China

May - June 2019 Read more

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May 31, 2019
China skip's retirement travel
Beijing, China
May 31, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Capital of China. Views over the city from the top of the man-made hill called Jinshang Park that is located immediately north of the Forbidden City. The hill is made from the spoils from digging the moat around the Forbidden City by the Ming Dynasty, and they are placed on the site of the capital complex of the previous dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, that the Ming destroyed after defeating them in 1368. On the other hand, the last Ming emperor commuted suicide on this site, as noted in the last pic.Read more
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Tiananmen Square
May 31, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Largest square in China and sometimes claimed as the largest in the world at about 100 acres. This is the site of the democracy demonstrations made most famous by the picture of the man standing in front of a tank. The first 2 pics give a sense of scale as does the third looking toward the Forbidden City. The south side of the square contains Mao's mausoleum. Fifth is a garden to one side of the square, and the last is the Tian Anmen gate to the Forbidden City at the north end of the square and is the South gate to the Forbidden City.Read more
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Great Wall 1
June 1, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
There isn't much more to say than wow! Once more I'm in a place that books and TV can't do justice to.
The section of the wall I visited is called Jinshanling. The wall was started more than 2,000 years ago, but what we can see today is the work of the Ming Dynasty in the 14th and 15th centuries. I walked a section that is still original, not refurbished with newer materials.
First, I needed to convince myself I was actually here. Next is a look along a section of the wall, followed by a couple of watchtowers. Next is a picture that shows the construction: two brick walls filled with rubble in between. Also, the mortar is original and is said to be made of sticky rice and lime. It is still rock hard, lasting all these years. Last is a series of defensive structures to be used if the barbarian hordes made it on to the wall. They are a series of brick structures on a steep uphill portion of the wall that soldiers stood behind to counterattack.Read more
Traveler Es sieht ja gewaltig aus, habt eine schöne Zeit. Sehr interessant.
4/1/24ReplyTranslate
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China skip's retirement travel
Great Wall 2
June 1, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
One post on the Great Wall just didn't seem to be enough. As you may know, the wall follows the ridge line, so it goes up and down hill. It can get pretty steep, like in the 1st pic. On the left you can see more of those top of the wall defensive structures. Second is inside a guard tower. 3rd is a look at one of the gates through the Wall that allowed for commerce, communication, etc. The arch is original and completely made of brick. 4th is what the attackers would see if they got close enough. The last two show more of the wall and an example of the view from on top. I was disappointed that the day was pretty hazy. The scenery and mountains of China are unusual and stunning, at least to these western eyes.Read more
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Temple of Heaven, Beijing
June 2, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Main temple of Ming and Qing emperors where they prayed for harvests and otherwise comunicated with God. The emperor considered himself the son of god, making himself the one who could act before God for the people. The temple was built about 600 years ago and is said to be Taoist.
The first three pics are of the main temple, from the outside, looking through the door and a detail of the inside and cieling.
It is a 600 acre park now.Read more
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Summer Palace, Beijing
June 2, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Summer residence of the Qing Royal family. Built in the 18th Century. Now a large park, centered on Kunming Lake. Unfortunately all buildings were closed and most had their windows covered. The pics are of the temple, the emperor's residence, the empress's residence and the empress dowager's residence. The indoor picture is through one of the few uncovered windows in n the empress dowager's residence. The last pic is of the so called Long Corridor, said to be the longest in the world at 700 meters. You can see paintings on all parts of the structure. There are said to be more that 10,000 paintings here.Read more
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Lama Temple
June 2, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing. The Qing dynasty was actually Manchu. As such, they were a minority group. They were led to what I would call a very good policy of supporting minority groups on China. The Qing invited the Dalai Lama to come to Beijing and begin the temple. The pictures are a sampling of the beauty of the place. In some, you can see the smoke from incense. The last is a sandalwood statue carved from a single tree. It is so huge that the building was built around it.Read more
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Confucian temple
June 2, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
It is probably more appropriate to refer to Confucianism as a philosophy than a religion. If there is a central premise, it rests in meeting or living up to one's responsibilities rather than focusing on rights. Interesting that a culture focused on responsibilities has lasted thousand of years while those with a different focus fade much more quickly.
The first picture is a statue of Confucius. 2nd is the central focus of the main temple which is a Confucian tablet. Next are some of the musical instruments used in ceremonies. Finally is a room now used as an exhibition space on Confucianism and it's effect on cultures worldwide.
