Chinatown, San Francisco

Postcard US-3934037 to Germany is a reproduction of a vintage poster of the Chinatown in San Francisco, California. It shows the Cathay House Restaurant located in the heart of Chinatown with a lengthy traditional Chinese menu and a prime street view for people and cable car watching on California Street.

"San Francisco Sees a Colorful History Slip Away in Chinatown" by Jean H. Lee, run on Los Angeles Times on May 31, 1998, was an interesting article to read about the changes and conflicts that had happened there: "while old-timers want to maintain the district's antique, if stylistically bogus, architecture, recent immigrants are clamoring for new development."

Peach Aviation Unveils "SAMURAI Aircraft"

Postcard JP-789171 from Japan shows a silhouette of a Japanese Samurai under the tree.

Meanwhile, in order to offer visitors to Japan a taste of Japanese culture and tradition as soon as they are on board, Peach Aviation has developed a "SAMURAI aircraft" featuring seiza-style sitting on tatami mats and the captain dressing up as a samurai. However, the seats are limited, and the promotion is only valid for today on April 1, 2016.

Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara

Postcard US-3287382 to Switzerland shows a statue of Avalokiteśvara (观世音), a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas, who can be depicted, presented and portrayed in different forms in different cultures, even as either female or male.

The Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara (千手观音) shown on this card was based on a prominent Buddhist story of Avalokiteśvara vowing never to rest until he had helped all who were suffering. However, in spite of his strenuous efforts, he was struggling to meet the needs of so many. Amitābha (阿弥陀佛), the principal buddha, seeing his plight, gave him eleven heads to comprehend the cries of the suffering and a thousand arms to magnify his capacity of aid.

Culture Day in Japan

Culture Day (文化の日) is a national holiday celebrated annually in Japan on November 3. There are many festivities where art exhibitions, parades, and recognition ceremonies for distinguished artists and scholars are held to promote art and culture. 

Postcard JP-597442 shows an illustration of Momijidani Park (紅葉谷公園), one of the most famous maple leaves valley parks located at the foot of Mt. Misen, along Momijidani River, in Miyajima, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima. In the middle of November, fall foliage will be in full bloom in the park. 

In Memory of Chinese Linguist Ji Xianlin

Professor Ji Xianlin (季羡林), born August 6, 1911, was a Chinese Indologist, linguist, paleographer, historian, and writer. He passed away in Beijing five years ago on July 11, 2009.

The postcard shows the campus of Peking University where Professor Ji founded the Department of Eastern Languages soon after his return from oversea in 1946. He became dean of the department and held a long career as one of greatest scholars in China in the field of Eastern studies, specialized in ancient Indian languages and culture. In 1978, Prof. Ji became vice president of Peking University and director of the Chinese Academy of Science's Research Institute on South Asia.

Coincidentally, another Chinese scholar was lost in the same day. Philosopher Ren Jiyu (任继愈), born April 15, 1916, was a scholar in religious studies and historian, and the Honorary Director of the National Library of China. He passed away in Beijing on July 11, 2009 at the age of 93.

In September 2004, Professor Ji Xianlin and Ren Jiyu, along with three other prominent scholars, jointly issued the 2004 Cultural Declaration at the 2004 Cultural Summit Forum in Beijing, The Declaration emphasizes the necessity of coexistence of a diverse-culture, and promotes equal rights for cultural exchanges, under the background of accelerating globalization.

West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou

Postcard CN-1291364 from China shows West Lake (西湖), a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, eastern China, that has inspired famous poets, scholars and artists since the 9th century. There are numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees, as well as causeways and artificial islands.

It was inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2011 as the West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides, described as having "influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries" and reflecting "an idealized fusion between humans and nature."

International Women's Day

According to Wikepedia, "International Women's Day (IWD), also called International Working Women's Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievements."

We are presenting postcard US-1923857 to Ukraine in commemorating International Women's Day by celebrating Native American women. The postcard features an Anasazi Indian woman, who belong to one of the Ancient Pueblo peoples centered on the present-day Four Corners area bordering southern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. As shown on the background of the postcard, they lived in elevated pit houses, pueblos, and cliff dwellings where they could lift entry ladders during enemy attacks.

Coca-Cola Airs "America the Beautiful" Commercial at Super Bowl

From MSNBC: "Coca-Cola celebrated diversity in America Sunday night with a powerful commercial that featured a variety of faces young and old, of every skin color, with roots all over the world, and -- for the first time in Super Bowl ad history -- a family with gay parents."

Postcard US-2303290 to Italy shows the Coca-Cola bottle evolution in its 120-year time span, as part of the popular American culture. From the early non-distinctive glass bottles, to the famous contour shaped bottles, to the green PlantBottle recyclable bottles, it captures the journey of a society with increased creativeness, environmental consciousness, and recognition of diversity. See more of the Coca-Cola History at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta and in Las Vegas.

From the Top of Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji

Summer is the travel time. A PostCrosser friend traveling to Japan sent me this postcard of Mount Fuji. Located on Honshu Island, Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m or 12,388 ft and an active stratovolcano that last erupted on December 16, 1707. It can be seen as far as Tokyo from 100 km away on a clear day.

What was special about this postcard? It was actually mailed from the seasonal FujiSan-Cho Post Office on top of the Mount Fuji. The post office opens 6:00 am to 2:00 pm from July 10 to August 20 every year since 1906.  

Mount Fuji was added to the UNESCO's World Heritage Site on June 22nd, 2013. Notably, the mountain was selected as a “cultural” heritage site rather than a “natural” heritage site. As noted in the declaration, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”.