Emei Shan

Emei Shan (Emei Mountain), located in Sichuan Province, southwestern China, is "one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains."


Emei Shan resident enjoying a bread snack.


Why walk when you can ride.




Waiting to carry some tired hikers.


Arduous work, both men and women carry heavy loads of cement up to the top of the mountain.


The heavy duty walking sticks are also used as seats for taking a rest.





At Emei Shan's Golden Summit, a 150-foot golden statue of Samantabhadra, representing "the absolute, naked, sky-like primordial purity of the nature of our mind"


Each day many many Buddhist pilgrims make their way to Emei Shan's sacred summit.
https://www.google.com/search?q=buddhist+pilgrims+emei+shan&rlz=1C1AOHY_enUS709US709&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiGh4zx9cTWAhUCMyYKHcMXBisQsAQIJw&biw=1280&bih=643


Perched on the Golden Summit, Jinding Temple.

Chengdu

Chengdu, Sichuan Province (southwestern China), is about 23 hours by train from Beijing, or about a 3-hour flight. I flew from Beijing, then took the train back.


I remember this restaurant from last year's visit to Chengdu.


The Chinese seem to have a thing for dry ice drinks.


Statue at Wuhou, a huge temple area that was rebuilt in 1672.


Spotted this "cab" driver just after I left Wuhou Temple. It's nice when people actually smile for the camera.


Sweets seller on a Chengdu street.


The Shufeng Yayun Teahouse offers 90-minute shows every night at 8 pm. It's a fantastic old theater in Chengdu's Culture Park. There's music, puppet shows, fire breathing, face changing (i.e., changing masks at the blink of an eye), Chinese plays. Tea and snacks are served, and if you go early you can photograph the performers putting on their makeup (which I took full advantage of). Also, for those interested, there's massage, and ear cleaning services.












View from the terrace of my hotel room at Wenjun Mansion, an interesting old place, but not as grand as its name implies. Upon check-in I happened to mention I was writing a hotel review for Booking.com, and subsequently was upgraded to the best room in the hotel (4-room family suite, top floor, with bathtub and 2 TVs)and given a discount coupon for the hotel restaurant.


In addition to Shufeng Yayun Teahouse, you can also get your ears cleaned while enjoying a cup of tea at He Ming Teahouse, located in Chengdu's People's Park.


This photo also taken at He Ming, the huge tea house in People's Park.

Badaling

Located about 50 miles northwest of Beijing, Badaling is the most visited section of the Great Wall. It's also the only section you can visit via the train. Due to it's carnival-like atmosphere, many people avoid it like the plague. To celebrate Labor Day, I went up for a visit (my previous visit was also on a holiday -- Thanksgiving).


There are free shuttle buses from Badaling Train Station to the wall.


But once you get off the bus, and before you're actually up on the wall, there are dozens and dozens of souvenir shops, restaurants, etc.








They're trying on hats. I later saw them up on the wall where they pulled me aside to do a little impromptu photo shoot.




If you want, you can even go for a camel ride in the parking lot.


Once past all of that, there's cable cars up to the wall (or you can walk up if you prefer).





Like many tourist sites in China, Badaling can get really really crowded, especially on a late-summer day like today when the weather is fine.







Looks like they decided to buy the hats.

Beijing bike excursion

The weather is cooling in Beijing, so lately it's been great for biking. The city is very flat, with thousands of miles of bike lanes, so it's an ideal city for biking (except of course for the bad air days). Today is Sunday, so, heading out around 6 am, it was cool & sunny with very little traffic.


In the US my bike is nothing special, basically just a 10-year-old Trek. But here in China, where most the bikes are inexpensive and lower-end, people actually come up to me and ask questions about my bike as if it were a rarity.


As I wrote above, Beijing has thousands of miles of bike lanes.



I biked out to Hou Lakes, about a 30-minute ride from my house. A cool morning, but that didn't stop these Beijingers from taking a morning swim.



Others preferred to fish.


Great place to sit and look out over the lake.


Beijingers on an early Sunday morning, queuing up for, possibly, steamed buns.




Beijing's famous drum tower, not far from Hou Lakes. Up on the top floor (a very steep climb) there is a short drum performance every hour.


Lots of people exercise in China, and many people, including the elderly, are amazingly flexible.


Tai chi is of course very popular in China.


Finished exercising? How about a freshly made jianbing (i.e., Beijing breakfast sandwich)?: "The savory crisp-fried crêpes are all about bold contrasts of flavor and texture: eggs, spread over the surface of the wheat and mung bean flour pancake as it cooks. Crunchy puffed strips of fried wonton. A jumble of grassy cilantro, peppery scallions, and tangy pickles; a sweet and spicy layer of hoisin and chili sauces. And each one is cooked fresh to order on a circular cast-iron grill, just the way you want it."
http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/jianbing-chinese-savory-breakfast-crepe.html


Not sure why she's wearing a mask, as the air isn't too bad today: Code Yellow ("moderate"). It seems some people in Beijing with respiratory conditions wear masks even when the pollution isn't that bad. Notice the dog's not wearing a mask, though pet masks aren't unheard of here in China:
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1035690.shtml

798

I've been meaning to get out to the Beijing 798 Art Zone, and finally made it today. This area is "a complex of 50-year-old decommissioned military factory buildings," now home to a thriving arts community, as well as various cafes, shops, restaurants. From my house it was only about a 30-minute bike ride (it's also possible to take the subway).