In the late October of the golden autumn, LP and I set off for a northern tour. This time we plan to visit Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi and Yinchuan, Ningxia. There is a direct flight from Zhuhai to Tianjin. We drove to the airport early in the morning to catch the early flight. The flight took about three hours, and the flight arrived at Tianjin Airport on time at noon.
The driver of the airport pick-up service was already waiting for us, and took me to the place where I was staying for the past few days-Xinda Plaza Hotel Apartment, which was already around one o'clock in the afternoon.
The location of the hotel is very good, on the edge of the Hai River, the living room and bedroom of the apartment can see the Hai River and the high-rise buildings on both sides.
We went into the room to put down our luggage and went downstairs to the food street next to us for lunch. After a simple lunch, walk to the Wudao Tourist Area across the road to visit. There are scenic introductions and tourist guide maps of the Wudao Tourist Area on the street.
After taking pictures, we walked along the route shown in the picture, mainly to watch the garden-style European buildings on the side of the street. The Qing Dynasty relics, many officials and celebrities in the Beiyang government once lived here, and the beautiful and elegant bungalows told us. Looking at the past years, it is said that there are more than 2,000 European-style buildings here.
Stroll to Qingwang Mansion, buy tickets to visit inside. It used to be the residence of Xiao De Zhang, a famous eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty. It was later purchased by Zai Zhen, Prince Qing, and became his residence in his later years. From the street, we can only see the high courtyard wall and gate, but we cannot imagine what it looks like inside.
After entering the gate, I found that there is a special charm. The beautiful Western-style villas and Chinese-style rock gardens have no sense of dissonance. The western-style main building should have been renovated, but it has the characteristics of the times.
The hall in the middle is very grand, surrounded by two-story buildings, with magnificent crystal lights hanging from the roof, and a corridor on the second floor. The hall can be used as a banquet hall or dance hall, which is magnificent and elegant.
From the side door, you can lead to the garden, rockery, pool, small bridge, and the delicate Chinese landscape shows another scene to the world.
Youbi continued along the street and arrived at Minyuan Square not far away. This is a European-style stadium and the core scenic spot of the Five Avenues. The tourist distribution center is also here. There are guide maps and video materials to display and introduce various places on the Five Avenues. tourist landscape.
The newly renovated Minyuan Plaza retains the sports and fitness functions of the original Minyuan Stadium, and adds functions such as tourism and leisure, cultural exhibitions, and special catering, and is open.
Stepping into it, you can see a 400-meter plastic runway and a sunken open-air square. Many surrounding residents and tourists relax and exercise here, but now the original stands have been built into rooms, and outdoor activities have been changed to indoors. The Culture and Sports Museum displays the history of Minyuan and Five Avenues and Tianjin culture.
There is a Dalong post office opposite the small square outside the gate, and many tourists come here to stamp their postmarks.
After shopping a little sore, we took a taxi to Jingyuan to continue our tour. Jingyuan was built in 1921. It was originally named Ganyuan and was the private residence of Lu Zongyu, the Beiyang government's ambassador to Japan.
From 1929 to 1931, the last emperor Puyi lived here with his empress Wanrong and concubine Shu Wenxiu, and renamed it "Jingyuan".
It is intended to wait and see the current situation in order to restore. The overall building is a brick and wood structure building with a quiet environment, combining European and Japanese styles.
The furnishings and materials displayed in the small building are very careful and detailed. It depicts the end of an old era and the beginning of a new era, which is very emotional.
We visited Jingyuan until it was closed, and came to Goubuli Steamed Bun Main Store, one of the best places in Tianjin. The driver who drove us told us that it was only eaten by tourists, and no one from the local area came here to eat. I have been to Tianjin several times and tasted the taste of Goubuli steamed stuffed buns, so I was prepared, but this is the first time for LP, I don't want to spoil her interest, let's come with her to experience it for myself.
This is a small two-story building with set meals on the first floor and a la carte on the second floor. The purpose of our visit is to taste Goubuli steamed buns, and we don't want to eat stir-fried vegetables, so we ordered two different flavors for 88 yuan on the first floor. The set meal is a cage of buns and 2 side dishes plus a bowl of millet porridge, huh, huh.
After eating, LP finally understood why the dog didn't care about the steamed stuffed bun. The taste of steamed buns is worse than anywhere in the south, and LP has also experienced the three major characteristics of Goubuli steamed buns: great reputation, high price, and delicious taste! But the value of the brand is reflected in the fact that no matter what the taste is, most tourists who come to Tianjin will come here to taste it, so the business here is still very prosperous, and there are an endless stream of tourists.
It is very close to the Binjiang Avenue Pedestrian Street. It is just a good time to go shopping and eat. There are many shops selling food. Marijuana flowers on Eighteenth Street, one of Tianjin's three must-sees, can be seen everywhere. It is estimated that a hemp flower needs several people to share.
The tourists are bustling, the neon lights are bright, the Quanyechang building is classical European style, the old building is simple but magnificent, and the golden lights set off its majesty. "Persuade everyone to do their own work and enjoy their work", here "persuade" means "hard work", and some people think it means "encourage". Quanyechang is a place to encourage business and industry, and it is one of the landmark buildings in Tianjin. one.
There is an old building on the opposite side - Zhejiang Industrial Bank, but there is a Starbucks logo at the door. When you step into it, you will find the perfect fusion of European-style historical buildings and coffee culture. The former Zhejiang Industrial Bank building stands on the bank of the Haihe River and watches over Tianjin. The European-style mansions in the most prosperous commercial district for nearly a century finally ushered in Starbucks amid the changes of history and times.
