China - 2005
Following our Short-term Seminar in the Russian Far East, six members of the group had made arrangements to spend parts of five days in Beijing. We left Vladivostok on July 26, flew to Incheon, South Korea, then on July 27, we flew to Beijing. From that point until we left a few days later, we were taken on a variety of tours in and around the Beijing area. Our guide, Mark, was excellent. We had a wonderful time with him and really enjoyed visiting the sites he had arranged for us to see. The photos below (a few of the many we took) represent the chronology of our tour.
Left: Our first view of Beijing - exiting the airport. We were transported in a 20-passenger, air-conditioned bus.
Right: Like people in many other countries, many of the Chinese people live in apartment buildings. These were rather typical of some of the older ones in Beijing.
Left: A huge apartment complex,
Right: We stayed in the hotel at the center of this photograph. It was state owned and operated. It was very comfortable and modern, and had a very good breakfast. We found the beds to be very hard, however.
Left: Our guide, Mark. He was very pleasant and spent parts four days with us. He made sure that our every need was met.
Right: A section of Beijing looking out of our hotel window.
Left: Our first lunch in Beijing. Food was brought to the Lazy Susan and spun it around to serve ourselves. We didn't develop a taste for some of the Chinese food, but most of it was very tasty.
Right: Walking toward the Temple of Heaven, we encountered these two musicians.
Left: One of the main building at the Temple of the Sun. Here the emperor would seek guidance from the God of Heaven at a certain of the year.
Right: A building in the Temple of the Sun complex.
Left: Brenda, Kay, and Kathleen at the Temple of the Sun.
Right: Brooks and Kathleen standing on the spot where the emperor reported to the God of Heaven on a certain day of the year.
Left: Entrance to the grounds of the Summer Palace - where the Royal Family spent a large portion of their time.
Right: A large lake dug with shovels in the grounds of the Summer Palace.
Left: The Marble Boat in the Summer Palace complex.
Right: We were told that there were 500,000 cars in Beijing, but it seemed that all the road were constantly jammed.
Left: The tombs of the Ming emperors are north of Beijing. This building was where the emperor met dignitaries.
Right: This building was adjacent to the main tomb. The tomb is the large, tree-covered hill behind the building. This tomb has not been excavated.
Left: Imperial tombs were generally located in three-sided valleys, with the main tomb at the end of the valley. Less important tombs were placed on the sides of the valley. If you look carefully, a tomb can be seen in the distance.
Right: The Sacred Way. This led to the tombs from Beijing.
Left: The Great Wall of China. Our tour here was one of the true highlights of our visit to Asia. Words can hardly describe the beauty and architecture of this magnificent structure.
Right. Our group on the Wall Brenda, Kay, Brooks, Kathleen, Joseph, and Chuck.
Left: Kathleen on the Wall.
Right: Kathleen exhausted climbing a very steep portion of the Wall.
Left: Four of us at the end of the reconstructed portion of the Wall. Beyond here, the Wall has not been rebuilt.
Right: The Wall is over 3,000 miles long. You can see it running for miles across the ridges of these mountains.
Left: Modern Beijing - freeways and skyscrapers.
Right: An older office block in Beijing.
Left: One night in Beijing, we attended one of the Beijing Operas. It was unusual.
Right: This is the highway adjacent to Tiananmen Square where the famous photo of a Chinese tanks is stopped by a Chinese student during the Tiananmen student uprising in 1989.
Left: Mao Tse Tung's mausoleum. It is huge.
Right: Before Chinese children are toilet trained, they wear pants open in the rear. This one is just visible.
Left: Tiananmen Square - the heart of China and Beijing.
Right: The entrance to the Forbidden City - the home of the Royal Family.
Left: The main palace in the Forbidden City. This is where the emperor would receive dignitaries.
Right: The emperor's throne.
Left: Kathleen with the north exit to the Forbidden City in the background.
Right: Kathleen and Brooks in a rickshaw. We were taken on a tour of an older part of Beijing where people lived in smaller homes around a central courtyard.
Left: While on the rickshaw tour, we visited the home of one family. This is Kathleen and the mother of the women who lived in the house.
Right: We toured an elaborate garden one morning. While there, a tea ceremony was performed for us by this young women.
Left: Part of the gardens of an estate where we had the tea ceremony.
Right: The main gate and entrance to a Lama-Buddhist Temple. Inside there are many building. One contains a 50-foot tall Buddha carved from one huge tree.
