The document summarizes a Tai Chi group's trip to China in March and April 2010. It describes their flights to Beijing and visits to major sites like the Forbidden City, Great Wall, and Summer Palace. They also traveled to Wudang Mountain, considered the birthplace of Tai Chi, where they practiced Tai Chi at various temples. The group experienced Chinese culture through activities like a kung fu demonstration and a visit to historic temples and palaces.

1. Our Tai Chi Adventure to
China
Part 1
In March and April 2010, we accompanied
Dr. Paul Lam and 15 others on a private tour
to China.
In addition to some of the usual places of
interest, we visited Wudang Mountain, the
area considered the birthplace of Tai Chi,
and several other places of beauty and
interest.

2. The Journey Begins
Thursday, March 24:
Fly from Raleigh-Durham to Newark then from Newark to Beijing, China.

3. Friday, March 26.
At the end of a a 13 hour 45 minute flight we arrived at
Beijing International Airport at 2:00 PM Friday. March 26.
The airport is the 3rd largest building in the world, but very
efficient. We cleared immigration and customs and
retrieved our checked luggage with hardly any waiting,
and met our Tour Guide just outside of Baggage Claim.
We all boarded our tour bus for the drive into Beijing to our
hotel – The Renaissance Beijing Chaoyang.
After checking in, and a brief rest, we met with some of the
rest of our group for dinner at the hotel.

4. Saturday, March 27
Following breakfast buffet of Western and
Chinese foods, we headed back to our bus for the
short drive to The Forbidden City.
This historic area had been the home of various
Chinese Emperors over the years, and is
continuously undergoing preservation and
renovation.

5. Tour Guide Carol Lu (with Yellow Flag) leads us to the
North Entrance of the Forbidden City.

6. The North Gate

7. A Temple in The Forbidden City

8. With one of the
Dragons “On
Guard” in front of
one of the
residential
buildings.

9. Hall of the Emperor in Forbidden City

10. The South Gate – The iconic image of the Forbidden City
and Tian An Men Square

11. Looking South across Tian An Men Square

12. Saturday, March 27
From Tian An Men Square we walked to a nearby
Restaurant for lunch. Then we met our Bus and drove to
one of the Hutong Districts of Beijing.
These are older areas where the streets are narrow lanes
between buildings that are both residences and shops or
workplaces. At the edge of this district we stopped for tea
and entertainment of a Kongfu demonstration, and a
performance by a sword-swallower.
We then were taken on a bicycle rickshaw ride through the
lanes of the district.
The day ended with dinner at the original Peking Duck
Restaurant in Beijing before returning to our hotel.

13. Sunday, March 30
We traveled by bus Northwest from Beijing to visit the
Great Wall at Bada Ling

14. The Great Wall
Winding along the top of the mountain ridge

15. As this was still part
of the Chinese New
Year Holiday, the
Wall was crowded
with Chinese
visitors, making a
ritual visit to the
Great Wall.

16. Off to the side of the Wall, we found this empty courtyard
and decided it was a great place for our first Tai Chi
practice in China.

17. Tai Chi at the Great Wall

18. Caroline
Performs
Tai Chi
in front of
The Great Wall

19. A Gate House at the Great Wall

20. A Gate House at the Great Wall

21. At the Gate House

22. Roof Detail

23. The Great Wall

24. Sunday, March 28 – Afternoon
We left the Great Wall and headed back toward Beijing. We stopped
for Lunch near Changping, then went into the area of the Ming Tombs,
about 30 miles Northwest of Beijing. Here are located the tombs of 13
Emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). We visited Chiangling,
the Tomb of Emperor Zhu Di.

25. Entry Gate to Changling Tomb

26. Ling’en Hall

27. Statue of Emperor
Zong Du in Ling’en
Hall

28. Support Pillar and Roof Detail of Ling’En Hall

29. On the way back to our Hotel, we stopped briefly at the site of the 2008
Olympic Games, and viewed to outside of the “Bird’s Nest” Arena and
Water Cube.

30. Monday, March 29
In the morning, we toured the Summer Palace.
The weather was cloudy and cool.
First constructed in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234 AD), the
area was continuously expanded and used as an area
for rest for the members of the royal families.
Centered on the Tower of Buddhist Incense the Summer
Palace consists of over 3,000 structures including
pavilions, towers, bridges, and corridors. It covers over
700 acres including the lake area.

31. The entry gate to the Summer Palace. The Center door
was for use only by the Emperor.
Note the incense burners on either side.

32. Mythical Dragon figure on guard.

33. The Main
Residence is
guarded by a
Crane and
Dragons

34. The Buddhist Temple overlooks the area.

35. The various Emperors used natural rock formations as
display pieces in many of their gardens.

36. This 2388-foot long gallery provided a covered path from
the entry gate to the Shizhang Pavilion. The underside of
the roof is covered with murals.

37. At the end of
the Gallery is
the
Tower of
Buddhist
Incense

38. Close to the end of the Gallery was a courtyard which
quickly became a Tai Chi location.

39. A Dragon Boat was our
ferry across the 500 acre
Kunming Lake

40. The 17-Arch Bridge, built in 1750, connects
the East Shore of Kunming Lake to Nanhu
Island.

41. Stone Carvings guard the ends of the bridge, and each of
the posts of the railing is topped by one of 500 different
lions.

