Anyway right after the tombs, we headed off to a wax museum which had wax displays depicting the main events and lives of all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. They charged RMB10 per camera for taking photos so being the cheapskate that I am, I declined the nice offer. Jayden took them up on it and I stole these photos from him.
You get the idea. In summary, the emperors lived short lives of debauchery (theirs) and cruelty (others) and folly in most cases. One of them spent years not attending to state affairs, preferring to spend his time having fun with his favourite concubine in the Inner Court. (Ps: Now you would be forgiven for thinking that these ladies were all Angelina Jolie lookalikes to capture the hearts of the emperors. You would be wrong. They were all dead ugly. I checked them out on wiki.)
One of the empresses was barren and spent her life killing off all the emperor's male babies in order to prevent any of the fertile concubines from usurping her position. So one of the concubines hid her son from the whole world and only let him reunite with the emperor when he was 7 years old. As a result, the kid grew up lonely hidden away from the world in some secluded corner of the palace. But he did become emperor (the empress was good at killing the emperor's heirs!) and because of the stuffed up childhood he had, he was the only emperor to have had only an empress and no concubine. Awwww sweetie pie. Another emperor would sneak out of the Forbidden City to cavort around with peasant girls. A number of them killed off their own brothers who were in competition for the throne. Another eccentric emperor was not seduced by the women or power. Instead, his one true love was carpentry. Heheh. Anyway as a whole, the Ming Dynasty was a pretty sad sight. Finally, they lost to the Qing Dynasty (the last dynasty before modern China was formed). The last Ming emperor ran off to the hill facing the Forbidden City when the Qing Dynasty took over the palace and hung himself on a tree on top of the hill. Sad stuff.
As usual we power walked through the 14 displays with minimal time to take in all the information. It was getting to be bloody annoying and things were coming to a head rapidly. Mum disappeared to go spend quality time with the porcelain throne again. We were 1 hour away from our hotel with a full day's programme so it wasn't likely that we could drop Mum back at the hotel to rest.
Lunch time was next at another tourist restaurant. I was so sick of this crap and it didn't help that this was THE worst meal throughout the whole trip on top of Mum feeling like crap.
The restaurant was attached to a factory that made and sold the traditional chinese cloisonne 景泰蓝 so we had to walk through a maze of displays and stalls before getting to the food.
Display showing all the dynasties that ruled China:
Cloisonne is one of the traditional arts and crafts in Beijing. It first appeared in the Yuan Dynasty and was greatly developed during the Jingtai reign of Ming. To produce a jing tai lan or Chinese cloisonne vase, for example, the workman needs to produce a copper roughcast, welds some decorative patterns of copper wires to the roughcast, inlays the empty space with enamel and last of all, fires the "decorated" roughcast in a kiln. Example of the finished product:
On with photos of the worst meal ever. It tasted worse than it looked and does not deserve any further introductions! Also, that dish in the 3rd pic was not sweet and sour pork which I was so hoping for. It was sweet and sour pseudo meat. Yum:
Mum didn't eat much at all and was still feeling pretty darn sick. Right after the mostly untouched lunch, we headed off to the wall. Yupp THE wall. The one you could see from the outer space. (That's a myth, Ah Here!)
Managed to buy some medicated oil for Mum from the souvenir shops to give her some temporary relief while she rested in the van. These buildings all housed souvenir shops and were built in the olden days style. Check out the replica terracotta army statues.
The Great Wall of China 長城 was built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese empire from the attacks of nomadic tribes. It stretches over approximately 6,400 km from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km in total. It was built by soldiers, civilians, farmers and prisoners, primarily during three dynasties: the Qing, the Han and the Ming, although the Sui Dynasty and the Ten Kingdoms period also played a part. The building styles of each dynasty added their own flavor and advanced the techniques learned from the previous. The wall was built across some of the most dangerous terrains in China, including steep mountains! It has been said that the construction of every foot of the Great Wall costed one human life. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.
Along the Ming Great Wall of China there are many watchtowers, spaced from less than a kilometer to several kilometers or more apart. These were partly used to transmit military messages. Fire and smoke were the most efficient means for communication - fire was used at night and smoke during the day. While the wall was meant to be a means of keeping attacks at bay, the Qing army eventually still managed to fight their way in. How, when the wall seems so indestructible? I hear you ask. The Qings bribed one of the Ming general, Wu San Gui to let them through! Duh!
