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Honolulu, which is located on the southeastern part of the island of Oahu is the capital of the state of Hawaii. It covers an area of one hundred and five square miles and has a population of three hundred and seventy thousand people. Honolulu is a term that means in the Hawaiin language, “Sheltered Bay”.The city of Honolulu is a popular tourist destination and over seven million people visit it each and every year. This is due in part to the beautiful beaches and the tropical climate. It is also due to the many attractions and amenities that this city has to offer. One of the most popular tourist attractions is Aloha Tower. This was once the iconic tower that greeted visitors to the island that have arrived there by sea. Now that most of the visitors come to the island via airplane then this tower has become a great vantage point to see the harbor. It is also the main attraction of the Aloha Tower Marketplace.

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Another fantastic attraction to see while in Honolulu is the Iolani Palace. This palace was finished in 1882 to serve as a residence for King Kalakaua. It remained the palace of the royal family until they were deposed by American citizens in 1893. This beautiful palace has also served as the state capitol building until the year 1969. This palace is the only royal palace that has ever existed on American soil.For a taste of Hawaiian culture and history visitors should check out the Bishop Museum, otherwise known as Kapalama. This museum was built to house an extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts. Visitors can see exhibits chronicling Polynesian life and culture. There is also Planetarium shows that show night skies and explain how voyagers used them to make their way to the pacific. But this is far from being the only museum on the island. There is also the Contemporary Museum of Art or Makiki. This museum features outdoor exhibits of modern art displays featuring Hawaiin artist.

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Another museum in walking distance of the Makiki is the Hawaii Maritime Museum. Here visitors can learn all about the maritime history of the island, one that spans over fifteen hundred years.

The Hawaii State Art Museum was built in 1928 and is done in the Spanish Mission style. It consist of three galleries, a volunteer resource center and a multi-purpose room that is capable of seating over seventy people. Yet another museum nestled in the downtown section of Honolulu is the Honolulu Academy of Arts. This building was erected in 1922 by Mrs. Charles Montague Cook. This museum boast an impressive collection of over thirty eight thousand pieces of art collected from all over the world. Mission Houses Museum showcases several original frame homes that were built in New England and shipped over to Hawaii to house the missionaries that were living there. Not far away you’ll get a chance to view the island’s first schoolhouse and the printing house where the first alphabet book and Hawaiian hymnal were printed.

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One of the most impressive and unusual churches in the entire United States is the Kawaiahao Church. This church was built in 1842 and is composed of over fourteen thousand pounds of coral. Every hour, Kauikeaouli clock tolls the hour. Honolulu is also home to one the countries most somber war memorials. Its named the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and its the final resting place of over thirty thousand soldiers. Soldiers who were missing in action during World War II are inscribed on the “Courts of the Missing”. For a spectacular view that has no equal than the Nuuanu Pali Lookout is the place to checkout. This lookout is raised over three thousand feet above the Oahu coastline and gives an incredible view of the Koolau cliffs.

Lovers of history and the theater should check out the Hawaii Theatre. This theater was built in 1922 and showed during its time plays, musicals and silent films.

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This theater has since been restored and serves as a multi-purpose entertainment venue that everyone can now enjoy. Other prominent attractions in this city, besides the spacious oceanfront beaches, include Capital Park, Tantalus Rainforest, Statue of King Kamehameha, Queen Emma’s Summer Palace, Lyon Arboretum, as well as Honolulu’s famed Chinatown.

Honolulu also has a diverse collection of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, shopping venues and hotels. Restaurants in the city include Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Chai’s Island Bistro and Chef Mavro Restaurant. Some of the more prominent shopping venues include the Ala Moana Center, Aloha Tower Marketplace, Hawaiian Aloha Fashions, Hilo Hattie and Honolulu Flower Lei. Nightclubs in the city include Rumfire, Pipeline, the Lotus and the Venus Nightclub & Lounge. Ala Moana Hotel, Aloha Inns, Castle Resorts & Hotels, Pacific Accommodations and the Kahala Hotel & Resort. And during your stay don’t forget to check out the many tourist stands and grab yourself a traditional Lei.

