USA LOUISIANA

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, and the largest by land area is Plaquemines.
Much of the state's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. The two "Deltas" are located in Monroe, the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Shreveport, the parish seat of Caddo Parish, and Alexandria, the parish seat of Rapides Parish, for the small Delta, and Monroe, Lake Charles, and New Orleans for the large Delta. They are referred to as Deltas because they form a perfect triangle shape when the points are lined up. These contain a rich southern biota; typical examples include birds such as ibis and egrets. There are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a natural process in the landscape, and has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas. These support an exceptionally large number of plant species, including many species of orchids and carnivorous plants.

CHINA

Landesaufnahme. Kartogr. Abteilung. Date: 1903 Location: Beijing (China) 

The city of Dadu, the forerunner of Beijing of the Ming and Qing dynasties, was built in 1264 by the Yuan Dynasty. Dadu's design followed several rules from the book Rites of Zhou: "nine vertical axis, nine horizontal axis"; "palaces in the front, markets in the rear"; "left ancestral worship, right god worship". It was broad in scale, strict in planning and execution, and complete in equipment.
Dadu had 11 city gates. The eastern, southern, and western sides had three gates per side, and the northern wall had two gates. The three eastern gates, from north to south, were called Guangximen, Chongrenmen, and Qihuamen. The three southern gates, from west to east, were called Shunchengmen, Lizhengmen, and Wenmingmen. The three western gates, from north to south, were called Suqingmen, Heyimen, and Pingzemen. The two northern gates, from west to east, were called Jiandemen and Anzhenmen.
In August 1368 General Xu Da of the Ming Dynasty captured the city. The Khan of Yuan, Yuan Shundi, escaped from the city without defending it, and thus the city sustained no damage. Xu Da decided that Dadu's fortification system was too large to defend during a siege, so he ordered the city's northern walls rebuilt 2.8 kilometres to the south of the original location. This construction pre-empted the planned expansion of the city into areas to the north. The new wall was constructed with an extra layer of bricks, further strengthening the city's defences.

Thank you so much Yang Yi for ur nice card :) and stamps 

UKRAINE

Thank you soo much Anna for your beautiful card and stamp :)

BELGIUM

Thank you soo much Ilse your gift :)

WEATHER

Thank you soo much Ilse for your gift :)