6 Unsolved Mysteries About The Pyramids

1. The Italian Pyramid Connection

After archaeologists had found the Etruscan tomb underneath an Italian City, they were puzzled. In 2011 archaeologists from the U.S. and Italy dug deep under a wine cellar in the city of Orvieto when they found a set of stairs in a wall. As the excavation continued in the mid 20th century, caves and tunnels appeared. After analyzing the structure further, the team realized it had a pyramid shape. These structures dated back to 900 BC and inspired art, writing, fine metalworking and commerce in Europe in addition to the Mediterranean. The sad part of this story is the people that may have been the builders of the pyramid did not survive to tell their story and eventually blended into the Roman empire.

The pointy shape of the top of the pyramid has the same appearance of those found in Nubia, Sudan. In 23 BC, the kingdom of Meroe in Sudan was attacked by the Romans. Adding to the theory of a link from Italy to Africa of this formation.

Another pyramid in Italy that makes people’s heads turn is the Pyramid of Cestius (seen above). It is an ancient structure in the beautiful city of Rome, near the Protestant Cemetery and the Porta San Paolo. If you decide to visit Italy one day, search for the pyramid between the Via Osteria and two ancient roads. It is also one of the most preserved ancient buildings in the city of Rome. After a Japanese businessman named Yuzo Yagi donated €1-million in 2011, he helped restore the damaged pyramid, and it re-opened to the public in May 2015.

2. Pyramids in Canada Everywhere You Turn

When the world thinks of Canada, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver pops up in the minds of the masses. The last place on Earth that one will guess that the great Egyptian pyramids have influenced a nation is Edmonton, Alberta.

Take a drive throughout the downtown core and the outskirts of Edmonton, and you will notice a trend. Let’s start with the three pyramids in the center of the city at the Muttard Conservatory. The Muttard is a series of greenhouses that are the home of plants from around the world. If you walk into the African pyramid, a wave of heat will hit you the minute you walk through the entrance. It is amazing how much heat these plants hold even though they were transported all the way from Africa to Western Canada.

At the top of the building at Edmonton’s City Hall, there is a huge glass pyramid that changes color every few months to green, blue, red, purple and orange. While it is, a human-made pyramid, the purpose of each color that glows inside of the pyramid is unknown.

One of the most attended universities in Edmonton is MacEwan University. It is a few blocks down from the City Hall and students from all over the world attend for a better life full of opportunities in Canada. At the entrance of the university are two pyramids. The reason for these pyramids located less than 10 km from the City Hall and Muttard is unknown.

At the legislative building, there are also pyramids at the top of the government building at the highest point of the facility.

3. Indentured Slaves or Highly Skilled Tradesman: Who Built the Pyramids?

Race will forever be a factor that dictates how people view each other. It isn’t a surprise that the race of the real people that built the Egyptian pyramids continues to be a mystery to some. If we look geographically at Africa at the time that the pyramids emerged, black people were the habitants of Egypt before Eastern Europeans colonized the country in the 19 century. These Europeans included the Greeks, Romans, Turks, and French.

The topic of who the Ancient Egyptians are is considered scientific racism of the 18 centuries by scholars. Theory A states that the Egyptians were Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations from North and East Africa. Theory B says that it was made up of groups of Europeans. According to S.O.Y. Keita, “There is no scientific reason to believe that the primary ancestors of the Egyptian population emerged and evolved outside of northeast Africa. The basic overall genetic profile of the modern population is consistent with the diversity of ancient populations that would have been indigenous to northeastern Africa and subject to the range of evolutionary influences over time.”

In 2010 in the back area of the Giza Pyramids, mud-brick tombs proved that the Ancient Greeks fabricated a story that slaves were the original builders and Hollywood movies continued to propagate the myth leaving most of the world believing the hype. In 1990 a tourist on horseback discovered a wall that was later considered a tomb. The writing was on the wall. It was skilled laborers that came from all areas of Egypt to work on the pyramids during pharaonic times. The workers that died while working had the opportunity to be buried in the tombs close to their pharaohs. There is no way they would have been buried so close to Egypt’s elite society if they were simply slaves.

