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mevelar · 1 year

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The Traveler

Chapter 3 – Mark of Mercy Dozens of armed units surrounded the flats with one notable individual who looked to have sustained numerous battle-related injuries. The metid’s face sported a metallic cowling that covered his left temple all the way down to his jaw. A dilating lens substituted what was once his left eye and his robotic right arm clutched hold of something that resembled an advanced rifle of some sort. Once Daegal was chaperoned along with the other tenants to the front lawn, the surly metid stepped forth then raised his weapon aloft. “Name’s Karg. Karg the Merciful. I’m’s the top warlord of this band of Opus Dalis. There be any Raka in this bunch?”

Opus Dalis? Crap! Daegal thought as he tried to avert his gaze from the brigand leader. “No one?” the warlord huffed as he leveled his weapon at a random tenant before firing. An altaran instantly burst into flames causing those around them to flee in terror. Karg snorted with delight upon witnessing the fear he had induced. Daegal froze in horror upon witnessing the disintegration of a fellow tenant. It was not so much the violence that rattled him as the type of firearm the act was committed with. He had never seen such a weapon before. However, he surmised that it must have been one of types that he was assigned to investigate. At least that was part of his original mission plan. He also knew that if he gave even the slightest hint that he was aware of the significance of such weapons, his own life would meet the same fate as that of the unlucky altaran.

Moments later, the antilleen skulked from around the corner, its mouth dripping with some type of dark purple residue. Daegal quickly deduced that it must have been the blood of some unfortunate victim. “You weren’t supposed to eat ‘em just yet, idiot!” Karg bellowed at the lizard. “Hun...gerrr…” Daegal heard it's faint reply through his translation device. The warlord pointed towards the smoldering pile of flesh. “Eat that, instead.” The lizard let out a roar of protest. “Burrrnt! Baad... taaassste...” Another blast issued from the rifle and, within the blink of an eye, another unfortunate soul erupted into a ball of flame. Karg’s weapon emitted a bluish glow along areas where it was joined together. Upon observing the firearm further, Daegal figured the blue glow functioned as some type of cooling operation. Whatever it was, he figured that it must draw immense amounts of energy whenever it was fired. “Now,” Karg screamed through the translation device. “One last time: who here is Raka? Come on. Point out your neighbors and you won’t get hurt.”

Almost immediately, tenants began ratting each other out. If for no other reason than to save their own hides. The warlord seemed to take even more pleasure in the terror as he ordered his troops to fire upon the hapless crowd.

In a desperate move, Daegal pointed towards the antilleen then shouted, “This guy threatened to eat me if I didn’t transfer credits to his personal account.” Upon hearing the false accusation, the bipedal lizard let out a fearsome roar before turning to face the human. “Liieess!”

“Sure you did. Just check the transaction logs,” Daegal pointed at the lizard. “You had your account open and ready for transfer. I’m sure you were more than willing to give your boss his fair cut too, right?”

“Why you filching, dickless reptile!” Karg growled as he leveled his rifle at the antilleen. “Set yer pad down, now! And pray you had it set to delivering me a seventy percent cut.” The lizard relented at first, but eventually complied as it pulled out its datapad then placed it in front of Karg's feet. When the warlord ordered one of his men to examine the pad, the antilleen seized its window of opportunity of escape by lunging at the unsuspecting henchman. The hapless goon’s skull was crushed by the reptile’s powerful jaws causing torrents of dark blood to gush everywhere . Before Karg had a chance to fire, the lizard released its headless victim then bounded off into the darkness. The warlord cursed then ordered four of his troops to follow the antilleen's trail. “You, boy, are one lucky farker,” the warlord snorted as he slung the weapon on his back. “What’s yer name?” Daegal had to thank of a lie, and quick. “Doug… Doug Henneforth.” “Aye, human,” Karg stepped towards the archeologist. “I never trusted that two-timing scaly egg-crapper from the start. Lucky for you, your boldness has earned you a reprieve from my wrath… at least for the time being.” “T… thank you,” Daegal stammered with fear as he tried to avoid staring into the warlord’s face. Karg beckoned for two of his goons to seize hold of the archeologist. “Oh. Be careful of givin’ me thanks, primate.”

The warlord pulled out a metal rod that emitted a high-energy charge at the end. His goons, then, forced the human down to his knees as Karg activated the device then shoved the tip into Daegal’s forehead. Electrical currents coursed through Daegal’s body causing him to blackout momentarily. When he finally came to, he massaged his forehead only to feel a strange texture embedded under his skin. “Wha… what did you do to me?” Karg snorted then knelt down to the human’s eye level. “Call it my mark of mercy. Whenever I ask for something, you will deliver it to me without question. Otherwise there will be no mercy next time. Do I make myself clear?” Daegal nodded. “Yes. Very clear.” “Now go about your useless life and enjoy it while you can. But know this: you are now my property so long as you draw breath.” Karg reached out with his metal hand then grabbed hold of Daegal’s throat. He looked into the human’s eyes as the gears from his mechanical lens whirred in an attempt to achieve a focus on the archeologist’s face. “When Opus Dalis calls, you will answer.”

#the traveler #original sci-fi story

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joancoyechina · 6 months

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DAY 9: Beijing: The Lama Temple, Confucius Temple, Imperial College & Olympic Park

Our delightful guide, Cathy, picked us up and proceeded to our first stop, the Lama Temple (as in Dali Lama…not the animal). Also known as the Harmony & Peace Palace Lamasery, it’s a functioning Tibetan Buddhist Temple built initially in 1694. The temple grounds consist of several pagoda styled pavilions, each with huge seated golden Buddahs and their alters. The most impressive, a three story pavilion contained an immense standing Buddha, 85 feet high, carved from a single sandalwood log and was surrounded by more than ten thousand Buddha statues!

Buddhist monks roamed the grounds in their red robes through the prevailing smoke and smell of incense. Many Chinese passed from one pavilion to the next, lighting three sticks of incense, holding them up, them then bowing several times. They would next rotate and repeat the act in four directions, (north, south, east & west) in order for God to see them fully and hear their prayers, according to our guide.

A short walk led us to the Confucius Temple, where people have paid homage since 1302. It is the second largest temple constructed for Confucius, the greatest thinker and educationalist in ancient China. A much quieter venue, but equally as lovely, the pavilions contained giant Buddahs, alters, and ornate woodwork and drawings.

Adjacent, its neighbor in the west is Beijing Guozijan: The Imperial Academy, which was the highest place of learning in China's traditional educational system and an integral part of the Confucian system of education for government officials. It was originally founded as far back as 3 CE, when a standard nationwide school system was established.