But the Chinese has bigger problems than Wu San Gui to deal with right now. King Kong has taken over the Great Wall!!!
Walking up the steps sure was a workout . Look how high each step was!!!
Imagine the poor suckers trudging up these steep stairs while carrying pails of rocks and cement. Poor things.
I gave up halfway through to the first watch tower but Viv persevered on and nearly died!
Check out the video I took:
But the view made it all worthwhile...
While the wall seemed all perfect and strong (like Brad Pitt... mmmm), the parts we walked on had recently undergone extensive restoration. I spied parts on the far side of the mountain where the wall had pretty all disappeared.
On the way down, we saw this curious sight - a long row of chain with a lot of locks hanging off it. Viv and Jenn the geniuses suggested that they were for the visitors to use when locking up their bikes. The fact that there were no bikes in sight suggested that they were wrong. Anyway I had a read of the giant lock display and it said that these locks were put on by the thousands of couples that were married here together in 1999. Locks symbolised a life of wedded bliss for the chinese.
Also saw this guy sitting on a bench outside the souvenir shops on our way out. He sure was secure in his masculinity.
Oh guess what? The tour guide dumped us at the start of the wall and said to just head back to the van in an hour's time. No she did not go up with us. What did she do with her time? Sleeping of course!! I am so entering her in the competition for Tour Guide of the Year.
Anyway Mum was still not well and so we asked the tour guide to drop her back at the hotel to sleep it off. But apparently that was out of the question. If we go back, then we couldn't do anything else. What the??? It was around 3 pm at that stage. She said to go back to drop Mum off and then go to our next stop would be inconvenient and a waste of time as we would be doubling back. Umm, correct me if I am wrong but haven't we already paid for your services for the whole day? How did it matter how we spend it??? Mum then asked to go to the hospital which told us how sick she must be feeling. So we decided to cancel the rest of the day's programme and go to the hospital.
To be fair, the tour guide did stay with us and sorted out all the hospital procedures. She left with the driver once we were all settled. I would have expected them to wait till the end of the night to be honest. ANYWAY...
It must be every traveller's nightmare to have to go to a hospital in a foreign land. At least we could speak the language which made things a lot easier. The hospital system in China was just plain bizarre. We were very lucky in many ways because it wasn't too crowded that day which meant there wasn't much waiting around at all.
Anyway Mum was still not well and so we asked the tour guide to drop her back at the hotel to sleep it off. But apparently that was out of the question. If we go back, then we couldn't do anything else. What the??? It was around 3 pm at that stage. She said to go back to drop Mum off and then go to our next stop would be inconvenient and a waste of time as we would be doubling back. Umm, correct me if I am wrong but haven't we already paid for your services for the whole day? How did it matter how we spend it??? Mum then asked to go to the hospital which told us how sick she must be feeling. So we decided to cancel the rest of the day's programme and go to the hospital.
To be fair, the tour guide did stay with us and sorted out all the hospital procedures. She left with the driver once we were all settled. I would have expected them to wait till the end of the night to be honest. ANYWAY...
It must be every traveller's nightmare to have to go to a hospital in a foreign land. At least we could speak the language which made things a lot easier. The hospital system in China was just plain bizarre. We were very lucky in many ways because it wasn't too crowded that day which meant there wasn't much waiting around at all.
This was our experience with a Chinese hospital:
Step 1: Registered in building 1 as a patient.
Step 2: Waited for the doctor in building 2.
Step 3: Doctor made an assessment and said to get a blood test.
Step 4: Went back to building 1 and paid for the blood test at the cashier.
Step 5: Took receipt to the blood test area for test.
Step 6: Took blood test result back to doctor in building 2.
Step 7: Doctor advised that it was best to get a drip in to replace Mum's lost fluids and to ease the inflammation. He said it should take about 2 hours.
Step 8: Went back to building 1 and paid for the drip medicine at the cashier.
Step 9: Took receipt to the prescription counter and collected the medicine.
Step 10: Took medicine back to building 2 and asked nurse to put the drip in.
Step 11: Found out it was going to be FIVE hours not 2 because the doctor decided to add some further medicine without telling us. Nice!
Step 12: Bought Mum a bed to lie in (RMB11) instead of just sitting in one of the chairs in a row.
Step 13: Took a taxi back to the hotel to get some stuff.
Step 14: Came back and discovered Mum the naughty bugger had gone back to the chair because the room with the bed was too noisy and dirty.
