Ming Tomb Scenic Area - February 26th, 2012
The last place Randy and I would visit was the Ming Tomb Scenic area.
To start off the area is located on the beautiful Blue Mountain. It's here where there is also the Sun Yat-Sen memorial and museum and other historical sites as well. It's quite extensive and one could easily spend multiple days here.
The Ming Tomb scenic area itself was extensive and worth the price of admission too(which was pretty high comparably). Most of the Ming Tomb scenic area was built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Qing who were Manchus and a bit of an outsider to the Han must have erected the tablets that were passed along the way in order to show that they were part of that same legacy, and to appease the families connected to the Dynasty that had overthrown.
The area is very peaceful and there are a few sacred walkways where honor guards made of stone stood on each side. The first area was animals that were highly prized in China. With camels, elephants, Horses and even a Unicorn (seen as a mixture of a lion, dragon and deer and is seen as one of the symbols of the Emperor.
Along this path there is Plum Blossom hill where a festival was being thrown (Plum Blossom festival is thrown here on Blue Mountain from late February to early march we learned). So as we walked we saw cotton candy, rides, a stage with performers upon the hill and more people at this site than any site prior.
The first building we came upon was the sacrificial Hall which now functions as a gift shop. The building is lovely, but it's a shame the inside area no longer looks how it once did. We would see this later at the Ming Tower which also is another gift shop. The walk itself is long and beautiful to get there, and once you are you can climb the treasure hill and take the path back around to the Tower.
This area I'd say is not worthy of the faith blog since it is much more of a complete museum peace and entirely secular. It's worth going to though just to see the areas that have lasted through so much. The Tomb areas reminded me of the pyramids in a way in how great they are in telling the story of Imperial might and that even with all China has been through, the Emperors' legacies still carry on.
To start off the area is located on the beautiful Blue Mountain. It's here where there is also the Sun Yat-Sen memorial and museum and other historical sites as well. It's quite extensive and one could easily spend multiple days here.
The Ming Tomb scenic area itself was extensive and worth the price of admission too(which was pretty high comparably). Most of the Ming Tomb scenic area was built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Qing who were Manchus and a bit of an outsider to the Han must have erected the tablets that were passed along the way in order to show that they were part of that same legacy, and to appease the families connected to the Dynasty that had overthrown.
The area is very peaceful and there are a few sacred walkways where honor guards made of stone stood on each side. The first area was animals that were highly prized in China. With camels, elephants, Horses and even a Unicorn (seen as a mixture of a lion, dragon and deer and is seen as one of the symbols of the Emperor.
Along this path there is Plum Blossom hill where a festival was being thrown (Plum Blossom festival is thrown here on Blue Mountain from late February to early march we learned). So as we walked we saw cotton candy, rides, a stage with performers upon the hill and more people at this site than any site prior.
The first building we came upon was the sacrificial Hall which now functions as a gift shop. The building is lovely, but it's a shame the inside area no longer looks how it once did. We would see this later at the Ming Tower which also is another gift shop. The walk itself is long and beautiful to get there, and once you are you can climb the treasure hill and take the path back around to the Tower.
This area I'd say is not worthy of the faith blog since it is much more of a complete museum peace and entirely secular. It's worth going to though just to see the areas that have lasted through so much. The Tomb areas reminded me of the pyramids in a way in how great they are in telling the story of Imperial might and that even with all China has been through, the Emperors' legacies still carry on.