Tag Archives: Asia

Shifen Waterfall

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Shifen Waterfall

Shifen Waterfall is the Asian version of Niagara Falls.

  • Shifen Waterfall is a waterfall located in Taiwan’s New Taipei City, in Asia, in the Pingxi district, and is part of the Keelung River.
  • ‘Shifen Waterfall’ is also known as ‘Taiwan’s Niagara Falls’, ‘Little Niagara’ and ‘Rainbow Pond’, while ‘Shífēn’ means ‘very’ or ‘fully’.
  • Shifen Waterfall is the widest waterfall found in Taiwan, and it spans a distance of approximately 40 metres (131 feet).
  • The water of Shifen Waterfall runs down rocks that are spread in a horseshoe shape, that are found in a picturesque setting.
  • Shifen Waterfall reaches heights of 15 to 20 metres (49 to 66 feet).

Shifen Waterfall, Taipei, Taiwan, Park, Water, Rock, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Shifen Waterfall
Image courtesy of Jeniffer/Flickr
  • Shifen Waterfall is said to be a small version of Niagara Falls, and it has a cascade water flow, where the rocks slope back away from the direction of the water flow.
  • Mist gathers at the base of Shifen Waterfall and when light refracts through the water droplets, rainbows form.
  • Shifen Waterfall can be reached from a 15 to 20 minute trail, although a much longer track is available, and it can take as long as three or four hours to complete.
  • Shifen Waterfall is located in a privately owned area and is surrounded by lush nature, as well as bridges, camping spots and rest areas.
  • To see Shifen Waterfall an entrance fee is payable and the price varies, depending on the person’s age and other factors.
Bibliography:
Shifen Waterfall, 2014, Travel King, http://travel.network.com.tw/tourguide/point/showpage/940.html
Shifen Waterfall, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifen_waterfall
Shifen Waterfall, n.d, Taiwan’s Waterfalls, http://taiwanswaterfalls.com/waterfall-guide/new-taipei-waterfalls/shifen-waterfall/
Welcome to the Home of Water – Shifen, 2012, Riding Taiwan’s Scenic Railways, http://www.taiwan.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=70954&CtNode=3037&mp=10003

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Curry Powder

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Curry Powder

Do not let the curry powder burn your mouth… or these facts burn your brain.

  • Curry powder is a preparation of spices used primarily in dishes to add flavour and a pleasant smell.
  • Curry powder is made primarily of spices, most often turmeric, cumin and coriander, but the mixture also often contains chilli and fenugreek, and sometimes garlic and ginger.
  • Curry powder typically produces both a flavour and a curry similar to foods from Asia’s south and it is often spicy.
  • Curry powder is often used in curry sauces, but also dishes that require a distinct flavour, and the mixture can be homemade or commonly available in supermarkets or Asian grocery stores.
  • Curry powder most likely arrived in European society in 1771, and an advertisement for the product appeared in a British newspaper, dated 1784.

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  • Curry powder became common in the 1800s and 1900s after the introduction of machines that can mass produce, as well as becoming a widespread and popular export.
  • Curry powder became increasingly popular in 1960s to 1970s with the demand and supply of Indian cuisine.
  • Curry powder is typically coloured yellow, orange, red, grey or brown, depending on the spice mix, and the powder particles are often very fine, but vary in size.
  • Commercially bought curry powder often loses its prominent taste and strength after lengthy storage times, and usually starts deteriorating from six months.
  • Curry powder is high in fibre, vitamin E, vitamin K, iron and manganese, and is said to help protect against inflammation and cancer.

 

Bibliography:
Breslin F, Currying Flavor, 2012, Cook for Your Life, http://www.cookforyourlife.org/ingredients/90-curry-powder
Curry Powder, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_powder
History of Spice and Curry Powder, n.d, Vijay, http://www.vijaymasala.com/?page_id=364
Kelley L, The Origins of Curry Powder, 2013, Silk Road Gourmet, http://www.silkroadgourmet.com/curry-powder/

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Giant Clam

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Giant Clam

You may not be a giant when next to a giant clam.

