My parents are returning to Beijing for a visit and it made me start thinking about how much I love my old hometown. This is the place where my dreams always started and landed – Beijing! There are so many memories there on every corner, every street and every sunset! So I thought I would share some of the wonderful memories from growing up there with a tour using your imagination!

Long Corridor Photo Courtesy of (c)Tomo.Yun (www.yunphoto.net/en/)

I want to start our tour with my favorite garden here –the Summer Palace. Even though it is called the *Summer* Palace, it is truly a Palace for all year round. In the spring time, it’s always so refreshing to see the first signs of green and the first blossoms, which is really nature’s wake up call from the long winter hibernation! In summer it is truly a beautiful paradise! You will be overwhelmed by the deep green of the trees; the grass and picture perfect Kunming Lake. Stroll down the Long Corridor at dusk to enter the feeling of this ancient imperial palace that is eight hundred years old. Fall is the season of colorful kaleidoscopes. The explosive yellow leaves of the Gingko trees appear almost magical. Climb to the top of Longevity Hill and get a birds-eye view of the northwest corner of Beijing. Or even more dramatically, enjoy a sunset moment and watch the sun slowly sinking into the Yan mountain range, with the silhouette of a classical pagoda standing on top of the Jade Spring Hill. What an unforgettable picture! In winter, see all the colors of the ancient buildings covered in the blanket of white snow. A white dream that has repeated for hundreds of years! When the sun comes out, you can see those colors slowly emerging and asserting their beauty, contrasting with the snowy world!

Summer Palace has always been my family’s special paradise! We have our fondest family moments there. Memories flood my mind, like standing by the Kunming Lake, soaking in the dramatic color of the sunset accentuated by the silhouette of Western Hill, perhaps even a group of geese flying on their way home through the curls of smoke from early dinner cooking. Each year on the Full Moon Day Festival, we would take our moon cakes with us to feast in the reflection of the most beautiful and flawless full moon of the year on the water of Kunming Lake. We often would stroll in the Long Corridor on the summer nights. It is all lit up and so quiet and peaceful.

Marble Boat Photo Courtesy of (c)Tomo.Yun (www.yunphoto.net/en/)

You can also see the lit up dragon boats floating on the lake and imagine every character from Imperial Chinese history who has lived here before. They might have experienced the same moment in the same atmosphere hundreds years ago, who knows?

Of course you will be starving after the wonderful day of exploring the park and the Imperial Restaurant in the Summer Palace is the perfect stop to end your day. It is located right in the middle of the Long Corridor. It was a palace for Concubine Pearl, one of the most beautiful concubines in the Qing dynasty. You can’t even tell it is a restaurant from its appearance until you smell the delectable aromas coming from it. Just walk into the old building and enjoy the ancient classical Chinese decorations while being served by elegant waitresses dressed in beautiful Qing Dynasty-styled robes. You will once again be surprised by the good taste that emperors had hundreds years ago! What a treat!

All the Best!

Jia

This blog delves deeply into the hidden meaning of the magnificent architecture you will see in Beijing. Nothing in China is by chance. Everything you see there was created specifically that way to satisfy cultural and philosophical rules that are thousands of years old. philosophies such as Feng Shui, Yin/Yang and the I Ching. It is truly fascinating information and will enhance your trip to China greatly, because you will understand much deeper about what you are seeing than the average tourist. So settle back and enjoy the read!

China is a dichotomy of old and new. A trip across the Middle Kingdom (as China is called in Chinese) will reveal farmers plowing fields with water buffalo as their ancestors have for thousands of years, to the most modern cities in the world; complete with the ubiquitous Starbucks and Hard Rock Cafes!
Beijing

Beijing is the perfect example of this dichotomy. The capitol of China, Beijing is a great window to see into the past of China and to the future! The Forbidden City is the epicenter of old world china in Beijing. Inside its magnificent walls is the complete history that has been hidden for 500 years. The palace complex is built in the very center of the meridian line and encompasses the entire culture of China in its fabled architecture.

