Posted by admin on July 27, 2011
Breakfast is not a terribly important meal in China. Chinese people start the day early, but that means breakfast is often just a question of wolfing down whatever’s to hand in order to fill the belly until lunchtime.
That said, there are plenty of culinary adventures available at the breakfast table, and if you’re staying in three star hotel or better, the buffet breakfast will be a fantastic spread with all the typical Beijing breakfast staples which could keep you going until the evening.
Cornflakes and milk have made inroads, but are still mostly confined to the breakfast tables of the rich and trendy. A very common breakfast for most Chinese is the leftovers from the previous day’s evening meal.
Start your morning off right, with a short walk to Jingshan Peak and make your way through the morning activities and song of your local neighbors. Take in the unmatched view of the forbidden city, central business district, lake district, and more. Its beyond words. Descend back into the midst of morning activities along the streets as we’ll drop in at a local Beijing breakfast eatery with crispy snacks, savory sesame buns, and fresh, traditional soy milk with a delicious smoky aroma.
Instead, you can head to places such as Huguosi Xiaochi, Jiumen Xiaochi (九门小吃) and Longfusi Xiaochi, canteen-like eateries that sell snacks by the serving or the plate. At Jiumen Xiaochi, a well-known tourist spot because of its quaint (or annoying) location in an obscure hutong north of Houhai, around ten of Beijing’s time-honored brands have set up shop in individual booths to sell their specialties, whether it’s Beijing yoghurt, wandouhuang (cake made from garden pea paste), or quick-fried tripe. The décor is a bit classier here, with a courtyard at the entrance and a decorating scheme that tries to evoke the hawkers’ markets of imperial times past. The taste? Not bad, since it’s hard to go wrong with simple fare like xiaochi.
Posted by admin on July 25, 2011
Cuandixia Village is located in Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, about 90 kilometers (31.3 miles) from downtown Beijing. It has a history of about 400 years and preserves more than 70 courtyards with approximately 500 rooms which were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). This ancient mountain village, the best preserved in China, covers an area of about 10,000 square meters (2.5 acres) and is renowned as the ‘Potala Palace’ of the Beijing area.
Cuandixia Village was first built in the Ming Dynasty, when many families moved from Shanxi Province to this village, where the Han’s Family has inhabited. The village first boomed in the late Qing Dynasty for producing rice, fur and coal. The products made local people rather rich, so they built big and exquisite houses.
Arriving at the village still gives some sense of the same kind of relief that might have flooded the ancient traveller, as a mountain spur is drawn back suddenly by a sweep of road and the village appears, wedged securely against one side of the valley, an island of civilisation in the cold high barrens. It appears so idyllic, that learning this was once also a provisioning town for the Forbidden City comes as no surprise. What emperor wouldn’t want their goats supplied from a “goat heaven” such as this? The unique and complex character for the village’s name 爨 Cuàn — was emblazoned on the side of the carts that travelled directly from here to the imperial storerooms.
Cuandixia can be reached by car on a weekday in approximately three to four hours, depending on the traffic. On weekends it can take considerably longer, and the best way to tackle a weekend visit is to book an overnight stay in one of the many courtyards that have rooms available for rent. Accommodations are basic but generally clean.
Posted by admin on July 22, 2011
Peking Opera has a 200-year-long history. Its main melodies originated from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei respectively and, over time, techniques from many other local operas were incorporated.
Two orchestras, playing string and percussion instruments, accompany the singing, which follows a fixed pattern but has a variety of melodies and rhythms. The “jinghu”, a small two-strings bowed instrument, is the backbone of the orchestras.
The operatic dialogues and monologues are recited in Beijing dialect, and some of the words are pronounced in a special fashion, unique to the opera.
Beijing Opera of China is a national treasure with a history of 200 years. In the 55th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1790) , the four big Huiban opera Troupes entered the capital and combined with Kunqu opera, Yiyang opera, Hanju opera and Luantan in Beijing’s theoretical circle of the time. Over a period of more than half a century of combination and integration of various kinds of opera there evolved the present Beijing Opera. Beijing Opera is the most significant of all operas in China, and it has a richness of repertoire, great number of artists and audiences, that give it a profound influence in China and plays a large role in Chinese culture.
In the ancient times, Beijing Opera was performed mostly on open-air stages in markets, streets, teahouses or temple courtyards. The band had to play loudly and the performers had to develop a piercing style of singing, in order to be heard over the crowds.
It is a harmonious combination of Grand Opera, Ballet and acrobatic display, consisting of dancing, dialogue, monologue, acrobatic combat and mime.
