China Trip: Part 1
After our night at the Fairmont, Ryan and I flew directly to Beijing, China, the next day. It wasn’t quite a honeymoon for us, but it was a wonderful trip! I met Ryan’s extended family, most of whom are in China, and his dad put on a tasty banquet to welcome the two of us. After getting acquainted with Ryan’s relatives, we set out to see some sights the day after.
On the 6th we started off bright and early to see the Great Wall at Badaling, the most popular segment of the Great Wall, which incidentally also gets the most foot traffic. Although we arrived early in the morning, there were already crowds everywhere. It was breathtaking to see the Great Wall in person again and realizing how much time and effort it took to build and defend.
I insisted that we trek to the highest point on the segment of the Great Wall, and it was great fun. We decided to take a different route back to Wall entrance, and we ended up going quite a bit out of the way, climbing several particularly steep sections while doing so.
After a quick lunch at KFC, we headed over to the Ming Tombs. Thirteen Ming emperors had been buried there, but only Dingling, the tomb of the Wanli Emperor and his two empresses, was excavated. We visited this site and the accompanying museum. The Underground Palace was enormous, and sat underneath a landscaped area.
The Soul Tower was situated on the site and contained a stone stele indicating the mausoleum of Emperor Shenzong. The Tower was built out of stone but contained the architecture of a structure that would be made of wood.
After visiting the Underground Palace of Emperor Wanli, we then visited the nearby museum to see some artifacts. As many of the artifacts were damaged after excavation, we saw only reproductions. Even so, it gave a good idea of the scale of wealth and grandeur in the tombs.
After visiting the museum, we went for a stroll along the Sacred Way, a long walkway lined with carved stone generals and animals. The walkway led to more tombs on the site, but they have not been excavated. The stone statues were interesting to look at — each animal was carved standing and sitting, and lined both sides of the walkway. The Sacred Way was also lined with beautiful willow trees, and was a peaceful area.
We ended up getting caught in a slight thunderstorm as we were walking, so it was time to head back. After dinner, the weather cleared up and we headed to Tienanmen Square for a walk. As China was celebrating the Dragonboat Festival, the lights and fountains at Tienanmen Square were on to commemorate the occasion.
Nearby was the Wangfujing shopping district. Filled with people, shops, and department stores, it contained a night life that few places in the US could boast.
After calling it a night and getting rest at the Jade Palace Hotel, Ryan and I embarked on a long trek to see the Tan Zhe and Jie Tai Temples the next day. Both monasteries were situated in the outskirts of Beijing, making for a nice drive through the mountains.
Tanzhe Temple was built about 1,700 years ago. Ryan and I walked through several peaceful gardens punctuated with great halls for prayer.
The cavity below at one time housed water flowing from a nearby river that also supplied Beijing. It was said that once the water reached above a certain level, Beijing was in danger of flooding, thus serving as an early warning system. Pretty neat!
We also saw two Emperor’s Trees, ginkgo trees that were planted about 1,000 years ago.
After visiting some halls, we drove over to the Jietai Temple, which was also along the same mountain road. This temple was not as expansive as the last, but it had some notable pine trees. They were planted most likely 500 years ago and grew in interesting formations, inspiring names.
This was the Phoenix Pine, so called for the “phoenix tail” on the right side of the tree and the head on the opposing side.
The Phoenix Pine faced the Dragon Pine, also planted in the same courtyard.
Other cool pine trees included the Phoenix Tail Pine, Sensitive Pine (so called since the whole tree sways in the wind), and Sleeping Dragon Pine (so called since its trunk rests on a stone stele).
There was also the Nine Dragon Pine, a tree over 1,000 years old.
My favorite tree at the temple, however, did not seem to have a name!
On the drive back from the temples we also visited Lugou Bridge, or the Marco Polo Bridge. The bridge was named after Marco Polo wrote of its beauty. Along the bridge railing sit 501 stone lions, all with different poses and with larger lions cuddling with smaller lions. The bridge also contained stones with deep grooves worn in, ostensibly from metal-rimmed wagon wheels rolling over it over the course of centuries.
The bridge, which crosses the Yongding River, faces the West gate of Wanping City, a walled city that served to defend Beijing.
To escape the sweltering heat, Ryan and I retreated back his grandparents’ and later we headed over to dinner for roast duck. We had Jiu Hua Shan roasted duck, and it was seriously the best duck I’ve had. Looks like China has a monopoly!
For more pictures from this part of the trip, click here.
