The Heroes Of Kaifeng (開封) and Zhengzhou (鄭州)
Posted On Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at at 2:21 AM by Alvin
We started our visit to this relaxing city by spending a chilled-out morning in the Kaifeng (開封) Millennium City Park (清明上河園 ); essentially a large open-space garden modelled on the famed painting by the Song artist 張擇端. The famous painting depicted life in the 1,000 A.D. Song Dynasty capital Kaifeng (宋朝 開封) and the Millennium City Park did a reasonable job in make-belief by re-creating such settings and we felt we were characters "inside" this famous painting !
The city of Kaifeng (開封) had been an ancient capital of China for seven dynasties; in particular the Song Dynasty (宋朝 - circa 1,000 A.D.) where China peaked and ebbed in its governing powers and foreign influence - this dynasty was at once flourishing and prosperous as it was feeble and corrupt. Through these tumultuous times, came two heroes praised and revered; and folklores guaranteed their immortality for generations till this very day - 包公 and 岳飛.
包公 was essentially in his days, a judge and he was known for his impartiality, selflessness and fearlessness. 岳飛 was known for his loyalty to his country and military brilliance and the injustice and ultimate death he suffered at the hands of corrupt hangers-on to the Song Emperors. We felt a sense of honour to be visiting the shrines and temples (包公祠 and 朱仙鎮岳飛廟) dedicated to these two long-ago giants.
On a completely different timeline and perspectives, we visited the 2.7 Memorial Tower (二七纪念塔) in Zhengzhou (鄭州) during our last part of this journey. The tower commemorated the bloody suppression of the railways (Jing -Han Railway linking Beijing and Wuhan that passed through Zhengzhou) strike that took place in 1923, February the Seventh. On this day, mass protests broke out against inhumane working conditions and Imperial-influenced injustice and inequality and that led to many brutal deaths and injuries. This strike and incident and these heroes who stood up, provided the added impetus that led ultimately to the founding of the Communist (and liberated) China as we know it today. Our hats off to these heroes.
The city of Kaifeng (開封) had been an ancient capital of China for seven dynasties; in particular the Song Dynasty (宋朝 - circa 1,000 A.D.) where China peaked and ebbed in its governing powers and foreign influence - this dynasty was at once flourishing and prosperous as it was feeble and corrupt. Through these tumultuous times, came two heroes praised and revered; and folklores guaranteed their immortality for generations till this very day - 包公 and 岳飛.
包公 was essentially in his days, a judge and he was known for his impartiality, selflessness and fearlessness. 岳飛 was known for his loyalty to his country and military brilliance and the injustice and ultimate death he suffered at the hands of corrupt hangers-on to the Song Emperors. We felt a sense of honour to be visiting the shrines and temples (包公祠 and 朱仙鎮岳飛廟) dedicated to these two long-ago giants.
On a completely different timeline and perspectives, we visited the 2.7 Memorial Tower (二七纪念塔) in Zhengzhou (鄭州) during our last part of this journey. The tower commemorated the bloody suppression of the railways (Jing -Han Railway linking Beijing and Wuhan that passed through Zhengzhou) strike that took place in 1923, February the Seventh. On this day, mass protests broke out against inhumane working conditions and Imperial-influenced injustice and inequality and that led to many brutal deaths and injuries. This strike and incident and these heroes who stood up, provided the added impetus that led ultimately to the founding of the Communist (and liberated) China as we know it today. Our hats off to these heroes.
Yun Tai Shan Geo Park (雲台山地質公園)
Posted On Sunday, September 13, 2009 at at 1:43 AM by Alvin
We decided to go off the China Central (中原) well-beaten tracks and headed for a lesser known (to us) destination - the Yun Tai Shan Geo Park (雲台山地質公園), about 100km north of Zhengzhou (鄭州) - the provincial capital of Henan (河南). Lesser known to us it might have been, Yun Tai Shan was an absolutely magnet to our Mainland compatriots ! We found the parking lot packed solid with countless 100 seaters coaches on the day we arrived (Saturday), yikes ! The park was swarming with visitors as we bumped into the weekend !Basically, the physical geographical characteristics of Yun Tai Shan had numerous similarities to those of Arizona and Utah and the very informative museum inside the park displayed the waterfalls, canyons, rock formations of Yun Tai Shan alongside those of Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyons as comparisons. Truly fascinating ! The park was beautifully studded with red canyons, emerald river streams, waterfalls thundering down from heights of a few hundred metres as well as numerous cascading rock pools, such a beauty ! Luckily, there were over 200 rustic hostels (農家旅館) to cater for the sudden influx of weekend tourists and we sampled greedily the "rustic menu" after a hard day's hiking around this amazing Geo Park. What a gem !
Up Shaolin (少林寺) And Back Down From 三皇寨
Posted On Saturday, September 12, 2009 at at 9:36 PM by Alvin
The Shaoin Temple (少林寺) had been famous right round the world for its numerous martial arts skills and its respected monks, so we kept our expectations (really) low to avoid the hype and hopefully enjoy the site. We were not disappointed.
