No. 1 Bridge under Heaven

The No. 1 Bridge under Heaven, also known as Bridge Across the Sky, Bridge Under the Sun or Tianxia Diyi Qiao, can be found in the Wulingyuan Scenery of the Hunan province in China.

The bridge, a naturally occurring stone arch, is approximately 360 metres above ground and 40 metres long.  There are paths up to it and across but I think I'd prefer to admire from a safe distance.  I have no head for heights.

It's easy to see why this whole area of spectacular scenery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Not only is it scenically amazing, but it's also home to a number of endangered species.

Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.

Suomenlinna

Now  popular picnic place, a community, a cultural centre, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but once Suomenlinna was a sea fortress built as protection against Peter the Great of Russia.  At that time Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom and the fortress was called Sveaborg.  It was renamed Suomenlinna, Castle of Finland, in

I have completely lost my rhythm of posting this week.  this should have been posted on Tuesday, for Our Wonderful World Tuesday.  Instead I'm hastily scheduling it in for last Wednesday, on Friday.

Golden Lane in Prague

I was lucky enough to visit Prague in the Czech Republic almost two years ago, where I bought this card - and kept it!  It shows Golden Lane which grew up along the castle wall when the marksmen guarding the wall were given permission to build themselves tiny houses.  They have been demolished and rebuilt over the years but you can still see the wall behind them.

The name Golden Lane probably came about because there were several goldsmiths there at one time.  Franz Kafka lived there for a time, as well as a Madame de Thebes, a fortune tell who was killed at the end of WWII for apparently foretelling Hitler's death.

While we were there, we saw notices saying the Lane was to be closed the next week but I hadn't realised the significance of that.  It was closed for over a year for major works because the houses and the lane were in danger of slipping down into the moat on the other side of the wall.  The houses, which used to sell trinkets and tourist souvenirs, have been renovated and set up as museum-style exhibits, including a former marksman's house, Madame de Thebes house, a seamstress, and a goldsmith.

A report from Radio Praha.

Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.

Standing stones in Ethiopia

There is an area in Ethiopia, the Soddo region, where there are about 150 prehistoric sites.  The standing stones and the area near the village of Tiya were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites as long ago as 1980.

There are 36 of these stones, most of them carved with symbols that have never been deciphered.  The symbols are very different from those on other sites in the area.  Nobody knows what ancient Ethiopian culture put them there, or precisely when.

Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.

Himeji Castle

From the back of the card: Himaji Castle, also known as "The Castle of the White Heron".  It was constructed in 1609.  It is well known for its sugar cake appearance and delicate design, almost like a fairy story castle.

Rather more prosaically this cards says: Cherry blossoms, Himeji Castle, World Heritage.

Himeji Castle, know also as either "White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle",  in Japan is on top of a hill.  It was rebuilt in 1609 on the site of an earlier fort dating from 1333.  It escaped bombing during WWII and again remained undamaged after the earthquake in 1995.  It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and is one of the most visited sites in Japan.

The first card is dated 1971.  I bought it in a local flea market thinking how lovely it was, then this morning the second one, equally beautiful, landed on my doormat.  So I promptly changed my mind about today's post for Our Wonderful World.  To me they show a combination of the beauty of nature and man's ability to produce beauty from building materials.

Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.