Jinxing Hotel Chengde

... directions. The views of the valley were even more beautiful than the falls to me. Further up I ran into a Chinese woman who fancied herself and English speaker and quickly locked me in generic conversation. I did my best to humor her but she ended up thinking I was born in Tianjin, then asking me how I got here (bus or car). I said bike, she said no...<br><br>Anyways, past that little sub-adventure, above the falls there was a little stone hut with ...

... me very much of a natural rock pillar close to my hometown (Stein's Pillar). Past the entrance to the park, we paid to take a lift over the hills and up close to the peak. The lift-ride itself was very nice and quite long so I had time to take many pictures of the city. <br><br> At the top we were greeted with the usual mob of vendors trying to make a buck from the 'rich-white boy'. The peak itself ...

... more like trail-mates as we wended our way together along the ancient bastion.<br><br><br> Although it's only a distance of about thirteen km from Jinshanling to Simatai, the walk takes nearly four sweaty hours as the trail is extremely steep in places and, at times, the crumbling stonework requires careful footwork. It was nearly 10.30 when I set off and the mist, which I had hoped would burn off, showed no signs of rising ...

... arrived, we traveled to a village nearby (and owned by the town), for some authentic rural apple picking. A new fad in China apparently (as many rich business-men were doing the same) to go to the villages, and fill your own basket of apples straight off the tree (at a higher price than the market of course). Regardless, it was loads of fun, and I have a big bag of delicious apples.<br><br ...

... avec influence tibetaine et mongole. Ils etaient bien jolis et ca faisait quand meme pas mal different de ce qu'on a vu jusqu'a maintenant.<br><br>Cote bouffe, eh bien honteusement on dejeune aux popsicles. Mais ils sont tellement bons, pleins de choix de trucs gros et succulents comme des magnums et des drumsticks, qui ne coute que 25 ou 50 cennes, et goutent bien meilleurs que les popsicles aux bines de l'autre fois.<br><br>A Chengde il n'y ...

... the frogs in our second video (with some interesting commentary), not the massacre though, don't worry. We also saw this amazing rock from the grounds called club rock. I have no idea how this thing formed it seems so improbable. We heard that there is a local legend that ties its upright stature to the virility of the local men. See picture title "what's that in the background" and look real closely). <br><br>That night without ...

... before in Putuozongcheng, so I learnt my lesson). There are 27 pavillions on the park, beautifully named by Emperor Qianlong. Whilst it is not grand and overpowering as the Forbidden City, it makes a nice relaxing walk to enjoy the beautiful scenery.<br><br>The train to Beijing left Chengde 2:00 PM. I decided to catch a taxi for 10 yuan to the station as walking on a limp leg (from the fall) carrying 15 kg of a bagpack does not seems like a good idea.<br>

... were just walking around but others were doing tai chi, some were practicing traditional chinese instruments, and of course there were the sword dancers i already mentioned. When i was done at the park I wandered to my last temple for the trip. This is the Daoist temple that Yen Nei and I spent an afternoon looking for a year ago. It was cool. I really liked when i ducked out of the main courtyard and found a collection of stones that seemed to just on until they reached the nearby ...

... and trees and anything else they could find. so andrew and i bought some locks got our names and date engraved in them and now they are locked in different parts of the temple. the thing is the locks symbalize the love because husband and wife so having my own lock doesnt really make sense as i do not have a wife, but i still think its cool. the next day was the first day we've really got taken. at dinner the waiters kept trying to get us to buy this fish dish. we thought was 28 kuai ...

... phrases and questions that I know really well are ridiculous to ask people my age. Are you married? and Do you have kids? are almost certainly going to be met with negative answers from college students. Chengde proved to be a nice change from Beijing. We were able to ride bikes to temples and around the mountains. Unfortunately, Emily rode her bike slower than the Chinese with heavily loaded tricycles. When I tried to just ride for the sake of ...