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Beijing Ancient City Wall

In ancient China, few cities existed without a city wall. The city wall and the city gate have a close relationship with the city's establishment. The city wall, surrounding the residential area, is the most basic constituent of a city. Beijing's city wall is a masterpiece owing to its grand verv...

In ancient China, few cities existed without a city wall. The city wall and the city gate have a close relationship with the city's establishment. The city wall, surrounding the residential area, is the most basic constituent of a city. Beijing's city wall is a masterpiece owing to its grand verve and spirit. It is not only the brick deposit for defense, but also a great ancient project embodying the beautiful physique of Beijing. It is a symbol of the time when humanity made a step towards civilization. The city wall of Beijing was a fortification built around 1435. It was 23.5 km long. The thickness at ground level was 20m and the top 12m. The wall was 15m high, and it had nine gates. This wall stood for nearly 530 years, but in 1965 it was removed to give way to 2nd Ring Road and the loop line subway of Beijing. Only in the southeast, just south of Beijing Railway Station, stands one part of the wall. Beijing was the capital city of the last three dynasties (the Yuan, Ming and Qing) as well as two northern dynasties (the Liao and Jin) in the history of China, as such, Beijing is often referred to as an "ancient capital of Five dynasties". It had an extensive fortification system, consisting of the Palace city, the Imperial city, the inner city and the outer city. Specifically including the many gate towers, gates, archways, watchtowers, barbicans, barbican towers, barbican gates, barbican archways, sluice gates, sluice gate towers, enemy sighting towers, corner guard towers and moat. It had the most extensive defense system in Imperial China. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Beijing's fortifications were dismantled one by one, the Palace city has remained largely intact, becoming the Palace Museum; the Imperial city's fortifications has Tian'anmen and several sections of imperial city wall remaining intact; the inner city with Zhengyangmen's gate tower and watchtower, Deshengmen's watchtower, the southeastern corner guard tower, and a section of the inner city wall near Chongwenmen remaining intact; and nothing of the outer city remaining intact, with Yongdingmen completely reconstructed in 2004. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the protection and renovation of the wall and moat systems of Beijing were extensive. No holes may be drilled, no arches made, and if any section has been damaged, even if missing just a single brick, were swiftly reported to the authorities and subsequently repaired. The Inner city walls of Beijing had the city walls of Yuan's Dadu as a foundation. In the first year of the Hongwu era, after the Ming troops entered Dadu, General Xu Da directed Hua Jilong to build an additional city wall of rammed earth south of the original Dadu's northern city walls. Later it was covered with stones and bricks, forming a second defense to the Dadu original. In the 4th year of the Hongwu era, Dadu's northern city walls were completely abandoned, dismantled and its materials used to reinforce (heighten and widen) the new northern wall a few kilometres south. Moreover, he ordered Zhang Huan to measure the original Yuan Dadu Imperial city's perimeter, which amounted to 1.206 zhang (approximately 4.020 metres); he also ordered Ye Guozhen to measure the southern city's perimeter which amounted to 5.328 zhang (approximately 17.760 metres), the southern city was the remnants from the Jin Dynasty's capital Zhongdu. The old Beijing's city gate and city wall, basically rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was composed of four cities including the Forbidden City as the core, the palace wall in the periphery, the inner city and the outer city. The inner city has nine city gates (in turn from east to west: Dongbian Gate, Guangqu Gate, Zuo'an Gate, Yongding Gate, You'an Gate and Guang'an Gate), whereas the outer city has seven city gates (Xuanwu Gate, Fucheng Gate, Xizhi Gate, Desheng Gate, Anding Gate, Dongzhi Gate, Chaoyang Gate and Chongwen Gate). Each city gate has a different function. For instance, Chaoyangmen is used for grain to pass through, Chongwenmen is for wine, Xuanwumen is for the prisoner van, Fuchengmen is for coal and so on. The main function of the city wall is military defense, and it played an extremely vital role in guarding the stable city life and promoting city development. The city wall in the capital is not merely a fortification, but also a symbol of a dominant centre, dignity and heavenliness, a political, economical and cultural center and the link reuniting the regional culture. These all give the cultural connotation of the city wall and city gate in Beijing. Many city walls in Beijing have been torn down in the process of urban construction after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Only a few vestiges are available for people to visit so that they can recall their Chinese cultural heritage. Therefore, it is all the more significant to visit the city wall and city gate during a Beijing trip.

Old Sichuan

Old Sichuan serves spicy Sichuan cuisine in a rather upmarket setting. The food is good and the prices are reasonable for this type of re...

Old Sichuan serves spicy Sichuan cuisine in a rather upmarket setting. The food is good and the prices are reasonable for this type of restaurant. Non-Chinese speakers will be happy with the picture menu. The la ziji, chopped chicken pieces stir fried with chili peppers, is recommended. A meal for two will cost around RMB70 - 120.