After a full morning of ancient China we headed to the controversial modern architecture of the Beijing Galaxy. This wonderful amalgamation of skytowers, skylights and skybridges wouldn’t be out of place in a sci-fi movie! It is Beijing’s largest mall, designed by internationally acclaimed architects, Zaha Hadid and is deemed a marvel by some and an eyesore by others.

Back to our hotel with farewells to our guide who leaves us with amazing memories, an expanded understanding of the history and culture of the country, and an appreciation for the generosity and kindness the Chinese people have extended to us on our visit.

But one last adventure awaited as we headed out on our own to ride the Metro to the Olympic Park. It was our first foray in China, sans guide, but after 9 days thought we were ready. Using our translate app and pantomime, we enlisted the help of some kindly Metro workers to buy tickets and select the train in the right direction. The Olympic Park by night was gorgeous!! The "Bird Nest" stadium, the Olympic towers and the huge (albeit mostly deserted) shopping village were impressive!

The huge comfortable bed at the Kuntai Royal Hotel awaited these two worn out travelers!

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whitecatlegend · 3 years

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Chapter 1 (Life is unpredictable, don’t take it to heart)

Chapter 1 || Next >>

And here we go! The first chapter of the White Cat Legend comic strips. Even though sometimes it’s referred to as Dali Temple Chronicles, I’ll be using the official English donghua title. One of the reasons is that, well, it’s the official localization (that the manhua doesn’t have), and the other is that “Dali Temple Chronicles” is not very accurate and frankly misleading.

While 寺 can be translated as “temple”, in this case its meaning is closer to “ministry”. 大理寺 actually refers to one of the Tang dynasty government agencies - the Court of Judicial Review. However, that’s quite a mouthful, so in the translations I’ll be mostly using Dali court (the term also used in the official donghua subtitles).

We meet our first protagonist! Chen Shi used to be a farmer and uses pretty informal language, including a dialect variant of “me”. It’s a little difficult to convey the exact feeling in English.

What I translated as “Hu cake” (the way it was in donghua subtitles and frankly the only way it could fit in the speech bubble) is a kind of baked flat wheat cake, often topped with sesame seeds. Very convenient food for traveling, looks like it was brought to China from the western nomadic peoples.

From here on, I’ll do my best to translate the sound effects, but I honestly couldn’t figure out what exactly that character on the second-to-last panel was, so I decided to leave it as is.

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I can’t promise to update often because real life can be a pain. But if you enjoyed the donghua, are suffering because of the hiatus and would like to see more White Cat Legend content, please give my little blog a follow!

#大理寺日志 #white cat legend #white cat legend translation #journal of dali temple #journal of dali court #dali temple log #i'm gonna tag *everything*#translated chapters

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mabeljonesrock · 3 years

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White cat legend X Scissor seven crossover au

Li Bing, Xiao Fei and Dai Bo:A powerful cat demon and his two travelling companions of chicken demons. Li Bing is the most wanted demon alive with a huge price in his head and many demon hunters wanted to kill him. Many humans called him by his alias “king of demons”.

Chen Shi and Seven:two down-on-their-luck roommates trying to get money to paid for their rent by becoming demon hunters. Seven did most of the fighting while Chen Shi did most of the exorcism.

Redtooth and Yi Zhihua:two bloodthirsty assassins who were secretly demons. Yi Zhihua played an important aspect of redtooth's demon origin. We all know how potent his blood is (stated in canon) and as he also worked under wu mingkong's erdict, he used his blood in order to get more people (including redtooth) to (forcefully) join the empress. At first he was planning to forced redtooth but said guy was unexpectedly easy to convince as he had his own reasoning. And well Yi Zhihua in turn got himself a peculiar companion, one that, even that demon himself admit he was amused. So both of them made an uncanny duo a freakish combination at that.

Yi Zhihua & redtooth: get yourself an off-beat, supportive cannibal bro

Other:

1. Grannie Chen is the Boys’s scary landlady who threaten to kick them out in the streets if they didn’t pay their rent.

2. Chen Shi’s brother is one of the most highest-ranking demon hunters.

3. Wang Qi is Eleven’s ex-fiancé. They broke up their engagement is because Wang Qi is gay.

4. Demon hunters had their own organizations and clans. Fight and exorcist work in pairs(Seven and Chen Shi, Thirteen and Wang Qi, Ali Baba and Sun Bao).

5. The cat clan and dog clan currently work for Li Bing.

6. Wu Zetian is still the emperor of China but no one knows she’s a demon and is actually responsible for most of demons’s heinous crimes. She also allied with Stan.

7. Thirteen is one of the demon hunters and Seven still crushing on her. Chen Shi and Li Bing shipped Thirteen X Seven.

8. Most of the demon hunters use their qi to fight demons.

9. Inspiration for Crossover au is demon slayer, Panty and stocking with garterbelt, Kill la kill and of course, Cross Epoch

10. Chen Shi and Seven considered themselves sworn brothers at heart. Seven and Chen Shi meet each other when Chen Shi is the one who find Seven lying unconscious in the beach. He took care of him. At the morning, he got captured by bandits on his way home. Seven woke up and rescued him by defeating the bandits. Chen Shi thanked him for saving him and Seven asked if he could travel with him in his journey to find his brother since he had nowhere to go. He agreed. Seven decided to follow him because, why not he didn't have anything to lose, and maybe his memories would come back to him along the way which, left an impression on 7 because who would save a total stranger and expect nothing in return? any sane person wouldn't do this, 7 thought, but chen shi was’t like that. During their travels, Chen Shi wonders if the reason he cares so much for Seven is because he sees him as a replacement for his biological older brother who he was separated from.

11. Cola meet Li Bing. The little girl find the cat demon adorable and would ignore everyone that said li bing is dangerous and straight up hugged him much to said demon's surprise. Li bing would be very annoyed at first but over time he'll adore her too

12. Seven and Li Bing’s relationship is a little similar to Gary and Avocato from final space

13. Chen Shi and Seven will learn to know not all demons are evil and find out Li Bing and his chicken companions had nothing to do with the crimes and that they actually trying to stop Empress Wu zetian who is actually responsible for the crimes.

14. Xiao fei suddenly got separated from Dai Bo and Li Bing and end up lost. Chen Shi and Seven find him. Realising he is a chicken demon, Seven tried to kill him but Chen Shi couldn’t take the risk to kill him and beg him to spare the little chicken demon. Seven tried to refused and told him the little blue chicken demon is still dangerous despite his cute appearance until he saw the little chicken demon’s puppy dog eyes.

