UNESCO World Heritage Site – Page 11

14Apr201329Jun2015

Old Town of Lijiang

Another section of the river — Along the river in the Old Town of Lijiang

Location: Lijiang, Yuannan, China

Visited: Dec 30, 2009 – Jan 2, 2010

Opinion and Background:

If I had written this article right after I came back from China (the first time), I would have given it a glowing, spotless review. After all, it was one of my first travel experiences that wasn’t long term (like Korea). Sometimes, it is good to let a little time pass by to have some perspective. How can you say a place is the best if you haven’t been anywhere else to compare?

Lijiang has a history dating back almost a thousand years. It is a prime example of the diversity of China as a country. When most people think of China, they think of a homogeneous place, with the exception being Tibet. While Tibet is an example, China is home to hundreds of ethnic minorities, including the Nakhi people of Lijiang. The Nakhi still live in Lijiang and the surrounding areas, and some still practice silk embroidering which they have been doing since the times of the Silk Road. In those times, Lijiang was one of the last stops of the road where traders could get some of the finest silk in China. Much like Xi’an, China, Lijiang is very unique and quite different from Chinese mega cities like Beijing. One special feature is that cars are not allowed inside the Old Town at all.

04Apr201329Jun2015

Grand Canyon National Park

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Location: Arizona, United States (Nearest Town: Hurricane, Utah)

Visited: December, 2005 and September, 2008

Background and Opinion:

It’s THE Grand Canyon, pretty much everyone and their mother on Earth has heard of it! How can anyone bet against it right? I’ve been to the old hole twice and both times to the northern rim. It is spectacular to see, but it is best explored on the less traveled trails or you will find yourself pushing and shoving screaming children for a good view, let alone a picture. While it is easy to say “wow, it is so amazing, you must go there,” it is a bit harder to point out the pitfalls of this site to give you an idea on what to expect. As one of the most visited sites in the world, the Grand Canyon’s short trails on the northern rim are very very very crowded. In addition to being a World Heritage Site, it has also been called one of the top 20 natural world wonders in the world, so it’s popularity isn’t exactly waning. However, the canyon spreads across more than half of Arizona, so finding a spot to yourself shouldn’t be hard. Some people hike down to the bottom, and back up, taking several days in some cases, so come prepared. While I was quite satisfied with my visits, I must admit that I don’t think it’s the flawless gem most people make it out to be. While nature sites are abundant in America, I would still put it in the “can’t miss” list if you have never been here before.

27Mar201329Jun2015

Historic Center of Mexico City and Xochimilco

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Visited:

November, 2001

July, 2008

August, 2009

January 2, 2011

Opinion and Background: (Bias alert: I’m Mexican)

Mexico City is possibly one of the most amazing cities in the world with history bursting at the seams. It is the capital city of a country with 31 UNESCO world heritage sites and shows it. The exact center, El Zocalo (the name of the town square), warrants at least a day or two. It is surrounded by the judicial building, parliament, the executive building, and a cathedral and is symbolic to the governing principles of the Mexican people. These buildings alone take hours to tour, so plan to stay a while.

25Mar201329Jun2015

Haeinsa Temple and the Tripitaka Koreana

Julio Moreno South Korea, UNESCO World Heritage Site famous sites in korea, gayansan national park, haeinsa temple, things to do in korea, things to do in korea outside of seoul, tripitaka koreana, UNESCO world heritage site, zen Buddhist sutra 0 Comment

Location: Inside Gayasan National Park, South Gyeongsan Province (Near Daegu, South Korea)

Visited: June, 2012

Background and Opinion:

The Temple of Haein (‘sa’ means ‘temple’) is probably the most important Buddhist temple in all of Korea. It is located within the surprisingly scenic Gayansan National Park. While very famous among Koreans, it’s lack of international prestige is appalling, since it contains the Tripitaka Koreana. It is an amazing artifact, and uncharacteristic of Korean treasures by being original and not a rebuilt replica. It is a set of over 80,000 woodblocks that are the oldest known complete and flawless Buddhist Sutra, scriptures which serve as a guide to the Buddhist way of life. The only downside of this site is that photos of the Tripitaka Koreana itself are not allowed.
One great, additional activity to do is a “temple stay,” where you practice the customs of monks for a full day. This temple is perfect to combine that experience with visiting this UNESCO world heritage site.

One note I must make (for backpackers that travel with everything you own) is that Haeinsa is a good three km (1.6 miles) from the bus stop out of Daegu. This means you have to hike a good while uphill to even get into the temple, so be prepared to sweat a little. In my opinion, it adds to the feeling of accomplishment if you had to work for it.Haein Temple (Haeinsa) was constructed in 802 AD by followers of Korean Buddhism (Zen Buddhism). The land surrounding Haeinsa was awarded to the temple which has an additional 20 satellite temples (one of them pictured below). Currently the land is co-owned by Haeinsa and the Korean Government. In 1236, work began to make the Tripitaka to be copied and replicated for others to read. This ‘sutra‘ which is analogous to a Christian bible, was carved by hand in over eighty thousand wooden blocks, with over 50 million Chinese characters (hanja), as it predated the invention of the Korean alphabet (hangeul). Since it is the oldest known ‘sutra’ to be intact and flawless, it is essentially the oldest known version of the ‘Buddhist bible’ to again borrow the Christian comparison.

23Mar201329Jun2015

Gyeongju Historic Areas

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Location: Gyeongju, South Korea
Visited:
March, 2011
September, 2010

Background and Opinion:
The Historical City of Gyeongju is a nice city, with historical sites that include the oldest observatory in Asia, an ancient ice storage, Shilla tombs, and Buddhist temples. It is one of the best places to go to if you like Korean history. With that said, it also suffers from being possibly the most overrated place in South Korea. While it’s definitely worth seeing, it’s revered as a very beautiful ancient city with ancient Shilla (the old Korean Kingdom) buildings. In reality, besides the artifacts I just mentioned, it’s just like any other Korean town. In addition, sites like the Anapji Pond are not original as they have been destroyed in past Japanese invasions.

Gyeongju was founded around the first century BC. When it unified the three major kingdoms on the Korean peninsula, it became the first, truly unified Korean state (The Shilla Kingdom) which continued to prosper well into 1000 AD. The ruling clan at the time was named “Park” (박), the source of that surname. The “Silla Kim” clan was also very powerful, which accounts for 1/3 of all people with the surname “Kim” (김) (currently distinguished as “Gyeongju Kim”).