Step 15: Spent the next 3 hours babying Mum who couldn't stop fidgeting!! So much so that her drip needle came loose and had to be put back in.
Step 16: The room had 2 rows of chairs and most of the chairs were occupied by fellow patients getting a drip put in. The difference between them and Mum? They did not move at all and looked like they were there for a spa session. In the meantime, we had nurses coming every 5 minutes. Mum was high maintenance!!!
Step 17: Left Dad with Mum and went off to the row of shops about 5 minutes away to buy our dinner. PS: Probably one of our best meals in China and all we did was to ramble into the first random shop we saw!! Porridge for mother, noodles for Dad. KFC for Jayden and dumplings for the rest of us.
Step 18: After the 3 hours dragged by, there was one remaining 500ml bag of glucose. That was going to take another 2 hours. Mum kept saying she wanted to go so the JJs thought that it was probably ok to give the glucose a miss. They asked the doctor who said that was fine so long as Mum kept some food down.
Step 19: Hailed a taxi and went back to the hotel.
Step 20: Finally had the nervous breakdown I was going to have 5 hours ago and collapse into bed.
Anyway I sure did my job as a blogger. I still took pics at the hospital. I would have taken a photo of Mum with the drip and the row of patients but that would probably have been a bit much. I was tempted though heheh.
Dark dark period of our lives - waiting in a dark dark corridor in the hospital:
Poor Dad was all worried and stressed too:
There was this weird chart on the walls. I think they were photos of the staff members in that department.
But on closer inspection, I saw that some of them had more stars than the others. Surely they weren't being judged on their looks???????? Heheh
So that was the end of our eventful second day in Beijing. Dad was so angry at the tour guide and it didn't help when she told Dad that we have to make up for the 2 stops we missed yesterday - visits to two tourist traps selling jade and tea. Dad unleashed his anger at her because:
There was this weird chart on the walls. I think they were photos of the staff members in that department.
But on closer inspection, I saw that some of them had more stars than the others. Surely they weren't being judged on their looks???????? Heheh
So that was the end of our eventful second day in Beijing. Dad was so angry at the tour guide and it didn't help when she told Dad that we have to make up for the 2 stops we missed yesterday - visits to two tourist traps selling jade and tea. Dad unleashed his anger at her because:
- her service had been pretty poor throughout the tour, always hurrying us along;
- we paid for a luxury tour with high standard food but the food had been pretty bad;
- she kept going on and on about the jade and tea - i.e more interested in making extra commission than our comfort.
So Dad let her have it. But I missed it because I was up in my room getting ready and the rest of them had already gone down for breakfast. So a series of phone calls were made between the tour guide, the tour company and us. To be fair, she was professional enough not to make things even more awkward. She didn't take her anger out on us and did remember to stop and let us do our thing at the remaining stops. But the damage was done. Booo Forbidden City!
So Dad let her have it. But I missed it because I was up in my room getting ready and the rest of them had already gone down for breakfast. So a series of phone calls were made between the tour guide, the tour company and us. To be fair, she was professional enough not to make things even more awkward. She didn't take her anger out on us and did remember to stop and let us do our thing at the remaining stops. But the damage was done. Booo Forbidden City!
First stop for the day: The Temple of Heaven 天壇. This is THE face of Beijing apparently. I never noticed that this was on the tourist information promoting Beijing.
Temple of Heaven was where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for good harvests. It was constructed between 1406 and 1420 during the reign of the Ming Emperor YongLe (same dude that started the building of the Forbidden City. Man that dude must have been busy!!!). In early 2005, the Temple of Heaven underwent a RMB47M (USD6M) renovation that was completed on May 1st, 2006.
There were 3 main buildings in the area and they were all built according to complex symbolism and numerology principles. None of them really mattered here so I won't bother cutting and pasting from websites heheh.
The only building we went to see was the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests 祈年殿 - a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, 32 metres in diameter and 38 metres tall, built on three levels of marble stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden, with NO nails used at all. Gorgeous, no?
Interior of the Hall:
I took this photo from the side entrance and the colours here looked more accurate for some reason.
Many of the older folks that lived in the area liked coming to the surrounding grounds to play. We saw groups of people doing tai chi, dancing, singing, playing chess, throwing a ball around, etc etc. One of the ladies held out her paddle to us when we walked past. So friendly. But we had to decline as it wasn't part of the tour guide's programme. Heheh oh come on! I'm allowed a snide comment every so often.
