 Click photo to see a larger one. |
Yuke Wang & Teresa Hermida |
One Monument in My Huge Country:
The Great Wall
of China
3-D video-high bandwidth only
Yuke
Wang
ISALC: ESL 382: Computer Applications
|
Click photo to see a larger one. |
Yuke Wang & Teresa Hermida |
One Monument in My Huge Country:
The Great Wall
of China
3-D video-high bandwidth only
Yuke
Wang
China, in the east of Asia, is one of the oldest countries in the world, has a history of 5,000 years, and is now one of the most popular places to visit. There is a great place in China that is even visible from the moon, which is the Great Wall (1). It is a huge wall that runs from the mountains of Korea to the Gobi Desert of western China. It’s more than 2,000 years old, but the Great Wall (2) of China remains one of the great wonders of the world.
A section of the Great Wall (3) lies northwest of Beijing (4). I went there once in the winter time when I was in Beijing (5). Though it was cold there at that time, the amazing wall still impressed me. I ran from the bottom of the wall to the top, where there is a little castle. Standing on the top of the castle, cold wind blowing onto my face, I saw majestic scenery. The sun, the sky, the mountains, from the vast Great Wall (6), they looked so close to me, I felt like I could reach them with my hands.
Looking at the wall, which was first build to resist enemies, I started to think about the fact that wars had happened right there in the past, and that the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, linked the wall together in 221 BC to protect China’s northern frontiers against attack by invading nomads. The soldiers, standing in the back of the battlements (7), were resisting the invading enemy by taking advantage of the high terrain. And the workers who died from building the first Great Wall during the Qin Dynasty, and those who renovated the wall from time to time after the Qin Dynasty, are all great.
There is a dictum, which says, “You are not a hero until you reach the Great Wall.” Though I still don’t know the exact meaning of this, it reminds me of the time when heroes sacrificed themselves. The Great Wall --- a symbol of Chinese ingenuity and will--- is a great place to visit.
1. http://www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/$greatwall 02.jpg
2. http://www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/$greatwall17.jpg
3. http://www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/greatwall26.jpg
4. http://gochina.about.com/library/gallery/beijing/images/p200105009s.jpg
5. http://gochina.about.com/library/gallery/beijing/images/p200105094.jpg
6. http://www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/enfourseason.jpg
7. http://www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/$greatwall12.jpg
Four Different Regions in My Small Country:
Ecuador
Teresa
Hermida
It is a pleasure for me to present my home
country. Ecuador is in South America and its name come from the
Equator*, at latitude 0, that crosses the country in the north near
the capital, Quito. In “Mitad del Mundo”(middle of the
world) you can put one of your feet in the Northern Hemisphere and
the other in the South. You will have problems if the world ever
splits into two!
Ecuador is bordered on the north by Colombia and on the east and south by Peru; on the west side is the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the country is 283,560 sq. km., comparatively smaller than Nevada. Although this is a small country, Ecuador has four different regions that are completely different: the islands, the coast, the mountains and the jungle.
THE ISLANDS: We have two groups of
archipelagos. Some tropical and humid islands close to the coast
compose the Archipelago of Jambeli. There are also two more islands:
Puna with dry and volcanic soil, and La Plata, which has a climate
similar to the biggest Archipelago, Galapagos.
The Galapagos Islands are about 600 miles from the Ecuador coast in
the Pacific Ocean. There are 13 islands and 16 islets. They were
named “Enchanted
Isles”(1) after the naturalist
Charles Darwin wrote his Theory of the Origins and Evolution of
the Species while visiting there. They are the home of lots of
birds, turtles and exotic
animals (2). Its name comes from the giant
tortoises that inhabit the islands. The turtles have developed
special features related to the place where they live: Land turtles
that eat branches and tree leaves have a long neck. Water turtles
have feet like oars. The same adaptation has occurred with some birds
and other animals that are different from one island to another. This
was the origin of Darwin’s theory. The weather is dry, warm and
windy from May to October, and there is little humidity from November
to April. Because of its unique flora and fauna, UNESCO has
proclaimed the Galapagos Islands “The
Natural Patrimony of
Mankind”(3).
THE COAST: Ecuador’s coast is flat and tropical, with few hills and warm sandy beaches. This region is greatly affected by the cold Humboldt Current and the warm Panama Current, which explains its moderate climate and rainfall. The principle characteristic of the zone is the rivers. The Guayas River (4) is the widest on the Pacific coast of all the Western Hemisphere and has a rich delta. In this flat and hot region, almost all of Ecuador’s exports are produced: bananas, coffee, sugar, rice, cocoa, oil seeds, tuna fish, shrimp, etc. I love to pass along the route to the beach and see the multicolor stores full of fruit. You can buy a nutritious and natural glass of juice or have a fresh squeezed “tuti-fruti” (all fruit together).
