Thursday, July 23, 2015

Oahu, Honolulu of Hawaii


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nickname: The Gathering Place
Oahu (1).jpg
Satellite photo of Oʻahu
Map of Hawaii highlighting Oahu.svg
Location 21°28′N 157°59′WCoordinates: 21°28′N 157°59′W
Area 596.7 sq mi (1,545 km2)
Area rank 3rd largest Hawaiian Island
Highest elevation 4,003 ft (1,220.1 m)
Highest point Kaʻala
United States

Flower ʻIlima
Color Melemele (yellow)
Population 983,429 (as of 2013)
Density 1,636 /sq mi (631.7 /km2)
Fly-around tour of the island


Locals consider the island to be divided into various areas, which may overlap. The most commonly accepted areas are the "City", "Town" or "Town side", which is the metropolitan area from Halawa to the area below Diamond Head (residents of the island north of the Koʻolau Mountains consider the Town Side to be the entire southern half); "West Oʻahu," which goes from Pearl Harbor to Kapolei, Ewa and may include the Makaha and Waianae areas; the "North Shore" (northwestern coast); the "Windward Side" (northeastern coast); the "East Side" (the eastern portion of the island, including both the Windward Side and the area east of Diamond Head; and "The Valley" or "Central Oʻahu" which runs northwest from Pearl Harbor toward Haleiwa. These terms are somewhat flexible, depending on the area in which the user lives, and are used in a mostly general way. Oahu is also known for having the longest rain shower in history with over 200 days spent with continuous rain. Kaneohe Ranch, Oahu, Hawaii reported 247 straight days with rain from August 27, 1993 to April 30, 1994. The island has many nicknames one of them being "rainbow state." This is because rainbows are a common sight in Hawaii due to the frequent rain showers. The average temperature in Oahu is around 70 to 85 degrees and the island is the warmest in June through October. The weather during the winter is cooler, but still warm with the average temperature of 68-78 degrees.
The Windward side, also called the east side, is known for some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Lani Kai meaning "heavenly sea" in Hawaiian, is characterized by the two islands directly in front of Lani Kai beach. Lani Kai Beach is located in a neighborhood within Kailua, on the windward coast of Oahu, Hawaii. This small 1/2 mile beach has been consistently ranked among the best beaches in the world.[4]


The Imperial Japanese Navy attack on Pearl Harbor, Oʻahu on the morning of December 7, 1941 brought the United States into World War II. The surprise attack was aimed at the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine Air Forces. The attack damaged or destroyed twelve American warships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and resulted in the deaths of 2,335 American servicemen and 68 civilians (of those, 1,177 were the result of the destruction of the USS Arizona alone).
An earthquake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, struck the island of Hawai'i and the surrounding islands at 07:07:49 HST on October 15, 2006, causing an island-wide power outage and over $200 million in damage.

Tourist attractions

Valley of the Temples Memorial Park near the island's eastern shore
Mokoliʻi island, also known as Chinaman's Hat, offshore of Kualoa Valley

Top beaches


Hanauma Bay

In media

Friday, July 3, 2015

Shen Yun Performing Arts


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shen Yun Performing Arts
Dance company
Founded 2006
Headquarters Cuddebackville, New York
Area served
Divisions New York Company, International Company, Touring Company
Shen Yun Performing Arts
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 神韻藝術團
Simplified Chinese 神韵艺术团
Japanese name
Hiragana しんいんげいじゅつだん
Shinjitai 神韻芸術団
Shen Yun Performing Arts, formerly known as Divine Performing Arts, is a performing-arts and entertainment company based in New York.[1] It performs classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance, and story-based dance,[2] with orchestral accompaniment and solo performers. The Shen Yun website translates the phrase shen yun as "the beauty of divine beings dancing".[3]
Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by practitioners of Falun Gong, the spiritual discipline,[4][5] with the mission of reviving "the essence of 5000 years of Chinese culture," which it states to have been nearly destroyed by the Chinese government.[6] Performances around the world are hosted by local Falun Dafa Associations.
The group is composed of four performing arts companies: The New York Company, The Touring Company, and the International Company, with of a total of over 200 performers. For seven months a year, Shen Yun Performing Arts tours to over 130 cities across Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia.[7] Shen Yun's shows have been staged in several leading theaters, including New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,[8] London’s Royal Festival Hall, Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center, Paris' Le Palais de Congrès.[5] The company has performed extensively in Taiwan,[9] but has yet to perform in Mainland China or Hong Kong. The show's acts and production staff are trained at Shen Yun’s headquarters in Cuddebackville, in Orange County, New York.[7]



Expatriate Chinese Falun Gong practitioners living in North America founded Shen Yun in 2006 in New York.[10] The company’s first tour took place in 2007, when the company comprised 90 dancers, musicians, soloists and production staff.[11][12] Shen Yun states that its underlying mission is to "revive the essence of 5000 years of Chinese culture", which it asserts to have been nearly demolished by the Chinese Communist government.[6] Initially the shows were titled "Chinese Spectacular",[4][5] "Holiday Wonders",[13] Chinese New Year Splendor, and "Divine Performing Arts", but now the company performs under the name "Shen Yun." As of 2009, Shen Yun had expanded to three full companies and orchestras that tour the world simultaneously.[11] By the end of the 2010 season, approximately one million people had seen the troupe perform.[7]


Each year, Shen Yun creates original productions lasting 2.5 hours and consisting of approximately 20 vignettes featuring classical Chinese dance and ethnic dance, as well as solo musicians and operatic singing.[7][14] Before each act, bilingual MCs introduce the upcoming performance in Chinese and in local languages.[7][15]