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Chicago is the largest city of the state of Illinois in the United States of America. This city covers a land area of two hundred and thirty four miles and has a population of almost three million people. This makes it the third largest city in the United States. Its located on Lake Michigan’s southwestern shore.

As late as the eighteenth century, the area in which Chicago is located was inhabited by a tribe of Native Americans called the Potawatomis. The first European settler of the area was Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable. He arrived in the late 1770s and married a woman of Potawatomi descent. He then went on to establish the first trading post in the area. This trading post continued until about 1795, when some parts of the area was relinquished to the United States government for the erection of a military post. In the early years of the nineteenth century the United States Army constructed a military fortification known as Fort Dearborn. This fort would stand until 1812 when it was destroyed during the Fort Dearborn massacre.

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Following the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, the Potawatomi people were removed from their lands and the Town of Chicago was formed and in 1837 it was officially organized as a city. The name Chicago is taken from the Native American word “Shikaakwa”, which means “wild onion” in English.

Chicago would go on to become an important transportation hub between the East and West coast with the opening of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad in 1838. This was also the time when the Illinois Canal opened up, allowing steamboats to connect to the Mississippi River via the Great Lakes. With the invention of things such as the refrigerated rail car, manufacturing became a prime focus of the city, especially in specialized manufacturing sectors like meat packing. The area was also boosted by the construction of the Union Stock Yards in 1865, which made the area a centralized hub for a processing center of manufactured goods.

During 1865, Chicago would then receive one of the first modern sewer systems in the United States. This increased the habitability of the city, but it also caused a major problem. The sewer system poured industrial waste and untreated sewage down the Chicago River and into Lake Michigan, which was Chicago’s source of drinking water.

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This would later be rectified by the erection of water cribs and by the construction of the Sanitary and Ship Canal.

In 1871, a third of Chicago was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. This would cause the city to begin a massive rebuilding project, and as such, Chicago began a period of rapid growth. During this period, Chicago constructed the first skyscraper in 1885. The city also invested heavily in projects such as improved sanitation facilities and parks. In 1892, the University of Chicago was formed and in 1893, the city hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition. During the roaring twenties, the city experienced a period of industrial growth. This growth attracted a large number of African Americans from the South. This migration would impart a huge cultural impact upon the city.

Today, the city of Chicago is home to a large number of hotels, restaurants, bars and jazz clubs. This city also has its fair share of museums, nightclubs and historical attractions. All of this combined to create an exciting city landscape that attracts over thirty-five million visitors to the city each and every year. One of the most popular attractions in Chicago is the Sears Tower.

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The Sears Tower was constructed in 1974 and at the time of its erection, was the tallest building in the world. This tower rises over fourteen hundred feet and its main feature is its observation deck called the Sky Deck. The Sky Deck has a glass ledge where people can look straight down on the city at a height of thirteen hundred feet.

Another popular attraction in the city of Chicago is the Navy Pier. This is a large pier that is located on Lake Michigan, close to Streeterville in downtown Chicago. This pier was built in 1914 and measure three thousand feet long and almost three hundred feet wide. It was originally known as Municipal Pier and it was built to serve as a shopping district. In the 1920′s the popularity of the pier started to decline and it was renamed Navy Pier in honor of World War One veterans. The piers popularity continued to decline through the decades, until a major renovation project was initiated in the 1970s. Over one hundred and fifty million was spent on the project. Today, the popularity of the pier has once again risen to a whole new level, as it attracts over eight million people a year.

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Features of the Navy Pier include a children’s museum, an auditorium, carousel, a seven story Shakespeare theater, a miniature golf course and a Ferris wheel. It also includes a plaza and over fifty acres of gardens and parks. Not far from Navy Pier is Grant Park. This park is located between Lake Michigan and Michigan Avenue. The two main features of the park include Clarence Buckingham Fountain and Millenium Park.

Located in the Grant Park Museum Complex is Shedd Aquarium. This aquarium was built in 1929 and features two main areas, the Caribbean Reef and the Oceanarium. The Caribbean Reef has over seventy species of animals in a ninety thousand gallon glass tank. Animals included here are stingrays and various types of sharks. The Oceanarium has a three million gallon tank that gives visitors a taste of what life along the pacific northwest coast is like. This aquarium has seals, sea otters, dolphins and Beluga whales.

