DaLian “The Marine Gateway of China”

Dalian was transformed during the same period from a minor fishing port into a modern commercial port and was given the Russian name Dalny (Distant), from the Dalianwan Gulf (Talienwan in historical literature). Dalian, given the Japanese name Dairen (as the Kanji characters are pronounced), was enlarged and modernized. It became the capital of Kwangtung in 1937 and developed rapidly in the 1930s and early 1940s as the main port and logistical center for Japanese-controlled Manchuria. On the east coast of Eurasia and the southern tip of Liaodong peninsular in northeast China, Dalian stretches from 120°58′ to 123°31′ east longitude and 38°43′ to 40°10′ north latitude, with the Yellow Sea on the east, Bohai Sea on the west, facing the Shandong peninsular across the sea on the south and backed up by the vast Northeast Plain on the north. Dalian is the marine gateway of northeast China, North China.

Chengdu Sichuan “Storehouse of Heaven”

Chengdu has been a governmental and cultural center since at least 400 B.C.E., undergoing numerous name changes during the course of its long history. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.-C.E. 220), it was known as the “City of Brocade,” becoming so prosperous that it gained the nickname “Storehouse of Heaven.” Under the Five Dynasties (C.E. 907-960), the local warlord planted so much hibiscus on the city walls (since destroyed) that it was known as the “City of Hibiscus.”