  • Giant clams are very large bivalves, shells with two pieces that are hinged together, and are native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, in coral reefs.
  • The giant clam has the scientific name Tridacna gigas, and is a mollusc from the family Cardiidae, the family of cockles, and it is commonly believed to be the largest extant bivalve, and while it is the heaviest, longer specimens of Kuphus polythalamia have been found.
  • Giant clams typically range from 90 to 120 centimetres (35 to 47 inches) in length, and can weigh 100 to 200 kilograms (220 to 440 pounds), although they can grow larger.
  • The diet of a giant clam primarily consists of nutrients produced by algae that the clam plays host to and with which it lives in a photosymbiosis relationship, and it also consumes plankton and sometimes other plant and animal matter.
  • Giant clams possibly grow around 12 centimetres in length annually, until maximum length has been reached, and they have a lifespan spanning approximately 20 to 100 years in the wild.
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Giant Clam
Image courtesy of Malcolm Browne/Flickr
  • Once a giant clam has found a favourable location, it settles there and does not re-position itself ever again, however, they do have predators, that include eels; fish; starfish; and snails, that are smaller than the clam itself, and once attacked, they will be slowly eaten by their enemies.
  • Giant clams are vulnerably endangered due to coral reef habitat destruction as well as over-fishing partly due to the clam being considered as a delicacy.
  • Giant clams usually close in self defense, but quite slowly, and often not all the way, and while they have often been regarded as highly dangerous and fatal, this is considered a myth and no known fatalities have occurred.
  • Giant clams have a combination of colours that vary, and include yellow, red, orange, green, pink, blue and brown, and it is said that every clam is unique in its appearance.
  • Giant clams are said to be able to produce 500 million eggs at once, that are released in the ocean and once fertilised, they quickly hatch and produce a shell.
Bibliography:
Giant Clam, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/giant-clam/
Giant Clam, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/invertebrates/giant-clam/
Giant Clam, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_clam

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Mahatma Gandhi

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Mahatma Gandhi

“Where there is love there is life.” – Mahatma Gandhi

  • Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian political activist, a firm believer of nonviolent resistance, and the primary influence of India’s independence and freedom from Britain in 1947.
  • The full name of Mahatma Gandhi is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born on the 2 October, 1869, in India’s Porbandar, in Asia, and he has also been known as ‘Bapu’, ‘Gandhiji’, ‘Father of the Nation’, and ‘Father of India’, and the title ‘Mahatma’, meaning ‘great soul’ or similar, was first used in relation to him in 1914.
  • Abiding by Indian tradition, Mahatma Gandhi married the similarly aged Kasturbai Makhanji at age thirteen years, in 1883 by an arranged marriage, and had five children, although only four boys survived, with the first child dying days after birth.
  • Mahatma Gandhi studied law in London, in Europe’s England in 1888, returning to India in 1891 after graduation, but then moved to South Africa to work for an Indian trader group in 1893 as a legal representative, where he remained until moving back to India in 1915.
  • While in South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi observed and experienced violent racism, and as a result rallied for the rights of Indians in the country, and when he returned home to India after more than 20 years, he began to campaign for his country’s independence.
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Mahatma Gandhi
Image courtesy of Nagarjun Kandukuru/Flickr
  • Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by bullet at 78 years of age, on 30 January, 1948, by Nathuram Godse, a representative of a disagreeing Hindu fundamentalist group, in the area of Birla House, New Delhi in India, which was later renamed Gandhi Smriti and was transformed into a museum.
  • While he studied many different religions, Mahatma Gandhi was mostly influenced by Hinduism and Jainism, and during his lifetime he wrote over 50,000 pages of literature, some of which was previously released, although the whole lot was published collectively by the government in India in the 1960s.
  • Despite being nominated five times, Mahatma Gandhi was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize during his lifetime, although the story of his life was adapted into the Academy Award winning film Gandhi (1982), starring Ben Kingsley as the main character.
  • Since 2007, the 2nd October has been celebrated each year as the International Day of Non-Violence, in honour of Mahatma Gandhi, which is the Indian’s birthday, and also a public holiday in India, known as ‘Gandhi Jayanti’.
  • Mahatma Gandhi was the subject of at least five failed assassinations, one of which is said to have been the derailing of a train a year and a half before his death.
Bibliography:
Mahatma Gandhi, 2014, History, http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/mahatma-gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi

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Panjin Red Beach

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Panjin Red Beach

Panjin Red Beach is bright and beautiful.

