Chengde Weiliduode Hotel

... the last time I had done it was last summer in China - before that was many, many years. But, lucky me, I didn't get killed by a truck, just rode, eyes plastered on the road ten feet in front of me, and my skin pale and clenching tightly to the lifeline of the handlebars.<br><br>We biked for about an hour, far off the main highway through small farming and factory villages, past a field full of goats and along a meandering river. The destination, I ...

... sticks that people would wedge into the rock-side (if it stayed, its good luck for you). On our way back down, despite my attempts not to spend the few kuai we had left, I bought a little plastic souvenir of the rock. The vendor got such a kick out of my "wu kuai (5)" when she asked for 10, that she agreed.<br><br>We were now off back to the town, to enjoy a hot-pot dinner with her family.<br><br><br>

... created an atmospheric, almost eerie, feel as the wall ascended sharply in front of me and then faded into the clouds, with just ocasional beacon towers looming out of the haze in the distance. It wasn't hard to imagine sentries in these watchtowers, shivering in the winter fog, arrows at the ready as they scanned the horizon for signs of Chinggis and his marauding Mongols. <br><br><br><br><br> Standing in a tower, surveying ...

... next day was mostly spent on some very long meals and with meeting of people, but in the evening I was able to take a nice hike up the mountain behind the town. Here there are a series of pagoda's and tomes below the tree line that give an increasingly picturesque view of the town. At the top (a summit I was graciously suggested to attempt alone :P), there is a very large pagoda overlooking ...

... style. They were both beautiful. The monks in this temple had wore brown, which I assume symbolizes their allegiance to a particular type of the buddhist religion. The temple itself is like a little city and has its own post hoffice, clinic, and of course, stores. During the time that we visited we were able to watch the monks chanting and meditating. <br><br><br><br>We also saw the prize possession of the Puning Temple, a 22 ...

A 5.5 hour train ride sitting in a stiff, upright chair, squeezed in amongst locals, and putting up with vendors constantly strolling up and down the aisle trying to sell noodles and god knows what else, got us to Chengde, 250 km northeast of Beijing. We broke our Beijing stay in half with this overnight excursion. Chengde is home to Bishu Shanzhuang, the largest Imperial Gardens in China, and was the summer get-away mountain resort of the ...

Usually when Chinese say "climb a mountain" what they really mean is to "take a stroll up a hill". So the hill was what I was prepared for, but my was I mistaken, this was an actual mountain, 1407 meters. We started the climb at 8.30 in the morning and we were down again at 15, one hour later than what the leaders had predicted...it was rough. I walked the greater part of the way with a German classmate called Verena and we cursed ...

Well, today looked horrible. At 13.30 we were supposed to depart for a small mountain climbing trip to YunMengShan with the European Society at Beijing University. We got up and it was really cold and cloudy and you really didn't feel like getting out of bed, but out I got and started cleaning the house, because I, rightly, guessed that it would be nice to come home to a somewhat sparkeling home. We had been told that the trip would cost 150Y and that three meals ...

... this roommate situation which is weird. this guy already lives on campus but he comes to my room at night to hang out and sleep. i guess its better than his room which is half the size even though he has five roommates. we've been eating pretty well today my grand total was 2 dollars and i couldnt be more full. this weekend we are going to inner mongolia. so i'll be sure to let y'all know how that goes. adios

... mortar for the wall. As Mao said: "you're not a real man until you see the Great Wall." Perhaps the wall wasn't as successful at preventing invasions from the north, as both the Manchurians and the Mongols managed to penetrate its defenses. But then again, maybe the immense building project was successful--prior to the wall, Mongols and Manchus could invade at will. The wall became the dividing line between China and Mongolia. Still today, the farmers to the north of the wall ...