4. The Controversy Over Pyramids in Greece

Add Greece on the list of European pyramids! Researchers call it the pyramids of Argolis which encompasses several structures in Argolis, Greece. It is the most famous monument in Argolis. The people of Greece were under the impression that they are tombs but researchers in the 20th century believe something entirely different. The reason why Greeks believe this is because a traveler by the name of Pausanias wrote about two pyramid buildings at Hellinikon made for soldiers that died fighting for the throne of Argos.

Unlike the pyramids in Egypt, the substances that were used to build these structures are of gray limestone used for large blocks.

The Greek Ligourion pyramid is northwest of Peloponnese has nearly disappeared, and the left-over sandstone was used to build a church in the area.

The other names of these monuments that were approved as “real man-made pyramids” by archaeologists are below:

Pyramid of Kampia – New Epidaurus, Egyptian Pyramid – Ancient Epidaurus, Pyramid Dalamanara – Nafplion, 2 Pyramids of Fichthia – Mycene, Pyramid of Neapolis.

If the date and architects of these pyramids were undiscovered, is it fair to say that the Egyptians traveled all the way from Africa and built pyramids in Europe?

5. The Orion Mystery

A mind-boggling fact about the Egyptian pyramids is they are made literally in the center of the earth. At the southern point of the King’s Chamber inside of the Great Giza Pyramid, is the same point of the Belt of Orion. The Queens chambers are in the direction of the Sirius star. Here is a quote from The Fingerprints of the Gods by Robert Bauval:

“They’re slated (stars of Orion’s Belt) along with a diagonal in a south-westerly direction about the axis of the Milky Way, and the pyramids slant along a diagonal in a south-westerly direction about the axis of the Nile. If you look carefully on a clear night, you’ll also see that the smallest of the three stars, the one at the top which the Arabs call Mintaka, is slightly offset to the east of the principal diagonal formed by the other two. At 10,450 BC – and at that date only- we find that the pattern of the pyramids on the ground provides a perfect reflection of the model of the stars in the sky. I mean it’s a perfect match-faultless – and it cannot be an accident because the entire arrangement correctly depicts two very unusual celestial events that occurred only at that time.”

I fully understand now why the Ancient Egyptians are considered to be the most advanced civilization ever to live. It takes a village of people to be able to master architecture at this high level of intelligence.

6. What Was Used to Make Egyptian Pyramids?

After searching far and wide for you, I was unable to find out the name of every single particle in the pyramids in Egypt. In the meantime, thanks to archaeologists, the materials tested match what we use today to build real estate. Here’s what I discovered about the Egyptian pyramids:

Per a materials scientist named Joseph Davidovits, the pyramids have been constructed using vegetable matter after he conducted an X-Ray D technique. He did not believe that the Egyptians had the technology to haul limestone bricks. Little did he know!

Casing stones were used on the outer layer to make the pyramids appear polished.

It is easy to become discouraged as a researcher when the pyramids are an enigma. Egyptologist scholars never questioned the stones that make up the pyramids. Egyptian pyramids have formations of rocks, gravel, sand surfaces, and conglomerate. These magnificent buildings were first thought to have limestone substances cast in situ with the help of advanced technology lost thousands of years ago; the limestone was used for the interior walls while mud bricks are inside the temples. Allegedly, Egyptians referred to limestone as “white stone” because the country was made up of seawater during the Cretaceous period. Other stories tell that they are human-made stones that are natural rocks.

Basalt, Granite, and Alabaster were the materials imported from Southern Egypt for the pyramids. Alabaster was the material made for open pits. Mudbricks was a favorite building material in houses, municipal buildings, and Egyptian palaces.

