaded with the military forces to hurry to Beijing as they feared the hostages might be massacred if they delayed. But General Grant refused to budge until all his heavy siege guns were shipped upriver from Tianjin to support their march on the great city. Elgin and Gros's fears were not unplaced, Emperor Xianfeng had fled Beijing to go to Rehe, leaving his brother Prince Gong behind with orders to dig in and fight. Best Emperor Ever. Gong was 28 years old and a much more capable sibling. The European force made its way to Beijing where Elgin sent word to Gong they refused to negotiate with him until after the hostages were freed. But they also helped him save face by allowing him to blame the hostage taking on his subordinates. Gong was not moved by the gesture and sent word to withdraw from Beijing and then the prisoners would be released. If they began an assault of the city the prisoners would all be beheaded. On October 6th the heavy artillery needed to blast a hole in Beijing's walls arrived. Prince Gong's position was…welll really bad. On top of literally being ditched there by the Emperor, most of the army had left with him as well. On the 5th Parkes and Loch were told their execution would take place the next morning and both prisoners were given paper and pens to write their last will and testaments. But by now the captives were far too important as political pawns than to be wasted away on executions. On the 7th the prisoners all heard the sound of gunfire and presumed the Europeans were bombarding the city meaning they were all going to die soon. They were actually mistaken the British were firing their guns in the air to let the French know their position because they were spreading out. On october the 6th the British and French agreed to march around the grand city from opposite directions and to meet at the Summer Palace just outside the walls. The two armies quickly lost contact with another. The French reached the Summer palace first finding out that its occupant, Emperor Xianfeng had fled with his 13 wives, a fraction of his harem. The French had expected the Emperors personal guard to defend the summer palace to the death, but everyone had fled. The only resistance they faced was 500 unarmed court eunuchs who screamed at them “don't commit sacrilege! Don't come within the sacred precincts!”. The French shot 20 of them on the spot sending the rest fleeing.   The Summer Palace or as the Chinese called it “Yuanming Yuan” (the gardens of perfect brightness”, simply does not embody how grand it truly was. A more accurate term would have been Summer Palaces, since it was a complex of 2 hundred main building sets, in an 80 square mile park dotted with vermillion tents, artificial lakes and exquisite gardens. The interiors were all unique, one for example was Baroque audience chamber designed by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century, two other baroque palaces with gold roofs were designed by the same Jesuit priests. Emperor Xianfeng had spent countless days on the lakes staging mock naval battles with miniature boats representing the Qing navy and the British. The emperor always won the naval battles. The Summer palace was not just an architectural marvel, it was a national treasure, a storehouse of centuries of tribute the Emperors of China had received from barbarians. De Montauban realized what a historical treasure was now laying in his possession and he tried to preserve the place by telling his senior staff quote “he counted on their honor to respect the palace and see that it was respected by others…until the English arrived”. But the sheer temptation of the priceless artifacts which lay littered across the palace floors proved an impossible temptation for the French. Montauban's orders to not touch the treasures quickly fell apart. The French soldiers could not resist helping themselves to an Ali Baba's worth of loot. Later in 1874 Montauban would find himself before a government committee set up to investigate the looting that took place that day. The General lied to his examiners saying the French soldiers had not participated in the looting.  “I had sentries posted, and directed two officers with two companies of marine infantry to protect the palace from depredation and to allow nothing to be moved until the arrival of the English commanders. Thus there would be no pillage. Nothing had been touched in the Palace when the English arrived.” General Hope contradicted this testimony with eyewitness accounts. “It was pitiful to see the way in which everything was robbed. Only one room in the Palace was untouched. General de Montauban informed me he had reserved any valuables it might contain for equal division between the English and French”. Grant's critique of Montauban not being able to control his troops is a bit hypocritical as he himself could not control his men. Despite apparently similar orders from Grant, the British soldiers found a cornucopia of loot to be had. Jewels lay scattered all over the Palaces. One French officer snatched a pearl necklace whose gems were the size of marbles and sold it in Hong Kong for 3000 pounds. De Montauban realized he was fighting against the impossible and just let his men take home souvenirs, he said, one prize per soldier, sureeeee. It's said when the French left the palace at 10pm, their pockets bulged with stolen treasure. When the British infantry arrived on october 7th, they saw French tents piled high with jewels and other plunder, some French soldiers were casually walking around wearing jewels worth millions of Frances. Both generals simply gave up trying to establish order and by October 8th Grant demanded Montauban split the gold bars found in the palace 50/50 with the British. Grant tried to restore some order by ordering his men to render their plunder up for a public auction, the money did not go to charity. One British major turned in 8000 pounds worth of gold ingots alone. The auction listed countless Chinese art and artifacts, sculptures of gold and silver, thousands of bolts of imperial yellow silk and the list could go on forever. The 3 day auction netted nearly 100,000 pounds, ⅓ of which went to the officers and other ⅔'s to the NCOs. A private received 17 pounds, an officer 50. The French simply let their men keep what they had stolen. It was rumored that Baron Rothschild had an outstanding order with one French officer to buy anything he could at whatever price. De Montauban tried to mollify a conscious stricken general Grant by offering him a pair of gold and jade scepters as a gift for Queen Victoria, the other half was going to Napoleon III. Now the European armies did not show up to Beijing with baggage carts, but they soon managed to commandeer 300 local carriages to whisk off their treasure.  When Elgin arrived to Beijing on October 7th he was mortified by the looting of the summer palace. On October 8th, Heng Chi an imperial commissioner assigned to treat with the invaders, visited Loch and Parkes. He treated them with respect, but also fed them lies like how the Emperor had a secret army of hundreds of thousands of men in Mongolia waiting to rescue the capital. He also tried pressing to them the fact the trade between their nations might fall apart. Then Heng Chi delivered to them a request from Prince Gong that they write a letter to Elgin urging him to end hostilities. Parkes declined to help, even though Heng said he might be executed if the men did not write the letter. Then Parkes stated “Although you would do the Allied forces but little injury by killing the few prisoners…you would by such an act bring down on yourselves a terrible vengeance.” Heng switched back to good cop again and said “You will be in no danger for the next two or three days.”. Back on september 29th, Loch and Parkes had been transferred to the Gaomiao temple in northern Beijing where their treatment took a 180. They were wined and dined at a 48 course meal banquet catered by a restaurant near the temple. The men were too ill to eat, but happily accepted a bath and new clothes. Parkes eventually wrote to Elgin “The Chinese authorities are now treating Loch and myself well. We are told that His Highness [Gong] is a man of decision and great intelligence, and I trust that under these circumstances, hostilities may be temporarily suspended to give opportunity for negotiation.” At the bottom of that said letter, Loch added in Hindustani that he was writing under duress and believed the Qing could not decipher the Hindu language. Elgin was happy to receive the letter but worried the hostages would be executed.  Elgin was in a real pickle. He felt as trapped as the hostages. If he ordered the siege to commence the hostages might be executed. On October 8th orders arrived from Prince Gong to release the prisoners. The reason Gong did this was actually because orders were coming in from Emperor Xianfeng to execute them all in revenge for plundering the summer palace. Loch and Parkes were released first and it seems just their release alleviated Elgin and Gros's stress to such an extent that they did not seem to care about the fate of the other 30-40 hostages still in the Qing hands. Less than 24 hours after Loch and Parkes were released the allies on October 9th positioned 13 field pieces opposite of the An Tung Gate, begun to dig trenches and posted a placard threatening bombardment if the gate did not open. Elgin gave the Qing until noon of October the 24th to open the gates to the city or the shelling would commence. And on october 24th, 5 minutes before noon the gate of An Tung cracked open a bit hesitatingly, then swung wide open. Without firing a single shot Elgen marched at the head of 500 men into Beijing as conquerors.  The return of the remaining prisoners was not done promptly. 