The tulip has come to be a loved symbol of the Netherlands. Many tourists visit the country just to see the bright coloured flower and the astonishing view over the bulb fields. The season begins in March with crocuses, followed by the daffodil and the yellow narcissi. In April the hyacinths and tulips blosssom to some time in mid May, depending on the weather. Later, in August it is time for the gladioli. Even when spring is over, the Netherlands is still a garden, visitors can enjoy flowers in the Netherlands all year round.

From April to September fantastic flower parades are held throughout the country. The Bollenstreek Flower Parade is the biggest parade and is held at the end of April every year. The origin of the parade dates 50 years back in time when initiators of various small parades in the villages of the Bollenstreek decided to go together and organize one big parade. Floats with 1.5 million of different flowers are created by enthusiastic volunteers who are working on this for months. Popular flowers for these floats are daffodils and hyacinths, but in some parts of the country, only dahlias are beeing used. The Bloemencorso Valkenswaard is a smaller parade which also includes folk dancing and street theatre.

The Kerstflora (X-mas Flora) Show is held every year in December, a five day show of house plants and flowers grown under glass. In Lisse, the Museum De Zwarte Tulp or The Balck Tulip, have a extensive collection of historical material on the flower. This includes information about the cultivation and the evolution, drawings, photographs, tools and a look into the bulb trading companies.

Holland flower Creations is the result of long time hobby and the passion towards flowers.

With love and passion we make creations for daily display and special events.
Every day we have a team of experienced florists working to create little miracles with flowers, plants and exclusive accessories. We deliver everywhere between Holland and the South of France, at a set schedule and last minute 0rders.

All flowers come straight from the auction in Holland, so we guarantee day fresh flowers, which last like no other flowers you have had before.

Order our creations to give away as a special gift for a special person.
We supply our creations to offices, villa’s, cruise ships and mega yachts.
Made with style, in a perfect balance, specially for you

The Nether lands has more bicycles than inhabitants and has the highest bicycle density in the world. Are the Dutch born on two wheels ? Some people seem to think so. It makes an impression everywhere. Many Dutch people own several bikes: a “decent” one for going on trips, and a regular one – usually and old wreck for daily use, like shopping.

The Netherlands also has the worlds’s highest density of bicycle thieves. Some 800 thousands bikes are stolen every year, quite a record.

This is why the Dutch prefer to use several locks to secure their bicycles to trees, fences, bridges and lampposts.

Celebrated as the world champion of milk producton and cherished as the national favourtite animal, the Dutch cow is almost sacred. The statues erected here and there speak volumes: the Dutch are proud of this die-hard symbol of Dutch prosperity. This love affair does not run deep, however. The Dutch like their steaks.

Green pastures of happily grazing cattle, under a beautiful cloudy sky: you won’t find a more Dutch landscape. It’s an image the touristes appreciate, as do the Dutch. And one that can be found everywhere in the green quilted landscape of four million cows and thirty thousand dairy frms that it the Netherlands.

No other European cities got so many cafe spots liek Maastricht did. They are everywhere, especially in sunny days, people would enjoy the valurable sunshine, drinking coffee, quite a fine living time, so envy of them.

It happen to be sunday, and all the cafe shops are closed, added the weather is not so adorable like in the summer times, so my boyfriend didn’t catch any pictures of the cafe sceneries.

The city is so small compaired with China big cities like Shanghai or Beijing, it’s impossible to get lost there, and people like to ride bikes there just like us Chinese, and partly for exercise, partly beacause of the distance is so near from here to there.

Sightseeing on the boat is a general travel advise and such a happy experience.

People who want to enjoy a little citybreak in Netherlands and at the same time see something else than just Amsterdam I would reccomend Maastricht.

It´s a 2.5 hours away from Amsterdam and the train ticket is about 30€. Maastricht has lot to offer, many shops and restaurant. The best part of the city is, that it´s quite small so you wont get lost and while you are shopping you can enjoy the old town it self. There are many cathedrals, fortresses and old buildings all around the city so you don´t have to go elsewhere to search them.

Adorable town with great surroundings and friendly people. If you’re into history or architecture at all, this is the place to be! The high-speed train Thalys from Paris to Cologne operates via Aachen, so if you’re on your way to one of those cities, make sure to step out of the train in Aachen before you continue any further. The border of Belgium and Holland is just a short bus ride away too and because of all the commuters, the connections to places like Vaals are really good.

My boyfriend happen to be on business trip in Maastricht, and very lucky of him to be visiting this amazing city.

Maastricht is the sunniest city in Holland. It is a splendid fortified city of Roman origin set on the river Maas. With its location in the most southern part of Holland it is the perfect hub for excursions to Belgium, France, and Germany.