She restored the old as old as possible and preserved the original appearance and internal structure of this historic building. There is a metal "big copper coin" carving on the ground at her gate, and many tourists are taking pictures.
This store is not only a coffee shop, but also set aside an area to open a tea bar and a bar. The interior decoration is perfectly integrated with this historical building. The bar inside uses the arc-shaped structure of the bank counter in the past.
In the evening, the waiter taught and demonstrated the steps of brewing several different types of coffee, and invited us to sit at the bar to taste the taste of different types of coffee for free.
On the second floor, there are photo exhibitions of the historical features of this ancient building and text pictures of coffee culture, which are fascinating. In the terrace space on the second floor, in addition to enjoying the aroma of coffee.
You can also overlook the bright neon lights of the entire Binjiang Avenue commercial street, and you can also have a panoramic view of Tianjin Quanyechang on the opposite side. The night view is picturesque!
We were reluctant to leave and ordered a cup of coffee and three cups of freshly brewed coffee beer with different flavors.
After spending a long time here, I reluctantly returned to the hotel apartment.
Day 2 Ancient Culture Street – Italian Style Street
The sun is shining in the morning. After breakfast at the food street downstairs, call a car to visit Tianjin Ancient Culture Street.
Here is the concentration of the most famous time-honored brands and handicraft shops in Tianjin, most of which are time-honored shops in Tianjin, full of strong folk characteristics.
There are many handicrafts such as Yangliuqingnian paintings, clay figurines, and Weiji kites. You can also taste special foods such as nut sheets, skin sugar sheets, and collapsed beans;
Walk into the "Clay Figurine Zhang" and enjoy all kinds of lifelike painted clay sculptures.
There is an ear-eye fried cake shop at the entrance of Guwenhua Street, one of the three must-sees in Tianjin. Let's taste it. It tastes really good, much better than Goubuli steamed buns.
The Tianhou Palace is located in the center of the Ancient Culture Street and is also the core of the historic sites of the Ancient Culture Street. It is said to have a history of more than 600 years.
She sits west and faces east, from east to west from the theater building, banner pole, mountain gate, archway, front hall, main hall, Fengwei hall, Sutra Pavilion, Qisheng Temple
As well as the Bell and Drum Tower, Zhangxian Pavilion and four supporting halls, it is the earliest existing ancient building complex in Tianjin.
Today's Tianhou Temple has become the Tianjin Folklore Museum. In addition to retaining the restored display of Tianhou Temple,
It also opened up an exhibition based on the display of Tianjin folk customs and customs, which systematically introduced customs such as water transportation, marriage and childbirth, commerce, folk life, folk art and folk beliefs.
Many tourists are happy to find out which Tai Sui they belong to according to the year they were born in the Tai Sui Hall.
There are two tall wooden flagpoles erected on the square of Tianhou Palace, which have been repaired, and the replaced old flagpoles are kept in the palace courtyard as cultural relics.
The theater building is also known as "Jinmen Old Theater Building", where you can watch cross talk and juggling performances. Dashizi Hutong is the former residence of Yan Fu, a modern thinker and educator. The original house is no longer there, and now there is a bronze statue of Yan Fu cast on the old site.
Seeing that the road sign indicated that it was leading to the Yuhuang Pavilion, we also visited it with great interest. She is located on the west bank of the Haihe River. It was built in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, that is, in 1368 AD. One of the oldest surviving buildings in Tianjin. To this day, you can still clearly see the strips of "thousand autumn belts" on its beams, which clearly record the years of repairs for it in the past dynasties.
Yuhuangge was the largest Taoist temple in Tianjin at that time. The hall is mainly dedicated to the Jade Emperor, who ranks second only to Sanqing in the Taoist gods. In modern times, due to imperialist aggression, the buildings of Yuhuang Pavilion were severely damaged.
The only remaining Qingxu Pavilion is the only preserved Ming Dynasty building in the Yuhuang Pavilion complex.
Before I knew it, it was almost noon, so I went to a local restaurant with a lot of family members for lunch.
We went to the bridge near the restaurant to admire the mouth of the Sancha River and the Tianjin Eye Ferris Wheel.
Cross the bridge and stroll along the east bank of the Haihe River to visit the Italian-style area. There are more than 200 elegant Mediterranean-style buildings here. Passing by a Catholic church, it looks relatively simple, I guess it must be quite old.
Soon came to Li Shutong's former residence memorial hall. Li Shutong is the famous "Master Hongyi". His former residence was a set of four courtyard houses built in the Qing Dynasty.
The plane is in the shape of a field, and there are verandas and small gardens in the courtyard. The interior furnishings are exquisite and the environment is elegant.
There is a Western-style study in the courtyard, named "Yiyuan", which was built by Li Shutong when he returned to his hometown after studying in Japan in 1910, to show his will to show his ambition.
The gardens and corridors in the courtyard are connected together, and the interior furnishings are exquisite.
Some wax figures present scenes of life at that time, and the overall environment is elegant and pleasant.
After the visit, we saw a lot of shared bicycles on the street at the entrance, so we rode to the former residence of Liang Qichao, which is mainly composed of Mr. Liang Qichao's former residence and the "Ice Drinking Room" study.
The front building of the former residence is the main building with a basement. The first and second floors each have 9 bedrooms. The whole building is divided into two parts, the east half is dedicated to Liang's family, including a small study, living room, living room, etc.;
The western half is the family housing. The back building is an auxiliary building, including kitchen, boiler room, storage room, servants' housing, etc. The front building and the back building are connected by corridors and bridges. The whole building is quite exquisite, including gardens, garages, and reception rooms.
The ice-drinking room, the study, and the residence are built side by side. It is a light gray two-story small western-style building. There are three small arched halls on the front of the building. There are stone steps on both sides in front of the door. There is a reservoir in the middle. A stone beast is carved in the pond, and the water is sprayed continuously all year round.
The center of the first floor is the hall, and the five houses around the hall are study rooms and libraries except one for miscellaneous rooms.
There is also a hall near the northwest corner of the second floor, and there are several bedrooms or library rooms near the southeast corner.
Liang lived here in his later period and engaged in writing. The ice-drinking room was designed by the Italian architect Beronio. The building has a unique shape. The hall in the middle is actually the canopy of the patio courtyard. The canopy is higher than the roof and is inlaid with flowered glass.
The former residence exhibition room reproduces the living and working scenes of the Liang family, and displays Liang Qichao's letters, books, historical documents and event photos.
Continue to cycle around in the Italian-style area, looking at the red-roofed Italian-style buildings, European-style sculptures, came to the pedestrian area, and walked to Marco Polo Square, which is one of the landmark buildings in the scenic spot, and stands on the central Collins-style stone pillar Goddess of Peace holding an olive branch.
In addition to Li Shutong and Liang Qichao, the scenic spot also has many former residences of celebrities. The former residence of the great warlord Cao Kun is now a commodity exchange; the former residence of Yuan Shikai and Feng Guozhang have been converted into restaurants;
Not far from the square is an exhibition hall that introduces Tianjin's history and future urban planning. We didn't have the heart and energy to visit it again. The western restaurants and coffee shops on both sides of the pedestrian street are full of tourists and bustling even in broad daylight.
I took a taxi to Central Park, got off the car and continued to wander around, and found that there seemed to be a lot of people gathering in front of me to take pictures, so I walked over to watch the excitement, and a very beautiful house made of ceramics appeared in front of me, this is the "Porcelain House".
Enter the visitor center on the side to see the introduction. The wall of the porcelain house is composed of hundreds of ancient porcelain bottles from the Republic of China and the late Qing Dynasty. It is called the Ping An Wall.
On the roof, a giant dragon made of pieces of ancient porcelain hovers in the pattern of "China", and behind the dragon is a model of a bird's nest made of pieces of broken porcelain. The time is not early, the ticket price is quite high, LP is not willing to climb the stairs, and we have been to Jingdezhen, the capital of porcelain, many times, and we are a little tired of porcelain, so we took pictures like most tourists and went to the former residence of Zhang Xueliang not far away to see it. Look.
The former residence of Zhang Xueliang is a magnificent three-story western-style building. The building is a white western-style building in a stepped style. There is a large terrace on the second and third floors. The interior of the building is where the young marshal once lived.
Back downstairs in the hotel apartment, I went to a nearby supermarket to buy some beer and cooked food.
After returning to the room and using the microwave oven for simple processing, dinner is served while watching the night view of Haihe River in Tianjin.
Day 3 Nankai University - Drum Tower
After waking up under the sunshine, we went to the food street downstairs and called a taxi to visit the famous Nankai University. It coincided with the 100th anniversary of Nankai University, and many alumni returned to the school to participate in the activities.
Nankai University is located in the southwest of downtown Tianjin and is a century-old famous university. The campus is relatively simple, and there are not many historical buildings.
However, the lakes and trees here are fresh and beautiful. Many students are studying on campus, and the atmosphere of books is strong, giving people a quiet and pleasant feeling.
We rode shared bicycles around the campus, and saw that the school buildings and teaching buildings of Tianjin University, which were separated from Nankai by a fence, were integrated with those in Nankai, and tourists could hardly tell the difference between them.
The Horseshoe Lake on the campus is a highlight. There are a lot of lotuses planted here, and the flowers bloom very beautifully every summer.
Siyuan Hall not far to the southwest of Horseshoe Lake is an ancient building in the school, and the Roman-style building at the entrance is very characteristic.
Seeing the old school bell in Nankai, it must be carrying the past and history of Nankai University.
Leave Nankai and call a taxi to Nanshi Cuisine Street, which is just across the street from the hotel.
This is a cloister-style three-story building with entrances in four directions. The entrance is as majestic and tall as a city gate tower. The first floor here is relatively open, imitating an arcade-style building.
The main distribution shops are all kinds of snacks, such as Guifaxiang Mahua, 18th Street Mahua, Eryan, Bengdou Zhang, etc.
In addition to delicious food, you can also find interesting traditional stalls such as sugar figurines on this floor. The second and third floors are semi-open corridor-style buildings. . The two floors are dominated by various restaurants, including Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine and other cuisines. Tianjin Restaurant and Yaxi Restaurant are also among them.
After coming out, we cycled north along the broad avenue, and we came to the Drum Tower, which is located in the center of the city. It is called the Drum Tower, but it is actually a bell tower.
The Drum Tower is three stories high, and the bottom floor is a square platform made of bricks. It is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.
On this platform, two floors were built. The first floor is dedicated to Guanyin, the Queen of Heaven, Guan Yu and Yue Fei, etc., and there is an exhibition introducing the development history of Tianjin City.
On the second floor of the Drum Tower, there is a plaque on the outside that is heard in the sky.
There is an iron bell weighing three hundred catties hanging in the building. The big bell of the Drum Tower is 1.4 meters in diameter, 2.3 meters high and weighs about 1,500 kilograms. It is known as the "King of Bells" in Tianjin. The clock is made of iron, with fine casting and simple shape.
The body of the bell is all cast in relief, the button of the bell is cast with twin tails, and the pieces of scales can be clearly identified. The two heads and four feet of the double silk are connected to the body of the bell, and the other four feet are grasping and climbing each other. Roar.
