Friday 9 August – Longmen Grottos The Longmen Caves, or grottos, were started in the late 5th century after Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang. They stretch for 1km along the west bank of the Yi River. The work continued for 500 years and there are 1,350 caves, 750 niches and 40 pagodas which, together, contain some 110,000 sculptures. Over the centuries the caves have suffered from significant vandalism and looting. This started with…
Thursday 8 August – the Shaolin Temple We spent what seemed a rather long night on the train but the boys enjoyed it. On arrival in Luoyang, we went to the hotel for breakfast. This is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River. Situated on the central plain of China, Luoyang is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, and is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China After breakfast we went…
Wednesday 7 August, 2013 at the Summer Palace After breakfast we left Jinshanling and went back to Beijing where we spent the rest of the day exploring the Summer Palace. It is said to be the best preserved imperial garden in the world, and the largest of its kind still in existence in China. The park was restored by Empress Dowager Ci’xi in the late nineteenth century using money that was supposed to be used to modernise the Chinese navy….
Tuesday 6 to Wednesday 7 August, 2013 at Jinshanling After breakfast on Day 4 we set off in a minibus for the four hour journey to Jinshanling and the Great Wall. At Jinshanling we stayed at a guesthouse with a lovely courtyard where the boys were able to play. The Great Wall at Jinshanling was initially built from 1368 to 1389 in the Ming Dynasty. It is one of the best preserved parts of the Great Wall with many original…
Saturday 3 to Monday 5 August, 2013 After a very long flight, we arrived in Bejing, hot and tired. We were met by an Exodus representative and taken to our hotel (A on the map) where we were left to our own devices until the evening when our group leader was to arrive. Looking at my city map, we found a park nearby (1 on the map) and decided to go exploring. When we met our group leader, Ansen, it…