How to get there

Old Sichuan is on the section of Dongmen South Rd between Shennan Rd. and Jiabin Rd. From Guo Mao metro station walk east along Jiabin Rd. When you get to Dongmen South Rd. cross to the other side and head north. You will see the sign almost immediately. Bus nos. 2, 5 and 17 stop here. 
 

   

Wangfujing Shopping Street

Beijing is not generally a pedestrian friendly city. However, the famous Wangfujing shopping street, just minutes from Tiananmen Square, is certainly the exception to the rule. The area has an eclectic mix of high end fashion boutiques and much more affordable shops. There a...
Beijing is not generally a pedestrian friendly city. However, the famous Wangfujing shopping street, just minutes from Tiananmen Square, is certainly the exception to the rule. The area has an eclectic mix of high end fashion boutiques and much more affordable shops. There are many restaurants in the area, but even if you’re not there to eat or shop, it is still a great place to people watch or just to wander and enjoy the crowds. Whilst all the action seems to be in the main steet, be sure to browse the interesting places tucked away in the side steets and alleys. 
 
On the south end of Wangfujing is the Oriental Plaza. The Plaza is a huge shopping mall that contains a movie theatre, plenty of restaurants, and countless clothing stores, including many designer outlets, which, judging by the prices, are the real deal. Shopping in the Oriental Plaza is a very different experience to trawling the markets of Beijing; if it’s bargains you are looking for you are in the wrong place. This is a glitzy and upmarket mall. 
 
Wangfujing is also a good place to go hunting for books, as the Foreign Languages Bookstore is a very good resource for English speaking travelers or expats in the city.
 
 

Travel in Chengjiang

Fuxian Lake, the cherry Valley project is located in Yuxi Fuxian Lake, Lake Road 7. Will be built in the area lofty health of world-class leisure and sports destination; build the global health regimen destination; most distinctive travel consumer destination style commercial street here; very Ch...

Fuxian Lake, the cherry Valley project is located in Yuxi Fuxian Lake, Lake Road 7. Will be built in the area lofty health of world-class leisure and sports destination; build the global health regimen destination; most distinctive travel consumer destination style commercial street here; very Chengdu. Platinum five-star front-line Lakeview Hotel and experience the unique landscape of the unprecedented. World-class international forums Center, to build a global high-end event with international influence. Fuxian Lake River cherry valley, creating 5A class cultural tourism experience theme park. 40000 cherry, including Dian cherry, winter cherry, weeping cherry

 

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Guide to Chengdu Eats

Chengdu is legendary throughout China for spicy food and superior eats. For visitors spending a short time in town don’t worry as much about eating at any specific restaurant, rather just be sure to try as many of these Chengdu specialties as you can.
 
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Chengdu is legendary throughout China for spicy food and superior eats. For visitors spending a short time in town don’t worry as much about eating at any specific restaurant, rather just be sure to try as many of these Chengdu specialties as you can.
 
 
Huo Guo (火锅) - Hotpot. If you can’t locate a hotpot restaurant within 100 meters of where you stand, then you had better check your map, because you aren’t in Chengdu. Hotpot is the definitive meal of Chengdu and is often equated with the personalities of the local Chengdu citizens. If you are afraid of spicy food, try to work up some courage for hotpot. Eat slowly, the spice isn’t as much overwhelming as it is delicious. Add some vinegar, soy sauce, or oyster sauce to your plate to deaden the spice if you are struggling. At the restaurant first inform the staff as to whether you want spicy or not spicy hotpot. They can actually put a divider into the pot to provide you with both options. Then put a mark next to all of the meats, vegetables, and tofu you want to try on a checklist/menu given to you by the staff. Sometimes there will be an English menu as well, so just ask. Once the raw foods are brought to your table, dump them into the pot and let them cook. A few minutes later you will understand the lives of Chengdu residents that much more.
 
Shao Kao (烧烤) – Chinese Barbecue. These charcoal grills get fired up after the sun sets. Pick up a tray or basket from the vendor and pile on any kind of meat, seafood, vegetable, or tofu you can find from their assortment. The items are all diced up and placed on wooden skewers. Generally meat and seafood skewers cost Y1-2, while tofu and vegetable skewers are 5 jiao/mao (half of one yuan). Don’t forget to instruct the vendor as to what amount of spicy ‘la jiao’ you want: ‘duo’ for a lot, ‘wei la’ for a little bit, and ‘bu yao la’ for none. Other ingredients you can control with the same measure words are salt – ‘yan’, garlic – ‘suan’, and oil – ‘you’.  
 
Tie Ban Shao (铁板烧) – Many smaller Shao Kao restaurants also offer this style of stir-fry. After you pick out the skewers you want to eat, they are first deep fried in oil for a minute or two. The food is then removed from the skewers and diced and stir-fried on a griddle. This is where they will add the ingredients as you instruct them. They can also add rice to the mix for an extra Y1-2. This method uses a lot of oil, but like everything else, is quite tasty.
 
Chuan Chuan Xiang (串串香) and Ma La Tang  (麻辣烫) – This is an excellent way to test your spicy food eating capacity. These restaurants have large bowls of spicy chili peppers and other spices floating in boiling water over a flame. You pick out as many skewers as you want for 1 jiao/mao each and then cook them in the pot yourself. Usually patrons will have a dish of sesame oil with the option of garlic to deaden the taste a bit. Oyster sauce is commonly added to the mix as well.
 
Zhong Shui Jiao Dumplings (钟水饺) – This is Chengdu’s special dumpling. They are dumplings filled with pork and vegetables served in a soy sauce mixed with sugar, diced garlic, sesame, and a bit of salt. The sauce might sound a little unusual, but hey, since you’ve already traveled half way around the globe to come to Chengdu, it makes sense to give it a try. They are aboslutely delicious.
 
Chao Shou (抄手) – This treat is similar to dumplings, but they are made differently. They have a thinner flour skin and different shape than typical dumplings. These cousins of dumplings are also stuffed with pork usually. This Chengdu specialty is served in a soup. You have the option of soup with or without spice, and they taste like two completely different dishes depending on youir choice.

Jian Dan Mian (剪蛋面) - These tasty and salty tomato and egg noodles are a favorite of late night diners in Yulin. A well known place is on Yulin Zhonglu (玉林中路) near the intersection with Yulin Dong/Xi Lu.

Sichuan Dishes: Local restaurants serving generally stir fried dishes offer too many favorites to name, so we'll toss a few well known ones out here to get you started:

Hui Guo Rou 回国肉 - Twice or Double Cooked Pork, everyone's favorite
Tang Cu Li Ji 糖醋里脊 - Sweet and Sour Pork, usually more sweet than sour
Gong Bao Ji Ding 宫爆鸡丁 - Kung Pao Chicken, naturally quite spicy, but peanuts make it memorable
Ma Po Dou Fu 麻婆豆腐 - Grandma's Pock-Marked Tofu, Sichuan's most famous soft tofu dish
Yu Xiang Rou Si 鱼香肉丝 - Fish-flavored Shredded Pork and Veggies, better than the description may sound, I promise
Jia Chang Dou Fu 家常豆腐 - Home-style Tofu, a thicker, harder type of tofu, clearly I'm not tofu expert
Shui Zhu Rou Pian 水煮肉片 - Sliced pork in a very spicy broth served with bok choy or cabbage usually

Red Soil Dongchuan

dongchuan is the best place to go if you have a chance to be kunming.

Jiuzhaigou

If there is really a fairyland in the world,it's must be Jiuzhaigou Valley. It's located in the Northwest of Sichuan Basin,400 kilometers away from Chengdu. It is an integration of green lakes, multi-layered waterfalls,thick forests and snow-mountains as well as peaceful Tibetan villages. The val...

If there is really a fairyland in the world,it's must be Jiuzhaigou Valley. It's located in the Northwest of Sichuan Basin,400 kilometers away from Chengdu. It is an integration of green lakes, multi-layered waterfalls,thick forests and snow-mountains as well as peaceful Tibetan villages. The valley is home to a great variety of plants and rare animals, such as the giant panda, lesser panda, golden monkey, and antelope.
Jiuzhaigou was listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

Tiger Hill (Hu Qiu)

Sights inside:

1. The Entrance Temple (头山门)

2. The Broken Beam Temple (断梁殿)

3. The Han Han Spring (憨憨泉)

4. The Sword-Testing Stone (试剑石)

5. The Tomb of Zhenniang (真娘墓)

6. The 1000 Men`s Rock (千人石)

7. The Sword Pool (剑池)

8. Th...

Sights inside:

1. The Entrance Temple (头山门)

2. The Broken Beam Temple (断梁殿)

3. The Han Han Spring (憨憨泉)

4. The Sword-Testing Stone (试剑石)

5. The Tomb of Zhenniang (真娘墓)

6. The 1000 Men`s Rock (千人石)

7. The Sword Pool (剑池)

8. The Twin Bridge Wells (双吊桶)

9. The Pagoda Yard (塔院)

10. The 1000 ha. of Clouds (千顷云)

11. The Mahavira Temple (大雄宝殿)

12. The 53 Steps of Stone (五十三参)

13. The Mountain Villa With 10000 Scenes (万景山庄)

Local bus routes: 1, 2, 8, 49, 949.

China Articles

Top China Tours

$238 Per Day

Private Hangzhou Day Trip from Shanghai by Bullet Train

Take in the highlights of beautiful Hangzhou on a private full-day tour from Shanghai. After hotel pickup and transfer by high-speed train to Hangzhou, your private guide takes you to see some city attractions, such as Faxi temple. Moreover, enjoy a tasty lunch at a local restaurant before heading to Longjing village. There, learn about the process of farming and producing dragonwell tea, the region’s most famous product. Finally, enjoy a scenic boat cruise on UNESCO World Heritage-listed West Lake before returning to Shanghai.

This is a private, full-day trip from Shanghai to Hangzhou. After you are picked up in your hotel lobby in the early morning, you will take a bullet train to Hangzhou. This is the fastest way to Hangzhou and you can experience train speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. Your tour begins at one of Hangzhou's signature sites, the West Lake. Enjoy a lake cruise to see the top ten West Lake scenic views. You will then be taken to experience the wonderful cuisine of Hangzhou at a local restaurant. After lunch, you will visit Faxi temple, a well-known Temple dating back to the Jin Dynasty. See its famous wooden Buddha. Here, you will see fewer tourists and more locals. Finally, enjoy a cup of green tea when you visit the famous Longjing village to see wild fields of Longjing tea bushes where the locals produce the world famous green tea- Longjing Tea. In the village, all locals are tea farmers and you will see the entire procedure of making the famous tea and will get the chance to taste the best quality emperor tea. Afterwards, you will take the bullet train back to Shanghai and you will be returned to your hotel.


$150 Per Day

Guangzhou

Day 1 Arrive in Guangzhou

Arrive in Guangzhou in the morning, you will be met and transferred to hotel, then visit Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The Memorial Hall is a very famous historical scenic spot. It is in memory of Sun Yat-sen, the great revolutionary forerunner. After that proceed to visit the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family. It is a unique site for offering up sacrifices to worship ancestors of 72 Chen families in Guangdong. This ancestral temple is also the largest, best preserved and best decorated ancient architecture existing in Guangdong province.

Day 2 Guanzhou Tour 

After breakfast, you will go to Yuexiu Park first, the largest and the most famous park in downtown Guangzhou. There are three artificial lakes and seven hills of Yuexiu Mountain. Then you will visit Temple of Six Banyan Trees, which is one of the four best Buddhist temples in Guangzhou and located on the Liurong Road (meaning the Six Banyan Trees Road). The Nanyue King Tomb Museum is a must-see Guangzhou attraction, which dates back to 2,000 years ago, is the earliest large scale painted stone chamber tomb ever found south of the Five Ridges. Buried with the tomb owner in a jade shroud are a gold seal and a lot of exquisite jade adornments. It has become a world famous museum. After the day tour you will be transferred to airport for your next destination.

$53 Per Day

Pingyao Highlights Walking Tour

Pingyao Highlights Walking Day Tour

With our guide to know the Ancient Pingyao better!

Our guide will meet you at your hotel lobby at 08:00 or 08:30, then show you the ticket office to get the ticket for the museums we will visit later.

First we will visit the 700 years old City wall, We will climb up from south gate and have a walk on the wall. We are not sure how many km we can walk, because of the renovating of the wall. Normally we will walk from south gate to the Yunlu Exit.

Then visit the Confucius temple, there is a old building named Dacheng Hall which is over 840 years old. From outside, we can see the big wood joints to lift the big roof around the building which is named Dougong. Due to this design, there are less columns inside the hall for giving the big space for the statues and the prayer. We have chance to see the Confucius statue and learn the philosophy of Confucius. If you like, you can pray for you and your children to get better study.

There is the Paper Cutting master named Wentao nearby the exit of Confucius temple. She is very smart and create the new style paper cutting with much more details and good wishes on it. Her products are made by hanks. It is worth to visit and buy as a souvenir from Pingyao. From the table standing and wall hangings. Please remember, take the red one because of red is the traditional and happy color. But the white one is the best. It is really difficult to choose, because of all of them are really nice.

Then you can have coffee break or tea break if you need at Chummy coffee, after this, visit the City god temple (ChenghuangMiao) which is most beautiful temple inside the wall. Because of the roof is covered by the colorful glazed tiles. There is not only city god and also the three money gods, Now you know why pingyao was the financial center.

Next we will visit the Ancient government building, to see the pingyao politics center in the ancient time. It is the complete building with officials bed room, kitchen and private garden. Follow the guide to look the official’s life from the 250km far away from the hometown.

Have a stroll in the alley to the Rishengchang exchange bank, which is the first bank all of china.You can not miss it.

After lunch, walk to the Ming and Qing street, this is the shopping street full of the stores on the both side of street. You can find alot things here , from post card to lacquered boxes, and wall panels. One more place to see, it is the Armed escort agency also named security and transport service for the business man before the bank founded.

Inlcusions

1.private english speaking tour guide servcie

2.bottle water for the tour