Ningwu Ice Cave, China

This is a sight that will really send a shiver down your spine. Not because it's scary - but because of its sheer beauty. The caves are so cold it sends a shiver down the spine of people standing outside.
The caves are, like many interesting corners of China, not yet on any tourist trail, but are spectacular to visit. Situated in the middle of the Yellow River valley, in the heart of one of China's most scenic regions, these incredible ice caves are more than three million years old. Identified by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Geology, cave expert on-site inspection: this hole is formed in the Cenozoic Quaternary Ice Age, hence the name of years the ice cave.
The experts said that only the first of nine ice cave in the ice cave ranked the country more than 10,000 caves. Divided into upper and lower five-story drill ice cave, under the ice stairs, over ice stack, available layers sightseeing. Each floor can accommodate dozens of people. Over 20 meters in diameter, the hole at its widest point, the narrowest of over 10 meters. Formed by the ice, icicles, ice curtain, frozen waterfalls, ice, ice Buddha, ice sheets, ice bell, Iceman, ice Buddha, etc., strange, to name a few. Carved inside the cave, large and small views or exquisite, dazzling crystal, or graceful, magnificent, all amazing.
Photos shows an ancient ice cave in Ningwu County of Xinzhou City, north China's Shanxi Province, 50 km west of the Wa township Ma Tei Village Office next to the travel lanes, 2300 meters above sea level. The cave, lit up by coloured lights, is more than 100 meters long. Inside it is covered with thick ice that freezes in the winter and remains all year.
Huge icicles are formed which hang from the ceiling, in sharp contrast with the green summer foliage outside.
They're so chilly that even standing outside you can feel the cold - even on a hot summer's day.

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Tignes, France

One of the highest resorts in Europe, Tignes also offers more skiing in winter and in summer than pretty well anywhere else, thanks to its high altitude skiing on the Grande Motte glacier and its commitment to maintain a vertical of at least 1000 metres (3280 feet) for eight months of the year. Sharing the vast and exciting 'l'Espace Killy ' ski area with neighbouring Val d'Isère, purpose-built Tignes has the stronger French influence of the two, as well as being largely based at a higher and more snow-sure altitude.

There are in fact five base areas to Tignes, although three of them - Le Lac, Le Lavachet and Val Claret - more or less run in to one another to form the main section. They stand together in a vast snowy bowl above the tree line resembling some sort of isolated moon base, from a distance. Further down the mountain, but lift linked to l'espace Killy are Les Boisses and Les Brévières and there are three traditional villages along the valley floor on the road to Val d'Isère (Le Reculaz, Le Chevril and Le Villaret du Nial), but these are not lift-linked.

Interestingly the original base is Le Lac, the relocated genuine village of Tignes that was submerged under Lake Chevril following the construction of a dam in 1952. The church bell was the only physical momento to be carried up to the new village site, but the spirit of skiing which began in 'old Tignes' in the 1920s was certainly carried forward with spectacular results!


Lodging Profile

21 hotels, 14 rental agencies, 5 hotel residences, 11 holiday centers, 2 holiday clubs, and 72 private landlords.

Services Profile

There are 6 mountain restaurants on the resort and 78 restaurant located nearby; cuisines ranging from American, Creperie, French Regional, Gastronomique, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, and Savoyard. 130 shops located nearby along with 4 banks, 4 post offices, 1 petrol station, 5 laundrettes, car rental, and a Protestant Church. The nearest town is Bourg St Maurice which is 30 km away. Child care is not available at this resort. Ski school is available for 4 year olds to adults. Free bus service 24 hours a day.

Snowboarding Profile

Snow park and 2 halfpipes, quarter pipes, and boarder cross are available for snowboarders at the resort.

Common Misspellings

Dignes, Teens, Tegnies, Teignes, Tiges

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Sanqingshan, China

Mount Sanqingshan National Park, a 22,950 ha property located in the west of the Huyaiyu mountain range in the northeast of Jiangxi Province (in the east of central China) has been inscribed for its exceptional scenic quality, marked by the concentration of fantastically shaped pillars and peaks: 48 granite peaks and 89 granite pillars, many of which resemble human or animal silhouettes. The natural beauty of the 1,817 metre high Mount Huaiyu is further enhanced by the juxtaposition of granite features with the vegetation and particular meteorological conditions which make for an ever-changing and arresting landscape with bright halos on clouds and white rainbows. The area is subject to a combination of subtropical monsoonal and maritime influences and forms an island of temperate forest above the surrounding subtropical landscape. It also features forests and numerous waterfalls, some of them 60 metres in height, lakes and springs.

Sanqingshan is a relatively small National Park near the city of Shangrao in the Jiangxi province of China. What it lacks in size it makes up for in shear natural beauty. It is officially the 7th World Heritage Site designated in China and has been noted for its exceptional scenic attraction. The key mystique of this remarkable place is the combination of extraordinary granite geology in the form of weird outcrops and pillars combined with seasonal climate variations than often cause mists, fogs and striking sunsets. Those that have visited this place describe a feeling of overwhelming peace and tranquility. This effect is enhanced by the profusion of natural waterfalls, pools and springs. If you allow yourself, it is truly possible to see Earth, Water, Wind and Fire joined in time.

In 2008, Sanqing Mountain was listed to be the world heritage together with Fujian Tulou buildings. It is a world-famous cultural and natural mountain in China. Sanqing Mountain is the cultivation center of Taoists of different generations. Sicne Ge Yun and Ge Hong of Jin Dynasty came here, Sanqing Mountain gradually turned to be the center of Taoism believers or masters. The first man who fabricated the temple or monastery on the mountain was Wang Jian who was the leading official of Xinzhou in Tang Dynasty. At that time, Wang Jian was ordered by Emperor to manage the local people; after his retreat, he built the reclusive residence in the mountain until his death. In Song dynasty, Wang Ling, the descendant of Wang Jian donated a lot to build more temples, and then Sanqing Mountain became the center and the blessed land of Taoism. During Ming Dynasty, Wang Gu, the offspring of Wang Lin reestablished the Sanqing Palace. In total, there are more than 300 buildings have been built such as the pavilions, temples, stone carvings, gates ,bridges and so on. The whole mountain is full of the Taoist buildings. It could be equated with other famous Taoist mountains such as Qingcheng Mountain, Wudang Mountain and Longhu Mountain and so on. Hence, Sanqing Mountain is honored to be the Open-air Taoist Museum. Sanqing Mountain has rich tourist resources. Generally it could be divided into five scenic zones and in 1988, it was approved the be the national-class scenic zone in the second batch of tourist attractions application list.
The natural landscape of Sanqing Mountain is also very attractive. Its peaks are very steep and grand. It is totally different from other mountains in southern China. The plant species are also rich here. The weather conditions are also changing all the time. In Sanqing Mountain, the strange peaks are too many, the original waterfalls and the deep valleys and the floating clouds and so on give the comers the natural and cozy feeling. In the mountain there are 2373 kinds of plants, among them 68 are the rare ones and there are also 1728 wild animals. Mr. Paul, the president of Amercian National Park Fund highly spoke of this mountain that commented it as one of the perfect mountains in the world and the treasure of human beings.

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