Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

The Great Wall of China, a series of stone and earthen fortifications, built, rebuilt, and maintained to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during various successive dynasties.

Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220-206BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. The majority of the existing wall were built during the Ming Dynasty.

Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from Earth or Taipa, stones, and wood. During the Ming Dynasty, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime, and stone. The size and weight of the bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened.

The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.

In 2009, an additional 290 kilometres (180 miles) of previously undetected portions of the wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, were discovered. The newly discovered sections range from the Hushan mountains in the northern Liaoning province to Jiayuguan in western Gansu province. The sections had been submerged over time by sandstorms that moved across the arid region.

The Li River or Li Jiang originates in the Mao'er Mountains in Xing'an county and flows through Guilin, Yangshuo and Pingle, down into the Xi Jiang, the western tributary of the Pearl River in Wuzhou, its course of 437 kilometers is flanked by green hills.

The region of Guilin in northeastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is famous throughout China for its awe-inspiring landscape, which, according to a Chinese saying, is the most beautiful in the world.

When the river takes a big turn at Xingping, the scenery on the 20 Yuan note shows up, the beautiful landscape, the country scenery and verdant bamboo greeting you all the way along the river in breeze, and fishermen floating by on bamboo rafts with their cormorants.

Guilin is rich with rivers, and the water is limpid like mirrors reflecting the beautiful Karst hills. The Li River passing across the region is the soul of Guilin's natural beauty. The great Tang Dynasty poet Han Yu (768-824) was deeply inspired when cruising down the Li River of Guilin, and wrote down a famous line "the river winds like a green silk ribbon, while the hills are like jade hairpins".

Cormorant fishing is often associated with the Lijiang. Its unusual karst topography hillsides have often been compared to those at Halong Bay, Vietnam

Guilin area was a gulf several hundred million years ago. Salty sea water kept dissolving and wearing off the limestone layers, and slowly developed the original shapes of Guilin's hills under water. In the movement of the earth's crust, the sea gave way to the land.

Huang Long 'Yellow Dragon' is a hornless dragon who once emerged from the River Luo and presented the legendary Emperor Fu Xi with the elements of writing. According to legend, when it appeared before Fu Xi, it filled a hole in the sky made by the monster Kung Kung. Its waking, sleeping and breathing determined day and night, season and weather.

The main body of water starts from the Ancient Buddhist/Benbo temple at the top of the valley and ends at Xishen Cave Waterfall in the north. The colours of Huanglong's waters consist of various yellows, greens, blues and browns. The flowing water appears as golden ripples dazzling in the sun. Known to the locals as "Golden Sand on Earth" the Huanglong travertine bank is the largest and most magnificent in the world.

A scenic and historic interest area in Songpan County in the northwest part of Sichuan, China. It is located in the southern part of the Minshan mountain range, 150 km north-northwest of the capital Chengdu.

Due to thousands of years of geological evolution, Huanglong consists of numerous unique landscapes of geological landforms. Glacial revolution, terrane structure, stratum of carbonic acid rock, tufa water and climatic conditions such as artic-alpine sun light have created this world-famous travertine landscape.

Jiuzhaigou Valley "Valley of Nine Villages" is a nature reserve in the north of Sichuan, a province in south western China. It is known for its many multi"level waterfalls and colorful lakes,

Known in English as Jiuzhai Valley it lies at the southern end of the Minshan mountain range. The remote region was inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for centuries, but was not officially discovered by the government until 1972.

Since opening, tourist activity has increased every year. The Town of Zhangzha at the exit of the valley and the nearby Songpan County feature an ever-increasing number of hotels.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. It belongs to the category V (Protected Landscape) in the IUCN system of protected area categorization.

Wulingyuan is a scenic and historic interest area in Hunan Province, famous for its approximately 3,100 tall quartzite sandstone pillars, some over 800meters high.

Part of Zhangjiajie city, about 270km from the capital of Hunan Province, Changsha

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Wulingyuan forms part of the Wuling Range.