15. Seven didn’t know Chen Shi had very long hair

16. Jiang is the leader of City of Luo Yang’s demon hunting organization, D.A.L.I.

17. Cui Bei is one of the demon hunters’s helpers by preparing their exorcism tools. He could draw some talismans and other tools that needed proper character drawings on it

18. Chen Shi’s exorcism method is unsurprisingly, radish themed. Chen shi end up having a low self esteem, he felt a sense of inferiority because his exorcism method were deemed 'silly' or 'lacking power' by many people in general. In reality, his exorcism method is actually very powerful and great for conquering evil demons but it was hidden and he didnt know it at first because his power was hindered by his feelings.

Wang Qi:rat themed

Alibaba:Gold themed

19. For little theatre, instead of infos of tang dynasty they would talk about demon hunting, exorcism, weapons, methods and its tidbits.

20. One of the reasons why alibaba went to China is that he need to control his exorcist powers better and wanted to be a dependable exorcist on his own even though he literally had an esteemed demon hunting family.

21. Exorcists can help in changing their partners' or their own appearances at will, but with some limitations.

22. The demons have their own ranks like the demon hunters. A low ranked demon can be subdued by an exorcist alone, the higher-ranked the demons are, the harder it is to take them down, so there should be more exorcists needed. Li Bing is a high rank, Xiao Fei is a medium rank and Dai Bo is a low rank.

However, a low ranked demons are NOT necessarily useless. Take dai bo for example, he might not be suited for fighting but heck his inventions could basically swap out all of you in a blink.

#au #scissor seven #white cat legend #crossover #killer seven #killer 7 #Dalishirizhi #Dali temple log #Demons and Scissors au

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hrshlandmanhuadonghua · 3 years

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Why does Wang Qi always does a weird face omg.

I’m trying to get pics for the wiki, but it’s impossible to get this guy

#White Cat Legend #Dali Temple Log #大理寺日志

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nemesisbinxartifactseries · 4 years

