Source: CCTV.com

10-08-2008 16:39

Have you ever been to China, do you wanna have a closer look at this old mysterious country? A CCTV.com netizen from Germany would like to share his wonderful trips in China with you, telling you a true China in a foreigner's eyes.

I am a "Zhong Guo Mi"

"Zhong Guo Mi", that's one of the Chinese expressions I learned on my latest trip to China. China-Fan, that's a possible translation – and that, is also what I definitely am for many years. Even in the time when I was a young man I was strongly attracted by this country with its enormous cultural diversity, its various nationalities and its awesome people.

Beijing and Qingdao were the two steps of my trip to China – no doubt that the major Olympic sites were also part of the agenda.

Days in Beijing

Beihai Park

The "Beihai Park" is the oldest and best preserved imperial park in all China – a place of peace and tranquillity in midst the vibrant heart of Beijing. Once a beloved place of relaxation and pleasure for the emperor and his family, together with its artificial Beihai Lake, the park reflects the age-long imperial dream of eternity and immortality.

"The Garden of the resting soul" is located close to the northern edge of the lake. By building this garden emperor Qianlong expressed his deep love for the unique beauty and integrity of South-Chinese landscapes.

The highest point of the park is marked by the bottle-shaped "white pagoda", remarkable manifestation of the Chinese Buddhism. Dating back to the 13th century it is the oldest completely preserved lamaistic pagoda in China – built with stones, the top made of bronze. The white plastering of the facade is responsible for the name of the building – it's really inspiring and gives the impression of deep pureness and fey eternity.

This place allows a unique view down to the Forbidden City and the Tian'anmen. The striking contrast to the modern city is typic for Beijing. The huge number and the dimension of structural antagonisms are the main feature of the Chinese capital.

The Lama Temple

In stile and character influenced by the Han, the Man, the Mongolian and the Tibetan Nationality, the temple complex with its over a thousand halls and rooms is one of the largest sites of the Tibetan Buddhism in Beijing.

Along an area of over 60,000 m2, the Lama Temple has a large number of precious treasures like the laughing Buddha, the Arhat-mountain with its unique woodcarvings or the Buddha-statue in the "Hall of the shining Buddha".

It's the almost audible silence and touchable magic by which Buddhist sanctuaries make up such a major attraction to western people. Incense sticks, burning paper-money, praying people, and the omnipresence of dragon and phoenix symbols – all this gives the whole scenery a touch of fey, standstill and eternity.

Tian'anmen

It’s a "must" to visit Tian'anmen on a trip to Beijing. On a sunny summer day the square appears even more impressive. We gathered there for a photo underneath the board of the Olympic countdown. Visitors are really overwhelmed by the masses of tourists. The Chinese have a very special relation to this place with the Tian’anmen Tower, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum and the Mausoleum of the former chairman Mao Zedong.

The Tian'anmen gate is still decorated by the oversized portrait of Mao Zedong. The Gate is also the entrance to the Forbidden City with its numerous palaces, administrative buildings and religious places – still the largest palace area in the whole world. This was the place where the former "Sons of heaven" celebrated themselves in the bright light of their "divine origin". All forms and colours make up a harmonious and symmetrical general view. All the important palaces and halls are built on one centreline from North to South. Smaller buildings are placed to the right or left of this axis.

On a sunny summer day the imperial gardens have a very special, almost magic atmosphere. In spite of all the visitors and tourists, the old trees, the rocks and statues express a true touch of piece and eternity. How nice to stay there for a while…

The Summer Palace

There in no place of higher integrity and pureness created by human imagination and architectonical genius. Only few places on earth make visitors feel this deep balance and true peace.

Emperor Qianlong built the Summer Palace as a copy of the beloved West Lake in Hangzhou. Marvellous! Even dragon boats are gliding along the peaceful waters. The mystical white of the beautiful marble boat makes an indescribable contrast to the green gardens and the blue colour of the artificial lake. The whole scenery gives the impression of a resurrection of the amazing and legendary West Lake.

The Great Wall

It's not a long distance from Beijing to Badaling, but due to the dense traffic such a trip can really take a while. In summer there are pretty nice temperatures in the mountains near Beijing. While the sunshine touched the picturesque landscape the new "Beijing 2008" – emblem could widely be seen by the visitors. Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.), his real name was Yingzheng became king of the State Qin when he just reached the age of 13 years. He is today regarded as the true builder of the great wall. His ancestors also used enormous human resources to expand the huge building in the following decades.

If you climb up the great wall at Badaling you can strongly feel the almost unlimited amount of power of the Chinese Emperors. The spectacular beauty of the mountains around Badaling is almost breath taking.

Temple of Heaven

Blue is the commanding colour of the temple and all its adjoining buildings – this colour symbolizes the heaven and its power.

Up to the Qing-Dynasty the Temple of Heaven was the religious place for the Emperor and his family. Tiantan, as it is called in Chinese, is on of the most beautiful buildings of the Chinese capital and the largest temple area in China as well.

Surrounded by a wall and divided by another wall into an inner and an outer area both walls are rounded in the northern part and rectangular in the south – in old Chinese philosophy the heaven was symbolized by the round part while the square represented the earth.

Built in 1421 the Temple of Heaven was the place for the dialogue of the emperors with the heavenly divinity for centuries.