3 days after the An Tung Gate opened, a frenchman and 8 Sikhs were freed. Two days after that, 2 more Sikhs were freed both both men were almost dead and one did die the next day. In all 19 prisoners were freed, 10 others had died being forced to kneel in the courtyard of the summer palace for days without food or water, their hand bound by moistened ropes and leather straps that shrank and causing excruciating pain. The British and French found coffins with the bodies of the victims, one including The Times correspondent, Thomas Bowlby. Many of the freed prisoners described their ordeal. They said they had been bound with ropes or chains for days, exposed to the elements. Many got gangrene and their infections took their lives. The Sikh and British victims were interred in the Russian cemetery on october 17th without ceremony. The next day the French held an elaborate funeral and high mass for the deaths. The fate of the prisoners seemed to have pushed Elgin over the edge. He rattled his brain for a response to such a heinous crime. Elgin plotted a bloodless revenge in his mind, something to restore British honor through a symbolic act that would prevent the Qing from ever harming a contingent of European ambassadors in Beijing in the future. Elgin thought of a way to hurt the Chinese but not at the cost of any lives, he sought to burn down the Summer Palace, a place where many of the prisoners were tortured to death. Elgin wrote to his wife his decision was in his mind to hurt the Emperor's home but spare the Chinese people. Jack Beeching had a rather interesting thing to say about Elgins decision, “Elgin's decision to burn the Summer Palace at least meant that flesh-and-blood injuries done to people he knew intimately would for once be revenged, not as in war, upon other people—on helpless Chinese—but on inanimate objects, on redundant and expensive things. He had suffered all his life from his father's costly obsession with works of art; now works of art would bear the brunt of his revenge.” Thus Elgin's father had profited from the plunder of art and now Elgin was going to destroy art. Elgin also had pressing concerns, he faced a deadline imposed by General Grant, who warned him that a treaty must be concluded before Beijing's winter set in so the allies could return safely to their base at Tianjin. If they did not Grant warned Elgin that their supply lines were overextended and they would easily be severed off by the Qing forces. Prince Seng had been defeated, but his cavalry remained a constant threat and they could blockade the city off at any time.  D-day for the burning of the summer palace was set to October 18th. A 27 year old captain in the Royal Engineers said this of the event  We went out, and, after pillaging it, burned the whole place, destroying in a vandal-like manner most valuable property which [could] not be replaced for four millions. We got upward of £48 apiece prize money ... I have done well. The [local] people are very civil, but I think the grandees hate us, as they must after what we did the Palace. You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one's heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralising work for an army The destroyed the 800 acre complex of building and gardens where countless Chinese emperors had spent much of their time. There were so many ornate buildings on the grounds covering more than a square mile that it took 2 full days of burning, breaking and smashing to bring it down. Countless books, artifacts, centuries of history burned to ashes. I don't think its controversial to say it ranks on par with the burning of the library of Alexandria (despite if you believe the library ever burnt down that is, listen to Our Fake History's podcast for that one haha). It was a tragedy and the remains of the summer palace stand today as a monument of what once stood there, China is still trying to have the site placed on the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.  On October 23rd, the Qing imperial treasury paid in full the increased indemnity fee of 500,000 taels to Britain and France. On October 24th Elgin met with Prince Gong at the board of Ceremonies to sign the new treaty of Peking. By this point Elgin had become a student of the Qing court protocols and used his knowledge to further humiliate Prince Gong and the court officials by arrived at the Board in a chair carried by 8 porters. According to tradition, only the Emperor had the right to that many porters. Now Elgin had learnt he was a target for assasination so he showed up with 500 troops and dispatched another 2000 troops to perform a triumph tour of Beijing. Lt Col Wolseley also performed a mine sweep of the meeting room before Elgin went. Elgin also ordered a huge artillery piece to be mounted on the An Tung gate, aimed directly at the city to ensure good behavior from the population. Prince Gong arrived to the board in a sedan chair bourn by 6 porters, something prescribed for his rank and when he saw Elgin's 8 he knew immediately it was a direct insult towards his brother. Elgin also made sure to show up 2 hours late. The signing of the new treaty took on a sort of comedy. Elgin scared the hell out of the court officials when he screamed at them to “keep perfectly still”, because his Italian photographer, Signor Beato was taking a shot of the scene to preserve the Chinese humiliation. Bad lighting, doomed the Italians efforts and no photographic evidence of the signing was made available to the British press. By the way on the note of photography, the 2nd opium war is one of the first instances you have actual photos of some of the events. Over on my personal channel, the Pacific War Channel, I have rather long 45 minute~ episodes, 1 on the first opium war and 1 on the second. My episode on the second utilizes a lot of the photo's taken and they are honestly incredible, especially the shots outside Beijing and the Taku Forts. So stating that it be awesome if you checked my episode out, or give the photos a google! So again the Qing were given a document to sign, not a treaty to negotiate, when Elgin presented the treaty to Prince Gong for his signature. The convention included an apology for the Emperor's aggression, the British ambassador was granted a year round residency and 10 million in reparations were to be paid to Britain. Another port city was added to the list of those to be opened to trade and kowloon was to be handed over to Britain. After signing and being degraded, Prince Gong invited Elgin to a banquet in his honor and Elgin declined citing his fear the Qing would simply poison him, haha! The French version of the same treaty occurred the next day and Baron Gros was much more gracious. After signing the treaty Gross gave Gong a rare collection of French coins and an autographed photo of Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie. Gross apologized for the burning of the summer palace, but did not mention the looting. Gross then accepted Prince Gong's invitation to dinner and no one was poisoned.  In December Elgen spent his time recuperating in Shanghai reading victorian romance novels and Darwin's recent bestseller “On the Origin of the Species” which Elgin found to be audacious. In January he left China for good as Britain began the process for annexing Kowloon. Elgin returned to Britain a hero and received the new appointment as Viceroyalty of India, a position Lord Canning fought to get him. As the viceroy Elgin enjoyed the lucrative post for 20 months, but then he died of an aneurysm in november of 1864 in Calcutta, the same city Cantons viceroy Ye Mingchen died, perhaps a symbolic symmetry. Emperor Xianfeng died at 30 years old, only a year after the signing of the Convention of Peking which had humiliated him so much he secluded and anesthetized himself with opium, wine and of course his harem at Rehe. Emperor Xianfeng never returned to Beijing and refused to meet foreign ambassadors or even his own courtiers so deep it was said of his shame.  Prince Seng the defacto commander in chief of the Qing military continued to suffer military setbacks and humiliations. At one point he led 23,000 infantry and cavalry to quell a violent tax revolt in Shandong province and was forced to beg European occupiers to return some of his guns he surrendered to them during the 2nd opium war. They ignored his pleas and the Prince ended up failing to suppress the rebellion. Queen Victoria had received one interesting gift from the summer palace, a small Pekinese dog that she named Lootie. The poor thing had been found wandering around the ruins of the Summer Palace, where a captain in the Wiltshire regiment rescued it and gave it to the Queen. The Queen also of course received a jade and gold scepter from General Hope.  Both the first and second Opium war were fought largely because of the opium trade and British manufacturers. The conflict was an incredible pay off for Britain. Four years after the second opium war ended, Britain sold China ⅞'s of all the conquered nations imports, more than 100,000 pounds annually. Opium imports to China increased from 58,000 chests in 1859 to 105,000 chests by 1879. The British textiles which the Chinese rejected for their own silk eventually found a market, quadrupling from 113 million yards in 1856 to 448 million yards 25 years later. The Treaty of Tianjin basically made opium legal in China by setting the amount at which the Qing taxed it. The Qing court tried to fight the importation of opium by raising taxes on it. There were many attempts by officials in Britain to stop the opium trade, but it was far to profitable and those voices were quelled whenever they rose up. Eventually the Qing realized they could not stop the plague that was opium addiction, so they began to cultivate opium in large quantities within China to at least offset the British imports. Opium addiction became more and more rampant in China. In 1906 the Qing government forbade the sale of opium, but users over the age of 60 were exempted for a specific reason, Empress dowager Cixi was an opium addict herself. Opium cultivation and consumption thrived in the 1920's and 1930's under Chiang Kai-shek's government. By the time of the 2nd sino Japanese war in 1937, 4 million Chinese, around 10 percent of the population were opium addicts. Over in British held Hong Kong 30% of the colony's population were dependent on opium. The Japanese occupiers encouraged opium consumption to make the population more docile. Within a year of the communist takeover under Mao Zedong, dealers of opium were to be executed, some lucky ones got to go to Gulags. Users were treated more humanely and detoxed in hospitals. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  The Chinese struggled for 150 years against opium. More than half a century of legislation by both Britain and China failed, while Mao's totalitarian efficiency succeeded in half a generation. Ironically Mao Zedong enforced a policy and plan that had been first tried by a commissioner named Lin Zexu, go figure. 

