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Teachers' Travel |
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This hiking tour starts and ends in Beijing and
lasts for two weeks. One night at the start of the tour and three nights
at the end are in Beijing. Day hiking, as opposed to back packing, means
that each day after breakfast a bus takes us to the beginning of each
hike, transfers our luggage to the next hotel and picks us up at the end
of the hike. A hot shower always awaits us at the next hotel. After two
or three days of hiking we usually have one day of sightseeing. Day Two: BaDaLing hike. Today we go
to HeBei Province. BaDaLing is the
"North Pass" of JuYongGuan Pass, the important strategic pass
of the Great Wall. It used to be heavily guarded because it was the
outpost to safeguard the capital, Beijing. In 1505, a city on the pass
with two opposite gates "JuYong Outskirts and Key-to-the-North
Gate" was built. The terrain is strategically situated and access
to it difficult. The Wall at BaDaLing is 7.8 metres high and 5 metres
wide and built with rectangular slabs of stone and green brick from the
hills. Most foreign tourists are permitted to visit only the BaDaLing
section of the Great Wall. It is necessary to have a government permit
to hike on other parts of the wall but this has been arranged. Day Five: ChengDe visit. Chengde is a city of particular charm in HeBei Province. It is situated on the northern fringes of the YanShan Mountains . The well-known BiShuShanZhuang (Mountain Manor for Escaping the Summer Heat) stands in the northern part of the city. Like a pearl inlaid at the centre of the Yan Shan Mountains, the city of historical and cultural renown boasts scenic hills and waters, grand ancient buildings, an imperial garden complex of the Qing Dynasty, unusual peaks and rocks and a pleasant climate. BiaShuShanZhuang – in 1703 Qing Dynasty Emperor Kang Xi initiated the building of the Mountain Manor for escaping Summer Heat. This occupies 5.6 million square metres. Emperors of Qing Dynasty lived almost half of each year at the mountain manor where they went hunting, handled court affairs and received envoys from other countries. The numerous ancient buildings here represent both the northern and southern school of ancient Chinese architecture and merge the architectural style of China’s ethnic groups. Around the mountain manor were 11 magnificent temples known as the Eight Outer Temples. They represent the Han, Manchu, Hui, Tibetan and Uygur architectural styles. As well as the palace we visit two majestic temples - PuTuoZongCheng Temple and PuNing Temple. The former was built in 1767 and covers 220,000 sq. metres and consists of nearly 40 impressive halls and other buildings. The main structure is the Great Red Terrace where stands the 35-metre-high, gilded and copper-tiled "Hall of All Beings Belonging to One". The PuNing (Universal Peace) Temple is a magnificent structure on the banks of the WuLie River. Built in 1755, it covers 33,000 sq metres. The front is typical Han-style temple architecture and the rear is modeled after the Sam Ye Monastery in Tibet. The main building, the Hall of the Great Vehicle, symbolizes Sumeru, the mountain at the centre of the Buddist world and it houses a giant statue of Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) with a thousand heads and a thousand eyes. Day Six: HuangYaGuan hike. HuangYaGuan was first built in 557 AD and rebuilt with bricks in the Ming Dynasty. The entire wall lies on a precipitous ridge of mountains. It has an eastern cliff as a screen against invasions and a western precipice as support. It had ancient defensive structures such as a fortress, high-wall, water pass, beacon tower and sheer precipice. Today we can see a museum, Beiji Temple and BaGua City (with a BaGua Labyrinth). Day Seven: QingDongLing visit. QingDongLing – (Eastern Qing Tomb – 1644 - 1911) is a large group of structures which hold the remains of 5 emperors, 14 empresses and 136 imperial concubines/princesses. The beauty of the landscape is enhanced by yellow-glazed tiles dotted among green pines and cypresses. Day Eight: LawWenYu hike - this is the oldest part of the Great Wall (over 2000 years) and there is a a trail on the top. Day Nine: PanJaiKou Great Wall Hike. Part
of this section of the wall has been submerged under a reservoir and can
be seen by boat. Day Eleven: JaiShan to Dragon Head hike.
ShanHaiGuan
(literally "the pass there the first mountain meets the sea")
is called the museum of the construction of the Great Wall because it
features the following sections: OLD DRAGON’S HEAD (the only part of
the Great Wall that meets the sea), NUMBER.ONE PASS UNDER HEAVEN (The
first pass of the Great Wall), JIANSHAN MOUNTAIN (the first mountain the
Great Wall climbs), JIUMENKOU (the only part of the Great Wall in the
shape of a bridge) and MENG JIANG NU TEMPLE Built in the Song Dynasty. For over two thousand years the Great Wall of China separated two cultures. The nomads in the north were a primitive people selling livestock to the agricultural society in the southern region. There were frequent military conflicts as the nomads raided the relatively more advanced technology of the south. A visit to the Great Wall is a review of over two thousand years of history. Construction of the wall began in the 7th century BC. The separatist ducal states in the north built walls around their territories to ward off invasions from the neighboring states. In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang unified China and linked these walls, laying the foundation for the present Great Wall. In later dynasties, the Wall was repaired and strengthened. The present Great Wall was mainly built in the Ming Dynasty over 600 years ago.
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