Summer Palace

The Summer Palace consists of lakes, gardens and buildings. Built in the 1750s for the royal family to relax. By the end of the Qing Dynasty it was the primary residence of the royal family.

Temple of Heaven

                                   

The Temple of Heaven was first built in 1420 BC by the Ming Emperor Yongle. It was used by the Ming and Qing Emperors would pray for a good harvest.
The circular Temple of Heaven was constructed without a single metal nail.
The complex has many different temples and has a circular wall that is called the echo wall. If someone is at the west side and talks someone on the east side of the wall can hear what they say.

In Imperial times only the king could go 

down the middle of this walkway.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is arguably the most recognizable symbol of China.

The Great Wall of China was ordered to be built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC. Parts of the wall connected pre-existing walls and fortifications and other parts were built from scratch. In total, the wall is about 13,000 miles long. It runs east to west along China's historical northern border.

The wall was built primarily by soldiers, convicts, and commoners. It is estimated that 400,000 people dies while constructing the wall and many of the people were interred in the wall. Using scientific research, it was found sticky rice was used as part of the walls mortar.

We walked about ten miles total on the wall and got to ride a tobagin to the base of the wall. The kids really enjoyed the wall and never complained even though we were walking up and down steep steps.

Tiananmen, Beijing, China

Tiananmen Square in Beijing is a Chinese national symbol. The name Tiananmen means "Gate of Heavenly Peace" and is the front entrance to the Forbidden City.
Tiananmen Square is about 109 acres and consists of: the Monument to the People's Heroes, The Great Hall of the People, Mao's Mausoleum (yes, you can see his body enshrined in glass) and the National Museum of China.
The Square was built during the Ming Dynasty in 1415. It is also where Mao declared the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
It is also the site of the 1989 student uprising and massacre, where students marched and rallied for freedom. This movement was ultimately quelled with force, and today there is no mention of the uprising. If I ask local friends and coworkers about Tiananmen they just know it as the square the the buildings. If we prod and asked if anything significant happened there, they have no idea. Not wanting to get them or myself into trouble, I've never enlightened them on the matter.

Flooding in Xi'an, China

On July 24-25, 2016 we experienced flooding in Xi'an, China. Xi'an received an estimated 4.6 to 6 inches of water an hour.
We didn't have flooding in our house, but part of our roof leaked and caved in. We had some neighbors that experienced flooding. We tried to help them bail water and sandbag their houses, but they refused our help. The Chinese are known to be very prideful and do not like accepting help from others.
These are pictures that Mr. Kungfuyankee and a friend took, and I posted a few from the local newspaper.

I love this picture of the Bell Tower reflected

in the water.

Mount Qincheng

Mount Qincheng is a forty minute train ride from Chengdu. It is one of the most important Taoist sites in China. It is known as "the most peaceful and secluded mountain under heaven." According to mythology, it is the site where the Yellow Emperor studied Taoism with Ning Fengzhi who was a famous Taoist monk.

Panda taxi

Jinli Street, Chengdu, China

Jinli Street is an ornate tourist street restored in 2004. The street is made up of ornate historical buildings and sells local snacks and souvenirs. In the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Jinli Street was famous for it’s baldachin cloth, which is an ornate red and flowery cloth. During the Shu Dynasty it was known as the First Street of the Shu Kingdom because it was one of the busiest commercial streets of the time.

These girls came from Shanghai just

to have their picture taken at Jinli Street

Entrance to Jinli Street