Yuanmingyuan had already been looted by foreign armies earlier in the month. But European powers wanted to further punish the Qing emperor, and so decided, in mid-October 1860, to set fire to the fabled "Garden of Eternal Brightness."Click here to read the article by James Carter.Narrated by Anthony Tao.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we discuss the endgame of the Arrow war, and China's resulting loss of full sovereignty as the foreign powers take root in Beijing.We also discuss the looting/burning of the summer palace, and how despite British claims, it had less to do with making a diplomatic statement, and more to do with avarice and greed.From the Qing/Chinese perspective we discuss the unreasonable nature of British/French demands, but also their inability to resist those demands. This feeling of powerlessness will drive successive waves of Chinese reformers to build more and more militarily aggressive states, in an attempt to prevent foreign powers from repeating their humiliations. 

Did you see that really fierce bird???? Our hosts Trenty and Big Westi go into nature this week to recap Episode 15 of Empresses in The Palace. We wanna get into that Summer Palace vibe, you know? Joining them is EXTRA special guest Sarah Bourek, who is a true Zhen Xue Jia despite her inability to differentiate tones. Zhen Huan is gloating over her victory with the Emperor when the UNTHINKABLE happens... and one of our faves is sent to pussy prison... The Emperor shows us that he's a true Katy Kat by truly embodying the lyrics of "Hot & Cold" as the Empress and Hua Fei continue their Cold War. Please let us know in the comments who do YOU think had the best look this week AND who truly won the Tongue Twister Smackdown for the Crown. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whitegaze/message

All Stars rules are in full effect! It's Princess Wenyi's birthday and the emperor is throwing a birthday ball! Category is: Best Drag as all the girls wear their fiercest outfits in order to become the Top All Star of the week. One of our favorite girls arrives to the Summer Palace just in time to form the most unstoppable girl group performance since the Frock Destroyers. But could a voyeur at the pond ruin everything for Zhen Huan? Our hosts Trenty and Big Westi dive deep into this drama and more, and Big Westi plays a quick game of "Don't Take That Tone With Me!". --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whitegaze/message

I wish we had a pool... It's getting hot in here as our hosts Trenty and Big Westi dive deep into the drama, looks, and language of Episode 12 of Empresses in the Palace. The Emperor takes the All Stars All Winners concubines to the verdant Summer Palace to relax and get some fresh air. Cao Gui Ren starts meddling for attention and Hua Fei wears an ugly dress. We finally see another man and one of the girls is in the preggers mood... We relay some more whispers in the palace and close out pride month with a special rainbow vocab challenge. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whitegaze/message

Hello everyone, we are Unboxing China!大家好 我们是《开箱中国》I'm Xin. 我是馨馨I'm Nancy. 我是南希These days, as we are working, 这些天，我们在工作时we see photos and videos like these a lot.看到了许多这样的照片和视频And those ice sports look like a lot of fun!这些冰上运动看起来真的太有趣了So we've decided to check them out ourselves.所以我们决定亲身体验一下Now we are on one of the biggest ice rinks in Beijing. 此刻我们身后正是北京最大的滑冰场之一It's actually a frozen lake at Yuanmingyuan Park!它实际上是由圆明园的湖水结冰形成的It's also known as the Old Summer Palace.圆明园也被译为Old Summer PalaceIn the summer it is a giant area of water夏天 这里是一片巨大的湖泊that goes well with the ancient architecture surrounding it. 与周边的古建筑相映成趣But in winter, it is a go-to place而冬天 这儿就成了我们这些for ice sports lovers like us.冰上运动爱好者的必打卡之地As you can see, this ice rink is almost borderless. 如你所见 这个滑冰场看起来简直无边无际We checked the official data.我们查了下官方数据It covers an area of 20,000 square meters. 它占地两万平方米That's almost the size of three soccer fields.约有三个足球场那么大And today we are going to have some fun 今天我们将在这个巨型滑冰场on this giant ice rink.好好玩一番And we are so lucky today because it is snowing.我们今天很幸运 北京下雪啦It is the first snow in 2022.这是2022年的初雪It's going to be super fun!今天会很欢乐的And let's get started.我们开始吧This ice rink is open and free to everyone. 这个滑冰场免费对所有人开放They also offer a lot of equipment for rental,还有很多滑冰设备出租and today we are going to try out these ice sleds!我们准备试试这些冰车See they are over there.它们就在那里Now Xin will try out this bicycle.馨馨要尝试一下冰上自行车You know, Xin, 对了 馨馨what I really love about this rink is that 我真正喜欢这个滑冰场的点在于we have all the ancient imperial architecture surrounding us,我们周围都是古代皇家建筑and it gives sort of a "time travel" feeling.这给我一种“穿越时空”的感觉Then you have plenty of choices in Beijing! 那北京的很多地方都适合你Thanks to the cold weather here, 因为冬天天气冷many public parks have a tradition 这里许多公园每到这时都会of transforming their lakes into ice rinks in winter. 把它们的内湖改成冰场Like the iconic Summer Palace just blocks away, 比如离这不远的颐和园it has an even larger rink than here.那里的溜冰场比这儿的更大Actually, back in my hometown Harbin, 在我的家乡哈尔滨where the winter is even colder than here, 冬天天气更冷we have an extremely spacious "natural ice rink". 我们有个极广阔的“天然溜冰场”Because the river that flows through our city,因为流经我们城市的the Songhua River,松花江will be covered by a very thick layer of ice. 到了冬天会被厚厚的坚冰覆盖We have a culture of learning ice skating我们那里很多人from when we are quite young.从小就开始学滑冰Tell me more about it! 再多讲讲吧I'm from the southwestern province of Yunnan 我家在云南and I had never seen natural snow 到我来北京上大学之前before I came to Beijing for college!我都没怎么见过真正的雪Then you've missed a lot of winter fun. 那你真是错过了很多冬日乐趣啊Back In my hometown Harbin, 在我的家乡哈尔滨every winter,每个冬天when the temperature drops to below zero, 当气温降到零度以下时 we will make our own ice rinks on our playground 我们就在操场上自己浇建溜冰场and we spend almost all our after-class time on it.所有课余时间都在那上面玩耍了Oh what a childhood!这童年也太棒了吧So winter sports are really a thing in China. 冬季运动在中国真的很受欢迎And Beijing's successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics 而北京成功申办2022 年冬奥会gave that another boost. 进一步推动了冬季运动的流行According to official data, 官方数据显示over 346 million Chinese people 自2015年成功申奥以来have participated in winter sports activities 已有3.46亿多的中国人since that successful bid in 2015.参加了冬季运动That's like one-fourth of our population! 这相当于我国四分之一的人口I can ski.我会双板滑雪I ski,我会双板（滑雪）and am learning to snowboard.单板正在学I also can skate a little bit.冰刀会一点点My favorite snow sport is snowboarding.我最喜欢的雪上运动是单板（滑雪）I will give it a try tomorrow.我打算明天去体验一次I tried two-seat ice sleds and one-seat ones. 我玩了双人冰车和单人冰车I'm looking forward to the Winter Olympics,我比较期待冬奥and am planning to watch every single game.我打算每个项目都看一遍I'm expecting the ski jumping competitions我最期待的项目是at the Shougang Ski Jumping Platform.首钢园的大跳台项目The venue is really cool,我觉得那个场景布置得特别帅and it must be quite a sight 滑下来肯定特别好看when the ski jumpers slide down.滑下来肯定特别好看I'd like to watch ski jumping.我最想看的是高台滑雪It's very exciting,因为我觉得那个特别刺激and thrilling even.很吓人This year we welcome the Winter Olympics.今年是冬奥会大年I'm feeling an extra strong vibe for winter sports.感觉冰雪运动的氛围格外浓郁Many in our friend circle也可以看到朋友圈很多的went skiing. 好朋友 同学 都去滑雪Winter sports lovers now has plenty of choices for venues, 现在 冬季运动爱好者有许多场地可以选择from casual ones like where we are today, 有我们今天来的这种休闲场地to more professional ones.也有更加专业的运动场地We now have more than 650 standard ice rinks 目前 全国拥有650多个标准溜冰场and 800-plus ski resorts around the country!和800多个滑雪场Actually winter sports lovers will have more choices很快还会有更多的奥运级别的冰场和雪道for Olympic-level rinks and ski tracks.供冬季运动爱好者们选择The Beijing 2022 venues will become available 2022年北京冬奥会的场馆for the public after the games!将在赛后对公众开放That includes our amazing National Speed Skating Oval, 这包括高大上的国家速滑馆the Ice Ribbon, 又称冰丝带which features a 12,000-square-metre rink. 它有个 12,000 平方米的溜冰场I love its exterior design 我超喜欢它的外观设计and am so curious about its interior. 也很想看看它里面是什么样的But first let's anticipate 首先让我们期待一下 the breathtaking skills在这些场馆中that athletes from around the world will present 看到来自世界各地的运动员in those venues during the Games!展现出高超技巧吧Let's wish them all the best!让我们祝他们一切顺利That's all for today's Unboxing China.今天的《开箱中国》就是这样See you next time!下次见

