A beautiful card from Jixi, in north east China. Jixi  鸡西  has a population of 1.5 million people. It is 30 kilometres from the border of Russia. It is an important coal mining base in China.  Zhenbao Island  珍宝岛  is located near Jixi and was the site of a territorial dispute with the Soviet Union in 1969. The island is located on the Ussuri River.  On 2 March 1969, People's Liberation Army soldiers ambushed Soviet border guards on Zhenbao. The Soviets suffered 58 dead and wounded, while the Chinese reported 29 dead (the Soviets claim it was 248 Chinese soldiers killed, and 32 Soviet border guards killed with 14 wounded). On 15 March, Chinese artillery fire bombarded the island forcing the Soviet to leave. The Soviets counterattacked with tanks and mechanized infantry and artillery, forcing the Chinese to retreat. There were a few small skirmishes after that.  On 21 March, the Soviets tried to call China to discuss a ceasefire. Mao refused the take th...

Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. He is usually accompanied by his pet ox and working animal, Babe the Blue Ox. He originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers, and was later popularized by William B. Laughead in a promotional pamphlet of the Red River Lumber Company.  Paul Bunyan was adapted by many writers. Walt Disney Studios produced Paul Bunyan as an animated short musical and Mel-O-Toons made a cartoon about his exploits.  There are oversized statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe in a number of communities in Canada and North America. 

A great Postcrossing Meet Up card for the 20th anniversary of Postcrossing in Redwater. Looks there were three participants!  Redwater is located about 50 kilometres north of Edmonton and has about 2100 residents. The name comes from the Redwater River, which is usually ochre-coloured and drains into the North Saskatchewan River. 

Hildesheim is home to the M'era Luna Festival. It began in 2000 and is a gothic festival that features many different styles of music including metal, future pop, aggrotech, synthpop, gothic rock, dark wave, and EMB. It is held at Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt, a former British Army base. It is one of the biggest dark music festivals in Germany, averaging 20 000 - 25 000 per year.  The sender took this photo on her trip to Thailand. 

The is a photo of the mudflats off the Hallig Nordstrandischmoor. Nordstrandischmoor is an undyked islet just north west of Husum. Nordstrandischmoor has an area of 1.9 square kilometres. As of 2008, there were 27 people living on the island. In 2010, the school had 3 students and was the smallest school in Germany. The highest point on the island is only 3 meters above sea level.  There is a railway that runs to the mainland. At high tide, ships can dock. At low tide people can walk to the mainland. 

This is a photo of Castle of Chaumont. It was founded by Odo I (973-996), Count of Blois. The castle has changed ownership many times over it's history. Many people of the enlightenment and romantic periods have been guests at the castle including: Juliette Récamier (1777-1849) - a French socialite whose salon drew people from the leading literary and political circles of early 1800s Paris. She is considered an icon of neoclassicism, cultivated a public persona as a great beauty, befriended many intellectuals, sat for the finest artists of the time, and spurned an offer of marriage from Prince Augustus of Prussia. Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838) - a German poet, writer, and botanist.  Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) - Swiss/French thinker, activist, and writer of political theory and religion.  Chaumont itself has a population of 1100 people and is a commune and town in the Loir-et-Cher department and the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire.