Our 15-day tour of China in September of 2002 included a full day of touring the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs after visiting the important sights in Beijing. I highly recommend you could check out http://www.bestour.com if you are planning a visit to China. The 12 people in our group traveled into the mountains in a comfortable air-conditioned bus about an hour north of Beijing. One thing that caught my attention were the number of people transporting what looked like black cinder blocks. I asked the guide about this, and he said they were blocks of coal used by the Chinese for fuel. This was how these people earned their living selling the coal blocks. The weather was sunny but not too hot. We were eagerly looking forward to seeing BaDaLing (key to the north gate). This massive structure is an important part of the Chinese history and culture. It is known as one of the great wonders of the ancient world. They began building the wall in 221 B. C. and it was completed it in the 17th century. It is 2500 miles long from central Asia to the east China sea. You cannot consider your trip to China complete without visiting the wall. The Great Wall is a series of barricades, and it was built to protect the country from invasion from the north. It failed in its mission because the Manchus invaded China in 1644; and it's been said you can see the Great Wall from space, but this is not so.
The view from the top of the wall is magnificent. We took many videos of the surrounding country. You will not truly appreciate how massive the structure is until you climb the steps to get to the top and walk the wall. By the way, the steps were deliberately off set so it made it hard to climb them on foot or with a horse. This made it difficult for tourists to climb. We enjoyed exploring the watchtowers where Chinese soldiers defended their country. Many people believe the Great Wall to be an elevated highway in the ancient Chinese world. In certain parts, six horseman could ride along the wall together or 10 soldiers could march together. We enjoyed hearing the many tourists speaking various languages. All of us were impressed, and we would remember this site for the rest of our lives. Of course, you will encounter many souvenir shops in the area. The Chinese people are very industrious and work hard at earning a living from the youngest to the oldest. They seem to truly understand the capitalistic economic system.
Following our tour of the Great Wall, we all went to lunch and had noodles among other Chinese specialties. They demonstrated how the long noodles were made. Everyone enjoyed the noodles with soup and other traditional Chinese dishes. Having finished lunched, we proceeded to the Ming Tombs. This is the mausoleums for 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty who ruled from 1368 to 1644. This is located approximately 30 miles northwest of Beijing.
The most splendid of the tombs was initially built as Changling or the tomb of Emperor Zhu Di and his empresses according to our guide. Twelve of the following emperors had tombs built surrounding Changling. Because of its impressive architecture and long history, it is considered to have a high cultural value. The Scared Way leads to Changling or Chang Tomb. It is about 4 miles long. Along both sides of the Scared Way are carvings of animal and human statues. There are a total of 36 statues carved out of a single block of granite. You enter the Scared Way by going through the Dragon-headed Turtle Tablet pavilion. Inside the pavilion you will find a carved turtle with a dragon head and a stone tablet containing at least a thousand Chinese characters. Walking the Scared Way, you can view the 12 large stone human figures and the 24 animal figures. The statues are arranged in matching pairs facing each other.
Only the Changling and Dingling tombs, out of the 13 tombs, are open for visitors. Changling is the largest tomb and is completely, beautifully preserved. This tomb is located above ground. Dingling tomb is located under ground. It is safe to visit because the construction is stable. Emperor Zhu Yijun occupied the throne the longest during the Ming Dynasty. His entire palace that houses his body and his empresses is made of stone. Yellow glazed titles, archway, columns, and rafters are all carved from stone. It is truly painted in beautiful colors.
Make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothing because the tours of the Great Wall and Ming Tombs takes a full day and involves a great deal of walking and climbing. Being able to visit such amazing historical and cultural sites is life changing experience.
Share with me at:
The MUSEUM at Zazzle
http://www.zazzle.com/the_museum*/
The MUSEUM at Qassia
http://themuseum.qassia.com/*
AdSense, jGibney, Photoart, The MUSEUM, The MUSEUM Zazzle, Copywriting, Ad, Money, Travel, Art,
zzzzz
|
|
|
|
Contributor's Note
This is the fourth of several articles relating our experiences and impressions of a 15-day escorted tour of China we took in September of 2002.
|
|
|
|
|
