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Beijing Hub of Tour Dispatch (北京旅游集散中心)
Took Subway Line 2 to QianMen station (前门站) and walked out of Exit C towards Beijing Hub of Tour Dispatch (北京旅游集散中心). The Tour Hub is a government-run agency, setup in Sept 2005, to coordinate local Beijing tour agencies and to stop illegal one-day tour runners in Beijing. This is similar to the concept in Shanghai with similar name '上海旅游集散中心'. There are 3 dispatch centers in Beijing in which one of them is conveniently located at the southwest edge of Tiananmen Square (see map below).
Since majority of the customers are local Chinese, prices are reasonable; at least I won't be cheated by those illegal tourist agencies. Do note that all tours are conducted in Chinese and do not expect to get luxurious food or lodgings from the price paid. The Beijing Dispatch centre (left photo below) can be easily spotted from its big banner and a colorful flower logo that formed a Chinese character 'Jing' (京) which is the Chinese abbreviation for Beijing. Booked the 'World Cultural Heritage tour A line' at RMB 160 per person (right photo below). This fare included returned transport, entrance fees to Great Wall and Ming Tomb, and even lunch!
Two tickets were issued: one was the receipt issued by the Tour Hub as a proof of purchase (photo below) while the other (bottom photo) was the admission ticket to Badaling Great Wall.
After gotten my tickets, I proceeded to the Tour Buses holding area at the side of the building. The tour bus left the centre once the seats were fully occupied. Was lucky because I only waited for about 5-mins inside the bus. It was about an-hour-plus ride to Badaling from the Dispatch centre. During the ride, the tour guide was explaining the 'Feng Shui' (Chinese Geomancy) concept of Beijing city and why some of the gates were preserved as a result. It was rather entertaining to hear but I remain skeptical about his explanation.
The tour bus stopped at Linchang Parking Lot (林场停车场) and the tour guide led the whole group to walk up to the Great Wall entrance. The walk was hilly and took about 20-mins. This is definitely one major drawback of this tour agency because I saw tour buses from other agencies could drop-off their customers in front of the entrance. Later I realized that it was free to park at Linchang Parking Lot while a parking fee would be required near the entrance.
Badaling Great Wall (八达岭长城)
Badaling Great Wall (八达岭) is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately 80-kilometers northwest of Beijing's city center. Badaling was built during the Ming Dynasty using stone and bricks. This portion of the wall is about 7.8-meters high and 5-meters wide. The portion of the wall at Badaling has undergone restoration and it was the first section of the wall to open to tourism in 1957.
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The Great Wall of China was listed as World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1987. |
Attraction Entrance
- Tickets could be bought at the counter at the entrance (left photo below). Had my ticket checked at the entrance (right photo below) and I was free to wander around. Sufficient time of 1.5 hours was given to our tour group to self-explore the great wall.
Great Wall Climb
- It can be challenging to climb the Great Wall especially to the elderly. The track could be a flight of steps (left photo below) or a steep slope (right photo below). To know how steep the track is, just compare its slanting degree with the leveled ground buildings on top left corner of the photos below.
"Those who have not climbed the Great Wall are not true Heroes" (不登长城非好汉) was once mentioned by their Chairman Mao Zedong and this famous quote has become the slogan for the Great Wall. This quote had been engraved onto a stele but the original stele was moved to the Great Wall Museum and a replica was displayed near the entrance (left photo below). It is rather sad to see the wall being vandalized by visitors (right photo below).
Direction of the enemy could easily be determined by locating where the archery holes and protection walls are (left photo below). The highest point of Badaling section is the North Watchtower No. 8 that is approximately 888-meters above sea level (right photo below).
Picturesque Sceneries
- Let the snapshots below take you through the beautiful and splendid Great Wall (photos below).
Souvenirs at Great Wall
- Souvenir hunters definitely won't be disappointed; there are several shops selling customized souvenirs such as medals and certificates, and most of them are located near the entrance. There is one souvenir stall near the North Watchtower No. 4 and besides the Sliding Car ticket counter (left photo below). Visitors could get certificates with personal photo ranging from price of RMB 10 to RMB 50 depending on the size of the photo (right photo below).
Alternatively visitors could get medals with names engraved on (left photo below). The medals cost RMB 10 while the plaques cost RMB 20 each. Here's my plaque that certified I've climbed a height of 888-meters above sea level of Great Wall on 8th May 2009 (right photo below).
