Wednesday, 09 June 2010

• Beijing!

  Yes people!! I'm finally back! reviving my blog with my beijing trip update! we all had fun; beijing is a really nice place to go if you (like me) are obsessed over the ancient relics of the qing dynasty and beyond  hahah.. or if you feel like you too, are born in the wrong century and want to return to where (you think) you truly belong!

  lol. now the very first day, yours truly went to the very place that many have desired to enter, that some have dreaded to step into.. magnificent yet harsh, filled with internal strife and politics, where the inhabitants witness the grandest celebrations and the worst imaginable torture..

  The Forbidden City （故宫）

  Pardon the dramatics.. hahah. just let me entertain myself okayyy. LOL.

  

  The entrance. basically you need to pass through many large entrances like this before you get to the main area where you can see the emperor's main palace, Qian qing gong (乾清宫).

  
  
  

  

  Not sure if this is qian qing gong.. or the place where the emperor holds court with the ministers.. i have a few other similar photos loll. aiya. if you want to see more, just tell me =) too many, can't upload everything! but anyway we can't enter the main palaces.. coz they are preserving those. but we can still view inside. below is photo taken from the empress' palace, or otherwise known as the Kunning Gong.

  

  It's the bridal chamber! and they still preserved it!

   

  

  I'm standing outside this place where the royal family comes for entertainment and rest.. it's located in the Yu Hua Yuan (Imperial Garden) I think. Below are more photos of the imperial garden! it's really a very nice place, and really huge too!

      

  

  

  
  
  

  

   

  

  some handicraft from a shop in the imperial garden (this sounds kinda weird LOL). but anyway, we couldn't tour the whole of the forbidden city, coz alot of places were blocked! we couldn't even get anywhere near Cining Gong (the place where the empress dowager resides) at all too! sighhhh. but nevertheless, the place is really HUGE. no wonder people always get lost in there..

  

  The emperor's robes..

  

  and empress' robes!~

  
   the bridal sedan chair! 

  below are some items that the emperor and empress use during the wedding ceremony. the nuptial wine bottle and the two bowls that they use to drink the wine with. 

  
  
  

  

  i can't remember what this is.. oh dear. hahahah.. well basically some items that they use. after the Gu Gong, we all went to the Tiananmen Square, which was just right in front, opposite the road.

  Tiananmen Square

   

  This is in front of the Mao Zedong Memorial. we could only enter at specific timings..

   

  This is the memorial built for the people who died during the protest.. Quite a solemn place. But a lot of people come here. tourists and chinese nationals alike..

  strangest thing I saw that day, was a man holding a paper umbrella! it was drizzling slightly, but instead of the usual umbrella that we all use nowadays, he was using this bright PINK floral paper-and-wood umbrella that people use in the past! they were selling it all over the place you know, in the Gu Gong and all, for tourists. But to see someone actually using it to shield himself from the rain! and what's more, a guy?!! lol. but sadly I didn't manage to get a photo.. i got one similar umbrella though, at the Beihai Park a few days later, where I will touch on in a while!

  We also passed by the 国家大剧院, or otherwise known as the National Concert Hall, where you can view performances. The theatre is built on water!

    

  Summer Palace (Yi He Yuan)

  Day 2: Off to the Summer Palace!

  The Summer Palace is the place where the Empress Dowager Cixi went to for entertainment and rest.. The emperor Qianlong also subsequently added to its architecture for his mother. So basically, Yi He Yuan is said to be a prosperous place for women, since it's mostly dominated by two empress dowagers. we got an ad hoc tour guide there to bring us around and explain to us the history of the place.. it's very very rich in history and impossible for me explain everything. You can read all about it here!

  

  this is a bridge that overlooks a small village that sells all sorts of trinkets and stuff. the empress dowargers like to come here and shop in the past.. they would dress up as ordinary merchants and barter for goods or attend auctions. basically what is viewed as most important in this place is entertainment. according to our guide, even thieves and robbers who were caught here were let off, and the value of the goods that they stole will be weighed and they would be told jokingly to steal more higher-valued goods next time. practically everything serious here was viewed with amusement.

