China's 20 Most Liveable Cities

综合排名 城市名 乐居综合指数 乐房指数 乐业指数 乐学指数 乐商指数 乐游指数

1 北京 25.923 -0.800 3.500 7.914 7.341 2.128
Beijing

2 上海 24.195 -1.901 3.216 8.162 8.768 0.482
Shanghai

3 深圳 21.582 6.060 3.030 3.780 3.541 0.272
Shenzhen

4 广州 14.952 1.052 2.889 2.875 4.453 0.396
Guangzhou

5 南京 14.921 0.705 2.116 5.333 3.130 0.391
Nanjing

6 杭州 10.122 -0.790 1.681 3.271 3.300 0.599
Hangzhou

7 青岛 8.607 0.534 0.534 2.079 3.246 0.504
Qingdao

8 成都 7.950 -0.553 0.897 1.829 2.920 1.321
Chengdu

9 宁波 7.819 0.266 1.581 1.085 2.998 0.372
Ningbo

10 沈阳 7.213 -1.602 0.333 3.869 2.814 0.342
Shenyang

11 长沙 6.975 -0.552 1.210 2.706 1.844 0.412
Changsha

12 哈尔滨 6.675 -0.226 0.747 3.257 1.175 0.403
Harbin

13 无锡 6.613 0.447 1.297 1.062 3.266 0.512
Wuchang

14 长春 6.571 0.202 1.124 2.444 1.220 0.588
Changchun

15 天津 6.523 -0.596 1.270 1.916 2.087 0.367
Tianjin

16 苏州 6.440 -1.078 0.883 1.025 3.854 0.269
Suzhou

17 大连 6.355 -0.373 1.145 1.713 2.177 0.227
Dalian

18 济南 6.283 0.298 0.776 1.861 1.791 0.186
Jinan

19 南昌 6.269 -0.257 0.966 3.382 0.718 0.070
Nanchang

20 武汉 5.797 -1.783 1.767 2.114 2.273 0.211
Wuhan

What is a Journey?

Long version

Client: Louis Vuitton
Title: A Journey
Agency: Ogilvy, Paris
Creative: Christian Reuilly
Agency Producer: Laure Bayle

Production Company: Quad Productions, Paris
Director: Bruno Aveillan
Producer: Martin Coulais
DP: Philippe Lesourd
Cameraman: Bruno Aveillan

Post-Production: WIZZ Paris
Post-Producer: Manuel Beard
Editor: Fred Olszak
Flame Artist: Bruno Maillard
Special Effects/Processes: WIZZ, Paris
Music: Gustavo-Santaolalla

The Ancient Tea Horse Road

For thousands of years, there was an ancient road treaded by human feet and horse hoofs in the mountains of Southwest China, bridging the Chinese hinterland and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Along the unpaved and often rugged road, tea, salt and sugar flowed into Tibet, while horses, cows, furs, musk and other local products came out. The ancient commercial passage, dubbed the “Ancient Tea-Horse Road”, first appeared during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and lasted until the 1960s when Tibetan highways were constructed. Meanwhile, the road also promoted exchanges in culture, religion and ethnic migration, resembling the refulgence of the Silk Road.

The road stretched across more than 4,000 kilometers mainly in Southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Just as the Silk Road, the Ancient Tea-Horse Road disappeared with the dawn of modern civilization, but both routes have played very important roles in the development of China. Different Chinese ethnic cultures, such as the Dai, Yi, Han, Bai, Naxi and Tibetans, have met, fused and developed along the historic road.

The road ran across the Hengduan Mountains and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — an area of the most complicated geological conditions and most diversified organisms. Besides its cultural and historic value, the road was also highly appreciated by adventurers and scientists.

Tea and horses blazed the way

According to Tibetan classics, people of the Tibetan ethnic group in western Sichuan Province and northwestern Yunnan Province had access to famous types of tea from the Central Plains during the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), people of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces exchanged tea for Tibetan horses.