Other Attractions
- From the direction signage, the 'Great Wall Museum' and 'Circle-vision Theatre' was about 300-meters from the main entrance (left photo below). As I was on guided tour, therefore I didn't have the extra time to visit these two attractions. One good photo site is this 2-meters tall rock (right photo below) engraved with the words 'Badaling' (八达岭) and was written by the famous calligrapher 'Qigong' (启功).
There is a Bear Park (熊乐园) near the entrance carpark (left photo below). Several stalls and café are also located at this entrance carpark selling from souvenirs, drinks to some roasted / barbequed foods (right photo below). As a guide, the mutton cost RMB 10 for 4 sticks and each corn cost RMB 3.
Yuluyuan (御鹿苑) Retail Outlet
The coach bus brought the tour group to this Yuluyuan, literally 'Imperial Deer Range' for lunch (left photo below). Now I had better understanding of the clause 'There is no free lunch in this world'! This is not a tourist attraction or some restaurants, but rather a retail outlet for Jade products that are processed there locally. All visitors had to listen to the briefings by the outlet staff for about 20-mins before able to proceed to the second floor for lunch.
Rice and buns were served with simple dishes of vegetables and meat (right photo below). The food provided was meant just to fill the hungry stomach, and to me the tastes of these dishes were slightly acceptable. Luckily there were some souvenir shops near the outlet entrance selling tea-eggs (茶叶蛋) to satisfy my food craving.
Ming Dynasty Tombs – Dingling (明十三陵 - 定陵)
Reached the entrance of Dingling within 10 minutes of bus ride from the retail outlet. This time visit to Dingling was entirely guided where the tour guide followed the tour group throughout the visit.
The Ming Dynasty Tombs is a complex of mausoleums consisting of 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors and their Empresses / Concubines located at Changping District (昌平区). During Ming Dynasty, this mausoleum complex was out of bound to commoners and was heavily guarded. However during the uprising of Li Zicheng in 1644, most of the ground buildings were burnt down by the rebellion army.
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The Ming Dynasty Tombs, together with mausoleums of Qing Dynasty (清东陵 / 清西陵) and Ming Xiaoling mausoleum (明孝陵) in Nanjing, were listed as UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003. |
- The mausoleum, 'Ming Xiaoling' (明孝陵), of first Ming Emperor Hongwu is located in Nanjing.
- Second Ming Emperor Jianwen could not be found after his throne was seized by the Third Ming Emperor Yongle.
- Seventh Ming Emperor Jintai ascended the throne to replace his brother Emperor Zhengtong who was captured by the Mongols. But when Emperor Zhengtong returned and ascended the throne again, Emperor Jintai was buried with the status of a Prince instead of an Emperor in another location.
Currently only Changling (长陵), Dingling (定陵), Zhaoling (昭陵) and the sacred path (神道) are open to the public. Dingling is the mausoleum of the 13th Ming Emperor Wanli (万历皇帝).
Dingling (定陵) Mausoleum layout
- The surface building layout of each mausoleum followed a typical architectural format (left photo below). The first building is the Tomb Gate (陵门). This was followed by Gate of Eminent Favor (祾恩门) and Hall of Eminent Favor (祾恩殿). During the death anniversary, the succeeding Emperor would come to this hall to pay respect. Behind this hall is the Gate on Threshold of Stars (棂星门) which symbolically marked the world of Living and Dead. Proceed further is the Five stone Sacrificial Utensils (石五供) and the Soul Tower (明楼). The actual coffin was buried underneath the Treasure Town (宝城) which was marked by a circular brick wall.
This Dingling Underground Palace (地下宫殿) consists of a Front Hall, Middle Hall, two side chambers and a Rear Hall (right photo below).
Surface Buildings
- Only the Tomb Gate (left photo below), Soul Tower (right photo below) and other stone structures in Dingling still standing.
Underground Palace (地下宫殿)
- The tour guide led us to the back of the Treasure town. After some security checks, we had to walk down a long flight of stairs to reach the actual burial chamber. The burial chamber of Dingling, commonly called Underground Palace, is 27-meters deep that is approximately the height of a typical 9-storey apartment. No elevator was available in this underground palace, therefore it is advisable for visitors who have difficulties in climbing the stairs not to visit this site.
The Diamond Gate is the main entrance of the underground palace (left photo below) and the view of one of the side chambers (right photo below).
