We use water all the time – to brush our teeth, wash our dishes, keep our plants alive and to quench thirst. But how often do we think about where it comes from?
The Dongjiang River supplies water to 40 million people. /CGTN Photo
Click to Gallery
We use water all the time – to brush our teeth, wash our dishes, keep our plants alive and to quench thirst. But how often do we think about where it comes from?
Believe it or not, however, all this H₂O begins with a miniscule trickle in the southeasternmost part of Jiangxi Province. About 1,000 meters above sea level, drips start their trip down the forested slopes of Yajibo Mountain, Xunwu County. And if you’re willing to lace up your hiking boots, you can locate where it all begins.
Finding the source
The Pearl River is the second longest river in China and the third largest by volume. One of its three main tributaries is the Dongjiang – the eastern tributary – which supplies the industrial, domestic and ecological water used by 40 million people in the region.
An expedition to find the source of the Dongjiang River. /CGTN Photo
Believe it or not, however, all this H₂O begins with a miniscule trickle in the southeasternmost part of Jiangxi Province. About 1,000 meters above sea level, drips start their trip down the forested slopes of Yajibo Mountain, Xunwu County. And if you’re willing to lace up your hiking boots, you can locate where it all begins.
Scientists have identified the source of the Dongjiang River. /CGTN Photo
Holy holes
Of course, there’s a lot more riparian-related stuff you can do in Xunwu. Take, for example, Qinglongyan Scenic Area. There, if you follow the trail with the river to your left and domineering red Danxia landforms to your right, you’ll discover a 10m tall rock Goddess of Mercy watching over you, and above it, grottoes carved into the cliff face by Mother Nature herself that you can climb up and in to. Why not take a leisurely boat ride afterwards?
The rock temple compound in Qinglongyan Scenic Area. /CGTN Photo
Take home a stone
On the topic of rocks, Xunwu is home to a burgeoning boulder trade. Head to the Stone Ornaments Market to find rocks that will shock with their unique unprocessed beauty, or magnificent hand-sculpted masterpieces. What’s popular right now are amulets, pendants, bangles and beaded jewelry made from a black igneous stone, plucked from the cool shallow waters of the Dongjiang.
Local stone dealers search the riverbed for rocks. /CGTN Photo
Well, there you have it. Rock temples and rock shopping, plus, the very source of the Pearl River’s eastern tributary, deceivingly small for something with such an immense impact. You cannot deny that Xunwu totally rocks.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mary J. Blige,Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a class that also includes folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton.
Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton earned the Musical Influence Award, while the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield will get the Musical Excellence Award. Pioneering music executive Suzanne de Passe won the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
“Rock ‘n’ roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that impacts culture and moves generations,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement. “This diverse group of inductees each broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”
The induction ceremony will be held Oct. 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It will stream live on Disney+ with an airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day.
Those music acts nominated this year but didn't make the cut included Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinéad O’Connor, soul-pop singer Sade, Britpoppers Oasis, hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim and alt-rockers Jane’s Addiction.
There had been a starry push to get Foreigner — with the hits “Urgent” and "Hot Blooded" — into the hall, with Mark Ronson, Jack Black, Slash, Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney all publicly backing the move. Ronson's stepfather is Mick Jones, Foreigner's founding member, songwriter and lead guitarist.
Osbourne, who led many parents in the 1980s to clutch their pearls with his devil imagery and sludgy music, goes in as a solo artist, having already been inducted into the hall with metal masters Black Sabbath.
Four of the eight nominees — Cher, Foreigner, Frampton and Kool & the Gang — were on the ballot for the first time.
Cher — the only artist to have a No. 1 song in each of the past six decades — and Blige, with eight multi-platinum albums and nine Grammy Awards, will help boost the number of women in the hall, which critics say is too low.
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction.
Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals. Fans voted online or in person at the museum, with the top five artists picked by the public making up a “fans’ ballot” that was tallied with the other professional ballots.
Last year, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, Kate Bush and the late George Michael were some of the artists who got into the hall.
Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
Dave Matthews, of Dave Matthews Band, performs on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Ga. Mary J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The class of 2024 also will include folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton. The induction ceremony will be Oct. 19, 2024. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)
FILE - Mary J. Blige onstage during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The class of 2024 also will include folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton. The induction ceremony will be Oct. 19, 2024. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