Through the eyes of an artist, With the Empress Dowager of China provides a glimpse of life in the Chinese Imperial Court, unseen by any other Westerner. In 1903, Katharine Carl, an American artist, was invited to paint a portrait of Cixi, the Empress Dowager of China, for display at the 1904 Exhibition at St Louis, USA. For nine months from the 5th of August 1903 when the painting was begun, Miss Carl lived within the Chinese Imperial Court, residing at the Summer Palace, Winter Palace and Sea Palace. During those nine months, a total of four portraits of the Empress Dowager were completed. While living in the Chinese Imperial Court, Miss Carl had the opportunity to observe the customs, personalities, entertainments and politics of the Royal household, and in particular to observe the Empress Dowager, who Miss Carl found to be graceful, warm, intelligent and generous. Although Katharine Carl did not plan to publicise her experiences, With the Empress Dowager of China was written as a response to articles appearing in the American and British press containing statements never made by her and other misrepresentations. Words were being put into her mouth, she was being put into a very difficult position, and corrections needed to be made. By writing an account of life in the Imperial Court she risked “offending the sensibilities of her Chinese friends” since any comments on the personalities of the Emperor or Empress Dowager were considered to breaches of etiquette. Nevertheless, she did publish “a simple and truthful narrative of my experiences” in 1906. For most of the time from 1861 until her death in 1908, Cixi, the Empress Dowager of China, was co-regent or regent, and was in control of the Chinese government, due to the youth and inexperience of the Emperors during those years as well as to her capabilities. Her legacy is controversial, and she is viewed variously as a despot, a reformer, and a capable and gracious ruler and administrator. Katharine Carl's St Louis Exposition portrait of the Empress Dowager of China resides in the collection of the Arthur M Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. Genre(s): Social Science (Culture & Anthropology), Memoirs Katharine Carl (1865 - 1938) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/3daudiobooks0/support

It took British and French troops three days in 1860 to burn down the Summer Palace in Beijing, and its priceless artefacts have been dispersed across the world ever since. This podcast was produced by Jesse Lawson, with research from Marthe Van Der Wolf. Sounds from BP or not BP. This is a VICE World News production. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Foreclosures rates have been on the rise across the country this year, though Colorado is faring much better than most other states. To help Colorado homeowners struggling to cover their mortgages amid the pandemic, the state recently rolled out a pilot program that will give them money to cover at least three months of payments. The Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program is funded through the American Rescue Plan and will offer homeowners money for past-due or future payments. But as technology, business and economy writer tells education writer Erica Breunlin, the program may have arrived too late for Coloradans. Learn more about this story at coloradosun.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Overview of episode In Episode 75, Chris and Baz meet up to “Fly The Flag” for P&O Australia, Answer two listener questions and discuss the latest cruise news.Support the show - Buy Me a CoffeeThis podcast is only possible thanks to our supporters, simply buying a coffee keeps us on air. It is just like shouting your mate a coffee, and we consider our listeners close mates.  https://bit.ly/2T2FYGXListener Questions & Maritime HistoryLiz asks about any tips for overcoming or preventing sea sickness / motion sickness?Chris asks about the history and significance of the Boston Cup (also known as the Britannia Cup) onboard QM2Image Credit: Boston Cup (also known as Britannia Cup) by Chris Frame - https://www.chriscunard.com/history-fleet/the-boston-cup/Itinerary of the WeekLe Boat – Self Drive Boating Holiday – Venice, ItalyLe Boat: https://www.leboat.com.au/Le Boat, Boats: https://www.leboat.com.au/boatsItinerary: https://www.leboat.com.au/boating-holidays/italy/veniceFurther Details: most good travel agents or ask le boat to recommend a good agent in your area. Cruise News from Previous WeekAzamara Makes its Return to South Africa this WinterMSC Magnifica to offer Winter City Getaways in Northern EuropeViking launches first China cruises Viking has kicked off its inaugural China coastal cruise from Shenzhen with Chinese-flagged ship YiduanPonant has launched Le Commandant CharcotBreak Free with NCL and Celebrate a New Era in CruisingVirgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady Hits The High Seas For An Epic MerMaiden VoyageP&O Cruises Australia Launches Spectacular 28-Night ‘Australian Explorer' Itinerary Delivering Opportunity to Cruise Connected OperatorsCarnival Cruise Line Announces Ship Restarts For January & February 2022Explora Journeys celebrates construction milestone for second ship, Explora II Latest Cruise NewsCancelled sailings – Royal Caribbean InternationalSTATEMENT FROM ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL: SYDNEY, Oct. 14, 2021A clear pathway for the return of foreign flagged ships and cruising in general is yet to be established by governments in Australia. Due to this, Royal Caribbean has made the decision to cancel all sailings on Ovation of the Seas from Sydney, 13th Dec. 2021 through 31st Mar. 2022.We know many of our guests look forward to a return to cruising and we regret the inconvenience this may cause. Booked guests and travel partners impacted will be contacted with further details.As Australia opens up, we are committed to progressing the proactive conversations with federal and state governments on recommencing cruising in Australia and hope to provide an update soon.Captain Kate McCue to take helm of Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Beyond From the Edge to Beyond: Highly Anticipated Ship Debuts April 2022Exciting news, as Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo announced Captain Kate McCue, the first American female cruise ship captain, will take the helm of Celebrity Beyond, the company's third ship in its industry-transforming Edge Series debuting in 2022. The dynamic and decorated captain will usher in a new era for the new-luxury brand, sailing a ship brought to life by a dream team of modern lifestyle icons including multi-award-winning British designer Kelly Hoppen CBE; celebrated American designer Nate Berkus; the culinary gifts of Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud; and featuring wellness experiences and products from goop CEO and founder Gwyneth Paltrow, the brand's Wellbeing Advisor. For Captain Kate, the seed to be a captain was planted following a cruise the then-12-year-old McCue took with her family. She told her father that she wanted to be a cruise director when she grew up. His advice to her was that she could do anything she wanted, including captaining the ship. Since that time Captain Kate has been a pioneer and trailblazer, breaking the gender barrier in 2015 when Lutoff-Perlo named her to be the first — and still only — American female to captain a major cruise ship – Celebrity Summit. She moved to Celebrity Equinox before being appointed to helm the exquisite Celebrity Edge® in September 2019. On 8 March, 2020, McCue further cemented her place in the history books when she captained the history-making, barrier-breaking sailing on Celebrity Edge that comprised a cruise ship's first-ever all-female bridge and officer team. Captain Kate also led the Celebrity fleet – and the industry – back into operation when, on 26 June, 2021, Celebrity Edge became the first cruise ship to sail with guests from a U.S. port in more than a year due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.Celebrity Beyond will not only hold the title of the largest ship in the fleet, but the distinction as the brand's most luxurious vessel.Celebrity Beyond stands at 17 decks high and 21 meters longer than her innovative predecessors Celebrity Edge (2018) and Celebrity Apex (2020). Every element of Celebrity Beyond's look and feel has been carefully curated with newly imagined spaces and expanded versions of the brand's popular signature spaces, includingMajestic Princess Maiden Call to San Francisco is First Cruise Ship Visit Since Global Industry PausePrincess Cruises, celebrated its return to San Francisco with the maiden call of Majestic Princess, the first cruise ship to visit the City by the Bay since the industry global pause of operations. Guests onboard Majestic Princess experienced the iconic attractions of San Francisco during a port call on a seven-day Classic California Coast voyage, sailing roundtrip from Los AngelesLong-time partners from the Port of San Francisco welcomed Princess Cruises back, recognizing the beneficial financial impact to local businesses.Majestic Princess offers a MedallionClass vacation, delivering the ultimate in effortless, personalized cruising. It