Posted by admin on June 9, 2011
The Forbidden City China is a symbol of oriental culture, Established on the basis of the Imperial PaLace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. One cannot be counted as having visited China if he or she has never visited the Forbidden City of China. This website is a token of regards from the Forbidden City in China to its visitors. With its help, one could find out what important buildings he or she could visit in the Museum, what functions the buildings have, what kind of events once took place in those buildings, which figures went to and forth on the historical stages, which visiting route is the most suitable, etc.
After the republican revolution in 1911, the youngest and last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, then still a child, abdicated the next year. But he, his family and their entire entourage were allowed to stay in the palaces. They were finally expelled by republican troops in 1924. It has been the Palace Museum to the public since 1950. The Forbidden City is one of the largest and best-preserved palace complexes in the world. There are over a million rare and valuable objects in the Museum.
Associated structures to each side of the middle axis include Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yang Xin Dian), Six Western Palaces (Xi Liu Gong), Hall for Ancestral Worship (Feng Xian Dian), Six Eastern Palaces (Dong Liu Gong), Palace of Tranquil Longevity (Ning Shou Gong) and Hall of Joyful Longevity (Le Shou Tang). The Hall of Mental Cultivation is where emperors dealt with daily routines and royal religious sacrificial activities were held in its counterpart on the eastern side – Hall for Ancestral Worship.
The Forbidden City, extending 753 meters from east to west, and 961 meters from north to south, makes a rectangular shape and covers a total area of 720,000 square meters. It consists of several dozen compounds of varying sizes and some 9,900 bays of rooms, with a total floor area of 150,000 square meters. Most of the buildings were built with wood, roofed with yellow glazed tiles and built on blue-and-white stone foundations, looking solemn and brilliant. City walls were 10 meters high, and a 52 meter-wide moat surround the Forbidden City. Three-storied towers are placed at each corner of the wall.
Posted by admin on December 16, 2010
Features: wild, ruined, preserved and original
Hiking Area: East Jinshanling and west Simatai ( 30 towers, two passes, twelve km)
Hiking Time: 4-5 several hours
Hiking Level: intermediate
Cable car: available
The hike from the east Jinshanling Great Wall for the west Simatai Great Wall could be the most challenging component of our 5-day Great Wall hike trip. throughout the 12-km hike, we will pass more than 30 properties (towers) – east Jinshanling 15 tower and west Simatai 15 towers, and two on the 3 passes for the Jinshanling Great Wall. There is usually a cableway up for the Jinshanling Great Wall. in case you take a cable car up, you will skip more than five watch towers. I choose to climb up the mountain, so I can trek throughout 30 towers and two passes. I don’t suggest you employ the cable car since it is really slow and unnecessary. The fact is the fact that it is really quick to stroll up for the Great Wall.
Shalingkou Pass
I stroll up the mountain for the Shalingkou Pass, in which I begin my Jinshanling-Simatai hike eastward. The Shalingkou Pass was the mountain pass for that passage of men and women with horses and goods.
1. East Terrace
The first buidling I fulfill when I hike eastward from the Shalingkou Pass could be the East Terrace. It is usually a roofless constructing primary up for the up coming tower.
2. dark Tower
This watch tower is called”Black Tower”. Most on the towers for the Jinshanling Great Wall have two tiers and two doors – east front door and west door. however the dark Tower has 3 tiers – underground, middle and upper. The dark Tower also has two doors, but its west front door is definitely an underground door. The underground front door includes a narrow and covert stone passage primary for the middle and upper floors. inside a fight, when the underground is taken up by enemies, the soldiers for the middle and upper floors nonetheless have an advantageous location to wipe off the enemy cutting below. Why “Black Tower”? The legend has it the fact that Jinshanling Great wall was maintained and strengthened by Qijiguang (1528-1588),who was the common and commander along the Great Wall then. An old common from Ningxia also desired to are available here for constructing the Great Wall. His spouse experienced died years before. His only daughter, nicknamed”Black Girl”, was worried about her father’s health and insisted in coming with him. below her daugher’s continuous request, the old common experienced to concur with her. dark lady implemented his father, trekking in the several rivers and mountains. as a last point they arrived here. She also took component with the building on the Jinshanling Great Wall. One day, a newly built tower was established on fire through the lightening. Seeing the tower on fire, the dark lady charged in to the fire without any hesitation, wanting to fight the fire. Then the misfortune happened. She was burned to death. all of the soldiers were extremely sad and told the old common of his daughter’s death. Her father said her daughter experienced died for her country and she was worthy of her sacrifice. The soldiers rebuilt a manufacturer new tower dependent for the authentic burned tower. They named the tower”Black lady Tower” in memory of ‘Black Girl”. After era and generation, the identify on the dark Tower grew to become “Black Tower” rather than “Black lady Tower”.