Beijing and vicinity
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On a trip to China in November 2011, we visited Beijing (Temple of Heaven Park, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Yuanming Yuan and Panjiayuan Market). We also hiked 5 miles along the Great Wall at Jinshanling, about 90 minutes northeast of Beijing.
Although not in the "vicinity" of Beijing --- it's a 1 1/2 hour flight or 11 hour train ride to the west of there) --- I'm including Xi'an, the ancient capital of China where the first Emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried along with his famous retinue of terra cotta soldiers.
So, I searched for other gigapan members who'd passed the same way, found pictures of the same subjects and added them to the gallery. The panoramas in this gallery are the result.
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The Qing Emperor, Qing Qianlong, in the mid-1800's, commissioned Jesuits in his court to design and construct European-styled buildings at the old Summer Palace to create a new "Garden of Perfect Brightness". The result was a complex of buildings and beautified grounds which was said to resemble Versailles, France, in...
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The ruins at Yuanmingyuan Park are the result of European actions during the Second Opium War (1860) when the "Garden of Perfect Brightness" (also known as the old Summer Palace) was ransacked and burned in search of treasures believed to be stored there. The grounds and buildings before the plundering were said to re...
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Towards the end of a five mile hike along the Great Wall (which we began at the village of Jinshanling) the wall's structure had not been renovated. The paving was uneven, battlements on one side were missing, and the towers we passed had lost their roofs and parts of their walls. Although this made for more careful ...
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Discovered by farmers digging a well in 1974, the terra cotta army had lain buried since the time of the first Emperor of China, Qin (pronounced "Chin" which gives us the English name for the nation: China). The soldiers were made as part of an extraordinary burial complex in the years before and after Qin's death in ...
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The Imperial Vault of Heaven is within a circular wall, along with two symmetrically flanking rectangular buildings. It is where the ceremonial gear was kept in-between visits by the Chinese Emperor who would arrive to observe religious duties such as praying for a good harvest or making sacrifices. The surrounding c...
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- Temple of Heaven Park (Tian Tan"), Qinian Dian circular temple, Beijing, China by T. E. Smith-Lamothe
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The Qinian Dian circular temple "The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests ", built in 1420, is located at the Temple of Heaven Park in Southern Beijing. The large park also contains a processional elevated route, a sacrificial mound and ceremonial buildings. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this park was off-limits t...
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First developed during the Qing Dynasty (1736-1795), the summer gardens near Beijing provided the Emperor and entourage a respite from the hot urban temperatures in the mostly un-treed Forbidden City palace in the centre of the city. An immense artificial lake (Kumming Lake)was dug out and the removed material formed ...
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Famous the world over as an extraordinary, incredible flea market, the Panjiayuan market is located in southeast Beijing, relatively near the Temple of Heaven park. It was the first legal antique market to open in Beijing in 1995, although it existed for many years as a "ghost" or black market entity. There are hundre...
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This third of three hand-held panoramas were taken during a 7.5 kilometers (5 miles) hike along the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall. "Jinshan" means "Golden Mountain" in Mandarin. The village of Jinshanling is a little over 90 minutes north of Beijing and is one of several sections of the Wall restored and open t...
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This second of three hand-held panoramas were taken during a 7.5 kilometers (5 miles) hike along the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall. "Jinshan" means "Golden Mountain" in Mandarin. The village of Jinshanling is a little over 90 minutes northeast of Beijing and is one of several sections of the Wall restored and o...
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