  

  

  

  the rocks (artifically constructed) on which we are sitting on is the highest peak of Yi He Yuan. getting around the summer palace is akin to scaling a mountain! very very tiring.. we had to go up and up to see stuff.. and we had to climb onto the artificial rocks.. it was no easy task. and the roads and steps were very uneven and all.. but at least we still reached the top!

  

  view from a pavillion near the peak!

   

  going down~!!

  

  some foresty area as we go down via a winding path..

  

  me lagging behind everyone and camwhoring!  hehehh..

  we weren't that tired, and Yuan Ming Yuan was quite nearby, only 2 subway stops away.. and it was still early, like 2 plus in the afternoon? so off to the old summer palace we went!

  Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan)

  This old summer palace is half in ruins.. destroyed by the Anglo-French in 1860. it's really sad, coz you can see that it used to be such a beautiful place! again, for more historical facts, read here!

  

  at the entrance! it was drizzling, so we were all waiting for it to become lighter before we entered.

  

  we bought some omelette thing for lunch. hahaha.. see Jas (my sis) is offering you some!! yummy~~

  

  isn't this peacock thing pretty~!!

  

  Yuanmingyuan has really great scenery.. this place on the opposite bank of the lake is now a small gallery for this artist.. it's full of chinese paintings.. really nice. he also does some western-styled paintings, but of coz i prefer the more traditional chinese ones. he has some really beautiful ones of plum blossoms and gorgeous shan shui hua (paintings of the mountains and water scenery). but of coz i couldn't take any pictures.. lol.

  

  on the bridge heading to the gallery~!

  

  a fountain in the middle of the lake. and i caught a boatman as well!

   

  a path that we walked along..

  

  these are remnants of a fallen bridge. there used to be over 200 bridges in Yuan Ming Yuan, but not all remained. some are in ruins like this one. but 200! can you imagine that?!

  

  more nice scenery..

  

  

  this bridge is in the shape of a zigzag, if you notice, leading to a small 'island' in the middle. but as it had been raining, water collected and it was rather slippery.

  

  now i really like this! especially with the reflection!! hahah. i have ALOT of gorgeous pics of Yuan Ming Yuan, and of coz i can't post it all up, so if you want to see, just tell me!

  Beijing Zoo!

  That day was really hot, and my shoes were killing me (and i was wearing sneakers!) and i think it was coz of this day that i got my horrible sunburn/ allergy (i got rashes all over my arms and legs.. it was reallly horrid. the itch was the worst). apparently the UV rays in Beijing is 16X stronger than the UV rays in SG, and we're already dying of heat here, so can you imagine! as it's both dry and hot, many people die of heat stroke in china.. the past few days had been slightly rainy, so it wasn't that bad. but on the third day, it was really super hot!

  but we were already at the zoo, so well, even though i was already a little tired, we still walked around the place. the place is at least three times the size of SG zoo i think (i can't really remember, haven't been to the SG zoo in ages, but anyway, you can spend the entire day just walking about the beijing zoo, and we didn't even manage to go to all the attractions!)

  the main attraction was the panda, so naturally, we headed there first.

  now be prepared.. i'm gonna be a bit crazy here. we saw alot of cute panda  and panda stuff, and i couldn't resist taking pics!! heheh.. so panda photos galore ahead!

  

  

  pandas in the enclosure! so picture quality is a little blur.

  

  

  

   

  

  peacock!

   

  lioness. rawrrrrrr.

   

  we also saw the leng yang, which is some goat that has the really long and straight horns that the chinese like to use for medicinal purposes? hahah my distant cousin! but they didn't come over to say hi, so sad! guess they didn't recognise this victorian/ qing dynasty sheep.. sigh!

  argh. so irritating. xanga now says that i have reached the max photo uploads for the month!! but never mind, i used photobucket to get around the problem!  i'm a smart sheep  heheh. but the uploading part is taking a longer time.. sighhhhhhh.

