Jiading--Centuries of History, Decades of Change

A book entitled “Jiading–Centuries of History, Decades of Change” by American writer Kate Baker has recently been published in Shanghai. New book launch was held last week at the Old China Hand Style, a major    1    of a series of walking guide books called “Beyond the Concession: Six Walks in Shanghai’s Other Districts.” And Baker’s “Jiading” runs the fourth among the six.

From a foreign point of view, the book has    2    the history of Jiading District back between the year Tang Dynasty(618-907) and the Song Dynasty(960-1279), when Jiading had been “a leading economic and intellectual influence in the region long before Shanghai became a major trading port,” as Bakeris     3    in her book.

Baker first landed in Shanghai in 2011 with her husband, an engineer with Ford, who was sent to work in Shanghai to prepare for the    4    of the Lincoln brand in China. “I and my husband have been traveling around the world in the past 20 years,” Baker said at a(n)    5    with Shanghai Daily. “Wherever I go, I would jump into the local history and culture quickly and deeply.”

Having taken a 15-month online course of Chinese with Harvard’s “ChinaX”, Baker started    6    out on her own. An occasional excursion into the north west of Shanghai, she “discovered” and fell in love with Jiading. Since then, she has visited Jiading    7    , bringing family, friends, and tour groups. At the end of 2013, the Jiading Tourism Bureau officially invited Baker to write a book on Jiading.

With up-to-date facts, useful information and    8    pictures, Baker’s “Jiading” is a well researched guide about interesting areas less than one hour from Shanghai. There are chapters on celebrating the seasonal and agricultural festivals that are unique to the region; stories of    9    figures living in Jiading; changes to the Nanxiang Old Town; tours to numerous gardens, museums and temples; and the development of outdoor recreational activities in Jiading’s Anting Town, such as the F1 car racing, horse riding and golf.

With good public    10    and enough green space, Baker sees Jiading a high growth district of Shanghai, which offers a quality of lifestyle and tourism. “I see a better-planned and forward-thinking of the district government. And I sincerely thank the people of Jiading who welcomed me to their community and trusted me with their narrative,” Baker says.

If you only had an afternoon to experience London on a grand     1    , the Houses of Parliament, also called Palace of Westminster would be a wise place to start. The     2     of the bicameral (两院制的) Parliament including the House of Commons and the House of Lords, is located on the left bank of the River Thames in the borough of Westminster, London.

A royal palace was said to have existed at the site under the Danish king of England Canute. The building, however, spoken of by William Fitzstephen as a(n) “    3     structure,” was built for Edward the Confessor in the 11th century and     4     by William I (the Conqueror). In 1512 the palace suffered greatly from fire and thereafter ceased to be used as a royal residence. A fire in 1834 destroyed the whole palace except the historic Westminster Hall, the Jewel Tower, the cloisters, and the crypt of St. Stephen’s Chapel.

Sir Charles Barry, assisted by A.W.N. Pugin, designed the present buildings in the Gothic Revival style. Construction was begun in 1837, the cornerstone was     5     in 1840, and work was finished in 1860. The Commons Chamber was burned out in one of the numerous air raids that targeted London during World War II, but it was     6     and reopened in 1950. The House of Lords is an ornate chamber 97 feet in length; the Commons is 70 feet long. The southwestern Victoria Tower is 336 feet high. The Elizabeth Tower,     7     St. Stephen’s Tower, about 320 feet in height, contains the famous tower clock Big Ben. Along with Westminster Abbey and St, Margaret’s Church, the Houses of Parliament were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, as symbols of spiritual and democratic     8    .

The Palace is one of the centers of political life in the United Kingdom; “Westminster” has become a metaphor for the UK Parliament and the British Government. The Elizabeth Tower, in particular, often     9     to by the name of its main bell, Big Ben, has become an iconic landmark of London and of the United Kingdom in general, one of the most     10     tourist attractions in the city, and a symbol of parliamentary democracy.

Destinations around the world have faced significant tourist reductions amid the coronavirus pandemic. But few have taken a harder    1    than Bali, the Indonesian island long beloved of global travelers. Due to strict     2    control measures and a closed airport, Bali went from receiving millions of international visitors to welcoming just 45 in 2021. The two-digit number accounts for the period between January and October 2021 and was    3    by the Central Statistics Bureau of Bali.

