China # 21 Olympic area

Olympic Pool in the distance
National Stadium

If I recollect correctly this is an Hotel.

We didn't actually visit 'the Bird's nest' but we stopped to take pictures and hear a little bit about the surrounding buildings. It's become a tourist stop off and although I'm pleased to have seen it, I have to say it was one of my least favourite places!

China # 20 Terracotta Warriors Xian

One cannot visit China and not see some of the Terracotta Warriors. I'm not going to write masses about them but for anyone who is interested the link will give you a lot more information. Basically thousands of workers took more than a decade to create a life size terracotta army that was designed to defend the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Tomb and protect him in the afterlife.

The museum site is very well maintained and the various buildings are called 'pits'

The picture below is said to be the site of the well where farmers were digging and found the first evidence of the tomb.

All the warriors have different faces.

Below there are still very large areas that have not been excavated because they have learned that one uncovered the vibrant colours are soon lost with oxidization(hope that's the right word).

Having just found a lot of draft posts from my trip to China in 2009 I have decided to post them even though they are not finished.

China # 19 Bejing Forbidden City

The Forbidden City has so much interesting history. Built between 1406 and 1420 it was the home of the Emperor and his household for five centuries and since 1987 it has been a world heritage site.

There are large pots all around the buildings...what do you think was their purpose?

There are so many visitors trying to get a view through the door can be quite difficult. To get the picture of the throne I held my phone camera up and hoped for the best, so I'm quite pleased with the result.

Just look at the colour and detail on the building it really is spectacular.

Hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into the city.

Archives:
2008: I'm off to Corfu today
2007: Witty Wednes-21 Wise Words
2006: Aching Legs

China # 18 Tiananmen Square to the Forbidden City

I don't think anyone will ever forget the awful images of the fateful demonstration that took place in Tiananmen Square back in 1989, when hundreds of protesters lost their lives.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and from these pictures it's difficult to capture just how vast an area this square covers.
Below is the first glimpse we got as we walked across from where our coach was parked. This is looking across towards an entrance to the Forbidden City.

It's quite a sombre place even with the sun shining on it.



Below is a Monument to the Peoples Heroes and behind is the Great Hall of People

Walking towards one of the entrance gates of the Forbidden City (will tell you about that in another post).

Just to give you a taster below is one of the Watch Towers that are positioned in each corner of the Forbidden City. There is also a moat with Willow trees growing alongside.

I'm pleased to have seen it but out of all the places we visited, Tiananmen Square, is one place that I would not want to visit again.

Archives:
2008: Goji Bush
2007: Catching up
2006: Manic Mondays

China # 17 Summer Palace Imperial Garden in Beijing

This is just inside the entrance of the Summer Palace.

A view across the lake.

The Marble Boat

The Long Corridor

All the murals were really beautiful. We walked this 'Long Corridor' which the Empress apparently did after every meal.

We had a ride across the lake in a Dragon Boat.

There wasn't enough time to walk across The 17-Arch Bridge but we did get a good view after the boat ride. It's the biggest bridge in the Summer Palace, being 150 metres long, 8 metres wide, connecting the Octagonal Tower in the East and the South Lake Isle in the south.

This is another place I would have liked to have spent longer exploring as it really was beautiful.

Archives:
2008: Fun Monday-83 Everything is useful
2007: Random Acts of Kindness + Random Acts Kindness-2

China # 16 Yangtze River Episode 4 Ghost City at Fengdu

The visit to the Ghost City at Fengdu was another memorable trip.

The Ghost City is a Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist temple enclave. Built in different eras, twenty-seven temples march up the steep mountainside. Before Mao decided to rid his people of religious hindrances during The Cultural Revolution, there were seventy-five temples here. Although persecuted (and perhaps because of the persecution), monks preserved the remaining structures as best they could in ornate and colourful splendor. Sadly when the government discovered the tourist potential in 1984, the devotees were summarily kicked out and the state took over the preservation and restoration of the site (which is an ongoing project).

Ghost City got its name when Two officials from the imperial court Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping decided to come to Ming Mountain to practice Taoist teachings. Through self-cultivation they became immortals. Combining their surnames produces the term "Yinwang" meaning the "king of hell." Later, during the Tang Dynasty, a stupendous temple was erected on Ming Mountain depicting life in hell. It displays demonic images and torture devices and reflects the notion that good people will be treated well in the afterlife and that bad people will be punished by going to hell. The temples and the statues are so beautiful, if somewhat grotesque, that it would have been tragic if they had been destroyed.

On the day of our visit we left the cruise ship and travelled in little electric buses to the base of Ghost City. We walked past market stall, where the whole family helped out, even if it was just looking and learning from a young age!.

A lovely walkway took us into the square.
Here there were more stalls and the entrance to the walk up to the city.
Some of us were rather lazy and took the easy option, well I couldn't let my friend do it alone could I!
On the way up we had some lovely views.
Some of the workers who are helping restore this wonderful site.


These are just some of the beautiful artefacts that we saw in the various temples. There is a story behind all them but I'm just going to let you enjoy the pictures








This guy was so strong, but there is an art to getting the ball on top.

Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge:(below) the bridge connects the nether world with the real world and is a testing point for good and evil. According to legend, the Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge is composed on three identical stone arches. The middle arch is used for testing people. There are different protocols for crossing the bridge depending on your gender, age and marital status. Below the bridge are square-shaped pools of water. Virtuous people will pass over the bridge without obstacle; villainous people will fall into the pools below. The other two arches are called the golden and silver bridges respectively. When preparing to leave, visitors are encouraged to pass these two bridges because according to local superstition this will bring them good fortune.
Just to be sure we all walked over the tree bridges in turn for our health, wealth and happiness.



The pagoda below is still being repaired and if one could seen the view from the top I'm sure it would have been spectacular.
Having seen Ghost City it's really hard to imagine why anyone would want to destroy such beauty and I'm so glad that some of it was saved and can now be enjoyed by so many visitors.

Archives:
2008: House with two views
2007: Scattergories