42. We then returned to our bus, and drove to a restaurant for
lunch.
After lunch we took our bus to the Temple of Heaven
located on the south side of Beijing’s old central city area.
The weather remained cloudy and cool through the day.

43. The Main Entry Gate of the Temple of Heaven

44. The Temple of Heaven atop it’s 3-layer base.

45. This model, in a
building on the
Temple
Courtyard, shows
the construction
of the Temple.
No nails or other
fasteners were
used in its
construction.
The main pillars
are single tree
trunks.

46. A view
through the
main door of
the temple
showing
some of the
support
pillars.

47. The Outer Gate to the Temple Grounds. The center door is
closed, as only the Emperor was allowed to pass through it.

48. After a Dinner stop, we returned to the
Rennaisance Beijing Hotel, to pack for the
next leg of our journey,
a visit to Wudang Mountain,
considered to be the birthplace of Tai Chi.

49. Tuesday, March 30
Leaving at 8 AM, We flew from Beijing
to Wuhan, then took our tour bus to
Wudangshan.

50. We had one Tour Guide who was with us for the entire trip
(up until we were in the waiting area for our return flight).
At each area we visited outside of Beijing, she was
assisted by a local guide who met us at each airport with
the local bus driver.
We stopped for lunch on the way from Wuhan to
Wudangshan, arriving in mid-afternoon.
We checked in to the Wudang Mountain Hotel, relaxed,
and had an early dinner.
As we would only be allowed to take a carry-on bag up
Wudang Mountain, we repacked for the stay up the
mountain.

51. Wednesday, March 31
After breakfast at the hotel, we boarded our bus for the
short drive to the entrance of the Wudang Mountain
Protection Area.
This Protection Area is roughly equivalent to a National
Park in the United States.
After getting our entry passes, we boarded a smaller bus
(apparently fueled by natural gas to limit emissions) for
the one-hour trip up the hair-pin turn road to our Hotel on
Wudang Mountain.
The designation of Mountain refers to not just a single
peak, but to the group of mountain peaks in the area,
which average around 5000 feet high.

52. The Tian Lu Hotel

53. After arriving at the Hotel, we left our bags at the Hotel and
walked about a quarter-mile up the road to the Purple
Cloud Temple area.

54. View from the road up Wudang Mountain.

55. The Purple Heaven Palace

56. More information about the Purple Cloud Temple
can be found at the following website:
http://wudang-kungfu.com/zhixiao.htm
the website of the Wudang Taoist Kungfu
Academy
Copyright, www.wudang-kungfu.com/XXX/XXX.html

57. Tai Chi at the Purple Heaven Palace

58. Stone lions
guard the
main gate

59. Incense Burner at
the Main Gate

60. Stairway up to
the Second
Level

61. The Main Courtyard at the Second Level

62. Buildings around the Main Courtyard

63. Looking back down to the Main Courtyard from the Temple

64. Temple Entrance

65. The Clouds roll down Wudang Mountain

67. As light rain began to fall, we walked back down to our
Hotel.
We had lunch at the Hotel, checked in and took a brief rest
in our rooms.
Next we took a bus up mountain to the Summer Palace
area. The light rain continued as we walked around the
trails in that area.

71. When the rain got a
little heavier, we
decided to retrace
our steps back to the
bus stop and return
to the Hotel.
Dinner was at the
Hotel.

72. Thursday, April 1
The day started with Tai Chi in a Courtyard of the Hotel

74. After lunch we took a park bus down Wudang Mountain to
the Crown Prince Palace.
This was originally built in 1412.
As this is lower down the mountain, the vegetation was
quite different – almost tropical in nature.

75. A Stone Bridge on the way to Prince Temple

76. Stacked stone slabs make up a retaining wall

77. A Gateway leading
to the
Nine Winding Walls
passageway from
the gate to the
Temple.

80. Steps lead
up to the top
level.

81. Courtyard at the Upper level of the Temple

82. Courtyard at the Upper level of the Temple

83. Stone Tortoise holds up a pillar

84. The roofs of the Residential Area used by the Taoist
Monks.

85. Interior Construction of a Temple Building

86. Stairway up to the
top of the Temple
grounds.
The Red strips
hanging on the
trees are Prayer
scarves placed by
visitors to the
Temple.

87. View from the top of the Prince Temple grounds

88. An impromptu Tai Chi session as we came down from the
top of the Temple.
The Wall Inscriptions read
“Longevity, Prosperity, Happiness”

89. A Bamboo
glade to the
side as we
leave the
Prince Temple.

90. As we leave Wudang Mountain, we stop at the bottom to
walk along a small river.

91. We cross the river by
a stone walkway on
top of a dam, which
diverts water to the
village down stream.

92. A Statue of Confucius along the river

93. After watching a Martial Arts exhibition at the bottom of the
Mountain, we returned to Wudangshan for Lunch.
We then drove to Wuhan to catch a flight for the next step
of our trip.

94. End of Part 1
The Slide Show continues with Part 2