Monuments to visit China

Near the monastery, this Buddha statue, all bronze and recent invoices (1993), reaches a height of 34 m and weights 202 tons. There is a staircase of 268 steps. Once at the top, and if it is fine, we have a breathtaking view of the islands south of Tong Fuk's village.

This gigantic tower dating back to 2001 and dominating the entire bay of its 338 m, encompasses the whole perspective around Macau. The site hosts a leisure and exhibition centre, a shopping centre, several restaurants and a cinema. We cannot miss this new monument, at the intersection of Avenida do Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Avenida Stanley Ho. A lift allows access to the 58 ^th floor, covered, and 61st floor open to all winds. The view of the Pearl River Delta, Macao and China, is exceptional. At the top of the tower you can walk, equipped with a harness, on the outer platform, climb the point of the tower, or make a saut leap (!).

Qiao Guifa was a poor merchant in the time of Emperor Qian Long, the Qing. He decided to try his luck in the north of the country in Baotou, a city on the road to Mongolia. The flourishing trade, and the Qiao clan, will have its influence for nearly 200 years, until the decline of its activities after the Communist power has arrived. The splendour of the clan today remains only this impressive home, the concept comparable to that of our French castles, whose oldest buildings date back to 1756.

The house is surrounded by a 9 m high wall of grey bricks, with watch towers and guard platforms, as a real fortified city. The door of the residence, surmounted by two bronze panels reminiscent of the family motto («virtue and harmony leads to prosperity»), opens on a 80 m long passage, giving access to the 6 main courses. These are then divided into several secondary courses, forming a set of 20 courses and 313 pieces, divided according to the characteristics of the character «shou», longevity. Each courtyard has its own architecture and style, which makes the house Qiao an architectural jewel of North China under the Qing. This is the site chosen by Zhang Yimou to turn his famous film Epouses and Concubines.

The buildings of Qiao House are now transformed into a museum of popular customs.

At the end of the Yuan dynasty (1312-1313), a Taiyuan farmer named Wang Shi moved to Jingsheng and started trading. Business prospers, and the rich merchant starts a prestigious administrative career: The Wang clan was born and perpetuated over 27 generations and 680 years.

Family ownership has experienced an extraordinary fate: built over a period from Emperor Kangxi to Emperor Jiaqing (1662 to 1820), it was abandoned by the descendants of the Wang clan in 1937, at the time of the Japanese invasion. Local peasants were then suitable until the mid -1990 s, when Shanxi Province decided to classify the site and exploit it for tourist purposes. There were no fewer than 212 families and 600 people in total who had to be evacuated from Wang.

It must be said that with its 123 courses framed with over 1,000 buildings, the Wang House looks more like a small town than a family home. It is made up of two distinct parts separated by a natural divide that is surrounded by a stone bridge. The western part, called the «red door fort», covers 25,000 m ² and comprises 88 courses. Its general plan imparts the Chinese character «Wang», with a central aisle cut by three perpendicular alleys. The eastern part, Gaojiaya, consists of 35 courses. The buildings are characterized by a mixture of gray bricks and wood, and typically typical architecture of northern China. The influences of the south of the country are nevertheless felt in a small part of the home's pavilions.

Today, this large residence is the largest in this part of China, contributing to a ranking at UNESCO. This visit remains an essential part of the region.

Built in 1622 on the highest point in Macau, the fort is dominated by a lighthouse dated 1864 (closed to the public). It is the oldest lighthouse on the entire Chinese coast. The chapel, Notre-Dame-de-Guia, built in 1637, gives an even more austere atmosphere to the fort.

Undoubtedly one of Hong Kong's most beautiful views, the sky 100 rises to 484 metres above sea level and is part of the very closed circle of the 10 tallest buildings in the world. You can't miss this building built in 2012 on the outskirts of Victoria Harbour, whose flamboyant silhouette at sunset doesn't go unnoticed. It has 118 floors and also houses the highest 5-star hotel in the world. Enjoy a unique 360-degree experience in the panoramic space on the 100th floor, where the panorama is breathtaking, whatever the angle of view! Located 393 metres above the sea, the observatory will offer you sunset on Hong Kong Bay or the enchantment of Hong Kong's sparkling skyscrapers at nightfall. Reaching the 100th floor is already an experience in itself since the elevator travels this distance in 1 minute. There is an interactive sky100 mobile application and a multimedia space that showcases visitors and the skyscraper. The area also has a café and a souvenir shop.

Built in 1921, this 45 m high clock tower is the last remaining vestige of the old Kowloon-Canton colonial station moved to Hung Hom's quarter in 1975. It faces the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, near the Star Ferry pier.

Inaugurated in 1998, the Shanghai Opera (Dagejuyuan) was designed by the French architect ARTE-Charpentier. Its architecture incorporates the cultural complexity of a millennium civilization that comes into modernity. It builds on the Chinese myth that the sky is round like the roof and the earth, square like the body of the building. Jacques Chirac welcomed the aesthetic quality of the building and the efforts of architects during his presidential visit in May 1997. South of Renmin Square, at the intersection of Xizang Lu and Yan'an Lu, the Grand World (Dashijie) was Asia's largest amusement centre: a mix of casino, tripot, on three floors. Rebuilt on numerous occasions, the building dates back to 1924; the place is always open to the public.

The city is connected by 49 bridges, some of which are particularly remarkable. The Taiping bridges (peace and tranquillity), My (luck) and Changqing (long celebration) form a circular route considered to be lucky by the premises. According to tradition, the inhabitants of the village carry out this journey for weddings or anniversaries in order to ensure good fortune for the coming year. The Siben Bridge (origin of thought) is the oldest in the city. It was built under the Song dynasty between 960 and 1276. Finally the Dubu Bridge (only one step) is the smallest in the city: by barely one metre, it is only metres long.

This 800 m mechanical staircase made up of 20 sections is the longest escalator covered outside the world. He is nicknamed the "glass snake". Completed in 1993 (at a cost of HK $ 245 million), it drains more than 200 000 pedestrians every day through narrow and wandering streets that wind towards Mid-Levels hills. Beginner at Greetings Road, he passes over Cochrane Street and crosses Hollywood Road and Soho district, to Drive Road.

Completed in 1990 and rewarded with numerous international awards, this 70-storey structure and 367 m high is the work of Sino-American Ieoh Ming Pei (the author of the Louvre Pyramid). It evokes a pousse of bamboo climbing towards light. Climb on the 43rd floor to admire the view of Central and Kowloon.

On more than 100 stands, you will see flowers (freshly cut for some, and others clearly less cool…), pagaille birds (and what racket!) and hundreds of small small animals… Of course, we're going to dig on crickets and their beautiful little cages, or we'll try to learn French to parrots… A great experience, far away from the Shanghai skyscrapers.

The Great Library of Shanghai was inaugurated in December 1996. It is the second largest in China after the Beijing National Library and one of the ten largest in the world: 3,1 ha, 13 million books and manuscripts, some of which have more than 1 400 years of history, 20 reading rooms (Chinese, foreign, electronic, CD-Rom and Internet).

This 40 000-seat stadium will host the racing and equestrian events of the modern pentathlon.

They will host the games tennis games. They were inaugurated by a test tournament in October 2007.

He will host handball matches.

Completely renovated for the occasion, he will host some of the football matches.

He will host the weightlifting tests.

He will host some of the volleyball games.