There is an exhibition hall in the Drum Tower to introduce the history of foreign powers' invasion and occupation of Tianjin in the past. Looking at Tianjin City from the Drum Tower has a hazy feeling, probably because the smog index exceeds the standard.
After lunch at the restaurant on Gulou Street, I wandered around casually. I wanted to go into the Gege Mansion next to it, but unfortunately it was not open.
Tired of shopping, I called a car to go back to rest. I saw the huge mechanical clock on the Century Clock Square by the Haihe River. The pendulum goes up and down, the sun and the moon shine, and Chinese and Western blend.
The side of the dial is in the shape of a huge pendulum, with a "sun" on top and a "moon" on the bottom. The shelf is S-shaped, which is based on the shape of the dividing line of Tai Chi, implying the alternation of yin and yang, and the beginning and end of each other.
For dinner, I came to Qishilin Hotel, which is very close to our hotel apartment. Qishilin is the earliest western food restaurant in Tianjin. The original Chesslin was a small restaurant that made and sold bread. It was founded by a German, Chesslin in 1908. Chesslin attracted customers with its authentic German-style western food, bread, and pastries, and the business was very prosperous.
Many social celebrities have dined here. It is said that Pu Yi and Wan Rong also dined here many times during their lives in Tianjin. Now Shihlin offers a variety of Western food. The first floor is a pastry shop, the second floor is Russian food, and the third floor is German. dishes, French food on the fourth floor.
Because the founder is German, we chose the German restaurant on the third floor, and a set of self-brewing German beer equipment is prominently placed in the central kitchen.
Surrounded by dining tables, you can see the busy process of chefs making western food.
We ordered 2 different flavors of brewed beer, German sausage platter and signature beef and other dishes.
The taste is not bad, it's not as unpalatable as some reviews described before, it's hard to say.
When leaving, LP went to the pastry shop on the first floor to buy several kinds of snacks to take away. The night is beautiful, and the building next to it is lit up with the lights of "Long Live the Motherland"!
Day 4 Tianjin - Beijing
After sleeping until I woke up naturally, I went to Tianjin Station to take the high-speed train to Beijing South Railway Station. There were many trains. I bought the ticket online in advance, and there was still some time before the departure time when I arrived at Tianjin Station.
While waiting for the bus, I settled for breakfast. The high-speed train was very fast, and I arrived at Beijing South Railway Station in half an hour. I took a taxi and went straight to the Jingtailong Hotel where I stayed for the past few days. It is located on Zhushikou East Street, near the south entrance of Qianmen Street.
Check in the room to put down the luggage, take a short rest and walk to the nearby Qianmen Pedestrian Street. The main reason I choose this hotel is for the convenience of shopping and eating. The sky turned cloudy and there was a drizzle, but it couldn't stop us from playing.
Qianmen Pedestrian Street starts from the outside of the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower in the north and ends at Zhushikou East Street in the south. It is about 800 meters long. It has been the most famous commercial street in Beijing since ancient times.
Nowadays, there are also many time-honored restaurants, shops, and snacks from all over the world. Shopping and enjoying delicious food are the best choices here.
The buildings on the street are all antique, with archways, old signboards, red lanterns, etc. Is this the taste of old Beijing?
Not far from the south entrance of Qianmen Pedestrian Street, you will see a Qingfeng steamed stuffed bun shop. The scale is not small. I ordered several kinds of steamed stuffed stuffed buns to taste.
When I walked to the middle of the pedestrian street, I saw that Dashilan and Xianyukou Hutong next to it were also very lively. There were many snack and pastry shops along the street, so you can buy whenever you are hungry.
Walking into the alleys of Dashilan, I saw a stewed stew. I bought a bowl to taste it. The taste of the stewed stew was not bad, but the noodles were a bit hard and needed to be soaked for a while.
There are train tracks on the pedestrian street, and there is a small sightseeing train called Dangdang car that you can take, but we only saw one train passing by after shopping all afternoon.
There are many time-honored restaurants such as Quanjude, Bianyifang, Donglaishun, and Liubiju in the pedestrian street and surrounding hutongs. You can eat traditional delicacies such as roast duck and mutton. I am thinking about which restaurants to go to in the next few days?
In addition to time-honored restaurants, you can also see time-honored shops and old buildings such as Ruifuxiang, Guanmao Culture Museum, etc.
There are also some teahouses with traditional art performances such as comic dialogue and storytelling.
Unknowingly, the sky was getting dark, and we came to Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant for dinner. Quanjude is a well-known trademark of a time-honored Chinese brand. It was founded in 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty), and has achieved considerable development after several generations of entrepreneurial efforts.
I have been to Beijing many times before, and I have eaten Quanjude Roast Duck many times, but LP still wants to try Quanjude Roast Duck again. When I entered the lobby, there were many people waiting in line, so we took a number and sat down.
When waiting for a seat, you can see the oven in the glass room and the chefs who are busy roasting ducks. The door of the oven is wide open, and the flames inside are blazing. The golden roast ducks make people salivate.
After waiting for about an hour, it was finally our turn, and we sat down at a square table on the second floor.
Tell the waiter to place an order according to the name of the dish you have chosen while waiting for a table. The taste of the duck is not bad, but the price is on the high side. However, watching the chef push the roast duck on the trolley at the table while drinking beer, I feel quite happy of!
Day 5 Forbidden City
The sky was clear today. After having some breakfast at the restaurant next to the hotel lobby in the morning, I took a taxi to the Forbidden City. In fact, the walking distance from the hotel to the Forbidden City was less than 3 kilometers, but it took nearly an hour to get to Donghua Gate by taxi. It was the first traffic jam. 'what!
