Introducing Finland

Finns are generally well educated, with 53% of the population completing high school and 12% holding a university diploma. The University of Helsinki, with a history of more than 350 years, is the most famous institution of higher learning in Finland. Finland is one of the countries with the highest library density in the world, with an average of 2,000 people having one library. The capital, Helsinki, is known as the "Pearl of the Baltic Sea". It is the national political, economic, cultural and commercial center. Helsinki has plenty to see and do for visitors of all ages, making Helsinki a great choice for a family holiday. Whether it is children or the elderly, daily life in the city is very convenient and safe.

According to historical legends, Finland was the first hometown to welcome Santa Claus to his home. The Finnish children's story king Marcus was inspired by it. When telling stories on the radio, he said that Santa Claus lives on this "Ear Mountain" with 20,000 reindeer. It is because of his "ears" that Santa Claus can hear the hearts of all the children in the world at the North Pole. His infectious romantic reasoning gained world recognition. Since then, "Er Mountain" has become the hometown of Santa Claus.

Generally speaking, the best season to travel to Finland is June to September every year. When you come to Finland during this season, you can see the rare spectacle of "polar daylight" in the world, and you can also see the joyful scenes of people celebrating "Midsummer Festival". In addition, the Arctic Village tourist attraction was set up under the inspiration of US President Mrs. Roosevelt. There are many beautiful and wonderful natural scenery in Arctic Village. If you go here in the summer, you can watch the unforgettable midnight sun that never sets; if you go here in the winter, you can see the rare Northern Lights in the world in the clear sky where the sun never sets day and night.

Finland has a unique maritime museum located in the city of Marjanhamina in the Akhvenama Islands. The exhibits in the museum are rich and colorful, which is an eye-opener for visitors. There is also an ocean-going sailing ship "Pomern" parked on the pier outside the museum. This is the last ocean-going sailing ship in the world.

The city where the sun never sets - Helsinki

The capital Helsinki is dotted with lakes in the streets and alleys. Helsinki's summer is exceptionally long, with the sun shining for up to 20 hours a day, so people call Helsinki the "city where the sun never sets." There is the University of Helsinki, the largest university in Northern Europe, as well as the famous Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and Management, etc.

The streets in Helsinki are wide, beautiful and clean, full of green trees and lush lawns. The garden in the center of the city center is filled with flowers. The buildings in the city have a unique style and are mostly built with light-colored granite, so Helsinki is known as the "White City in the North".

The Parliament Building in the city center has a tall foundation and towering stone pillars, making it majestic. The cathedral's colonnades and large and small domes are impressive. Helsinki Railway Station has a strong national style, with huge portrait reliefs on both sides of the clock tower and lobby. The city government, presidential palace, and State Council are all located near the square in the center of the ancient city. There are many small parks in the city, and the parks under the sunshine are full of people, because the sunshine in Northern Europe is extremely precious, and people are reluctant to let it go to waste. There are many people sipping slowly at the coffee shop on the street. Some squares are highly utilized. There are "morning markets" in the morning, and many peasant women come to sell fruits, vegetables, fish and other foods. After the crowd left, a cleaning truck came to wash and wash everything clean. Vendors selling daily necessities occupied the square again after 3 p.m. In the evening, the square has become a good place for young men and women to take a walk.

Some people say that the most beautiful buildings in European cities are churches. This is absolutely true. When tourists take a boat to Helsinki from the sea, they look at this beautiful port city from a distance. Dozens of towering spiers and buildings with bell towers are dotted among the city buildings shaded by greenery. These were built from the 12th century to the 19th century. Churches of different styles from century to century. The most famous architectural complex in Helsinki is the Helsinki Cathedral located on Senate Square in the city center and its surrounding pale yellow neoclassical buildings. The milky-white cathedral was built in 1852. Its structure is exquisite and its atmosphere is extraordinary. It is called the essence of Finnish architectural art. The cathedral's upright bell tower with light green arches is more than 80 meters above sea level and can be seen at a glance from the sea, making it a symbol of Helsinki. In front of the cathedral is Senate Square, with the Cabinet Building and the University of Helsinki on the east and west sides respectively. Not far to the south are the Presidential Palace, the Supreme Court and the City Hall. The Senate Square in front of the church is a gathering place for tourists.