As we arrived to the nearest town Deng Feng (登封市), we were surprised to find more than 50 martial arts colleges dotted around town; each with numerous students decked out in smart sports uniforms (mostly teenager boys we noticed) lifting weights, going through their martial arts routines, running around the large training grounds, performing impossible stretching exercises and just generally keeping themselves fit - all looking serious and professional and we sensed ambitions in them.
The Shaolin Temple was as expected, not as dignified (莊嚴) as we would have liked to imagine (you know, with solemn-looking high-ranking monks mumbling Buddhist chants, each effortlessly disguising their supreme martial arts depths and so on). However, the whole visiting experience was "saved" by the 30 minutes live martial arts performance that included incredible demonstrations of the well known styles such as the praying mantis, snake in the tiger shadow and the famed 18 weapons (十八般武藝).
After visiting the Talin (塔林) where respected high-ranking Shaolin monks were buried, we cabled up the back bone mountains of Shaolin - 嵩山 and spent 3 hours visiting the backend of Shaolin - 三皇寨. The scenery was awesome as this mountain range gave us a geographical perspective of the Shaolin Temple that we found obscured in the Temple's commercial front entrance. As per usual regarding tackling any Chinese mountains, love them or hate them, we had to negotiate some 3,000 steep well-paved staircases (好漢坡 ) on our way down this famous mountain. The views were superb and we thoroughly enjoyed the hike down.
As we arrived to the nearest town Deng Feng (登封市), we were surprised to find more than 50 martial arts colleges dotted around town; each with numerous students decked out in smart sports uniforms (mostly teenager boys we noticed) lifting weights, going through their martial arts routines, running around the large training grounds, performing impossible stretching exercises and just generally keeping themselves fit - all looking serious and professional and we sensed ambitions in them.
The Shaolin Temple was as expected, not as dignified (莊嚴) as we would have liked to imagine (you know, with solemn-looking high-ranking monks mumbling Buddhist chants, each effortlessly disguising their supreme martial arts depths and so on). However, the whole visiting experience was "saved" by the 30 minutes live martial arts performance that included incredible demonstrations of the well known styles such as the praying mantis, snake in the tiger shadow and the famed 18 weapons (十八般武藝).
After visiting the Talin (塔林) where respected high-ranking Shaolin monks were buried, we cabled up the back bone mountains of Shaolin - 嵩山 and spent 3 hours visiting the backend of Shaolin - 三皇寨. The scenery was awesome as this mountain range gave us a geographical perspective of the Shaolin Temple that we found obscured in the Temple's commercial front entrance. As per usual regarding tackling any Chinese mountains, love them or hate them, we had to negotiate some 3,000 steep well-paved staircases (好漢坡 ) on our way down this famous mountain. The views were superb and we thoroughly enjoyed the hike down.
A Slow Train From Hua Shan (華山站) To Luoyang (洛陽)
Posted On Thursday, September 10, 2009 at at 12:35 AM by AlvinHaving had a good overnight rest, we boarded the train from 華山站 to Luoyang (洛陽) - a.n.o.t.h.e.r. ancient Chinese capital. Hey Man, this IS central China - (中 原) where it all happened and dynasties came and went ! We were greeted on the train, as usual, by a compartment full of hungry passengers - each and everyone carrying their ration for their journey, which typically included the omnipresent giant cup noodles (the 康師傅杯面 brand of course), beverages with mouth-watering names such as vanilla and mango vitamin yogurt shakes and of course their own 1L hot water bottles ! Amongst our travels, we found that the Chinese trains had one supreme facility - an endless supply of hot drinking water located at the end of each compartment; and with that, the problem of fulfilling one's essential meals and drinks are solved - you could have your cup noodles (康師傅杯面) and Chinese teas to your heart's contents !
We reached Luoyang by lunch time and found Luoyang a pleasant city to stroll around for a few days (slowly) as we were still feeling the strains in our calves from the Hua Shan climb ! We did venture out to the famous rock carvings and Buddhists caves at Long Men (龍門石窟 ) the next day. The Buddha images and worshipping caves were constructed over successive dynasties dated almost 2,000 years back and the caves could be visited on both sides of the Yi River (伊河). These caves and sculptures were impressive and they reminded us of those we saw in Ajanta and Ellora in Western India as well as those in Dazu (大足).
There was a also an interesting site nestled by the Yi River - the burial grounds of the famous poet and administrator of the Tang Dynasty 白居易 - 白園 (白居易墓). He spent much of his later years by the hills (香山) along the Yi River. It was also most interesting to note that there were many of his direct descendants from Korea and Japan (now all naturalised) paying tributes to their ancestor and they had contributed many stone tablets to commemorate this master poet. He wrote the following memorable lines (amongst many others) :
《琵琶行》
同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識。
《長恨歌》
在天願作比翼鳥，在地願為連理枝。
天長地久有時盡，此恨綿綿無絕期。
《賦得古原草送別》
野火燒不盡，春風吹又生。
We reached Luoyang by lunch time and found Luoyang a pleasant city to stroll around for a few days (slowly) as we were still feeling the strains in our calves from the Hua Shan climb ! We did venture out to the famous rock carvings and Buddhists caves at Long Men (龍門石窟 ) the next day. The Buddha images and worshipping caves were constructed over successive dynasties dated almost 2,000 years back and the caves could be visited on both sides of the Yi River (伊河). These caves and sculptures were impressive and they reminded us of those we saw in Ajanta and Ellora in Western India as well as those in Dazu (大足).