On one hand, the effects of tea in promoting digestion and eliminating grease from eating too much meat lured many Tibetans. Not only the nobles, but also the general populace took delight in drinking tea. On the other hand, horses were also very important for the Han people. The result was the flourishing of the tea-horse trade.

Pu-erh tea is most favored by the Tibetan people. Since the butter tea made of Pu-erh tea is highly esteemed both in taste and color, it was named after its producing area — Pu-erh County in Yunnan Province, which is one of the cradles of China’s “tea culture”. During the Tang Dynasty, Pu-erh tea was grown in areas flanking the Lancang River. It was described as having a bitter taste at first, then sweet.

In order to preserve Pu-erh tea and to facilitate its trade with merchants travelling the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, a method was developed which led to the steaming of Pu-erh Tea and then compressing it into various shapes – usually a type of bowl shape or a “brick”. This type of tea is known as Tuocha Tea. The word Tuocha sometimes spelled “Tuo Cha”, or “Tuo Tea”, the meaning is block of tea. Tuocha Tea can also be known by different names such as “beeng cha” (or “bing cha” or “ping cha”), and “fang cha”. These names simply refer to the type of shape into which the Tuocha Tea is pressed – eg bing cha is “biscuit shaped” and fang cha is “square shaped”.

During the World War II, when Myanmar fell into the hands of the Japanese, the Yunnan-Myanmar Highway — then China’s only international thoroughfare — was cut off. The Ancient Tea-Horse Road, extending from Lijiang in Yunnan, to Kangding in Xikang, and then to Tibet and even further into India, was revived and became a major trade route. With the opening of the Yunnan-Tibetan and Sichuan-Tibetan highways in the 1960s, the road declined. Some sections of the famous road, however, are still used for transport purposes. Today, the road comes to the fore again with the development of tourism in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, as well as in the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

The road passes through subtropical forests and picturesque lakes and turbulent rivers, such as Lancang, Nujiang, Minjiang and Yarlung Zangbo. Heading west from the Hengduan Mountains, one has to cross many peaks — each towering 4,000-5,000 meters above sea level. But tea and horses have blazed a trail despite the challenges posed by mountains and forests. Roads devoted to the tea-horse trade linked ethnic groups living in areas near the roads, making them members of the great Chinese nation.

Six major routes

A Chinese expert researching the Ancient Tea-Horse Road recently found a complete map of the road drawn more than 150 years ago by a French missionary. The map reveals that the road traversed a series of towering mountains, with rivers flowing in between from the south to the north. Roughly speaking, there were six main routes:

Route One:

Begins in Xishuangbanna and Simao, home of Pu-erh tea via Kunming to other Province in China into Beijing.

Route Two:

Begins in Pu-erh (via Simao, Jinhong, Menghai to Daluo) in Yunnan Province into Burma, then from Burma into Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hongkong.

Route Three:

Begins in Pu-erh via Xiaguan, Lijiang, Zhongdian into Tibet, then from Lhasa into Nepal and India.

Route Four:

Begins in Pu-erh via Jiangcheng in Yunnan into Vietman, then from Vietman into Tibet and Europe.

Route Five:

Begins in Pu-erh via Simao, Lanchang, Menglian in Yunnan into Burma.

Route Six:

Begins in Pu-erh via Mengla in Yunnan into Burma.

Tens of thousands of traveling horses and yaks created a definite path with their hoofs on the once-indiscernible road. Today, although even such traces of the ancient road are fading away, its cultural and historic values remain.

Tourist Feedback

These were sent to Thomas Cook Holidays – listing some of the guests’ complaints during the 2008 season.

“I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts.”

“On my holiday to Goa in India , I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all.”

“We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.”

A woman threatened to call police after claiming that she’d been locked in by staff. When in fact, she had mistaken the “do not disturb” sign on the back of the door as a warning to remain in the room.

“The beach was too sandy.”

A guest at a Novotel in Australia complained his soup was too thick and strong. He was inadvertently slurping the gravy at the time.

“Topless sunbathing on the beach should be banned. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other women.”

“We bought ‘Ray-Ban’ sunglasses for five Euros (£3.50) from a street trader, only to find out they were fake.”