Other famous attractions in the city of Chicago include the Magnificent Mile (a street filled with various shops), Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool Gardens, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Temple, the Field Museum, John Hancock Center, Lincoln Park Zoo, Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, Michigan Avenue Bridge and the Old Water Tower.

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Contrary to popular belief, Tokyo Japan is not a city but a governmental body called a prefecture. It is run by a chief executive who is directly elected and is similiar to a governor in the American system of government. As a prefecutre. Tokyo is divided into twenty-three special wards which are set up as independant cities, each complete with its own mayor. The prefecture of Tokyo covers a land area of six hundred and twenty-one miles and consist of a population of over eight million residents.

One of the most popular attractions in Tokyo is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. This building was completed in 1991 at a cost of $157 million Yen and is not only the headquarters for the twenty-three special wards, but is also the headquarters of many villages and towns surrounding the metropolitan area. It stands eight hundred and fourteen feet from its base to its very top and is one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, second only to Tokyo Tower. This building is composed of three distinct structures and each one covers the area on one city block. Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.

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1 is the tallest of the three buildings and rises over forty-five feet high. The other two buildings, Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Building (which has a height of eight stories) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Main Building No.2 (which has a height of thirty-seven stories). The top two floors of Metropolitan Main building No.1 consist of an observation deck where guest can get a great view of Tokyo. The second most popular attraction here is the Tokyo Imperial Palace. This palace is located in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and covers an area of over four miles. It is home to the Japanese Emperor and its main features consist of a moat, high wall and the Imperial Palace East Gardens. Located not far from the Tokyo Imperial Palace is the Yasukuni Shrine. This shrine houses over two million people who were killed in the wars of Japan.

Another popular attraction in Tokyo is the Sensoji Temple. Its located in the Taito Ward and is occasionally referred to as the Asakusa Temple. This is the cities oldest and most well known Buddhist temple. The Sensoji Temple features a huge gate called the kaminari-mon or “thunder gate”. It has a impressive paper lantern that is painted in red and black tones.

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There are two deities on either side of the gate as protection. On the left side is Raijin – God of Thunder and on the right is the Fujin – God of Wind. This temple is home to Tokyo’s most popular Shinto festival called the matsuri. Tokyo is also home to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. This Japanese Shinto shrine is like a little oasis in the midst of the city. It features one hundred and seventy five acres of over three hundred varieties of trees.

Adjacent to the Meiji Jingu Shrine is the shopping district of Harajuku. This is the district where all the young hip citizens of Tokyo are spending their weekends. Here is where you can see the unique fashion style of Japan called Loli-Goth. Its main feature is the prominent street called Takeshita-dori. Its a street lined with lots of fashion boutiques and cafes. Another street in the district is called Omotesando. This is another street filled with boutiques and cafes and also has the market of Omotesando. Omotesando is the premier shopping venue in all of Tokyo and is the location where one can see the prominent fashions of Paris and Milan as well as the fashions of famous Japanese designers.

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Also in the district is the Shibuya Station, which is the focal point of the Tokyo rail and is also home to some hotels where visitors can get a room to stay close to the action of the city.

Visitors to the city shouldn’t miss a trip to Ueno Park. This park is on the location of what once stood the Kan’eiji temple which was destroyed during the Boshin War. This area was established in 1924 as a park by the Emperor Taisho. One of the prominent features of the park is a statue of the famous samurai Saigo Takamori. Also in the park are a concert hall, the Toshogu shrine, the Shinobazu Pond , the Benzaiten shrine and the Ueno Zoo. The park also contains the National Science Museum, Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Western Art.

The Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is yet another prominent park in Tokyo. It is considered by many to be the best garden in the city and is a mix of Japanese and European styles. Originally this park was exclusive to the Royal family of Japan, but after it was destroyed during World War II it reverted to the Ministry of Health and Welfare who rebuilt it and opened it to the public.