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Artifact Series S

Saburo Miyakawa's Hachimaki *

Sacagawea's Cradleboard

Sacagawea's Indian Peace Medal

Sacred Papyri of Seleucia *

The Saddle of Bayard

Sadhu Fingernails

Sailor Mars' Transformation Pen

Saint Cuthbert's Chapel Gargoyle *

Saint George's Ring

Saint George's Lance and Shield

Saint James' Fuller's Club

Saint Jude's Carpenter's Rule

Saint Jerome's Lion Claw Thorn

Saint Lucia's Skull

Saint Matthew's Tax Lodger

Saint Matthias' Axe

Saint Nicholas' Gift Bag

Saint Nicholas' Three Stockings

Saint Patrick's Bell

Saint Paul's Cross-Hilted Sword

Saint Paul's Letter

Saint Peter's 2 Keys

Saint Peter's Sword

Saint Philip's Basket

Saint Sebastian’s Arrow

Saint Simon's Saw

Saint Thomas' Carpentry Square

Saint Valentine's Amethyst Ring

Sakyo Komatsu's Typewriter Ink Ribbon

Saleh's Camel Bone

Salem Saberhagen Animatron

Sallah, the Soothsaying Sultan *

Sally Rand's Ostrich Feather Fans

Sally Tompkins' Medical Kit

Salmaan Taseer's Glasses

Salt from Dallol, Ethiopia

Salvador Dali’s Cane

Salvador Dali's Moustache Wax

Salvador Dalí's Paintbrush

Salvation Army Bell

Salvator Fabris' Fencing Doublet

Salzburg Marionette Theater Marionette

Samantha Smith's Cap

Sam Hide's Half Crown

Sam Loyd's Black Queen

Sammy Davis Jr.'s Mezuzah

The Samsara Lotus

Sam Sheppard's Wrestling Boots

Sam Snead’s Golf Bag

Samson's Jawbone *

Samuel Allison's Dark Tinted Goggles

Samuel Clemens' Riverboat Whistle

Samuel Colt's Gun Barrel

Samuel Franklin Cody’s Kite

Samuel J. Seymour’s Safety Pin

Samuel Loring Morison’s Magazine Rack

Samuel Madden's Letter Opener

Samuel Pepys' Monocle

Samuel Pepys' Wheel of Parmesan Cheese

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Fishing Net *

Samuel Whittemore’s Musket

Samuel Ruben’s Batteries

Samus Aran's Armor

Sancho II of Portugal’s Ciborium

Sandbags from the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927

The Sanderson Sisters' Black Flame Candle

Sandford Fleming's Postage Stamp

Sands of Hiroshima

Sands of Iwo Jima *

Sands of Normandy

Sandstone Bricks from the Pyramid of Giza

Santa Claus™ Hat

Santiago Ramón y Cajal's Microscope

Santorini Event Pumice Stone

Sapphires of Vali

Sarah A. Bowman’s Bread Tray

Sarah Bernhardt's Evening Gloves

Sarah Knauss' Personal Compact Mirror

Sarah Osbourne's Dress

Saraswati’s Veena

Sargon the Great's Mirrors *

Saturn V

Saxon Yule Log *

Sburb Beta Disks

Scaenae Frons from the Theatre of Dionysus

Scallop Shell of Zebedee

Scarab of Imhotep *

The Scarab Beetle Statue of Luxor

Scarecrow's Mask

“Scary” Lucille Ball Statue

Schaefer Beer Tray

Scheherazede's Bracelet

School of Salmon

Schrodinger's Cat

Schwinn Exercise Bike

Scope & Rifle from Elbe Day

Scorpion's Ropedart

Scorpus' Chariot

Scot Halpin’s Tour Jacket

Scott Joplin's Cigarette Case *

Scott Joplin's Piano *

Scott Joplin's Score for A Guest of Honor

Scott O'Grady’s Ejection Seat

SCP-WH13

Scroll of Qi

The Sea Cat

Searchlight from Alcatraz

Seat from Global Airlines Flight 33

Seaweed Stone Ball

Second Chance Heroes Artifacts

Secondo Pia’s Flashbulb

Secretariat's Horseshoes

Sedna's Seashell

Seductive Spectacles

SEES's Evokers

Selene's Tiara

Self-Answering Rotary Phone

Self-Constructing Building Blocks

Self-Replicating Birthday Candles

Senchán Torpéist's Lute

Seneb's False Door

Seraphim of Sarov’s Icon and Lestovka

Serial Killer Camera *

Serial Killer Hook

Sergeant Stubby's Coat

Sergei Brukhonenko's Autojektor

Sergei Korsakoff's Ruble Coin

Sergei Prokofiev's Chess Board

Sergio Corbucci's Personal Script of Django

Sergiusz Piasecki’s Grammar Book

Sessue Hayakawa’s Pierce Arrow

Seth Kinman’s Elkhorn Chair

Seth MacFarlane's "Family Guy" Concept Art

Seti I's Obelisk

Severus of Athens' Cronus Ring

Sexist Pickle Jar

Shah Jahan’s Peacock Throne

Shah Jahan's Taj Mahal Spire

Shaista Khan’s Sash

Shards of the Cross of St. Andrew

Sharicite Pendants

Shaka Zulu's Nkoka

Shaka Zulu's Iklwa

Shamu's Tank

Shang Rang's Army Shield

Shaolin Temple Robes

Sharbat Gula's Shawl

Shard from the Lens of the Lighthouse of Alexandria *

Sharkeisha's Winter Hat

Sharpie Permanent Marker

Sheet Music of Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz

Sheldon Silverstein's Guitar

Sheldon Silverstein's Shaving Razor

Shelvern's Black-Magic-Eyed Peas

Shell Fragment from the V-1 Doodlebug

Shem Drowne's Grasshopper

Shennong’s Plow

Sherman Adams’ Fur Coat

Sher Shah Suri's Helmet

Sheut Statuette

Shield from the Battle of Thermopylae

Shifting Chicken Egg

Shig Murao's Copy of "Howl"

Shigechiyo Izumi's Kimono

Shig Murao's Copy of "Howl"

Shigeru Miyamoto's Keyboard

Shinichi Suzuki's Violin

Shirley Jackson's Jewelry Box

Shiro Ishii's Medal *

Shirt of Nessus

Shivaji’s Bagh Naka

Shizou Kakutani's Geometry Set *

Shoes from the Tank Man

Shoichi Yokoi's Uniform

Shō Shin's Tonfa

Shotaro Ishinomori's Pen and Sketch Pad

Shower Head from "Psycho" *

Shylock's Coin Purse

Siberian Jukebox

Siberian Mammoth Tusk

Sigismund I the Old’s Tankard

Sigismund’s Order of the Dragon Emblem

Sigmund Freud's Cigar *

Sigmund Freud's Glasses

Sigmund Freud's Lighter

Sigmund Freud's Mantle Clock *

Sigmund Freud's Marble Tablet

Sigyn’s Bowl

Silap Inua Totem

Silene stenophylla

Silencing Librarian Glasses

Silk Sash of Mulan

Silver Bracelet *

Silver Bullet

Silver Cross Tavern Barrels

The Silver Crystal

Silver Necklace from the Atacama Desert Mines *

Silverpilen

Silver Transmuting Goblet

Simeon Bourgeois' Torpedo Shell

Simo Häyhä's Rifle

Simon Tookoome's Bullwhip

Simonides of Ceos' Tally Stick

Simon Stevin's Windmill

Sinclair Lewis' Desk

"Singin' in the Rain" Umbrellas

The Singing Bone

Sinon's Helmet

Sir Gawain's Jousting Helmet *

Sir Mix-A-Lot's Bling Ring

Siren Rock Pendent

Sister Parish's Rose Brooch

Sitting Bull's Riding Blanket *

Skanderberg's Helmet

Skeleton Key

Ski Gloves

Skip to My Lou Violin

Skis from the Winter of Terror

Slava Raškaj’s Alabaster Owl Carving

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala’s Hot Water Bottle

The Slayer's Scythe

Sledge Hammer from the Ohio State Prison Fire

Slender Suit

Slot Machine

Slow Mo Guy's Lab Coats

Slue-Foot Sue's Bustle

Smenkhkare's Coffin

Smiling Dog Photograph

Smell Negating Clothespin

Smokey Yunick's Cowboy Hat

Smoking Railroad Spikes *

"Snakeman's" Basket

Snarky Reading Glasses

Sneezing Panda Video Camera

Snowman Jack-in-the-Box

Snow White's Apple

Snow White's Mirror

Sobriety Coin

Soccer Ball from the Death Match

Sock Sowachowski's Hat

Socrates' Cup *

Socrates' Toga

Sodom and Gomorrah Salt Mask *

Sogdianus' Scimitar

Soichiro Honda's Bicycle Pedals

Solac Electric Toaster

Soldier of Fortune's Cloth Cap

Solomon W. Golomb's Polyominoes

Sonman Mine Pickaxe

Sonny and Cher's Old West Costumes

Sopdet's Star

Sophie Blanchard's Costume

Sophie Lyons' Gloves

Soren S. Adams' Jam Jar

Southern Cross Expedition Candle Holder

Souvenir Ashtray *

SpaceShipOne

The Spaghetti Tree

Spanish Flag from the Battle of Rocroi

Spanish Inquisition Costumes

Spartan Armor *

Spartacus' Armor

Sparticus' Retiarius *

Special Order 191 Cigars

Speed-Reading Lamp (canon)

Sphinx's Gear

Sphinx's Nose and Tablet

Spiked Torture Mask (canon)

Spindle from the Duke of Exeter's Daughter Torture Rack (canon)

Spirit of St. Louis' Propeller Spinner

Spine of the Saracen *

Splattering Heinz Ketchup Bottle

Spoon from Al Capone's Soup Kitchen

Spirit of St. Louis' Propeller Spinner

Spirit Tablets from the Boxer Rebellion

Spitball-Producing Straw

Spriggan Wings

Spring-Heeled Jack's Boots

Spyridon Louis’ Fustinella

Srinivasa Ramanujan's Stick

Squee's Teddy Bear, Shmee

SS Andrea Doria

SS Baychimo

SS Indiana's Hand Bell

SS Noronic Whistle

SS Violet, Griffon

Stack of 12 Cans of Campbell’s Soup *

Stacked-Deck Poker Table

Stadium Seats from the 1896 Olympics

Stage Door from CBGB's *

"Stagecoach" Mary Fields S&W .38 "Lemon Squeezer"

Stagelight from the UFO Club

Stairway B Railing

Staff of Set

Stamata Revithi's Document

Stan Rogers's Wedding Ring

Stanislaw Ulam's Calculator

Stanley Green’s Placard

Stanley Kramer's Film Reel

Stanley Thornton Jr.'s Baby Bottle

Stare Promoting Glasses

Star Jelly

Starkad's Norse Pendent

S.T.A.R.S. Samurai Edge Pistol

State vs Bonner Cap Gun

Statue from Trajan’s Column

Statues of Castor and Pollux *

Statue of Euryale

Statue of Heket

Statue of St. Bartholomew

Statues from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Statues of Zeus and Hera

