Blogs from Beijing, China, Asia - page 452

This has been a very packed weekend! As if yesterday didn't wear me out enough, climbing the Great Wall, I decided to take Kitty up on the offer of taking me to the Summer Palace in the northern part of Beijing. The Palace includes a lake and all around the lake are unique bridges, boats, pavilions, and statues. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect since it had rained last night and everything was cooled down. We spent eight hours in the palace just walking around the lake and seeing the living quarters of an emperor from the Qing dynasty in 1750. As in every other highlight of Beijing there was much folklore about which to learn. There were all kinds of lion and dragon statues each with their own story. I think one ... read more

After Saturday's entry I met some Austrians, Frenchies and an Hollander and we all hit the night on the town....again. After much searching on Sanlitun lu for a decent club we ended up breaking up as not all of us were into the trash disco scene as earlier discussed. Instead it was just the Austrians and myself on to Nan Jie Bar. Though quite difficult to find I highly recomend it as an expat bar, it reminded me something of the bar Kansas in Top Gun. Particulars of the night are unimportant besides Germany winning the football match and it raining so heavy it turned the parking lot into a lake. Getting back to the hostel at 4am only to discover most of the ground floor underwater and the staff doing a valiant effort to protect ... read more

Today's adventure was a trip to the Great Wall. The whole day was planned out by our agency, Abroad China. Our day started out at 8am boarding a bus, then riding for two hours to get to the village of Hua Rou Lotus Pond. The village was a more authentic one, but still greatly touched by tourists. We ate lunch in this one man's complex, which was obviously the nicest place in the village. It seems that this man has earned all of his wealth from groups that come to experience " an authentic village and meal". So this so called authentic complex had a tv, a western style bathroom, and a satellite dish. Nonetheless, it was nice to be out of the city and to see the more rural life, even if it was greatly ... read more

There are numerous Temple complexes spread around and close to Beijing, but it would take numerous visits to this great city to view and appreciate them all. This blog will feature just two, Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) and Lama Temple. Temple of Heaven The spectacular Temple of Heaven complex is located a few minutes south of the Palace Museum in one of the cities’ most popular parks. It is possible to get a park only ticket, but I chose the “all inclusive” option (tao piao) to allow closer inspection of the temple complex itself. The temple complex is surrounded by a double wall, separating the temple into two parts-inner and outer temples, with the main structures found in the inner one. The inner temple complex is then divided into two main clusters of buildings, north and ... read more

Well well its been an interesting time here in Beijing, Yesterday I hit the Mongolian embassy and dropped off my passport, afterwards went to the Silk road market....Checkout the new "please protect intelectual property" sign now posted outside the front doors, that definately wasn't there last time.... Intending only to buy an extra camera battery for when I am in the mongolian wilderness I find myself walking out the front doors with several pairs of columbia titanium pants, some sandals, a 1G memory card and a shiny ipod nano....oh well. The night started after a nap trying to get used to the different time zone and hanging with some brits at the hostel. A stumble away was a typical chinese night club "Rave Disco", with only 30 rmb it was all you can drink all ... read more