I bought tickets online yesterday. The entrance of the Forbidden City is at the Meridian Gate, so I took a battery car from Donghuamen to the Meridian Gate. In fact, it was not too far to walk, and the battery car arrived in a few minutes.
There are a lot of people visiting the Forbidden City, but the Forbidden City has a limited number of visitors, so it doesn't feel crowded, there are many groups, and there are noisy queues to enter the park, but the queue for individual visitors is very short, so I took pictures outside the Meridian Gate After taking a few photos, we passed the gate and entered the Meridian Gate in a short while. In order to understand the details of the Forbidden City, we rented two electronic explainers, which will automatically play explanations when visiting various places.
The Forbidden City, also known as the Forbidden City, is the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a relatively well-preserved and large-scale ancient wooden structure complex in China and even in the world. It covers a large area and has more than 70 large and small palaces. In the middle of the century, these resplendent buildings can be divided into two parts: "Outer Dynasty" and "Inner Court".
With the Qianqing Gate as the boundary, the south of the Qianqing Gate is the outer court, where the emperor handles government affairs, and the north of the Qianqing Gate is the inner court, where the harem and concubines live, and it is the place where the emperor's family lives. Walking through the Jinluan Palace, Qianqing Palace, and Kunning Palace, and enjoying the beautiful scenery in the emperor's imperial garden, it is refreshing and unforgettable.
Stepping into the Meridian Gate, there are five golden water bridges in the square in front of the Taihemen. The single-hole arches are in the shape of beautiful shapes.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony, commonly known as the "Golden Luan Hall", is the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held grand ceremonies. On the day of the grand ceremony, there is a huge guard of honor from the Hall of Supreme Harmony to outside Tiananmen Square.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation is a building in the shape of "工", which is divided into two halls, the front and the back.
After Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's bedroom was moved to the back hall, and the front hall became the place where the emperor handled daily government affairs and received officials and workers.
Kunning Palace is one of the three rear palaces of the Forbidden City in Beijing. In the Ming Dynasty, the Kunning Palace was the queen's bedroom, but in the Qing Dynasty it was gradually changed into a place for worshiping gods.
The Palace of Preserving Harmony is the essence of traditional Chinese palace architecture and belongs to a palace-style building in the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Every year on New Year's Eve, the emperor entertained the princes and ministers of ethnic minorities here. Since the later period of Qianlong, it has become the place where "palace examination" is held.
The Treasure Hall is located in the area of Ningshou Palace. There is a nine-dragon wall inside. The upper part of the wall is a hipped roof of yellow glazed tiles. The walls are decorated with clouds and water in two colors, blue and green, to set off the majestic momentum of the connection between water and sky. The lower part is a white marble xumizuo, which is dignified and dignified.
To the north of Ningshou Palace are Yangxing Hall, Leshou Hall and Yihe Pavilion in sequence, and Leshou Hall is the most beautiful among the three halls.
The decoration of the hall is mostly made of nanmu, covered with precious wood such as red sandalwood and pear, and decorated with jade and enamel, which looks graceful and luxurious.
In the center of the north hall of the room is Yushan, a picture of Dayu's water control, which is the largest jade carving in the Forbidden City.
The walls of the corridor outside the hall are inlaid with stone carvings of "Jingshengzhai Fatie", which are the ink marks of Emperor Qianlong's hand-written calligraphy and classic quotations.
Emperor Qianlong mainly lived here after he became the Supreme Emperor, and Cixi also lived here after his 60th birthday.
The collection of treasures is particularly rich, covering Buddhist supplies, accessories, daily utensils and ornamental treasures.
Most of these treasures are made of precious materials such as gold, silver, jade, emerald, pearls and various gemstones, and are designed and manufactured by famous craftsmen from all over the country.
With great ingenuity and no expense spared, its craftsmanship represented the highest level at that time.
The Clock and Watch Museum is located in the Fengxian Hall in the palace. The Fengxian Hall is on the east side of the Three Palaces in the Forbidden City. It was originally built in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. "Fengxian" means worshiping ancestors.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the family temple where the emperor worshiped his ancestors. The hall is divided into front and back, and the middle is connected by a hallway, forming a noble "工"-shaped temple. The apse displays the divine cards of the emperors and empresses of the past dynasties.
In ancient my country, guibiao, sundial, and clepsydra were used to keep time. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, European mechanical clocks began to be introduced into my country, gradually replacing traditional timers.
In the 18th century, the court of the Qing Dynasty used mechanical clocks extensively. There are more than 200 pieces of various clocks and watches made in China and abroad in the 18th century on display in the museum.
Most of them are British products, and there are also clocks and watches from other countries such as France and Switzerland.
These clocks have accurate timing, exquisite shape, gorgeous colors, beautiful music, funny acting skills and various auspicious meanings.
It was deeply loved by the emperor's back door and became a precious decoration in the palace.
The Forbidden City is really too big. I was a little tired after watching the clock and watch museum. I went out and bought a cute stone lion-shaped Forbidden City ice cream to relieve the heat, and had some snacks to satisfy my hunger.
After that, continue to listen to the explanation and visit the East and West Twelve Palaces. The East Six Palaces refer to Jingren Palace, Chengqian Palace, Zhongcui Palace, Jingyang Palace, Yonghe Palace, and Yanxi Palace.
West Six Palaces refer to Yongshou Palace, Yikun Palace, Chuxiu Palace, Xianfu Palace, Changchun Palace, and Qixiang Palace (Taiji Palace).
There is a 3-story Western-style building in Yanxi Palace - Water Hall. The water hall is surrounded by dredging pools, surrounded by jade springs and mountains and rivers. Also known as the Crystal Palace, all the structures of the hall are made of iron, and the four dragon-shaped columns in the hall are also forged of cast iron. The whole building is mostly made of white marble, and bricks are rarely used. The outer walls are carved, and the inner walls are pasted with white and colored tiles. Due to the emptiness of the national treasury, the construction was forced to stop, and it has not been completed so far, but the concept is impressive.