Statuettes of Aphrodte and Eros

Steam Locomotive from the Burma Railway

Steel Girders From Warehouse 12

Stefania Follini’s Guitar

Stephen Decatur's Disguise

Stephen Hawking's Wheelchair

Stephen Hillenburg's Hawaiian Shirt

Stephen Wiltshire's Pen

Steve Bolander's '58 Chevy Impala

Steve Brodie's Dummy

Steve Clemente's Knife Box

Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo Patch

Steve Jobs' Hardrive

Steve Kordek's Pinball Machine

Steve McQueen's 650cc Triumph TR6 Trophy Motorcycle *

Steven Spielberg's Clapper Board

Stewart Farrar's Besom

Sticky String *

Stingy Jack's Turnip Lantern

"Stinking" Bishop's Kettle

St. Stephen's Church Weather Vane

Stolen Arm of Shiva

Stone-Changing Cheese Knife

Stone from Stonehenge *

Stone from the "Wailing Wall"

Stones from The Dancing Plague of 1518

Stones from the Flims Rockslide

Stone of Destiny

Stone of Truth

Stonewall Inn's Neon Sign

Stonewall Jackson's Piece of Shrapnel

Storage Door Knob

Stormtrooper E-11 Blaster Rifle

Strait of Messina Grindstone

Straightjacket from St. Mary of Bethlehem Asylum

The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back *

Studio 54 Disco Ball *

Stuffed Speckled Chachalaca

St. Valentine's Day Massacre M1 Thompson

Subtle Knife

Sucellus' Hammer

Sugar Ray Robinson's Pillow

Sugar Skull

Sulla's Grass Crown

Summer Camp Inflatable Mattress

Sunbeam Mix Master

Sundiata Keita’s Balafon

Sunny Malone's Chalk Drawing

Sunrise High Sierra Camp Hat

Sun Tzu's Dao Sword

Sun Tzu's "The Art of War"

Superman's Suit

Supermarket Sweep Shopping Carts

Susan Hayward's Silk Dress

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema’s Glasses

Susanoo's Totsuka-no-Tsurugi (Sword of Strength)

Su Song's Armillary Sphere

Suzanne Oldsworth's Silver Thimble *

Svante Arrhenius’ Gloves

Svetlana Pankratova's Shoes

Svyatoslav Nikolayevich Fyodorov's Patient's Glasses

Sweeny Todd's Barber Shop Razor

Swiss Miss-Hap Mug *

The Sword in the Stone

Sword of Damocles

Sybil Leek's Smudge Fan

Sydney Newman's Rotary Phone

Sylvanus Morley's Pith Helmet

Sylvester Graham's Original Graham Crackers

Sylvia Browne's Pearl Earrings

Sylvia Plath's Typewriter *

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elizadoolittlethings · 6 years

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The Monday Interview: Mark Gatiss - Top of the League

Published: 19:14 Updated: 19:27 Sunday 16 November 2008

ALTHOUGH it's bad form to ogle someone else's husband, I can't help admiring Mark Gatiss's rather sexy legs. They seem to stretch to his neck, meeting a scruffy beard that adds a raffish edge to his air of sexual devilry.

This tastiness is a far cry from the grotesques he's so often portrayed, from his days as a member of The League of Gentlemen, to frizzy-haired, gap-toothed Glen Bulb of Nighty Night, and Doctor Who's maniacal Dr Lazarus.

This dishiness is very on-message, since we're here talking about his third mainstream novel, Black Butterfly, starring charismatic spy extraordinaire Lucifer Box, whose adventures in bisexuality are every bit as breathtaking as his undercover work for monarch and country. Each Box novel visits a different era, allowing Gatiss to pay homage to some of his favourite authors. The Vesuvius Club, set in the early 1900s, evoked Conan Doyle. The Devil in Amber found Box battling Nazis and Stalinists, and was Gatiss's homage to Dennis Wheatley and John Buchan. Preparing for Black Butterfly, set in 1953, heimmersedhimself in Ian Fleming and contemplated the machinations of John le Carr's spies. But for all these acknowledged influences, Lucifer Box is a spy like no other. Gatiss explains: "I am a gay man who loves James Bond films and snooker – all kinds of working-class pursuits. I didn't set out to deliberately respond to themasculinity. I'mfascinatedthat somanyspieswere or are gay,but I also like the idea, which le Carr showed, that the real job is much more prosaic." Surely a great spy would be ruthless enough to shag anything? "Yes, and also back in the day, the natural people to approach were people who were already lying about themselves.When homosexuality was illegal these people already had a different identity. What's interesting is that simultaneously to recruiting known homosexuals, they were also perceived as a security risk, precisely because of the blackmail thing.The recruiters must have known and actually relied on it, but it was always a worry." "Black Butterfly" is the French nickname for depression, but here it's also the name of a nefarious drug that imbues people with a euphoric sense of infallibility – before propelling them to grisly ends.When Box is poisoned he believes that he's young again – and behaves accordingly – until the antidote is administered by the object of his affections, a dishy CIA operative called Kingdom Kum. With a respectful nod to JaneMarple, I suggest there must be special challenges in writing about a geriatric spy. "I've never been specific, but he's obviously in his late seventies. I thought the thing to do was mention every now and then how much it hurts (to leap about], but if you keep going on about it then readers stop wanting to go on the journey. You have to believe he's still in good shape even though he's very old. "I was thinking about whether therewouldbeany sex scenes and how to handle it; itmademethink that maybe I couldgetawaywith this idea of thedrugmaking him young again. "The bit when he's on the drug was my favourite part to write. I carried a notebook around and wrote in a stream of consciousness way. I found it really liberating. I'd open my eyes on a beach – what did I see? What colour are my eyelids when closed with the sun on them? I was filming in Morocco and noticed a beetle that was like a sculpture rolling down the dunes. I was trying to create very vivid snapshots." Proving that the lines between life and art blur,whilewritingBlack Butterflyhewas sent theDoctorWhoscriptthat foundhimplaying a man in search of eternal youth. "I thought, 'Oh, there's a message here,'" he jokes. At 42, he must be increasingly aware of his ownageing? "I'vebeenhavingthose thoughts since Iwas 20! Evenwhen Iwas a childI always wanted to be older. I realised just in time that it's a mistake and to enjoy my youth while I hadit. If Imeetsomeonearound20,who's a bit like I was, I want to say, 'Get out! Have fun.' Becauseyourknees start togo,myeyes aregoing. Ithappens overnight. In the car, trying to read the A-Z, I'msuddenly like my dad!" He also says he had a youthful morbid streak: "Mymumused to say I had an old soul. As long as I can remember Iwas looking backwards. I remember my mumorganised a singalong for pensioners in about 1970, and I used to love singing the old Blitz songs." He smiles. "They are called Emos now, and before that they were Goths. They didn't have a name for it when I was one, but I was that black-wearing teenager and yes, I wore a little eyeliner. I was really into horror. On the less negative side, I was fascinated by the idea that peoplehadbeenhere beforeme. Ihave a print Julia Davis (the writer and star of Nighty Night] gave me of (my neighbourhood] around the time my house was built, in the 1760s, and it has cows on it, yet it's recognisably the same street. I love that idea of the changes." This historical bent dovetails nicely with his delight in wordplay. The Box novels are peppered with silly names, which often occur to him in the bath, a site he finds conducive to deep thinking. Thus Lucifer's sister is Pandora Box, and his Black Butterfly nemesis, Melissa ffawthawte, is affiliated with nefarious baddies A.C.R.O.N.I.M. My own favourite is the "cadre of psychoanalysts-cum-mercenaries known as the Jung Turks".

