Beijing & The Great Wall

 

 

Beijing - Temple of Heaven, Yuanqiutan

 

 

Beijing - Temple of Heaven, Imperial Vault of Heaven

 

 

Beijing - Temple of Heaven, Qiniandian

 

 

Beijing - Temple of Heaven

 

 

Beijing - Summer Palace

 

 

Beijing - Summer Palace, Kumming Lake

 

 

The Great Wall at Mutianyu

 

 

The Great Wall

 

 

The Great Wall

 

 

The Great Wall

 

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Our China Photos are organised into:- Beijing  Forbidden City  Beijing & Great Wall  Wuhan & Chongqing  Yangtze  Three Gorges Dam and Xian

 

 

 

The Temple of Heaven complex is the largest religious structure in the world.

 

This part is a massive three-tiered circular mound built in the 16th Century. Every winter solstice, the Emperor would perform a thanksgiving ceremony to ensure a good harvest for the following year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Chinese culture, round shapes - such as these buildings refer to the heavens and square/oblong ones (such as the halls in the Forbidden City) refer to earthly matters.

 

Surrounding this temple is a 200 metre circular wall, the Echo Wall. If you go up to it and talk, your voice is carried round the wall. It was hilarious seeing people talking to a blank wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most imposing temples we saw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interior was fantastically decorated, this photo hardly does it justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While visiting the Summer Palace, I noticed several French couples and thought it sweet that they had all brought their small babies with them on a trip to China.

 

Then I noticed that the babies were all Chinese and only after pestering our guide did she admit that it was common to have visiting groups from European countries come to adopt Chinese baby girls (note: not baby boys)- a consequence of the one child policy.

 

 

Our guide, Sunny was in her mid twenties. On another occaision she joked about how she liked playing with her sister. She then admitted that her "sister" was her pet dog. On reflection I thought her joke was rather sad.

 

 

In times gone by, this must have been a very tranquil place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The real disappointment was the weather. The mist (pollution?) reduced visibility to a few hundred yards, at most. This part of the wall was completed in the 17th Century - hence its good preservation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wall follows the contours of the hills. There wasn't a flat section at all in the part that we walked along. Needless to say it was easy to slip over, which is what I did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every quarter of a mile or so, there were these low towers built into the wall to house the guards.

 

 

 

Though nowadays, ........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

......they house touts who pose for photos ($1 please!). Who says commercialism isn't rife in China?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<Previous              Next>

Our China Photos are organised into:- Beijing  Forbidden City  Beijing & Great Wall  Wuhan & Chongqing  Yangtze  Three Gorges Dam and Xian

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