“No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled.”

“It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home.”

“The brochure stated: ‘No hairdressers at the accommodation’. We’re trainee hairdressers – will we be OK staying here?”

“There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners.”

“It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel.”

“I was bitten by a mosquito – no-one said they could bite.”

“My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked.”

Jivamukti Yoga

After waiting for more than 10 years, I finally attended a class at Jivamukti today. Jivamukti appears true to nature and the founders, Deva Das (David Life) and Tripura Sundari (Sharon Gannon), actually teach yoga. The word “Jivamukti” is derived from Sanskrit for “living liberation”. Madonna, Uma Thurman, William Dafoe, Sting, Gwyneth Paltrow, Christy Turlington, Sarah Jessica Parker and Diane Keaton are regulars.

Jivamukti have basically taken traditional yoga and adopted it to modern times, by using current music and trends. While it is true that we need to stick to tradition, some minor adaptations are useful to improve the teachings. For example, I got a good dose of aromatherapy (peppermint at the start and Ylang Ylang at the end) during the session. And guess what music they played when the vinyasas began? Sounds from Thievery Corporation.

FT Weekend: Air care for frequent fliers

Air care for frequent fliers

By Emma Jacobs

Published: February 2 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 2 2008 02:00

A petite woman with an elfin haircut, in a black waisted tunic and 4in heels, stands before a group of immaculately tidy men and women. She is delivering a lesson but she has one instruction just for the men – they must never wear Lancôme juicy tubes at work. Mim Allgood will, however, permit tinted moisturiser, clear mascara and lip balm.

That’s because Allgood is teaching grooming to a group of wannabe air stewards and stewardesses in an unprepossessing metallic grey building near Gatwick airport. Inside, the Virgin Airlines campus is like being in Britney Spears’s Toxic video – everyone wears their compulsory post-box red uniforms and the women’s hair is swept up in French pleats and rolled ponytails.

It’s a relatively easy look to maintain on the ground but how do flight attendants manage to look so groomed and fresh at the end of a long flight while passengers’ skin is blotchy and their hair frazzled? Even in the relative luxury of business class, the pallid zombie look, a by-product of the aircraft’s recycled air, is hard to avoid. So perhaps a few tips from the airline grooming classes at Virgin and Silverjet will help to even the score.

Allgood’s class is peppered with women who look like they’re in the qualifying heat for a Miss UK competition. Everyone is impossibly glossy and neat. But the overall message from this seminar is that frequent flying is bad for your skin. The air in the cabin is dehydrating, and moving between climates and time zones will increase your skin’s sensitivity. More worryingly, frequent flying can be ageing. Remedial and preventative action must be taken.

“When you start flying, your skin will become very dehydrated. Look at a bowl of fruit in first class. At the start of the flight, it’s really juicy. At the end, it’s wrinkly and shrivelled. Same for your skin. Even oily skin,” Allgood warns. “People with oily skin often think they escape dehydration because they look shinier at touchdown. But it’s not true.”

The mantra is: drink lots of water, limit tea and coffee, and avoid alcohol. It’s not just imbibing water but also spritzing it on your face and hair, if it’s prone to frizz. However, steer clear of sprays that are pure water. Marcella Knibb, the Silverjet instructor, puckers her face in disgust at the very thought of them. Water sprays dehydrate your skin by sapping it of any existing moisture so she advises using one with refreshing, hydrating additives such as aloe vera, mint or lavender. If you don’t like spraying liquid on your eyes, then squirt it on cotton pads first. Skin wipes are also a good way to refresh your skin but steer clear of the ones they give away on aircraft – the lanolin in those can be an irritant. Go for ones such as Dermalogica’s skin purifying wipes, which have the added benefit of not being included as a liquid for airport security rules.

Ideally, passengers, not cabin crew, should take make-up off at the start of a flight. But if that is unrealistic, then at least some products are no-nos. Red and yellow dyes in make-up, including red lipstick and fake tan, are dehydrating. We are all fiercely warned away from YSL’s Touche Eclat, which is too drying to wear on a flight. In fact, we should restrict our use of the magic wand for special occasions and never wear it as a concealer – it reflects light so highlights rather than hides spots.