THE MOUNTAINS: In “La Sierra” we have 22 lofty peaks, from 14,000 to 20,000 feet in altitude. Some of them are volcanic. Alexander von Humboldt (German scientist) called this “The Avenue of the Volcanoes”(5). The capital of the country is Quito in the North; its churches and colonial style were recognized by UNESCO a long time ago as “Cultural Patrimony of Mankind”. In the south is my lovely city, Cuenca, with beautiful architecture and colonial style. Last year it was nominated “Cultural Patrimony of Mankind” because of the diversity of cultures. This year it was proclaimed “Capital Cultural Americana” for the cultural activities that the organization Cultural Capital of Americas will make next year on the continent. This small church (6) called “Buen Pastor” is one block from my family’s home. Can you image eight brothers and sisters going with mom to the mass? Now mom continues going to the same church, early on Sunday’s mornings. In the Sierra we have lots of snowy mountains, like the highest active volcano in the world, Cotopaxi (7). Tungurahua is a volcano that is erupting right now. The highest point is Chimborazo with 6,267 m. (around 18,800 f.). Tourists who like climbing and hiking are always visiting. You can find in a travel agency the best option to take a guided tour with equipment and tools. The cities have spring weather, 15 to 20 Celsius (around 65 to 85 Fahrenheit).
THE JUNGLE: The Amazon jungle, we call it
“Oriente”, is my favorite place to rest. It has a tropical
rain forest and lots of rivers running toward the Amazon.** In the
“Oriente” everywhere is green; there are exotic plants,
fruits and flowers, rare animals and some native tribes living along
the rivers. Some of them live far away from the towns and use
small
canoes (8) as their unique mode of
transportation. Nowadays, lodges organize tours of rafting, kayaking,
botanical expeditions, and visits to native communities. The variety
of birds in Ecuador has been recognized to be one of the most
important in the world, and most species live in this area.
Ecuador has the most fascinating biodiversity in its four regions.
You don’t need to travel too much; you can experience all the
seasons and diversity in only a few hours. There are beautiful
legends from this area. If you want, just ask me and I’ll tell
you one.
Images from:
1-http://www.remjourneys.com/RJIWeb/Photo-Gallery/photos/Ecuador/dinghy-off-coast.
2-http://www.ecuador-pictures.org/galapaguitos\ep_gal_15.jpg
3-http://www.familyadventures.com/images/pic24.jpg
4-http://www.ecoturismo-ecuador.com/photo2.html
5-http://www.actionreporter.com/001.monde/006.equateur/indiens_volcan.jpg
6-http://www.alovelyworld.com/webequa/pimage/equa32.jpg
7- http://www.trekking.ch/images/gallery/Ecuador5.jpg
8-http://www.ecuaventura.com/sucumbios/wdio_sucum_qreser_reservalimoncocha_lago.jpg
More resources:
Ecuador at http://www.ecuador.org/
CIA -The World Factbook at
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ec.html
We, Yuke and Teresa, wanted to impress you, show
our wonderful countries, China and Ecuador. It is easy to compare our
countries, because both have magnificent landscapes, history, art,
people and culture; however there are major differences.
We focused on the history of an important, huge
country in the world and the contribution of a small country to the
science and environment of the world. We presented from China the
“Great Wall” and from Ecuador its “Four Natural
Regions."
China has given to the world a legacy of
monumental art, science and philosophy that even now has not been
totally studied. We took the history of China to give you an idea of
the transcendental importance of its people from the remote past
until now. In contrast, you have in Ecuador the fabulous history of
the Andes Mountains, the radical differences of weather, biodiversity
of flora and fauna, and the evolution of the species of each region
in front of you. Charles Darwin got from here his theory.
Chinese inventions (compass, paper-making,
gunpowder and printing) and ancient engineering projects (Great Wall,
Grand Canal and Karez Irrigation System) were created, some hundreds
of years ago, and others at least 2,000 years ago. Ecuador does
not’t have a long history of people’s contributions, but
every place where you go you can discover thousands of worlds in
nature. For example regarding birds(**),
the representative animal of Ecuador is the hummingbird(1).
There are hundreds of different types, related to the kind of
flowers, the weather and altitude of the environment. They represent
more than 2,000 years in the engineering project of nature.
For us, the importance of China is the past, its history. Ecuador’s significance is future, the environment life.
*Equator -
http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/imaging/globe.html Make Your Own
Globe
**Amazon - It is the tendency throughout many parts of South America
to express concern for the loss of beauty, biodiversity and
opportunity of the Amazon only after large swaths of forest are torn
down for timber or agricultural purposes. WWF
http://www.worldwildlife.org/amazon/
WWF - US - World Wildlife Fund
***The Amazon river was discovered by Francisco de Orellana, a
Spanish explorer, in 1541. After descending the river from Quito,
Ecuador, to the Atlantic, Orellana claimed to have seen women tribal
warriors and he named the river Amazonas for the women warriors of
Greek mythology.
http://www.zip.com.au/~elanora/amazon.html
Elanora Heights Primary School
1- http://www.btinternet.com/~pdj_photos/ecu01/hummers.htm
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