Carvings Of Dragons And Lotus On Chengde Palace Gate
Chengde palaces are just like palaces in other Chinese cities, or so I thought, until Chang said she was taking us to see the Chengde Palace Of Dahongtai, up in the mountains. I did not know what to expect as we  walked through the tall arch at the entrance to the estate, but the sun was shining, so everything looked attractive.
We came to the first set of steps, clearly in need of repair work, but they seemed in character with the exposed roots of the pine trees in the yellow earth, and ahead of us was an attractive three arch entrance gate to the Chengde Palace grounds. The gate had relief carvings of dragons and lotus flowers, but the colors of the walls had faded.
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Tibetan Style Architecture Of Chengde Palace Buildings
 Even when we got to the gate, there was no hint of what we would see later. Most of the white colored buildings around us had a box like appearance, and had flat roofs, as had been the first gate we had passed through, except that on the roof of the first gate stood five ornamental pagodas, all of different shapes and designs, which we were told represented sects of Lamaism. We continued our walk up the bare earth track, to be passed by sedan carriers jogging along with their passengers, on their way to the Chengde Palace. Chang wanted me to ride in one, but I felt safer with my feet firmly on the ground, although the carriers looked strong and capable.
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Chengde Palace Survives Ravages Of Cultural Revolution
When we arrived at the Chengde Palace, it looked quite spectacular in the sunlight, its seven storeys towering above us, even though patches of the color had peeled and the building looked somewhat neglected. The Chengde Palace had survived the ravages of the Cultural Revolution, but the restoration of the palace to its former glory, could only be made as funds became available. There were yet more magnificent views to be seen at the top of the palace.
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A Selection from Robert's Wild Cards
| The start of these personal webpages and the Vietnam pictures, followed a chance meeting with a young man named Hoang in 1979. Hoang was one of the "Boat People" from Vietnam who arrived in the UK. In due course I was given the responsibility of teaching him some English. A few weeks later I met his family and friends, and subsequently their families and friends, and friends and families, of friends and families.... and so it was that the ideas for the personal webpages began. |
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| Browse through the many China pics on the personal webpages and enjoy again a meal of Peking Duck with pancakes at the Qian Men Restaurant in Beijing. See what happens to the floor of a Ming Dynasty Hall after Buddhist Monks have stamped their feet for hundreds of years, as shown in the China pics from the Shaolin temple on the personal webpages of Robert. |
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