2 . Longing for the most amazing places on the planet? You can do no wrong with these lakes across the globe.

Five Flower Lake

Set in the striking karst landscape of the Jiuzhaigou Valley in Sichuan province, China, Five Flower Lake is extraordinarily clear, with visibility to a depth of 40 metres. Five Flower is one of a series of blue-, green-and sky-colored lakes blocked by rock falls, but it differs from the others as its waters change color, looking sometimes yellow, sometimes green, but usually diamond blue. In winter, Five Flower never freezes; in summer, it never dries up. Local wildlife living in the surrounding mountain forests include the rare giant panda and the golden snub-nose monkey.

Crater Lake

The deep-blue waters of Crater Lake in Oregon, US, fill the outlet of an ancient volcano that collapsed 7,700 years ago. Its strangest occupant is the “Old Man of the Lake”, a nine-metre-tall tree stump(树桩), which has stood upright in the water for more than a century. No rivers or streams enter the lake. Water loss in summer is compensated by winter snow and rain, the entire body of water being replaced every 250 years.

Lake Ohrid

Ancient Lake Ohrid has been around for about five million years and crosses the mountainous border between Macedonia and Albania. It has unique plants and wildlife, including the Ohrid “plashica”, a fish native to the lake, whose scales(鳞片) are used to make Ohrid pearls.

Lake Maggiore

Surrounded on three sides by the Lipontine Alps and touching the plain of Lombardy to the south, Lake Maggiore is Italy’s longest lake. Considered part of the country’s lake district, it is shared with Switzerland. Characterized by a Mediterranean-style climate, temperatures here are mild all year. This has given rise to some of northern Italy’s most wonderful gardens, which appear to float like flower-decked boats on the water.

A new record-high number of black-necked cranes, a species under first-class state     1     (protect) in Southwest China’s Yunnan province     2    (monitor) during the wintering period, since the Yunnan Dashanbao National Nature Reserve was established in 1990. The     3     (high) number of 2, 260 migratory black-necked cranes has been spotted. The rare cranes begin their wintering at the reserve around Oct. 31 every year.     4     total number of overwintering black-necked cranes in the reserve reached 1, 926 in 2021.

The reserve,     5     (locate) in the Zhaoyang district of Zhaotong city, is the most significant wintering habitat     6     transfer station for migratory black-necked cranes on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It also boasts China’s largest quantity distribution per unit area of the species.

Over recent years, the reserve has made a determined effort     7     (implement) conservation measures, such     8     wetland protection and restoration, and the construction of food source bases,     9     will steadily improve its ecological environment for migratory birds.

During the past three years, an average of over 1, 500 black-necked cranes were spotted arriving at the reserve for wintering, while the numbers of     10     migratory birds were also on the rise thanks to these local conservation efforts.

The Yellow Crane Tower is one of the Four Great Towers of China.     1     (sit) at the top of Snake Hill, on the banks of the Yangtze River, this iconic building is one of the     2     (great) landmarks in Wuhan. There are a number of legends     3     tell how the Yellow Crane Tower came into being. One of them is the story of a wine merchant named Xin. It is believed that one day,     4     immortal being (神仙) pretended he was a poor man and got into Xin’s wine store. Xin, showing no judgement,     5     (offer) the man some free wine. The poor man came back day after day for several years and Xin always welcomed him with the same     6     (warm). One day, as the poor man left the store, he took some orange peel and drew a picture of a crane upon the wall. He said if he clapped his hands, the crane would come down from the wall and dance for him.     7     (surprise), what the poor man said was true. The dancing crane brought     8     much business to Xin that he soon became a very wealthy man. About ten years     9     (late), the immortal being came back to Xin’s store, called out the crane and left with it.     10     (honour) him and the crane, Xin built the Yellow Crane Tower.

5 . The Most Breathtaking Theaters in the World

The original Globe Theater was built by Shakespeare's company in 1599, but was destroyed by fire in 1613. A replica was built in 1997 just meters from the original site. The new 857-seat structure has several modern features. It has the first and only straw roof permitted in London since the great fire of 1666.

Shakespeare's Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London; +44 20 7902 1400

Built in 1745, the UNESCO-listed Mareravial Opera House is regarded as the finest baroque theater in Europe. The stage has a depth of 27 meters and was the largest in Europe until 1871. Much of the original materials remain, along with original structures, such as the twin staircases.

Margravial Opera House, Opernstrasse 14. Bayreuth, Germany; +49 9 21 7 59 69 22

There can't be many theaters located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, and the Teatro Amazonas is certainly the most breathtaking. The theater was built in 1895 and was designed by Italian architect Celestial Sacardim. Work took 15 years. largely thanks to the decision to source supplies from all over the world

Amazon Theater, Centro, Manaus, Brazil; +55 92 3622 1880

The National Centre for the Performing Arts（NCPA）, built in 2007, is an arts centre in Beijing. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, the NCPA is the largest theatre complex（建筑群）in Asia. The NCPA includes value in both ancient traditional Chinese architecture and modern architecture. It was specially designed to improve the red walls of ancient buildings and the Great Hall of the People in order to fit in with the surroundings.

NCPA, No. 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing; +86 010 6655 0989