The Meridian Line is part of the Yin/Yang concept of the balance of nature. It is the very center line that runs through the middle of entire city from the north to the south. All the important buildings are on this line, Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City, City Drum Tower and City Bell Tower are all on this line. In old times, all the buildings were built according to your status in the social hierarchy, the higher your rank was, the closer to the Meridian Line.  For example, the Emperor’s throne chair sits right on the middle of the Meridian Line. Why? Because, the Emperor was considered the center of the universe, so his power was supposed to radiate outwards from the center! Following this meridian line you will see perfectly symmetrical designed buildings on both sides of the line. This keeps the balance of Yin and Yang and follows the concept of our ancient science of Feng Shui. What is Feng Shui? Literally translated, Feng means the Wind, Shui means the Water. Together it’s the art and science of  how to preserve the harmony of our artificial existence in order to get along with the Mother Nature. For example, in the Forbidden City, the front court, which is the political area is in the south, and the back residential area is in the north. According to five elements theory, the south is associated with fire, symbolizes growth and belongs to the Yang category. So it is the logical place for government structures. North is associated with water, which symbolizes storage and belongs to Yin. That is more in harmony for residence. That is why the buildings in the front court are magnificent and grand, while the residential  buildings in the back are smaller, to show the tender and gentle virtue of the Yin.

This birds-eye-view of the Forbidden City is the perfect way to see just what an architectural masterpiece it truly is! It is the true embodiment of Chinese philosophy and culture: supreme royal power and an ingrained hierarchical order. You can clearly see a central power line called the meridian line, that runs through the center of the entire city of Beijing. The higher your status, the closer you are to the meridian line.
The emperor’s throne hall sits squarely on this line in the very center of the forbidden city (fourth building back, sitting in the white marble). This symbolizes how his power would radiate outward across the entire kingdom!

Here you can also see the five marble bridges which symbolize the five virtues of Confucianism. Hopefully by now you can see how interwoven the Chinese culture is in every aspect of life; even the designs of the cities!

Even the colors are regulated according to your status. In ancient times only the emperor’s buildings – the Forbidden City, had magnificent colors of yellow, red and green. The rest of the city buildings are all in gray. So you could easily distinguish people’s status in the hierarchy. Notice that the Forbidden City is in red and yellow? That is because earth, which is represented by yellow, is the center and represents the nation, so the roofs are in yellow; Fire produced earth and has the color of red, so the walls are mainly in red.

Now when you go to Beijing, while you are being wowed by the beauty of those groups of gorgeous ancient buildings, take another look and think about the whole picture and remember what I said today. You will really be fascinated by how deep this philosophy goes below the skin and into the heart and soul of the whole city.

Always remember that everything in China was built that way for a reason!

Another fascinating fact, every local family used to have their own courtyard, and the exact same centralization rule applies to the arrangement of the buildings inside the courtyard. It is like a miniature Forbidden City! Family members had their room according to their place in the family hierarchy. The leader of the family always lives in the most central building in the courtyard.  So be sure to include a visit a Hutong ( an old-style courtyard) to see for yourself what you have learned today. We can easily arrange a Hutong tour as part of your tour, where you can visit with a local family, enjoy a lunch with them and ask any questions you like!

Fascinating stuff, eh?

Feel free to add comments or ask questions. You probably already figured out by now that I love talking about China!

All the Best!

People go to China to experience something very Chinese, not something they can get anywhere else or at home. Who doesn’t? That’s normally what I think when giving suggestions and choosing places to stay or visit.

Without exception, every one of my clients who have stayed there all love Bamboo Garden Hotel in Beijing. First it’s a very traditional courtyard complex with beautiful Chinese garden style. Second it’s located right in the heart of old town Beijing, the Hutong area> The Hutong area is the only place where you will find the old Beijing atmosphere to immerse in while you are enjoying all the fascinating history and culture of Beijing during your day tours.

Many of my clients love this peaceful and charming hotel so much that they called this their highlight of the tour! The Bamboo Garden Hotel is a classical Chinese courtyard-style structure in a quiet lane west of the Drum Tower in Beijing. The halls and pavilions in the building are linked by unique, long corridors, with a tranquil and elegant surrounding of bamboo groves, rockeries, and fountains.

There is a very interesting history behind this hotel. It was the private residence of Sheng Xuanhuai, the postal department minister during the late Qing Dynasty, and it was also said to be the garden of Andehai, the imperial eunuch. Since the late Qing Dynasty, a succession of celebrities such as Wang Yintai, Mahansan, Dong Biwu and Kangsheng (famous people from different political periods) have lived here.

