Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Return to Beijing, Beihai Park

Today we all leave Pyongyang and North Korea. Roger, Paula and I will take the plane back to Beijing, while Sinead will go back by train. I regret not choosing that option myself, it would be a much more interesting way of travelling back to Beijing, although it will take longer time. We do not do much in the morning, except eating breakfast and getting ready for our departure.

Light in the sky above the White Pagoda.

My greatest anticipation when it comes to leaving North Korea is the customs control. At the airport, we must again fill out a customs form. Be sure to carry with you what you brought with you upon entering DPRK. Warned that they could just decide to confiscate all of my pictures, I was somewhat nervous when arriving back at the airport in Pyongyang. I do not want to loose any of the photos I have taken.

The gate below the White Pagoda on the east side of the Jade Flower Island.

Walkway on the outside of a temple building on Jade Flower Island.

I did not need to worry. While waiting in line to check-in, the customs control is done at the same time, I am told to step aside. Apparently, some high-ranking official are on the same plane and take precedence in the queue. I have to wait to check-in and by the time he has finished, it looks like we are out of time almost regarding our own check-in. They let me go without further questions. We say goodbye to our guides, Mr. Hwang and Mr. Kim, and then go towards the gates.

The White Pagoda or Dagoba at the top of Jade Flower Island.

Our return at Beijing aiport gets a little bit confusing, given our different nationalities, return trips and visas. I will stay a few days more in Beijing, to see some more of the city. Paula will have one evening there before returning home to Australia, while Roger has to go straight back to South Korea to meet another client for a guided tour there. In the crowd and throng in the line for immigration control we all get separated, and I do not get to say a proper farewell to Roger. I meet Paula again after collecting my luggage and we share a taxi back to Beijing.

View of the Forbidden City from the White Pagoda.

The stupa formed Dagoba from the Yong'an temple buildings.

I decided to stay at the same hotel in Beijing when I returned from North Korea, as I reckoned I then would be familiar on how to get to and from the hotel. No order in what I want to see while here, but I know that I want to make a trip to see the Great wall. No time for that today, however. First thing off, after checking in at the hotel, is lunch.

Roof painting in a building in Beihai Park.

The Yong'an Temple gate.

A rough estimate of the size of Beihai Park (Beihai Gongyuan, 北海公园) tells me that I should have enough time to visit it today, so I get on the metro to the Imperial City of Beijing. Beihai Park is a former imperial garden built in the 11th century, making it one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China. The majority of the park, however, consists of the large lake giving it its name, Northern Sea (Beihai). In the middle of the lake is the Jade Flower Island (Qionghua), famous for the White Pagoda (or Dagoba) located on the top of the island.

Flower stand in Beihai Park with the White Pagoda behind.

It is a pale weather today, but that may be just the norm here in Beijing. The humidity is high as usual. I like being in the parks here in Beijing, the Chinese feels a lot more calmer here than outside the walls of them. As the White Pagoda initially was why I wanted to come to this park, the first thing I do upon entering Beihai is to set forth in the direction of the Jade Flower Island. Not saying that I take into account what I see on the way. The park has a lot of similarities with what I saw at the Summer Park. Out on the lake are small boats of various sizes.

The Jade Flower Island with the White Pagoda and the Bridge of Eternal Peace.

Beihai Park.

Compared to the experience in North Korea and Pyongyang, I must say it feels great to be able to walk freely around again. On the other hand, if I had been on a guided tour here, I would probably have had to find myself in a controlled group. I also feel kind of relaxed now, with no feeling of the need to see everything.

The Pavilion of Ancient Works.

The Hall of Coolness.

The White Pagoda on top of the island measures about 36m tall and was built in 1651. It is actually best viewed from afar in my opinion. I like the view from the southeast where you can see the pagoda, island, bridge leading to the island, the temple gate, lake and water lilies in front. The structures situated around the stupa constitutes a Tibetan monastery. From the pagoda, I can look over at the Forbidden City and the temple at the top of the Jingshan Park. By the time I start returning to the northern part of the park, it is almost as I can see the sun behind the pale sky.

The Jade Flower Island in Beihai Park.

There are other Nine-Dragons Walls in China, with the one in the Forbidden City and Datong two of the three most famous. The third one is located here in Beihai and is the only one that has reliefs of dragons on both sides. It is called a Nine-Dragons Wall due to the nine dragons adorning the sides of it, but apparently there are actually a total of 635 dragons on this 27 meters long wall. It is quite cool.

Temple gate in Beihai.

The Nine-Dragons-Wall in Beihai Park.

I chill out with a couple of cold beers in one of the cafés in the park.

Dragon reliefs on the Nine-Dragons Wall.

A tree sculpture in Beijing.

Satisfied with my visit, I go back to my hotel. Not thinking to do much in the evening, I only take a short walk in the nearby park that I have visited before. I eat dinner in the same place that I ate on my first evening in Beijing too. Rest of the evening is spent in my hotel room, relaxing. I have not concluded what I will do tomorrow, if I go to see the Great Wall or the Forbidden City. I guess what I will see outside the windows tomorrow morning will answer that question.

Dongyue Temple gate, Beijing.

<- Pyongyang (day 3)Mutianyu: The Great Wall ->

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