The Rear Hall where there are replicas of the red-lacquered burial coffins of Emperor Wanli and his two Empresses (left photo below). Display of Five Sacrificial offerings and a huge 'Blue-white' vase containing wax (right photo below) along the Middle Hall. Do note that the piles of papers on the ground are not tickets, but paper RMB notes. It seems to be a practice for the local Chinese to throw paper notes or coins to auspicious objects.
Marble thrones of Emperor Wanli (万历皇帝) (left photo below) and Empress Xiaoduan (孝端皇后) (right photo below). Note the difference in design on the armrest and protruding parts between the two thrones.
A marble door arch carved to resemble the wooden door arch in the Middle Hall (left photo below) and display of a piece of marble bar (right photo below) used to block the heavy marble doors (weighing 4-tonne each) from being opened.
Gate on Threshold of Stars (棂星门)
- As mentioned earlier, the 'Gate on Threshold of Stars' marked the boundary of Living and Dead. According to the tour guide, all visitors must brush off the dust and shout 'I’m Back!' (我回来啦!) loudly in Chinese after walking out from this gate. Interestingly all visitors did what was told to avoid any associated 'bad lucks'.
Soul Tower (明楼)
- The tour guide then led us to the Soul Tower (left photo below) where a stele (right photo below) inscribed with words 'Tomb of Xian Emperor Shenzong' (神宗显皇帝之陵) was erected there.
- His family name was Zhu (朱) and his given name was Yijun (翊钧).
- Wanli (万历) was actually the era name (年号) or his reign period. Because it was a taboo to mention Emperor's name, scholars would conveniently use his era name to address him. Most Emperors during Ming and Qing Dynasties used only one era name during their entire reign.
- Shenzong (神宗) was his temple name (庙号) conferred to him after his death by his succeeding Emperor. This temple name was the title to state his position in the ancestry of the Imperial family.
- Xian (显) was the short conferment of his posthumous name (谥号) to describe his character or deeds after his death.
For readers who seldom come across Chinese history, following are the explanation of the Emperor's various titles and conferment of Ming and Qing Dynasties, using Emperor Wanli as an example:
Dingling Museum (定陵博物馆)
- Opposite the Dingling Museum, a sculpture was spotted whereby a marble stele rested on the back of a 'Dragon-headed tortoise' (left photo below). This type of sculpture is commonly found in palaces, temples and mausoleum. This indicated that the words engraved on the stele were made by an Emperor because only this legendary creature called 'Bixi' (赑屃) had the strength to support the weighty words from the Emperor - Son of Heaven.
The Dingling Museum (定陵博物馆) is another attraction and is located outside the main entrance (right photo below). This museum was setup in 1959 to exhibit the relics excavated from Dingling underground palace. Sadly no extra time was given to visit this museum in this guided tour.
Curious about what are exhibited inside this museum? Here're some replicas displayed in other museums:
Replicas of a Golden Crown woven by fine gold threads (left photo below) and a Black Gauze Cap (right photo below) of Emperor Wanli, exhibited inside the Capital Museum.
A Pheonix crown worn by Empress Xiaoduan (left photo below) exhibited inside Beijing Palace Museum and a replica of an outer jacket with pictures of 100 children worn by one of the Empresses (right photo below), which photo was taken in the Capital Museum.
Dingling is the only Imperial tomb being excavated after the founding of the People's Republic. However due to the poor excavation techniques and limited resources at that time, many relics could not be preserved. For example, many silk artifacts began to deteriorate once exposed to the outside environment; thus only its replicas are displayed in museums. Because of the unpleasant lessons learned from Dingling, the Chinese Government did not approve any new excavation projects, except for rescue purposes. For an instance, the Chinese Government assured that Qianling mausoleum of Tang Dynasty will not be excavated in 50 years time even when its entrance to the burial tomb was discovered accidentally.
Wangfujing Street (王府井大街)
The tour ended early and I was back to the Beijing Dispatch centre at about 4 pm. Thus, decided to take Subway Line 1 to Wangfujing station (王府井站) to shop along this famous street.
Wangfujing Snack Street (王府井小吃街)
- Diagonally opposite from the Wangfujing Bookstore is the entrance to the Wangfujing Snack Street (left photo below). This eatery street can provide an unforgettable experience on eating exotic foods like deep-fried grasshoppers, silkworms and even scorpions (right photo below).