   

  this guy looks like he wanna nibble at people's hair..

   

  you can take a boat ride on the lake!

   

   

  mandarin ducks!

   

  we had some catfish steamboat for dinner, at this fish steamboat restaurant near our cousin's apartment, where we were all staying at. it was the smallest fish they had. the rest were all more than 1.5 jin, which was more than what the 3 of us can finish!

  798 Art Zone

  the 798 art zone is basically a place that many artists gather to showcase their works. there used to be factories here, but they aren't in use any more.. they have been 'taken over' by the artists, so it's really quite cool, you can see the old factory buildings, and alot of galleries are actually in these old factories. some are renovated, some aren't, so some galleries do smell a little musty. there's a long history behind this place too.

  it's actually located quite near our apartment, but there wasn't any bus to take to get there, so we took a cab. cab fare there is rather cheap anyway. and there were alot of tourists!

   

  there's alot of sculptures and structures created by the artists, all over the art zone, like this car. it's basically painted over to look like it's made from bricks.

   

  there's graffiti all over the buildings.. it's super cool la! how i wish SG has a place so dedicated to art like that!

   

  i think this has something to do with the communist revolution..

   

  wolves and their hunter!

  

   

  it's an old telephone booth!! look at the phone, it's those kind that you need to spin the thing to dial the numbers!

  anyway i think we saw some cosplayers there! there were photographers and all, and it was a whole group of about 5 people. but i dunno what they were cosplaying..

   

  my sis and i at  KFC. bored and nothing better to do while waiting for mum to get some food hahha.. this is near our apartment already. we just left the art zone.

  Wang Fu Jing (王府井）

  Wang Fu Jing is basically a shopping haven. there's alot of shopping centres and all, but nothing much, quite similar to SG stuff. alot of high end stuff. we didn't really shop, but just had ice cream!

   

  Macha, yam and cookies and cream! then we asked the girl at the counter how to get to the Pearl Market, and she directed us there!

  Pearl Market（红桥市场）

  it's quite near wang fu jing, just a few bus stops away. it's basically a market selling lots of electronic products, clothes, shoes, designer bags (fake ones duh) at super cheap prices (i got my voice recorder there!) and souvenir trinkets and stuff. they also sold pearls at the top floor. pearls are actually the main attraction/ highlight there, hence the name haha. alot of tourists frequent there, so the shopkeepers mostly could converse in english.

   

  swords!! i was so tempted to get one. but my mum classifies this under "useless stuff". sigh.

   

  those ancient tea sets.. so pretty right! we got some nice cups (not in the pic) as souvenirs to give some relatives and friends~~

  i got alot of souvenirs from here.. haha but i'm not gonna say what! seeing that some of you reading this may be receiving something! hehehh.

  Ming Tombs (明十三陵）

  this is the burial grounds of the Ming dynasty emperors (and some concubines). only the Dingling Tomb and Changling Tomb were open to the public (we went to the latter, as our guide said it was the most best one). we went there with a tour group, as it was impossible for us to get there ourselves. it's situated on the outskirts of Beijing, like at the rural areas, quite near the Badaling Great Wall, which we visited later.

  our group basically consisted of only 12 people, excluding the tour guide. and other than my mum, sis and i, the other 9 people were all from the same family! they were Malaysian Chinese, mostly aunties who had too much money and time on their hands (well for more 'gossip' just ask me about it. not gonna blog about it haha..). and 2 guys who looked around my age (or perhaps a little younger?) one was those metrosexual and aloof kind, another kept staring at me -.- which disturbed me a bit. (but sad no shuai ges). so i just pretended not to notice..

  so anyway, back to the Ming Tombs! there were all sorts of superstitions about it, our guide told us some. but of coz, we should all take everything with a pinch of salt. like he said it's best not to fall asleep on the way there, coz only 2 types of people can go there 'sleeping'. one is the royal family who are visiting the tombs, another are you know, the 'friends from the other realm', or so they say.

   

   

  

  the emperor's headdress.