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The village divided by a border

When the first tourist arrived in Turtuk, a tiny farming village nestled between snow-topped mountains in India’s far northwestern region of Ladakh, he was greeted with baskets of ripe apricots, shimmering silk scarves and a choreographed folk dance.
The year was 2010.

“At that time, everyone was very much happy,” remembered Ismail Khan, 35, proprietor of Ismail’s Homestay, one of the 20 or so accommodations that now fill the once-isolated village. “It was the first time we had seen a foreigner.”
Claimed by Pakistan after the end of British rule in 1947, Turtuk was annexed to India in 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani war, when the province of Baltistan was partitioned between the two countries. As a military border, it remained closed to outsiders – even other Indians – until locals, weary of their long isolation, petitioned for the remote, scenic valley to open up.
As curious visitors, drawn by Turtuk's geopolitical allure, began to trickle in, they found themselves in one of India’s last rural idylls.

For years, Turtuk was kept secluded not only by the government, but by its uniquely imposing geography: cradled by the Karakoram mountains, it’s a hard, un-shaded trek from surrounding villages. Yet the predominantly Muslim province of Baltistan – an anomaly within mostly Buddhist Ladakh – once served as an important gateway to the Silk Road, the ancient trading route that connected India with China, Persia and Rome. The mixed backgrounds of Turtuk's villagers, who are of Tibetan and Indo-Aryan descent, speak to Baltistan’s once important role as a connector of goods, cultures and people.
Today, with no wifi, few businesses, limited electricity and a distinct local language (Balti), the largely self-sufficient border village retains the feel of another age.
I was determined to see Turtuk for myself – no small feat, considering the full day journey from Leh, Ladakh’s major city, includes a vertiginous climb over Khardung La, the world’s highest motorable pass at 18,379ft.
My shared jeep descended rock-strewn roadways, the mountain glaciers turning into flat, white desert. Craggy mountains, marbled with purples and greens, protruded from vast dunes. Passes were so narrow that our car lost a side mirror when another vehicle streaked by.
A final leg of sandy road hugged the roiling Shyok River (literally Death River in Uyghur, named in the Silk Road-era) all the way to Turtuk. Just a few miles down the same road lies the border with Pakistan.
Carsick and besieged by thirst, I arrived awash with relief.

It was not hard to feel instantly enamoured with the picturesque village. The Karakoram mountain range, home to K2, the world’s second-tallest peak, hovered over Turtuk’s 300 or so stone houses, as surreal as a painted backdrop. Mustard-yellow barley fields glowed under the late afternoon sun.
At Ismail’s restaurant, a short walk from his homestay down a knot of narrow footpaths, I replenished with chapattis and ginger tea. A little girl in a charcoal-coloured hijab called me over. Carrying fruit in the folds of her kurta, she gestured for me to take my pick. I bit into a fleshy, sugar-sweet apricot, breaking into a genuine grin. It was deliriously tasty.
“Have more!” she shrieked, seeing my smile. I asked where she had collected them. “Come,” an older girl replied. “We will show you.”
I followed them outside, panting up an old stone staircase flooded with water from the glacial runoff that irrigates the village. Tall, spiky trees shaded the path. Soon, the steps gave way to a flat, verdant field. At this height, we seemed almost level with the adjacent mountain range.
The girls, tiptoeing across a crumbling stone wall, reached with both hands into the treetops.
“Here!” they cried, clutching armfuls of pale yellow fruit. “Take more! Take more!” I asked if I could help gather apricots. They waved me aside. “It’s too dangerous for you,” the little one chided.

Balti hospitality is the stuff of legend, which I saw again when altitude sickness hit on my second day – a lingering effect of Khardung La, no doubt. Ismail and his nephew snuck me into an army hospital in a military buffer zone closer to the border, which is usually off-limits to tourists. For 10 hours, they remained smiling while the doctor, clad in olive fatigues, administered three IVs.
When I recovered over yak butter tea, I asked Abdul Kareem Hashamt, 65, one of the village elders, how Turtuk first came under Indian control. Hashamt became a math teacher in Turtuk's first primary school in the 1970s after India introduced roads and schools.
“At first, people were a little bit scared of India,” he told me. But Colonel Rinchen, the Indian Army officer leading the campaign, who hailed from a nearby village in Ladakh, said, “Don’t be afraid. We are with you. We’re all human beings.”
Women and children sought refuge in Turtuk's mosque, while the men whispered negotiations.
“After the colonel talked to them they were very happy,” Hashamt said. “They put on dance shows for the soldiers to welcome them and presented them with crates of fresh apricots.”
It was probably one of the softest conquests in history.
However, villagers studying or working in Pakistan before 1971 remained stuck there after Turtuk became part of India. While their relatives became Indians, they remained Pakistanis. The Indian government has now made it possible for villagers to visit from Pakistan, but only with a lot of expense and paperwork.

Without social media or mobile phones, estranged family members exchange recorded video messages on flash drives, sent by post. Hashamt’s college-aged son, Ishmael, played me one on his laptop that he had shot for a local family.
“I’m fine. A little bit sick,” an old man with long white beard and beige woollen cap said onscreen. “We remember you in our dreams. In every moment.”
Last year, Ishmael's own uncle visited Turtuk for the first time in 43 years. I watched footage of the reunion with his mother, who was stooped over her cane in tears. Both gripped each other fiercely.
Ishmael looked reflective. “It’s not good, a lot of relatives who live on the other side,” he said. “I can’t explain to you, what’s the feeling of it.”
Before modern borders, Baltistan was a separate kingdom. Until the 16th Century, monarchs from Turkistan ruled over the united province under the Yagbo dynasty, a Central Asian empire whose reign, lasting from 800 to 1800AD, saw a flourishing of poetry and arts. Their former summer home now serves as Turtuk’s only museum, cataloguing eclectic relics like an antique snow leopard trap and a lapis lazuli-encrusted sword.

Many descendants of the royal clan still call Turtuk home. On my last afternoon, the dynasty’s youngest heir, 17-year-old Shahnavaz Hassan Khan, gave me a tour of the museum grounds. Flanked by artefacts, dressed in a muscle tee and denim cargo shorts, Khan cut an incongruously modern figure.
Like many younger villagers, he is pleased that, 45 years after joining India, Turtuk has become even more globally connected.
“People are coming from all different countries,” Khan said. Before, villagers “didn’t travel. They weren’t seeing any new things.”
The opening of Turtuk to tourists has surely influenced local culture. But as a Muslim village, in a Buddhist region, within a majority-Hindu country, Turtuk’s mixed ancestry already spanned borders.
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Reasons to visit Washington D.C. right now

You’re worried about the next president. I’m here to change the subject. But only a little.

That next U.S. president, looking out at Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day Jan. 20, will see a different city from the one that President Obama saw in January 2009. The nation’s capital is wealthier, safer, livelier, tastier, more populous and more ready for tourists than it has been in decades.
What’s that, you say? The Metro still stinks. Well, yes, but Metro officials did install a new top executive late last year.

It’s a remarkable cityscape, thanks to a diversifying local economy, redevelopment and an influx of millennials who like living downtown without cars. In September I set out to explore seven new or changed places.
National Museum of African American History & Culture

On Sept. 24, after decades of talk about a Washington museum focusing on black Americans, the Smithsonian Institution at last cut the ribbon on one.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, designed by David Adjaye, now stands on the National Mall, a bronze beauty on a greensward long dominated by gray stone.

Its jagged walls are inspired by three-tiered Yoruban crowns. The coated aluminum latticework echoes the 19th century ironwork of black artisans in the American South. And I’m betting that the problems I saw in the museum’s first week — long lines, balky escalators, missing maps — will be rapidly solved.

What matters most is the journey inside, starting on the bottom floors with slavery’s beginnings. It’s haunting to stand in a darkened gallery, looking at shackles and slave-ship hardware, hearing ocean waves. It was doubly powerful during the museum’s first days, when visitors, mostly African Americans, crowded into every gallery determined to see everything.

