1 . Central Park

Explore Central Park, one of the largest city parks in the world and one of the most famous symbols of New York. Let’s have a look at its main sights.

Central Park is New York’s largest city park and one of the biggest in the world, with an area of 843 acres (about 3.4km²). This park is home to man-made lakes, waterfalls, grass and wooded areas. You will also find the Central Park Zoo, among other attractions in this greenspace of New York.

Besides being the city’s primary green lungs, Central Park is also a favorite spot for many New Yorkers. It is perfect for sunbathing, going for walks, or doing any outdoor sports. Something that we found curious is seeing so many people running with their babies in prams (婴儿车).

To get to know some of the wildest parts of Central Park we suggest walking. However, to get a general feel for the whole park, the best thing to do is hire a bicycle and enjoy the scenery.

If you decide to hire a bike, you will find lots of bike rental stores around Central Park that are not very expensive.

From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.

From 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Entry to the Park is free. But if you visit some parts like Central Park Zoo, you need to buy a ticket.

Subway: Line 5, 6, 7, A, B, C and D．

Bus: Line M1, M2, M3, M4 and M10.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (447 m)

Guggenheim Museum (564 m)

American Museum of Natural History (688 m)

Whitney Museum of American Art (1 km)

The Frick Collection (1.3 km)

2 . The New York See It All Tour is exactly what it sounds like: an all-inclusive guided tour of New York City.

One of the most famous parks in the world, Central Park is a man-made wonder. Not only is it the first public park built in America, but it is also one of the most frequently visited parks, with over 25 million guests per year. Set in the middle of busy Manhattan, its grounds serve as a safe harbor, not only for athletes, and musicians but also for lots of migratory birds each year. One can spend an entire peaceful day wandering its grounds, gazing upon nearly 50 fountains, monuments, and sculptures or admiring its 36 bridges.

Hudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City district of Manhattan. Bicycle and pedestrian paths, including the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, span the park north to south, opening up the waterfront for the public to relax. The park includes tennis and soccer fields, children’s playground, dog run, and many other features.

Washington Square Park, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is a very popular and often crowded square. People from all backgrounds gather to this large square dotted with trees.

The Central Park Zoo is a small 6.5-acre zoo located on Central Park in New York City. The zoo began in the 1860s, making it the first official zoo to open in New York. The zoo was improved in 1934, with the addition of many new buildings ranged in a quadrangle around the sea lion pool. Finally, the zoo was repaired in the mid-1980s and reopened in 1988, replacing the old-fashioned cages with naturalistic environments.

What will our cities be like in 2050? How much will artificial intelligence advance? Some scientists     1     (make) different predictions recently.

Joel E.Cohen from the The Rockfeller University says    2     is likely that by 2050 the majority of the people in the world will live in urban areas, and will have a    3     (significant) higher average age than people today. Cities will be     4     only realistic solution to housing a population that will expand     5     9.7 billion by 2050.

And the technology is expected    6     (advance) rapidly. According to Bill Michell, the late director of MIT Media Lab’s Smart Cities research group, cities of the future won’t look like “some sort of science-fiction fantasy’’ or “Star Trek’’, but virtual (实质上) reality will change    7     we live. Self-driving cars will make the roads more secure, driving more efficient, and provide     8     (fast) transport.

Charles Ebinger at the Brookings Institution thinks that by 2050 we will also have a so-called “smart grid” where all of our    9     (appliance) are linked directly to energy distribution (分布) systems,     10     (allow) for real-time pricing based on supply and demand. Such a technology would greatly benefit most people and reduced the consumption (消耗) of fossil fuel energy.

6 . It’s been 150 years this summer since building work was completed on the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. When it was completed, Tsar Nicholas I, the ruler of Russia, called it “a dream in stone”.

Important buildings have been built on this site for more than 1, 000 years. In the early 8th century, a church was built that became known as the West Minster. In the 11th century it was the location of a royal residence (王室宅邸). This was the first Palace of Westminster. The first official Parliament met there in 1295. Work on the palace continued until 1834, when the building was destroyed by fire.

In 1835, the architect Charles Barry was picked to design the Parliament building in a style known as “Gothic Revival”. Another architect, Augustus Pugin, helped with the inner part. The work overran and the costs rose to three times more than planned. According to one historian it cost £2.3 million — which in today’s money is more than £4 billion. It finally reopened in 1870.

The Houses of Parliament are once again considered to be a serious fire risk. Small fires broke out 40 times between 2008 and 2012 and a fire safety team has to be on site. A report in 2016 said that maintaining the building was like “trying to fill a bathtub with a thimble (顶针) while the water is flowing out of the plughole (排水孔) at the other end”. In 2018, Parliament held discussions over its restoration and decided that its members would have to move out of the building during its refurbishment (翻新).

The plan is for everyone to move out by 2025 when the restoration will begin. It is said that it will cost around £4 billion and be completed by the early 2030s. The plans include taking away all fire risks, restoring the stonework and repairing around 4,000 windows.

Thank You.

8 . How to make sure you enjoy your trip

A trip is a planned destination where one arranges in advance in which the main purpose is to search for adventure and to create a memorable moment. Here are the steps on how to make sure your trip is enjoyable.

● Plan it well.

Trips are ideally planned for it to go well.     1     A check list is helpful, making sure you’ve got all your needs.

● Pack necessities.

Bring what you need. Trips are short journeys and belong to the sub-level of travelling. Pack only the things you need.     2    

● Be safe.

To be cautious is smart. No matter what you are up to, surfing, cliff diving, snowboarding, scuba diving, etc., it is always recommended to be safe.     3     Don’t be stubborn and do harm to yourself when there are not precautions(预防措施).

●     4    

You may see delays, a different culture, lifestyle, food, and even a shortage of cash. Sometimes, this is all what travel is about—experiencing things with a new perspective(观点，看法). Once you expect to experience new things, you’ll be a happy traveller and free from stress.

● Save the memory.

    5     This is not one of those regular days so you ought to save the moment. It will make your trip more enjoyable after all that craziness. You will get something to review the good times.

9 . China Small Group Tours

◆Tour Route 1: 11 Days Private Beijing - Lhasa - Xi’an - Shanghai

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors

Follow us on a Buddhist pilgrimage to Tibet & appreciate the profound culture

Have a leisurely walk or an exciting bicycle ride on the time-honored City Wall of Xi’an

View the soaring city skylines and feel the pulse of modern Shanghai

From $ 2, 459 per person

◆Tour Route 2: 11 Days Private Bejing - Xi’an - Chonqing - Yangtze River Cruise - Yichang - Shanghai

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Wariors

Try biking on the Ming Dynasty City Wall of Xi’ an, or tour by electric car

Enjoy the Three Gorges (三峡) scenery on Yangtze River & feel totally relaxed

From $ 1, 879 per person

◆Tour Route 3: 12 Days Private Bejing - Shanghai - Xi’an - Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin - Hong

Kong

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors

Experience the Bund, classical garden, modern and old in contrast in Shanghai

Feel the lively atmosphere & explore busy markets freely in Hong Kong

Walk into a local family, learn to cook Chinese food & dine with the hosts in their home

From $ 2, 499 per person

◆Tour Route 4: 12 Days Private Bejing - Xi’an - Chengdu - Guilin - Shanghai

Tour Highlights:

Must-see sights in China — the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors, Giant Pandas

Come to Chengdu, the hometown of giant pandas to visit and observe the cute creature

Cruise on the meandering Li River & admire Guilin landscape

Walk into a local Chinese family, interact & dine with the hosts in their home

From $2, 079 per person

10 . “Smart cities promise to bring better lives, faster transport, cleaner air and lower crime, all through the intelligent use of connected technology, ” said experts, “and after huge investment in the field, China is leading the way.”

“China’s smart cities market increases about 30 percent year­on­year in 2018, and all the provinces have begun development and construction for smart cities, with more to follow,” said an expert.

“Although most cities have started a smart city project, there is no globally unified thinking on the concept and operation of smart cities,” said Franco.

Alibaba is now involved in dozens of pilot projects across China, with its open AI (人工智能) platform Tianqing for the ET City Brain system officially launched in September. Set up by its cloud computing subsidiary (子公司), the Brain looks to make the city “think” through AI and cloud computing technologies, and help make the best of public services in real time.

Since introducing the technology, Hangzhou’s traffic jam has fallen from the fifth­worst in China in 2016, all the way to 57th place this year. “Now our experiments are mostly for government use, but we truly expect our open AI platform to enter more areas and help citizens live, work and entertain better,” said Hua.

In McKinsey Global Institute recent report smart cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future, they find cities can use smart technologies to improve some key quality life by 10 to 30 percent—numbers that translate into lives saved, fewer crime incidents, a reduced health burden, and carbon emissions.