The sender sent a postcard that shows various amphibians and insects with their warning colourations. I think it is a part of a series. She also mentions that St. Louis is famous for its barbeque.  St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent,  Pierre Laclède Liguest , and Auguste Chouteau. They named it after King Louis IX. It becamse the regional centre of the French Illinois Country. St. Louis was transferred to the United States in 1804 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.  St. Louis is one of the 173 global cities by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.  The Gateway Arch is its most famous landmark. It was completed in 1965. It is a monument to the westward expansion of the United States - a gateway to the west. It is a part of the National Historic Landmark and located in Gateway Arch National Park. 

Another World Postcard Day card, this one from Taiwan.  Kaohsiung  高雄市  is located in southern Taiwan and has a 2.72 million people living there. 

Hangzhou  杭州市 is the biggest city and the capital city of Zhejiang  浙江 There are almost 12 000 000 people in Hangzhou, and 13.035 million in its metropolitan area. It is a major economic and e-commerce hub within China, and the second biggest city in the Yangtze Delta.  Forbes Magazine has rated Hangzhou as the best commercial city in China and the Chinese city with the highest growth potential. Alibaba, Ant Group, and NetEast all call Hangzhou home.  Hangzhou is also a major city for scientific research in the Asia-Pacific Region.  The Globalization and World Cities Research Network lists Hangzhou as a Beta city.  Hangzhou was awarded the 2022 Asian Games (to be contested in 2023). 

A nice card from Ostholstein on the Baltic Sea.  The writer has never been there but her sister visits there quite a bit.  Stuttgart is the 6th largest city in Germany and at 5.3 million people, is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. It is a Beta-status global city on the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.  The Stuttgart Rebels EC is one of two major hockey teams in Stuttgart. They play in the Landesliga (4th tier). The Bietigheim Bissingen Steelers play in the second division of DEL.

I had never heard of Chennai before. It is the sixth biggest city by population in India and the fourth biggest urban agglomeration with over 7 million people. It is also the 36th most populated urban area in the world.  It is the most visited Indian city by tourists and the Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Over 45% of tourists are coming to Chennai for health reasons. In fact, Chennai is considered India's health capital.  Global Cities Index, Chennai is a beta-level city.  Lonely Planet - Chennai is one of 10 must visit cities in 2015. India Today - Best city in India in 2014. BBC - 'hottest' city  to visit or live in in 2015. National Geographic - Chennai is the only Asian city mentioned in its 2015 "Top 10 Food Cities" list. Lonely Planet - 9th best cosmopolitan city UNESCO Creative Cities Network - added due to rich music tradition. Smart Cities Mission - one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a smart city.  The T...

A beautiful meet-up card from Chengdu on 21 September 2021. All the participants used an ink stamp to sign their names. They are all beautiful.  Chengdu  成都市  is the largest city in Sichuan Province at almost 21 million people. It is considered a Beta + City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. That means it is considered to be a city that links moderate economic regions to the world economy. North American cities that are considered Beta + include Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Washington, DC, and Vancouver.  The economy of Chengdu is diverse and the Sichuan Airport is one of the 30 busiest in the world. It is also considered one of the most liveable cities in China. The Western Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army is stationed here. UNESCO recognized Chengdu as a "City of Gastronomy."Giant pandas are native to the area and the city is home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.  Chengdu is one of the world's top 4...

Yuanying is a school teacher. She sent me a card from Alishan, Chiayi County. She says "the sea of the clouds is where you can encounter fairies and it may bring fortune and fantasy." Yuanying is from Kaohsiung, a large city of 2.77 million people and is Taiwan's third most populous city. It is classified as a Gamma city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. It has many key industries such as manufacturing, steel production, oil refining, freight transportation, and shipbuilding. The Port of Kaohsiung in the largest and busiest harbour in Taiwan, and is also the home of the Republic of China Navy fleet headquarters. The Kaohsiung International Airport is the second busiest airport in number of passengers. High speed and conventional railways, as well as several national highways.  An interesting professional basketball team played out of Kaohsiung. The Kaohsiung Truth played one season in the ASEAN Basketball League in 2016. The Truth were the league...

Patryk just started a digital arts studio. His card is an illustration of a 1962 Studebaker Avanti.  Patryk is from Katowice, or  Katowicy . Katowice is the capital city of the Silesian Voivoidship, a province of Poland. It is the 11th most populous city in Poland and its metropolitan area one of the most populous in Europe. Although Katowice only has just under 300 000 people, the metropolitan area it is a part of, Metropolis GZM, has 2.3 million. Katowice is a centre of commerce, culture, transportation and business. There are many public company headquarters set up here. The Polic National Radio Symphony Orchestra called Katowice home. Its a part of the UNCESCO Creative Cities Netword and was named a UNESCO City of Music.  Since 2020, Katowice is a Gamma city on the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.  Of course, my interest always turns to hockey.  Naprzód Janów is Katowice's representative in the Polska Hokej Liga - the top level of professiona...

Yu Chun sends a beautiful sunset to my mailbox. She is from Tainan  臺南市 , which is on the west coast of Taiwan. Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and commonly called "The Capital City." It was the capital city for 200 years under Koxinga and Qing Rule. It is also called "The Phoenix City" as the city has made several comebacks, renewals, and redefinitions over the years.  It is classified as "Sufficiancy" on the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Baseball is a popular sport in Taiwan and Tainan is home to the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. It was founded the same year as the CPBL - 1989 - and has won the CPBL Taiwan Series 10 times - 1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2020. The CPBL currently has five teams on the circuit and is the top tier professional baseball league in Taiwan.

As I progress further with this blog I have started looking for interesting aspects of the city, rather than giving a quick history and economic activity. For Taichung I discovered the Global and World Cities Research Network and was interested in learning more.  Twice a year, the Global and World Cities Research Network categorizes cities into four different tiers: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Sufficiency. These are based on the city's international connectedness. Connectivity is based on four areas: accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law. Economics are ranked more heavily than political or cultural factors. For example, you would think that Washington, DC would be an Alpha+ city because it is the capital city of the United States, considered to be the leader of the free world. Washington, however, is only considered a Beta+. Taichung is considered a Gamma city. A gamma city are cities that link with smaller economic regions into the world economy.  In Canada, Toronto ...