Marco Polo first introduced Confucius to the west. Voltaire cited him greatly, and he was even referred to in a Nobel Prize lecture in the late 20th Century. It's clear to me that he is one of the most influential people in history.Read more
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Imperial College
June 2, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
The pictures are of the Qing Dynasty academy buildings, about 300 years old. However, imperial higher education goes back over 2,000 years. Admission was based on merit without regard to class. The goal was to do well in the imperial examinations as those scoring highest earned the most important government posts. So the government was run by scholars, quite contrary to the anti-intellectualism that seems so rampant today. Much of this began with Confucius, and his philosophy was the guiding force behind their learning.
The pictures are of the gate, the main building where the emperor lectured, the actual seat and desk the emperor lectured from, and the teaching/study/examination room.Read more
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Pingyao
June 4, 2019 in China ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Pingyao is an ancient city, famous for it's wall and it's banking history (see other posts). The city is full of temples mostly Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian. In addition, every business and home seems to have its own temple. First is a look over the city from a balcony. Next is a Taoist temple where priests were praying for rain. The prayers ended with a spray of water over us, most welcome at 92°F. Across the temple courtyard, is a stage where performances take place. This one was about a Mongolian general being confronted about the differences in diet. Next are the Confucian and Buddhist temples. Last is inside the hotel where I stayed. It is a redone building from the Qing Dynasty period. It gives as good a sense of place as any of the dozens of pictures I have.Read more
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Pingyao South Gate and the city wall
June 4, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
The only complete Ming dynasty city wall left in China. It is more than 6 kilometers in circumference. The wall has 6 gates: 1 each north and south plus 2 each to the west and the east. The first pic looks at the south gate tower, about 400 years old. Second is the access to the wall at the south tower: left stairs for soldiers, right stairs for bureaucrats and center ramp for horses. Next is a look along the top of the wall showing the inside which is clearer in the 4th pic. The 5th pic looks out from the wall. In the lower part among the trees you can make out the moat. The last pic looks in over the cityRead more
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Pingyao bank
June 4, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Pingyao was the financial/banking center of China. The first Chinese bank was founded here, and at it's peak, there were dozens of banks here. The first pic is the entrance to the very first bank, followed by models of bank clerks at work. The red fence surrounds a hole in the floor that provided access to the "vault" in the basement. 4th is the vest worn by armed guards were kung fu masters. 5th shows some of their weapons and some chain mail. Last is a picture of the carts and chests used to transfer bullion between banks. The use of these reduced with the Advent of bank draftsRead more
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Xi'an
June 5, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Former capital of the empire for a number of dynasties. This is also the Chinese end of the silk road. Xi'an differs from Pingyao in that much of the Xi'an old city has been replaced by modern buildings. The first pic is a look over the city from the top level of the Wild Goose Pagoda, that is seen in the 2nd pic. Third is in one of the temples around the Wild Goose Pagoda. 4th and 5th are the Bell tower and drum tower respectively. These are 600+ year old signal towers. Time was kept track of, and signals to close the city gates in the event of danger were given here. Last is the old city wall lit up at night.Read more
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Terracotta warriors
June 6, 2019 in China ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
This is another place where pictures, TV, etc, do not do justice to actually seeing this. The emperor, who is the statue in the last picture, had all this built over 2,000 years ago as his guards in the afterlife. There are thousands of these statues, most of which have not been excavated as the original color fades within a few hours of exposure to air and light. It is extraordinary.Read more
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Kong Tong Mountain
June 8, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
One of the holy mountains in Taoism. Many paths that's ncluded thousands of steps to visit dozens of temples. Some of the stairs are so steep as to be scary. The first two pics are of a couple of the temples. Third is the Bridge to Heaven, and yes I did cross it. It is a cable stayed steel bridge over a chasm out to a small temple on a rock pinnacle. The other pics are various views of the mountain or the view from overlooks on the mountain.Read more
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Lanshou
June 9, 2019 in China ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
City on the Yellow River at the heart of the development of Chinese civilization centuries ago. Today it's a long narrow city on both side of the Yellow River which carries a high silt load, giving the river it's characteristic color. First is a look over the city from the white Pagoda in the 4th picture. The second is a look downriver to another part of the city where the yellow color is easier to see. 3rd is the main street of this part of Lanshou, and the last is one of the temples near the white Pagoda.Read more