Advancing through history, you pass a slave cabin from South Carolina, a Klansman’s hood, civil rights-era artifacts. You see and hear black performers and read of struggle, strength and genius in politics, business, science and the arts.

You can see Harriet Tubman’s silk shawl (a gift from Queen Victoria), Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves, James Baldwin’s passport, Michael Jackson’s fedora, a statue of 1968 Olympian medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos, their fists raised in a Black Power salute; and a Barack Obama 2008 campaign button. I was startled to learn that only about 3,500 artifacts are on display. It seems like more — in a good way.

Info: 1400 Constitution Ave. N.W.; (844) 750-3012, nmaahc.si.edu. Free admission; reservations accepted for timed entrance tickets. Limited number of same-day tickets.

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Five of the most underrated national parks in the US - P1

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

The anniversary, and the fact that America is home to so many beautiful parks, just might motivate you to plan a trip to one.

But before you pack your bags and head to most popular ones, like Yellowstone or Yosemite, consider a trip to a lesser known park — which features equally impressive sites, but fewer people.

Mammoth Cave National Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bowling Green, Kentucky, might not be the first place that comes to mind when planning a summer getaway, but it turns out the city is home to Mammoth Cave National Park, which is the world's longest cave system. The over 400-mile system of caves has attracted tourists for 200 years, and new passageways and caves are constantly being uncovered.

Great Basin National Park, White Pine County, Nevada

Great Basin is known for its bristelcone pine, which is over 3,000 years old. The park also offers a miniature glacier and limestone caverns, as well as mountain streams and alpine lakes. If you're looking for a less-visited park, this is the perfect choice. Great Basin doesn't see nearly as many visitors as most other parks in the US do.

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Marine Parks in South Korea

The Korean National Parks, like the National Treasures, provide a look at the heart and soul of Korea. The Parks host and protect many of South Korea's sacred, historical, and beautiful sites. From each of those perspectives, the Parks reveal the diversity of Korea. The Parks protect and present to the public the spirituality of ancient Buddhist sites throughout the nation. The natural beauty, the beauty of nation with much of the land in a mountainous and/or sea setting, has been protected and opened to the public. Although the National Park service has a short history of 40 years, already tremendous strides have been taken open Korean history, culture, and beauty to all.

Dadohae Haesang National Park

Dadohae Haesang National Park, in Jeollanam-do, 2,321.51 km² (1,986.68 km² water), designated as Korea's fourteenth National Park on December 23, 1981. Dadohaehaesang has the distinction of being Korea's largest national park. Jang Bogo defeated Tang (China) and Japanese invaders in Dadohaehaesang. During the Goeryeo dynasty, Song and Won dynasty China, as well as Japan, traded through the area.

Hallyeo Haesang National Park

Hallyeo Haesang National Park is the first National Sea Park, in Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, 545.63 km² (395.48 km² water), designated on December 31, 1968. Designated second place for scenic beauty in Korea with three legendary gods residing there. Yi Sunshin fought famous naval battles in Hansandaecheop (battle field) against the Japanese in the late sixteenth century among the islands of the park. Jeseungdang (Historical Site No. 113)commemorates Yi Sunshin's victory over Japan, serving as the naval headquarters for three provinces. Yi Sunshin's remains lay buried in the Namhae Chungyeolsa shrine. Boriam (Temple), established by the renown monk Wonhyo in 683 C.E.

Taean-haean National Park

Taean-haean National Park, in Chungcheongnam-do, 326.57 km² (289.54 km² water), designated as a national park in 1978. Taeanhaean stewards several significant Buddhist temples. Beopjusa(Temple) hosts the tallest Buddhist statue in the world (33m), Cheongdongmireukbul; Bokcheonam temple, built by King Injo of Joseon to pray for the kingdom; and Daeungbojeon, a famous Buddhist prayer hall.