Maastricht is known as the oldest town in Holland and its history stretches back to 50 BC when the Romans set up camp on the banks of the Maas river. Fortification walls still partly surround the city and are part of a magnificent city walk. One monumental hallmark of its wealthy history is the Basilica of Saint Servatius, a medieval cruciform basilica, the core of which dates from 1000 BC! Crypts from the 11th and 12th century have graves of Saint Servatius, the first bishop of Holland. The cathedral was considerably enlarged in the 14th and 15th century and currently hosts an important collection of religious art objects.

Following is what a foreign cycling lover who are in Shanghai, China and exploring the cities beauty and wonders.

Cycling in Chinese cities is a heady mixture of excitement and danger, until you’re told to get off your bike and push it, which is what one of the traffic police instructed me to do as I neared Shanghai’s centre. I’d read that the city plans to ban cycling in the future – the bicycle being equated with a proletarian past and a symbol that Shanghai wants to leave behind. I think the authorities will have a hard job, but with cycle lanes being removed from the major roads Shanghai was not as cycle friendly as I would have liked. And when other people told me stories of having their bikes stolen I decided it was best to explore on foot.

As a city becomes so large, it’s a bit hard to know where the boundaries was. Shanghai was somewhat like this. Although I’d never originally planned to visit Shanghai I’m glad that I have. Walking onto the bund at night, with its majestic colonial buildings and space age skyscrapers lit up across the Huangpu river is a sight which takes some beating. But for a city with all is past and present wealth there is also the opposite extreme, and it wasn’t long before street hawkers and beggars started to wear on my senses. Shanghai is also the first place in China where at times I feel the foreigner is charged more.

Nevertheless, it is a city that should be seen – the decaying remnants of British and French architecture, which appear largely forgotten by the reality of noisy and bustling tree-lined side streets had me wandering for hours without boredom. I could happily spend longer exploring, but with 30 or so days to cover the remaining 2000 plus kilometres to Hong Kong I’m anxious to keep cycling. Shanghai is also a place that can thin one’s wallet rather quickly without some serious restraint, and I have a lot of travelling still planned ahead.

Rrigid demand or Investment Tool ?

Great demand has caused the price hike, observed by Gu Yin, director of the Nanjing Branch of National Real Estate Indices. In previous years, many people were wait-and-see on purchasing houses. However, after entering 2007, rigid demand for marriage and relocation has increased while supply has not.

“With a national growth of house prices, tight control of lands and loans, as well as growing demand, the cost of housing in Nanjing will keep rising,” he analyzed.

There is huge gap between the general peope’s income and the rising price, it’s those who already have real estate asset are buying those villa, but not those who are real rigid demand.

That’s ridiculous and crazy. The richer and the poorer, that’s all it’s left.

I was planning on a small budget trip to some nearby cities within 4 hours by bus or train. My previous plan was Huangshan, but since many essential items haven’t got ready and time is limited, the plan was putting away for some time until we got the following preparations ready.

1, Columbia shell jacket for coping with any sudden weather on the Huangshan mountain, anti-water, anti-wind, idea for outdoor activity.

2, Mountain shoes: The huangshan trip contains at least 8  hours trekking, a qualifed shoes may easy the ankle pain greatly.

That’s the most costly items needed for huangshan trip, and when i got them ready, i will go ahead to my dreamed huangshuan trip.

With small budget and limited time, the choice is only left for Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the latter would cost more. Hangzhou xihu park is worth it if one haven’t went there before.

So with less of the romance of France and seriousness of the German, what’s so special about Netherlands, which enjoys the center location of  Europe.

The Netherlands is so closely associated with windmills, that it’s often the first fact people recall about the country. It’s all because of its geogaraphy as a country surrounded by sea. They are always trying to fight land with the sea. The Dutch built windmills for many centuries (and to some extent, the windmills built the country itself, since without them much of the land drainage could not have occured).

Now for any foreign travellers, windmiss is hard to miss in your photos. One of the reason I’m quite interested in netherlands is because my friend is going there for work reasons and wanna to have a good look of it during free time.

For anyone like me who haven’t got chance to hiking the huangshan Xihai Grand Canyon, imagination is going in my head for days, I want very much to go there to experience all the amazing sceneries myself with my lover.

It is recommended that visitors hiking into the Xihai Grand Canyon travel according to their physical ability. This area can be dangerous, especially to the elderly and young children. There is no mode of transport in or out of the canyon other than your own two feet, so this must be kept in mind before a hike is planned. It is highly recommended that visitors only take what is absolutely necessary when hiking into the Xihai Grand Canyon. Porters are available, but they cost money to have them come along. In many parts of the canyon there is no cell-phone signal, and getting aid to hikers is difficult, so it is important that hikers are prepared for any situation before heading out.

Although taking a hiking tour through the Xihai Grand Canyon is a workout, it is defiantly worth it. The views are amazing and because this area is so inaccessible, the area is fairly untouched. Most visitors hiking through the canyon will not see another human until they exit it at the other end. It is a great way to get in touch with nature, and experience some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.