Each touring company consists of approximately 60 male and female dancers, and large-scale group dance is at the center of Shen Yun productions.[5] The shows mainly feature what is described on the company’s website as "classical Chinese dance" – a comprehensive dance system passed down through thousands of years and which is recognizable in part for its extensive use of acrobatic and tumbling techniques, forms and postures.[12][16]
Shen Yun’s repertoire draws on stories from Chinese history and legends, such as legend of Mulan,[2][17] Journey to the West[18] and Outlaws of the Marsh.[19] It also depicts “the story of Falun Gong today”.[11][20] During the 2010 production, for instance, at least two out of 16 scenes depicted the "persecution and murder of Falun Gong practitioners" in contemporary China, including the beating of a young mother to death, and the jailing of a Falun Gong protester. In addition to classical Chinese dance, Shen Yun also draws inspiration from the spirit of various ethnicities, including Yi, Miao, and Mongolian dance.[21]
Shen Yun describes classical Chinese dance as comprising three core components: bearing (yun), form, and technical skill.[4] Technical skill describes the physical techniques of jumping, flipping, and leaping. Form encompasses the subtle expressive movements and postures that make up Chinese dance. Finally, bearing is described by Shen Yun as referring to the "inner spirit…something resembling cultural DNA or an ethnic flavor" that allows the dancer's emotional state to be conveyed.[22] Because the "bearing" (yun) of classical Chinese dance is related to a society's culture, some of what makes up the distinct Chinese bearing has been "lost in the process" since the cultural changes of the Communist revolution, according to Shen Yun choreographer Vina Lee.[4] Lee relates that dancers must "refine their moral character" in order to "convey the transcendence and spiritual realm that is the very soul of Chinese culture".[23]


Shen Yun dances are accompanied by a Western philharmonic orchestra that integrates several traditional Chinese instruments, including the pipa, suona, dizi, guzheng, and a variety of Chinese percussion instruments.[7][24] There are solo performances featuring Chinese instruments such as the erhu.[4][14] Interspersed between dance sequences are operatic singers performing songs which sometimes invoke spiritual or religious themes, including references to the Falun Gong faith.[7][25] A performance in 2007, for instance, included reference to the Chakravartin, a figure in Buddhism who turns the wheel of Dharma.[26]
The company counts a number of noted musicians among its ranks. Three performers—flutist Ningfang Chen, erhuist Mei Xuan and tenor Guan Guimin—were recipients of the Chinese Ministry of Culture’s “National First Class Performer” awards. Prior to joining Shen Yun, Guan Guimin was well known in China for his work on soundtracks for over 50 movies and television shows.[27][28] Other notable performers include Erhu soloist Xiaochun Qi.[29]

Costume and backdrops

Shen Yun’s dancers perform wearing intricate costumes, often accompanied by a variety of props.[4][7] Some costumes are intended to imitate the dress various ethnicities, while other depict ancient Chinese court dancers, soldiers, or characters from classic stories.[4] Props include colorful handkerchiefs, drums,[4] fans, chopsticks, or silk scarves.[20][30]
Each Shen Yun piece is set against a digitally projected backdrop, usually depicting landscapes such as Mongolian grasslands, imperial courts, ancient villages, temples, or mountains.[7][15][31] Not all the backdrops are static; some contain moving elements that integrate with the performance.[30]


Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Nepal (Lapen) :Niboer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल
Sanghiya Loktāntrik Ganatantra Nepāl
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी (Sanskrit)
"Mother and Motherland are Greater than Heaven"
Anthem: Sayaun Thunga Phulka
"Made of Hundreds of Flowers"
and largest city
Kathmandu (Nepali: काठमाडौं)
27°42′N 85°19′E
Official languages Nepali
Recognised regional languages
Demonym Nepali, Nepalese, Gurkhas
Government Federal parliamentary republic
 -  President Ram Baran Yadav
 -  Vice President Parmanand Jha
 -  Prime Minister Sushil Koirala
Legislature Constituent Assembly
 -  Kingdom declared 25 September 1768[1] 
 -  State declared 15 January 2007 
 -  Republic declared 28 May 2008 
 -  Total 147,181 km2 (95th)
56,827 sq mi
 -  Water (%) 2.8
 -  2011 census 26,494,504[2]
 -  Density 180/km2 (62nd)
518/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate
 -  Total $62.384 billion[3]
 -  Per capita $2,310 [4]
GDP (nominal) 2012 estimate
 -  Total $19.921 billion[5]
 -  Per capita $743[5]
Gini (2010) 32.8[6]
HDI (2014) Increase 0.540[7]
low · 145th
Currency Nepalese rupee (NPR)
Time zone NPT (UTC+05:45)

DST not observed
Drives on the left
Calling code +977
ISO 3166 code NP
Internet TLD .np




Main article: History of Nepal




Main article: Malla (Nepal)
Former royal palace at Basantapur, Kathmandu

Kingdom of Nepal

Main article: Kingdom of Nepal
Janaki Mandir, one of the famous temples of Janakpur, Nepal
Nepalese royalty in the 1920s
On June 1, 2001, there was a massacre in the royal palace. King Birendra, Queen Aiswarya and seven other members of the royal family were killed. The perpetrator was Crown Prince Dipendra, who committed suicide (he died three days later) shortly thereafter. This outburst was alleged to have been Dipendra's response to his parents' refusal to accept his choice of wife. Nevertheless, there is speculation and doubts among Nepalese citizens about who was responsible.[citation needed]




Topographic map of Nepal.
Highest Mountains in Nepal.[64]