begins with OceanMedallion™, a quarter-sized, wearable device that enables everything from touch-free boarding to locating loved ones anywhere on the ship, as well as enhanced service like having whatever guests need, delivered directly to them, wherever they are on the ship.Princess Cruises Announces Ship Restarts for February, March and April 2022Princess is announcing plans for additional ships return to service in the United States for February, March and April 2022 sailing from Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver and Ft. Lauderdale.Starting between February 13 and April 22 cruises onboard three additional Princess MedallionClass™ ships will take guests to the Caribbean, Hawaii and the California Coast. Crown Princess, Island Princess and Royal Princess join the eight Princess ships scheduled to restart in 2021, representing 79 percent of Princess' ship capacity.Crown Princess: On February 13, Crown Princess will join Majestic Princess and Grand Princess for sailings from Los Angeles to the California Coast and Hawaii. Then, Crown Princess will position to Seattle to sail on a couple of Pacific Northwest Coastal voyages and to Hawaii. Crown Princess will also add another Alaska departure with a new 8-day Inside Passage cruise with Glacier Bay starting on April 29, 2022.Island Princess: Travels to the Caribbean starting March 6, from Ft. Lauderdale on a 14-day, 10-day and series of 7-day cruises to the Southern, Eastern and Western Caribbean.Royal Princess: California Coast sailings from Vancouver beginning April 8, 2022.Koningsdam Marks Holland America Line's Return to West Coast Cruising with First Sailing Departing Today from San DiegoWaving flags, cheering team members and a “Welcome Home” sign greeted guests as they joined Holland America Line's Koningsdam at the Port of San Diego today for the cruise line's first West Coast departure since the start of the industry-wide pause.The Pinnacle Class vessel is the largest Holland America Line ship to be sailing from the West Coast, and Oct. 10 is the first in a series of 23 seven-day cruise to the California Coast or Mexico that run through April 3, 2022.In addition to Koningsdam, Zuiderdam also will sail roundtrip cruises from San Diego on longer Mexico explorations, a grand monthlong voyage to Tahiti, and Panama Canal departures. Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam each make one call in spring 2022.About Holland America Line in San Diego:Holland America Line has been homeporting out of the Port of San Diego since the 1990s. For the upcoming 2021-2022 season, the cruise line will bring more than 81,000 guests to the city, which will result in more than $35 million in direct spending.Operationally, each ship visit directly contributes $364,000 to the local economy in provisioning (fuel, food, flowers, piano tuning, supplies), port taxes, and spending. When Koningsdam and Zuiderdam call at San Diego, both ships will be using shore power, reducing the ships' carbon footprint.Throughout the years, Holland America Line has been actively involved with more than 30 nonprofits in San Diego County through giving, shipboard lunches and cruise donations, including La Jolla Playhouse, San Ysidro Health and Girl Scouts San Diego With half its U.S. fleet back in service and sailing from six U.S. homeports – the most in cruising – Carnival Cruise Line has had an accomplishment-filled three months since resuming guest operations this summer.The company's restart began on July 3, 2021 when Carnival Vista set sail from Galveston and since then 10 additional ships have resumed service, carrying 237,000 guests from homeports along the East and West Coasts and the Gulf of Mexico all while guests were devouring nearly half a million Guy Fieri burgers and enjoying 11,000 adrenaline-fueled rides on BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea that debuted on the new Mardi Gras July 31, 2021.But it's more than just burgers and roller coaster rides, Carnival's resumption of service has provided much-needed vacations to hundreds of thousands of loyal guests, a boost to the economies in its homeport and port-of-call communities and opportunities for its shipboard team members to support their families in 120 countries around the worldCarnival Cruise Line has announced plans to have 17 ships back in guest service by the end of 2021, with additional ships returning in January and February and the entire U.S. fleet back in guest operations by spring 2022.MSC Cruises receives green light to restart cruises in Brazil and South Africa  The Cruise Division of MSC Group has confirmed cruise resumption in Brazil, following the green light from local health authority Anvisa for the resumption of cruise sailings in the country following a 20-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Three of MSC Cruises' biggest and most innovative vessels are set to operate in Brazilian waters between November 2021 and March 2022.MSC's return to Brazil is further evidence of the phased restart that saw the Company lead the cruise industry's resumption in August 2020 in the Mediterranean.  It also aligns with MSC Cruises' long-established leadership in the country that will see the extension of its fleet's continued deployment into this season with the reopening of an important market.MSC Preziosa, MSC Seaside and MSC Splendida will homeport in Brazil.  This will be MSC Seaside's first ever season in the country.Separately, the Cruise Division of MSC Group also welcomed the decision by the South African government that cruise ships will be able to operate this coming season of 2021 in-line with national health protocols following the industry's shutdown in 2020 as a result of the pandemic ashore.The Company is now waiting for the government's additional specific guidelines for the resumption of cruises for South African holidaymakers and it will soon reconfirm the schedule of cruises planned for the season 2021/22.MSC Cruises currently has 12 ships operating across the world with plans for up to 15 to be in operation for the 2021 season (November 2021 and March 2022).MSC Cruises adds second ship for World Cruise 2023MSC Cruises has revealed that a second ship, MSC Magnifica, will be joining MSC Poesia on the MSC World Cruise 2023. The two ships in an industry first will host over 5,000 guests for a journey around the world and they will both depart on 4 January from Civitavecchia and 5 January 2023 from Genoa, Italy, for simultaneous world cruises, albeit taking different routes around the globe.MSC Magnifica will replicate the very same itinerary that was supposed to be performed by MSC Poesia for the MSC World Cruise 2022. Unfortunately, the decision has been taken after careful consideration and assessment, to cancel the 2022 World Cruise. It would not have been possible to carry it out due to there being too many ports facing restrictions as a result of the pandemic.MSC Poesia and MSC Magnifica will set sail together in 2023 with embarkation in Civitavecchia (4 January) and Genoa, Italy (5 January), Marseille, France (6 January 6) and Barcelona, Spain (7 January). This will be a very special celebratory moment for our guests on the two ship as they prepare to set sail around the world.Once they cross the Mediterranean Sea, the ships will part ways in the Atlantic Ocean. MSC Magnifica will circumnavigate South America, cross the South Pacific Ocean then on to the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and then through the spectacular Suez Canal back into the Mediterranean Sea.MSC Poesia on the other hand, will transit the Panama Canal and travel up the West Coast of Central America and North America whilst moving on to the Pacific Ocean and then an extended period in Asia. Crossing the Indian Ocean, the ship will then return to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.MSC Flagship, MSC Seashore's Naming Ceremony to take place at Ocean Cay Marine Reserve MSC Cruises revealed that their latest flagship, MSC Seashore will be officially named at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in The Bahamas on 18 November, making this the first Naming Ceremony for a cruise ship to be held at a private island. The event will be attended by travel advisors and media as well as other key Company stakeholders. Departing Miami on 17 November, invitees will be able to get a first look at the new ship –  the newest and most innovative vessel to be deployed out of Miami this coming season – before she starts her inaugural 7-night cruise and U.S. season on 20 November and make the most of the endless on board entertainment, different activities as well as an incredible choice of bars and restaurants.Azamara Unveils 2023 and 