Travel in China

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22 august 2007

- Tiananmen Square

The Tiananmen Square in the center
of Beijing, is said to be the biggest
square in the world. It is has a total
area of 440,000 square meters and
can hold one million people.

The granite Monument to the People’s
Heroes is just at the center of the
Tiananmen Square. Built in 1952, it is
the largest monument in China’s history.

- Forbidden City

The Forbidden City, located at the center of the ancient city of Beijing, was home to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Surrounded by a six meter deep, and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 buildings. Construction of the palace complex began in 1407 and was completed fourteen years later in 1420.

Today, the Forbidden City is a World Heritage. At the Forbidden City you can see the traditional architecture up close and marvel at the treasures of the imperial family and its court.



20 august 2007

- Summer Palace

The Summer Palace has a history of over 850 years. The Imperial garden has existed since 1150. The gardens that surrounded the Summer Palace date from the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234).



The Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by China’s Imperial rulers, as a retreat from the main imperial palace now known as the Forbidden City. For the emperor the summer palace was a pleasure ground in the countryside, yet near to the city.

18 august 2007

- Old Summer Palace

The gardens of the Old Summer Palace, which are about the same size as Central Park in New York, date back to the 12th century. Emperor Qianlong who was inspired by French and Italian palaces and had 10 palaces of his own designed and built in rococo style in the gardens.



When the British and French were unhappy with the Chinese government’s refusal to accept opium in return for silk, tea and other goods, the Europeans destroyed the 10 palaces of the emperor. The destruction occurred over three days in 1860 during the Second Opium War (1860-1862). The troops burned all the wood structures and did as much damage to the marble facades as they could.



The Old Summer Palace which is known as the Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan (the Garden of Perfection and Light) was also called the ‘garden of gardens’ or the ‘Versailles of the East’ in Europe. Hundreds of scenic spots in the Garden are made up of exquisitely constructed, earth and rock hills, rivers and ponds, exotic flowers and grasses, Grand Waterworks, and a Labyrinth. The Old Summer Palace embodies the essence of Chinese ancient landscape gardening.

15 august 2007

- Great Wall / Chinese Wall

To reach Mutianyu Great Wall there are more than 1,400 steps to climb. Mutianyu Great Wall enjoys a long history and is part of the glorious culture of China.



The wall was first built in Northern Qi Dynasty (550 - 557). In the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang, two famous patriotic generals, rebuilt it in order to strengthen its defensive potential when they guarded the strategic pass. Mutianyu Great Wall winds 1.4 miles through lofty mountains and high ridges, many sections of which are made of granite.



The unique structure makes the wall almost indestructible. There are 22 watch towers distributed at close intervals along the wall.




“He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.” - Mao Zedong

14 august 2007

- Beihai Park

Beihai Park is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China located in the center of Beijing.



This ancient garden, with over 1,000 years’ history, is not only a classic combination of the grandiosity of the northern gardens and the refinement of the southern gardens in China, but also a perfect integration of magnificent imperial palaces and solemn religious constructions.

- Beihai Park, Nine-Dragon Screen

The well-known Nine-Dragon Screen, which is the only screen in the world having nine huge dragons on both sides among the most famous three. The Nine-Dragon Screen is about 27 meters (about 88.6 feet) long, 6.65 meters (about 21.8 feet) high and 1.42 meters (4.66 feet) thick.



The Nine-Dragon Screen is still bright in color and complete in appearance, showing the high techniques of Chinese arts and crafts in ancient times.

China great wall travel

The Great Wall is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC, the most famous being the one built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. That wall was much further north than the current wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, and little of it remains.

The Great Wall is one of the existing megastructures and the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass.

China great wall

Shan hai guan(山海关) - Great Wall into the sea

Shan hai guan(山海关) - Great Wall into the sea

I finally made my way over the Hebei province to visit the famous Shanhaiguan Great Wall(长城,山海关段). Its pretty straight forward to get there; there are a number of trains and buses from BJ lasting anywhere from 2.5 hours to 6 hours. I took the D5 which left around 9am from BJ train station arriving in Shanhaiguan at 11.30am. Though I was looking for a place to stay within the walled city, it was impossible to get a homestay (due to Olympic hosting restrictions for foreigner). So, after about an hour looking for an affordable place I came across the newly opened Guan Yun hotel, about 5 minutes walk from the south gate. The staff was EXTREMELY friendly; I thought for a moment I am in another country. Mind you that the hotel seems to worship the goddess Guanyin and this devotion seems to spell over to the guests.

