Rivers

Chengdu (UK: /tʃɛŋˈduː/, US: /tʃʌŋ-/; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: Chéngdū; Sichuanese pronunciation: [tsʰən˨˩tu˥], Standard Chinese pronunciation: [ʈʂʰə̌ŋ.tú] (listen)), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a population of 20,937,757 inhabitants during the 2020 Chinese census, it is the fourth most populous city in China, and it is the only city apart from the four direct-administered municipalities with a population of over 20 million (the other three are Chongqing, Shanghai and Beijing). It is traditionally the hub in Southwest China.

Chengdu is located in central Sichuan. The surrounding Chengdu Plain is known as the “Country of Heaven” (Chinese: 天府之国; pinyin: Tiānfǔ zhi Guó) and the “Land of Abundance”. Its prehistoric settlers included the Sanxingdui culture. The site of Dujiangyan, an ancient irrigation system, is designated as a World Heritage Site. The Jin River flows through the city. Chengdu’s culture largely reflects that of its province, Sichuan; in 2011, it was recognized by UNESCO as a city of gastronomy. It is associated with the giant panda, a Chinese national symbol, which inhabits the area of Sichuan; the city is home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. (Full article…)

• … that Beryl Benacerraf, pioneer of the nuchal scan, wrote that dyslexia caused her to live in a world of images where “anomalies jump out at me like a neon sign”?
• … that from 1912, Jindřiška Flajšhansová was the principal editor of Ženské listy, a Czech journal that became a women’s “survival manual” during World War I?
• … that some of the students of yeshivas in World War II were exiled to the remote Komi Republic to do forced labor?
• … that the McLaren MCL36, McLaren’s 2022 Formula One car, has been in development since 2019 because of the pandemic’s interruptions to the sport?
• … that Marita Camacho Quirós, who was First Lady of Costa Rica (1962–1966), is the oldest former first lady in the world and a supercentenarian?
• … that the world’s oldest postcard, mailed in 1840, was designed as a practical joke to mock postal clerks?
• … that the world’s largest building by volume is an airplane factory in Everett, Washington?
• … that Bill Pinkney was the first African American to sail around the world solo via the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn?

Mozambique (/ˌmoʊzæmˈbiːk/), officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɛˈpuβlikɐ ðɨ musɐ̃ˈbikɨ]; Chichewa: Mozambiki; Swahili: Msumbiji; Tsonga: Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo.

Notably Northern Mozambique lies within the monsoon trade winds of the Indian Ocean and is frequentely affected by disruptive weather. Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed on that area, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and language. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and India. (Full article…)

Seven Wonders of the Industrial World is a 7-part British docudrama television miniseries that originally aired from 4 September 2003 to 16 October 2003 on BBC and was later released on DVD. The programme examines seven engineering feats that occurred since the Industrial Revolution. The same feats are covered in a companion book of the same name by producer Deborah Cadbury. (Full article…)

---