CHINA
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Beijing
Beijing is quickly changing its face. Modern buildings and wide boulevards are replacing old quarters at a very high pace.
Streets in the city center are full of people. During the National Holidays (when we visited Beijing) it can become really difficult to get through the crowds.
Flying kites is a popular pastime on the Tiananmen Square. The holiday crowds were there as well.
View from the Tiananmen Square towards the Forbidden City
Beijing - Lama Temple
Image of Maitreya (the future Buddha) created in the typical Chinese style - with wide smile and big belly. The future looks good.
Outside decorations of one of the buildings in the Lama Temple
Another image of Maitreya (the future Buddha). This one is about 16.5m (55 feet) high.
Beijing - Confucius Temple
Confucianism started as a philosophical movement, but later became interlinked with religion. Confucian temples used to be the centers of education and often universities were located there.
Statues of important scholars are located inside the main temple building
Beijing - The Great Wall
¨The Great Wall was built as protection against invaders from Mongolia. Originally independent sections of the wall were connected into a unified defense line by the emperor Qin Shihuangdi in the 3rd century BC.
The wall follows river valleys and mountain ridges and frequently becomes rather steep. Here is Marek after being stopped by Chinese soldiers - it is not allowed to follow the wall any further, the terrain becomes too dangerous.
Jitka at the Great Wall
Today the wall is mostly damaged or in ruins. Only certain segments were repaired by the Chinese government to promote tourism.
Beijing - The Forbidden City
A pair of lions guards entrances to many important buildings in China. The lion rests his paw on a ball symbolizing the globe, the lioness (on this picture) has under its paw a lion cub.
Richly decorated marble staircases and terraces add to the monumental impression of the palaces inside the Forbidden City
This is an example of sculptor work on one of the marble blocks inside the Forbidden City. Chinese dragons fly in the skies above mountains.
The "outer-court" palaces were used for audiences with the emperor and were equipped rather simply. The main piece of furniture was a throne.
So called "inner-court" of the Forbidden City was comprised of buildings and palaces where the emperor lived together with his wife and concubines. Other than that only servants were allowed to enter the inner-court. (The emperor governed from the outer-court palaces of the Forbidden City. Only the nobility and official delegations were allowed to enter this part of the city. Public was strictly forbidden access.)
Some pieces from the imperial court collections - handy tools for scratching your back!
A typical Chinese garden cannot be absent in the emperor's residence. Pavilions and man-made rocks and hills are an essential part of such garden.
Beijing - The Summer Palace
The Summer palace is located about 12km from the Forbidden City. It served as a summer retreat for the imperial court.
This nicely decorated covered promenade is at its length of 700m one of the longest structures of this kind in the world
Artificial channels surrounded by small shops and restaurants are also part of the Summer Palace
Most importantly, however, the Summer Palace is a superb example of Chinese gardens
Beijing
We had to try the famous Beijing duck
Another typical meal are steamed dumplings filled with vegetables or meat
Going to a theater was a nice way to conclude our stay in Beijing
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