2024 Itineraries, Spanning Every Corner of the GlobeAzamara – the boutique cruise line dedicated to Destination Immersion experiences – is pleased to unveil 39 new itineraries across its four-ship fleet for 2023 and 2024. This latest deployment will take Azamara guests to every corner of the world, with each ship embarking in a different location: Azamara Pursuit® in South Africa, Azamara Quest® in South America, Azamara Journey® in Australia and Asia, and Azamara OnwardSM in the Mediterranean and Caribbean regions. Azamara's winter voyages will also feature several new shore excursions, pre- and post- cruise land programs, and AzAmazing Evenings®, all designed to bring guests deeper into the heart of each destination and spark a sense of wonder as travelers explore the unique culture of each city.xclusive to Azamara and offered during late-nights and overnights in port, the brand's signature AzAmazing Evenings are designed to connect guests to the local culture of a destination and are uniquely tailored to each location. Highlights of the AzAmazing Evenings include:The Living Past of the Amazon: In Manaus, Brazil, guests will discover the living past of the Amazon Rainforest. The four-part show entitled, “North Symmetry. The Glorifications of Nature in the Amazon,” will take guests on a journey from pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations to modern times. Through native dances, rituals, and traditional folklore music, guests will be educated on some of the mysteries of Amazon culture.Traditional Korean Art Performances: In Busan, South Korea, watch as multiple traditional Korean art forms are combined to create a spectacular show. Enjoy NANTA, one of the most famous non-verbal performances in Korea, which combines Korean folk and modern music to create a unique yet familiar experience; Korean dance performed while wearing the traditional Hanbok; and Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art that uses fluid, rhythmic movements to strike an opponent, all in one captivating performance.Italian Arias Performed by Società Filarmonia: In Ravenna, Italy, listen to brilliantly composed, classic arias made popular by internationally renowned opera singer Maria Callas. The arias will be directed by Alfredo Barchi and performed by Società Filarmonia, which was established in 1998 to bring together diverse musical experiences, skills, and emerging talents.Azamara continues to reaffirm its commitment to Destination Immersion® with a diverse selection of new shore excursions. Highlights from the new shore excursions include:Santarém, Brazil: In the city known as the “Pearl of Tapajós” for its location at the merging of the Tapajós and Amazon ricers, cruise through Maica Lake and enjoy stunning views of the Amazon Basin. Guests will spot local inhabitants, many species of birds, and possibly even the unique Amazon river mammal, a fresh water pink dolphin (Boto Cor-de-Rosa). Dakar, Senegal: Join some of the most well-known Senegalese chefs from the region's local culinary school for a cooking tutorial. Guests will learn how to make signature Senegalese dishes followed by a meet and greet with the head of the culinary school to discuss cooking tips and techniques. The afternoon will conclude with a delicious lunch and recipes to take home to cook Senegalese dishes. Tinos, Greece: Spend the afternoon with a renowned Greek chef for a food and wine pairing with island products, like local cheeses such as Tinos Graviera and the king of the cheeses, Kopanisti, a soft cheese with a distinct peppery-hot taste. Indulge in local wines made from Assyrtiko grapes for white wine and Mavrotragano for the red. Island-grown fruits and vegetables, such as sun-dried tomatoes, pears, artichokes, and capers, will also be enjoyed. For travelers looking to explore the destination beyond their voyage and immerse themselves ever further, highlights of the pre- and-post-cruise land programs include:Stay Local in Hong Kong (two-night): Explore the dynamic city of Hong Kong, stopping at the famous Victoria Peak for panoramic views of Kowloon and the surrounding islands, the tranquil Nan Lian Garden – designed in the Tang Dynasty-style with hills, water features, trees, rocks, and wooden structures – and go to the top of the 100th floor of the tallest building in Hong Kong. Additional highlights include a traditional Dim Sum lunch, a visit to Wong Tai Sin Temple, where locals go to pray for good health, and shopping for art products in Stanley Market. Experience China's Treasures (four-night): From The Great Wall of China to charming local markets, journey through the ancient wonders and cultural riches of the region. Guests will explore the lakes, pavilions, and pagodas of the Summer Palace, known as the best-preserved royal garden in the world; learn how to make Chinese dumplings with the locals of Hutong, the oldest residential area in Beijing; and visit the Terracotta Army Museum, home to a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of China's first Emperor, who are buried with him to protect the emperor during his afterlife.Windstar Cruises Takes Delivery of Star Pride in Palermo, ItalyWindstar Cruises has taken delivery of its all-suite Star Plus Class Star Pride today at Fincantieri's shipyard in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The yacht is the third and final of the line's Star Plus Class yachts to be stretched and transformed over a multi-year, $250 million project that is considered to be the most complex and comprehensive renovation project ever undertaken in small ship cruising.Star Pride will remain in Italy until the yacht resumes guest operations in April in the Mediterranean. Sister yacht Star Breeze begins sailing in Tahiti next week, while Star Legend is completing a short season in the Mediterranean before sailing to the Caribbean in November.All three yachts increased in maximum capacity from 212 guests to 312 and now provide more of what Windstar's customers want, like additional dining experiences (one is an outdoor barbecue concept with grilling guru Steven Raichlen and the other a Spanish small plates restaurant from Anthony Sasso, one of the youngest chefs to be recognized by the Michelin Guide), a true spa and fitness center, an elegant infinity pool, and more outdoor deck areas. These three all-suite yachts, together with Windstar's three classic sailing yachts, remain small enough to continue to visit the special small ports and waterways of the world.In addition, due to the pandemic, Star Pride and all of Windstar's yachts received renovations to update HVAC systems, adding new hospital grade high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) filters along with a UV-C air zapping process (ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) to clean the air on board.Viking Announces Newest Ocean Ship and Three New ItinerariesViking today announced its newest ocean ship, Viking Saturn, will join the company's award-winning fleet in early 2023. The 930-guest sister ship will spend her maiden season sailing three new itineraries in Scandinavian and Nordic countries, including two 15-day journeys, Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada and Iceland & Norway's Arctic Explorer, and the 29-day Greenland, Iceland, Norway & Beyond voyage. In addition to the three new itineraries, Viking also announced today that the company will bring back the popular 8-day Iceland's Natural Beauty itinerary starting in August 2023.New and Returning 2023 Nordic Itineraries:Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada (NEW) – This 15-day itinerary spans Iceland, Greenland and the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Sailing between New York City and Reykjavik, guests will admire the volcanic landscape of the Westman Islands, enjoy the relaxed pace of life in Djúpivogur, and stroll the streets of picturesque towns like Seydisfjördur and Akureyri.Iceland & Norway's Arctic Explorer (NEW) – On this 15-day journey, guests will discover life in the far north during a voyage across the Arctic Circle and along the distant shores of Norway and Iceland. After enjoying an overnight stay in Viking Saturn‘s home port of Bergen, follow the footsteps of Vikings as you visit Honningvåg's remote North Cape and explore Longyearbyen, which is home to more polar bears than people.Greenland, Iceland, Norway & Beyond (NEW) – Guests can also choose to combine these two new itineraries for an epic 29-day voyage. Departing from the former Hanseatic League city of Bergen, guests will trace the path of Vikings through the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Iceland and Greenland before making their way to Canada and concluding in New York.Iceland's Natural Beauty – Returning in 2023, this popular 8-day roundtrip journey from Reykjavik explores the majestic shores of Iceland. Sailing on Viking Star®, guests will encounter unparalleled natural beauty, witness cascading waterfalls and pristine fjord landscapes. Follow in the footsteps of the intrepid explorer Leif Eriksson, observe the local wildlife and immerse yourself in nature.Viking Saturn – Viking's ocean ships have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, with 465 staterooms that can host 930 guests. Viking's award-winning ocean fleet includes Viking Star®, Viking Sea®, Viking Sky®, Viking Orion®, Viking Jupiter® and Viking Venus®. Viking Mars® and Viking Neptune® will join the fleet in 2022; Viking Saturn will join in early 2023. Classified by Cruise Critic as “small ships,” Viking's ocean fleet features modern Scandinavian design with elegant touches, intimate spaces and attention to detail. Captain Cook Cruises release their sailings to 2024Captain Cook Cruises have released their schedule for Reef Endeavour small ship cruises exploring some 90 of the reefs, beaches and islands in the Fiji group over 4 unique 3 to 11 night itineraries through to March 2024.  