   

  and empress' headdress!

  when we entered we had to go around the main gate and not through it (i can't remember why), and then we went up this pagoda thing i think, to the place where the one emperor was supposed to be really buried. the guide said the 'ling' is there (dunno how to call it in english..). and when we left we had to pass through the main gate and exclaim 'I'm back' in Chinese and step through and not look back. it's to signify that we have returned from the 'other realm', and not looking back signifies that we do not miss the things of this 'other realm' and that we desire to return to the human realm.

  of coz, all these are just the customs and stories and superstitions that the guide said, so to believe it or not it's up to the individual.

  lol. then we headed to this place where they sold jade, and handicrafts made from jade. they even showed us how the sculptures and jewellery were crafted from the jade! really pretty. i wanted a jade bangle! hahah. but it was quite ex, and i'd never wear those kinda thing anyway, coz too auntie already. but still nice to keep heheh. they had purple jade too! which my mum liked. and it's natural! no artificial colouring or whatever!

   

   

  theses are all paintings made from jade 'sand', like tiny bits of leftover jade from the making of the sculptures and jewellery.

  then we all had lunch at the restaurant there! i think we had 8 dishes altogether (shared among all 12 of us). it was a good lunch!

  Badaling Great Wall (八达岭长城）

  after lunch we headed to the main highlight of the day! the Great Wall! there are 8 different sites of the Great Wall altogether, but Badaling is the safest, and also the most touristy one. some parts have been rebuilt. there are some other sites of the Great Wall that's in ruins, and it's very difficult to get around.. some even have missing handrails and all, so they are actually rather dangerous! i wanted to go to the Huanghuacheng Great Wall (or otherwise known as the Yellow Flowers great wall) coz apparently you can see the yellow flowers blooming all over the fields from the great wall during summer! but it wasn't very safe, and not very popular among tourists (and it's quite impossible for us to go to another great wall site all by ourselves without a car and guide), so well i had to be contented with Badaling. anyway they say Badaling is the most scenic one!

   

   

   

  it was impossible for us to climb up if we wanted to reach the highest peak, so we had to take some car lift thing up. it's not cable car, coz it's under maintenance, but those carriage like thing that you sit in when you go on roller coasters? like only one person can sit in one carriage those kind. and we went by a straight, sloping path up ok. no winding road or whatever! so it was rather scary. thankfully we had to lean back a bit so we couldn't really look down.

   

  this is taken in one of the battlements.. it's freezing up there! coz we were so high up in the mountains..

   

  it's not easy to walk along the great wall path at all. there were alot of ups and downs and uneven steps, so you had to be really careful. to think that they said Badaling was the safest! i can't imagine how the rest would be like..

   

  but the view from the top is really gorgeous!!

   

   

  i took lots of pics! but really too timeconsuming to upload all.. sighhhh!

  then my sis got really fascinated by this exotic bright blue bird that looked like a large dragonfly. there were quite a number of them flying about, but they were too fast - we couldn't get a picture in time!

  Beihai Park (北海公园）

  the very last highlight - Beihai Park! it's actually been built since the Liao dynasty as a secondary imperial palace. then subsequently, the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasty emperors added to its construction and built more architecture, etc.

   

  the emperors were very fond of water, so the central area of Beihai Park is actually a lake (Beihai Lake). actually, there's more area of water than land, and if we walk along the path in Beihai Park, we are basically walking along the banks of the lake. and we took like 4 hours to get around the entire park ok! of course we rested now and then, but there were so many places linked here and there throughout the entire park!

  the pagoda in the pic above is actually the highest point in the park. it's actually a temple for the royal family to go pray at (there are lots of temples in Beihai Park). and it's really high! we climbed the stairs to reach there and it was super super tiring! like the steps seemed to go on forever. now i know why some people in the past are so fit. they climb insane number of stairs.

   

  this is a bridge leading to a small 'island' on the middle of the lake. the pagoda is on this island.

