#mentougou

Chaoffice Architects

#light #travelinhotel #beijing #mentougou （在 龍泉賓館）

Exploring the town cont. #yongding #mentougou (at Beijing)

Explored the town #yongding #mentougou (at Beijing)

besides ,going there and taking some nice pictures of the night view seems to be a good idea as well.but clearly it’s not a good choice to do it during these days because temperature outside can drop to nearly 0c at night.

judging from the stone bridge,landscape has changed greatly during the past decades.the river,which now is just a stretch of earth, has disappeared compeletely. some kind of stone facility(i guess it's used to guide rain water to the river behind) has been distroyed by wind and heavy rain.by the fact that no one is repairing it,it's definitely not in use any more.

I’m in a “scenic” kind of mood these days. (Probably because the Square Mile here in London remains too urban for my tastes. Heck, even Pudong has more style...) The city of Beijing is too often maligned as a soulless smogpital. That’s because the likes of Fox News brainwashed you into thinking life in Beijing was merely inside the 6th Ring Road. Thankfully, our ringways are easier to escape that, say, the rubbish road network Londoners have to deal with (if I had it my way, for the love of efficiency, I’d have outright voted for the Ringways Plan). The best way is to first head for the express road that runs just by the Beijing West Railway Station, then continue on that express road until you hit the mountains of Mentougou, western Beijing — temples included. In London, fifteen minutes is spent shifting from first to second, then straight down from third to first, then neutral, as you try your “sorry” move with the Vauxhall next to you on Marylebone Road. In the Jing, fifteen minutes at (legal!) cruising speed (80 km/h or 50 mph; you get none of this on the Western Avenue east of probably the Target Roundabout) is really all you need to head into the mountainous bits of National Highway 108. And by the time you add another five or so and are out the Keluotou Tunnel, you’re just a mile away from Tanzhe (or “Pool and Cudrania Tree”) Temple, a temple which, as legend says, was here first — before Beijing existed at all. Then head east into central Beijing for Jietai (Altar Ordination) Temple, where you’ll not just be in Jawdrop Mode when it comes to the impressiveness of the temple buildings, but rather the pine trees. There’s one embracing a pagoda; another one growing what is in essence a stone tablet; a third with unique textures on the bark — you get the idea. There are loads more out west — I’ll probably keep you up here into the wee hours if I had it my way. But me signing out for today isn’t a sign you should sign out as well. Remember there’s a word out west for great views and temples.