TIBETE – train travel

On By estrangedztIn travelLeave a comment

From what I saw, this documentary was made in 2011.
TIBETE – train ride …. with the best technology in the world

As I do love to travel and Tibete it’s one the spots I really want to go, when I saw this PowerPoint I had to share it! The Author is Eddy Cheong. Thank you!

From Beijing to Lhasa

Tribute to railway builders

CHALLENGES

Since the founding of the Republic of China by Dr. Sun Yat-sol in 1911, it has been a dream of that country to have a national railway system connecting all its provinces.
Tibet became the last province to be linked, as there were major obstacles.

This is the “Mother of thousands of Mountains”.
How to build a railway line in these mountains to reach China’s most remote province, Tibet? Like, if about 85% of the railroad will have to stay in the “forbidden zone”, also known as “Zona da Morte” (Death Zone) because of bad weather:
air, severe and unpredictable weather, ferocious storms and high UV radiation.
Average annual temperature is below zero degrees, reaching negative 45º C; average elevation of the railroad: 4,115 m above sea level; highest point: 5,100 meters.
When building the Mountain Tunnel Fenghuo – 4,800 m above sea level – workers had to be equipped with oxygen cylinders.
Seventeen oxygen-producing stations were built along the railway line to “feed” the tunnel.
5,180 meters of high mountains to climb, valleys 12 km wide, hundreds of kilometers of ice and mud that could never support trains!
How can a tunnel be opened through the rock, in a climate of minus 40 degrees and with serious oxygen difficulty?
550 km of ice along the rail route; non-compact ice and damp soil in the Summer – a nightmare for railway engineers.
As most cattle and wildlife graze freely, the line was raised in most places.
Four areas have been specifically reserved to protect wildlife species in the Tibetan plateau, including the Chiru population.
Environmental protection of ecosystems:
High investments were made in the project.
Routes were selected to prevent the railway from passing through major wildlife habitats.
Chiru, whose wool is known as ‘shahtoosh’, or ‘wool queen’, for sale for up to $10,000 each, despite legal protection, is threatened with extinction.
Wool is smuggled from Tibet, mainly to Kashmir, where shawls and scarves are made.
Although Chiru is protected in China, it is still legal to weave shahtoosh in India.
In all trains, toilets, waste water tanks and waste treatment facilities were installed to protect the environment along the route.
Beijing West, here begins our story
Beijing West Railway Station is the first stage of our train adventure to Lhasa.
Travel companion, Joey, points to the sign that says, “Beijing West to Lhasa “.
All trains entering Tibet from China are equipped with trash compactors and vacuum toilets. In this photo, you can see a worker collecting sanitary waste from a train on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, using vacuum technology installed at the Golmud station.
Protection of the environment was an important priority.
Joey appreciates the landscapes that take place throughout the trip.
Western cuisine available on the menu.
The service is excellent. Friendly, it serves fruit juices, snacks and drinks.
Passengers do not suffer from high altitude sickness, as the carriages are fully air-conditioned and pressurized, as in airplanes.
Oxygen masks are also available in your bedrooms, as well as along the corridors and in the trains’ bathrooms.
Beautiful setting and healthy hot meals.
Mountain tunnels.
The construction of a bridge over the icy soil.
This has the least impact on the area, but it is also the most expensive.
Qingshuihe Bridge is the longest bridge in the world built on icy ground.
Animals graze peacefully, oblivious to the passage of the train
Whenever possible, the railway line is elevated to allow the passage of migratory species and to minimize any adverse impact on the natural environment.
Timeless beauty of Lake Namtso.
Train rises to an altitude of more than 5,000 meters.
The length of the Qingzang railway is 1,956 km. The line includes the Tanggula Pass, at 5,072m above sea level, the highest in the world.
Stopping to take a picture with ice as a backdrop.
The train passes ice and snow-capped mountains on the way to Lhasa.
From the beginning, the design departments were concerned with the migration of antelopes.
Wildlife, bears and wild donkeys have already adapted to the presence of the railway line.
Yaks grazing peacefully, indifferent to the passing of the train.
The enchanting beauty of the blue lake of Yamdrok.
The train passes by the Patola Monastery, on the way to the Lhasa Railway Station.
With the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the new Nyingchi Airport, there was a flood of tourists in Tibet, reaching 4 million last year, up 60 percent.
Interior of Lhasa Railway Station.
Departure from Lhasa Station.
Exterior of Lhasa Railway Station.
The Lhasa Station it looks more like a first-class airport terminal.
Tibet’s economy has never been self-sufficient to give its people meaningful life. The Central Government of China has invested more than $4 billion to build this rail system – the most expensive in the world.
Since the time of Emperor Kublai Khan, Tibet has belonged to China and is its most remote province.
The new bridge over the Tsangpo River to the railway station.
Hotel reception area – Lhasa.
The Lhasa River bridge connects the center of Lhasa to the new train station.

