Winter is approaching! Come to the Harbin in the northeast of China and enjoy the Ice-Snow World! Here you can appreciate illuminated ice at night, and check out snow in the daytime. This is a good place to toss water and watch it turn into ice instantly. Find a safe place with no one nearby, and enjoy the unique sight. Moreover, in winter, the Songhua River turns into “thousands of miles of ice” and becomes a natural ice-skating rink. The frozen river offers opportunities for many different winter activities. Wanna book a room? Call 0451-88456888.

Shennongjia is said to be the place where the Emperor Yan once lived and impresses visitors with its vibrant ecology, rich biodiversity and the natural beauty of karst landforms. There are waterfalls, pools and a 17-meter-high arch “bridge” crafted by nature after years of rain erosion. You can hike in a forest, climb a mountain and explore a large, dark cave to listen to the sounds of swallows nestling. Some visitors hope that they may even encounter the legendary yeren (“wild man”) here in Shenlongjia. The booking line is 07196548542 or send a email to www.shenlongjiabooking.com.

An about 2-meter-wide alley, or “Liu Chi Xiang” in Chinese, now attracts floods of visitors in East China’s Anhui province. It serves as enlightenment, inspiring people to observe public morals and cherish harmony, especially in disputes and conflicts. Tickets sell only at the entrance gate.

In the Qing Dynasty , Minister Zhang Ying received a letter asking for his final judgement on a dispute between two families’ house boundary about a wall. Zhang wrote a poem back saying, “Looking at the ten thousand mile-long Great Wall. Long gone is its builder Emperor Qinshihuang.” Eventually, both families decided to move their wall about one meter back, which created the “alley” between the houses.

【推荐3】Cities are taking steps to support wildlife populations and educate citizens about the importance of the environment. Here are four of the most wildlife-friendly cities in the United States.

Austin, Texas

Austin, the capital of Texas, earns the rank as the top city for wildlife in large part due to its work to help improve declining monarch butterfly populations. Austin sits within the main migration pattern of the monarch, which means that monarch butterflies pass through it twice annually. Austin also leads all US cities with 2,616 certified (经认证的)wildlife habitats.

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta secures the second-place ranking thanks to its Climate Action Plan, which aims to expand on the 3,000 acres of parks that the city already manages. Already classified by the US Forest Service as one of the most forested urban centers in the country, Atlanta also calls fbr planting more trees and creating more green spaces based on its climate plan. Six neighborhoods in Atlanta have been designated (指定)as Community Wildlife Habitats. Put together, these areas of vegetation can help reduce the urban heat island effect in the city.

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is home to 489 parks that span 6,441 acres, including 2,500 acres of forested public land. The city’s largest park, Discovery Park, covers 534 acres and serves as an important protected area fbr birds and marine animals. Due to the amount of forested land in Seattle, the researchers use the city to study how urban environments can be designed to support wildlife. The Seattle Urban Project enlists the community to report wildlife sightings, which helps to demonstrate how and where flesh-eating mammals can coexist with humans.

Chula Vista, California

Chula Vista, a city in southern California, ranks high on the list due to its efforts to combat water use issues. The city’s NatureScape Program encourages citizens to replace lawns with gardens of native plants that attract pollinators (传粉昆虫)and conserve water. The city has also formed the CLEAN group, a partnership between the government, businesses and community groups designed to address environmental issues.

【推荐1】From crystal-blue lakes to snow-capped mountains and thousand-year-old trees, Canada’s nature is admired around the world. Now it might also be just what the doctor ordered. An ambitious new programme allows doctors to write prescriptions (处方) for free annual passes to Canada’s national parks, encouraging their patients to improve their health — both mental and physical — by taking a stroll in nature.

The prescriptions are provided by PaRX, in partnership with Parks Canada. The first passes were handed out last month, giving holders access to more than 80 national parks, historic sites and nature reserves. PaRX, a health initiative (倡议) launched in 2019 by the British Columbia Parks Foundation, notes on its website that spending time in nature can lead to longer lives, increased energy, reduced stress and anxiety, improved heart health, less pain and better mood. Vitamin D from the sun’s rays has proven health benefits. The organization also hopes that the prescriptions will boost investment in conservation in Canada.

The initial provision covers four Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Manitoba. Participating doctors have only 100 annual passes to hand out for now, but PaRX hopes that the programme will be expanded.

“Medical research now clearly shows the positive health benefits of connecting with nature,” Steven Guilbeault, the environment minister, said. “I am confident this programme will quickly show its enormous value to the well-being of patients as it continues to expand throughout the country.”

Canada’s physicians are already in the habit of prescribing “nature therapy” as a treatment for anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, immune function and insomnia (失眠). Previously, though, they would write more general prescriptions, such as spending time in nature twice a week, for at least 20 minutes at a time. This is the first time that they have been able to equip their patients with tickets.

【推荐3】Ever since the success of Apollo 11, when lunar travel was finally publicly acknowledged to be safe for humans, people have been waiting for the day when space would be opened up on a large scale to those who are not astronauts. It has finally become a reality, at least for people who have the means. The space flights are not cheap—each flight into outer space costs about U.S. $ 20 million.

But space travel agencies now have a clever plan to offer suborbital (亚轨道的) flights, which cost about U.S. $100 000. A lunar mission is also made available by space tourism agency, Space Adventures, where tourists, accompanied by one professional astronaut, would be able to reach within 100km of the Moon’s surface, enabling them to see the bright far-side of the moon and witness Earth rising above the surface of the moon.

Further extending the idea of space tourism, plans are underway to open a resort in space. In Galactic Suite Space Resort, a space resort started by a Spanish entrepreneur, guests are promised a remarkable experience with an orbital stay onboard with first-class resort facilities; they can enjoy a weightless spa as they watch 15 sunsets in one day; and tourists would be able to complete a single orbit in 80 minutes—all this while staying in a bio-inspired space, similar to a tropical paradise island!

Space tourism is, however, not environmentally-friendly. There are suggestions that black carbon emitted by the spacecraft could raise temperatures at the poles, contributing to global warming. An increase in space travel would mean that Man would not only leave his footprint in space but also his waste—space tourism can lead to pollution of the environment of the outer space.

Without a doubt, space tourism opens up new exciting possibilities. With time, the price would become more reasonable. Increasing commercialisation of space would also mean that a structure would be put in place for the disposal of rubbish. However, with no immediate solutions, space tourism would probably prove to be yet another controversial (有争议的) adventure of mankind.