A Delayed Post: Chengde

Over the weekend of March 16, 2007, my second cousin Denise (who just happened to move to Beijing from NYC the same time Derek and I moved here) and I took a two and a half hour bus ride to the city of Chengde.

Chengde is best known as the summer residence of the early Qing Dynasty emperors.

Pictured below is Mountain Resort(Chinese: 避暑山庄; pinyin: Bìshǔ Shānzhuāng; literally: Mountain Resort for Avoiding the Heat)--the world's largest existing imperial garden.

Built between 1703 and 1792, the Mountain Resort took 89 years to complete. It covers a total area of 5.6 km². It is a vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings. Temples of various architectural styles and imperial gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests.

The Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors often spent several months a year here to escape the summer heat in the capital city of Beijing and the palace zone in the southern part of the resort was therefore designed to resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing. It consists of two parts: a court in front, where the emperor received high officials, nobles of various minority nationalities, and foreign envoys; and bed chambers in the rear, which were the imperial family's living quarters.

Traditional Chinese guard lions (sometimes dogs) which sit at the front gate of many Chinese palaces:



Stone tablets used to record historic events within the palace:



A living Bambi (there was a whole herd of them who roamed the palace grounds freely):













After our visit to the Mountain Resort we stopped by a paper cutting shop--much more impressive than your classic paper dolls.



Outside the Mountain Resort walls are Eight Outer Temples, built in varying architectural styles drawn from throughout China. The most impressive of these is the Putuo Zongcheng (普陀宗乘, Pinyin: Pǔtuó Zōngchéng) (pictured below) built to resemble Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.







Below are pictures from another temple we visited later in the day. If Derek had been able to make the trip, we could have secured our love for eternity for just 50RMB ($6.49)--a wise investment:

Beidaihe

September 1-2, 2007:

Beidaihe is a seaside resort on the Bohai Gulf, 300km east of Beijing, which was originally patronized by European diplomats, missionaries and businessmen around the turn of the century. After the Communist takeover, the village became a resort for Party bigwigs, reaching its height of popularity in the 1970s.

Today it is a Russian hot spot and a nice weekend getaway for Beijing expats.

This weekend Derek and I headed off to Beidaihe with some friends. Although the beaches here do not compare to those of Costa Rica or Thailand (due to pollution, garbage and the simple fact that China has not cultivated its beach town tourist industry), it was a marvelous time with friends and a wonderful escape from the city.

A 3 hour long train ride out to Beidaihe (Derek and I had standing room only tickets...cozy):



We have come to embrace the wildlife/tacky resort decor:



The beach (great people watching, and when one would shut their eyes to relax and catch some sun one could hear the wonderful symphony of Chinese spitters/hawkers):





Intense volleyball game amongst friends (with beer and vodka on the line):



Seafood dinner:















Onto the outdoor bar...



Per usual, even in China, Derek is always the instigator:



Time to head home. Pictured below: the charming China train station crowds. It is as if someone awoke a black haired anthill. But once the train rolls in..."like that, poof [they're] gone." Name that movie.







Before heading back on the train to Beijing, one must always consume some jiaozi. It puts Derek into a deep food comatose (thank goodness we had seats for the ride home).