Golden Gate Bridge

Located in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge started in the year 1933 to connect the San Francisco Peninsula with Marin County. It was finally thrown open to public traffic in 1937. It cost $25.7 million in the construction. Till the year 1957, the Golden Gate Bridge, at a length of 2,737 meters, was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is located in Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, having been opened in the year 1883. The length of the bridge is 1,843 meters. The bridge has been featured in several Hollywood movies.

George Washington Bridge

Also known as the Hudson River Bridge and the Columbus Bridge, the George Washington Bridge which connects Fort Lee to Manhattan came into use in 1931 after a construction period of almost 4 years. It is a two level suspension bridge that cost about $52 million to build.

Mackinac Bridge

This is the third biggest suspension bridge in the world at a length of 8,038 meters. The architect of this bridge was Dr. David B. Steinman, who directed the construction of the bridge which started in the year 1954 and opened to the public in 1958. People using this bridge are charged a certain amount of money.

Navajo Bridge

Located in Arizona, this bridge crosses the Colorado River and is almost 250 meters long. The construction of this bridge started in the year 1927, ending two years later, costing $390,000. In the 1990s, a second bridge was built which was opened to the public in 1994. The first bridge is now used only by pedestrians.

Chinese society, basically agricultural, has always laid great stress on understanding the pattern of nature and living in harmony with it. The world of nature was seen as the visible expression of the workings of a higher power through the interaction of the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang. As Chinese art developed, its purpose turned to the expression of human understanding of these forces, in the form of painting of landscapes, bamboo, birds, and flowers.

Particularly in early times, art also had social and moral functions. The earliest wall paintings referred to in ancient texts often described merciful emperors, officials, and their evil opposites as examples and warnings to the living. Human relationships have always been of great importance in China, and a common theme of figure painting is that of gentlemen enjoying staying together or of the depressing partings and infrequent reunions. Among the typical themes of traditional Chinese art, there is no place for war, violence or death. No theme would be accepted in traditional Chinese art that was not inspiring, noble, or refreshing to the spirit.

In the broadest sense, therefore, all traditional Chinese art is symbolic, for everything that is painted reflects some aspect of what the painter is aware of. Bamboo suggests the spirit of the person, which can be bent by circumstance but never broken. The dragon is the wholly kind-hearted symbol of the emperor; the crane (鹤) symbolizes long life; and paired mandarin ducks symbolize wedded loyalty. Popular among the many symbols drawn from the plant world are the orchid (兰花), a symbol of purity; the plum blossom (梅花), which comes out even in the snow and stands for uncontrollable purity, in either a revolutionary political or a spiritual sense; and the pine tree, which may represent either survival in a fierce political environment or the unconquerable spirit of old age.