Continuing to the north, you come to the Imperial Garden, which is located in the north of Kunning Palace. It has always been a place for emperors, empresses and concubines to rest and play after dinner. The activities of climbing high in the palace and appreciating the moon are also held here every year.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was called Gonghouyuan, and in the Qing Dynasty it was renamed the Royal Garden. It was first built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, and today it still retains the basic layout when it was first built.
The buildings in the park adopt a centrally symmetrical layout. The Qin'an Hall in the middle is dedicated to Taoist gods, and Lianli cypress intersecting with each other above the corridor in front of the hall is also one of the strange trees in the palace. The Wanchun Pavilion, Fubiting Pavilion, Qianqiu Pavilion and Chengrui Pavilion representing the four seasons are arranged in pairs on the east and west sides.
Among them, the Wanchun Pavilion and Qianqiu Hall facing east and west have unique and exquisite shapes, and are known as the most beautiful pavilions in the Forbidden City. The area of the imperial garden is not large, but ancient cypresses, old locust trees and exotic flowers and plants are all over it.
There are also dotted pavilions and halls and crisscross stone roads, making the whole garden both elegant and quiet, yet royal.
From the Imperial Garden to the north is the Shenwu Gate, which is the north gate of the Forbidden City and the exit of the Forbidden City. It is called Xuanwu Gate in Ming Dynasty, and Xuanwu is one of the ancient four gods and beasts. From the perspective of orientation, the green dragon on the left, the white tiger on the right, the red bird in the front, and the Xuanwu in the back. When it was rebuilt in 1999, it was renamed Shenwumen to avoid the name taboo of Emperor Kangxi Xuanye.
The gate tower of Shenwumen is built on the city wall more than 10 meters high, with a width of 5 rooms and double eaves on the roof. There is a Chinese plaque under the eaves of the upper floor, and the book is full of "Shenwumen" in Chinese, and the downstairs is surrounded by stone guardrails. There are three coupon gates on the city wall, the middle gate can be opened and closed, and there is a stone plaque "Forbidden City Museum" on the upper part of the north gate. From here, you can go out of the Forbidden City, or go up to the gate tower to continue visiting. The opposite is Jingshan Park. From the gate tower, you can look at the opposite Jingshan Park. The sunset reflects the gorgeous scenery of Jingshan Park.
To our surprise, there are many cultural relics of the Moscow Kremlin on display in the city tower, including the Tsar's costumes, military uniforms, decorations, utensils, archives, printed materials, etc.
Each is a treasure of art used in the most important court ceremonies held in the Moscow Kremlin in the 18th and 19th centuries.
According to the chapters of entering the city ceremony, proclaiming the world, the emperor's throne, coronation ceremony, sacred rituals, grand parade, luxurious feast, court celebration and other chapters, the magnificent scene of the Russian court celebration is fully restored.
From the city tower to the east, we walked on the city wall to watch the beautiful scenery inside and outside the city. When we reached the corner at the end, there was a turret.
The internal structure is composed of nine beams, eighteen columns and seventy-two ridges. Such a complex and exquisite building shows the superb architectural skills of ancient Chinese craftsmen. In addition to its decorative function, the turrets belong to the defense facilities of the imperial palace together with the city walls, gate towers and moats. Their functions are equivalent to watchtowers.
The yellow glazed tile roof and gold-plated treasure roof shine brightly in the sun, and against the blue sky and white clouds, they look more solemn and beautiful.
Continue to walk on the east wall until you reach the Donghua Gate Tower before coming down to the Forbidden City.
As the sun was setting, tired and happy, I reluctantly took a taxi back to the hotel under the farewell of the sparkling water of the Tongzi River.
After a short rest, I came to Donglaishun Hot Pork in Qianmen Street. This Donglaishun is on the second floor of a building in Dashilan. There is an old-fashioned tram model on the first floor for visitors to watch.
The night view of Qianmen Street is beautiful, but we can't afford to go shopping anymore, so we go for a walk after dinner and go back to rest.
Day 6 Prince Kung's Mansion – Nanluoguxiang – 798 Art Zone
After a night's rest, my energy recovered. After breakfast, I took a taxi to visit Prince Kung's Mansion. I bought tickets in advance like the Forbidden City. After renting two electronic interpreters at the entrance, I directly used my ID card to enter the gate and listen to the explanation while visiting.
Prince Gong's Mansion is the largest royal mansion in the Qing Dynasty. It served as the residence of the corrupt official Heshen and Prince Qing Yonglin successively. It was named after Prince Gong Yixin lived there. Prince Gong's Mansion has gone through the historical process from the peak to the decline of the Qing Dynasty, so there is a saying that "one Prince Gong's Mansion is half of the history of the Qing Dynasty".
The architectural complex is well preserved, with more than 30 architectural complexes of various types, with exquisite layout and extraordinary style. The whole is divided into two parts: mansion and garden.
The mansion is in the south, and the garden is in the north, which are separated by a rear building known as "99 and a half rooms".
The mansion is composed of multiple courtyards running through a strict axis, which is divided into three buildings in the middle, east and west, each with three courtyards.
The main buildings on the middle road are the Yin'an Hall and the Jiale Hall. The roofs of the halls are made of green glazed tiles, which shows the majesty of the middle road and also reflects the identity of the prince.
