A Trip to Lhasa River （Ⅰ）

The Lhasa River originates from Nyangqentanglha Mountain on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is 551 km long and is one of the five major tributaries of the Yarlung Zangbo. For many years, the average diametric flow volume has been 6 billion cubic meters, which is about one-eighth of that of the second largest river in China, the Yellow River. The drainage area is nearly 30,000 square km. The Lhasa River is the Mother River of the Tibetans, which witnessed the changes of ancient Tibetan culture. The drainage area of the Lhasa River serves as the center of politics, economy, culture, transportation and religion in the whole Tibet,as well as the significant part of three-river area （the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Lhasa River and the Nyang Qu River） that Tibetan government attaches importance to the development there.     

Power of Religion in Rural Areas and Its Public Service （Ⅱ） ——An Analysis of Cases in Five Villages

In rural areas in Tibet where religion believers occupy a very high proportion of the population, religious service can also be included into the scope of public services, because it is not only related to local social stability, but also bound up with the quality of life (such as a sense of happiness and the perceived meaning of life) in the view of local people. Investigation in five villages shows how in the rural areas in Tibet, various religious authorities provide such services.     

The New Museum Folkwang in Essen. A Contribution to the Cultural and Economic Regeneration of the Ruhr Area?

Abstract

The “Bilbao effect” shows that major cultural investments can contribute to the regeneration of old industrial cities and regions. Four different contributions can be distinguished: the (1) direct economic effects of such an investment; (2) social functions of a cultural institution which often serves as a point of contact for local and regional elites; (3) symbolic functions as an expression of a new regional identity and (4) cognitive functions, for example, the contribution to regional diversity and the cross-fertilization of ideas. Taking the example of a major cultural investment in Germany, namely the renovation of Museum Folkwang prior to the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010, this article discusses the economic, social, symbolic and cognitive contributions of this investment to the economic transformation of the town and the Ruhr area, which is now one of the largest urban agglomerations in Europe. A Bilbao effect was not intended and did not take place. The museum, however, contributed to the incremental transformation of the town by creating a different image of the town, its role as a meeting place and point of identification for local elites and companies and its contribution to the emergence of an integrated cultural district.     

The silk in Worm History,and JOHN E. HILL,Through the Jade Gate to Rome. A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dinasty 1^st to 2^nd Centurtes CE （Juan Pablo Sanchez Hemandez）

The Roman Empire and Han China are represented as the ＂twin powers＂ which reached their peak of extension and prosperity more or less at the same time. In fact, studies have recently noticed the numerous similarities between these two mighty empires at the opposite ends of Eurasia in their political, administrative and cultural circumstances and they have invited a comparative approach in modem scholarship~. However, at that time, distances were too great to permit these kinds of comparisons, and an incomplete （if not archetypical） view prevails in all Ancient writings, whenever they deal with such distant populations in the other half of the world.