A – Z Cities with Mysteries – Real & Fictional

 Yamagata, Japan

 

Snow Monsters

The juhyo effect is a sustained cycle of ice accumulation that changes the scrubby fir trees into towering surreal oddities of snow and ice.

This unusual natural phenomenon occurs on the tip of Mount Zao every winter from late December to the middle of March. Harsh Siberian winds travel across the North Japan sea and the western plains of Yamagata. They batter the wooded mountainside. The freezing winds drop two to three meters of snow on the ground and glaze the fir trees with freezing condensation.

Zao Onsen ski resort is one of the few places where spooky snow monsters appear mid-February.

Alpine trees bombarded with heavy snowfalls and icy winds grow into tall, monster-like creatures.

 

 

 

A – Z Cities with Mysteries – Real & Fictional

 

Xi’an, China

Xi’an Confronts an Unusual Challenge: a Surfeit of Ancient Tombs

China wants to protect its historical relics from new urban development projects. But that’s no simple task in Xi’an — a city where imperial tombs are seemingly everywhere.

In 2013, archaeologists in the city of Xi’an made an incredible discovery while conducting surveys for a new road-building project: a 1,300-year-old tomb belonging to one of the most powerful female politicians in Chinese history, Shangguan Wan’er.

Shangguan had served as the de facto prime minister to Wu Zetian, China’s sole female emperor. But after Wu’s death, she was killed in a bloody coup, and her final resting place had remained a mystery for centuries.

Despite decades of research, archaeologists in Xi’an still haven’t located the tombs of several emperors, let alone those of many other historical figures who lived in the city.

 

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A – Z Cities with Mysteries – Real & Fictional

 

Wiltshire, England

The home of Stonehenge. Archaeologists believe it was constructed from around 3000 BC to 2000 BC. One of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, it is owned by the Crown.

 

This prehistoric monument was built by a culture that left no written records.

Several scholars’ theories about its function:

A burial site

A ceremonial site

A religious pilgrimage destination

An astronomical calculator to mark the seasons

A place of healing

A final resting place for royalty

 

 There is no absolute evidence revealing the construction techniques used by the Stonehenge builders.

A – Z Cities with Mysteries – Real & Fictional

 Venice, Italy

 

Mysterious Curse?

The painter Giovanni Bragolin is known for his Crying Boys series of oils. Rumor has it the painting is cursed. (And rumor also has it that there is no such Italian painter.)

 

 

This painting of a young boy was set on the walls of multiple homes throughout Europe. People in many of the homes ended up being victims of fires or explosions. The painting, itself, was always found to be intact in the aftermath.

The painter was told by a priest that the wandering orphan’s parents had died in a house fire. When the painter took the boy into his studio to paint him, the studio caught fire and burned down.