Live Your Best Lives
The summer vacation here refers to both the summer vacation in July and August in the usual sense, and the vacation spent in the Mountain Resort. Why do I say it is late? Because as early as the winter vacation in early 2020, I had planned a nine-day trip to Beijing + Mountain Resort. At that time, I planned to focus on Beijing and supplement it with the Mountain Resort. After all, it was winter and there was no heat to avoid. At that time, everything was ready, the high-speed rail tickets were bought, the hotel was booked, and the transportation tickets were arranged. The only thing missing was the east wind, but the east wind did not come, and the "new crown" came! Then I was in a hurry to refund various things, and I just refunded the high-speed rail ticket in the afternoon, and in the evening the Railway Bureau announced that the refund fee would be waived due to the epidemic, emm... I can only blame myself for being too fast. If I was a little slower, I could enjoy the free policy.
During the summer of 2021, I had originally planned to visit Wuyi Mountain, Zhangzhou Tulou, and Quanzhou in Fujian. Then, in late May, Guangdong suddenly reported local cases, and it was the more transmissible Indian variant! Looking at the map, Fujian is Guangdong's next-door neighbor. If Guangdong couldn't control the epidemic well, it would likely affect everyone else. After much hesitation, Shanghai Ning decided to save his life first and reluctantly gave up his trip to Fujian.
Unable to go south, I thought about heading north. Then I suddenly remembered the Mountain Resort I had been forced to give up in early 2020. Wouldn't summer vacation be a good time to go there to escape the heat? So I excitedly started planning my summer vacation again. I had originally thought that Chengde, where the Mountain Resort is located, is in Hebei Province, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to cover Hebei? Later, I realized that no matter which city in Hebei you go to Chengde, you have to go through Beijing, as Chengde and Beijing seem to have a closer relationship. After much deliberation, we decided to combine Chengde and Beijing, focusing on Chengde and supplementing it with Beijing. Since we couldn't avoid the imperial capital, we might as well take it along. Thus began our summer escape from July 9th to 15th. Unexpectedly, a new wave of the epidemic suddenly broke out in Nanjing in late July, spreading to more than a dozen provinces and cities in just a few days. Major cities stepped up their epidemic prevention measures, and Zhangjiajie even urged tourists not to visit for the time being. Thinking about it, I'm really scared. Fortunately, we didn't encounter that during our trip. During the long-term coexistence of the new coronavirus and humans, travel really needs to be taken prudently, otherwise there's no telling when the situation will become serious again.
Day 1 Shanghai-Beijing-Temple of Heaven-Chengde
Since the itinerary was booked in a hurry and there is no direct high-speed train from Shanghai to Chengde, you have to transfer in Beijing. Then the high-speed trains from Beijing to Chengde were all booked up early, so you can only book until after 8pm. For the Shanghai to Beijing section, you chose the shorter Fuxing bullet train, which arrived in Beijing at 3:30pm, so you have a 4.5-hour transfer time in Beijing. Although you need to move from Beijing South Railway Station to Beijing Railway Station to transfer trains, there is still plenty of time left, so I looked for some attractions to kill time along the route from Beijing South Railway Station to Beijing Railway Station, and the Temple of Heaven just happened to be in my plan.
The Temple of Heaven is located roughly midway between Beijing South Railway Station and Beijing Railway Station. It occupies a large area, with its South Gate close to South Station and its East Gate close to Beijing Station. The East Gate is also right outside the subway station. Initially, we planned to check our luggage at Beijing Station and then return to the Temple of Heaven. This would require us to enter and exit through the East Gate, which would waste time and require us to make a circuitous route through the Temple of Heaven. Later, our human navigation expert, Zhao, changed his mind and decided to skip the check-in and exit through the South Gate. This would save time and allow us to avoid backtracking. We only had one large suitcase, and the Temple of Heaven itself was mostly flat, making it easy to lug around. So, we happily decided.
The plan was perfect, but the reality was more complex. When the high-speed train arrived at Beijing South Railway Station, we were met with a throng of people and few exit elevators, forcing us to queue at a snail's pace. We'd hoped to head to the high-speed train taxi station, but it was also packed, so we gave up and headed for the ground level. Unexpectedly, hailing a taxi near South Station proved incredibly difficult. Hailing a taxi wasn't working, and even using taxi apps took forever. Just when I was about to despair, the private car Brother Zhao had called finally arrived. Fortunately, the Temple of Heaven was only three or four kilometers from South Station, and we arrived at its south gate before 4:30. I'd expected the Temple of Heaven to be less crowded in the evening, but it wasn't. There were still scores of visitors enjoying the grounds. The vast expanses of open space within the Temple of Heaven were unobstructed, and the sun dutifully shed its last rays and warmth, leaving us with nowhere to escape. When the weather is good, the sky is blue. I didn't expect this to be the closest we've ever been to "Beijing Blue" on this trip. Let's cherish it. The Temple of Heaven was first built in 1420, the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, and was renovated and rebuilt during the reigns of Emperors Qianlong and Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. It is now a World Cultural Heritage, a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit, and a National AAAAA-level Tourist Attraction. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Temple of Heaven was a place where emperors offered sacrifices to the Emperor of Heaven and prayed for good harvests. It is the largest architectural complex dedicated to heaven in the world. It is renowned for its meticulous architectural layout, unique construction, and magnificent decoration. Covering a total area of approximately 2.7 million square meters, it is divided into the Inner Altar and the Outer Altar. The main buildings are located in the Inner Altar: the Circular Mound Altar and the Imperial Vault of Heaven to the south, and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Hall of Imperial Ancestral Worship to the north. The two complexes are connected by the Danbi Bridge, a north-south corridor that runs lower in the south and higher in the north. The outer altar, fringed with lush ancient cypresses, surrounds the inner altar, adding to the grandeur of the main building complex. Inside the altar, features include the Echo Wall, the Three-tone Stone, and the Dialogue Stone, all ingeniously constructed using acoustic principles, fully demonstrating the advanced level of ancient Chinese architectural craftsmanship. Closest to the South Gate is the Circular Mound. The Circular Mound Altar was the venue for the Winter Solstice Heavenly Worship Ceremony. During the Ming Dynasty, it was a three-tiered, blue-glazed circular altar. It was expanded in 1749, the 14th year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign in the Qing Dynasty, and the blue glazed tiles were replaced with a mugwort-green stone platform and white marble columns. The Circular Mound's shape symbolizes the heavens, with three tiers, each with nine steps on each side. The center of the upper tier is a round stone, paved with nine fan-shaped stones in an outer circle and nine in an inner circle, extending outward in multiples of nine. The railings and balusters are also constructed in numbers of nine or multiples of nine, symbolizing the number of "heaven."
The Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) is located on the north side of the outer wall of the Circular Mound Altar, facing south. It features a circular wall and three glazed doors on the south side. It was the place where the deities of the Circular Mound Altar were enshrined. The hall has no beams; the roof is supported entirely by eight outer eaves columns, eight central golden columns, and gilded brackets on both tiers of columns. The three-tiered ceiling, with its receding tiers, is a rare feature in ancient architecture. From a distance, it resembles a giant sapphire umbrella with a golden top. The hall is decorated with dragon and phoenix paintings and imperial seals. The ceiling features a gilded pattern of two dragons playing with a pearl, and the caisson is a golden dragon caisson. The spans of the brackets and caisson ceilings in the Imperial Vault of Heaven are unique in ancient Chinese architecture.
Counting from the north, the first three stone slabs in the corridor in front of the Imperial Vault of Heaven are the "Three Sound Stones." When you clap your hands on the first slab, you hear only one echo; when you clap your hands on the second slab, you hear two echoes; and when you clap your hands on the third slab, you hear three continuous echoes. This is why these three slabs are called the Three-Sound Stones. The circular wall surrounding the Imperial Vault of Heaven courtyard is constructed of polished bricks from Linqing, Shandong Province, and is roofed with blue glazed tiles. This is the famous "Echo Wall." The walls of the Imperial Vault of Heaven courtyard naturally form sound-wave reflectors. The polished brickwork creates a very tight wall structure. When people stand behind the east and west side halls and whisper close to the wall, they can clearly hear each other's voices, even though they are far apart. This is because the smooth surface of the circle refracts sound waves. The most famous Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was designed in accordance with the idea of “worshiping Heaven and worshipping God”. The hall is round in shape, symbolizing the roundness of the sky, and the tiles are blue, symbolizing the blue sky. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is supported by 28 large golden nanmu pillars arranged in a circular pattern. The four central "Dragon Well" pillars, 19.2 meters high and 1.2 meters in diameter, support the upper eaves. The 12 central gold pillars support the second eaves, intricately painted with gilded patterns over a vermilion base. The 12 outer eaves pillars support the third eaves. A three-tiered ceiling is arranged, with a dragon and phoenix caisson ceiling in the center. The interior beams and rafters are embellished with dragon, phoenix, and imperial seal paintings. The four central "Dragon Well" pillars symbolize the four seasons of the year; the twelve middle tiers, slightly thinner than the Dragon Well pillars, are called gold pillars and represent the twelve months of the year; the twelve outer tiers, called eaves pillars, symbolize the twelve hours of the day. The total number of pillars on both the inner and outer tiers is 24, representing the 24 solar terms. This demonstrates that our ancestors' designs were meticulously crafted and not haphazardly applied.
Whether it is the Temple of Heaven's Hall of Prayer for Good Harmony Square or the Forbidden City's Hall of Supreme Harmony Square, standing there gives people the feeling of two words: grand!
Look, a fish head with double eyelids:
Because we had to catch a high-speed train, we didn't dare linger too long inside the Temple of Heaven. We exited the East Gate around 6:00 AM. Even then, tour groups were still entering, perhaps avoiding the rush hour. Brother Zhao took me to a nearby Old Beijing restaurant to try their famous Old Beijing fried liver and luzhu. It was a small, local spot, and business was brisk, with nearly every table occupied. In a corner, a couple of elderly Beijing men occupied two tables, eating, drinking, and chatting. One, wearing a thick gold chain and his half-rolled undershirt revealing his paunchy belly, spoke animatedly, giving off a distinctly urban vibe. We both immersed ourselves in our fried liver and luzhu. Fried liver is a famous traditional Beijing snack, a late Qing dynasty adaptation of the "white water miscellaneous dishes" served at Huixianju near Xianyukou, just outside Qianmen. Although called stir-fried liver, it's primarily made with pig intestines, with liver making up only one-third. It's not stir-fried, but boiled. First, the cooked intestines are placed in boiling broth, followed by garlic sauce, chopped scallions, starch, minced ginger, and mushroom broth. Then, the raw liver strips are added to the pot, and finally, the mixture is thickened with starch. Because it's quite thick, it requires constant stirring, giving it a distinctly stir-fried feel.
Luzhu is another famous traditional Beijing snack. It combines roasted and stewed pig intestines and lungs, creating a single bowl that combines the main course, side dishes, and hot soup. Luzhu originated on Nanheng Street in southern Beijing. Legend has it that during the Guangxu era, pork belly, a traditional Suzhou-style dish, was too expensive, so pork head and offal were substituted. This tradition, spread by local culinary experts, eventually led to the creation of Luzhu Huoshao (roasted buns with pork belly). Luzhu Huoshao is a popular dish among Beijingers. Cut the Huoshao into a crisscross pattern, cut the tofu into triangles, and chop the small intestine and lung into small pieces. Ladle a ladle of broth from the pot into the bowl, adding minced garlic, chili oil, fermented tofu, and chives. When the bowl arrives piping hot, the Huoshao, tofu, and lungs are fully absorbed by the broth, cooked through without being sticky, and the meat tender without being mushy. The most flavorful part is the small intestine. It's soft and crispy, with a rich, yet not greasy, flavor without any off-flavor. The occasional slice of white meat is even more delicious.
As you can see, pig intestines play a prominent role in both stir-fried liver and braised pork. Those who love these dishes love them to bits, but we just wanted something new. Honestly, we're not used to them.
After a satisfying meal, we returned to the East Gate of the Temple of Heaven and took the subway to Beijing Railway Station. Beijing Railway Station was built in 1901 (the 27th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty) and completed in 1903 (the 29th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty). It is a historic railway station. Its layout is symmetrical along a central axis, with the waiting hall in front and the platform behind. The facade is flanked by two wings that frame the center. The specific design and decoration draw inspiration from traditional Chinese architecture, while incorporating new structural forms. The waiting halls on both wings feature flat roofs, while the central section, flanked by two bell towers, frames a central hall with a flat shell roof. Beijing Station's architectural aesthetic reflects national cultural traditions, with prominent emphasis on the façade's decorative elements. Glazed tile roofs and glass ornamentation are featured on the bell tower, wings, and triple-arched windows. The polished aluminum ventilation grilles and column capitals on the hall's marble walls are inspired by ancient Chinese bronze patterns, creating a simple and elegant aesthetic. The main color palette of the hall harmonizes with the exterior's warm hues, while the flat shell ceiling is painted a light lake blue. Partially decorated with gold thread and colorful paintings, the lighting design features classical chandeliers and wall lamps, creating a light and bright atmosphere with a strong national character.
Seeing this familiar shape reminded me of a trip to Beijing with my cousins more than a decade ago. On our last day, we left our luggage at Beijing Railway Station and went to visit the tourist attractions. As a result, we didn't manage our time well and got back to the entrance of Beijing Railway Station at the last minute. We rushed to get our luggage, rushed to squeeze into the queue at the entrance, and rushed to the platform. Fortunately, we got on the train at the last minute. That thrilling experience was no less than Speed.
The train departed from Beijing Railway Station at 8:15 and arrived at Chengde South Station at 9:30 pm. To avoid the hassle, we opted for a taxi to the hotel. However, it was clear that many of our fellow passengers shared the same idea, leading to a long line forming outside the taxi rank. Fortunately, Chengde remained quite cool at night, and I secretly felt proud of having successfully avoided the heat. As the first wave of taxis arrived, picking up their passengers and leaving, the remaining queues continued to grow. Those still waiting in line grew anxious. They saw only the first wave leaving, but no new passengers arriving. With so many people desperately waiting for taxis, what could they do? At this moment, the man who had been busy directing taxis in and out of the airport stepped out to take control. In perfect Beijing-accented Mandarin, he reassured everyone, "Passengers in line, don't worry. We're already dispatching. The taxis are on their way. The traffic is mainly at the roundabout at the entrance. Just wait for them to arrive!" These few words reassured everyone, and they continued their wait with composure.
Seeing we were getting bored waiting, the uncle took the initiative to chat with us: "If you have any complaints about taxi drivers, such as refusing to pick up passengers, sharing a ride without the passenger's consent, taking a detour, etc., you can call our complaint number. The number is posted on the wall, so please take note!" Everyone turned around in unison. Sure enough, the supervision and complaint number was prominently posted on the low wall nearby. As you can imagine, these problems were probably serious problems that had occurred in the taxi industry before. Fortunately, based on our taxi experiences over the next few days, most drivers were actually quite disciplined.
We arrived at our hotel (Chengde Ziyu International Holiday Hotel) around 11pm that day. We had booked this hotel after careful selection, but the experience was far from what we had imagined. Aside from its prime location (about a ten-minute walk from the entrance to the Mountain Resort), the hotel was otherwise unremarkable. Maybe it's been open a while, so the decor is old, especially the bathroom, which is cramped and barely fits one person. The breakfast room is actually a wedding banquet restaurant, all round tables with a wedding stage in the middle. It felt weird eating breakfast like I was at a wedding buffet.
Day 2: A Day Trip to the Chengde Mountain Resort
Thump, th ... The Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde, is a renowned imperial palace in ancient my country. Construction began in 1703, the 42nd year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, and was completed in 1792, the 57th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Consistent with the reigns of three Qing emperors: Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, the project took 89 years to complete. It served as a summer retreat and a place for Qing emperors to conduct government affairs. During the reigns of Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, they spent approximately half a year each year in Chengde. Important political, military, ethnic, and diplomatic affairs of state in the early Qing Dynasty were handled here. As a result, the Mountain Resort became the secondary capital and political center outside of the Forbidden City in Beijing, earning it the nickname "a mountain resort, reflecting half of Qing history." The Mountain Resort covers 5.64 million square meters, and the winding, undulating walls surrounding it stretch 10,000 meters, twice the length of the Summer Palace. Compared to the Forbidden City, the Mountain Resort embodies the rustic charm of a mountain village, embracing the essence of natural landscapes and drawing on the scenery of both the south and north of the Great Wall. It is the largest extant classical imperial garden in China. The Mountain Resort and the surrounding temples form a closely interconnected, organic whole, while also offering striking contrasts in style. The Mountain Resort is simple and elegant, while the surrounding temples are magnificent and ornate. This was, in fact, one of the key measures taken by the Qing emperors to manage ethnic relations. Due to its rich historical and cultural heritage, the Mountain Resort and its surrounding temples have been designated a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, one of the Ten National Scenic Spots, and one of the Forty-Four National Scenic Areas. Chengde has thus become one of the first twenty-four Nationally Designated Historical and Cultural Cities. In December 1994, the Mountain Resort and its surrounding temples (formerly known as the Rehe Palace) were inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List. In May 2007, the National Tourism Administration officially approved it as a National 5A Tourist Attraction. The Mountain Resort, along with Beijing's Summer Palace, Suzhou's Humble Administrator's Garden, and Suzhou's Lingering Garden—four other gardens listed as National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units—are considered one of China's Four Great Gardens. We entered the resort through the Lizheng Gate. Lizheng Gate serves as both the resort's main entrance and the main palace's main gate. It's a double-tiered gate with three rectangular arched entrances and three pavilions atop the terrace. A pair of stone lions stand before the gate, with a dismounting stele to each side and a 30-meter-long red screen wall facing it. Its layout is rigorous and its style is simple and elegant. It's the first of the 36 scenic spots of the Summer Resort during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Incidentally, the 72 scenic spots of the Summer Resort were composed of 36 four-character names by Emperor Kangxi and 36 three-character names by Emperor Qianlong. In other words, if you see a four-character name, it was written by Emperor Kangxi, and if you see a three-character name, it was written by Emperor Qianlong. The word "Li Zheng" (literally "Li Zheng") is taken from the Book of Changes: "The sun and the moon are beautiful in the sky," meaning "a bright and upright gate." Because Chinese feudal emperors claimed to be the Son of Heaven, this is why the main gate was named Li Zheng Gate. In Chinese history, the main gate of the imperial city of Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty was called Li Zheng Gate. It was renamed Zhengyang Gate during the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty named the main gate of the Mountain Resort, which also served as the main palace, Lizheng Gate, indicating that it was a venue for political activities as important as the imperial city. Above the central archway in front of Lizheng Gate, a stone plaque inscribed with the words "Lizheng Gate" in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, Uyghur, and Tibetan, symbolizes the unity of a multi-ethnic nation. The Mountain Resort is divided into four major areas: the Palace Area, the Lake Area, the Plain Area, and the Mountain Area. With abundant water in the southeast and mountains in the northwest, the resort epitomizes China's natural landscape. Unlike other imperial gardens, the Mountain Resort's site selection and overall design were guided by the topographical features, fully utilizing the natural terrain, following the natural flow of the mountains and rivers, and integrating the essence of gardening techniques from both the north and the south. It is a glorious milestone in the history of Chinese gardens and a masterpiece of classical Chinese garden art, renowned as "a microcosm of China's geography" and "the highest example of classical Chinese gardening." The palace area, located in the southern part of the Mountain Resort, covers 100,000 square meters. Bordered by the plains and lakes to the northeast and the mountains to the northwest, it comprises four groups of buildings: the Main Palace, Songhezhai, the East Palace (now destroyed), and Wanhesongfeng. The Main Palace, the principal structure of the complex, comprises nine courtyards divided into the Front Court and the Back Bedroom. It now houses a museum displaying imperial artifacts from the Qing Dynasty, housing over 20,000 precious pieces. The main hall, called "Danbo Jingcheng," is constructed of precious golden nanmu wood, hence its nickname, the Nanmu Hall. The main building of the palace area is centered, with ancillary buildings flanking it, creating a generally balanced and symmetrical layout. The design fully utilizes the natural environment while also innovating it, cleverly integrating natural and cultural landscapes. This gives the Summer Resort's palace architecture a garden-like feel while also showcasing the grandeur of an imperial garden. The palace area served as the site for the Qing emperors' court meetings, grand ceremonies, and residences. Its architectural style is simple and elegant, yet retains the solemnity of an imperial palace. 
This small building is unusual.
There are no stairs leading up to the rockery.
The Emperor and Empress prayed in the Buddhist temple,
Walking up the Yunshan scenic spot:
The lake area, located southeast of the resort, covers an area of 496,000 square meters. Its overall structure, with mountains surrounding water and water surrounding islands, draws inspiration from traditional Chinese gardening techniques, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland in Chinese mythology. The lake area boasts eight lakes of varying sizes, each divided by eight small islands. The distinct layers of islands and islands create a vibrant, serene landscape, reminiscent of the Jiangnan region of China. Many of the lake's architectural structures are modeled after famous Jiangnan sites. For example, the "Yanyu Tower" is modeled after the Yanyu Tower at Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, while the layout of Jinshan Island is inspired by Jinshan Island in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. A clear spring, the renowned Rehe Spring, emanates from the northeast corner of the lake. Does it look familiar? Yanyu Tower is the Shufangzhai in Huanzhu Gege. 
From far to near:
The plain area, located in the northern part of the resort, covers 607,000 square meters. To the west, the terrain is open and lush, reminiscent of the Mongolian steppes. To the east, towering ancient trees and lush forests evoke the vast forests of the Greater Khingan Range. The grassland, centered around the Shimadai (Test Horse Ridge), was the venue for the emperor's horse racing events. The woodland, known as the Wanshu Garden, served as an important center for political activity within the resort. At the time, Wanshu Garden housed 28 yurts of varying sizes. The largest of these was the Imperial Tent, the emperor's temporary palace, where Emperor Qianlong frequently met with nobles, religious leaders, and foreign envoys. To the west of Wanshu Garden lies Wenjin Pavilion, one of China's four most renowned imperial library collections (unfortunately, it was closed during our visit, so we were unable to see it in person). Other structures dotted among the grasslands and woodlands include Yongyou Temple, Chunhaoxuan, and Suyunyan. The mountainous area, located in the northwest of the resort, covers 4.435 million square meters, accounting for approximately four-fifths of the park. Surrounded by rolling hills and crisscrossing ravines, it is dotted with numerous buildings, pavilions, temples, and Buddhist halls. The temples surrounding the resort cover a total area of 472,000 square meters, encompassing a magnificent cluster known as the Eight Outer Temples. These are actually more than just eight temples; they refer to a cluster of twelve Tibetan Buddhist temples built during the Qing Dynasty around the resort, modeled after Tibetan, Xinjiang, and Mongolian Buddhist temples. Because eight of these temples were administered by the Lifanyuan (Council of Colonial Affairs) of the Qing government and were all located outside Gubeikou, they were collectively known as the "Outer Eight Temples" (meaning the Eight Temples outside the Gubeikou area). Over time, this term became a generic name for these twelve temples. Eight of these temples are located in the hilly area of the Mountain Resort. From west to east, they are: Arhat Hall (mostly destroyed), Guang'an Temple (mostly destroyed), Shuxiang Temple, Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Xumi Fushou Temple, Puning Temple, Puyou Temple (mostly destroyed), and Guangyuan Temple. Four more temples are located east of the Mountain Resort on the east bank of the Wulie River. From north to south, they are: Anyuan Temple, Pule Temple, Puren Temple, and Pushan Temple (destroyed). The Outer Eight Temples, based on Han-style palace architecture, incorporate architectural elements from Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uyghur ethnic groups, resulting in a diverse and unified temple style. These magnificent and splendid Lama temples were built by the Qing government to strengthen frontier administration. The concentration of temples surrounding the Mountain Resort, their grand scale, exquisite architecture, and the sheer number of Buddha statues and sacrificial vessels crafted with exceptional craftsmanship make it one of the holiest sites of Tibetan Buddhism. Since I'd purchased a four-day package ticket for the Mountain Resort, Puning Temple, Putuo Zongcheng Temple, and Qingchui Peak, we focused on the palace, lake, and plain areas of the resort that day, leaving the other two temples and Qingchui Peak for another day. In fact, the Mountain Resort is so vast that a single day would be exhausting. Even worse, the daytime air at the Mountain Resort, unlike the coolness of night, was sweltering. Is the Mountain Resort truly a haven for summer heat? A tourist put it well: "I'm afraid emperors used to come here not to escape the heat, but to suffer from it." It can be seen from the photos that although there is sunshine, it does not have the refreshing feeling of blue sky and white clouds. Instead, there is a gray and depressing feeling. This may be the result of the water vapor being trapped in the clouds and unable to come out.
Let's take a look at the buyer's and seller's photos. The only difference between them was a blue sky and white clouds...
After walking around for a day, I am completely confused. I can't tell which area is which. So I made a series of pictures to explain it to you. You can see for yourself:
In the evening, I went to Qianlong Dumpling House in Zhongxing Square to satisfy my stomach. The Chengde dishes were generous in portion and full of flavor, but a little salty:
Day 3: Puning Temple – Putuo Zongcheng Temple – Qingchui Peak
This day was a day of uncertainty.
The original plan was to visit the Jinshanling Great Wall for a day. Jinshanling is the best-preserved section of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. While not as renowned as the Badaling section, it is the most essential section of the Great Wall. It is renowned for its expansive views, unique landscapes, exquisite architecture, robust defense systems, and well-preserved condition. It is known as "The Great Wall, Jinshan's Unique Beauty." The Great Wall, nestled against the mountains and embracing the water, rises and falls between the mountains and rivers, creating a magnificent scene, evoking the aura of "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men unable to break through." This area is particularly noteworthy for its dense concentration of watchtowers, intricately constructed and diverse in style, with almost every tower featuring a unique design. This is unmatched by the Great Walls at Badaling, Shanhaiguan, and Jiayuguan. As a result, the Jinshanling Great Wall has been designated a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, a National Scenic Area, a National 5A Tourist Attraction, and a World Cultural Heritage Site. In 1992, Asia's "Flying Man" Ke Shouliang successfully flew over the Jinshanling Great Wall on a motorcycle. Most importantly, despite its treasures, the Jinshanling Great Wall remains uncrowded. Compared to the throngs of Badaling, it's a true photographer's paradise. Furthermore, it's much closer to Chengde than Beijing, which is why I was drawn to it.
I had originally planned to join a one-day tour departing from Chengde. The meeting point was conveniently located near our hotel, but unfortunately, we had to have at least 20 people to form a tour. Then we decided to drive. We saw a car rental at Chengde Railway Station, and Brother Zhao had already reserved a car online. Everything was ready, but the east wind didn't pick up, and a heavy rain warning arrived. On July 2nd, Hebei province experienced a devastating downpour, and Chengde wasn't spared. A local driver later recalled how the sky suddenly darkened, the rain poured down, and the water rose to the point where it was practically navigable. It was a scene we'd never seen before, and it still left us with a lingering fear. Who would have thought that less than ten days later, the same thing would happen again? Perhaps having learned from the previous experience, the Chengde municipal government took the impending downpour very seriously, issuing warnings and alerts through various channels to highlight the potential risks. We had originally planned to visit Jinshanling on July 11th and two of the Outer Eight Temples on July 12th, but the forecast indicated a high probability of heavy rain on July 12th. If we had to skip Puning Temple and Putuo Zongcheng Temple, wouldn't my four-day pass have been wasted? Jinshanling's tickets and car rentals are both refundable, so after careful consideration, I made the hard decision to forgo Jinshanling and opt for the two temples. I moved my July 12th trip to the 11th, and left Jinshanling to chance.
After completing the multiple-choice questions, I gave it no further thought and headed for Puning Temple.
Introduction: Puning Temple, one of the Eight Outer Temples of the Mountain Resort, blends Han and Tibetan architecture, and integrates imperial and Buddhist traditions. The Mahayana Pavilion houses the world's largest gilded wooden sculpture of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Details: Puning Temple was first built in 1755, the 20th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign during the Qing Dynasty. That year, Qing troops quelled the Dzungar rebellion. In October of that year, four Mongolian tribes came to the Mountain Resort to pay homage to Emperor Qianlong. To commemorate this meeting, Emperor Qianlong built this lamasery, modeled after the Duolun Huizong Temple established by Emperor Kangxi during his alliance with Mongolia, and modeled after the Tibetan Samaya Temple.
Puning Temple symbolizes the wish that all ethnic groups throughout China "live in peace, work happily, and enjoy eternal peace." Emperor Qianlong personally wrote the inscriptions on the "Puning Temple Stele," "The Stele of the Pacification of the Dzungars and the Inscription of Ili," and "The Stele of the Pacification of the Dzungars and the Inscription of Ili." All three inscriptions are written in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan. These three massive stone tablets stand in the stele pavilion at Puning Temple. Because the Qing government respected the beliefs of all ethnic minorities and prioritized ethnic unity, Puning Temple became a symbol of national unity and a link between the Qing government and ethnic minorities.
The entire temple is magnificent, covering an area of approximately 23,000 square meters. Its rigorous layout divides the main hall into two sections, the front and the back, with the main hall as the dividing line. The front section features the traditional seven-hall layout of Han Chinese temples (a galan, or temple, typically centers around the Mountain Gate Hall, the Heavenly King Hall, and the main hall, with a bell tower, drum tower, and east and west side halls symmetrically built). The back section, a Tibetan-style mandala, is modeled after the Sangyuan Monastery in Tibet, blending the two distinct architectural styles.
The Mahayana Pavilion is the central building of Puning Temple, with four colorful lama pagodas at its corners. The Mahayana Pavilion stands 36.75 meters tall, with a six-story, double-eaved facade supported by 24 large wooden pillars. Connected by beams, supported by brackets and constructed with wooden mortise and tenon joints, it is both sturdy and earthquake-resistant. Atop a majestic gilded dome, the pavilion's five spires form a three-dimensional mandala. This unique form of Tibetan Buddhist architecture is a masterpiece of Chinese temple architecture, earning it the nickname "the center of the Mandala Buddhist world."
The Mahayana Pavilion houses a standing statue of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva, standing 27.21 meters tall. Carved in three layers from 125 cubic meters of five types of hard, antiseptic wood—pine, cypress, fir, elm, and basswood—it weighs approximately 110 tons, with the head alone weighing 5.4 tons. This Thousand-Armed Guanyin is currently the world's largest gold-lacquered wooden Buddha statue, a Guinness World Record entry. The statue, exquisitely crafted with a solemn appearance, flowing patterns, and vibrant colors, represents the pinnacle of Buddhist sculpture during the Qing Dynasty and is a rare treasure among large-scale Buddhist sculptures in my country. Even more remarkable is the 1.53-meter-tall statue of the Buddha of Infinite Light seated atop the statue's crown. It is said that Guanyin Bodhisattva placed the Buddha of Infinite Light on her head as a token of respect and gratitude for her mentor. The Guanyin statue has a kind and peaceful face, with three eyes full of compassion. These three eyes represent the ability to see the past, understand the present, and foresee the future. Its arms radiate outwards, arranged symmetrically, creating a sense of stability and balance. The statue has 42 arms, and aside from the two palms clasped together, the remaining 40 hold instruments of Dharma, each bearing a Dharma eye. According to Buddhism, each hand and eye governs 25 kinds of karma. 40 times 25 equals 1000, hence the name "Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva." Photography is not allowed inside the Mahayana Pavilion, so I can only find a picture online to appreciate it: 
There is a rockery behind the Mahayana Pavilion. Climbing up the rockery, you can have a close look at the five spires:
At noon, we moved to another of the Eight Outer Temples, the Putuo Zongcheng Temple. The Putuo Zongcheng Temple, a Buddhist temple commissioned by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty to celebrate his 60th birthday and the 80th birthday of Empress Dowager Chongqing, covers an area of 220,000 square meters and is the largest of the Eight Outer Temples in Chengde. Completed in 1771, the 36th year of the Qianlong reign, the temple is modeled after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, and is therefore commonly known as the "Little Potala Palace." "Putuo Zongcheng" (a loanword) and "Potala" (a transliteration) share the same origin, meaning "Sacred Land of Guanyin." A representative architectural masterpiece from the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, the Putuo Zongcheng Temple served as a venue for major religious ceremonies and political activities for the Qing government. It exemplifies the successful fusion and reinvention of Han and Tibetan architecture, and is a cultural relic of the Qing dynasty's heyday, possessing national, historical, artistic, scientific, and social significance. The Putuo Zongcheng Temple witnessed significant events, including the return of the Torghut tribe. It embodies the strong centripetal force and cohesion of the Chinese nation during the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns of prosperity, as well as the shared aspiration of all ethnic groups across China to create a prosperous and peaceful China. The following are the main buildings of the Putuo Zongcheng Temple: The mountain gate, facing south, combines Qing and Tibetan styles. Atop a white platform with three Tibetan arches, a Qing-style tower towers. The platform is a brick and stone structure with three arches in the front, each with a blind window. The platform is surrounded by pheasant-shaped panels, and in the center stands a Qing-style tower tower. It is five bays wide and two bays deep, with a single-eaved hip roof, yellow glazed tiles with green trim, front and back corridors with sill windows, and solid walls on both sides. The tower enshrines guardian deities, and a pair of stone lions stand in front of the mountain gate.
Stele Pavilion
The first building on the central axis after entering the mountain gate. A brick arch structure, square in plan, with three bays and a double-eaved hip roof covered in yellow glazed tiles. Solid walls, painted red on the exterior, feature arched doors on all four sides. A white marble pedestal is situated on a base with steps leading out on all four sides. Golden wheels are placed on either side of the arched door on the front of the pavilion. There are three stone tablets in the pavilion: the central one is the "Inscription on the Putuo Zongcheng Temple" written by Emperor Qianlong in the 36th year of his reign, with dragon-patterned edges, which records that the Putuo Zongcheng Temple was built to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Holy Mother Empress Dowager. The temple structure imitated the Tibetan version rather than the Putuo Temple in the South China Sea. A poem by Emperor Qianlong is attached to the text; the eastern one is the "Record of the Complete Surrender of the Torghut People", and the western one is the "Record of the Favorable Treatment of the Torghut People", which records the return of the Torghut tribe to China and the Qing court's relief to the tribe. The inscription is engraved in four languages: Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan. The Chinese version is written by Emperor Qianlong.
Five-Pagoda Gate
Over 10 meters high, the Five-Pagoda Gate stands on a white platform in Tibetan style, with three archways. Above the central archway is an inscription by Emperor Qianlong, "Guangyuan Miaojue." Seventeen trapezoidal red blind windows are set on three tiers of white walls. Atop the white platform stand five Lamaist pagodas, painted red, green, yellow, white, and black from west to east. They are constructed with colored glazed bricks. A pair of stone elephants stand in front of the gates. The Five Pagoda Gate is a form of Tibetan Buddhist pagoda, with the five colors representing the five major Buddhist sects: the Red Sect (Nyingma), the Flower Sect (Sakya), the Yellow Sect (Gelug), the White Sect (Kagyu), and the Black Sect (Benpo). The Yellow Sect was the state religion during the Qing Dynasty, hence its central location.
Glass Archway
Behind the Five Pagoda Gate is a Qing-style three-bay, four-pillar, seven-story, three-vaulted archway decorated with red, yellow, and green glazed glaze. The three-arched gate is bordered with white marble. The archway comprises seven stories: a main building, a secondary building, two mezzanines, and two side buildings, all clad in yellow glazed tiles. The main building and secondary building feature hip-and-gable roofs, the second mezzanine features mezzanines, and the two side buildings feature hip-and-gable roofs on the outside and mezzanines on the inside. Each building is clad in green glazed tiles and features single-curved and single-raised brackets. The front of the main building bears the Qianlong Emperor's inscription, "Pu Men Ying Xian," in Chinese characters and its corresponding Manchu character. The rear of the main building reads "Lotus Realm Solemn." The secondary buildings each feature a yellow glazed design of a pair of dragons playing with a pearl. A platform stands in front of the archway, surrounded by parapets. Steps run along the center and to the sides, and a pair of stone elephants adorns the platform.
Dahongtai
The Dahongtai in the northern part of the courtyard is the main building of Putuo Zongcheng Temple. It is located at the end and the highest position of the Putuo Zongcheng Temple, covering an area of 10,300 square meters. Due to the clever use of the terrain to connect several groups of buildings into a whole, it appears more massive visually. The Dahong Terrace sits atop the Dabai Terrace, creating a striking contrast in color. The Dabai Terrace is approximately 150 meters wide and 18 meters high, covering an area of approximately 10,000 square meters and holding over 180,000 cubic meters. It is solid, constructed with granite slabs at the bottom and brickwork above, finished with white plaster. The exterior features three to five layers of Tibetan-style trapezoidal blind windows finished in red plaster, with the main facade boasting three layers. Stone steps ascend from the east and west sides of the Dabai Terrace to the first level: the Dabai Terrace's summit, where four large cast iron water vats and four large stone carved flagpole stands are located. The grand roof of the Dabai Terrace offers a wide view. Six vertical glazed Buddhist niches are embedded in the center of the south face of the Dahong Terrace. Each niche is adorned with yellow and green glazed curtains and contains glazed Buddha statues. This Han-style technique serves both as a marking axis and as a decorative feature. The upper six floors of the Dahong Terrace feature true and false Tibetan-style trapezoidal windows, while the lowest floor features Han-style horizontal rectangular windows. A parapet is built on the top of the terrace, and yellow glazed Buddhist niches are embedded on three sides (east, west, and south) below the terrace, each containing a glazed Buddha statue. Treasure vases are placed at the corners of the parapet, topped with iron flags. Inside the terrace, floors five through seven are three-story attics, each with 44 rooms. Enclosed on all four sides, they are also known as a cluster of buildings. The Dahong Terrace is situated on the mountainside, meticulously designed to create several unequally sized sides. To the east of White Terrace lies the Tibetan-style Manjusri Hall, and to the west stands the Thousand Buddha Pavilion, decorated with Han-style glazed hanging flowers. Circumnavigating the Great Red Terrace and ascending the steps, one reaches the second level, East Red Terrace. Surrounding it are a cluster of two-story buildings, centered around the two-story tiled Imperial Throne Building.
Ascending the two-story steps leads to the third level, the Wanfa Guiyi Hall, the central building of Putuo Zongcheng Temple. On this plane, a cluster of three-story buildings surrounds the Hall of the Return of All Laws to One. The second story of these buildings reaches the Luojia Shengjing Hall to the north of the East Red Terrace and the Quanheng Sanjie Pavilion, a double-eaved, octagonal pavilion with a gilded tile roof, in the northeast corner. Atop the buildings, in the northwest corner, stands the Cihang Pudu Pavilion, a double-eaved, hexagonal pavilion with a gilded tile roof. These halls and pavilions, each of varying forms and varying heights, are roofed with copper tiles adorned with gilded fish scales. They complement the Red Terrace and the White Terrace, creating a majestic and imposing spatial outline against the backdrop of the mountains. The Hall of the Return of All Dharmas is the temple's main hall, situated in the center of the Grand Red Terrace. It is a square hall with seven bays, half-retracted at the corners. It features a double-eaved, pointed roof with wavy gilded tiles on each ridge and a Tibetan-style bell-shaped dome. The roof is covered in gilded fish-scale copper tiles, clad in over 14,000 taels of first-grade gold leaf, earning it the name "Ten Thousand Gold Roof." This hall served as a place of worship for Qing emperors and leaders of various ethnic minorities. Facing the entrance is a copper-enamel Bodhi Pagoda. A central rosewood niche enshrines Maitreya Buddha. Flanking the pagoda are rosewood longevity pagodas. The altar table in front of the pagoda displays five offerings, eight treasures, and coral trees, all original to the hall. A screen to the north once held a massive, 10-meter-high and 3-meter-wide embroidered Buddhist image, stolen by warlords during the Republican era. A statue of Sakyamuni originally stood before the screen, followed by a statue of Tsongkhapa. Statue of the Dalai Lama and Tsongkhapa flanked the main hall, all constructed of copper. The current bronze statues of Amitabha Buddha in front of the screen, along with the Eight Great Bodhisattvas and Tsongkhapa, were moved from the complex and are not original to the hall. Each statue weighs approximately half a ton. The north-facing horizontal plaques read "Pure Nature Transcends" and "Wonderful Virtue Completes." The south-facing plaque reads "Universal Response to All Causes."
Climb to the highest point and see all the little creatures:
Borrowing the standard group photo from Baidu, “Xiaobu” is indeed worthy of its name:
A heavy rain in the afternoon trapped us in the Little Potala Palace. The washing of rain makes the golden dome sparkle and shine:
Perhaps inspired by the pure land of Buddhism, we were in no hurry to continue our journey, simply wandering the buildings surrounding the Wanfa Guiyi Hall. Looking up, we spotted a wooden Thousand Buddha Pagoda amidst the buildings. The reflected light blended seamlessly with the interior wellhead ceiling, the red-lacquered columns outside, and the gilded fish-scale tile roof across the way, creating a dreamlike illusion.
After the rain subsided and there was still time, we headed to the last attraction on our combined ticket: Qingchui Peak.
I had already seen Qingchui Peak from afar yesterday while climbing the Mountain Resort. Today, I saw it again from the rooftop of the Wanfa Guiyi Hall complex. It's hard not to notice this iconic giant hammer.
Qingchui Peak National Forest Park surrounds Chengde City, blending seamlessly with the world-renowned Mountain Resort and the Outer Eight Temples. Spanning a total area of 159,000 mu (approximately 16,000 acres), the park boasts a unique natural landscape, renowned for its Danxia landforms, showcasing thousands of dramatic rocks and towering peaks. In the scenic area, there is a tall and steep stone pillar that stands tall and reaches the sky. The stone pillar is 59.42 meters high, thick at the top and thin at the bottom, shaped like a laundry stick. Therefore, Emperor Kangxi named it "Qingchui Peak", commonly known as "Bangchui Mountain". The Qingchui Peak Cableway is currently China's longest chairlift, stretching 1,620 meters. The small white dots in the image below represent the chairlifts, though the image only shows half the distance. The entire journey takes about 20 minutes, and along the way, you can admire the Little Potala Palace in the distance and the Pule Temple up close.
Like in front of the big stick, hold hands, and say goodbye.
Day 4: Visit the Mountain Resort again
It rained right away! The weather forecast was spot on. It's cooler now, finally getting out of the heat.
Since I missed the Jinshanling Great Wall, I decided to use up my four-day ticket and visit the Mountain Resort again to pick up some more items. The hanging screens on display are a real highlight, with their exquisite craftsmanship in kesi, enamel, and jadeite.
Let's appreciate the aesthetics of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong:
For lunch, I ordered almond tofu. It was as juicy and tender as a peach, so adorable. When I cracked open the shell, the almond tofu inside was like jelly, smooth and melt-in-your-mouth. The background of the picture below is a thermos of pear soup:
Qianlong cabbage is a signature dish of almost every restaurant in Chengde. It is served cold with peanut butter and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is refreshing and appetizing:
Another set of mahjong tiles made of pea yellow. This time, it’s a tie:
Dinner: donkey meat BBQ and donkey meat soup, delicious and affordable:
Day 5 Chengde - Beijing - Dinner at Four Seasons Minfu Roast Duck Restaurant
On the high-speed train from Chengde to Beijing, I felt so weak and tired that I immediately fell asleep at the hotel to recover.
We booked the Jingshan Hotel, which is located next to Jingshan Park, which is across from Shenwu Gate, the exit of the Forbidden City. You can imagine how prime the Jingshan Hotel's location is. However, precisely because of its prime location, hailing a taxi was incredibly difficult. I almost missed the high-speed train back to Shanghai. Even shared bikes were hard to find, often requiring a long journey through the nearby alleys.
After waking up, I regained some energy and thought about going out to find food. Remembering the bao du (bao du) I had last time in Beijing (actually, during National Day in 2020), I'm itching to try it again. Brother Zhao looked up the nearest bao du (bao du) place near our hotel, but couldn't get a taxi or a shared bike, so we had to take the bus. I don't know if it's because I haven't fully recovered yet, or because they've switched branches, but the bao du (bao du) just didn't taste as good this time. So, I pinned my hopes on dinner at Siji Minfu that evening. Having learned the lesson of waiting in line for three hours during my last National Day trip to Beijing, I opted for the popular Forbidden City branch, nestled against the backdrop of the Forbidden City's Donghua Gate. We arrived at 3:30 PM to check things out, but by the time we got our number, there were already more than a dozen tables waiting in line ahead of me! I also had an appointment to visit the National Art Museum of China that day, and last entry was at 4 PM! A timely downpour of rain saved me from skipping the museum and waiting for a table at Siji Minfu.
The Forbidden City branch's location is truly unique, directly across from the Donghuamen moat. The Forbidden City walls and gatehouse serve as its backdrop, resulting in a constant stream of people checking in. Even at 3 or 4 p.m., the restaurant is packed. I don't know if it's the lunch crowd turning it into afternoon tea, or if the evening crowd arrives early for breakfast or dinner, but regardless of the time, it's always packed.
Even though there were only a dozen tables ahead of us, we still had to wait for over an hour. While waiting, I wandered up to the second floor, hoping to snap a few photos with the Forbidden City in the background. However, the view from the second floor was blocked by a protruding building next to it, so I couldn't quite satisfy my desire to show off. On the first floor, however, there were a few tables set up in the riverside patio. Since it had just rained, the tables and chairs were wet, and since there were no customers, I took the opportunity to snap a photo.
Maybe the time interval between dinner and lunch was too close, and my stomach was not fully recovered. Anyway, this meal did not have the amazing feeling of the first time I ate Siji Minfu. It seems that people are really the kind of creatures who get bored with the same thing and love the new.
Day 6: Zhihua Temple – Summer Palace – Old Summer Palace
This was a very strenuous day, and both of the two imperial gardens are great places for hiking.
This morning, I first visited Zhihua Temple, which unexpectedly became an unexpected highlight of my trip. Zhihua Temple is a little-known attraction I stumbled upon online. Tickets require reservations, but it was rarely visited, so there was no rush. It's an ancient building worth discussing. Built during the Zhengtong reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhihua Temple has weathered over 560 years of vicissitudes. Originally built as the ancestral temple of Wang Zhen, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies, Emperor Yingzong bestowed the name "Bao'en Zhihua Zen Temple." Following the Tumu Incident, Wang Zhen's family was confiscated and his clan exterminated, but the temple, built by imperial decree, was preserved. In 1742, Wang Zhen's statue was destroyed by imperial decree, and the inscription praising his achievements was also obliterated. The temple's prosperity declined, and by the Guangxu reign, its buildings were in dilapidated condition. After the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing in 1900, they destroyed the walls and sealed off the Buddhist halls, further deteriorating the temple's architecture. The once majestic Buddha statues were now covered in a thick layer of dust, and the towering ancient cypresses were felled. During the Republic of China period, the temple even had to rely on renting out its own properties to sustain itself.
Thankfully, despite its tragic fate, Zhihua Temple's four halls have been completely preserved, making it the largest Ming Dynasty wooden structure complex in Beijing. It is also a Zen sanctuary integrating statues, Buddhist scriptures, murals, music, and other Buddhist art forms. In 1961, it was listed by the State Council as one of the first batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.
Today, Zhihua Temple is tucked away in an unremarkable alley in Beijing, facing south and displaying Ming Dynasty architectural features. Despite numerous renovations, its architectural style still retains distinct features of the transition from the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, making it a valuable example for the study of Ming Dynasty architecture. The temple originally contained hundreds of rooms, covering over two hectares. It originally consisted of five courtyards in the central corridor, a rear temple in the east wing, and an abbot's courtyard in the west wing. The central section still retains the mountain gate, bell and drum tower, Zhihua Gate, Zhihua Hall, its east and west side halls (Dazhi Hall and Zang Hall), Tathagata Hall, Wanfo Pavilion, and Dabei Hall. Atop the mountain gate is a white marble plaque reading "敕委志化寺." "敕委志化寺" (imperial title) means the temple was bestowed by the emperor, and "智化" (wisdom) signifies the Buddha's wisdom that liberates all living beings. The main buildings within the temple are paved with black glazed tiles. At the time, black glazed tiles were primarily used in imperial temples and imperially commissioned temples, and only official kilns were permitted to produce them. The black glazed tile roofs perfectly evoke the temple's name, "智华," meaning the wind subdues demons, while the wisdom liberates all living beings. The Zhihua Hall, located north of Zhihua Gate, is the temple's main hall. It features a black glazed tiled hip roof, a well-shaped ceiling, and is three bays wide. It is supported by five-step brackets. A porch with a gray-tiled hip roof and curved eaves stands behind the hall. The main hall's ceiling originally featured a magnificent eight-bay caisson ceiling, but in the 1930s, it was stolen along with the caisson from the Ten Thousand Buddha Pavilion and sold to the United States by monks. A white marble Sumeru pedestal once sat in the center of the hall, housing Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, and Medicine Buddha. Seated statues of the Eighteen Arhats, all made of wood and lacquered with gold, now no longer exist. In 1972, the Three Buddhas were moved to Dajue Temple in Xishan, where they are now on display in the Main Hall. A plaque inscribed with the words "Nowhere to Go or Come" is hung in the hall, written by Emperor Qianlong. Upon closer examination, this might be a historical coincidence, Emperor Qianlong's inspiration, or perhaps the boundless nature of Buddhism, a truly evocative experience. The Tathagata Hall, located behind the Zhihua Hall, is the largest building on the central axis. It houses a statue of the Tathagata Buddha, flanked by statues of Indra and Brahma. Tall, exquisite L-shaped scripture cabinets flank the hall, creating a striking contrast with the serene ceiling overhead.
It is worth mentioning that the two statues of the attendants beside the Tathagata Buddha are very outstanding. The patterns on their bodies are gorgeous in composition and cleverly designed. They are painted with gold and gold exactly to imitate the texture and pattern of the fabric. The level of detail is breathtaking. Some of the patterns also use the method of making them with powder and gold, which makes the patterns look more three-dimensional and highlights the royal style.
Although Zhihua Temple is small, it has three rare treasures: Zhuanlunzang, Caijing and Beijing Music. The first two treasures are hidden in the Tibetan Hall.
The Tibetan Hall is the west side hall of Zhihua Hall. There is a Ming Dynasty wheel collection. It has rigorous architectural structure, exquisite carving art and profound Buddhist connotations. It is extremely rare. The Zhuanlunzang is a rotating cabinet used to store Buddhist scriptures. In Buddhism, it means the wheel of Dharma is always rotating. In Beijing, there are only three sets of wheel trophies left, which are hidden in Yonghegong, Summer Palace and Zhihua Temple. Among them, the Zhuanlunzang in Zhihua Temple is the oldest and dates back to the Ming Dynasty, while the Zhuanlunzang in Yonghe Palace and Summer Palace were both made in the Qing Dynasty.
The wheel storage room in the Tibetan Hall is about 4 meters high and octagonal in shape. There are 9 rows and 5 columns of drawers on each side of the sutra cabinet, standing in the center of the Tibetan Hall. The surface of the eight round corner pillars hidden in the wheel is engraved with the six-character mantra of Guanyin and the pattern of eight treasures from top to bottom. The drawer frame is engraved with Sanskrit mantras and lotus flowers. The red lacquer surface is decorated with intaglio gold tracing techniques, which is extremely delicate. The most special thing is that each drawer of the wheel collection is engraved with text for retrieval. In ancient China, a thousand different Chinese characters from "Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang" to "Yanzai Huye" formed a thousand-character script. Ancient scriptures were mostly searched in a thousand-character script. The Zhuanlunzang of Zhihua Temple starts from the word "天" in the upper right corner of the east side and ends with the word "dong" in the lower left corner of the northeast side. It has a total of 639 characters and can store 639 scriptures. It is said that the Chakravartin is used to store the Tripitaka.
The Garuda, the Dragon Girl, and the Whale carved on the top of the wheel zodiac, as well as the boy's mount, the lion king, and the elephant king on the corner pillars, together form the six holding objects. They are the most common Tibetan Buddhist art images and serve as the backlight for all the reliefs of Sakyamuni on the drawers of each sutra cabinet. In addition to the Dharma decoration of the six holding tools, the Chakravartin also adds Vajras and Bodhisattvas. This wheel collection combines exquisite craftsmanship such as carving and painting, and can be called an artistic treasure of Ming Dynasty architecture.
What’s even more amazing is that there is a Vairocana Buddha statue hidden on the top of Chakravartin, which can only be seen from a specific angle, so don’t miss it. Although the Buddha statue is hidden deep and the whole body cannot be seen, it is vaguely visible that the Buddha has a tall bun, broad shoulders and a broad face, and has the "wisdom fist seal", which has the artistic characteristics of the Yongxuan palace statues of the Ming Dynasty.
From the complete picture, you can see the Buddha sitting on a Chinese-style lotus platform. The multi-layered lotus petals on his lotus sumeru throne are huge and full, and the carvings and paintings are gorgeous and exquisite.
The caisson above the Buddha statue is another unique feature, with exquisite workmanship and meticulous attention to detail. The caisson is cylindrical in shape with a rounded bottom. Its structure slopes upward from the left and right beams. Buddha statues are painted all over the inclined plate. There is a layer of cirrus clouds and lotus petals on the top. There is a circle of circular plates above it like the well mouth. The corners of the plate are also carved with cirrus clouds. There are five layers of small brackets on it. There is a circular plate in the center with a seven-character mantra written on it. The curly grass and lotus petals are decorated with three colors of vermilion, blue and green inside, and are decorated with gold threads. The contrast is strong, the coordination is harmonious, and the craftsmanship is excellent.
Let’s find a complete picture to enjoy:
Zhihua Temple originally had three caissons, which were inlaid on the tops of the three groups of buildings: Zangdian, Zhihuadian, and Wanfo Pavilion. Now only the piece in the Tibetan Hall remains, the one in the original Zhihua Hall is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the one in the original Pavilion of Ten Thousand Buddhas is in the Nelson Museum in the United States. We can only rely on viewing pictures to feel the vivid and magnificent shape of the two-sided Douba caisson from a distance.
Beijing music is another treasure of Zhihua Temple. It is the only type of ancient music in my country that has been passed down from generation to generation and is well preserved to this day. Since the 11th year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1446), it was introduced from the palace to Zhihua Temple. It has been passed down in Zhihua Temple for more than 560 years without interruption, and is now passed down to the 27th generation of descendants. < p > The musical notation of Zhihua Temple is based on the ancient Chinese Gongchi notation, which is precious and mysterious. The tunes of Zhihua Temple Beijing Music are simple and elegant, and still retain the legacy of the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is known as the "living fossil of ancient Chinese music" and was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists in 2006. < p >
Listening to ancient music in an ancient temple is a blessing:
Next, let’s talk about the famous Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is a royal garden during the Qing Dynasty in China. It was formerly known as Qingyi Garden. It is located in the western suburbs of Beijing. It covers an area of 3.009 square kilometers, with water accounting for about three-quarters, and is adjacent to the Old Summer Palace. It is a large-scale landscape garden built on the basis of Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain, based on the West Lake in Hangzhou, and drawing on the design techniques of Jiangnan gardens. It is also the most complete preserved royal palace garden and is known as the "Royal Garden Museum". The Summer Palace, Chengde Summer Resort, Humble Administrator's Garden and Liuyuan Garden are known as China's four famous gardens. In November 1998, they were included in the World Heritage List.
The Summer Palace has mountains and waters, and walking around consumes a lot of energy. We are going from the mountains behind Wanshou Mountain (there are many mountains). We cannot go directly to Foxiang Pavilion from the Sea of Wisdom at the top of the mountain. We need to go down the mountain first and then go up the mountain from the Paiyunmen entrance at the foot of the mountain.
Wanshou Mountain belongs to the remaining veins of Yanshan Mountain, 58.59 meters high. The main building complex is built against the mountain. On the front mountain of Wanshou Mountain, with Foxiang Pavilion as the center, it forms a huge main building complex. From the "Yunhui Yuyu" archway at the foot of the mountain, through Paiyun Gate, Ergong Gate, Paiyun Hall, Dehui Hall, Foxiang Pavilion, to the Sea of Wisdom at the top of the mountain, a rising central axis is formed. There are Tibetan Buddhist buildings and colorful glazed multi-treasure pagodas and other pavilions on the back mountain. The central building complex in the middle includes the "Paiyun Hall" where emperors and empresses held ceremonial meetings and the "Foxiang Pavilion" of the Buddhist temple. Echoing the longitudinal axis of the central building complex is the "long corridor" that meanders east and west across the foothills and along the north bank of the lake.
Wisdom Sea is the religious building at the highest point of Wanshou Mountain. It is a beamless Buddhist temple made entirely of bricks and stones, and is composed of an arch structure. The outer layer of the building is entirely decorated with exquisite yellow and green glazed tiles, and the upper part is capped with a small amount of purple and blue glazed tiles. The more than a thousand glazed Buddhas embedded in the outer walls of the hall are even more distinctive. Although the building looks very much like a wooden structure, it actually does not have a single piece of wood. It is all made of stone bricks and has no load-bearing purlins, so it is called the "Beamless Hall". And because the Buddha Immeasurable Life is enshrined in the hall, it is also called the "Infinite Life Hall". The term "Sea of Wisdom" is a Buddhist term, and its original meaning is to praise the Buddha's wisdom as the sea and the boundless Dharma. Due to the epidemic, tourists are not allowed to enter the Wisdom Sea, so they can only admire the appearance.
Foxiang Pavilion is located on the mountainside in the center of the front mountain of Wanshou Mountain. It is built on a square platform with a height of 21 meters. It is a building with eight sides, three floors and four eaves. The pavilion is 41 meters high. There are 8 huge iron pear wood Optimus Pillars in the pavilion. The structure is complex and it is a masterpiece of classical architecture. After the original pavilion was burned down by the British and French forces in the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860), 780,000 taels of silver were spent on rebuilding it in the 17th year of Guangxu (1891). It was completed in the 20th year of Guangxu (1894) and was the largest project in the Summer Palace. The "Jie Yin Buddha" is enshrined in the pavilion for the royal family to burn incense here. The steps up to the Buddhist Incense Pavilion were high and steep. As I climbed up, I was wondering how Lafayette got up to the Buddhist Incense Pavilion. Then I thought about it, Lafayette had someone to carry her up, so there was no need for her to do it herself. She was just suffering for those who carried her.
The Paiyun Hall is the center of the building in front of Wanshou Mountain. It was originally the Dabaoen Yanshou Temple built by Qianlong for his mother's 60th birthday. When Cixi was rebuilt, it was changed to the Paiyun Hall. It was the place where Cixi lived in the garden and received worship on her birthday. The word "Pai Yun" is taken from Guo Pu's poem "The gods are arranging clouds, only to see gold and silver platforms." It is a metaphor that the gods are about to appear in the fairy mountain and palace surrounded by clouds and mist. The Paiyun Hall is the most spectacular building group in the Summer Palace.
The promenade is located at the southern foot of Wanshou Mountain, facing Kunming Lake and adjacent to Wanshou Mountain in the north. It starts from Yaoyue Gate in the east and ends at Shizhang Pavilion in the west. It is 728 meters long and has a total of 273 rooms. It is the longest corridor in Chinese gardens. In 1992, it was recognized as the longest corridor in the world and included in the "Guinness World Records". Each beam in the corridor is painted, with more than 14,000 paintings in total, including landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects, character allusions, etc. The characters in the paintings are all based on Chinese classics.
Kunming Lake is the largest lake among the royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty. A long embankment in the lake, the West Embankment, meanders from the northwest to the south. The West Dike and its branches divide the lake into three waters of varying sizes, each with an island in the middle of the lake. These three islands form a tripod on the lake, symbolizing the three sacred mountains of the East China Sea in ancient Chinese legends - Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. The West Causeway and the six bridges on the causeway are consciously imitated by the Su Causeway and the "Six Bridges on the Su Causeway" in West Lake, Hangzhou. The green waves and weeping willows along the Xidi area create a vast natural scenery. The beautiful mountain shape of Yuquan Mountain a few miles outside the park and the shadow of the Yufeng Pagoda on the top of the mountain are all connected and are taken as an integral part of the garden landscape.
The Seventeen-hole Bridge is located on Kunming Lake, between the East Causeway and Nanhu Island. It is used to connect the causeway island and is the largest stone bridge in the park. The bridge is 8 meters wide, 150 meters long, and consists of 17 bridge holes. There are more than 500 stone lions of different sizes and shapes carved on the railings on both sides of the stone bridge. The ancients mastered and utilized the knowledge of astronomy and geography when building the bridge. When the sun shines at its lowest point in the afternoon around the winter solstice, the sunlight will penetrate the entire bridge hole, presenting a natural wonder of "golden light piercing the hole". This is also a genius stroke of the garden designer. There are only a few days in a year when you can see the wonders, and you have to have good weather and good luck, so let’s feast our eyes on Baidu pictures:
Looking at the Seventeen-hole Bridge from Wanshou Mountain, it seems to have an artistic conception like an ink painting:
There is also a large theater in the Summer Palace that is worth talking about. The Grand Theater is located in the Dehe Garden. Together with the Qingyin Pavilion (destroyed) in the Chengde Summer Resort and the Changyin Pavilion in the Forbidden City, they are collectively known as the three major theaters in the Qing Dynasty. The Dehe Garden Theater has the best architectural specifications and historical connotations of the three major theaters. It is the most complete and largest ancient theater in China.
"Dehe" comes from "Zuo Zhuan": "A gentleman listens to calm his heart, and his heart is calm and virtuous." It means that after a gentleman listens to beautiful music, he will be calm and achieve a noble state of morality. The Deheyuan Theater was built for Cixi's 60th birthday and was specially designed for Cixi to watch plays. The Grand Theater is 21 meters high, second only to the tallest Buddhist Incense Pavilion in the Summer Palace. The theater building has three floors, known as the Three Stages of Fortune, Luxu and Shou. The small stage on the first floor is used as an orchestra pit for band performances, and the other two stages are used for performances. There are seven "patios" on the roof, and there are "ground wells" in the floor. Actors can land through the patios or drill out of the underground wells according to the needs of the plot. There is a patio in the center of the lower ceiling that connects to the upper stage. It is cleverly equipped with winches, flaps, windlass, high-pressure water machines and other mechanisms that can go up to the sky and into the earth, with endless changes. There are water wells and five square pools in the basement of the ground floor stage, where water scenes can be set up.
The plaque on the upper floor of the grand theater is "Qingying Changchen", which means a performance on auspicious days to celebrate birthdays; the plaque on the middle floor is "Peace and Yutai", which means singing meritorious deeds through music during times of peace and prosperity; the plaque on the lower floor is "Huanlu Rongbao", which means joyful performances and glorious performances. As the rulers of the Qing Dynasty all loved Peking Opera, the art of Peking Opera entered its peak period in the late Qing Dynasty. Famous actors such as Tan Xinpei, Yang Xiaolou and Wang Yaoqing all performed here for Cixi.
After riding from the Summer Palace to the Old Summer Palace, it was almost dusk and the Old Summer Palace was still crowded. Wandering in the once prosperous garden that is now deserted and full of smoke and grass, I couldn't help but sigh: The Old Summer Palace should be an eternal pain in the hearts of the Chinese people.
The Old Summer Palace is a large royal garden of the Qing Dynasty in China. It was built in 1707 (the forty-sixth year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty). It consists of the Old Summer Palace and its affiliated gardens, Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden (later renamed Wanchun Garden). It is also called the Three Old Summer Palaces and is known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens". The Qing emperor came here every midsummer to escape the heat and listen to government affairs, so the Old Summer Palace was also called the "Summer Palace". During the Second Opium War in 1860, the Old Summer Palace was looted and burned by the British and French forces. The former site is now the Old Summer Palace Heritage Park. < p > Founded and managed by the Qing Dynasty for more than 150 years, the Old Summer Palace was famous for its large geographical scale, outstanding construction skills, exquisite architectural scenery, rich cultural collections and profound national cultural connotations. It was known as "the model of all gardening arts" and was praised by the French writer Victor Hugo as "the model of ideals and art".
The Changchun Garden Western-style Building Scenic Area is now a must-see in the Old Summer Palace Ruins Park. In order to pursue various pleasures, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty introduced an area of European-style garden architecture to the northern boundary of Changchun Garden, commonly known as the "Western Building". It consists of more than ten buildings and gardens, including the Xieqiqu, Xianfa Bridge, Thousand Flower Array, Bird Cage, Square Exterior, Haiyantang, Yuanyingguan, Dashuifa, Guanshuifa, Xianfa Mountain and Xianfa Wall. Planning began in the twelfth year of Qianlong's reign (1747) and was basically completed in the twelfth year of Qianlong's reign (1759). It was designed and guided by Western missionaries such as Lang Shining, Jiang Youren, and Wang Zhicheng, and was built by Chinese craftsmen. The architectural form is in the late European Renaissance "Baroque" style, and the gardening form is in the "Le Notre" style. However, many traditional Chinese techniques are also absorbed in gardening and architectural decoration. Most of the building materials are white marble, the stone surface is finely carved, and the roof is covered with glazed tiles. The main body of the Western-style building is actually an artificial fountain, sometimes called "Water Fa". It is characterized by its large number, great momentum, and unique conception. It mainly forms three large fountain groups: Xieququ, Haiyantang and Dashuifa.
The entire area of the Xiyanglou Scenic Area does not exceed 2% of the total area of the Three Yuanming Gardens. It is only a small part. However, it is a successful attempt to imitate European-style gardens in a large area. It occupies an important position in the history of exchanges between Eastern and Western gardens and has aroused strong repercussions in Europe. A Western European missionary who witnessed it praised the Western-style Building: It is a collection of beautiful scenery and interesting things, and has all the magnificent and strange fountains that people can imagine. The largest of them can be compared with the fountains of the Palace of Versailles and Saint-Claude Church. The missionary concluded: The Old Summer Palace is the Versailles of China.
Today, we can only imagine the complete and glorious appearance of the remaining ruins in front of us in the light and shadow of the setting sun:
Day 7 Half-day tour of the Forbidden City—Return to Shanghai
Due to my miscalculation, I bought the tickets for the Forbidden City one day late, so I had to rush to be the first group of tourists to enter the Forbidden City on the morning of the last day. This time I found that the ticket verification system of the Forbidden City has been improved. Originally, you had to go to the verification window outside the Meridian Gate to verify the health code before entering the Meridian Gate. Now the Forbidden City will automatically retrieve the health information of the ticket purchaser one day in advance, and then send a confirmation text message to the ticket purchaser. When entering, you can directly show the text message to the staff, and there is no need to queue up for verification. < p > src="https://dimg04.c-ctrip.com/images/0105y120008xve5m8BA8D_R_800_10000_Q90.jpg?proc=autoorient" />
The Hall of Supreme Harmony, also known as the Jinluan Hall among ordinary people, is the highest-level building among the existing ancient Chinese buildings. The Qing Dynasty had very strict regulations on palace construction, and no rules were allowed to be exceeded. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is a symbol of the country and the imperial power, so the highest level of engineering practices were used in its construction. The most obvious features are the chi kisses on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the ridged beasts on the corners of the eaves.
Chi kiss (pronounced chī wěn, also known as "chi kiss"), is a kind of decoration at both ends of the main ridge of the roof of ancient Chinese buildings. Legend has it that Chiki is the ninth son of the dragon. This dragon son is good at looking around in dangerous places and also likes to swallow fire. It is said that it has the head of a dragon and the body of a fish, has a wide mouth, is fond of swallowing, and has the magical power to make rain and extinguish fire, so it is used as a suppressant to ward off evil spirits and avoid fire. The Chi Kiss in the Hall of Supreme Harmony is 3.4 meters high, 2.68 meters wide, 0.32 meters thick, and weighs about 4.3 tons. It is composed of 13 glazed components. It is the largest pair of Chi Kiss among the existing ancient buildings in my country. The two Chi kisses each bite the two ends of the main spine, facing each other from a distance, which is very majestic.
Because the construction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony exceeded the specifications of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, the number of ridge beasts on the roof also increased, making it the only isolated example in ancient Chinese architecture. The number of horned ridge beasts represents the level of the building. The highest-level building is decorated with nine ridge beasts, while the Hall of Supreme Harmony is decorated with ten, with one more Xingshi. This is a special case, the only special case. This is unique in the history of Chinese palace architecture. Only the Jinluan Hall (Taihe Hall) can complete all ten of them, showing its supreme importance. < p > The last mythical beast is Xingshi. Although it is human, it has the face of a monkey, with two terrifying fangs exposed outwards, and a pair of wings on its back. The shape is very strange. There are also different opinions among the people about the prototype of this mythical beast. Some people think that Xingshi is very similar to Lei Zhenzi and is one of the gods in charge of the Ministry of Thunder. Building such a prototype on the roof will help protect ancient buildings from lightning; others say that Xingshi is the six-eared macaque mentioned in Buddhism. It is good at ascertaining the truth and everything is clear, which is in line with the political function of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The mythical beasts on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony have come to take their seats:
The Forbidden City is really a place of inexhaustible treasures. Every time you go, you will have new perspectives and new discoveries. The beginning of "The Forbidden City":
Actually, the main purpose this time is the Watch and Clock Museum and the Treasures Museum. I have never been to these two museums before, but now I know that the two museums are full of treasures.
Let’s take a look at the jewelry in the Treasure Hall and the clocks in the Clock Hall:
The royal majesty is displayed on the nine-dragon wall at the entrance of the Treasure Hall:
The Huangji Palace is also located in the Treasure Hall. It was built in the 28th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1689) and was originally named Ningshou Palace. When the Ningshou Palace was renovated from the 37th year of Qianlong's reign (1772) to the 41st year of his reign (1776), it was renamed Huangji Palace as a place where Emperor Qianlong would live and receive congratulations after returning to power. After passing on the throne and conferring treasures, the Supreme Emperor Qianlong once held the "Thousands of Old Banquet" here, entertaining elderly people over 90 years old. At that time, there were more than 5,000 ministers, elders and those who were not seated at the banquet.
The Huangji Hall has an octagonal golden dragon caisson on the top with a throne underneath. Its rank is second only to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
I also heard an anecdote about the throne in the Huangji Hall: When the Chongzheng Hall of the Forbidden City in Shenyang needed a throne to hold the throne, the Forbidden City in Beijing transferred the throne from the original Huangji Hall to Shenyang. However, the regulations of the two Forbidden City were different, so the throne could not enter the Chongzheng Hall smoothly. In desperation, the outermost screen on the two wings of the throne was removed to find a place. Therefore, although the throne in the Huangji Hall of the Forbidden City in Beijing is an imitation, it is a complete fake that is exactly the same as the original.
Collection of large stone carvings in the Forbidden City——
In front of the Gate of Taihe;
In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony;
In front of Baohe Hall;
Behind Baohe Hall, the bottom piece of the stone sculpture is the largest piece in the Forbidden City, carved with nine dragons;
In front of Huangji Palace:
This Chengde-Beijing trip also brought together three major royal theaters——
Changyin Pavilion Theater in the Forbidden City;
Dehe Garden Theater in the Summer Palace;
The Qingyin Pavilion Theater in the Summer Resort has unfortunately been destroyed, and only the restored pictures can be used to imagine the grand scene at that time.
The house numbers of China's four famous gardens are also collected:
Even the three major railway stations in Beijing were gathered together:
Beijing South Railway Station (Shanghai Hongqiao-Beijing South Railway Station)
Beijing Railway Station (Beijing Railway Station-Chengde South Railway Station)
Beijing Chaoyang Station (Chengde South Station-Beijing Chaoyang Station)
Finally, we ended the trip with tempting Old Beijing snacks: Old Beijing noodles with soy sauce, Old Beijing braised noodles, and Old Beijing pastries. We will try something else next time!
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Number of days: 2 days, Average cost: 800 yuan,
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Number of days: 2 days, Average cost: 500 yuan, Updated: 2021.11.07
