Beijing is featured in Part 1 of my 25-day Elderhostel program in China called “Tibet, Border Kingdoms, and Yangtze River Study Cruise” with stays in ten cities and three days cruising on the Yangtze River in April and May 2007.
I have published 15 articles relating to this adventure. Click on "next" to advance through the pictures rather than "article index". Please visit my home page for easy access to the articles which begin with "The Many Faces of
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Beijing-one of several statues around
Tianamen Square's Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
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Beijing-young police officers in front
of Tiananmen Square's Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
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Beijing-Tiananmen Square's Chairman
Mao Memorial Hall. Mao died in 1976.
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Beijing-Tiananmen Square's Great Hall
of the People, home of the National People's Congress
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Beijing-Tiananmen Square's entrance to
the Forbidden City is through the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
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Beijing-Chairman Mao's picture over
Tiananmen Square's entrance to the Forbidden City
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Beijing-Tiananmen Square is a popular
place to fly kites
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The Elderhostel group is ready to walk
on the Great Wall at Badaling, 45 miles from Beijing. The yellow caps will be...
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The Great Wall is not continuous but is
a collection of short walls often following the crest of hills on the...
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The first set of walls of earth and
stones in wood frames were designed to keep Mongol nomads out of China. Some...
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The Great Wall has few steps, and hand-
rails help people ascend and descend on the somewhat slippery stone walkway.
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Contary to popular belief, the Great
Wall CANNOT be seen from the moon according to NASA astronaut Alan Bean
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The Great Wall was built wide enough
for marching troops or wagons with guard stations and watch towers at regular...
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The Great Wall was made a World
Heritage Site in 1987.
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Beijing-the artist is making a cloissone
bowl at a combination factory/showroom
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Although we saw only a few artists at
work here, there were several hundred people employed elsewhere in the complex
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Cloisonne is a multi-step enamel
process for the making of jewelry, vases, and other decorative items which...
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The lady in the foreground was con-
sidered to be the "master artist" at this facility. She would...
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One U.S. dollar is worth about 7.5 Yuan
making the cost of these large vases about $400 and $500 from left to...
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Cloisonne vases are fairly easy to
transport without breakage and make great souvenirs.
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At the Qing Emperors' Summer Palace
a foo dog greets visitors. In 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its...
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The red and blue design of the building
is actually canvas covering restoration work in progress as Beijing...
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The Long Gallery is 2100 feet long and
has more than 8,000 archway paintings.
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The Summer Palace has a history of
more than 800 years with the first palace built here in 1153.
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The Summer Palace is now used by
Beijing's large population as a weekend retreat from the city's hot...
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This 12-square-mile complex has many
pavilions, temples, palaces, and halls in a hilly landscape.
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UNESCO called the Summer Palace an
"outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden...
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Kunming Lake covers 4/5ths of the park.
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Beijing's population is almost 15
million.
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Qianmen is the modern name for the
city gate south of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
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Although this picture was taken in April
lighted Christmas decorations are still evident on the building.
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Beijing from my hotel window with some
of the thousands of remaining hutongs, residences on small streets or lanes...
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The Forbidden City is the unofficial
name for the Imperial Palace which for five centuries through 24 emperors the...
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Rooflines of several buildings intersect
in the Forbidden City
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More than 800 buildings containing
9,000 rooms make up the Forbidden City.
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The complex was the symbolic and
literal heart of the capital city and of the whole empire. Inside the...
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A restoration program has been ongoing
for several decades after the fall of the Manchu dynasty in 1911 and...
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Repairs to the buildings in the For-
bidden City are being made before the 2008 Olympics.
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Forbidden City palace
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Only a building built for royalty would
have this number of figures on its roof.
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Roofs!
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Named by UNESCO as a World
Heritage Site in 1987, the complex is now one of the most popular tourist...
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Very few of the buildings were open,
and even this could be seen only through an open doorway.
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Construction began in 1407 with
completion in 1420. It has been said that a million workers were involved.
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Foo dogs whichguard this building
entrance are usually present in pairs, with the male on the right and...
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The pink caps make it easy for
this group to find stragglers as they walk through the complex for a...
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A museum in the Forbidden City
displayed jadeite bottles
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Another carved jadite piece
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Nine Dragon Wall was constructed in
the 1770's. With seawater as a background, the dragons are encircled by...
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The dragon was the symbol of the
emporer in ancient China.
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One of many school groups seen while
at Sun Yatsen Park where we had a delightful lunch
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In 1914, the site was known as Central
Park; in 1928 its name was changed to honor the man considered to be...
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Sun Yatsen Park covers 60 acres and over
1,000 years ago was the site of an important temple.
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The park, near the Forbidden City, had
an unusual mixture of poinsettias and summer flowers.
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Asia
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