Both times we've met, Gatiss has patiently explainedthat itonly looks as thoughheworks night and day, but I'msure you'll agree his output is impressive. In addition to the novel, he recentlywrote (andappearedin) an episode of Poirot, filmed the upcoming TV programme Purves & Pekkala, written and directed by Annie Griffinandfilmedhere in Scotland,and the sitcom Clone, which stars Jonathan Pryce. He's busy writing episodes of the next full season of Doctor Who, for an as yet un-cast (or so he says) Doctor.Knowinghowmuch he coveted the role, andthat he's close friendswith all involved, I try teasing an indiscretion out of him, but Gatiss remains frustratingly closedmouthed. "I haven't a clue. I found David's announcement incredibly moving. I knew he was going, but I love the fact he did it in the interval, dressed as Hamlet, and he was accepting the award, but he had to find the moment to tell everyone. He's going at the top of his game which is always the best and themost difficult thing to do, because I know he loves it." Is there a Hamlet, a Lear, or another classic role he longs to play? Without hesitation, he says, "Oh yes, Richard II. It's a very underrated play, a fabulous part – beautiful. He was a very weak king but there's this fantastic poetry about his desire to stay on the throne despite being incredibly compromised. It has that wonderful line, 'I have wasted time and now doth time waste me.' I'd like to do that." Amidall this activity, Gatiss foundtime, last spring, to get married. He and Ian have been together for nearly a decade, so I wonder if marriage changed their relationship at all. "I feel subtly different," he says. "I don't know what it is, but it's nicer. It was a lovely, very moving day. I was most moved by the notion of our families coming together. My brother said it's the best wedding he's ever beento. Itwasamazing to think that our families were so completely at ease with the whole idea of a gay wedding. And then there was the incredible irony that it took place in Middle Temple underneath a portrait of Sir Edward Carson, the man who prosecuted Oscar Wilde. So when I did my little speech the first thing I did was flick him two fingers. 'This one's for Oscar.'"

Black Butterfly is out now from Simon &Schuster (15).Mark willbein conversation about his work on 18 November at 6:30pm at Waterstone's (Sauchiehall Street) in Glasgow, 0141 332 9105; 19 November at 7pm at Waterstone's (Union Bridge) in Aberdeen, 01224592440; 20 November at 6pm at Waterstone's (West End) in Edinburgh, 0131 226 2666. For more details, contact the stores or log on to: www.simonsays.co.uk

BACKGROUND A FEW things that might surprise you about Mark Gatiss: • The League of Gentlemen won the 1997 Perrier Award for comedy, the first sketch group to win since the awards were inaugurated in 1981. • A massive fan of the show, Gatiss started writing Doctor Who novels (four to date) when he was a penniless actor. • Growing up in County Durham, he lived opposite a psychiatric hospital, where both his parents worked and where he toiled as a gardener during his first year at college. He and Ian are the devoted 'parents' of Bunsen, a Labrador retriever. • He's starred opposite Julia Davis twice –as Glen Bulb in Nighty Night, and again as Johnnie Cradock in Fear of Fanny. • In 2003 he was the script editor for eight episodes of Little Britain. • As French poet Louis Aragon, he played opposite Ewan Bremner's Salvador Dali in Surrealissimo: The Trial of Salvador Dali. The cast list included Stephen Fry (Andre Breton), Vic Reeves (Paul Eluard) and both members of The Mighty Boosh! Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/the-monday-interview-mark-gatiss-top-of-the-league-1-1147037

#mark gatiss #black butterfly

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hrshldoesmusic · 3 years

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https://music.163.com/#/song/1459485088/?userid=320939382

Going back to Dali Temple Log/White Cat Legend omg

#music #donghua

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bloggerthannothing · 3 years

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KGAF Phase 1: Education

Why, anybody can have a brain

That's a very mediocre commodity

Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth

Or slinks through the slimy seas has a brain

Back where I come from, we have universities

Seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers

And when they come out, they think deep thoughts

And with no more brains than you have

But they have one thing you haven't got:

A diploma

-Oz Explodes, Lemon Demon

(introduction)

Let's start the run. Click "gather catnip" 500 times. Please don't leave, I swear it gets better.

Catnip fields are only going to give you 0.16 catnip/sec, thanks to Winter Has Come. If you're clicking <4 times per second, feel free to buy around 5 catnip fields to speed things up. Otherwise, go directly for 500 catnip, craft 5 wood and build the first hut.

Now, get ready to witness some martyrs, because your frozen, barren fields cannot sustain life. The important thing is to quickly put the kittens to work before they die!

This says a lot about society.

For some reason the first kitten you get starves much faster than normal. Anyway, build a library, then research Calendar and Agriculture.

Build two more huts, get five farmers to sustain a single kitten in another job. Research mining, build a mine, then a workshop and rush Mineral Hoes. The increased production from each Farmer means you don't need as many - move a couple kittens from Farmer to a production job. Assign a few scientists to rush Metal Smelting, build as many smelters as possible to pick up Iron Hoes quickly. Move another kitten or two from Farmer to another job.

Next is Archery -> Animal Husbandry. Pick up a few pastures. Do not buy either Barn upgrade or Hunting Armor! You don't need the hunting power, and you do need the iron.

Pick up Construction -> Engineering. Now you can focus more on economy building. These techs get you Log Houses for a huge population increase, and Aqueducts to dramatically increase catnip production again. Pick up both Axe Upgrades.

Important note: kittens can only move in so fast! Whether you have 2 open slots or 20 open slots makes no difference. This means there's no reason to build 30 Log Houses at once - as long as at least one slot is open, you can use the stone and wood to build other things.

Pick up Mathematics and build some Academies. This is where things noticeably diverge from a standard run.

