A reminder of the Mongol presence in Dadu

Beijing Day 4.

On my way to Beihai park, following the instructions in the guide book about taking subway line 4 tp Pinganli station and then walking down Di'anmen West street to find the Behai park.

I leave the central business districts of Beijing and emerge onto a more Chinese street, cross Jiaochang Hutong and see a more relaxed pace of life.

Why was I on this excursion?  The words "Kublai Khan" had attracted my attention.  I was off to seek and find the only remnant of the Mongol's presence in Dadu, as ancient Beijing was called.

And the remnant was located in this park to the west of the Forbidden City.

I bought my ten yuan ticket and walked in through this little tunnel, and there it was in front of my eyes!

But the size and beauty of the park just blew me away.

Why oh why can we not have spaces like these in our cities?

Beautiful water bodies, lovely old trees and pavillions for us to sit and enjoy the views.

Turns out that Beihai is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved parks in the city.

The white dagoba in the centre of that island was my supposed destination

These were imperial gardens that traced their origins back to 938 AD and the Liao dynasty.  They were opened up to the public only in 1925, remaining  as royal gardens  with every successive dynasty in between.

Something about water and mountains bringing luck led to the formation of these large lakes and the "mountain" islands in between.

So, in the middle of the large lake above is the Jade Flowery Islet which housed KK's Guanguan Palace.  KK received non other than Marco Polo there.  During his reign, the park became larger, and the city was called Dadu.  So this was the place he met his foreign dignitaries, hosted banquets, and carried out his emperor duties I suppose, and so the Marco Polo connection.

The Palace collapsed at some point, and in 1651 Shun Zhi built the white dagoba, which was what I came to see, thinking it was from KK's time. 

But I never did get to the island or that dagoba - I could not find a way in!!  My friends and family will quite understand my problem.  First I am easily distracted and secondly I have no sense of direction, so staying unlost itself is a miracle, leave alone finding my way on a map.

So as I got distracted I cam across all these other fascinating sights!

One of the several pavillions. This one was the entrance to the Heavenly King Hall

The protective "kings" looking fierce.

The DaCi Zhenru Hall made entirely of wood was beautiful.  I loved the unpainted appearance.This is from the M

The famous Nine dragons screen.  Was home to a huge colony of sparrows.  From the Qing dynasty, 1756.  Nine large dragons but a multitude of small dragons all over.

The screen has some 400+ tiles with seven colour screen printin that still hold their colour after all these years.  Quite amazing isnt it?  The Chinese also hold the number 9 in high regard.

As I walked along the lakefront, I came across the Five Dragon pavillions, where supposedly the royal family sat and "ate the air" so to speak

Beautiful spaces where the locals now come to chat, sing and bond.  Interestingly, they love to break into danec as well.

The Temple of Supreme Happiness. This was surrounded by little water tanks on all sides, ans was built by Emperor Qianlong for the eternal happiness of his mother. 

Within, Mount Sumeru, with the Bodhisattva and the 800 arhats.

The details of the roof

This stone stele was also built by emperor Qianlong and had inscriptions in Manchu, Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese on its four sides.

It was half past twelve by now, and I had to be back by 2, and still I had not discovered the entrance to the White Dagoba island!

The White Dagoba.  Different from a pagoda in shape. 

So, I bade farewell to KK and hurried back.

So often, you go looking for something and find something else.  I ahd time to explore only the northern shore of the lake, but still it was a treat.

It was a beautiful morning, with lovely weather and somehwat clear skies (which is a huge thing for Beijing it seems), and what a lovely day to be in the park.

What a beautiful idea.  Calligraphy artists practise their work, with brushes dripped in water!

I left catching the train back to Gaumao from Beihai North.  Seemed a better way than the double change at Pinganli.

That afternoon, we went to the Summer Palace and found more beautiful royal gardens, now open to everyone, and serving as lovely places to spend time in the outdoors.