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Xiahe
June 10, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Small city at 3,000 meters above sea level near Tibet. Labrang Monastery (Tibetan Buddhist) is here (see another post). The first pic is the main square. The is a conch shell, but I do not know why. The next two are of the main street. 4th looks along the river toward some of the mountains surrounding the tiwnRead more
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Labrang Monastery
June 11, 2019 in China ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
Very large monastery that isn't what it sounds like. This is actually a university consisting of 6 colleges, including traditional Tibetan medicine, philosophy and others. 1200 monks plus novices and visiting monks are here to study. We were not permitted to take pictures in the temples. The first three pics look at a few buildings, including one of the originals from the early 1700s. The 4th pic is part of a display of flowers carved in yak butter, a Tibetan annual tradition. The last 2 are of original art dating to the founding of the monastery. First is the wheel of life and reincarnation of Buddhist belief, and the last depicts part of the creation myth.Read more
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Labrang print house
June 11, 2019 in China ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
This is the printing operation of the Labrang Monastery, roughly equivalent to the university press that most schools have. However, this is unique. It is the only place where wood block printing of Buddhist texts is still done in the traditional manner. First is the shop. Second is a small portion of the site room of hand carved wood blocks of all the texts they print. The next two show a couple monks doing the printing. The fifth is laying out the printed sheets. The last is the ticket we were given for the visit. It is a traditional print on rice paper done in the shop.Read more
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Bingling Cave-Temple
June 12, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Large, historic Buddhist site dating to the 5th century, located in a gorge off of the upper Yellow River. Temples were added up through the Ming dynasty. The large Buddha is more than 27 meters tall. The sleeping Buddha is more than 8 meters. The rest of the pictures are a sampling of some of the scores of temples at this siteRead more
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Upper Yellow River
June 12, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Some photos along the upper Yellow River. Spectacular scenery. The last pic is planting rice.
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Rainbow Mountains
June 14, 2019 in China ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
Spectacular natural formation. The base rock, the reddish color, is comparable to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, as are some of the other geologic features forming this area. The colors result from the inclusion of various minerals in the formation. We were there in the rain. So the colors are muted. For the full effect, Google the rainbow mountains of China.Read more
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Jiayuguan Wall's End
June 15, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
The great wall extends a few kilometers beyond the fort where it ends at Black Mountain. This is that point. It is mostly restored. The first pic looks up the wall to the final watch tower on Black Mountain. The second looks back down the wall from the top of the watchtower. There is a silk road gate in the oasis that is visible. Third is a detail of the construction of the wall. 4th is a view from the watchtower. Barely visible are snow capped mountains. The last two pics show some sculptures remembering the activity of the silk road from back in the day.Read more
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Jiayaguan Fort
June 15, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
The last fort at the western end of the great wall. This was the administrative and military headquarters protecting the border and caravans as well as collecting taxes. The first pic is the outer gate into what might have been called the "outer bailey" in a British castle. The second looks through the gate to the second gate. Notice that the ceiling steps up inside. The gate is at the juncture between the two. The third pic is the inner gate that is built like the outer and leads into a killing box with another gate into the "inner bailey." The fourth pic is the yard of the general's residence, with all the offices for the fort included. They have mannequins in a number of locations showing a sense of real life. The fifth pic shows a woman in the kitchen pretty accurately, even for today. Last is a view over the battlements out toward the horizon where the silk road went on.Read more
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Mogao Grottoes
June 16, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Originally more than 1,000 grottoes carved out of a cliff face along the silk road by Buddhists beginning in the 4th century CE up until the silk road was abandoned during the Ming Dynasty. (Seaborne trade had taken over.) They are awe inspiring. Almost 800 caves remain with many restored. Most of the caves are devotional or worship spaces.
We visited 8 of the caves. Unfortunately, they do not allow photos inside. The first pic here is taken of a picture of the Nirvana grotto with a sleeping or reclining Buddha. 2nd is the 9 level Pagoda that has become the symbol for the site. Inside is the giant Buddha, 35.5 meters tall and one of the largest in the world. Pics 3&4 show some of the artwork on the exterior even though it is faded. 5th shows a portion of the cliff face with some of the caves. Last is a look up towards the north end where the grottoes were monks cells rather than worship spaces.Read more
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