I took this photo from the side entrance and the colours here looked more accurate for some reason.
Many of the older folks that lived in the area liked coming to the surrounding grounds to play. We saw groups of people doing tai chi, dancing, singing, playing chess, throwing a ball around, etc etc. One of the ladies held out her paddle to us when we walked past. So friendly. But we had to decline as it wasn't part of the tour guide's programme. Heheh oh come on! I'm allowed a snide comment every so often.
Then we hopped in the van to the restaurant where we would be having lunch. Drove past this cool looking building on the way. I think it was meant to be some broadcasting company's headquarters??? There's a helipad up on the roof apparently.
Lunch was the best meal we had in China and it was at Tenggeli-Tala, a Mongolian buffet theater restaurant. It costed USD20 per person though so was the most expensive meal as well.
Food area. The giant metal urn contained mongolian milk tea. The 4 bowls next to it were condiments to go with the milk tea - yogurt balls made from goat milk and some goat cheese type nibbles. You were meant to chuck them into the tea. Anyway the waiters there were all over the top friendly and kept pushing food down our throats. So when we went near the urn, they told us to try the tea and poured us a cup. I had a sip and he said "Isn't it different? Isn't it nice?". I said MMMM yum. But it tasted bleh. I like my tea sweet not salty. Viv and Jenn liked the yogurt balls though so Mum bought 2 bags of it. (All gone by the next day!! Oink oink!)
I didn't know pizza was mongolian????
Lunch was the best meal we had in China and it was at Tenggeli-Tala, a Mongolian buffet theater restaurant. It costed USD20 per person though so was the most expensive meal as well.
Food area. The giant metal urn contained mongolian milk tea. The 4 bowls next to it were condiments to go with the milk tea - yogurt balls made from goat milk and some goat cheese type nibbles. You were meant to chuck them into the tea. Anyway the waiters there were all over the top friendly and kept pushing food down our throats. So when we went near the urn, they told us to try the tea and poured us a cup. I had a sip and he said "Isn't it different? Isn't it nice?". I said MMMM yum. But it tasted bleh. I like my tea sweet not salty. Viv and Jenn liked the yogurt balls though so Mum bought 2 bags of it. (All gone by the next day!! Oink oink!)
I didn't know pizza was mongolian????
Various mongolian hotpots:
Chefs waiting to serve us food:
Chefs waiting to serve us food:
Assorted dim sums:
The Mongolians are all about their meat... mmm my kind of people... This was the bbq area. Hello, anda (sworn brothers in mongolian language):
Check out this juicy juicy sucker:
Snake wine, anyone?
Drinks were included in the price too!! There were juices, fizzies, beer, wines, apple vinegar etc on offer.
All the different types of teas to help ease the imminent indigestion:
Fresh fruits stand:
My favourite thing at buffets: Desserts!
Viv with a huuuuuuge grin and an even bigger plate:
The Mongolians are all about their meat... mmm my kind of people... This was the bbq area. Hello, anda (sworn brothers in mongolian language):
Check out this juicy juicy sucker:
Snake wine, anyone?
Drinks were included in the price too!! There were juices, fizzies, beer, wines, apple vinegar etc on offer.
All the different types of teas to help ease the imminent indigestion:
Fresh fruits stand:
My favourite thing at buffets: Desserts!
Viv with a huuuuuuge grin and an even bigger plate:
Jayden having the time of his life. This place shall now be known as Jayden's Nirvana.
My first plate. The meat was soooooooo gorgeously tender. Poor Andrew missed out on his favourite food:
Second plate. That was the milk tea in the cup. Bleh.
My first plate. The meat was soooooooo gorgeously tender. Poor Andrew missed out on his favourite food:
Second plate. That was the milk tea in the cup. Bleh.
The performances started halfway through our meal. It started off with a bang with hot girls in a belly dancing type setup.
Viv then decided to make her own version of peking duck mongolian style heheh...
I've told you the waiters were over the top friendly with really good service right? Well one of them was our personal waiter and he suggested beers and wines for Dad and Jayden. He took our plates away promptly and when it came time for fruits, he told us that he would go select some for us.
I've told you the waiters were over the top friendly with really good service right? Well one of them was our personal waiter and he suggested beers and wines for Dad and Jayden. He took our plates away promptly and when it came time for fruits, he told us that he would go select some for us.
My dessert plate - looked better than they tasted.