In addition, there is also an underground church built in the rock in modern times. Foreign tourists who visit Helsinki must not miss this church, which was made by exploding a whole rock into a hole to experience its unique charm. This famous "rock church" in Europe is called Tempeli Ochio Church, located in Tempeli Rock Square in the city center. The entire square is covered by a huge undulating rock. The rock is 8 to 13 meters higher than the street next to it. It has been preserved naturally. The surrounding buildings are residential buildings built in different eras.

Ancient capital - Turku

Turku is the oldest city in Finland and the third largest city. Once the capital of Finland, it had two universities, one of which was the only Swedish university in Finland, and therefore became an academic and technological center. Today it is still the most important city in southwestern Finland.

The original meaning of the word Turku in Slavic is market. Today, the city center of Turku is also called Market Place.

In the 12th century, Turku was a trading stronghold on the Baltic Sea. In the 13th century, the construction of Turku's most important landmarks, "Turku Castle" and "Turku Cathedral", began. For the next 300 years, the city had an inseparable relationship with Sweden and became the best capital of Finland. In the 17th century, Finland's first institution of higher learning, the University of Turku, was also established here. It can be said that Turku was the capital of Finland before Finland established its own country and moved its capital to Helsinki.

Turku is adjacent to Sweden and has inherited Swedish-style architecture, becoming a city that rivals Finnish and Russian cultures. In addition to this representation, the long history of nearly 800 years has also become the most popular tourist attraction. Finnish culture has two origins: one is Sweden and the other is Russia, and the ancient capital Turku is a typical example of Swedish bias. Finland, which was founded less than 100 years ago, has historically been hovering between Sweden and Russia. It is not difficult to smell a little Slavic sentiment in eastern Finland; Swedish immigrants from hundreds of years ago are still living in the west and south coast areas, and the Swedish language It is common here that even the words are marked in Finnish and Swedish.

In 2004, Turku will be the only Finnish city to participate in and host the modern Hanseatic League meeting. Also in that year, Turku will celebrate her 775th birthday. In addition, Turku is often considered to be the only Western European city in Finland, because generally medieval European cities have four common features: a river for transportation, a cathedral showing religious power, a castle representing secular power, and a trading market. Turku has all 4.

Inland City - Tampere

Tampere is the largest inland city in Northern Europe with a population of more than 200,000. It is located in southwestern Finland, 180 kilometers away from the capital Helsinki. , is also the third largest city in Finland. Tampere is located in a narrow strip between two major lakes with beautiful scenery. The Tammer River running through the city center is the birthplace of Tampere's industry. Founded in 1779 on the banks of the Tampere rapids, it developed into Finland's most industrialized city in the 19th century. Thanks to new urban plans, the former industrial area was revived again, with restaurants, shops, sports and weight loss centers, and museums being established here. stand up. Tampere is also an international metrology education and research center, home to two universities and many research institutions, and is the central city in southern Finland.

The natural scenery in and around Tampere has made it a well-known tourist city. Near the city center stands Finland's tallest observation tower, which is 168 meters high. There is a revolving restaurant on the top of the tower, overlooking the panoramic view of the city. The ground floor of the tower houses a planetarium and aquarium. There is a children's zoo nearby. Pispara is one of the most beautiful scenic spots in the city, where buildings of various shapes line up on steep, serpentine hillsides. Climbing to the top of the mountain, you will see endless lakes and mountains before your eyes. Open-air summer theater built in 1959 with a rotating auditorium. Tampere has many museums, including the Lenin Museum, among which the Doll Museum displays more than 1,200 kinds of dolls from all over the world.

Rovaniemi, the hometown of Santa Claus

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapi Province in northern Finland. It is the only provincial capital in the world located on the Arctic Circle. It has lush forests. Beautiful and peaceful. Rovaniemi plays the role of the "Gateway to Lapland" and is the political, economic, cultural and tourism center of the north, with a population of 55,000.