Shan hai guan(山海关) - Great Wall of Chinatravel in China- Shan hai guan(山海关) - Great Wall

The hotel opened about 2 months ago and has sparkling clean rooms, some prettier that others. The beautiful double rooms were available for 150 Yuan; I paid 100 yuan for my room.

I had 3 days to wander around Shanhaiguan, taking in the walled city, hiking up to Jiaoshan Mountain and spending about 5 hours at Laolongtou (Old Dragon's Head). While there, I chatted with the wonderful girls of the Tourist Information Center. Miffy showed me around and told me much about the history. She and her collegue are English majors at the university in Beidahe.

At Shanhaiguan, the Great Wall juts out into the sea. This part of the wall is known as the "Old Dragon's Head". Bus 25 will take you to the entrance for ¥1. If you turn left before the entrance, that road will take you under the wall and to the beach. From there you can see where the wall reaches the ocean without paying entrance fees. At low tide it is possible, albeit illegal and dishonest of course, to walk around the end of the wall and enter the paid-area without a ticket.




Further inland, The pass of Shanhaiguan is to be found. The pass of Shanhaiguan is a square, with a perimeter of around 4 kilometers long. The walls reach the heigh of 14 meters, and are 7 meters thick. The pass's east, south and north side is surrounded by a moat of 8 feet deep and 17 feet wide. There are drawbridges to get over the moat, and in the middle of the pass stands a tall bell tower.
All four sides of Shanhaiguan had a gate: Zhendong (East), Yinun (West), Mangyang (South), and Weiyuan (North). Due to disrepair over the centuries, only Zhendong gate still remains today. Zhendong Gate is the most important gate in Shanhaiguan due to its position, which faces outside the pass. On the gate hangs the board, written on it "First Pass Under the Heaven."

About 4 km from the walled city is a forest park, with Jiaoshan Mountain, near another section of the wall. Here, the wall can be seen snaking it's way over the hills. It is possible to take a chairlift/cablecar to get a better view, or if you're feeling fit, you can walk up a steep section of the wall. On a clear day (which I didnt have) the mountain offers views to the lake and supposedly to the Bohai see.
There's also a museum dedicated to the Great wall in the centre of Shanhaiguan (which was clsed due to renovation).


Much of Shanhaiguan has been extensively restored in the 80s. Currently much of the "old" town is being completely reconstructed. Quite a few entire city blocks are being remade into a faux-old Chinese city that, in fact, promises to be quite fake looking when construction is complete. As of the time of writing, September 2008, the walled city or "old town" was still under construction with only a few restaurants open. Come back in a year and you should see some activity in the "old town".
via http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/grizzly/rtw_2004/1221547200.html

The Great Wall of China -Travel in China

It seems like I’ve been starting off every post from China with a picture of meat on a stick—well, here’s another. There’s no denying that the Chinese love their meat served on a bamboo skewer! The Astronomer procured these sticks of mutton (4 for 10 RMB) at the base of The Great Wall because he needed a protein boost before our assent. I already carbo-loaded in Chaoyang, so I passed.

Vendors selling meat on a stick, corn on the cob and kebabs to hungry tourists. It was a rainy day in Beijing, which meant that the weather at The Great Wall was cool, bordering on cold. Visibility was pretty good despite the looming clouds.

The Great Wall stretches “6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.”

We visited the wall at Badaling, which is located 70 kilometers northwest of Beijing. Made of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall is 7.8 meters (25.6 ft) high and 5 meters (16.4 ft) wide.

The “Hollywood” sign of Badaling.

Badaling is the most popular section of the wall and was moderately packed during our visit. The Astronomer and I were both surprised by how tough the climb was—it really gets steep at some points! Climbing The Great Wall is not a walk in the park, but we saw lots of elderly Chinese people trekking along. Impressive!

A view of rolling hills with rocks jutting upwards from atop The Great Wall.

The Wall just goes on and on and on…

After a 45 minute hike, we reached the highest point of the Badaling section. An imposing brick wall signaled that it was time to turn around and descend. Check out the old man getting a massage for a job well done—lucky fella.

The long road home.

After climbing The Great Wall, I was definitely ready for something warm and hearty. In addition to the roadside stands selling meat on a stick, there was also a food court selling noodles, sandwiches and bi bim bap! The Astronomer and I shared a fired-to-order portion of pork bi bim bap (15 RMB) with sauce on the side. For Korean food served in a Chinese tourist hot spot, the bi bim bap certainly could’ve been worse!
by Gastronomer