1 . If you search for “Salar de Uyuni” in Baidu, you will get plenty of pictures of people playing in a huge salt desert. They are tourists who are attracted by the wild beauty of this incredibly beautiful place.

Salar de Uyuni was part of an ancient salt lake, Lago Minchin, which once covered most of southwest Bolivia, a country in South America. When the lake dried up, it left two seasonal lakes and several salt deserts, including Salar de Uyuni.

From a distance, the salt desert seems like something out of a science-fiction film. During the dry seasons, it looks like a white sea, which stretches on to the horizon (天际). When there is rain, something magical happens: The salt desert becomes a “mirror of the sky”.

Most people may not be familiar with the “mirror of the sky”, but astronauts are. They frequently use it to test remote sensing systems on satellites in orbit, because it is pretty large by anyone’s standards—twelve thousand square kilometers—and it has an unbelievably smooth surface which is highly reflective when it is covered in water, making it perfect for that task.

There are three different types of flamingos (火烈鸟) living in the area. They are one of the few large animals that live happily in these areas. During the rainy seasons, you will see groups of them on your visit and the sight of them flying in the air is breathtaking.

Where to stay, though? You would regret not to take advantage of the local hotels like Hotel Del Sal, which are completely made of salt. You can even picnic if you want. Of course, be prepared for your picnic table to be made of salt, too.

2 . From sweeping landscapes to amazing buildings, Taiwan is an island that many tourists visit frequently. That’s why it can seem odd that one of its most famous landmarks is two humble mailboxes. Located in the Zhongshan District in the city of Taipei, these unique mailboxes have caught the public’s imagination thanks to their appearance. Unlike most mailboxes, these two are severely bent.

Due to its location, Taiwan tends to be struck by typhoons, as it is usually hit by three or four windstorms a year. In 2015, a particularly bad one known as Typhoon Soudelor struck the island. During the storm, a billboard got loose due to the heavy winds and hit the mailboxes. While it bent their posts, it didn’t tear them down. After the storm was over, people came across the newly leaning mailboxes and fell in love with them. Not only did they look adorable, but they were also a symbol of resilience(坚韧) and survival.

Social media quickly caught wind of these new landmarks and people began visiting them. It wasn’t long before they started staging fun photos with the new landmarks, using forced perspective—similar to the way tourists pose in Italy with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This led authorities to accept the symbolism of the mailboxes willingly, and instead of repairing them, they added a board telling their story in Chinese, English, and Japanese.

The board reads: “On August 8th, 2015, Typhoon Soudelor struck Taiwan. We were hit in the heads by a signboard as a result and couldn’t help but lean over from the pain. It was so painful in fact—we can’t stand up straight anymore. But we persevered: we didn’t fall over after all. We have to take life as it comes and in a way, I think we look more artsy and sophisticated this way! Do we inspire you? Take a picture with us to remind yourselves that we are all survivors and can persevere no matter what.”

The best part of this Taipei attraction is that the mailboxes are still operational. The letters in the boxes are even marked with a special stamp that shows the famous mailboxes.

Xi’an is the most beautiful and historical city in west China,     1    (locate) in the Central Shaanxi province, with an area of 10108 ㎡ and a population of 6.8 million. In history it was the traditional capital city of 13     2    (dynasty). Xi’an was well known       3    Chang’an before the Ming Dynasty. Now Xi’an is       4    center of politics, economy and culture of Shaanxi province. It is a city famous for its     5       (amaze) natural scene and traditional history, and if you pay a visit here, you       6    (find) that it is not only a historical     7     also a modern fashion city. Also, Xi’an now is a hot travel city,     8     has millions of historical places, like the City Wall, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower, etc. As for food, you’ll be crazy to taste all delicious local food just here, such as Chinese Hamburger, Cool Noodles, Hot Pot and other snacks. There are many big shopping centers, department stores and supermarkets in and around Xi’an city, the    9     (big) and most comprehensive being Kai Yuan Shopping Mall and Century Ginwa Shopping Mall. If you come here, you will    10       (certain) fall in love with this charming Xi’an City, for it is always so charming.

The University of Amsterdam is a public research university located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Founded in 1632 as the Atheneaeum Illustre by the scholars Gerardus Vossius and Caspar Barlaeus, it is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands. The University is one of Europe’s largest research universities with 7,900 scientific publications each year. It is the largest university in the Netherlands by the number of students. The campus is located primarily in the City Center of Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent boroughs.

The National University of Singapore is Singapore’s oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of the number of students and curriculum offered. It was formed with the merger (合并) of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University in 1980. The merger was done in part due to the government’s desire to pool the two institutions’ resources into a single and promote English as Singapore’s only main language. The university’s campus is located in southwest Singapore at Kent Ridge, with an area of approximately 1.5 square kilometers.

Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Moutain in Burnaby. The main campus of 1.7 square kilometers, located 29km from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 35,000 students and 950 faculty members. The downtown campus has expanded to include several other buildings in recent years. Similar to most Canadian universities, SFU is a public university, with more than half of its funding coming from taxpayers and the remaining from tuition fees. It was named after Simon Fraser, a fur trader in North West Company.

Lomonosov Moscow State University is the oldest and largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, the university was renamed in honor of its founder, Mikhail Lomonosov, in 1940. It also claims to have the tallest educational building in the world. Since 1953, most of the university’s faculties have been situated on Sparrow Hills, in the southwest of Moscow.

6 . Impressive World Heritage Sites in Germany

Museum Island, Berlin

Located in Berlin’s historical centre, Museum Island houses treasures of human history in its five beautifully reconstructed museums, which delight visitors with ancient Egyptian relics. The entire complex was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999.

Sanssouci Park, Potsdam

Built in the 1740s as a summer retreat for the Prussian King Frederick the Great, the palace consists of ten beautifully decorated rooms with charming gardens. A mix of truly European architecture and surroundings, Sanssouci Park was listed as UNESCO World Heritage in 1990.

Cologne Cathedral, Cologne

One of Germany’s most fascinating and extensive cathedrals, Cologne Cathedral is Germany’s most visited landmark. Due to the building’s impressive Gothic (哥特式)architecture, the shrine of the Three Wise Men, and the outstanding stained-glass windows, UNESCO declared Cologne Cathedral a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Rhine Gorge, Koblenz and Bingen

Rhine Gorge is a 65-kilometre stretch of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. Dotted with castles, historic towns and wine-making farms, the breathtaking views and architecture, it attracts numerous visitors. In 2002 the region was added to the UNESCO list of Word Heritage Sites for its unique blend of geological, historical, and cultural elements.