Girl singer:
Girl singer:
Boy singer:
More dancing:
Yay happy group shot! (Mother felt a smidgen better and started eating some stuff that wasn't easy to digest and started feeling a bit iffy again afterwards. Naughty!)
More dancing:
Yay happy group shot! (Mother felt a smidgen better and started eating some stuff that wasn't easy to digest and started feeling a bit iffy again afterwards. Naughty!)
There were display cases and stalls on the ground floor as usual. Check out these cool daggers. Viv said she wanted to buy one for self-protection. I told her she didn't have to worry about would-be molesters. Heheh
After lunch, we waddled off to the Summer Palace 頤和園 (Gardens of Nurtured Harmony). The Summer Palace's landscape, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake, covers an area of 2.9 square kms. The Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kms, was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. Kunming Lake was created to imitate the West Lake in Hangzhou. Its 70,000 square m of building space features a variety of palaces, gardens and other ancient-styled architectural structures. The palace served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver (said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy) into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace.
After lunch, we waddled off to the Summer Palace 頤和園 (Gardens of Nurtured Harmony). The Summer Palace's landscape, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake, covers an area of 2.9 square kms. The Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kms, was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. Kunming Lake was created to imitate the West Lake in Hangzhou. Its 70,000 square m of building space features a variety of palaces, gardens and other ancient-styled architectural structures. The palace served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver (said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy) into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Summer Palace.
As its name implies, the Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by the imperial rulers as a retreat from the Forbidden City - a pleasureground in the countryside, yet near to the city.
This is Qilin 麒麟, a mythical Chinese animal that brings good omen of prosperity and serenity. The origins of the Qilin can be traced to stories such as that of the Emperor Fu Hsi dating back to the 27th century BC. The Emperor was sitting on the banks of a river when a Qilin emerged from the water. The Emperor later described the animal as resembling a deer with an ox's tail, horse's hooves and a short, fleshy horn. The Qilin also had magical symbols on its back which inspired the Emperor to develop the first written language of China.
The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity 仁壽殿 was the place where Empress Dowager Cixi dealt with state affairs and received officials. During her second reign after 1888, the political center gradually moved from the Forbidden City to the Summer Palace and the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity became the actual imperial audience hall.
Contrary to tradition, the phoenix statue rather than dragon was put in the middle of the courtyard, hinting to the rest of the world that the empress was the real ruler. In China, dragon represents the king and phoenix refers to the queen. Also, check out the dragon's claw. It faced upwards which was Cixi's not so subtle snub that the emperor would always have to ask her for anything.
This is Qilin 麒麟, a mythical Chinese animal that brings good omen of prosperity and serenity. The origins of the Qilin can be traced to stories such as that of the Emperor Fu Hsi dating back to the 27th century BC. The Emperor was sitting on the banks of a river when a Qilin emerged from the water. The Emperor later described the animal as resembling a deer with an ox's tail, horse's hooves and a short, fleshy horn. The Qilin also had magical symbols on its back which inspired the Emperor to develop the first written language of China.
The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity 仁壽殿 was the place where Empress Dowager Cixi dealt with state affairs and received officials. During her second reign after 1888, the political center gradually moved from the Forbidden City to the Summer Palace and the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity became the actual imperial audience hall.
Contrary to tradition, the phoenix statue rather than dragon was put in the middle of the courtyard, hinting to the rest of the world that the empress was the real ruler. In China, dragon represents the king and phoenix refers to the queen. Also, check out the dragon's claw. It faced upwards which was Cixi's not so subtle snub that the emperor would always have to ask her for anything.
I loved walking down these narrow alleyways in between all the ancient buildings reflecting on all the past footsteps that had walked the same path.
I didn't take a photo of Cixi's sleeping quarters. The Hall of Joyful Longevity 樂壽堂 became the residence of Empress Dowager Cixi during her summer stay. After being burnt down in 1860 by the Anglo-French Allied Forces, the hall was reconstructed in1889 where Cixi spent almost all her remaining years. Richly ornamented, the hall is divided into four sections, where many items used by the empress dowager were on display. The east inner room was her dressing room while the east outer room was the place where she had her breakfast and tea. The west inner room served as her bedroom and west outer room was the place where she handled state affairs and signed documents.In the center of the hall is a large table where Empress Dowager Cixi used to have her meals. Regardless of the then weak national strength, Empress Dowager Cixi was a person used to fame and extravagance. Take her meal for example, about 128 courses, over 50 kinds of staple food and 30 kinds of porridge were served every day with about 128 eunuchs, cooks and tea servants always at her service. It is said that money spent on a single meal amounted to that of a day’s food for 5,000 people. The hall was also the first place in China to have electricity.
