James' World 2

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Qingdao also spelled Tsingtao; is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city’s name in Chinese characters literally means “azure island”. Located on China’s Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) Initiative that connects Asia with Europe. It has the highest GDP of any city in the province. Administered at the sub-provincial level, Qingdao has jurisdiction over seven districts and three county-level cities (Jiaozhou, Pingdu, Laixi). As of the 2020 census, Qingdao built-up (or metro) area made of the 7 urban Districts (Shinan, Shibei, Huangdao, Laoshan, Licang, Chengyang, and Jimo) was home to 7,172,451 inhabitants. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula and looking out to the Yellow Sea, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west, and Rizhao to the southwest.

Qingdao is a major seaport and naval base, as well as a commercial and financial center. It is home to electronics multinationals such as Haier and Hisense. The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, links the main urban area of Qingdao with Huangdao district, straddling the Jiaozhou Bay sea areas. Its historic, German-style architecture and Tsingtao Brewery, the second largest brewery in China are legacies of the German occupation (1898-1914).

In the 2020 Global Financial Centers Index, Qingdao ranked 47th; the index is published by the Z/Yen Group and China Development Institute, the other Chinese cities on the list being Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, Xi’an, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Dalian, and Wuhan. In 2007, Qingdao was named as one of China’s top ten cities by the Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at the 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum. In 2009, Qingdao was named China’s most livable city by the Chinese Institute of City Competitiveness. In 2018, Qingdao held the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. In 2020, Qingdao was rated as a Gamma+ level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Qingdao is also one of the world’s top 100 cities for global scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is home to several notable universities, including the Ocean University of China, China University of Petroleum, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao University, Qingdao University of Science and Technology Qingdao University of Technology, and Qingdao Agricultural University. Wikipedia

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An image from Qingdao, Shandong, China

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Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 meters (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia has been inhabited since prehistoric times by the San, Damara, and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu people arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since then, the Bantu groups, the largest being the Ovambo, have dominated the population of the country; since the late 19th century, they have constituted a majority.

In 1878, the Cape of Good Hope, then a British colony, annexed the port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands; these became an integral part of the new Union of South Africa at its creation in 1910. In 1884, the German Empire established rule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German Southwest Africa. It developed farming and infrastructure. Between 1904 and 1908, it perpetrated a genocide against the Herero and Nama people. German rule ended in 1915 with a defeat by South African forces. In 1920, after the end of World War I, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. As Mandatory power, South Africa imposed its laws, including racial classifications and rules. From 1948, with the National Party elected to power, this included South Africa applying apartheid to what was then known as South West Africa.

In the later 20th century, uprisings and demands for political representation by native African political activists seeking independence resulted in the UN assuming direct responsibility over the territory in 1966, but South Africa maintained de facto rule. In 1973, the UN recognized the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people; the party is dominated by the Ovambo, who are a large plurality in the territory. Following continued guerrilla warfare, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985. Namibia obtained full independence from South Africa in 1990. However, Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands remained under South African control until 1994.

Namibia has a population of 2.55 million people and is a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, tourism, and the mining industry – including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver, and base metals – form the basis of its economy, while the manufacturing sector is comparatively small. The large, arid Namib Desert from which the country derived its name has resulted in Namibia being overall one of the least densely populated countries in the world. Wikipedia

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Kamikōchi is a remote mountainous highland valley within the Hida Mountains range, in the western region of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

It has been preserved in its natural state within Chūbu-Sangaku National Park. It is designated as one of Japan’s National Cultural Assets, on the list of Special Natural Monuments and Special Places of Scenic Beauty. It is sometimes referred to as the “Japanese Yosemite Valley,” although it is considerably smaller than its Californian counterpart.

Kamikōchi is a high mountain valley approximately 18 kilometers in length. The average elevation of the valley floor ranges between roughly 1,400 m (4,600 ft) above sea level at the south end and roughly 1,600 m (5,200 ft) at the northern tip.

Kamikōchi is located in the Hida Mountains, the “Northern Alps” of the Japanese Alps. The surrounding mountains reach 3,190 m (10,470 ft). Kamikōchi is bordered on its northern end by Mount Hotaka, and on its southern end by Mount Yake, an active volcano.

The Azusa River flows the length of the valley, filling Lake Taishō at the base of Mt. Yake. Lake Taishō received its name because it was formed by the eruption of Mt. Yake in 1915, which was part of the Taishō period in Japan.

Because of the relatively flat topography of the Kamikochi Valley, marshes and ponds are a common feature, including the Takezawa Marsh, Tashiro Pond, and Myojin Pond. As the waters are mainly from melted snow runoff or underground aquifers, the water temperature is cold, even in the height of summer. The Tokusawa area at the far northern end of the valley served as a grazing area for horses and cattle until 1934 when the area was completely integrated into the park.

Kamikochi is a very popular hiking destination, there are an abundance of mountain huts and camping sites that make overnight hiking easier to manage. The most famous hike in the area is Yarigatake which is easily accessible from Kamikochi and often combined with Oku-Hotaka as a multi-day hike. Wikipedia

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An image from Kamikochi

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