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The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria, and Thuringia.

In 1991 the Rhön was recognized at international level by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. The aim of this biosphere reserve is, taking account of local agriculture, nature protection, tourism, and trade, to ensure the variety and quality of habitats in the whole Rhön region. This involves creating a long-term, economic environment for agriculture and trade that is in tune with the protection and care of nature and the local landscape. People are at the heart of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. The idea is to have a so-called sustainable development, which harmonizes economic and social issues as far as possible with environmental issues.

The Biosphere Reserve currently has a total area of 184,939 hectares (714.05 sq mi), of which 72,802 ha are in Bavaria, 63,564 ha in Hesse, and 48,573 ha in Thuringia. From 1991-1995 a “Concept for the Protection, Care and Development” for the Rhön with objectives and measures was drawn up in conjunction with the districts, communes, authorities, and societies. Following the UNESCO zoning system, 4,199 ha (2.27%) of land were designated as a core areas that are not allowed to be directly used for any purpose e.g. agriculture or forestry. A further 67,483 ha (36.49%) are designated as buffer zones where there should only be careful use of land compatible with nature. The remaining areas are the zones of cooperation in which the villages and towns of the Rhön are situated.

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An image from the Rhön Biosphere Reserve Germany

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Guangzhou, also known as Canton (/kænˈtɒn/) and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and the largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong and 145 km (90 mi) north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road, and continues to serve as a major port and transportation hub, as well as one of China’s three largest cities. For a long time the only Chinese port accessible to most foreign traders, Guangzhou was captured by the British during the First Opium War. No longer enjoying a monopoly after the war, it lost trade to other ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai but continued to serve as a major transshipment port. Due to a high urban population and large volumes of port traffic, Guangzhou is classified as a Large-Port Megacity, the largest type of port city in the world. Due to worldwide pandemic-related restrictions on traveling in 2020, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the major airport of Guanghou, became the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic.

Guangzhou is at the heart of the most-populous built-up metropolitan area in the world, which extends into the neighboring cities of Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and part of Jiangmen, Huizhou, Zhuhai, and Macao, forming the largest urban agglomeration on Earth with approximately 65,594,622 residents and part of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. Administratively, the city holds subprovincial status and is one of China’s nine National Central Cities. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, nationals of sub-Saharan Africa who had initially settled in the Middle East and Southeast Asia moved in unprecedented numbers to Guangzhou in response to the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. The domestic migrant population from other provinces of China in Guangzhou was 40% of the city’s total population in 2008. Together with Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen, Guangzhou has one of the most expensive real estate markets in China. As of the 2020 census, the registered population of the city’s expansive administrative area was 18,676,605 individuals (up to 47% from the previous census in 2010) whom 16,492,590 lived in 9 urban districts (all but Conghua and Zengcheng).

In modern commerce, Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, the oldest and largest trade fair in China. For three consecutive years (2013–2015), Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city in mainland China. Guangzhou is highly ranked as an Alpha- (global first-tier) city together with San Francisco and Stockholm. It is a leading financial center in the Asia-Pacific region and ranks 21st globally in the 2020 Global Financial Centres Index. As an important international city, Guangzhou has hosted numerous international and national sporting events, the most notable being the 2010 Asian Games, the 2010 Asian Para Games, and the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The city hosts 65 foreign representatives, making it the third major city to host more foreign representatives than any other cities in China after Beijing and Shanghai. As of 2020, Guangzhou ranks 10th in the world and 5th in China (after Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen) for the number of billionaire residents by the Hurun Global Rich List.

Guangzhou is a major center of research and innovation in the Asia-Pacific with a high level of scientific research output, ranking 14th globally, 6th in the Asia-Pacific, and 4th in China (after Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing), and is home to many of China’s most prestigious universities, including Sun Yat-sen University, South China University of Technology, Jinan University, South China Normal University, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou University, Southern Medical University, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. Wikipedia

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An image from Guangzhou, China

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