This is the start to the Long Corridor 长廊. It is the world's longest covered walkway with a length of 728 meters. It winds its way along the north shore of Kunming Lake like a colourful ribbon linking the architectures and the natural landscape. There are also four octagonal pavilions symbolizing the four seasons of a year. Painted on the beams and crossbeams are over 14,000 different pictures derived from Hangzhou’s West Lake landscapes, ancient Chinese folk legends, classic novels, plays and dramas.
I didn't take a photo of Cixi's sleeping quarters. The Hall of Joyful Longevity 樂壽堂 became the residence of Empress Dowager Cixi during her summer stay. After being burnt down in 1860 by the Anglo-French Allied Forces, the hall was reconstructed in1889 where Cixi spent almost all her remaining years. Richly ornamented, the hall is divided into four sections, where many items used by the empress dowager were on display. The east inner room was her dressing room while the east outer room was the place where she had her breakfast and tea. The west inner room served as her bedroom and west outer room was the place where she handled state affairs and signed documents.In the center of the hall is a large table where Empress Dowager Cixi used to have her meals. Regardless of the then weak national strength, Empress Dowager Cixi was a person used to fame and extravagance. Take her meal for example, about 128 courses, over 50 kinds of staple food and 30 kinds of porridge were served every day with about 128 eunuchs, cooks and tea servants always at her service. It is said that money spent on a single meal amounted to that of a day’s food for 5,000 people. The hall was also the first place in China to have electricity.
This is the start to the Long Corridor 长廊. It is the world's longest covered walkway with a length of 728 meters. It winds its way along the north shore of Kunming Lake like a colourful ribbon linking the architectures and the natural landscape. There are also four octagonal pavilions symbolizing the four seasons of a year. Painted on the beams and crossbeams are over 14,000 different pictures derived from Hangzhou’s West Lake landscapes, ancient Chinese folk legends, classic novels, plays and dramas.
Restoration work is ongoing and you can tell that the colours on the beams here are not as vibrant as that on the entrance. The talent and sheer volume boggled my mind!
Scenic Kunming lake:
The octagonal 3-storied and quadruple-eaved wood-constructed Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance 佛香阁 is the highest and largest grand architecture in the Summer Palace. The 40-meter-high tower is built on a 20-meter high stone terrace half way up the Hill.
Cloud Dispelling Hall 排云殿 and the Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance are the main constructions on this south side of Longevity Hill. Being built on a base constructed with carved marble, and surrounded by a terrace with marble railings, these graceful and magnificent buildings were the site where emperors and empresses received congratulations during their birthday ceremonies.
The Marble Boat 石舫 was completed in 1893 using money that had been earmarked for the creation of a modern Chinese Navy. The order to divert funds was quietly issued by Empress Dowager Cixi in collusion with corrupt court eunuchs. The ship itself is a reproduction of a steam paddleboat.
Frozen stream:
The websites I looked at recommended that visitors spend a day here. We spent an hour tops. Accordingly, we skipped a lot of things as usual.
- There is an area known as Strolling Through a Picture Scroll 画中游 because as you move through the corridors, the scenic landscape changes as though you were walking past a row of gorgeous paintings.
Last meal in Beijing was meant to be the highlight - we were going to have an emperor style banquet. It was meant to consist of many many little dishes of delightful snacks and desserts (yipppeeee!) that the emperor used to enjoy. Yupp I said "meant". In reality, it was just another normal dinner albeit a little bit nicer. Gah! *raise fist!*
Where's my personal subservient private-parts missing eunuch????
Hey! ONE dish of sweet is NOT acceptable?!!Surely the ruler of the country deserved a few more choices!
Move along people. Nothing to see here!
The flight back to KL was 8 in the morning and apparently we had to start our journey to the faraway airport 3 hours beforehand! That meant a 4 am morning call. Ouch. We took our hotel breakfast to go which was quite amusing. I never knew such an option existed!
Jayden tucking into his chicken and tomato sandwich.
Airport was surprisingly busy at such an early hour:
Jayden modelling his purchase from the mall we went to - counterfeit Polo vest. He wants to turn into Dad when he grows up.
My meal on the plane - fish with pasta... mmm pasta and pepsi light!!