There are also traditional Chinese snacks such as the sweet 'candied haws' (糖葫芦) (left photo below) and barbequed meat (烤肉串) with a wide selection (right photo below).
From a personal experience, I find that the service in some of the stalls was rather bad and the price charged by the store assistance did not follow those indicated on their signboards.
Early Dinner
- Went to the Food Republic (大食代) located on the sixth level of the Beijing APM for dinner. Ordered a bowl of Tomato Beef Noodles (番茄牛肉面) from a Taiwanese Food stall at RMB 18 and a cup of Ice-Lemon tea at RMB 6 (left photo below). Simply like the soup taste and their crunchy vegetable-appetizer.
On the way down, I noticed a cart selling Beef Balls. What caught my attention was the signboard that reads '香港撒尿牛丸', literally means "Hong Kong urinating beef balls" (right photo below). Couldn't understand this weird name at first, but after checking the internet then I knew that these beef balls originated from Hong Kong and will spurt or leak out hot gravy when chewed, thus the word "urinating" was used to describe this effect.
Donghuamen Night Market (东华门美食坊夜市)
- Another must-visit place along Wangfujing is this night snack street known as Donghuamen Night Market (left photo below). There are about 80 stalls selling many unusual snacks (right photo below) and often crowded with people trying to experience new tastes. The walking street is wide enough for people to walk and eat while standing.
The stalls are arranged neatly (left photo below) and the waste-bins conveniently located. There are displays at each stall to indicate the type of food and the price. In my opinion, this snack street is more orderly and hygienic compared to Singapore's Pasar Malam or Taiwan's Night Market. Most foods displayed are raw (right photo below) and would only be processed upon request.
The stinky tofu looked grayish after fermentation (left photo below). Bought a stick at RMB 5 and the taste was rather salty with the sauce (right photo below). Felt quite disappointed because the tofu wasn't that crispy compared to those I had in Hangzhou.
Many unusual foods could be found in this night market, starting from fried larva, beetles and crickets (left photo below) to even scorpions (right photo below).
More exotic foods like sea urchins (left photo below) and starfishes (right photo below) are sold there.
Raw oysters (left photo below) look fresh before cooking. Appetizing oysters (right photo below) with garlic garnish on a charcoal grill.
Opening time of Donghuamen Night Market is 1730 hrs to 2150 hrs daily and the general snack items cost RMB 5 to RMB 15 per piece.
St. Joseph's Church (北京东堂)
- St. Joseph's Church, or Beijing East Cathedral, is easily spotted with its attractive triple domes in Baroque style (left photo below). It was first built in 1655 but was damaged during the Boxer Rebellion period (1889 till 1901). Since then, it was rebuilt several times and underwent a major renovation in 2000. Do proceed inside the cathedral to view its exquisite interior (right photo below).
Shopping Malls at Wangfujing Street
- Wangfujing Bookstore (王府井书店) is one of the largest bookstores in Beijing (left photo below). This bookstore is located at the southern part of Wangfujing Street and has 6-storey of comprehensive collection of Chinese books, DVDs and foreign language books. There was a 20 % discount promotion for all books when I was there and needless to say I purchased quite a number of books back.
Another popular shopping mall is this Beijing APM (北京APM购物中心). This 6-storey mall has many young and trendy shops and a cinema complex, which I observed their main customers are teenagers (right photo below).
Oriental Plaza (东方新天地) can be reached from the Exit A of Wangfujing station. This large shopping mall is popular among tourists and had many international brands like Burberry, Mango, Givenchy Sony etc. The five-star Beijing Grand Hyatt is located beside this mall.Tianyuan Lisheng Sports Articles Emporium (天元利生体育商厦) (left photo below) is located diagonally opposite the St. Joseph's Church. Many international sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok and the local brand like Li-Ning could be found inside this building. A huge sculpture of the famous basketball player Yao Ming was found standing at the edge of the building. Visitors who are adventurous could also take up the challenge of 'Reverse Bungee' outside this emporium. Operation of this 'Reverse Bungee' was from the same company that operates in Singapore Clarke Quay.
Kids will be delighted inside this New China Children's Store (新中国儿童用品商店) (right photo below).
Parents will definitely enjoy shopping in this Intime Lotte Department Store (乐天银泰百货) (left photo below) for the whole family. Many outdoor eateries could be found along Wangfujing street (right photo below) which are convenient to visitors.
