(云冈石窟) 5 min read After meeting my good friend and travel companion at Beijing Railway Station, we set off for Datong in Shanxi Province (山西大同). There, we were awed by the Yungang Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its breathtaking grandeur. Carved into a sandstone cliff in the 5th century by the […]
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(佛教艺术的宝库—敦煌) 5 min read From the 4th to the 14th centuries CE, the city of Dunhuang (敦煌), in northwest China, stood at a critical junction on the ancient Silk Road—a network of trade routes connecting China with Central and West Asia. To the east, the Silk Road led more than 1,500 kilometers to China’s
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(永乐宫传世之宝) 4 min read Construction of the Yongle Palace (永乐宫), a Daoist temple (道观), started in 1247 during the early Yuan Dynasty to worship Lü Dongbin (吕洞宾, born 796), one of Daosim’s Eight Immortals (八仙). The construction, including the creation of the murals inside the temple, took a total of 110 years and the
Timeless Treasures of the Yongle Palace Read More »
(北京中轴线的历史痕迹) 4 min read Just inside the north side of Beijing’s former city wall stand the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower (opening image), both built in 1272 during the Yuan dynasty (元朝). Together, the two towers offer panoramic views of central Beijing. Looking directly south from the Drum Tower, the line of sight
Beijing’s Central Axis Read More »
(中国古代佛窟) 4 min read According to a national survey, China has 2,155 cave-temple sites, most of which are Buddhist, though some are Daoist. Buddhist cave art constitutes a major component of traditional Chinese sculpture and painting. The construction of these cave temples was not driven primarily by artistic self-expression, but by karma—the Buddhist belief
Ancient Cave Temples of China Read More »
(长治久安的西安) 5 min read Chang’an (长安, meaning “lasting peace”), today’s Xi’an (西安), has a glorious past as the capital of several ancient Chinese dynasties. The region’s fertile soil and proximity to the Wei River (渭河)—the largest tributary of the Yellow River (黄河)—enabled it to sustain a large population for several millennia. The area
Xi’an—the City of Lasting Peace Read More »
(清代的御花园) 5 min read Qing-dynasty (清朝, 1644–1912) imperial gardens—such as the Mountain Resort in Chengde (避暑山庄), Yuanmingyuan (圆明园), and Yiheyuan (颐和园, also known as the Summer Palace)—are culturally significant because they represent microcosms of the Qing Empire. They showcase Chinese aesthetic traditions while embodying the interaction of nature, human design, and geopolitics. Although each
Imperial Gardens of the Qing Dynasty Read More »
丝路行旅—从西安至敦煌) 7 min read The ancient Silk Road was not a single road, but a network of trade routes connecting China with Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Europe. Our Silk Road journey traced the Chinese section of this network, traveling westward from Xi’an (西安) through Lanzhou (兰州), Jiayuguan (嘉峪关), Dunhuang (敦煌), Ürümqi (乌鲁木齐), and
Modern Travelers on the Ancient Silk Road (1): From Xi’an to Dunhuang Read More »
(三星堆的秘密) 6 min read About 70 kilometers north of Chengdu (成都), one of China’s largest metropolises, lie the ruins of Sanxingdui (三星堆). This Bronze Age culture (c. 1700–1150 BCE) flourished in what is now Sichuan Province (四川) for several centuries before mysteriously disappearing around the mid-12th century BCE. Excavations over the past 50
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(被遗忘了的良渚) 5 min read Over half a dozen Neolithic cultures once dotted the vast expanse of what is now China, particularly along its two great river systems—the Yangtze (长江) and the Yellow (黄河) Rivers. The ruins of Liangzhu (良渚) were first identified in the 1930s, when jade artifacts were unearthed during road construction. In
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