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This garden occupies fifty eight hectares and contain the styles of Japanese traditional, French formal and English landscape. The garden has over twenty thousand trees which include Himalayan cedars, tulip trees, cypresses, and plane trees. There are also over fifteen hundred cherry blossom trees planted here. Access to the gardens is made available by three gates, the Shinjuku Gate, Okido Gate and Sendagaya Gate. The garden is close to several distinct hot spots in Tokyo including the Shinjuku ni-come, which is a popular scene for gay men. Other popular gardens in Tokyo include the Hamarikyu Gardens, Inokashira Park, Kitanomaru Park, Shiba Park, Yoyogi Park and the Jindai Botanical Garden.

Tokyo has so many attractions that its almost impossible to see them in one trip. Some of the key landmarks of the city include the Akasaka Palace, Kabuki Theater, Makuhari Messe, Rainbow Bridge, Tsukiji fish market and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. There are also a ton of museums which include Edo Tokyo Museum, Ghibli Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Shrines in the city include the Gokuku-ji Temple, Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple and the Zojoji Temple.

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Zhuhai is a prefecture located in the Pearl River Delta on the southern coast of the Guangdong province in the People’s Republic of China. Its situated south of Zhongshan and north of Macau. Zuhai covers an area of six hundred and thirty-eight miles and has a population of over one and a half million people. Zuhai was founded in 1979 and in 1980 became a Special Economic Zone of China.

The excellent location of the city geographically and an immense infrastructure has caused Zhuhai to become a major attractor of foreign capital. In fact, foreign investment in the city has topped the ten billon dollar mark. The largest investor in Zhuhai is the city of Hong Kong. Zhuhai’s manufacturing development centers on five key industries which include computer software, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, electronics and machinery. Another key economic factor contributing to the growth of this city is its bustling tourist trade which is bolstered by its beautiful scenery and popular attractions.

One of the prime attractions in Zhuhai is the New Summer Palace. This palace is situated at the base of Shilin Mountain and covers an area of almost a mile. It is encircled by lush green mountains on three of its sides and has its southern side open. The New Summer Palace is located on Kunming Lake. It features a Western royal palace feel to its architecture and has white marble floors that allude to European palaces of the past.

Another popular attraction in Zhuhai is Seaside Park. Located on Xianglu Bay it features beautiful blue seas, a white sand beach and thick strands of woods. It also overlooks Chuandi Mountain and features a statue of a girl fishing. This statue is made up of over seventy pieces of granite, stands over thirty one feet high and weighs just a tad over ten tons.

Shijing Mountian is on the itinerary of any tour through Zhuhai. This mountain is well known for its stone landscapes. At the back of the mountain is the Shijing Mountian Ropeway which spans over eighteen thousand square feet. Rising over sixteen hundred feet above Zhuhai is Huangyang Mountain. On top of its peak is the Jintai Temple. This site features a three hundred step staircase and three main halls, the Daxiong Palace, the eastern hall and the hall of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Opened in 1985, Pearl Amusement Parks is an amusement park in Zhuhai that is fun for the entire family. This park sits on over one and a quarter million square feet of land on TangJia Bay and has a whole lot of different rides, over thirty of them in fact. These include roller coasters, water rides, bumper cars and miniature racing circuits. There are also a whole lot of different food stalls where visitors can sample cuisine that ranges from traditional Chinese to Italian.

The city of Zhuhai also features many shopping destinations, restaurants and hotels to make tourist feel welcome. There are also sweeping hills and mountains and beautiful lakes. There are even islands to be explored like Wai Lingding Island.

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Seattle is located in the western part of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. It covers an area of one hundred and forty-two square miles and has a population of almost six hundred thousand people. The founding of the city is attributed to the arrival of Arthur A. Denny to the region in 1851 and the establishment of a logging colony there. Thanks to the abundance of wood in the area, the logging colony grew rapidly and eventually evolved into a small city. Seattle received its city charter in December of 1869. During much of the latter part of the nineteenth century, Seattle was a frontier town that was often on the verge of lawlessness. The operation of schools was spotty at best and lynchings were commonplace. The city was also plagued by an inadequate sewage system and road maintenance that was almost non existent. This began to change during the 1880s when the city got its first streetcar, a ferry service and new housing was required to be connected to the newly built sewer system. There was also a greater allocation of resources to road maintenance.

