Fashionista's Travels: Ming Tombs

Aside from the Great Wall of China, we actually were lucky to also have the opportunity to visit Ming shi san ling (or translated as the thirteen tombs of the Ming dynasty). I've never fancied visiting a burial site or a mausoleum before but there's a first for everything, right?

Here's me with the help of the English - Mandarin dictionary trying to converse with my new friend, whom I've met on the bus when we were on our way to the  Great Wall the day before. 

As with our trip to the Great Wall, in which we took the bus, this time we also took a bus to the Ming tombs, specifically, to Dingling. Dingling is located about 50km away from Beijing, so the bus trip took roughly about an hour or so. We took bus no 925 from Deshengmen (the bus terminal not far from Jishuitan station, the same bus terminal where we took bus no 919 to the Great Wall) to Dingling. The bus took us directly to the entrance of Dingling so there's no need to change buses as some of the guides on the web would tell you.

There are actually 13 tombs in all (out of all 16 emperors from the Ming dynasty). Unfortunately, only 3 tombs can be visited and out of all three, only Dingling (the one we visited) has been excavated. 

The entrance to Dingling. For those who are interested in visiting, the entrance fee is around RMB60 (roughly MYR30). 

And this is what they have written on the board that Raden is reading: 

Located at the eastern foot of the Dayu Mountains, Dingling is the joint burial tomb of the 13th Ming emperor Zhu Yi Jun and his two empresses. Zhu Yi Jun (1563 - 1620) whose reigning title was Wanli and posthumous title is Shenzong, ascended the throne at the age of 10 and ruled for 48 years until he died at the age of 58. It took six years to build Dingling, construction of which started in November 1584 and ended in June 1590. Dingling covers an area of 180,000 sq meters. 

The Underground Palace of Dingling is the only one of the Ming Tombs excavated so far. With the approval of the State Council, the trial excavation started in May 1956 and was finished one year later. With a total floor space of 1,195 square meters, the Underground Palace is composed of five stone chambers: the front chamber, the middle chamber, the rear chamber, and the left and right annex chambers. More than 3,000 pieces of cultural relics were unearthed from Dingling. In 1959, Dingling Museum was set up at the original site and was opened to the public. 

From the main entrance...

It's quite a long walk from the main entrance to the inner courtyard of Dingling.

Met a fellow Malaysian, Syed Danial who arrived at Qianmen Hostel (where we were staying) from Russia (he took the trans-siberia train) on our third day in Beijing. So we invited him to join our journey to Dingling and he agreed. We're friendly that way =). 

It's quite a journey up, but the view is magnificent.

Souvenir shops in the courtyard.

As can be seen, expect plenty of tourists if you plan to visit Dingling. And most of them are actually from mainland China. 

As usual, in his true Malaysian style, my brother can't resist acting against the advice displayed on the board.

I wasn't able to take photos of our entrance towards the Underground Palace because of the tight security, scanners (just like when you'd check into the departure lounge at the airport) and warnings of no photography allowed everywhere. Post entrance, we had to walk a few flights of stairs down to the burial chambers

The Underground Palace (as the mausoleum is called) is fitted with air-cond so it's actually quite cool and breezy. Money donated by tourist at Emperor Wanli's coffin.

This is the rear chamber. 

According to the board put up in the rear chamber, this is the main chamber of the Underground Palace. Inside the chamber there was a coffin bed on which the coffins of the emperor and empresses were placed (note: when the emperor died, the empresses were buried with him so that they could accompany him to the afterlife). The coffin of the emperor is in the middle and flanked by the empresses on both sides (note: there are two empresses). Jade materials were found between the coffins. The burial articles for the emperor and empresses were kept in 26 cases made of nanmu (a kind of hardwood) on the sides of each coffin. Unfortunately when the Underground Palace was discovered, part of the coffins and the burial articles had decayed. Therefore the burial articles on display are copies of the originals. 

Photos depicting the emperors of China. 

Plenty of tourists everywhere. The large red wooden box at the far right is the coffin for the emperor and the slightly smaller red wooden box next to it is the one containing the empress. What surprised me was finding out that the empress was buried alive with the emperor. I guess it's her duty to follow the emperor to the afterlife together.

Among the treasures (or their replicas) that were buried with the emperor.

As you can see, this place is huge! It was also cool in an eerie way and a bit drafty at certain parts of the chambers.

Even the doors are huge.

There is only one way in and one way out of the Underground Palace. After walking up a few flights of stairs, we finally reached the exit door. 

Did I mention how huge the doors are?

And this is the exit from the tomb. There's different pathways leading to the entrance and another pathway leading out of the exit. This means that once you have made the decision to enter the Underground Palace, there's no turning back. 

There was a board located not far from the exit which wrote:

It's here that a stone slab was found in September 1956 when the Underground Palace was excavated, on which the inscription reads: 16 zhang further and 3.5 zhang deep to the Diamond Wall (1 zhang equals 3.33 meters). Guided by the inscription on the stone slab the archeologists finally found the Diamond Wall - the entrance to the Underground Palace.

Finally made it outside. Yeay! For those who intend to visit Dingling, expect to spend a couple of hours inside the Underground Palace. The place is definitely huge, and it's quite a distance. Be forewarned that from the entrance of the Underground Palace, you have to walk a few flights of stairs down and to go out of the Palace you also need to walk a few flights of stairs up. That means, if you have problem walking, or your knees are a lil' bit shaky, this visit is definitely not recommended for you. As I mentioned before, there's no turning back once you've entered the mausoleum, you have to walk all the way to the exit. 

Dingling's museum right outside the main entrance of the mausoleum. We didn't get to visit this as it was quite late and the museum was already closed for the day.

For more information on Dingling, the Ming tombs and how to get there, you can click [here] and [here].

Hopefully there's more visits to China in the future for me. The country has a beautiful historical past and I hope to be able to experience more of this huge nation. To beautiful ancient history and more historical sites in the future. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Travels: The Great Wall of China

In June 2010, the three of us went to Beijing (courtesy of AirAsia's free flights promotion). Well, we didn't get free tickets, but we did get the RM10 tickets, so in all, our flight Kuching - KL - Tianjin (return) costs less than MYR400 each. If I'm not mistaken it was only about MYR360 (return trip per person). And no trip to Beijing is complete without a trip to the Great Wall of China. 

There are several ways to get to the Great Wall, depending on which gate that you opt to visit. Among the famous gates are Badaling and Mutianyu; Unfortunately, I was informed that Mutianyu is quite far from Beijing (and less visited), thus we opted for Badaling. 

How to get there? Bear in mind that we did not book any tour packages (as we were informed via the net that tour packages tend to be very rushed and we do not want to be rushed as we savor our moment enjoying our trip to one of the wonders of the world). So, we decided to trust the net and look up ways to get to the wall. To read the website that we used as reference for the trip, click [here]. 

Alternatively, you can also choose to read my blog =). 

First, we used the subway from Qianmen station (where we were staying) and stopped at Jishuitan station. For those who are wondering on the fees, subways in Beijing uses a flat rate of RMB2 (equal to about MYR1) to any destination no matter how near or far. Coming out of Jishuitan station, we had to walk quite a distance, (I think around 15 to 20 minutes) to the Deshengmen bus station. Feel free to ask around on where is the bus station to Badaling (I'm terribly sorry but I forgot to take photos of the bus station). Most people are actually quite friendly and they will point you to the right direction. 

Upon arriving at the bus station, we followed the instructions from wikitravel and took bus no 919 to Badaling. As mentioned in the website, the bus fare is RMB12 (equal to about MYR6). The bus trip will take roughly about 1 hour plus (I don't remember exactly though, it was 2 years ago, you know). How do you know if you've arrived at your destination? There'll be plenty of signage indicating the Great Wall and if I'm not mistaken, it's the last stop, therefore everyone will be exiting the bus at the Great Wall station.

This is us in the bus. Usually the bus driver will wait until the bus is full before leaving the station. 

I actually made a new friend on the bus. I seem to have forgotten her name, but she was really helpful in sharing with us on the attractions and famous landmarks in Beijing.

Arriving at the bus station in Badaling. There's plenty of shops, restaurants and hotels along the road leading to the entrance of the wall. If you're uncertain of how to get to the entrance of the wall, just follow the road leading up the hill and you'll be fine. 

There's also a public toilet by the road just in case you need to take care of business. I'm not sure if there's any toilets along the wall itself though (public toilets were not my priority at the time of the visit).

We couldn't find any halal outlets near Badaling (and we were ravenous when we arrived at the bus station in Badaling) so we opted to eat at a vegetarian outlet instead. There's one vegetarian outlet by the roadside, so if you're hungry, you might want to look for that one (I have no photos of it, sorry).

As you can see, the Great Wall of China is included in the New Seven Wonders of the World list. 

At the entrance of the gate. I don't remember now how much we paid for the entrance fee. But I remember that it's not that expensive.

This is the entrance to the Great Wall.

This was erected in conjunction with Beijing Olympics in 2008.

As you can see, the wall itself is quite a distance, so you may want to decide on the distance that you're willing to walk. And you might also notice plenty of other tourists, so walking along the wall is relatively quite safe.

This shot was taken on one of the steep parts of the wall (thus the reason for the weird pose).

As you can see, a bit of stamina is needed to walk/ climb along the wall. The length of the wall is quite a distance and the path itself (though it's paved) is filled with ups and downs.

Did I mention that some parts of the wall are quite steep?

Notice the arabic letterings on top of the door frame? Although I do think that the letterings are more recent than the wall itself *heh*.

Along our trip, we met two Muslim Mongolian boys with their father. Super adorable =).

Stopping to pose with the father and his two boys. One of the benefits of donning the hijab is that it's easier to be recognized by another Muslim fellow. And most of the time (when traveling), Muslim travelers (or natives of whichever country that I'm in) would say the salaam to me. As strangers, it's a great way to find common ground (and start a conversation =P).

My brother and his jumping pose. Luckily he didn't jump his way off the wall *yikes*.