   

   

   

   

   

  i wanted to wear the gu zhuang costumes to take pic! it costs only S$1 to rent one! but my skin condition was really quite bad at that time (i still had that allergy due to the sun the other day remember?) so i decided that i shouldn't take the risk.. in case the material made things worse. lol.

   

  this is the Hall of Happiness, where the emperor discussed state matters with his ministers. i have no idea why he called this the Hall of Happiness though, maybe he wants to feel more relaxed when discussing important matters! haha. relieve stress!

   

  the inside of the Hall of Happiness. we couldn't go in too, of coz.

   

  this boat is so cool right! it's like those kind of ancient boat!! there were alot of boats on the lake at this area.. i can just imagine, in the past, those scholars and poets must have been rowing the boats and 饮酒做诗 (drinking wine and making poetry)! and at night it must have been terribly romantic as they make poetry and admire the moon and the nighgt sky.. ahhhhhh i wanttttttt!!!

   

   

  yes i got those paper umbrellas! so pretty right! i love it~~ the red one looks the best!

   

  this is the main highlight of Beihai Park, and also it's most important feature - the Nine Dragon Wall. it's very difficult to get a photo of the entire wall without people blocking.. there were so many people!

   

  there were alot of activities held at these pavillions. alot of old folks were singing and dancing away, some were playing the chinese instruments. this is truely a place for leisure!

   

  this section is built by Qianlong for his mother as a birthday gift. but we were locked out. also couldn't even get near it, not to mention step onto the place. lol.

   

  more camwhoring as usual!  hahahaha..

  Liu Li Chang Culture Street (琉璃厂街）

  This is one of the most famous Hutongs in Beijing. Hutongs are small streets that originated in the Yuan dynasty, meaning 'water well' in Mongolian, as the settlements of the people were usually around a water well in the past. the most famous hutongs in Beijing have been preserved, so the buildings all look very ancient and all

   

  the Liulichang Culture Street is lined with bookstores selling calligraphy and chinese painting books and materials, and galleries of artists. some also sell tea, tea sets, and antique stuff that 'gu dai' people like me will go gaga over. LOL.

   

  this is a chinese instrument shop, as you can see...

   

  those ancient stamps!! i got one!!

   

  i asked to have my name engraved in the olden form of chinese characters, so it's not even traditional chinese characters, but the really gu dai kind! as my name has 3 characters, the person asked if i wanted to add a '印' (stamp) character to make it more even, as you can see in the stamp when he tested mine. the design at the top of the stamp is a phoenix. so pretty!! i love it!!!!!

  haha yup that's all for my Beijing trip! wow this is a really super long post!!! i didn't go out for 2 days in between, coz the weather was really bad (it was super hot) and i thought my skin couldn't take it.. well it was weekend anyway and going to places of attractions during the weekends are horror of horrors. not only are there loads of people, but it's crazy in the subway! if you think SG mrts are bad enough during weekday peak periods, beijing subways are much worse during weekends and peak periods!! they totally have no sense of personal space at all. and no courtesy.. they just push and make sure they get their way.

  and independence is very important if you wanna get around on your own.. people there generally aren't very helpful. but of coz there are always some nice people who would give you directions  so far the most helpful and friendly people we've met are security guards and policemen who petrol the area. LOL.

  oh and on the last day we went back to the Pearl Market to do some last minute shopping. and I got my pearl necklace!! it's really pretty.. i've always wanted one, but it's quite ex in SG. much cheaper in beijing and they're real pearls! no pics but i can show you personally if you like!

  and so. let me end on a fun note~ there's a supermarket near my cousin's apartment where we get groceries and biscuits and stuff from, and guess what i found??? (or rather, my mum did. she was the first one who noticed it, ironically!)

   

  3+2 biscuits endorsed by feilunhai!!!!! hahahah i bought 2, one we ate and one i intend to give to someone. i think said someone will know when she gets it. LOL.

  i'm super tired now. spent hours on this post! lolll. hope my commentary didn't bore all of you haha.. tell me if you wanna see more photos!!!

   

  • 6:13 PM
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