14/07/08
This morning we woke up early to a very grey Beijing. Quickly getting ready we went out and got on the bus which was taking us to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. It was a small both with about 10 other foreigners on board. Amy, the tour guide, got on and introduced herself and the driver (Mr Chang) and then we set off.
First stop was the Ming Tombs and Amy told us various thing en-route. The tomb we visited was that of the 3rd Emperor, Yongle. It was starting to rain as we got of the bus - certainly not the best day for sightseeing. Crossing through the large gate we walked up to the Hall of Eminent Flavours. It was a large structure supported internally with tall and thick cedarwood (nanwu) columns. It was quite dark inside and the weak daylight did not help matters. The hall contained a number of artifacts found in the tomb and a big statue of the Emperor himself. We continued out through the backdoor and walked through another courtyard up to a tower. Up the stairs, at the top of the tower, we were at the highest point if the tomb complex, and, had it been a good day, we'd have been able to see the towers of the other tombs in the surrounding area.
After a brief talk we were heading back to the bus. Our next stop was to be a trip to a jade factory (which we had known nothing about.) As we expected it was just a big sales room with a small tour of past a staged factory room and a talk about jade.We spent too long there, but only because other members of the group were buying things.
Next stop was lunch at the Society for Traditional Chinese Medicine. We had a brief explanation of the practice, followed by a test to determine our health. This was done by an elderly professor feeling our pulse on each wrist which told him about different parts of our bodies. It was no surprise that the older members of the group had some health issues and we were healthy. Some people were prescribed Chinese medicines ( which were conveniently available to buy there.) Lunch was had in a room upstairs somewhere and it was quite tasty, following which we were soon back on the road.
It was raining hard when we reached the Great Wall, and therefore a bit disheartening, so we rushed from the bus to the stalls selling rain ponchos and umbrellas as we had both forgotten our jackets! Passing some pens with black bears in we joined the queue to the 'sliding way' to the bit of the wall it was recommended we start.
Everyone was wearing plastic ponchos of different colours and holding umbrellas which was quite a bizarre sight! We were expecting some kind of cable car when we go the front of the queue, in fact it was more like some kind of a ride! We sat down in a low car and were harnessed in, then we were pulled along a track up the hillside. We reached the top and the rain had ceased a bit so we made our way up and down along the slippery wall with all the 100s of other tourists (mainly Chinese.) The views were spectacular, despite the rain and extreme number of other visitors in bright coloured ponchos.
Going down was a very strange experience, we had just seen the ancient Great Wall of China and now we were strapped on to small plastic seats making our way down the mountainside, soaked. It's not what you think of when you think Great Wall!! On the way to the bus we passed the black bears and took some photos whilst people threw carrots to them, adding to the weirdness.
After refreshing back at the hotel and sending a couple of emails we went in search of Pizza Hut which was somewhere nearby and would be a quick and easy dinner. It tasted good but was almost as expensive as back at home so probably wasn't the best plan. It was an unstressful end to a good day.
15/07/08
The weather had vastly improved and we returned to the Temple of Heaven this morning. Entering from the south gate we saw the extent of what we had missed out on on the first visit. There were many buildings in the same style as we had previously seen but the main temple was quite unique. It was circular and rose up quite tall. It had been where the Emperors worshipped the gods for things like good harvests. Our next plan was to get a taxi to a harbour elsewhere in the city where we could then get a boat up the river to the Summer Palace. The pier was easy enough to find and there were also some French people asking for the boat. After discovering it would leave in 40 minutes we headed to the nearest restaurant, which overlooked the quite bland, almost boatless harbour. One waitress spoke a little English but the menu was not in English so we struggled to get some noodles and vegetables. We got a couple of dishes we proved quite difficult to eat and we were being watched by an attentive waitress. Low on cash and with no idea where the boat was we got a taxi to the Summer Palace.
Shortly after arriving I knew this would be my favourite sight in Beijing. The whole place felt very genuine. We climbed up the steps around the back where there were less tourists and came across a couple of lovely old pavilions. They were nice for a few reasons; they were quiet (with only some locals sitting about but not covered in tourists) and they seemed untouched. We soon came across the main parts of the palace, tucked amongst the trees and again, they seemed untouched. They had not been repainted in bright colours or restored to their original condition and, because of this they felt liek ancient buildings. Bar a few this was the case across the whole palace area. I believe it is how all the sights should be like. Restoration is fine but when it looks like it was painted yesterday it loses its effect.
We made our way through the trees to the edge of the lake and down by the waterside we discovered we could take a motor boat out for 60 Yuan. The chance to get out on to the water and view the palace from afar was too tempting so we left a deposit and were soon cruising about the pretty large Kunming Lake. The palaces and pavilions looked as good from the boat as they did up close and we were able to cross the lake and see other parts which were scattered along its banks. An hour later the sun was almost setting and we left the boat and wandered along the courtyards to the entrance/exit. The fading light was creating cool shadows, it was a lovely atmosphere.
We had a quick bite to eat in the restaurant just outside the complex and as we were about to leave a man on the next table asked us if we had been to the Great Wall. We chatted for a while and we had soon organised to meet up at a bus station the next morning and go to one the other sections of the wall. We had discussed the idea of going again before meeting the guy as we hoped we would find clearer skies and less tourists at another section.
After leaving him in the taxi when we got to our hotel we realised we didn't know his name, or have any kind of contact details, we just hoped it would be easy to find him the following morning.
That evening I went out for a bit to take the photos I hadn't managed to take earlier in the week. I took a few but I didn't really manage to capture anything majorly good. I had a pint of Yanjing beer at an outdoor bar on Wangfujing Street but there wasn't much atmosphere with not many people about as shops were closing and I was drinking alone.
Back at the hotel I packed my stuff ready to leave Beijing the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment