A winter trip to Beijing 北京 (3)

Directed by, co-written by, and starring Jay Chou. With Gwei Lun-Mei, Anthony Wong and Alice Tzeng. Filmed in Taiwan; released 2007. We cannot tell what happens. But don't miss it ... As in life. Better late than never. The secret is right there, if one has open eyes, and an open heart.

ZhouZhuang, part of the area that Marco Polo described as the 'Venice of the East', lies just 37 miles west of Shanghai (about an hour's drive) ...

A KunQu Opera performance at the World Horticultural Exposition, BeiJing, 2019 ...

YuanMingYuan, also known as the 'Old Summer Palace', was constructed during the 18th and early 19th century and was a wonderland of lakes and waterways, bridges, hills and pavilions. One third of the ground of YuanMingYuan was taken up by over 200 small hills with steep sides, secluded valleys, rock walls and stone caves. Half of the garderns are covered by the waters of lakes, winding streams and ponds. It was at YuanMingYuan that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and handled government affairs - until it was destroyed; the Forbidden City was mostly used only for formal ceremonies at this time. The southern part of YuanMingYuan was where emperors handled state affairs, while the other parts were primarily for personal use and comprised of more than 150 scenic spots, involving rare exotic flowers and trees from different parts of the country. There were originally towers, terraces, pavilions, halls, corridors, pagodas and bridges with a total construction area of 150,000 square meters - corresponding in scale to that of the Imperial Palace. Artisans were recruited from all over China to enact the exquisite settings. The various styles of architecture, standing encircled by hills and rivulets, presented a most picturesque view. Many were reproductions of scenic mountains, rivers and famous gardens in China (mostly southern China). During his many tours of the country, emperor QianLong made it a point to have pictures of famous gardens and scenes drawn so that he could have replicas built in Beijing. Most famous of these were the ten scenic spots of the West Lake in HangZhou. The Old Summer Palace is often associated with the European-style palaces (Xi Yang Lou) that were built of stone. The designers of those structures, the Jesuits Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist, were employed by emperor QianLong to satisfy his taste for exotic buildings and objects. However, more than 95% of the Imperial Gardens consisted of essentially Chinese-style buildings. There were also a few buildings in Tibetan and Mongolian styles, reflecting the diversity of the Qing empire. In addition, hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in the halls, including some unique copies of literary works and collections. In 1860, during the 'Second Opium War', the British and French expeditionary forces looted the Old Summer Palace. Later, on October 18 1860, a British general - despite protestations from the French (who in fact had began the looting) - gave the order to set fire to the huge complex, which burned to the ground. In 1900, those buildings that had partly survived or been restored were burnt for good by the Western expeditionary forces sent to quell the 'Boxer Rebellion'. Many priceless artifacts were plundered and made their way to museums and private collections in Europe. The ruins were further plundered by the warlords of the early republican period and further destruction of the ruins took place during the 'Cutural Revolution'. After all this destruction, what was left was truely just an empty shell. Empress dowager CiXi later directed the forming of YiHeYuan (Garden of Nurtured Harmony), into a new Summer Palace; this was near to the Old Summer Palace, but on a (somewhat) smaller scale. Nearest subway station : YuanMingYuan on line 4.

Sina is a very talented drummer, aged 14 / 15 in these films. Don't miss this ! The Surfaris - Wipe Out ... Pink Floyd - Time (featuring Sticky Hickey) - just awesome ... Metallica - Nothing Else Matters - featuring the very talented young singer Jadyn Rylee (a beautiful love song) ... The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again ('meet the new war; same as the old wars' - great song) ... Van Halen - Jump ... ELO - Mr Blue Sky ... Led Zeppelin - Rock and Roll (featuring Alyona Yarushina and Andrei Cerbu) ... Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing ...

Xi'An is the provincial capital of ShaanXi, central China. August 13th 2016 : high heat alert - over 40C is seriously hot so take plenty of water (and some salty food). Xi'An is one of the oldest cities in China and was known as Chang'An prior to the Ming dynasty. Indeed, Xi'An is the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held this position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang. Xi'An was the eastern starting point of the ancient Silk Road trade route. Xi'An is also home to the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shi Huang, who became China's first emperor after the Qin (dynasty: 220 to 210 BC) conquered / unified all of the other Warring States. Rather than maintain the title of 'king' borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he created the title of 'emperor' (皇帝, HuángDì), which would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia.

它出淤泥而不染，濯清漣而不妖，一池荷花，一桌菜 | 野小妹

The story of an American girl with a dream to master Chinese dance through to graduation at Beijing Normal University's dance school ...

With Wei's Travel ...

Fascinating insights into the very varied cuisines of China. Chinese language, but easy to follow.