Copyright reserved:

E. Cheong

New Huaren Federation

16 February 2011

I am Mother

On By estrangedztIn moviesLeave a comment

In a dystopian future, a female android /robot becomes humanity last resource of a mother to a human child.

A movie with a very interesting story and with the ever amazing Hillary Swank side by side with a XXI century Sigourney Weaver, miss Rose Byrne!

An interesting and pleasant surprise!

Books worth gold

On By estrangedztIn artLeave a comment

Collection of unique and exceptionally valuable books.

Incredible works, which today are worth real fortunes.

“Leicester Code”
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Leicester Code” was purchased in 1994 by Bill Gates for $30.8 million. This 72-page collection of scientific and philosophical writings is in perfect condition. It dates back to 1500 and has the peculiarity of having been written backwards, with a «specular» writing: a mirror is necessary to read the text.
“The Gospels of Henri Le Lion”.
Commissioned by Henri Le Lion of the Helmarshausen monastery, these gospels were drawn up and carefully illustrated in 1188. The work is sumptuous, testifying to the richness of the monastic art of miniatures and piety of the 12th century. It was bought in 1983 for 8.15 million pounds and its value is currently estimated at more than 16 million euros.
“Birds of America”
John James Audubon, a French-American painter and naturalist, loved birds. Starting in 1820, he dedicated himself to touring the United States and drawing all the species he encountered. His work consists of 435 watercolors painted in the “double-elephant” format (98x76cm). In December 2010, a complete collection of originals sold at “Sotheby’s” for $11.5 million.
“Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies”
This is the first compilation of Shakespeare’s plays, printed in folio format. The book consists of 36 pages and was published 7 years after the death of the writer, by two of his close friends. One of the 40 complete copies cataloged was sold for $5.6 million dollars at “Sotheby’s”, but specialists estimate its value at more than 16 million euros.
“Gutenberg’s Bible”
Titanic work by Johannes Gutenberg: the printing of the “42-line Bible” was a technological feat. Premier printed text in Europe thanks to mobile signs, perfectly calibrated thanks to the use of ligatures and spaces reserved for miniatures. An original copy was bought for $5.4 million dollars in 1987 but the most beautiful copies are estimated at more than 20 million euros.
“The Canterbury Tales”
The 24 stories that make up this work by Geoffrey Chaucer relate the stay of a group of pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Written in verse in 1478, the text is profusely illustrated with miniatures. An original copy was bought for $7 million at auction.
“Les Liliacées”
This incredible work “in folio” supposed its author Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s is a meticulous work of observation of liliaceae during several years. The 480 plates were completed in 1802 in the garden of the Malmaison (of the Empress Josephine). They caught the attention of Napoleon, who commissioned several dozen copies for museums in France. It was acquired in 1985 for about $5 million.
“Vita Christi, Life of Christ and the Virgin”
It was completed to become a rosary and a devotional volume. The lighting system is handwritten on parchment. It is one of the most beautiful 12th century productions ever sold. Its 57 illustrations give it a beauty and intensity of colors unique to religious works. It was acquired by German collector Jörn Gunther in 2007 for $3.5 million.
“The Tales of the Bard Beedle”
Written by the author of Harry Potter, it is a compendium of little fables that supposedly all the little witches of Poudlard knew each other.
J. K. Rowling made 7 copies by hand, adorned in the paste with semi-precious stones. One of them was auctioned for a charity stock and purchased by Amazon.com for £1.95 million.
“The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution”
It officially abolished slavery in the country at the time of its adoption, on December 6, 1865. The text, which takes the Principles of the proclamation of the emancipation of Abraham Lincoln, is considered one of the founding acts in US history. . It was auctioned for $1.9 million.
“The Book of Urizen”
William Blake was a poet and painter, which allowed him to transcend lyricism
of his works thanks to the image. Urizen’s first book is a literary gem.
The strength of the text, a kind of pagan Genesis, and the unique composition of its pages continues to attract collectors. The work dates from 1794 and was sold at a price of $2.3 million.
First issue of “Action Comics” in 1938.
In this first issue the adventures of Superman are published. Sold then for 10 cents, it is today the prized treasure of comic book collectors.
In March 2010, it was auctioned for $1.5 million.
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
Lewis Carroll’s book is indisputably a work of art in world literature. The book market experts were not mistaken as an original 1865 edition was loaned for the sum of $1.4 million in 1998. The first edition, printed with 2,000 copies, is extremely unique and superbly illustrated by John Tenniel.
“Mercator’s Atlas”
The geographer and mathematician Gerardus Mercator was the first cartographer who imagined a system of projection of the Earth’s surface on a cylinder tangent to the equator (method still in force). His atlas, printed in 1569, got him some trouble with the Church and was bought for $800,000 at Sotheby’s.
“Tamerlane and other poems”
It is the first work published by Edgar Allan Poe in 1827, when he was 13 years old. If Poe admits the poor quality of his texts, collectors waged a fierce struggle to acquire it. The happy buyer paid out $663,000.
“El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote De La Mancha”
Written by Cervantes and published in 1605, it is the greatest classic book of literature in the Spanish language of all time. It is also the most expensive novel in history. An original copy was purchased for $ 1.5 million in 1989. Today it is estimated at more than $ 2.5 million.
“Ptolemy Geography”
Made around the year 150 AD, it has enormous precision errors but also offers us the immense knowledge accumulated by Greek science, such as the sphericity of the Earth and the existence of a southern continent. The manual will have a great influence among Renaissance cartographers. As a rare book, it sold for $3.5 million in 2006.
“From Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium”
Revolutionary work par excellence changed the vision of Europeans, describing a universe centered around the sun. Printed in 1543, Copernicus’s scientific writings immediately sparked violent protests from the Church, and the text was long viewed as subversive. It was bought in 2008 for $2 million.