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Land-based Parks in South Korea

The Korean National Parks, like the National Treasures, provide a look at the heart and soul of Korea. The Parks host and protect many of South Korea's sacred, historical, and beautiful sites. From each of those perspectives, the Parks reveal the diversity of Korea. The Parks protect and present to the public the spirituality of ancient Buddhist sites throughout the nation. The natural beauty, the beauty of nation with much of the land in a mountainous and/or sea setting, has been protected and opened to the public. Although the National Park service has a short history of 40 years, already tremendous strides have been taken open Korean history, culture, and beauty to all.

Jirisan National Park

Jirisan National Park, in Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, 471.75 km², designated as the first national park on Dec. 29, 1967. Jirisan, considered the founding place of Buddhism in Korea, hosts a number of sacred historical sites in Korea including Hwaeomsa, one of the ten most famous temples in Korea, Naewonsa (Temple), Beopgyesa (Temple), Silsangsa (Temple), and Yeongwonsa (Temple). Known as on of the three mountains where God dwells (Samsinsan), Jirisan ranks with Geungangsan and Hallasan. The site has been referred to as Duryusan or Bangjangsan, indicating a place of the highest state of enlightenment. Cheonwangbong is the second highest mountain in Korea at 1,915 meters.

Gyeongju National Park

Gyeongju National Park in Gyeongsangbuk-do, 138.72 km². Gyeongju is an important historical site during the Silla and Unified Silla dynasties. Historical sites abound including Bulguksa, Seokguram, the Emily Bell, tombs of Silla kings and queens. Gyeongju may stand alone in the world as a modern city, historical site, and national park all combined in one.

Gyeryongsan National Park

Gyeryongsan National Park in Chungcheongnam-do and [Daejeon]], 64.68 km², designated as a national park on December 31, 1968. Gyeryongsan achieved fame in China during the Three Kingdoms period as a mountain area of exceptional beauty. Koreans considered the site holy, conducting important rituals on the peaks. Gyeryongsan had been a candidate for capital of Joseon, Several renown temples reside in Gyeryongsan National Park including Donghaksa (Temple), the college of the Buddhist priesthood for Buddhist nuns, Nammaetap pagodas, Gapsa (Temple)

Seoraksan National Park 

Seoraksan National Park in Gangwon-do, 398.53 km², designated as National Park in March 1970, is divided into Oe (Outer) Seorak, Nae (Inner) Seorak, and South Seorak. has Buddhist temples tucked away in the mountains including Sinheungsa (temple), Gwongeumseong (high in the rocks), Baekdamsa (Temple) (the retreat of famed poet monk Han Yongun).

Songnisan National Park

Songnisan National Park, in Chungcheongbuk-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, 274.54 km², designated as a national park on March 24, 1970. Songnisan, meaning "renouncing the world," considered by many as one of the eight most beautiful places in Korea. Beopjusa (Temple), considered the greatest temple in Korea, sits tucked away inside Songnisan. Smaller temples like Sujeongam, Jungsajaam, Bokcheonam, also grace Songnisan. The park is the site for the immensely popular made for TV drama, "Taejo Wanggon," the first King of Goryeo Dynasty.

Hallasan National Park 

Hallasan National Park at the center of Jeju-do, 153.39 km² in size. The dormant volcano Hallason, or Mount Halla, numbers among the "three mountains where God lives" (Samshinsan) in Korea. Hallasan stands as the tallest mountain in Korea, rising 1950 meters. Baengnokdam, or White Deer Lake, crater has a depth of 110 meters.

Naejangsan National Park

Naejangsan National Park, designated as a National Park on November 17, 1971, in Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do, 81.72 km². Considered one of the eight most beautiful places in Korea. Gulgeori trees (Natural Treasure No. 91) and Bija trees (Natural Treasure No. 153) grow in the park. Naejangsa (Temple), Baegyangsa (Temple), Wonjeogam (Temple), Byeongnyeonam (Temple) (A noted calligrapher of the Joseon Dynasty, Kim Jeonghui resided here), Ibamsan Fortress.

