Chengdu Skyline, China

Postcard CN-1366988 from China was a beautiful 3D card showing the city skyline of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan province in China. With 14,047,625 residents (7,415,590 in nine urban districts and 6,632,035 in the surrounding area), Chengdu is the fifth most populous city in China as of 2010.

Today is the 7th anniversary of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, measured at 8.0 Ms, that killed 69,197 people and left 18,222 missing. The epicenter was 80 kilometers or 50 miles west-northwest of Chengdu.

Hiking Springs Preserve's Trails

November 2 marks the end of Daylight Savings Time in 2014. To adjust the time change, experts recommend maximizing sun exposure to counter the darkness that looms one hour earlier. Taking advantage of the monthly Bank of America's Museums on US program, I went out to explore the hiking trails at the Springs Preserve.

The Springs Preserve has trails of 3.65 miles or 5.87 kilometers in total on its 110 acres of native habitats and archaeological sites. In addition to native plants and Mojave Desert wildlife, there are a number of historical sites along the way, such as the remnants of caretaker's house and chicken coop. A 10,000 year-old spring mound, an important geologic remnant that still holds significant prehistoric artifacts, can be seen on the left of the photo below. A well derrick from the early waterworks is on the right. 

Postcard US-3038794 to Finland was bought at the Springs Preserve's gift shop during my earlier visit, showing Yellow Two-Tone Penstemon that is native in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada and adjacent southeastern California and northwestern Arizona. The gift shop now has some cool 3D postcards featuring various wildlife and plants, priced at US$ 3.95 each.

German Unity Day

Today is the German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), the national day of Germany. Celebrated on October 3 every year, it is a public holiday that commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990. The reunification process started as the Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989, and was formally completed on October 3, 1990. The German Unity Day, the national holiday of the Federal Republic of Germany, had been previously celebrated on June 17 since 1954. It was celebrated twice in 1990, once on June 17, 1990 and the other on October 3, 1990.

Postcard DE-1272658  was a lenticular 3D postcard. When viewing from different angles, it shows the reunified Germany by Day or by Night from space. It was also the first official PostCrossing postcard I received from Germany.

Stereoscope : Ascending and Descending

I received a stereoscope card NL-2125293 from the Netherlands today. It shows Ascending and Descending, a lithograph print by the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher that was first printed in March 1960.

Originally measured 14" × 11¼”, the lithograph illustrates a large building with a never-ending staircase on the top. While most two-dimensional artists use relative proportions to create an illusion of depth, Escher uses conflicting proportions to create a visual paradox, showing one line of people ascending while the other descending all one the same staircase.

In addition to the print in front of the card, the card has a pair of stereoscopic lenses that, when unfolded, allows parallel-viewing two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer; these two-dimensional images are then combined in the viewer's brain to form the perception of 3D depth of the building.