  • Panjin Red Beach is a beach located in the southern area of Liaoning Province, in northeast China.
  • Panjin Red Beach is covered in flora, notably the brightly coloured and edible Suaeda salsa plants from the family Amaranthaceae, the family of amaranths.
  • ‘Panjin Red Beach’ is also known as ‘Red Seabeach’, ‘Red Beach’ and the ‘home of the cranes’.
  • Panjin Red Beach is part of the 100 square kilometre (38.6 square mile) Red Beach Scenic Area, as well as the Panjin wetlands, that is the home to 260 birds and 399 other fauna, including rare and endangered species of crane.
  • Panjin Red Beach became a protected area as part of the Panjin wetlands in 1988, and was declared a ‘National Nature Reserve’, and it has since become a popular tourist destination.
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Part of Panjin Red Beach
Image courtesy of Free York
  • Panjin Red Beach is named due to the Suaeda salsa plants that change from the colour green, to orange, pink and eventually a stunning bright red.
  • Panjin Red Beach wetlands area is the home to many species of reed, which are commonly used to make paper, and large sections of the Panjin wetlands have been cultivated for this purpose.
  • While the area is vast, the area of Panjin Red Beach that can be visited by the public is small, and the best time to visit is in mid September through to mid October, when the colour is at its best.
  • The nearest city to Panjin Red Beach by distance is Panjin City, approximately 30 kilometres (19 miles) away.
  • The soil of Panjin Red Beach has a high content of alkaline, which causes soil to be unsuitable for most plants, although the saline loving Suaeda salsa grows prolifically.
Bibliography:
Panjin Red Beach, China, 2011, Amusing Planet, http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/11/panjin-red-beach-china.html
The Red Beach in Panjin, China, 2014, Where on Earth, http://whenonearth.net/red-beach-panjin-china/
Red Seabeach, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Seabeach
Wang, L, On the Countermeasures of Panjin Coastal Wetland Protection in Liaoning Province, 2010, Canadian Center of Science and Education, http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/download/5675/4592
Red Beach, 2014, Baidu, http://baike.baidu.com/view/83704.htm

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Scorpion

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Scorpion

You’ll regret being stung by a scorpion.

  • Scorpions are anthropods belonging to the order Scorpiones, which is also their scientific name, that consists of 13 families and approximately 1750 species, plus around 110 that are extinct.
  • Scorpions have two claw-shaped pedipalps; a long segmented body, and a long segmented erect tail, tipped with a stinger and venom.
  • Scorpions are related to spiders, and of the thousands of species, only around 25 to 40 can actually cause a human fatality, and they are preyed on by birds, lizards, rodents and possums.
  • Scorpions are native worldwide, with the exception of Antarctica, although they were introduced to some Pacific Islands, including New Zealand, as well as Europe’s Great Britain.
  • Scorpions can be found in a wide variety of habitats, and typically live in holes in the ground or other similar shelters during the day, and are active during the night.
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Scorpion
Image courtesy of Matt Reinbold/Flickr
  • Scorpions are capable of living up to a year without food, and their diet mainly consists of insects, spiders and some small reptiles and mammals, that are trapped via their pincers and/or dangerous venom; and they liquidize their prey before consumption.
  • Scorpions produce from 1 to 105 young over a period of a few weeks, while the young are dependent on their mother and live on her back until their first moult.
  • Scorpions are fried and traditionally consumed in Asia’s China, where a wine made from the creature is also used as medicine.
  • Scorpions range from less than 1 centimetre (0.4 inches) in length, to 21 centimetres (08.3 inches) and weigh 10 to 100 grams (0.4 to 3.5 ounces).
  • Scorpions are typically coloured black, white, red, brown or yellow, and when placed underneath an ultraviolet light, they may emit a fluorescent colour.
Bibliography:
Scorpion, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/scorpion/
Scorpion, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/bugs/scorpion/
Scorpion, 2014, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/scorpion
Scorpion, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion

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