Hakloot

Lots more trips ..

In March 09 I completed a two week trip to China and Mongolia wtih my wife and youngest son. There was lots of travel and very little rest in an attempt to cover as much sights as possible. In China we visited Beijing, Chengde, Taian/Mount Taishan and Qufu. In Mongolia Ulaanbaatar and Harhorin (Erdene Zuu Khiid) were on the agenda. Temperatures ranged from -30 C to +25 C.

First stop was Beijing. In three days we covered the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, the White Cloud Temple and the Summer Palace as well as an evening of Chinese opera. Obviously we started with a visit to the Great wall. We did not go to the nearby well trodden Badaling section. Instead we opted for the more distant, more difficult but more quiet and rewarding Simatai section. It is located about 130km north east of Beijing city center on the road to Chengde. At least a two and half hour drive. It is a steep section of the wall. More than 5km long with more abut 35 towers. We had enough time to cover … 4.

No trip to Beijing is complete without a visit to the Forbidden City. It was immortalized in the movie “The Last Emperor”. Yet when one visits it one does not experience the same serenity as conveyed in the movie. After all you are visiting the place that day together with a million other Chinese …Nevertheless it is a most impressive location and too big for the couple of hours you get to go through it with a tour guide. Ideally one would spent a day in it wandering around and discovering all hidden corners off the beaten track.


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