Gayasan National Park

Gayasan National Park, in Gyeongsangnam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, 77.07 km², designated the ninth National Park of Korea on October 13, 1972. Gayasan received its name from the shape of the mountain, resembling the head of a cow (Udusan). Haeinsa(Temple) and Palmandaejanggyeong, housing the Tripitaka Koreana carved on over 80,000 wood blocks sit secluded in the mountains. The renown monk Samyeongdaesa resided in Hongjeam Temple in the 1600s. Other sacred Buddhist sites include Hirangdae, the retreat of monk Hirang, and Cheongnyangsa (temple).

Deogyusan National Park

Deogyusan National Park in Jeollabuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, 231.65 km², designated as the tenth National Park on February 1, 1975. Joseon Dynasty Jeoksangsanseong(Fortress), Anguksa (Temple), Rajetongmun (Gate), the ancient border between Silla and Baekje, Baengnyeonsa (Temple), Wontongsa (Temple), and Songgyesa (Temple) rest within the park.

Odaesan National Park

Odaesan National Park, designated a National Park on February 1, 1975, in Gangwon-do, 303.93 km². Odaesan is considered one of the four greatest mountains in Korea along with Geumgangsan, Hallasan, and Jirisan. Four National Treasures Sangwonsa Dongjong (bronze bell), Sangwonsa Munsudongja Jwasang (seated statue of child monk), Woljeongsa palgakgucheung seoktap (octagonal nine-story stone pagoda in Woljeongsa temple), Sangwonsa Jungchanggwonseon-mun(book) along with two treasures and local treasures. Woljeongsa(temple) and Sangwonsa (temple) nestle in the park.

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Famous national parks in China

Do you love national parks? You probably know the national parks in your own country, like Yellowstone in the U.S., the Lake District in the U.K., Uluru in Australia, etc. You may have heard of or been to some of the famous ones around the world, like Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Known for outdoor recreation and preservation, breathtaking views of expansive natural areas, camping and picnic sites, and park wardens, they attract nature lovers by the thousands.

China has national parks too, 225 in total! They cover both scenic and historic preservation areas. Here we concentrate on China’s top scenic national parks, featuring five chosen for outstanding scenery and reputation.

1. Wulingyuan National Park — Zhangjiajie’s Precipitous Pillars

Wulingyuan is usually the only one of China’s national parks to make it to a top-in-the-world list. It features some awesome towering geology, alongside rich wildlife. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park makes up most of it, alongside Suoxiyu Nature Reserve. Its inspiration for the floating rocks in Avatar has added to its fame.

2. Jiuzhaigou National Park — Multicolored Mountain Lakes

Jiuzhaigou (‘Nine-Village Valley’) National Park is known for its colorful lakes in high-altitude valleys, with waterfalls, snowy peaks, forested slopes, and Tibetan villages. It’s a classic national park.

3. Guilin Li River National Park, Guangxi — Karst Landscapes

More of a scenic area, with not much of a national park feel, the Li River National Park has no entrance and fee to get in. It covers the 80-km (50-mile) stretch of river between Guilin and Yangshuo, bounded by classic sheer karst hills, which have inspired many a poem and ink painting.

4. Lijiang Yulong Xueshan National Park — with Tiger Leaping Gorge

Yulong Xueshan (‘Jade Dragon Snow Mountain’ 5,596m or 18,360 ft) National Park includes popular hiking route Tiger Leaping Gorge on its west side. The mountain has glaciers and a small ski resort, and the Yangtze thunders north in the gorge, one of the deepest and most spectacular in the world.

5. Huangshan National Park — the Legendary Yellow Mountains

Surrounded in myths of ancient immortals, the Yellow Mountains have some bizarrely charming geomorphology. Compact and complex, this National Park has it all in a small area. There are peaks to climb, gorges to hike, and ethereal sights to see.

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