During the summer of 1889, the city of Seattle was struck with a great disaster, the Great Seattle Fire. This fire was caused by a glue pot and burned over twenty-nine city blocks, which included all of the railroad terminals and the entire business district. Though the devastation of the fire was great, the city managed to rebound quickly. New zoning laws were enacted that required new constructions to be composed of brick or stone and the population of the city swelled due to the influx of construction workers. This growth of population would further increase during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896. Seattle became the supply center of the region catering to gold prospectors traveling to Alaska. As the population rose from the influx of immigrants into the city, the city government began a massive construction of parks and public works. Today, Seattle is a bustling city that is known for its ambience and its many tourist attractions.

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One of the more popular of Seattle’s attractions is the Seattle Aquarium. Seattle Aquarium was founded in May of 1977 and is located on Pier 59 of the Washington Elliot Bay. This aquarium is run completely by Seattle’s city government and the Department of Parks and Recreation. It attracts over eight hundred thousand visitors a year. This aquarium covers has recently undergone an eighteen thousand square foot renovation and has new features such as a cafe added to it. Visitors can check out the one hundred thousand gallon tank and see animals such as octopi, fish, urchins and otters. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is another aquarium that also contains a zoo area. It covers an area of twenty-nine acres and has a collection of over nine thousand animals taken from over three hundred species. Exhibits here include Asian Forest Sanctuary, Rocky Shores, Arctic Tundra, North Pacific Aquarium, South Pacific Aquarium, Red Wolves, Penguins and Small Animals Exhibit.

A prominent attraction in the city is the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. This museum is located at the intersection of seventeenth avenue and forty-fifth street and was founded in 1899. The museum contains over twelve million artifacts from disciplines such as biology, anthropology and geology. Key features of the museum include a collection of Alaskan Native art, a collection of birds with their wings spread, frozen bird tissues used for genetic research, a large collection of Northwestern fungi and plants and extensive archaeological artifacts from Washington state digs. Another popular museum in Seattle is the Seattle Art Museum. The Seattle Art Museum has three separate facilities which include its main branch in the downtown area of Seattle, an Asian art museum on Capitol Hill and a sculpture park called the Olympic Sculpture Park. The Seattle Museum of Art contains over twenty-five thousand pieces located at its facility. The museum covers a combined area of three hundred thousand feet and has a nine acre park.

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Artists represented by the collections housed here include Armand Guillaumin, Dalmasio Scannabecchi, Luca Di Tomme, Mark Tobey, Luca Carlevaris, Emanuel De Witte, Giovanni di Paolo, Bartolomeo Vivarini, Puccio di Simone, Jan Molenaer, Paolo Uccello and Camille Pissarro. The Olympic Sculpture Park contains sculptures by artists such as Roxy Paine, Ellsworth Kelly, Anthony Caro, Mark di Suvero, Beverly Pepper, Alexander Calder, Roy McMakin, Teresita Fernandez, Louise Bourgeois and Tony Smith.

The most recognizable attraction in the city that is known throughout the world is the Seattle Space Needle. This attraction was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and is situated at the Seattle Center. The Space Needle rises over six hundred feet and is one hundred and thirty-eight feet wide. At the five hundred foot mark it has an observation deck. Also located in the Space Needle is a rotating restaurant and a gift shop. Visitors can access the top of the structure by the elevators. These elevators travel at ten miles per hour and it takes approximately forty-three seconds to make it to the top of the structure.

Other prominent attractions in the city of Seattle include the Children’s Museum, EMP/Science Fiction Museum, Future of Flight, Museum of Flight, Museum of Glass, Puyallup Fairgrounds, Tillicum Village & Tours, Washington State History Museum, Center Monorail, Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Woodland Park Zoo, Emerald Downs, Seattle Mariners, San Juan Safaris – Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours, Ride the Ducks, Victoria Clipper, Washington State Ferries and Kenmore Air Seaplanes. Seattle also has a number of restaurants, bars and hotels. Popular restaurants in the city include Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant, Palomino Restaurant Rotisseria Bar, Union Restaurant, Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub and Tango Restaurant. Popular hotels in the city of Seattle include the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, Hilton Seattle Hotel, Madison Renaissance Hotel and the Edgewater Hotel. The city also comes alive during the summer with many of the cultural and musical festivals held there.