You can't make use of a leader's trait until they reach rank 1 - which requires that they have 500 experience. Each Academy slightly increases the speed at which kittens gain experience. Building as many academies as possible, as fast as possible, is the primary goal of this entire phase. At every moment, you'll be balancing growing your economy (building more mines, lumber mills, smelters, housing) against building more academies.

You should have enough storage from paragon to totally ignore barns and warehouses. Build a few libraries if it's quick, for the science bonus, but they're low priority. Don't worry about workshops yet.

Pick up Civil Service -> Currency -> Gold Ore quickly - you want your smelters making gold ASAP, to prepare for Phase 2.

For your first Policy choice, take Clear Cutting. Strip Mining is about as good, but wood is slightly harder to come by. The important thing is to not get Environmentalism; our kittens are already in a state of euphoria, it would be useless.

Don't buy more than 20 lumber mills - the iron is better saved for later.

Avoid letting any useful building become way cheaper than all the others - that's usually an indication of inefficiency.

Feel free to pick up Bolas, Catnip Enrichment, and Celestial Mechanics once your economy makes them cheap - they don't matter, but it's nice to clean up the workshop menu.

Don't buy tradeposts, save all your gold. For the same reason, don't trade at all in this Phase. Your gold will be worth literally 10x more once you have a leader.

Put a few kittens on Hunters, and send out a hunt. Furs, Ivory, and Unicorns all give +10% happiness each, which is a nice little bonus. Make around 30 workshops. Get Writing -> Philosophy, and make 30-35 amphitheatres for culture production.

Get the "Tradition" policy to make Manuscripts much cheaper in terms of culture. Culture's going to be a bottleneck until the middle of Phase 2, so you want to use it as efficiently as possible. After getting Tradition and a high number of workshops, build 3 Temples. Use this culture for Theology -> Astronomy, then Monarchy.

Build 86 workshops to bring Astronomy's total culture cost down to 2700. Once you've got Astronomy, build as many observatories as possible. This is what you've been saving your iron for.

Each observatory increases the frequency of astronomical events, which are the only way you can get starcharts for a very, very long time. You're going to need starcharts for key elements of the run (ships, Geodesy, Lunar Outposts, Space Missions…), so start saving now.

Take the "Monarchy" before your leader hits level 1. This entire run revolves around the leader's trait, so doubling its effect is a spectacular bonus.

You can use the trait search menu in the Census to assign your most-experienced Merchant, and see how close they are to rank 1.

In this screenshot, you can see Dali Plaid is a rank 0 merchant who has 80% of the experience needed to become rank 1.

Once a leader has enough experience, spend the 50 gold to upgrade them. (If you're using my script, this will be indicated by an "(MT)" in the village header.)

And then you're done with Phase 1 of the run. Congrats! Next step: Rushing Geodesy in Phase 2.

Here are some timestamps from my current personal best run (year/season/day format):

Ion Hoes - 0/2/24

50 Kittens - 0/3/66

Astronomy - 1/3/54

Rank 1 - 2/1/6.3 [26:52 real time]

#kittensgame #kittens game #number munching #whomst likes playing games

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ephemera · 6 years

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WODWARD

By Sylvester Joseph

I’d walked so long and so far that the shoes on my feet were juxtaposed against the plank of wood underneath my soles. Caked in moss and covered in vines, it seemed like it belonged to a world where New Balance sneakers did not exist, the emerald canopy of leaves overhead was oblivious to the windbreaker on my back and the fishing hat atop my scalp. I’d walked and walked and wound up so deep inside of this forest that it looked like a scene out of a painting.

Van Gogh created this brush with small green and yellow strokes, or maybe Salvador Dali painted this wood that rose so high the treetops have scraped the sky raw. Someone else maybe would have stopped to take in the sights, but I kept trekking deeper into the woods with the feeling that the deeper I’d gone the more enchanting it became. The pattern that the light through the leaves painted on my skin was as welcome as the humid air, I lacked everything from conscious thought to emotion at this point. I just wanted to walk.

Eventually, I came across something that was not of this world, and while most people maybe would have spazzed out and screamed or try to take pictures–I merely looked at the man who was entwined with a tree. Maybe he wasn’t so much entwined as he was growing from it, or it was growing from him, but he was clearly seated and stood a good three stories high with his palm outward in a peaceful gesture. His wrinkled skin was like bark, covered with dew, his eyes closed and mushroom cups poked from the cracks. From his temples poked two long, curved deer antlers which rose toward the sky.

Something told me maybe I should bow to this being, this man–or maybe god, pay my respects or whatever. But, instead, I kept walking deeper still, with no real destination plotted out. As things became more and more peculiar as I moved deeper and deeper into the woods I came to the realization that I was no longer a part of the real world–or perhaps, the real world no longer fit me.

“Shit,” I sighed as I finally stopped walking and sat down on a log, a creature that looked like a centipede wound around a tree in front of me, wingless birds scoured the pasture. Reaching into my jacket, I pulled out my cigarettes and lit it. Taking a long drag, I closed my eyes and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“Wake up.” A voice spoke out while I was coming to grips with having slipped from the coil of actuality and slipped into something unreal. I opened my eyes, looking for the source of the voice.

“Are you lost?”

“I don’t think so.” I replied to the voice.

“Humans that wind up here are usually lost.” It was a large ape with one curled horn that appeared like a ram’s sprouting from his forehead. He was sitting above me across the small clearing upon a branch, perched with a smirk from eye to eye.

“Yeah, well, monkeys don’t talk where I come from.” I said.

“You’re rather comfortable with having become detached from your plane of existence and falling into this one.” The ape spoke very matter-of-factly, with a tone and air as if he were advising me of something I hadn’t already figured out myself. Then again, if this were some sort of cheap novel or television I’d assume I shouldn’t have assumed that. In fact, that would have been a perfect vehicle for both you and me to figure out that I’m no longer there–where you live, but here, where fantasy is reality and me? A figment of reality? Am purely fantasy here.

Here I’m as real as the bogeyman and bigfoot.

“It’s not an uncomfortable thing to deal with, y’know? It’s a thing.” I replied.

“It almost sounds as if you wanted this.” The horned ape fell off the back of the branch, gripping and looking down upon me as he swung back and forth with one arm. “What were you running from?”

“Nothing. I think I was running toward something…I can’t be sure…” I sucked on my cigarette.

“I’m Park, by the way.”

“Having names is a human thing, we don’t have names here.”

“Right on.”

“No one will come for you, human.” The ape said and I began wondering whether that was dreadful or comforting. Maybe I belonged here, outside of the world I knew, drifting and disappearing and falling through places that were neither here nor there.