The main house in the front yard of the East Road is Duofuxuan, where Heshen's son, Fengshen Yinde, later married Emperor Qianlong's youngest daughter, Gu Lun, and Princess Xiao, and lived here, making this mansion a virtual reality for a while. Princess Mansion.
The main room in the rear courtyard is called Le Dao Hall, which was the living place of Prince Gong Yixin. The courtyards on West Road are relatively small and exquisite, and the main buildings are Baoguang Room and Xijinzhai.
The architectural masterpiece is the tall and majestic Xijinzhai. There are exquisitely carved nanmu partitions in the hall, which was built by Heshen imitating the style of Ningshou Palace in the Forbidden City.
The garden is located to the north of the mansion, also known as Cuijin Garden. It covers an area larger than the imperial garden of the Forbidden City, and has 31 ancient buildings.
Back then, Prince Gong mobilized hundreds of skilled craftsmen to build the garden.
After its completion, its magnificence was once the crown of hundreds of palaces in the capital, and it is the essence of the garden art of the existing palaces in Beijing.
The whole garden is run through with the word blessing, and the theme is clear.
The Western Gate in the garden, the stele with the word "Fu" in the imperial script, and the indoor theater building are also known as the "three wonders" of Prince Gong's Mansion.
By the end of the visit, it was noon, and I took the subway to Nanluoguxiang, which was one stop away. South Tongluo Lane is an alley, starting from Gulou East Street in the north and ending at Ping'an Street in the south, with a total length of about 800 meters. It is one of the oldest blocks in Beijing, with a history of nearly 800 years. The courtyard, the largest traditional residential area, is the street with the most old Beijing style.
There are a lot of literary and artistic specialty shops here, and there are many kinds of snacks. I found a specialty snack shop and ordered soybean juice, coke rings, fried liver, fried belly, etc. To be honest, it is not very delicious, and it tastes worse than southern snacks. It's too far, but it's good to take a break while tasting local specialties.
Turning into the alleys on both sides of the main street, there are far fewer tourists. The old houses tell the history of old Beijing. Unfortunately, most of the buildings are inhabited by residents, so you can't go in and visit them, so you have to take a walk outside.
In addition, the Central Academy of Drama is also located here, and you can see the old buildings in the fence.
After shopping, take a taxi from the North Exit and go straight to the 798 Art District, which is located in the northeast of Chaoyang District. It is a creative park renovated from an old factory building, and there are many galleries, exhibition halls and independent art houses.
The buildings are also cutting-edge and fashionable, with a full sense of design, and there are many characteristic shops, which is a wonderful place to feel the atmosphere of literature and art.
The 798 Art District has a large area, about 1 km in length and width. Various galleries, exhibition halls, and art centers are distributed in renovated factories. Here, the main thing is to feel the artistic atmosphere here.
And the exhibition is the most important content. There are many art exhibitions in the park, most of which are free.
There are also individual exhibitions that charge a fee, mainly displaying the works of the artists stationed in the park, most of whom are cutting-edge and creative.
We visited randomly along the way.
There are various sculptures and graffiti all over the streets in the park, each with its own characteristics.
Even the public toilets are designed with a sense of creativity. It is a very good choice to take artistic photos here.
In addition to various galleries and art centers, there are many art shops, cafes and restaurants on the street. The art shops sell a variety of unique small works of art, such as painted pottery, cloth art and so on.
The afternoon flew by while watching the exhibition. In the evening, I took a taxi to the Bianyifang located in Xianyukou not far from our hotel to eat roast duck, and experience the difference between it and Quanjude roast duck.
The cooking methods between the two are different. Bianyifang is a roast duck in a stuffy oven, while Quanjude is a roast duck in a hanging oven. The taste and taste of the two roast ducks in a stuffy oven and a hanging oven are a little different, because the stewed oven duck is based on the oven wall. During the roasting process, the temperature in the furnace first rises and then falls, and then falls naturally. The firepower is gentle but not strong, so the surface of the stuffed duck is heated evenly, the fuel consumption is small, and the duck breast looks plump and swollen. The skin of the duck is crispy and the meat is plump, the meat is white and tender, the meat is obvious, and the taste is delicious. There is no furnace door for the hanging oven roast duck, the fruit wood is fully burned, the duck is heated evenly and the firepower is strong, the subcutaneous fat is melted away, the surface of the roasted duck is golden and shiny, the skin is crispy, and the taste is burnt.
In short, I think the duck skin in Quanjude tastes better, and the duck meat in Bianyifang tastes better. Generally speaking, they are all good, and taste preferences vary from person to person. I ordered a whole duck and took a walk back to the hotel.
Passing by Liu Laogen Stage and Liu Laogen Restaurant, the lights are brilliant, and there is a huge root carving old birthday star on the side of the road looking cheerfully at the passers-by.
Day 7 Fragrant Hills Red Leaves
The day before, I discussed the departure time with the driver who made an appointment. He told me that there were often traffic jams in Xiangshan during this period. He suggested that we start early, so the driver came to pick us up early in the morning. When we arrived at the intersection of Xiangshan, we saw that many policemen began to set up roadblocks. Getting ready for traffic control, I was lucky enough to enter Xiangshan Road before the traffic control, arrive at the north gate of Xiangshan Park, and buy a ticket to enter.
Xiangshan Park is located in the western suburbs of Beijing. It is a royal garden with the characteristics of mountains and forests. There are luxuriant trees in the park, and there are many historical sites hidden in the forest. It is a scenic spot and a natural oxygen bar in Beijing.
Every autumn, "Xiangshan red leaves and red sky" is the highlight of the scenic spot, and it is almost a household name in China.
We also came here to appreciate the red leaves of Xiangshan Mountain. The cable car up the mountain has not yet started running. There are many tourists waiting in line. We wandered around and had breakfast by the way.
