Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic and cultural center. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow's history. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia.
Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about 900 square km. The population of the city is over 8 million people.
Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. The Kremlin andSt. Basil's Cathedral are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, theSpasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country.
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia with a population of 4.6 million people. It is situated on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city’s other names were Petrograd and Leningrad.
The city was founded by Tsar Peter 1 in 1703. Since that it was the capital of the Russian Empire until 1918.
Saint Petersburg is a very important port on the Baltic Sea. It is also a major financial and industrial centre of Russia specialising in oil and gas trade, shipbuilding yards, aerospace industry, radio and electronics, software and computers; machine building, mining, metallurgy, chemicals, publishing and printing, food and catering and many other businesses.
Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a grand European cultural centre. Saint Petersburg is often called “the Venice of the north”. There are a great number of theatres, operas and more than 200 museums in Saint Petersburg. The largest one is the Hermitage Museum which contains the richest collection of pictures and pieces of applied art in the world
One of the world's most endangered species, native only to China, are the Giant pandas.
Only 1800 of them remain, with 200 in captivity. It is crucial that we preserve these beautiful animals, especially when you consider that a female panda on average only has about 7 baby pandas in her lifetime.
In April 2006, more than 40 years after the birth of the first panda in captivity, a 4-year old panda called Xiang Xiang was released into the wild. He is fitted with a radio collar so that scientists can track his movement.
Xiang Xiang, whose name means 'lucky', is the first panda who was born in captivity to be set free. He was raised and trained to be a wild panda from the age of 2 at the Wolong Nature Reserve Panda Center (where more than half of the pandas in captivity live).
Xiang Xiang's habitat training started in a five-acre space, and then upgraded to a much bigger space that was similar to a wild panda's habitat. In that space he learned to build his home and eat bamboo, increasing his energy and improving his health. Xiang Xiang became more aggressive toward humans and began making noises similar to that of a wild panda.
The area around the Wolong Nature Reserve is the biggest giant-panda habitat in the world, so scientists are planning on working out how many more pandas can be released into the wild.
Xiang Xiang was released into the western end of the reserve, where he can possibly meet other wild pandas.
The question is whether he can make friends with them? If he can, then pandas will be released in up to ten different locations in the future, doubling the number of pandas in the wild by releasing 15 annually.
Conservationists hope that more pandas will be released into their natural habitat, but it has been shrinking due to widespread deforestation, which remains the biggest threat to pandas.
The Chinese government has decided to protect 28 natural areas, and set up centres like the Chengdu Research Base, which started with six pandas whose habitat was destroyed.
Presently it has 33, and they plan to release some of them in the future. It is important to breed pandas and release them, whilst also protecting their natural habitats. This is the only way they can survive.
Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic and cultural center. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow's history. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia.
Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about 900 square km. The population of the city is over 8 million people.
Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. The Kremlin andSt. Basil's Cathedral are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, theSpasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country.
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia with a population of 4.6 million people. It is situated on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city’s other names were Petrograd and Leningrad.
The city was founded by Tsar Peter 1 in 1703. Since that it was the capital of the Russian Empire until 1918.
Saint Petersburg is a very important port on the Baltic Sea. It is also a major financial and industrial centre of Russia specialising in oil and gas trade, shipbuilding yards, aerospace industry, radio and electronics, software and computers; machine building, mining, metallurgy, chemicals, publishing and printing, food and catering and many other businesses.
Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a grand European cultural centre. Saint Petersburg is often called “the Venice of the north”. There are a great number of theatres, operas and more than 200 museums in Saint Petersburg. The largest one is the Hermitage Museum which contains the richest collection of pictures and pieces of applied art in the world
Only 1800 of them remain, with 200 in captivity. It is crucial that we preserve these beautiful animals, especially when you consider that a female panda on average only has about 7 baby pandas in her lifetime.
In April 2006, more than 40 years after the birth of the first panda in captivity, a 4-year old panda called Xiang Xiang was released into the wild. He is fitted with a radio collar so that scientists can track his movement.
Xiang Xiang, whose name means 'lucky', is the first panda who was born in captivity to be set free. He was raised and trained to be a wild panda from the age of 2 at the Wolong Nature Reserve Panda Center (where more than half of the pandas in captivity live).
Xiang Xiang's habitat training started in a five-acre space, and then upgraded to a much bigger space that was similar to a wild panda's habitat. In that space he learned to build his home and eat bamboo, increasing his energy and improving his health. Xiang Xiang became more aggressive toward humans and began making noises similar to that of a wild panda.
The area around the Wolong Nature Reserve is the biggest giant-panda habitat in the world, so scientists are planning on working out how many more pandas can be released into the wild.
Xiang Xiang was released into the western end of the reserve, where he can possibly meet other wild pandas.
The question is whether he can make friends with them? If he can, then pandas will be released in up to ten different locations in the future, doubling the number of pandas in the wild by releasing 15 annually.
Conservationists hope that more pandas will be released into their natural habitat, but it has been shrinking due to widespread deforestation, which remains the biggest threat to pandas.
The Chinese government has decided to protect 28 natural areas, and set up centres like the Chengdu Research Base, which started with six pandas whose habitat was destroyed.
Presently it has 33, and they plan to release some of them in the future. It is important to breed pandas and release them, whilst also protecting their natural habitats. This is the only way they can survive.