Viv got the beef..... whatever happened to the standard Chicken or Beef? Which reminded me, me and the girls used to play this endless game when we were young. One would say Chicken or Beef? The other person would act out the part of the customer. Then we would swap roles and on it went.... and on and on and on.
Bye, China.
The octagonal 3-storied and quadruple-eaved wood-constructed Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance 佛香阁 is the highest and largest grand architecture in the Summer Palace. The 40-meter-high tower is built on a 20-meter high stone terrace half way up the Hill.
Cloud Dispelling Hall 排云殿 and the Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance are the main constructions on this south side of Longevity Hill. Being built on a base constructed with carved marble, and surrounded by a terrace with marble railings, these graceful and magnificent buildings were the site where emperors and empresses received congratulations during their birthday ceremonies.
The Marble Boat 石舫 was completed in 1893 using money that had been earmarked for the creation of a modern Chinese Navy. The order to divert funds was quietly issued by Empress Dowager Cixi in collusion with corrupt court eunuchs. The ship itself is a reproduction of a steam paddleboat.
The pavilion had a sophisticated drainage system which channelled rain water through 4 hollow pillars. The water was finally released into the lake through the mouths of four dragonheads.
The boat design of the pavilion may relate to a Chinese - Not only can water float a boat, it can also sink it 水能载舟，亦能覆舟, implying that the people can support the emperor but can also topple him. With this in mind, Emperor Qianlong might have chosen to construct the Marble Boat on a solid stone base to indicate that the Qing Dynasty was not to be overthrown. Ah the irony!
The boat design of the pavilion may relate to a Chinese - Not only can water float a boat, it can also sink it 水能载舟，亦能覆舟, implying that the people can support the emperor but can also topple him. With this in mind, Emperor Qianlong might have chosen to construct the Marble Boat on a solid stone base to indicate that the Qing Dynasty was not to be overthrown. Ah the irony!
Frozen stream:
The websites I looked at recommended that visitors spend a day here. We spent an hour tops. Accordingly, we skipped a lot of things as usual.
- SuZhou Market Street was modelled on the town of SuZhou in the ZheJiang Province, the 'Venice of the East'. Over 60 stores extend along the street of about 300 meters in length, running along the banks of the lake. This area served as an entertainment place where Emperors and concubines could feel as if they were strolling on a commercial street like the world outside. When the royals went there, eunuchs and maids of honor would playact as peddlers, customers and shop assistants to mimic real market activities. Crazy rich kids!
- There is an area known as Strolling Through a Picture Scroll 画中游 because as you move through the corridors, the scenic landscape changes as though you were walking past a row of gorgeous paintings.
Arggggghhhh!
After that, we got to go for a wander down Beijing's most famous shopping street, WangFuJing Street . We were given 2 hours here and it was basically a waste of time. I really rather have spent it at the historical sights. Yeah I know close your mouth. I'm not all about shopping you know.
After that, we got to go for a wander down Beijing's most famous shopping street, WangFuJing Street . We were given 2 hours here and it was basically a waste of time. I really rather have spent it at the historical sights. Yeah I know close your mouth. I'm not all about shopping you know.
Last meal in Beijing was meant to be the highlight - we were going to have an emperor style banquet. It was meant to consist of many many little dishes of delightful snacks and desserts (yipppeeee!) that the emperor used to enjoy. Yupp I said "meant". In reality, it was just another normal dinner albeit a little bit nicer. Gah! *raise fist!*
Where's my personal subservient private-parts missing eunuch????
Hey! ONE dish of sweet is NOT acceptable?!!Surely the ruler of the country deserved a few more choices!
Move along people. Nothing to see here!
The flight back to KL was 8 in the morning and apparently we had to start our journey to the faraway airport 3 hours beforehand! That meant a 4 am morning call. Ouch. We took our hotel breakfast to go which was quite amusing. I never knew such an option existed!
Jayden tucking into his chicken and tomato sandwich.
Airport was surprisingly busy at such an early hour:
Jayden modelling his purchase from the mall we went to - counterfeit Polo vest. He wants to turn into Dad when he grows up.
My meal on the plane - fish with pasta... mmm pasta and pepsi light!!
Viv got the beef..... whatever happened to the standard Chicken or Beef? Which reminded me, me and the girls used to play this endless game when we were young. One would say Chicken or Beef? The other person would act out the part of the customer. Then we would swap roles and on it went.... and on and on and on.
Bye, China.