The Terracotta Army are the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China. The figures, dating from 210BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, near the Mausouleum of the First Qin Emperor

The figures include strong warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits

The terracotta figures were manufactured both in workshops by government laborers and also by local craftsmen. The head, arms, legs and torsos were created separately and then assembled. Studies show that eight face moulds were most likely used, and then clay was added to provide individual facial features.

The terracotta figures are life-like and life-sized. They vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. The colored lacquer finish, individual facial features, and actual weapons and armor from battle used in manufacturing these figures created a realistic appearance.

There is evidence of a large fire that burned the wooden structures that once housed the Terracotta Army. It was described by Sima Qian, who said that the fire was a consequence of a raid on the tomb by General Xiang Yu less than five years after the death of the First Emperor.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere.

Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

The common English name, "the Forbidden City," is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng, literally "Purple Forbidden City". Another English name of similar origin is "Forbidden Palace".

At the four corners of the wall sit towers with intricate roofs boasting 72ridges, reproducing the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow Crane Pavilion as they appeared in Song Dynasty paintings. These towers are the most visible parts of the palace to commoners outside the walls, and much folklore is attached to them.

Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) is a temple complex, built for the King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple": Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara meaning capital. wat is the Khmer word for temple. Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of its founder, Suryavarman II.

The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

The Shwedagon Pagoda also known as the Golden Pagoda, is a 98-metre (approx. 321.5 feet) gilded stupa located in Yangon, Myanmar. The pagoda lies to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, thus dominating the skyline of the city.

It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within, namely the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Konagamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight hairs of Gautama, the historical Buddha.

According to legend, the Shwedagon Pagoda is 2500 years old. According to the records by Buddhist monks it was built before Lord Buddha died in 486 BC.

The stupa fell into disrepair until the 1300s when the Mon king Binnya U of Bago had the stupa rebuilt to a height of 18 meters (60 ft). It was rebuilt several times and reached its current height of 98 meters (320 ft) in the 15th century.

The Burmese walk around the stupa clockwise. It is very important for every Myanmar Buddhist people to recognize the day of their birth, or they may not know which part of pagoda platform to go and make special devotional acts

Bali is an Indonesian island located at Coordinates: 8º25'23"S 115º14'55"E/8.42306ºS 115.24861ºE/-8.42306; 115.24861 the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.

Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippines, and Oceania. Stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the island's west

Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian and Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture, in a process beginning around the 1st century AD. The name Bali dwipa (Bali island) has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription written by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 914AD and mentioning "Walidwipa".

The first European contact with Bali is thought to have been made by Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman who arrived in 1597, though a Portuguese ship had foundered off the Bukit Peninsula as early as 1585 and left a few Portuguese in the service of Dewa Agung.

Bali is renowned for its diverse and sophisticated art forms, such as painting, sculpture, woodcarving, handcrafts, and performing arts. Balinese percussion orchestra music, known as gamelan, is highly developed and varied.

Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist Monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues

A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam.

In Indonesian, ancient temples are known as candi; thus "Borobudur Temple" is locally known as Candi Borobudur. The term candi is also used more loosely to describe any ancient structure, for example gates and bathing structures.

Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations

There is no written record of who built Borobudur or of its intended purpose. The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years and been completed during the reign of Samaratungga in 825.

Unlike other temples, which were built on a flat surface, Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill. Borobudur was thought to have been built on a lake shore or even floated on a lake.

Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. The inhabitants of the island are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed themselves with the Bugis from Sulawesi.

Komodo lies between the substantially larger neighboring islands Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east.

The island is famous not only for its heritage of convicts but also for the unique fauna which roam it. The Komodo dragon, the world's largest living lizard, takes its name from the island. A type of monitor lizard, it inhabits Komodo and some of the smaller surrounding islands, attacking many tourists.

The Island was visited in 1910 by a Dutch Officer Van Steyn van Hensbroek. However, both Portuguese and Japanese sailors had landed before this.