Since the Stone Age, there have been traces of human life here. From about 750 to 530 BC, there were already cyclical agricultural working habits here. At the same time, according to the existing stone statues, tourists from Karelia in Russia, which borders Finland, had appeared in the east at that time. No one knows when the city of Rovaniemi was named. The first record of the city's name was found on September 7, 1453. The city's name is generally believed to be of Lappish dialect origin, meaning a wooded hillside or an old forest fire. During World War II, Rovaniemi was severely damaged and was razed to the ground. After the war, it was rebuilt according to the design of the famous Finnish architect Aalto. It is said that Aalto modeled the city's reconstruction on the shape of a northern reindeer. Today, the architect's design works can be seen everywhere in the city.

Interestingly, Rovaniemi is known as "the hometown of Santa Claus". There are not many attractions in the small town, only the Lapland Natural Museum, the market, and the wildlife park, and many tourists come here for Santa Claus Village. However, although this town is said to be his hometown, it is unclear whether the village was his former residence.

Santa Claus Village is located on the edge of the city, in its own corner. After passing the entrance of the tall archway, I was shocked to see a thick white line lying on the ground, which read 66 degrees 33 minutes north latitude. It turns out that this line is the dividing line of the Arctic Circle, and the area north of this line belongs to the Arctic range. Santa's residence is a group of wooden buildings, including a spire with a main entrance, a restaurant, a flower garden, Santa's office, residence, post office, shopping mall, deer park, etc.

Santa Claus’s office is a single-story bungalow, where Santa Claus stays “for long-term teaching” throughout the year. The interior is decorated like a home environment, and the wall decorations are full of Christmas colors.

Santa's "job" is mainly to take photos with guests, and a computer photo costs $10 per frame. A corner of the office is where Christmas cards are sold. The designs are beautiful. You might as well buy a few to send to yourself or your relatives and friends. Christmas cards sent from Santa Claus’s hometown are of great significance, not to mention they will be printed with the rare Santa Claus postmark. When you walk out of the office, you will find a shopping mall next door with colorful products, including Christmas bells, Christmas trees, Christmas flowers, hanging decorations, etc. The cutest ones are Santa Claus and the rare Santa Claus. In addition, the tents, stuffed animals, antlers, etc. used by the Lapland people to stay are also interesting souvenirs.

In addition to Santa Claus Village, there is another very interesting place, which is the Christmas Park, which opened on November 28, 1998. It is only two kilometers away from Rovaniemi Airport and is adjacent to Santa Claus Village. Shuttle connection. Christmas Park is a theme park where everything is centered around Christmas. The environment is decorated like a cartoon world, with mobile games, high-tech equipment that allows visitors to experience the scenery and temperature of the four seasons, reindeer sleighs, Christmas cocktail parties, and multimedia performances telling the story of Santa Claus. , puppet theater, souvenir shop, restaurant, etc.

In addition, a new reindeer park has opened between Christmas Park and Santa Claus Village. The park covers an area of ??30 hectares and is surrounded by fences. Visitors can ride a train-like vehicle between Christmas Park and Santa Claus Village.

Hometown of Winter Sports - Lahti

Lahti is located 100 kilometers north of the capital Helsinki and is a famous winter sports town in Finland. The Sarpaus Ridge runs through the entire city of Lahti from west to east. Topographically speaking, it is a very ideal skiing venue. The high-rise snow jumping platform has become the symbol of the city. Every winter, it is a very ideal place for skiing. Finnish national and international skiing and snow jumping competitions are held.

Winter sports competitions in Lahti began with the Mesile Ski Race in 1901. After that, Lahti held the World Ski Championships five times, the Modern Biathlon twice, and the Finnish Ski Races were held here every year. Lahti is also one of the candidate locations for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Lahti is not only Finland's winter sports center, but also an industrial, commercial and tourist city. Among its industrial industries, the furniture industry is the most developed and it is the largest furniture producer in Northern Europe. Asko and Isko are Finland's largest furniture companies. Ranu Park on the bank of the city's Kari Bay also attracts tourists with its unique sculpture art. The sculptures in the park contain a charm that is very different from the sculpture styles common in other cities, making it the richest place in Lahti. Unique scenic spots.