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First stop: Beijing,
and this even in the first week of may, when whole China has holidays.
This surely is not perfect timing, but nevertheless another special
experience. From that time on I know how many people you can pack on a
square meter. left: Beijing in the
evening, clean air is something different, but who cares when having
such a view.
right: one part of the summer palace, a
noble park and good place to relax during hot summer days - once a
present from the emperor to his mother. |
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Although the scenic
spots were quite crowded I just stepped in trying to bring some more
patience and it was worth it. These two attractions are a must for
Beijing-visitors. left: The Hall
of Prayer within the Temple of Heaven (TianTan), here the emperor prayed
for good harvests, seek divine clearance and atone for the sins of
people. A perfect example for Ming architecture.
right: TianAnMen (Gate of heavenly
Peace) Square, which gained bitter famousness by the '89 cut down of
pro-democratic movement |
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Another trip to the
fascinating and breathtaking exotic landscape of the Chinese mountains
must not be missed also during this China-trip. That time I took the
chance to see TaiShan, the most revered of the five sacred Taoist
mountains of China.
Sunrise with view at the cloud sea - a
reason even for me to become an early bird. |
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A dragon's head as
gable-figure found on a temple-wall, sunrise and cloud sea in the
background, this single picture was already worth ascending to 1700
meters. |
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Not far from TaiShan
lies QuFu, hometown of the Kong family, and therefore also of the famous
and immense formative philosopher Confucius (Kong Zi, 551-479 B.C.).
Forbidden during the cultural revolution, his ideas of social order show
their wide impact on many Asian countries till today. Unfortunately that
the western-american standard culture is on its best way to melt even
the rest of this heritage.
The pictures show parts of the Confucius
temple, and his ancestor's residence, both located in QuFu. |