Original based on PPT by doucetentacion@gmail.com and https://www.linternaute.com/livre/magazine/1054428-les-livres-les-plus-chers-de-l-histoire/1054430-l-evangeliaire-de-henri-le-lion.

Around the World

On By estrangedztIn WorldLeave a comment

Good vacation.

On the same day of the bet, Phileas Fogg and his new butler, Passepartout
undertook a journey to Paris. As luggage he carried a change, 20,000 pounds, (half of his fortune, the other half had been staked) and a travel guide.
And from Paris, smoothly, to Turin
From Turin, they crossed all of Italy to Brindisi
From Brindisi, crossing the Mediterranean by boat, to Suez
From Suez, across the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea to Bombay
They crossed India to Allahabad
From Allahabad to Benares
And from Benares to Calcutta
They left India to get to Hong Kong
And through China to Shanghai
From Shanghai to Yokohama in Japan
And from Japan to America
And they came to San Francisco
From San Francisco to Omaha in Nebraska
And from Omaha to Chicago
And from Chicago to New York
And across the Atlantic to Cobh (former Queenstown) in Ireland
And from Cobh to Dublin
And from Dublin to Liverpool
And finally, from Liverpool to London
And with British punctuality, after 80 days, Mr. Fogg followed by a delirious crowd made his entrance into the Reform Club.

Original artwork: https://pt.slideshare.net/Sergiosanchez241/la-vuelta-al-mundo-en-80-das-68331855 by MAR

Project Power

On By estrangedztIn moviesLeave a comment

Let’s power up our inner…

Well, I do not want to spoil this, so, if you ant to finish the above sentence, go watch this movie and then you’ll find it to!

Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are great in their characters, but Dominique Fishback was mind blowing.

I do recommend this one!