As the island's Ngurah Rai International Airport（DPS）in Denpasar has been closed to international flights nearly all year, those tourists have almost all come via private yachts. Though the airport officially reopened to international flights on October 14, there have so far only been domestic flights in and out of the airport,    4    from Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta.

In order to come to Bali, foreign tourists have to deal with strict Covid-related entry requirements. They must obtain a business visa at a cost of $300（there are no tourist visas at present）, take multiple PCR tests and buy special health     5    . In addition, airfare costs are higher than usual due to the lack of direct flights.

One hopeful visitor is Justyna Wrucha, a UK citizen planning a trip to Bali with her husband. It will be their first visit to the island, which has long been on their bucket list. However, they think that the policies relating to foreign visitors are extremely harsh by    6    a 10-day quarantine on fully    7    people.

Bali's Covid policies are determined by the central government in Jakarta, not by local authorities on the island. Originally, the quarantines were shorter but were recently increased due to fears of the new Omicron    8    . Ray Suryawijaya, head of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association of Bali's Badung District, agrees with Wrucha. "With all those barriers, it's difficult for us to expect foreign tourists to come to Bali," he said.

However, there is one small glimmer of hope with the gradual return of domestic tourism. Ray reports that the    9    rate of hotels in Bali is now around 35%. "On weekends, about 13,000 domestic tourists are visiting Bali," he adds. While that small trickle of visitors is an    10    note to end the year on, especially for the many Balinese locals who depend on tourism to support their families, it won't be enough to rescue the 2021 season.

This past National Day holiday saw upwards of half a billion Chinese citizens travelling. While some flew off to international destinations, the     1     majority enjoyed the many tourist sites that China has to offer. If you were one of those people who decided to explore China’s scenic spots, you probably realized that it isn’t just the mountain steps that are steep-the entrance fees are, too!

The average cost of the highest     2    5A attractions is 109 yuan. This could prove to be a little too steep for some families, who find themselves spending too large a portion of their holiday budget on admission tickets. The 32 5A locations that upped their prices in the past five years experienced an average     3     of over 40 percent. The bad news is that these prices are expected to continue to rise. So how does China’s situation compare to other parts of the world? The average fees for cultural and historical sites seem to be on par with(与…同价) international     4    . It’s quite another story, however, when you compare natural wonders. For example, the cost of a ticket to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park(张家界国家森林公园) hovers around 245 yuan for a three-day tour. This seems    5     high when you consider that a week long pass to America’s Yellowstone National Park (黄石国家公园)is a mere 74 yuan. There are     6     benefits to increased revenue(收益) from ticket sales, which support necessary     7     , maintenance and operation costs. This is especially important for sites that must keep visitor numbers down in order to protect the natural environment. However, it must also be     8     that many of China’s tourist attractions are operated by private companies who are ultimately protecting their bottomline(盈亏底线).

While the government has put some     9     in place, such as only allowing entrance fees to be raised once every three years, they have not     10     the upper limit of ticket prices and increases. Further measures to settle the dispute are being considered. In the meantime, some families are forced to re-think if some attractions are really worth the costs.

Few countries have such a diverse and appealing“ Outdoors” as the USA. The landscape is     1     varied and spectacular. In the west there are Rocky Mountains with their     2     peaks, and in the east the forest-covered Appalachians, whose highest

summit is nearly 7000 feet. There is also an abundance of waterfalls, rivers, lakes that are small and intimate or     3     like the Great Lakes. In winter and spring, tourists are     4     by the clear skies and breathtaking multi-colored rocks of Arizona,Colorado and New Mexico.

Everything worth seeing in the USA is     5     to picnickers and vacationers by highways and unpaved secondary roads, which     6     people to places from where where they can push off onto the wilderness. Once in the wilderness,the chief worry will be, not how to avoid other hikers, but how not to get lost!

Many Americans, young and old, prefer camping in vehicles called"campers”. There exist many different kinds from the extremely extravagant to the cheap convertible pick-up truck. There are monster campers with every imaginable     7    , from deep freezers and microwave ovens, to plush carpets and color television sets.They can     8     four people comfortably.

Horseback riding also holds a     9     for many but it's a more expensive sport.There are ranches in Texas and other border states where you can stay and live the life of a cowboy or cowgirl. Other great outdoor pastimes for     10     can be skiing in the Rockies and hunting in Alaska, surfing, waterskiing in Florida.