To find out more about this  very significant occasion see this Special Feature from China Network Television (CNTV).

• Three Parks in Luohu
• Phoenix Mountain in Bao’an District
• Old Nanshan

The English language Shenzhen Daily newspaper has the latest news about Shenzhen and China including business, travel and entertaintment updates, and often features fascinating insights into Shenzhen’s historical and cultural attractions.

The historic monuments of Dengfeng are situated in and around Songshan (Mount Song) in Henan Province in central China. Songshan, known in Chinese as Zhongyue, is one of the five sacred mountains in China. The monuments consist of 13 ancient structures and sites including the Shaolin Temple and Pagoda Forest that we visited during our 2009 trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang Provinces – read the story and see the pictures.

The Danxia landform consists of red sedimentary rock located across six Chinese provinces. It is characterised by spectacular cliffs and a range of erosional landforms, including dramatic natural pillars, towers, ravines, valleys and waterfalls. These rugged landscapes have helped to conserve sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forests, and host many species of flora and fauna, about 400 of which are considered rare or threatened. For some pictures see this slideshow on the Sina website (click on the photos to advance the slideshow).

For a full list of World Heritage properties in China visit the UNESCO World Heritage website. West Lake in Hangzhou city, which we also visited on our 2009 trip, is planned for nomination for World Heritage listing next year.

Some areas along the Yangtze River have experienced the worst flooding in 30 years, where the Three Gorges Dam, the country’s largest, is offering a buffer as it blocks more than 40 percent of upstream water. “Compared to 1998, the biggest difference is the Three Gorges Dam. Without it, thousands of soldiers and rescuers would have been needed to fight the floods,” said Yuan Jie, director of the Three Gorges Cascade Dispatching Center of China Three Gorges Cooperation. To find out how the Three Gorges Dam helps to alleviate the devastating Yangtze River floods read the summary article or watch the full video of the State Council press conference on floods.

Hopefully the rains can ease soon and bring relief to the many people who have been affected.

What do we all know about Shanghai? This is an introduction of this magnificent city located in the middle part of the coast of mainland China, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. It is the financial, commercial and industrial center of China.

Shanghai is the most populous city in China and the world’s most busiest port. This city has 700 years of history with over 20 million residents spread across an area six times that of Hong Kong. In the last 20 years, the city of Shanghai was transformed into a glittering metropolis with a public transportation system greater than London and with more skyscrapers than the city of New York. Every year, foreign investments flow into Shanghai more than any other developing country. The average rate of economic growth in Shanghai is 12% per year, faster than China as a whole. Shanghai has now tripled in size and accounts for 30% of China’s foreign exports; 20% of the country’s manufacturing output is also from this region. According to analysts, Shanghai’s economy will expand five-folds in another 10 years.

There are a total of 166 different industries in China of which 157 of them are in Shanghai. The manufacturing of automobiles, petrochemicals, steels, communication equipments, biomedicine and equipment assemblies are the six industrial pillars of Shanghai. Shanghai’s capability to manufacture automobiles is ranked among the highest globally while the city also produce a large percentage of China’s power generation equipment and ships. With a high local demand for steels, Shanghai is the largest producer of steel in China; thanks to Bao Steel. The service industries are also growing rapidly thanks to the government’s policies to reduce the economy’s reliance on heavy manufacturing industries.

Shanghai’s current goals are divided into five broad categories; in order of importance. Their top goal is to maintain an average, annual GDP growth rate of about 10% and the average per capita GDP shall reach a level of the middle developed countries. Their second goal is to optimize space distribution by decentralizing the city into seven satellite towns surrounding the city. The central area of the city is now divided into the central commercial district, the central business district, the Inner and Outer Ring Road district. Their third target is to modernize the city’s infrastructure, by improving Shanghai’s two international airports, build a multi-functional seaport, an information port and a total overhaul of the public transportation systems. Shanghai’s fourth goal is to set up a modern market system that connects domestic and overseas flow of information, human resource, capital, commodities and technology. The last goal is to find a balance between environmental, social and economic development. A city is only as good as its citizens and environment.

If you have never visited Shanghai, you should take advantage of this once in a life-time chance of touring Shanghai and the International Expo.

To cast your vote in “2010 Chinese Cities Ranking – Top Chinese Tourist Cities” visit CRI Online.