The schedule also includes a brand new 7 night Discovery Cruise to the Lau & Kadavu in addition to the 11 night Lau experience.While Fiji's borders were closed, the Reef Endeavour has operated cruises for local residents. The new 7 night Lau & Kadavu Discovery cruise in April sailed with a full complement of lucky Fiji locals and was so popular the company decided to add the new cruise to their regular schedule.The schedule includes special cruises over Christmas and New year to the Mamanuca & Yasawa islands, 3 weeks of cruising to these beautiful islands every month from January 2022 plus a monthly remote Discovery cruise on selected dates on one of 3 incredible itineraries; the 7 & 11 night Lau & Kadavu, the 7 night Remote North Discovery cruise to Levuka, Savusavu & Taveuni and the 7 night 4 Cultures Discovery cruise circumnavigating Vanuabalavu.Disney Cruise Line Announces Return to Favorite Tropical Destinations in the Bahamas, Caribbean and Mexico in Early 2023In early 2023, Disney Cruise Line will return to top tropical destinations in the Bahamas – including Disney's private island, Castaway Cay – as well as the Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera, delighting guests of all ages with one-of-a-kind vacations at sea. A variety of enchanting itineraries will set sail coast-to-coast from U.S. home ports including Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida; New Orleans; Galveston, Texas; and San Diego.Bookings open to the public on Oct. 21, 2021.Disney Cruise Line Unveils New Experiences for Kids, Tweens and Teens Aboard Disney WishA high-tech starship on a mission to assist the Resistance. A nautical playground where little cadets train with the most magical captains at sea. A hip hangout with an ultra-exclusive VIP list.With the addition of Star Wars: Cargo Bay, Mickey and Minnie Captain's Deck and The Hideaway, Disney Cruise Line completes an unrivaled roster of new and reimagined experiences for children of all ages coming to the Disney Wish in summer 2022. More than just highly themed spaces, these kids' clubs will transform into living worlds through magical entertainment presented with the care and expertise of Disney-trained counsellors.Disney's Oceaneer ClubChildren ages 3 to 12 will step into their favorite Disney worlds at Disney's Oceaneer Club, a real-life wonderland featuring more stories than ever before. Previously announced spaces include Marvel Super Hero Academy, a high-tech facility for training the next generation of heroes; Fairytale Hall, a royal trio of activity rooms inspired by Rapunzel, Belle and “Frozen” friends; and Walt Disney Imagineering Lab, a unique opportunity for kids to discover the secrets of world-renowned Disney Imagineers. Rounding out Disney's Oceaneer Club are two brand-new spaces – Star Wars: Cargo Bay and Mickey and Minnie Captain's Deck. New Adventures at Star Wars: Cargo BayThe peculiar creatures and legendary characters of the Star Wars galaxy will take center stage at Star Wars: Cargo Bay. This first-of-its-kind immersive experience will place kids in the important role of creature handlers as they learn to manage a mischievous menagerie of exotic beings from across the galaxy, including a porg, Loth-cat, worrt and more. Throughout the cruise, they'll use augmented reality-enabled datapads to track and study the creatures on a series of special assignments. But there's more to this job than meets the dianoga eye: The new crew will actually be joining an important mission to deliver a pair of secret stowaways, Rey and Chewbacca, back to the Resistance.During the interactive “Star Wars: Creature Challenge” experience, the newly minted caretakers will be put to the test as they help feed the lifelike creatures and encounter some of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy. When things go awry, they'll need to call on the expertise of Rey and Chewbacca — and even channel the Force — to secure the ship from destruction.A Celebration of Exploration at Mickey and Minnie Captain's DeckSpecially designed for the youngest sailors at Disney's Oceaneer Club, Mickey and Minnie Captain's Deck is a nautical playground inspired by the colors, icons and magic of Disney Cruise Line. This brand-new space will be filled with an array of maritime-themed physical and sensory-style games and activities, such as pipe slides and crawl-throughs, ship's wheels, “busy boxes” fashioned as ship controls and cushy life preserver seating areas.When little cadets enter the space, they'll set sail on a fun-filled adventure and enjoy quality play time with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse themselves. At select times throughout the voyage, the space will be open to little ones' families for group play, and the toddlers from It's a Small World Nursery will also get dedicated access to the club to explore, learn and play with Mickey and Minnie.  The signature experience will be “Minnie's Captain Academy,” a high-energy training session for kids to exercise their bodies (through playful games, dancing and maritime “drills”) and their minds, testing their imagination and ingenuity during a series of challenges tied to STEAM principles (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). Captain Minnie will inspect their progress and officially declare them honorary captains!Quality Play Time with Super Heroes, Princesses and “Frozen” FriendsAt Disney's Oceaneer Club, kids will have more opportunities than ever to have fun with Disney characters during expertly developed games and programs – and when characters stop by, they will stay to play. Like “Star Wars: Creature Challenge” and “Minnie's Captain Academy,” each space will offer uniquely interactive, memorable experiences that are exclusive to Disney Cruise Line.At Marvel Super Hero Academy, young recruits will join a hands-on training session with Ant-Man and The Wasp, who will teach them how to create and test their very own Pym Particles, the technology that allows these heroes to shrink and grow objects (and themselves).Also at Marvel Super Hero Academy, kids will team up with the masterminds from Pym Technologies and Wakandan Design Group — including a special appearance by Black Panther — to thwart Taskmaster's evil plan to hack into the academy's system and steal the world's most advanced hero tech.When the hub of Disney's Oceaneer Club transforms into the Snuggly Duckling tavern from Walt Disney Animation Studios' “Tangled,” kids will have the best day ever with Rapunzel and Flynn Rider as they embark on a scavenger hunt to recover the missing pieces of the Snuggly Duckling sign.In Belle's Library, children will use their imaginations to create the most daring, hilarious, fantastical new story for their favorite booklover. Belle will lend her wits and her magic mirror to help determine the characters, plot and conclusion of the brand-new tale.At Anna and Elsa's Sommerhus, the newest citizens of Arendelle will join a special celebration of Queen Anna's recent coronation by acting out the history of how she became queen — taking on the roles and iconic movie moments of characters like Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, Hans and more — before the queen, her sister and their snowman friend show up to join the fun.More Fun for Disney's Coolest CruisersOlder kids will chill and play in their own way aboard the Disney Wish at trendy hangouts that combine sophisticated design with youthful Disney touches. At Edge, tweens ages 11 to 14 will have fun, make