Soon after the cable car started running, we lined up to buy tickets and took the cable car to Xianglu Peak on the top of Xiangshan Mountain.
Xiangshan Park has a history of nearly 900 years since its establishment. As early as the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the royal family built a separate courtyard in Xiangshan.
Every summer and autumn, the emperor would come here to hunt and cool off.
There are many cultural relics and historic sites in the park, and pavilions and pavilions are scattered among the mountains and forests. The temple "Biyun Temple" with the architectural styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties; the only remaining wooden "Five Hundred Arhats" in China;
Welcome the sixth Panchen Lama's residence "Zongjing Dazhao Temple" and the quaint courtyard "Jianxinzhai" with Jiangnan characteristics,
The Shuangqing Villa on the southeast slope of Xiangshan Temple are good places to visit.
In the middle of the mountain, I saw the place where Mr. Mei Lanfang played in the past. A huge plum character was carved on the rock, and there were two small characters of Lanfang below it.
When walking down the mountain and going out from the east gate, a large number of tourists flocked into Xiangshan along the way.
There are huge crowds of people, and the scene is grand. Fortunately, there are many people entering and relatively few people going out.
We took the subway Xijiao Line at Xiangshan Station to Bagou Station, then got off and transferred to other lines to Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park.
It consists of three areas: Yuanmingyuan, Changchun Garden and Qichun Garden.
Because I went in and saw the remains of the Old Summer Palace's marble pillars, LP's feet were sore from walking in Xiangshan, and seeing that there was no battery car for transportation in Qichun Garden, I was too lazy to walk, so I took a photo at the west gate of Tsinghua University and then took a taxi and left.
In the car, the driver said that Niujie is a gathering place for Muslims, and the halal restaurant Jubaoyuan serves very good shabu-shabu. We asked the driver to take us there for lunch. It was almost 1:30 in the afternoon when we arrived. I was a little dumbfounded when I got out of the car. I saw several long queues. When I asked, I was queuing up to buy beef, mutton and pastries on the first floor.
You also need to get a number and wait for a seat when you eat, and you may have to wait for more than 20 tables. Fortunately, there are stools to sit and wait. It was not until close to three o'clock that we were assigned a small table on the second floor that the waiter was clearing. I can't wait to place an order, and I ate the most delicious meal of shabu-shabu in recent years. It may be the reason why I was so hungry after waiting for a long time. There are too many dishes, so I packed the mutton skewers and cakes.
LP bought some pastries on the first floor before going back to the hotel. This is not far from our hotel. It was already evening when we got back to the hotel. We bought some beer in the small supermarket downstairs. We didn't plan to go out at night. We only had kebabs Let's spend the last night of this trip in Beijing with pastries, beer and watching TV.
It is very convenient to travel from Beijing to Datong by high-speed rail, but because we wanted to visit the newly built Beijing Daxing Airport, we specially purchased a flight from Daxing Airport to Datong, Shanxi this afternoon, and woke up naturally in the morning.
After breakfast, I called a car to go to Daxing Airport. It was more than 50 kilometers away from the hotel, but the road was smooth, and it took more than an hour to arrive at Daxing Airport.
After we exchanged our boarding passes and checked our luggage, we started to look around.
The airport is very large. There are subways leading to downtown Beijing and high-speed rail leading to Xiong'an New District. LP saw on TV that there is a robot parking service in the underground parking lot of Daxing Airport.
I went to visit the underground parking lot on purpose. Unfortunately, because there are few flights at the airport, there are very few cars parked in the parking lot, and the robot parking service has not been activated for the time being.
Walking to the dining area, I saw many restaurants, including Quanjude, Lao She Teahouse, etc., and unexpectedly saw a "Grandma's House". We have been to Grandma's House in Hangzhou many times before, and we have a good impression.
So I chose this restaurant for lunch for Chinese food, and it was really satisfying. After the meal, we entered the departure hall through the security check, and when we found our waiting gate, boarding had already begun.
LP's seat is close to the window. After the plane takes off, you can clearly overlook the Daxing airport building like a big star in the sky.
The voyage is very short, and it takes about 40 minutes to arrive at Yungang Airport in Datong. Get out of the airport and take a taxi to Yungang Jianguo Hotel where you will be staying in the next few days.
The taxis here don't even use meters. After negotiating the price with the driver, get on the bus and go to the hotel. Fortunately, the price is not too outrageous, and the driver's attitude is also very good. He told us that the most famous restaurant in Datong is Fenglin Pavilion in the ancient city. When I arrived at the hotel, the driver gave me a business card before leaving, saying that if I need a chartered car to visit the surrounding areas in the past few days, I should call him one night in advance.
In the evening, I called a car to have dinner in the ancient city of Datong. Fengling Pavilion is in the pedestrian area, not far from Yanhua Temple. There are not many pedestrians at night, and the street looks a bit deserted, but Fengling Pavilion still needs to wait in line for a seat.
This is an ancient building with flying eaves, bucket arches, carved beams and painted buildings, curved railings and corridors inside, and different scenery.
It brings together many styles and styles of ancient Chinese architecture.
We waited for about an hour before it was our turn. We had already selected the dishes when we waited for a table. The must-eat here is Baihua Shaomai. The freshly baked Shaomai is very beautiful, like pear blossom petals.
The meat stuffing can be seen through the skin, the skin is thin and the meat is tender, the taste is very delicious, the color, fragrance and shape are excellent, and it is known as the famous food of Datong.
The night in the ancient city was a bit cold, and the night sky was full of stars, so we didn't linger here much, so we took a taxi back to the hotel to rest after dinner.
(See Travel Notes (below) for follow-up)