Have a sip of tea while you are emailing your friends from your elegant Chinese room (free wireless in each room) and tell them how much you are enjoying the real Beijing!

You can check out their website and see some pictures of the interior: http://www.bbgh.com.cn/index.html

You can also check out what some of our clients had to say about the hotel on our Testimonials page: http://www.jiasdreamtours.com/testimonial.html

All the best!

Jia

Located at the foothill of Yan Mountain, on the western side of Beijing, Fragrant Hill enjoys the reputation as the best place in Beijing to see the autumn colors! Of course due to its naturally higher elevation, Fragrant Hill area also enjoys the fresher air of Beijing. Combined with densely populated trees and plant life, Fragrant Hill well deserves the reputation of Summer Retreat!

Even though Fragrant Hill is more famous for its fall colors, in my opinion, it’s beautiful during all four seasons. There are four attractions in Fragrant Hill area: Fragrant Hill Park, Beijing Botanical Garden, Cherry Blossom Valley and Reclining Buddha Temple.

Fragrant Hill Park is a large park of hills and forest covering 160 hectares (395.4 acres). The park was first built in 1186 in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and later extended to a large scale in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The most spectacular natural scenery in the Fragrant Hills Park is the red smoke tree leaves over the mountains in autumn! When autumn arrives, fiery red leaves blanket the entire mountain. It becomes one of the top attractions for the locals to look forward to in the autumn!

Beijing Botanical Garden is a large 400 Hectare ( ~988 acres) park close to XiangShan at the foot of the Western Fragrant Hills. It presents magical, peaceful surroundings just 15 km from central Beijing. There are many local and exotic flora and fauna, including the Perennial Garden, Peony Garden, Ornamental Peach Garden, a magnificent 10,000 square meter Conservatory housing Rain Forest House, Orchid House, Desert Garden House, Exhibition Flower House and numerous other gardens featuring camellias, bamboo, tree peonies, ornamental cherries and many others.

Cherry Blossom Valley, (Yingtaogou) also commonly known as the Zhou’s Family Garden, is situated at the foot of Shou’an Mountain near Fragrant Hill Park. Walking west from the Botanical Garden, one comes to a narrow, winding path, which leads to Cherry Blossom Valley; a quiet, secluded valley ideal for a getaway from the city life. During the Ming Dynasty, the Temple of Wisdom (Guanghuisi) was built here. In front of and behind the temple were orchards in which cherry trees were especially abundant, which is how the valley obtained its name. It is so quiet and peaceful here, that you can hear the sound of a bubbling spring, the wind blowing through the pine trees and birds chirping!

My favorite is actually Cherry Blossom Valley. From the name you can tell this valley is full of cherry trees which are consider rare in Beijing. And you can imagine the best time for this part of Fragrant Hill is spring: during cherry blossom time. The whole valley is full of blooming cherry and all the other flowers: peach, magnolia, peony… it’s truly a fresh picture of spring! My favorite time is sunset time at Cherry Blossom Valley, after it has quieted down from a whole day of visitors. Since it’s next to Reclining Buddha Temple, you can basically walk in between the two places. With the solemn and peaceful atmosphere of the temple, you can even appreciate more of this quiet moment by yourself.

Another reason I love Cherry Blossom Valley is that the author of my favorite Chinese book: Dream of Red Mansion – Mr. Cao Xue Qin used to live here and supposedly was inspired here. If you want to read one of the true classics of Chinese literature, Dream of Red Mansion is an incredible, haunting love story that you will never forget! If you walk all the way to the end of Cherry Blossom Valley, you will see there is a famous site called: Pine Growing Out of a Giant Rock. This was one of the most memorable symbols in his book (Dream of Red Mansion) of the love and relationship between a girl and the boy. What a touching and inspiring story!

I highly recommend if you get chance to go to Beijing, spend some time in Fragrant Hill. Even though it’s not on top of the tourist’s list, its beauty and charm will be really win you over, especially if you are into the traditional Chinese culture. Try to spend at least one night there, slow down and wander around the old temple, breathe in the fresh air from the fragrant valley, immerse yourself into mother nature, read a couple of chapters of Dream of Red Mansion… That’s an enchanting moment of your life!