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ming tombs jade store

Beijing Travel Blog › entry 5 of 18 › view all entries

David & I traveled to China in May 2007: We spent the first 7 days with a Friendly Planet Tour & last 2 weeks on our own. This is quick telling of our travels. We loved the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, jade stores, tea farms, Beijing, Harley Davidson (Beijing), Guilin, Li River, Yangshou, Suzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an, Terra Cotta Soldiers...the food, street scenes,tourist traps, scenery, museums, gardens & most of all the people!China is a Hoot! We LOVED it: anyone can do it on their own!

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ming tombs jade store

May 5, 2007

David with the stern soldier

MAY 5, 2007 Another amazing day in Beijing. Today we went to the Ming Tombs. They were wonderful. There is a long walkway leading up to the tomb area. It's called the Shendeo or sacred way. It is lined with an honor guard of animals, civil and military dignitaries and court officials. First there is a nice horse then an animated horse, first there is a reclining elephant then there is an alert elephant. First there is a nice soldier then there is a scowling one with weapons. Ying and Yang at their best! It was incredible to see these ancient sentinals. I took my time and photographed every one. The legend is that the honor guard changes guard at midnight.

silk detail

Then right inside a building there was a huge turtle. (it symbolizes long life) then into the tomb museum.... I think I remember the guide saying it is the oldest wooden structure in China. wonderful exhibits. They really thought it through and made it interesting.

They reproduced silk that was on the corpses..... as soon as the coffins were opened and the silk was exposed to the air it began to disintegrate.... (did I mention that I can't spell?) They took pictures and have reproduced the wonderful dragon patterns in the silk. Beyond that was a "4 star" bathroom.... It was very clean and nice. We took a picture of the sign.

the nice guardian dog/dragon

Across a meadow was the actual Ming tomb. In times past, people paid money at one building as they entered as they would leave their soul there if they tried to get exit without paying ... risky... better to pay a little (we did and obviously it worked as we are still here...) ...... there was a huge fountain and people deposited money there for wishes. lots and lots of it. there were guards posted by it.

We went up to the second level of the last building and took pictures. There are other tombs that are not excavated but they are waiting for the technology to preserve the items instead of having them get ruined by the air.

jade horse: there are so many colors of jade from different areas. this was lighter colored

Isn't it wonderful that so many things are waiting to be unearthed after thousands of years? I love that the discovery continues as the technology is developed. They were big mounds ... like small mountains.... Oh,...the treasures that await!
We went to a jade factory. It was really fun. I took a lot of pictures but I didn't feel the prices were so wonderful that I would have been tempted to buy. I asked about several things but ... wow... the prices seemed very high. 300 yuan for a bracelet. I bought one very much like it later for 60 later.. But... they drive you to the factory and you are essentually prisoners until the buses leave... there are no shops or restaurants near by... so that is how they keep their cliental looking at their overpriced merchandise... but it was still beautiful and interesting.