There was a also an interesting site nestled by the Yi River - the burial grounds of the famous poet and administrator of the Tang Dynasty 白居易 - 白園 (白居易墓). He spent much of his later years by the hills (香山) along the Yi River. It was also most interesting to note that there were many of his direct descendants from Korea and Japan (now all naturalised) paying tributes to their ancestor and they had contributed many stone tablets to commemorate this master poet. He wrote the following memorable lines (amongst many others) :《琵琶行》
同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識。
《長恨歌》
在天願作比翼鳥，在地願為連理枝。
天長地久有時盡，此恨綿綿無絕期。
《賦得古原草送別》
野火燒不盡，春風吹又生。
Watch Your Steps - This Is Hua Shan (華山) !
Posted On Sunday, September 6, 2009 at at 10:59 PM by Alvin
Since ancient times, Hua Shan (華山) had been one of the most revered and picturesque mountains in China where temples (西嶽廟 ) were built as far back as 3,000 years ago for the emperors to perform their worshipping rituals.
Hua Shan was made even more famous by the well-known Chinese novelist and historian Jing Yung (金庸) as he penned his heroes and heroines doing swords and fists battles and duos atop the dangerous peaks of Hua Shan whose sheer cliffs and precarious steep ascents offered the ultimate testing grounds for "who dares win" and "who dares not die". None more so than the "world-famous" battles of 華山論劍 between such well-known fictional characters as 東邪、西毒、南帝、北丐、中神通 !
We stayed at the foot of Hua Shan near the 玉泉院 entrance where we enjoyed the local dinners of 四菜一湯 (four dishes with one soup) for a bargain of 50 RMB ! I love this place ! Having fed ourselves well, we felt ready to tackle our itinerary the next day : 8AM start by climbing the 5 main peaks followed by the steep descent from the Eastern slopes back down to the 玉泉院 entrance where we would be met with a lovely hot shower !
Sounded easy enough, little did we know the real magnitude that awaited us - the famed Hua Shan sheer cliffs which went up and up, vertical "climb-like-Spiderman" rocky staircases that tested our agility - all performed with an extremely cautious eye to safety as we were surrounded by sheer drops on all sides of our pathways (called 長空棧道) ! We were also glad that we remembered to buy the workmen gloves before we started our hike as the gloves were indispensable to protect our hands from the rusty iron rails. The route was no easier on the way down, we could never forget the seemingly never-ending last leg of the descent - basically a 3 hours' walk down one long 45 degrees pathway ! We passed many interesting rock formations, temples and monuments such as 千尺幢 and 九天宮 and finally our downward momentum carried us all the way back to 玉泉院 at around 5PM and we relaxed over a well-deserved dinner with a few glasses of the locally Shaanxi (陝西) brewed Baiju (白酒)- 西鳳 ! Hua Shan was one of the most memorable hikes we've had !
Xi'an (西安) - The Start And End Of The Silk Road
Posted On Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at at 1:48 AM by Alvin
After a relaxing Summer spent in HK packed with loads of swimming and Malls-exploring, we packed our bags and headed for the two central Chinese Provinces of Shaanxi (陝西 ) and Henan (河南).Of course, Xi'an (西安), now the Provincial capital of Shaanxi, was China's capital since the Qin Dynasty (秦朝) and had been known to the world as the start and end of the famous Silk Road. Xi'an was then known as Chang'an (長安) and was reputedly larger than Rome and had already a grid city plan with wide avenues to welcome the many visitors - it was truly a metropolis in its hey days where peoples from all over Asia and as far as India and Europe traded and mingled (even sharing a bottle or two of the Baiju 白酒, maybe).
We found Xi'an to be packed with historical sights and also an easy city to navigate in, because the excellent maintenance of the city walls helped us get our bearings. We visited the central Bell and Drum Towers (鐘樓, 鼓樓), The Great Goose Pagoda (大雁塔) at the southern end of the city, the Great Xi'an Mosque (清真大寺), walked the 14 km encircling city walls (古城牆 - a pretty tiring 3 hours job) and the extremely contents-rich Shaanxi Museum (陝西歷史博物館 - another exhausting 3 hours job), which housed numerous glorious copper, clay and iron artifacts from as far as 4,000 years ago from the pre-Qin dynasties of 商朝 and 周朝. And of course during our brief sojourn in Xi'an, we visted the much-anticipated Terracotta armies and figurines (兵馬俑). So much had been said about the Terracotta armies and figurines so I would spare the details here, other than to say that no matter how many times you have seen them in magazines and TV, nothing could beat the experience of going to the excavation sites and coming "face to face" with these charismatic ancient characters.
