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Jade Belt Bridge

1764 establishments in ChinaBridges completed in 1764Bridges in BeijingDeck arch bridgesPedestrian bridges in China
People's Republic of China bridge (structure) stubsStone bridges in ChinaSummer Palace (Beijing)
Gaoliang Bridge
Gaoliang Bridge

The Jade Belt Bridge (simplified Chinese: 玉带桥; traditional Chinese: 玉帶橋; pinyin: Yù Dài Qiáo), also known as the Camel's Back Bridge, is an 18th-century pedestrian moon bridge located on the grounds of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. It is famous for its distinctive tall thin single arch. The Jade Belt Bridge is the most well-known of the six bridges on the western shore of Kunming Lake. It was erected in the years 1750, during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, and was built in the style of the delicate bridges in the country-side of southern China. It is made from marble and other white stone. The ornate bridge railings are decorated with carvings of cranes and other animals. The clearance of the arch was chosen to accommodate the dragon boat of the Qianlong Emperor. As the Kunming Lake inlet to the neighboring Yu River, and when during special occasions, the emperors and empress and their dragon boat would specifically pass under this bridge. It is one of the most beautiful bridges in the Summer Palace. A similar arch bridge called Xiuyi Bridge is located on the southeast of Summer Palace.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Jade Belt Bridge (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Jade Belt Bridge
绣漪桥, Haidian District

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N 39.980194444444 ° E 116.27380555556 °
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绣漪桥

绣漪桥
100080 Haidian District
Beijing, China
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Gaoliang Bridge
Gaoliang Bridge
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Ministry of State Security (China)
Ministry of State Security (China)

The Ministry of State Security (MSS or Guóānbù; Chinese: 国家安全部; pinyin: Guójiā Ānquán Bù; lit. 'State Security Ministry'; IPA: [kwǒ.tɕjá án.tɕʰɥɛ̌n pû]) is the principal civilian intelligence, security and secret police agency of the People's Republic of China, responsible for foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, and the political security of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One of the largest and most secretive intelligence organizations in the world, it is headquartered in the Haidian District of Beijing, with powerful semi-autonomous branches at the provincial, city, municipality and township levels throughout China.The origins of the MSS begin with the CCP's Central Special Branch, better known as the Teke, which was replaced by the Central Social Affairs Department (SAD) in 1936, which was in turn succeeded by the Central Investigation Department (CID) – the MSS's immediate predecessor – in 1955. In 1983 CID was merged with the counterintelligence elements of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to create the MSS. The MSS is active in industrial and cyber espionage, where it has replaced the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as the country's most sophisticated and prolific advanced persistent threat actor. It makes arrests through its own component of the People's Police, and maintains the authority to conduct its own extrajudicial court hearings.The ministry is also be known to be involved in transnational repression, organized crime, surveillance and harassment of dissidents abroad and influence operations targeting overseas Chinese diaspora in collaboration with the United Front Work Department.Today the agency is estimated to have at least 110,000 employees, with 10,000 directly attached to MSS headquarters and 100,000 spread across its dozens of provincial branches. The agency's military intelligence counterpart is the PLA Intelligence Bureau of the Joint Staff Department.

Summer Palace
Summer Palace

The Summer Palace (simplified Chinese: 颐和园; traditional Chinese: 頤和園; pinyin: Yíhéyuán) is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill (万寿山; 萬壽山; Wànshòu Shān) Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi), three-quarters of which is water. Longevity Hill is about 60 metres (200 ft) high and has many buildings positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich with splendid halls and pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty. The central Kunming Lake, covering 2.2 square kilometres (540 acres), was entirely man-made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. Inspired by the gardens in South China, the Summer Palace, there are over 3,000 various Chinese ancient buildings that house a collection of over 40,000 kinds of valuable historical relics from each dynasty. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value". Notably in Chinese history, it is also the Central Route terminus of the South-North Water Transfer Project having traversed 1,267 km (787 mi) from Danjiangkou Reservoir, Hubei, making it Beijing's main water supply.

Marble Boat
Marble Boat

The Marble Boat (Chinese: 石舫; pinyin: Shí Fǎng), also known as the Boat of Purity and Ease, is a lakeside pavilion on the grounds of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. It was first erected in 1755 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The original pavilion was made from a base of large stone blocks which supported a wooden superstructure done in a traditional Chinese design.In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the pavilion was burnt on the orders of Lord Elgin. It was restored in 1893 on order of Empress Dowager Cixi. In this restoration, a new two-story superstructure was designed which incorporated elements of European architecture. Like its predecessor, the new superstructure is made out of wood but it was painted to imitate marble. On each "deck", there is a large mirror to reflect the waters of the lake and give an impression of total immersion in the aquatic environment. Imitation paddlewheels on each side of the pavilion makes it look like a paddle steamer. The pavilion has a sophisticated drainage system which channels rainwater through four hollow pillars, which is finally released into the lake through the mouths of four dragonheads. The boat design of the pavilion may relate to a quote attributed to Wei Zheng, a Tang dynasty chancellor. He is said to have told Emperor Taizong that "the waters that float the boat can also capsize it", implying that the Chinese people can not only support an emperor, but can also topple him. With this in mind, the Qianlong Emperor might have chosen to construct the Marble Boat as an auspicious symbol of a stable reign.The Marble Boat is often seen as an ironic commentary on the fact that the money used to restore the Summer Palace largely came from funds originally earmarked for building up a new imperial navy. The controller of the Admiralty, Prince Chun, owed much of his social standing as well as his appointment to Empress Dowager Cixi, who had adopted his eldest son, Zaitian, who was enthroned as the Guangxu Emperor. Because of this, he probably saw no other choice than to condone the embezzlement. The pavilion is 36 meters (118 ft) in length and stands on the northwestern shore of Kunming Lake, near the western end of the Long Corridor.