Land Tour – Ancient Capitals of China

[Before we reached Dubai I knew it would take a while before I could return to finish the blog for the Oceania Asia cruise that we completed in May of this year. Please accept my apologies for the long absence. I am just now finding a little time to return to this effort.]

Greetings! Wènhòu!

On 4 April, 2024, Joy left the ship with 29 other passengers to fly to Beijing. Their overland tour is to explore the spectacular icons in two of China’s greatest cities, Beijing and Xi’an, including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Terracotta Warriors Museum.

All of these photos were taken by Joy, so I can only take credit for editing them for the blog.

Let’s begin with what Joy saw at the Beijing Airport! The architecture is amazing!

They have created visual surfaces that are not linear, and give the eye plenty of depth to wander. I have stared at these photos for minutes at a time, studying the lines and pondering how these structures were designed and built.  Marvelous!

Once out of the airport, the group was taken past multiple buildings that are simply beautiful! None are quite as unique as those we saw in Shanghai, but they are stunning nonetheless. Take these twin towers, for example.

Continuing down the highway, the building on the left is reminiscent of the tower Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan. The stacked layers suggest a bamboo-like strength. The previously shown twin towers are present in the center. The building on the right appears to flare out at the top – just the opposite of what the eye is expecting to see as the building lines recede. Clever!

The next building appears to be sucking in its gut so we can see the building behind it!

And the last example is just interesting! I wish Joy had captured the entire building – the top looks like it might be very interesting, too!

China has a very aggressive space program, and they have let the world know they intend to colonize the Moon and Mars before anyone else. It is interesting to see they have placed a statue of an astronaut on a street corner!  (Joy captured another in Xi’an, but I didn’t include it in this blog. ) I’m not sure what happened to his boots…

This stunning building is Zhengyangmen – one of the few remaining structures of the original wall around Beijing. This was a major gate into the city.

Then they arrive at Tiananmen Square!

In the center of Tiananmen Square is this Monument to the People’s Heroes. It shares this space with the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, visible in the background. You may better recognize the name as Mao Tse-tung.

The group pauses for a group photo in Tiananmen Square!

The building in the background is the Zhengyangmen gate building you saw from the side earlier.

Shout out to Judy and Tom! They were good companions to Joy on this trip!

Next is the Temple of Heaven. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its architecture and cultural history as an animal sacrificial site during prayers for bumper crop yields.

These four ladies were fabulously dressed and having a great time at the Temple of Heaven!

Now it’s time to visit the Forbidden City! The group approaches the entry at the Meridian Gate.

Heading north into the Forbidden City, the first buildings are the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

It is huge! The Gate of Supreme Harmony extends both left and right from the photo above! Here is the extension to the right. Beautiful architecture!

Through the Gate of Supreme Harmony lies the courtyard to the Hall of Supreme Harmony!

Joy pauses next to a tortoise sculpture near the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Joy arrives at the Gate of Heavenly Purity!

Two lions guard the Gate of Heavenly Purity. This is the right side lion.

Here is a detail of the roof tile ridges.  Joy loves taking these shots!

It’s time to move on to visit the Great Wall of China!

This area is the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall. The Juyongguan Pass is very difficult to access with its steep and heavily forested terrain. It was known as the “Greatest Pass Under the Heavens”!

This is one of the tower gates on the Juyongguan Great Wall.

There are many steps up and down, and the steps are rarely even or the same height, making it very difficult to walk!

Joy reaches her target and celebrates!

The group pauses for another group photo at the Great Wall!

The group flies from Beijing to Xi’an (pronounced “shee-ahn”).  Xi’an is the oldest city in China, more than 3,000 years old! (You may recall, in Shanghai we went to Suzhou, the 2nd oldest city at 2,500 years old!)

In Xi’an Joy finds the largest teacup in China!

On the way to the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the bus passes by this stunning statue near Huaqing Palace.

Approaching the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses, this is also the location of the Mausoleum of the 1st Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who’s statue is shown here.

They finally arrive at the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Yes, the sign does say “and Horses”! Look it up yourself if you don’t believe me…

This facility must be a Tardis! The structure above does not appear to match the structure below in size! But this is the main hall of the museum!

There are massive rows of warriors unearthed, and many more to go!

Let’s zoom in on the nearby channels.

Zoom in again and you can clearly see the various figures, all unique! Faces may seem to be the same, but the detailed features are varied, clothing is different, and hairstyles are varied!

Here’s proof Joy is there!

From the side it looks like a rolling sea of warriors!

A cluster of horses is displayed together. These have very stylized lines, especially in the ears, nostrils, and manes.

A series of statues is set apart for display. This is a middle-level officer!

Here is a cavalryman with his horse. This horse is not as stylized as those we saw earlier.

Finally we have an archer with his arrow nocked and drawn, bow at the ready.

The group heads to the hotel and has free time to see Xi’an by night. The city is very colorful!

The buildings are gorgeously illuminated!

And the local women don their finest! This mother/daughter pair are beautiful! But the sneakers must go…

Finally, heading to the airport, Joy catches this amazing artwork! An entire army on horseback is emerging from the stone! Captivating!

On 7 April, 2024, the group flies to Hong Kong to catch up with the Insignia! They arrive in the evening on our first day in Hong Kong, so Joy will not be with me as we enter Hong Kong Harbor and I take my first tour. I’ll tell you about that in the next post!

Zàijiàn! Goodbye!

Next port – Hong Kong!