The best make-up for flights is mineral-based such as the ranges produced by ID Bare Minerals or Jane Iredale, which use 100 per cent minerals and no preservatives or oils. Unlike a powder, the crushed minerals won’t be absorbed into pores and nurture spots. “It’s so pure, you can sleep in it,” laughs Allgood. She catches herself: “Although don’t. Always take your make-up off.” Also beware of make-up exploding because of cabin pressure. If you reapply mid-flight, always put a napkin on your lap in case of leaks.

We are advised that, whenever possible, we should use flights for a bit of pampering. Knibb takes us through a flight’s pampering routine and instructs us to scrape our hair back, cleanse and tone. If you’re prone to spots, try pinning your hair back on a flight as flopping fringes will only exacerbate the problem. Then, she suggests using a multivitamin concentrate or Dermalogica’s skin hydrating booster and then moisturiser such as Dermalogica’s anhydrous barrier repair. “Don’t worry about nipping to the toilet to rub in body lotion. It’s only the exposed areas – face, hands and neck – that dry out on flights,” she points out. “If you have the guts, put a face mask on, though not a clay-based one to save embarrassment. [Try] a clear one, perhaps a rose hydrating mask by Aromatherapy Associates.” Allgood would go one step further and put an eye mask on, such as one by Guinot. She recommends dunking the tube in some iced water to make it extra soothing. Steer clear of eye drops as they’re drying.

If all these potions look like they’re going to breach security rules, you should pick up samples from beauty department stores. They’ll fit into the airport’s clear plastic bags.

For those who haven’t the time or inclination to pack a range of products or go through a mile-high beauty routine, Elizabeth Arden’s eight-hour cream is “an essential”, says Allgood. According to Rebecca Wadsworth, a member of British Airways’ crew, her colleagues swear by it as the ultimate multitasking cream. It can be rubbed into cuticles, heels, on your face, on your lips before applying lipstick, on your hands and to calm any rashes.

But the ultimate beauty no-no on a flight is alcohol. On this topic, everyone agrees that water or maybe a drink with Vitamin C is best – and if you’re in the mood for a cocktail, try a tomato juice or water with fizzy Vitamin C as an alternative.

Er, what about something stiffer? “If you need to calm your pre-flight nerves, substitute alcohol with cotton wool dipped in lavender and put it in a sealed plastic bag – open it up and smell it when you need a boost,” suggested one flight attendant. Not quite the substitute you were hoping for? Herbal tea was the other accepted alternative.

But if you just have to have a drink, then be sure to have two glasses of water for every alcoholic beverage. That way, your repeated trips to the loo will give you a bit of exercise and prevent swollen ankles.

‘Make yourself feel better with a pampering session’

Elle Macpherson, model and businesswoman: “After long-haul flights, I go to the Luzmon Clinic in Kensington, London, to relieve jet lag and for rebalancing. Luzmon technology is thermostimulation, a combination of electrostimulation and infra-red heat and works wonders for detoxification.”

Sean Harrington, managing director of Elemis: “There’s a lot of dead time when you travel, so if you can make yourself feel better in the sky with a good pampering session, then why not? I think a scrub is always good to do or even a face mask that you can leave on, so that when you get off the plane, you don’t look exhausted, especially if you have a business meeting straight away.”

Amanda Wakeley, fashion designer: “I always get cold on flights, so I wear different layers of my ultra-fine cashmere that I can peel off as I warm up. I find that Australian Bush Flowers travel essence is unbeatable in countering jet lag. I also advocate going straight to the gym post a long-haul flight – it gets your circulation flowing properly and again counters jet lag. I am also a great believer in mind over matter: set your watch to your destination’s time as soon as you board and begin to imagine you are already there.”

Susan Harmsworth, chief executive of ESPA International, a spa and beauty company: “I swear by the Bose noise eliminators that reduce jet lag by cutting out the sound of the engines during flight.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008