Yup, there's still a long way to go even though we've walked for about an hour or so. And if you notice, the whole length of the wall is filled with tourists.

Bear in mind that the further you walk along the wall, the further you have to walk back to the gate. There is no bus station at the other end. You have to walk back to the bus station from where you came from.

This is the recognition from UNESCO claiming that the Great Wall is a world heritage site.

Indeed if you ever get the chance to visit Beijing, a visit to the Great Wall is a must! It's really amazing to be able to be there and imagine how difficult it must have been to construct the Great Wall. Even until now there's been no attempt to mimic China's Great Wall by other countries. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to man the wall during winter, it musn't have been easy on the soldiers. And it's only while you are standing on the Great Wall itself that you would notice how high up the wall really is. My climb was a humbling experience.

Left the wall and went down to the train station. Actually if you don't fancy using the bus to Badaling, you can opt for a train ride from Beijing North Station to Badaling. The train station is about 800m from the gate of the Great Wall so be prepared to walk a little bit further compared to if you use the bus. Unfortunately for us, the queue for the train was too long for us to endure (and the buses are more frequent that the trains) so we opted for a ride home using the same way we came, via the 919 bus.

Hope my post helps those who are planning for a trip to the Great Wall. Oh, in case you're wondering, my previous post on my trip to Beijing is [here].


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista Travels: Beijing, China

I bought a ticket in August 2009 for a trip to Beijing in June 2010. Wasn't really sure that I was able to make it but since the fare was really, really low, I decided to jump at the chance of going to visit China, a place where my ancestors once came from.

To cut a long story short, we finally did go to China and it was wonderful! The people are really nice, the transportation system is really efficient and there wasn't much occurrences of cheating and swindling that I thought I would be subjected to.

An old man playing a traditional instrument at one of the subway's alleys.

Another busker. Life certainly is not easy in China, but they're not begging for money, which is a good sign of self-respect =).

There was certainly a lot of places to go to. The first on the list was Great Wall of China. It's HUGE. The walk is not for the faint hearted. It made me wonder how on earth did these people manage to build such a huge wall at a distance of more than 600km. Gosh, it's amazing.

The Great Wall of China via Badaling.



Forbidden City

Bird's Nest Stadium.

Water Cube Stadium.

This is where we stayed, Qianmen Hostel & Cafe. Right in the middle of Qianmen, Mei Shi Jie Street. I really recommend the place as it's location is very strategic. To get to the hostel, you can use the subway and stop at Qianmen station. The hostel is just 2 minutes walk to the left of the station.

The hostel's entrance.

And there's a common area for house guests.

My room at Qianmen Hostel & Cafe. My room costs me about RM100 per night. There's actually cheaper options (i.e. hostel bunks, 4 people sharing room and shared toilets at RM50 per person per night) but I prefer a single room with an ensuite bathroom to myself =).

Urumq Muslim Restaurant selling halal food. It's located not far from the hostel. If you're staying at Qianmen Hostel & Cafe, just walk slightly to the left of the hostel where you'll find a street. Walk about 7 minutes into the street and you'll find this restaurant on your right. Halal food is not that easy to find in Beijing so be prepared to stick with a halal outlet that you know of. Or alternatively, you can always opt for McDonalds, fish fillet or french fries are fried with vegetable oil, so you should be safe =).

At Dazhalan Street, looking for souvenirs.

Qianmen Street.

If you want to get souvenirs, get them at Qianmen Street. The souvenirs are simply amazing and you could even bargain for lower prices =).

Can you see the Tiananmen Square building in the back?

At Qianmen Street. To read more on the street click [here].

At one of the Hutong in Beijing.

Cheongsams are definitely cheaper in Beijing than they are in Malaysia. So make sure you stock on your cheongsam here. One of the popular place to shop for cheongsam and other stuff is the Pearl Market or also known as Hongqiao Market.

Managed to pick up a souvenir or two from Hard Rock Cafe, Beijing =).

Raden and his dislike for any team that opposes Manchester United.

At Xidan, one of the shopping areas in Beijing.

An outdoor escalator. How cool is that?

Tips for those who are planning to go to Beijing:

1. DON'T LISTEN to WHAT PEOPLE SAY. Well, at least, take it with a pinch of salt. If we listened to what people say, we wouldn't have gone. There are so many negative stories of vacations gone bad in China and all I can say is, you have to experience it for yourself. However, do take extra precaution because the stories are a result of other people's experiences and there is always a probability that something bad could happen to you.

2. SURF the NET. Try to find out as much as you can about where you want to go and what you want to do. It is a haven of information and there are a lot of other tourists out there who are willing to share with you their travel experiences. It actually made our trip a much better experience.

3. DO BRING a DICTIONARY (if you don't know Mandarin). I took a basic Mandarin class for four months and was able to converse basic Mandarin which really helped in cases where I had to ask for directions to the nearest subway or halal eatery. If you don't know the language, a dictionary would be most useful.

Oh, a map of the city (or at least the subway map) is definitely very handy for trips like these =).

Lastly, just relax and enjoy your trip. If something doesn't happen according to plan, well, you can't plan everything, right? So have fun and enjoy!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo