History of YongHeGong Lama Temple

Building work on the YongHeGong Temple started in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. It originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs. It was then converted into the court of Prince YongZheng (Yin Zhen), a son of emperor KangXi. After YongZheng's ascension to the throne in 1722, half of the building was

converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism, while the other half remained an imperial palace.
After YongZheng's death in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple for mourners. YongZheng's successor, emperor QianLong, gave the temple imperial status. This was signified by having its turquoise tiles replaced with the yellow tiles that were reserved for the emperor. Subsequently (1744), the monastery became a lamasery and a residence for large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Mongolia and Tibet. The YongHeGong Lamasery became the national centre of Lama administration.
YongHeGong is said to have survived the Cultural Revolution due to the intervention of prime minister Zhou Enlai. YongHeGong was opened to the public in 1981.

Beijing Zoo – A Family Favorite

As a lover of both animals and boats, I've often imagined myself traveling 3,000 or so years back in history to Noah's Ark, where I could spend my days feeding and watching all sorts of animals aboard that enormous floating zoo.  Now, I live in Beijing which is no boater's paradise, but it has an awesome zoo where, if I don't mind paying a little extra, I can even feed some of the animals.

After my family returned home from this week's zoo visit, I decided to surf around and see what people on the net were saying about the Beijing zoo. There were positive comments about some animals and the park-like environment, but I was surprised to see so much criticism.  Let me reiterate, I'm an avid lover of animals and I loathe any kind of abuse.  I cringe when I see live chickens in the market stuffed into tiny cages. But what I see in the Beijing Zoo is anything but abusive.
Frankly, the animals in the zoo are better fed than many people in the world. My kids were amazed to see plates of fresh cut fruit and vegetables being carried to the monkeys and birds. Pelicans wade through more fresh fish than they could ever eat in a day.  The extra fee to enter the “kids' zoo” area includes a handful of fresh greens to feed the geese and peacocks (pictured at left).  Ponies weren't even interested in the wad of lettuce in my daughter's hand because their feeder was already filled with hay. I don't know which gives me the most delight; seeing the smile on my kids' faces when they feed their little friends, or watching the animals enjoy the feast.
Some of the more favorable online comments applauded the zoo for its environment as a beautiful park. I agree. We used to live within walking distance of the zoo. In those days we always bought annual passes. Taking our kids there just like taking them to any park in town. Although kids never tire of watching animals, we made some of our most precious memories just relaxing and playing in the remote wooded areas of the zoo.  With our pass, the zoo was no longer a novelty, but more of a back yard to enjoy as often as we liked. We no longer live in the neighborhood of the zoo, so we don't have the annual pass, but the entrance fee is about the same as some public parks, so even if we weren't animal lovers it would be worth the visit.
The zoo also makes a great photo studio. There are lots of great backgrounds for family, couple or individual photos, like the picture on the right of my kids in front of a waterfall.

Magnificent First Bend of the Yellow River

The Yellow River, called the Mother River of China, originates from the Bayankala Mountains in Qinghai

Province and flows from the west to the east. Its twists and turns have formed the magnificent First Bend of the Yellow River at Tangke Township, Ruoergai County, Aba prefecture of Sichuan Province. It is the land where the Yellow River crosses, where the Chinese Red Army once passed through, and where the ancient Tibetan King Gesar fought a battle…

Black Dragon Pond is One Of Beijing's Sparking Spot

Black Dragon Pond Scenic Spot is located in a 220-meter high, 4-kilometer long valley, which is 100 kilometers away from Beijing. The valley is in the northwestern Lupiguan Pass of the Shicheng Town in Miyun. The valley is commonly called Gulu Valley, because of its steepness. There are three waterfalls and eighteen pools in the valley. It is always appraised as being fresh, astonishing and steep.

Being fresh:
A lot of waterfalls are located in this only four-kilometer valley, which is rare in and outside Beijing District. Everywhere can give people a fresh feeling from the beginning to the end of the journey. You will feel relaxed and happy, just as if you were in a fairyland.
Being astonishing:
Every scenic spot has its own fantastic characteristic in this deep and serene valley. The great power of the nature makes the valley full of wonder and surprise in each scenic spot.
Being steep:
The waterfalls and the Dragon Pool are majestic and spectacular because of the adventurous rushing water, the deep valley and the narrow path. Tourists can enjoy the landscape in a perilous situation when they climb the ladders and pass the bridges. No venture, no pleasure. The views in the dangerous place can add more vigour to the tourists.

Sleep on it - a camping area on the Great Wall

Though the rural areas surrounding Beijing's city center aren't exactly known as rugged enclaves of untamed wilderness, there's a camping trip out there waiting for you if you're willing to take it, and what Beijing may lack in forest, wildlife and clean air, it makes up for in one respect: the Great Wall, a destination of unparalleled cultural cachet and historical significance. As one might expect, however, the iconic nature of such a site often gives rise to controversy about using the Wall as your own personal bed and breakfast.

"CET arranges a bi-annual Great Wall camping trip, once in the spring and once in the fall," said Jason Wang, an American expat who as a college student participated in CET, a Beijing-based Chineselanguage school for foreigners that also arranges cultural excursions, and has since become CET's director of programming. "Our usual program includes a 10-kilometer hike from Simatai to Jinshanling and camping overnight on the Wall at Jinshanling, but in 2009 right after our spring group went, a totally unrelated group came and made an absolute mess, which resulted in the Wall being closed for camping until just recently."
Wang said that though the Wall has officially reopened, their spring 2010 camping trip - scheduled for the weekend of May 8 - was cancelled as well due to inclement weather.
"As you can imagine, if there's any chance of thunder, lightning or heavy rain, the trips are cancelled and campers are lodged in nearby guesthouses," he said.
Other tour groups provided contradictory accounts of whether the Wall was open for camping.
"According to current government regulations, the only place we're allowed to provide for campers is an area next to the Wall at Jinshanling, not on the Wall itself," said Chen Binchao, the operations manager of Botrip Tours. "The reasons we were given include trash and litter from previous groups - danger is another concern, especially due to summertime storms."
Chen said that noise, vandalism and graffiti have all been problems in the past.
"There used to be a lot of graffiti on the Wall but it's much better now due to stricter enforcement," she said. "But we've had to deal with all sorts of issues - people throwing dance parties, for example. The Wall has attendants who help clean up after campers but people still make a mess sometimes."
A representative of the China Cultural Center, which provides Great Wall excursions for foreigners, said that the Wall is currently open for campers at Jinshanling and that they've never had issues with unruly guests.
"Our guides are very strict about graffiti and litter," said the representative, who asked that her name not be published. "And almost all our guests have good manners - the only trouble is bad weather."
Wang said that though the students at CET do not receive any additional training about camping etiquette or cultural sensitivity, it's generally understood that the Wall is a particularly delicate area. "You could tell other people hadn't been respectful, though," he said. "There were crevasses where people had pooped, and garbage thrown off the side - it's a shame, because camping on the Wall is a really amazing experience."

The Defense Engineering System of the Great Wall

The defense engineering system of the Great Wall: The Great Wall stretching thousands of miles is not just a single wall but a complete defensive system composed of many defense equipment including walls, watch

towers, fortresses and beacon towers. The defensive system was controlled by all levels of the military chain of command. Taking the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty as an example, nine military jurisdictional areas including Liaodong, Datong, Yulin, Ningxia, and Gansu were established on the Great Wall for defense and maintenance of the Great Wall, ranging from the Yalu River in the east and Jiayuguan in the west. Therefore, the nine military jurisdictional areas were called the "nine major defensive areas," with a chief military officer taking charge of defending each section of the Great Wall or supporting the adjacent regions. There were about a million soldiers guarding along the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. The military chief normally lived and worked inside the cities and other officials at all levels were stationed in the watch towers and fortresses in defense areas, campsites and walls.

2 Days Beijing Great Wall Hiking Tour

Just as the saying goes” He who has not been to Great Wall is not a true man.” So Great Wall is a must for your Beijing trip. Here we arranged 2 days Beijing Great Wall tour for hiking lovers. We will bring you to appreciate the Gubeikou Great Wall and Jinshanling Great Wall.

Gubeikou Great Wall

Located in Miyun County, the main part of the Gubeikou Great Wall was first built during Ming Dynasty. Occupies a strategically important location which is difficult to access, Gubeikou Great Wall is the most intact and well preserved, original section of all the sections in Beijing.

From ancient times, Gubeikou Great Wall has been a town of importance and a vital passage to the capital city for a long time, connecting the southern and northern parts of the Yanshan Range.

Today, Gubeikou Great Wall retains its fascination as its raw condition is still evident. Besides, visitors could also full enjoy the distant view of other sections of Great Wall.

As one part of Gubeikou Great Wall, Panlongshan Great Wall is one of the most beautiful sections of the Wall with important geographic location around Beijing, mostly unrestored, original, less tourists.

Jinshanling Great Wall

  

Relatively less crowded, Jinshanling Great Wall is the essential and most representative part of the Great Wall. Broadly walkable and relatively less busy, large numbers of tourists would choose Jinshanling Great Wall for hiking. People can walk here all the year round. And the level of difficulty can be classed as relaxing though certain parts are tricky.

Jinshanling Great Wall has not been greatly renovated. Standing on Jinshanling Great Wall, you can view authenticity and beauty scenery.

Itinerary of 2 Days Private Beijing Great Wall Tour

Day 1: Beijing ( L )

In the morning, we will pick you up from your hotel in Beijing around 8:00am and drive to the Gubeikou Great Wall. You are arranged to hike the Panlongshan Great Wall one section of the Gubeikou Great Wall. After lunch, head to Jinshanling Great Wall and hike up on the west section. Then return to the Jinshanling Great Wall Hotel.

Day 2: Beijing ( B, L )

Around 9:00am, we will start to hike the east section of Jinshanling Great Wall and hike for 3-4 hours. After the hike at the wall, you will be arranged to have lunch in a local farmhouse. Then transfer back to your hotel in Beijing.

Have a nice Beijing Great Wall tour.