#literature #lit #short story #spilled ink #authors on tumblr #writer on tumblr

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kdram-chjh · 2 months

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Cdrama: White Cat Legend (2024)

Gifs of Intro of cdrama "White Cat Legend"

【ENG SUB FULL】 White Cat Legend EP1 Demon Cat in the Present World 大理寺少卿游 iQIYI

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV_Nq-w6M5k

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datingdaily360-blog · 5 years

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The 10 Most Beautiful Towns In China(new update)

The 10 Most Beautiful Towns In China

Zhouzhuang Often referred to as the ‘Venice of the East’, Zhouzhuang – located in between Shanghai and Suzhou in China’s Jiangsu province – is one of the country’s most beautiful water towns. Simply walking the town’s pretty streets and the charming stone bridges that cross its rivers and waterways is a pleasure in itself. But the 900-year-old town is also home to plenty of sights bound to please history buffs. These sights include Zhang Ting – a sprawling, Ming Dynasty era residence home to six courtyards and more than 70 rooms – and Quanfu Temple, a beautiful Buddhist temple nestled on the edges of Baixian Lake. Zhouzhuang, China

Zhouzhuang, China | © Caitriana Nicholson/Flickr Fenghuang Nestled at the foot of verdant mountains on the edges of the Tuojiang River, Fenghuang was hailed as the most beautiful town in China by New Zealand-born writer and political activist Rewi Alley. The ancient Hunan town is home to many Miao people whose customs and culture can be seen everywhere. There are traditional stilted wooden houses, or ‘diaojiaolou’, along the river and batik printed cloths sold in its stores alongside local culinary delicacies like spicy pickled red peppers and ginger candy. Meanwhile local historical sites of note include Huang Si Qiao Castle – built in 687 and China’s best preserved stone castle. It is located a few kilometers west of town. Fenghuang, China

Fenghuang, China | © melenama/Flickr Heshun Over in western Yunnan not far from the Burmese border lies the small, remote town of Heshun, home to just 6,000 people. A former stop-off on the Southern Silk Road, also known as the Tea Horse Road, many of Heshun’s earlier residents took advantage of its location and travelled abroad. They built splendid houses mixing both Chinese and foreign architectural styles when they returned. This can still be seen in the town today. Walking its pretty cobblestone streets, visitors will come across local sights like Heshun Library, one of the country’s biggest rural libraries. There is also a memorial to Chinese philosopher Ai Siqi. Heshun, China

Heshun, China | Courtesy China Highlights Shiwei Quite far off the beaten track is Shiwei – a tiny frontier town in northeastern Inner Mongolia on the border with Russia. A cultural enclave for the country’s Chinese-Russian minority, the town’s mixing of cultures is evident everywhere. It can be seen from its architecture – beautiful Russian-style log houses known as ‘mukeleng’ – to its local food, which combines recipes Chinese shao kao barbecue and Russian lie ba bread. The town is surrounded by vast and verdant grassland. One of the best ways to explore it and the neighboring area is on horseback. Shiwei, Inner Mongolia, China Yangshuo Famed for the dramatic karst mountains that surround it, Yangshuo is a vibrant, tourist-friendly town nestled on the banks of the Li River in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Though the town has seen a boom in visitors in recent years, Yangshuo has managed to retain its historic character. Its modern restaurants and stores are concentrated around West Street, the town’s main drag and its oldest dating back more than 1,400 years. Among them, visitors will find plenty of traditional architecture and charm. Indulge in some slow travel and catch a boat down the Li River from neighboring Guilin. It’s undoubtedly the most scenic way to arrive in Yangshuo. Yangshuo, China

Yangshuo, China | © David Boté Estrada/Flickr Tongli Another of Jiangsu’s picturesque water towns, Tongli is an idyllic little town just a short journey west of Zhouzhuang. Surrounded by five lakes and crisscrossed by canals, Tongli is made up of seven islands with a total of 49 bridges (of which the majority are a century or more old) linking the town together. Hire a gondola and see the pretty town from the water. But make sure to stop off at the Tuisi Yuan (Retreat and Reflection Garden) – part of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou. These were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000 and is a beautiful spot worth taking a detour for. Tongli, China

Tongli, China | © Ginny/Flickr Dunhuang An oasis in the barren expanse of the Gobi Desert, is the small northwestern town of Dunhuang. Formerly one of the most important stopping points along the Silk Road, this place is a haven for history buffs. There are no less than 241 historic sites of note dotted in and around the town. Just outside the town, visitors will find the White Horse Pagoda. This was believed to have been constructed in 382 to commemorate the horse of Buddhist monk that carried Buddhist scriptures from Kucha to Dunhuang. Nearby is the Mogao Caves – a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to a treasure trove of Buddhist art. Dunhuang, China

Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, China | © Laika ac/Flickr Gulangyu Island A small isle located a short boat ride from the city of Xiamen, Gulangyu Island gets its name from two Chinese words – ‘gu’ meaning drum and ‘lang’ meaning waves – and is so-called for the drum-like sounds the tide makes when it hits the reef that surrounds the island. A tranquil retreat from the busy nearby city, Gulangyu is listed by the China National Tourism Administration as an AAAAA Scenic Area. It was formerly an international settlement and is noted for its beautiful colonial, Victorian-style architecture. Home to China’s only Piano Museum, the town’s other must-see local sights include the beautiful Shuzhuang Garden. Meanwhile a trip up Sunlight Rock – the Gulangyu’s highest point – offers breathtaking views over the island and coastline. Gulangyu Island, China

Gulangyu Island, China | © SaraYeomans/Flickr Hongcun Film buffs might recognize Hongcun, an ancient Anhui village nestled in the mist-shrouded foothills of Huangshan Mountain, from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Home to some of China’s finest Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture, the village provided a befittingly historical and mystical setting for several scenes from the Oscar-winning film. Much of the village – which, alongside neighboring Xidi, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 – centers around its half-moon shaped pond. Local sights include Chengzi Hall, a grand residence built in 1855. This place has ornate wood and stone carving and now acts as a museum, which is open to visitors. Hongcun, China

Hongcun China | © Thomas Fischler/Flickr Dali Dali is a beautiful old town nestled on the edges of Erhai Lake famed for its natural beauty and stunning locally mined marble. Grand city gates welcome visitors to the town and give way to cobbled streets home to a host of beautifully preserved traditional Bai folk houses. The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple – dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries – are a sight to behold. Plenty of authentic handicrafts, from artwork made of local marble to embroidered Bai cloths, are available to purchase on the streets. Another Dali must-do is the three-course tea – a Bai tradition of greeting guests with courses of bitter, sweet and ‘aftertaste’ tea. Dali, China

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