BRAZIL POSTCARDS COLLECTION

AMAZON RAINFOREST

Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana

(World's Largest Tropical Rainforest)

(World's Largest River by Volume)

(World's Longest River in the World)
(World's Largest River by Discharge)

Thanks to SL Liew

Received: Oct. 14, 2016

Caption at the back: Caboclos sailing in the igapó, lands flooded at the time of the full one the rivers.

     Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 square kilometres (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru, Colombia, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiversity tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species.

    The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest, larger than the next two largest rainforests — in the Congo Basin and Indonesia — combined. The Amazon Basin is roughly the size of the forty-eight contiguous United States. The region consists of a number of ecosystems ranging from natural savanna to swamps.

     The Amazon River is by far the world's largest river by volume or in terms of discharge, and the second longest river in the world after the Nile. It has over 1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are longer than 1000 miles.  The River once flowing west-ward instead of east-ward as it does today. The rise of the Andes caused it to flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

     The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all the bird species in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams. Scientists have described between 96,660 and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil alone.

HONG KONG POSTCARDS COLLECTION

TWO INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CENTRE

Central District, HONG KONG

Tallest Building in Hong Kong (2003 – 2009)

Present Second Tallest building

Two International Finance Centre, a commercial offices completed in 2003, is attached to the second phase of the IFC mall. This 415-metre-tall (1,362 ft) building, currently Hong Kong's second tallest, is quoted as having 88 storey’s and 22 high-ceiling trading floors to qualify as being extremely auspicious in Chinese culture. It is behind the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon.  It is the fourth-tallest building in the Greatest China Region and the eighth-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height.

It is, however, short of the magic number, because "taboo floors" like 14th and 24th are omitted as being inauspicious – because 4 sounds like 'die' in Cantonese.

IFC was constructed and is owned by IFC Development, a consortium of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land and Towngas.

In 2003, Financial Times, HSBC, and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade that stretched more than 50 storey’s, covering an area of 19,000 m² (0.2 million square ft) and a length of 230 m, making it the world's largest advertisement ever put on a skyscraper.

U.A.E. (Dubai) POSTCARD COLLECTION

BURJ AL ARAB

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The world's only 7 star Hotel' since 1999

Fourth Tallest Hotel in the World

U.A.E. (Dubai) POSTCARD COLLECTION

BURJ KHALIFA

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tallest in the world since 2010

Tallest Man-Made Structure in the World

CHINA (TAIWAN) POSTCARD COLLECTION

TAIPEI 101, (FORMERLY TAIPEI WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER)

Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan

Tallest Building in the World (2004 – 2010)

Tallest and Largest Green Building in the World

TAIPEI 101, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE TAIPEI WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the worlds tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. In July 2011, the building was awarded LEED Platinum certification, the highest award in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system and became the tallest and largest green building in the world.  Taipei 101 was designed by C.Y. Lee & partners and constructed primarily by KTRT Joint Venture.  Construction started 1999 and was finished in 2004. The tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since it’s opening. Fireworks launched from Taipei 101 features prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts and the structure appears frequently in travel literature and international media.

Taipei 101 is a commercial offices, comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground.  Architectural height: 509 m (1,669.9 ft), Roof: 449.2 m (1,473.8 ft), Top floor: 439 m (1,440.3 ft). The building was architecturally created as a symbol of the evolution of technology and Asian tradition. Its postmodernist approach to style incorporates traditional design elements and gives them modern treatments. The tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of stores, restaurants and clubs.

Taipei 101 is owned by the Taipei Financial Center Corporation (TFCC) and managed by the International division of Urban Retail Properties Corporation based in Chicago. The name originally planned for the building, Taipei World Financial Center, until 2003, was derived from the name of the owner. The original name in Chinese was literally, Taipei International Financial Center

MALAYSIA POSTCARDS COLLECTION

 

NATIONAL MONUMENT (TUGU NEGARA)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

World's Tallest Bronze Freestanding Sculpture Group

SINGAPORE POSTCARDS COLLECTION

 Singapore Flyer

Marina Bay, Singapore

World's Biggest Observation Wheel

World's Tallest Ferris wheel (2008 – 2014)

MALAYSIA POSTCARD COLLECTION

 The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque 

(Malay: Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz)

Shah Alam, Malaysia

Country's Largest Mosque

Second Largest Mosque in Southeast Asia

Guinness World Records - Tallest Minaret in the World - (1993)

EGYPT POSTCARDS COLLECTION

GIZA – THE GREAT SPHINX AND KEOPS PYRAMIDS
- World Most
- World Famous Landmark
- UNESCO Heritage Site
- 7 Wonders of the World
The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khufu in the background
Giza, Egypt

Sender:
Thank you Nesmahar Nabil of Egypt 
Received: Feb. 21, 2014

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis.  It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.

Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially at 146.5 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years,unsurpassed until the 160-metre-tall (520 ft) spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed c. 1300. 

Great Sphinx of Giza - The largest and most famous sphinx.The sphinx is located in the north and below the pyramids. Although the date of its construction is uncertain, the head of the Great Sphinx now is believed to be that of the pharaoh Khafra.

What names their builders gave to these statues is not known. At the Great Sphinx site, the inscription on a stele by Thutmose IV in 1400 BCE.