Beijing Retreat - Part 3 Great Wall of China

One of the must visit in Beijing is the Great Wall. Thus, the last day of our retreat, we visited the Great Wall of China.

We reached the Great Wall early in the morning and it's already packed with people! Looking at the scene gets me pumped up and excited. I'm going to land foot on this magnificent wall which is the only man-made structure that is visible from space.

Scaling Great Wall of China

Scaling the wall isn't an easy task! I, myself encounter difficulties climbing the Great Wall. I suffered sore joints after the climb and during the climb, panted heavily. I began wondering what the prisoners and villagers went through building this wall.

Steep steps

Looking back on how far I've climbed, I suddenly realized I need to cater time and strength to get back down too! The wall is 8000+ km long and it is impossible to complete given that 2 hours.

Looking back

My favorite view is the photo below. We can see how far the Great Wall stretches and also the beautiful distant mountains.

Beautiful distant mountains

One finally picture on the Great Wall before I sign off.
Enjoy the photo folks! =)

Great Wall of China

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Beijing Retreat - Part 2 Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City

Day 2 in Beijing, China. We visited the popular Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City!

Visiting Beijing, how could I miss out the popular tourist destinations? Day 2 of my retreat, we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The land in China is indeed a lot! The square is so huge! It is at least a few soccer fields wide.

Tiananmen Square

There are a few "Ninja vans" around that area. This reminds me of those days during my national service training where such vans will visit us at the range providing us with food and beverages.

Ninja Van

Behold, the Forbidden City! Look at the blocks and blocks of different courts! Each courts holds a purpose. For example, there's a court where officials check their dressing, one where they report status to the emperor, another might be for the slaying of criminals etc etc.

Forbidden City

The placement of the courts and the artifacts all follows a strict rule of feng shui, with logical reasons why something is done or placed this way.

To the palace

Below is a picture of the roof of a court or some palace for some officials? Anyway, the main point is the animals on the roof. The number of animals determine the grade of the official living in it.

Animals and Grades

Last but not least, you would see giant water jars around parts of the Forbidden City. These are used for fire fighting if one were to happen. These follows the rule of feng sui too. 金木水火土 (gold, wood, water, fire and earth). The jar is made of gold and placed on two pieces of sturdy wood filled with water used for fire fighting on land.

Giant Jar

Enjoy the photo folks! =D

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Beijing Retreat - Part 1 Yong He Gong

I went for my Beijing Retreat a few months back. Here are the long due photos!

First day of the trip, we went to Yonghe Temple (雍和宫). Yonghe Temple is a temple and monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism located in the Dongcheng District, Beijing, China.

Yonghe Temple

Look at the beautiful structure! The vibrant reds and blues are amazing. The dragon and Chinese coin prints are so sharp.

Amazing Structure

The tour guide explains to us how to differentiate between lioness and lion! The lion plays with a ball while the lioness has a cub. Below is a photo of the lioness.

Lioness

This lady stands in the middle of the entrance and is about to enter the temple. The contrasting reds with the dark atmosphere makes this photo interesting.

Soba

Last but not least, a last picture of Yonghe Temple.

Soba

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