friends and play games in a bright, colorful hangout inspired by a chic New York City loft. Teens ages 14 to 17 will have their own dedicated club at Vibe, a stylish space inspired by a Parisian artists' loft with classic architectural elements, vibrant neon signs and funky pop art.For the first time on a Disney ship, the Disney Wish will feature a third club for tweens and teens: The Hideaway. This hip new hangout will offer older kids and young adults a chill place to relax, listen to music and more in a posh setting complete with a dance floor and DJ booth – perfect for karaoke contests and dance competitions. The Hideaway will be adorned in a vibrant color palette, retro-inspired design details, a stylized “Hiya, pal” mural and disco ball lights. Adjacent to Vibe, this flexible venue can be opened to the teen club, closed off for tween activities and even reserved especially for guests ages 18 to 20.All three spaces will be bursting with creative design details, comfortable lounge space, high-tech entertainment and a jam-packed schedule of can't-miss activities.Edge will boast an indoor solarium area with a sunny overhead skylight effect, carpet patterned with fresh grass and daisies, a back wall mural of a bright blue sky, and games inspired by a colorful outdoor city park. Throughout the space, graphic art displays called “photo walls” will provide ample opportunities for tweens to capture cool, shareable vacation pics that will be the envy of their friends back home.Vibe will feature regal French columns and paneled walls covered with whimsical pop art murals and colorful graffiti; a larger-than-life, brightly painted Mickey Mouse statue; and a traditional French Morris column plastered with Disney-inspired travel posters. Combine those with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, and every angle in Vibe will offer a selfie-worthy backdrop for the trendiest teens on the high seas.Both Edge and Vibe will offer a main lounge space with cozy furnishings, an oversized LED screen and plenty of room to hang out as a group, as well as comfortable niches for solo gaming and movie watching. Each venue will include complimentary refreshments: Edge will have a soda bar, Vibe will serve soda and coffee drinks, and The Hideaway will offer smoothies.Boom, baby! Tweens and teens are in for a whole “llama” fun during customized, counselor-led programming designed to engage their unique interests, such as a hilarious new competition themed to the fan-favorite Walt Disney Animation Studios' film, “The Emperor's New Groove.” And the fun doesn't stop there: The activities will even extend into other areas of the ship, with special events for tweens and teens hosted in Hero Zone, Luna and more.It's a Small World NurseryAs previously announced, cruisers ages 6 months to 3 years will be cared for at It's a Small World Nursery, where babysitting services will be provided in a whimsical environment inspired by the beloved Disney attraction of the same name. Here, little ones will play games, make crafts, watch movies, read books and spend time with Disney friends under the expert care of Disney-trained counselors.Maiden Voyage and Inaugural SeasonThe Disney Wish will sail its maiden voyage on June 9, 2022, followed by a season of three- and four-night cruises to Nassau, Bahamas, and Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, from Port Canaveral, Florida.And moreEthical Cruise T-Shirts Now available branded podcast t-shirts, cruise-tees and Christmas gifts or design your own in the studio. All using organic cotton, printed using green energy and plastic-free packaging! https://bit.ly/32G7RdhJoin the show:If you have a cruise tip, burning question or want to record a cruise review get in touch with us via the website https://thebigcruisepodcast.com/join-the-show/  Guests: Chris Frame: https://bit.ly/3a4aBCg    Chris's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisFrameOfficialPeter Kollar: https://www.cruising.org.au/Home  Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2XvD7tF  Castbox: https://bit.ly/2xkGBEI  Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/2RuY04u  I heart Radio:  https://ihr.fm/3mVIEUASpotify: https://spoti.fi/3caCwl8  Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2JWE8Tz  Pocket casts: https://bit.ly/2JY4J2M  Tune in: https://bit.ly/2V0Jrrs  Podcast Addict: https://bit.ly/2BF6LnEImage Credit: P&O Australia - Flying The Flag, by Chris Frame Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mayes, Jake, Eden and AC3 break down the second season debut, which came out of the gates strong despite Jade's "Season 2" theory. We've got buckets of insults, dead raccoons, and garbage cans full of lobster to soothe your television needs like honey on your throat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six out of the top 10 most attractive tourist sites during the 5-day Labor Day holiday in China were historical sites. Three are in Beijing - the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and Yuanmingyuan, or Old Summer Palace. The other three are the Longmen Grottoes in the ancient city of Luoyang in central China, the Ming Dynasty city wall in Xi'an in China's northwest and the Humble Administrator's Garden, or Zhuozhengyuan in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, in China's east.  Beijing, Luoyang and Xi'an have something in common – they are all famous for their long history as dynastic capitals. If we add up the length of time Chinese cities served as a capital to different dynasties, Luoyang comes out top, followed by Xi'an and Beijing. Luoyang and Xi'an lost their glory as capitals more than 1,000 years ago.  How did Luoyang and Xi'an rise to dominate as choices for dynastic capitals? And what prompted their decline? Changes in environment, especially water resources, is a major reason.

Lesson 24.6 认识全世界的朋友David：Hi, Could you tell me how to get to the Summer Palace?Sherry：Sorry, I'm not from here.David：Thanks anyway.Sherry：Not at all. I'm heading to the Summer Palace too. Do you want to go together?David：Sure, I like making friends. My name is David. Nice to meet you.Sherry：I'm Jerry. Nice to meet you, too.David：All right, Sherry. Let's go.David：你好，请问颐和园怎么走？Sherry：不好意思，我也是刚到这儿的。David：谢谢。Sherry：不客气，我也要去颐和园。一起走吧？David：好，我喜欢交朋友。我叫大卫，很高兴认识你。Sherry：我叫杰瑞，我也很高兴认识你。David：嘿，Sherry，走吧。跟Lily一起说英语去旅行的训练营即将开营啰！有144节线上课程，针对24个不同的旅游场景循环加深强度，课后你还可以缴交自己的录音还有老师亲自帮助你纠正不好的发音，让你立即开口说英语，在家学习也好像在世界各地游走！现在报名到公众微信帐号guilvte或是Line ID：flywithlily，回覆训练营，跟我们一起学英语环游世界去！

Lesson 24.6 认识全世界的朋友David：Hi, Could you tell me how to get to the Summer Palace?Sherry：Sorry, I'm not from here.David：Thanks anyway.Sherry：Not at all. I'm heading to the Summer Palace too. Do you want to go together?David：Sure, I like making friends. My name is David. Nice to meet you.Sherry：I'm Jerry. Nice to meet you, too.David：All right, Sherry. Let's go.David：你好，请问颐和园怎么走？Sherry：不好意思，我也是刚到这儿的。David：谢谢。Sherry：不客气，我也要去颐和园。一起走吧？David：好，我喜欢交朋友。我叫大卫，很高兴认识你。Sherry：我叫杰瑞，我也很高兴认识你。David：嘿，Sherry，走吧。跟Lily一起说英语去旅行的训练营即将开营啰！有144节线上课程，针对24个不同的旅游场景循环加深强度，课后你还可以缴交自己的录音还有老师亲自帮助你纠正不好的发音，让你立即开口说英语，在家学习也好像在世界各地游走！现在报名到公众微信帐号guilvte或是Line ID：flywithlily，回覆训练营，跟我们一起学英语环游世界去！

“Dead man walking. The fucking cadaver awakens”

**Content warnings:** The *Captive Prince* series contains dark subject matter, including sexual and physical abuse, so please proceed with caution as we briefly discuss some of those elements. The *Captive Prince* started life as a free online serial and became a best seller. Author C.S. Pacat talks process, plotting, her influences as a young queer person, what the 80s covers of the books would look like, Amanda's thing for icy blonds, and the delight that is *Yuri on Ice* in THR's longest episode to date. (We all had a lot to say about who we romanced in *Dragon Age*.)

The human stories behind the headlines. Like any war, the one against Ebola is leaving scars which will take generations to heal, as Grainne Harrington has been finding out in Guinea. Mark Rickards on how, at last, the outside world has found a way to infiltrate the hidden Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The Chinese are calling for the UK to return art looted by the British soldiers who destroyed the Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860 - Chris Bowlby's been investigating. After the Syriza victory in Greece, Podemos in Spain reckons it could be next to win an election on left-wing policies; Tom Burridge has been with party activists in Valencia. And how was the poet W.B.Yeats associated with bizarre goings-on at a cemetery near Paris? Hugh Schofield tells a story of the mysterious forces some believe govern the universe. From Our Own Correspondent is produced by Tony Grant.