{Part IX of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Jinshanling Great Wall of China}

After the good two hour drive up into the mountains, north of Beijing, seeing extreme poverty and shaggy mushroom houses without any production due to the cold, the Jinshanling Great Wall of China came in sight!
One of the World Wonders...

In Pieter's diary he wrote: 'There are no words for being able to stand here on this enormous wall and for climbing up. Got exhausted!!'

The team was lucky that they got to see the Great Wall Section at Jinshanling as that proves to be the BEST!

Click here: Sections of the Great Wall of China: where to go, where to avoid

I bet it can't be fully grasped until you're actually ON it...

Would have loved to be there too!

How pleased Pieter was for having his lined Parka to wear in the cold areas of China!

It was quite a climb up into the mountainous area, some 130 km or 80 miles north of Beijing.

Here you can see Jinshanling's Great Wall Section - the most popular for hiking. Clicking the link also lets you see a video for getting a more real idea. 

It weaves like a snake across the mountain... and that for 8,852 kilometers!

Good that those trees were bare so the view of the Great Wall was visible!

Everyone's excitement grew...

The bus is snaking through the mountains and coming closer and closer...

Yay, almost there!
Can you imagine that this got already started in the 6th century?
Read more about the history of Jinshanling Great Wall by clicking on this link.

Parking the bus and getting off!
Do you see the wall above these buildings?

Those poor locals are having their handicraft lined up for sale...

A cute Chinese girl, warmly bundled up in a beautifully hand knitted dress with cap.

Getting our tickets...

Do you see the snow to the left?!
Yep, on March 26, in 1987 it was still very cold.

Climbing up and looking down at the road and parking area, again snow to the right.

Stopping to catch your breath and making photos from each other...

Just being in AWE of this enormity and without having been there it is beyond comprehension...

Taking another much needed rest!

Feeling so blessed!
Pieter was in top condition in his 50s.

Quite a privilege.

YES, Pieter really did and he got exhausted but it's worth it!

On the way back to the Kunlun Hotel, the team did visit the Ming Tombs near Beijing... so stay tuned and thanks for visiting!

Related links:
{Part VIII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Countryside North of Beijing, China} | previous post by me
{Part VII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Lama Temple in Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part VI of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China} | previous post by me 

{Part V of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Forbidden City in Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part IV of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - City Views of Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part III of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Arrival in Beijing, China} | previous post by me
{Part II of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Tokyo, Japan to Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part I of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{People to People Citizen Ambassador Program - Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{Part VIII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Countryside North of Beijing, China}

It for sure was a big eye opener for traveling North of Beijing, some 2 hours by bus into the countryside. That's the only way to get to know the people. Not a much used route for the average tourist but for the People to People Citizen Ambassador team it also was a purpose to visit mushroom growers in that area. Now I'm talking about the white button mushrooms.

So once again leaving the city of Beijing and seeing the scenery change...

This is what you see in the countryside! POVERTY...
For sure this has not changed that much since March 26 of 1987!

Leaving the city of Beijing behind, lots of construction going on everywhere.

It sure is a country with lots of bikes, at least in the flat areas.

The woman on the bike is looking at the team's bus...

Kind of greenhouses...

Never easy to take pictures from a riding bus... but yes, that are plastic covered greenhouses.

So that are the Chinese market gardeners...

Here comes the horse power into the picture!

Brick homes but it does not look very affluent...

Vegetable gardens alongside a little river...

Yes, we are slowly going into the mountains!

Poor horses... and poor people.

It is a smaller type of horses what they use.

Little villages seem to be kind of walled in...

Very dreary looking villages with homes that only have windows on the sunny side...

Passing this village and climbing up into the mountains...

It makes one very quiet for seeing such extreme poverty and knowing it gets bitter, bitter cold in this area with lots of snow!

Stones everywhere...

It looks like they build a wall from those stones...

What you see here are MUSHROOM HOUSES...
But there was no production due to the season still being too cold.

It does hurt to see such extreme poverty where people struggle to make a living...
You see the outhouse at the top left?

Oh my!
That will make your butt freeze off...

These pigs seem to be quite happy!

To be continued with a visit to Jinshanling Great Wall...

Related links:

{Part VII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Lama Temple in Beijing, China} | previous post by me
{Part VI of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China} | previous post by me 

{Part V of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Forbidden City in Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part IV of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - City Views of Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part III of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Arrival in Beijing, China} | previous post by me
{Part II of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Tokyo, Japan to Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part I of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{People to People Citizen Ambassador Program - Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{Part VII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Lama Temple in Beijing, China}

This will be the last post about Beijing, China...
A visit to the Lama Temple or Yonghegong Lamasery as it is also called. 

It's not really Chinese but the Lama Temple is a favorite place to visit in Beijing.

It is in fact a Mongolian-Tibetan Buddhist temple with surrounding buildings.
This Lama Temple originally served as residence for court eunuchs. Click the following link for more info: Eunuchs as Imperial servants in dynastic China - Chinasage

Imperial roof decoration man riding bird, nine beasts, immortal figure, and dragon.

Very different architecture here.

You can find more pictures on TripAdvisor about Lama Temple (Yonghegong)

Looks like an entrance and mostly bikes are 'parked' here...

Of course that caught husband Pieter's attention as it made him feel like being back in The Netherlands!

Some of the team members... 

It sure looks like a lovely day...

In Pieter's one-week diary that he managed to keep up with, he wrote that at the end of March 25, they ended the day with a lovely dinner, consisting of 27 courses.

But we all know that Chinese are artists in preparing lovely little bite-size dishes!

Goodbye Beijing!

Next will be about Countryside North of Beijing China...

Related links:
{Part VI of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China} | previous post by me 
{Part V of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Forbidden City in Beijing, China} | previous post by me
{Part IV of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - City Views of Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part III of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Arrival in Beijing, China} | previous post by me
{Part II of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Tokyo, Japan to Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part I of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{People to People Citizen Ambassador Program - Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{Part VI of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China}

The team's next visit in Beijing, all done on March 25, 1987... on a very loaded schedule beside visiting the Institute of Microbiology, is the Temple of Heaven.

Such an incredible structure and a MUST SEE if ever in Beijing!

This is from a post card... Wish Pieter had been there at the time of these blossoms!
What a dream...

This is the World Heritage Site of Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing ←(just click on link) founded in the first half of the 15th century.
Notice the tiny toddler in the picture?

Husband Pieter went over for a better look through his lens.

This photo from china-tour.cn shows to the right of the Circular Mound Altar the Divine Kitchen and Pavillion for Butchering Animals...
Sacrificial Altar indeed!
For viewing a short 2.50 minute video from Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in ... (UNESCO/NHK) just click the hyperlink. That gives you a pretty good idea about this complex.
Be aware that Temple of Heaven Park is the largest park in Beijing; covering 675 acres!

Slide, showing the marble steps and carving around the Imperial Sacrificial Altar look impressive.

This is a scanned photo, as the slide did not show the entire height...
One can see the steps next to the marble imperial carriage way.

The entire structure of Temple of Heaven is done without nails and look at the elaborate details on the ceiling!

This elderly man with a cane is struggling on the stairs.

Indeed, it is HUGE with the size of 675 acres.
If you want to see more of it, for getting an impression, this is a very good short video:
Temple of Heaven - Beijing, China (Full HD) just click.

Hope you enjoyed Part VI.

Will be continued with the Lama Temple in Beijing, China.

Related links:

{Part V of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Forbidden City in Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part IV of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - City Views of Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part III of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Arrival in Beijing, China} | previous post by me
{Part II of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Tokyo, Japan to Beijing, China} | previous post by me

{Part I of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{People to People Citizen Ambassador Program - Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me