Cuandixia 爨底下

On my last full day in China I had the opportunity to go with my Mandarin laoshi (teacher), to a destination of her choosing.  During my month in China we became quick friends through our shared love of Chinese history, hiking and humor. She had heard about a little village on the outskirts of Beijing and wanted to explore the area for some time. None of her other friends were as dedicated to historical wanderings as she was, unfortunately, but, when we decided to have an adventure she knew she finally had a travel partner. Since neither of us had access to private transportation we had to take public transport. We left at 5:30 am on our journey, it took us 5 hours to reach Cuandixia, sometimes spelled Chuandixia, using subway (to the end of line 11 Pingguoyuan Station), bus 929 (to the end of the line going west) and finally a 20 minute taxi ride to reach the ancient city. We wandered around the beautiful country mountain trails/roads for hours (approximately 6-7 miles we figured, maybe more...we didn't care) enjoying all the natural beauty and cleaner air. It was the most peaceful experience I had while in China.

We visited 3 small villages on our journey (all by foot of course) and even had our lunch in a small inn at the highest village. It was nothing special, just a simple family's outdoor table in their courtyard. We drank the local tea and ate as the local peasants ate from food grown on their own farms. Our meal consisted of fresh apricots, a thin pancake (similar to a crepe), filled with spicy vegetables (thinly sliced onion, potatoes, and peppers), and a thin omelette with some spice and green onions in it. Basically, you took a crepe and piled as much of the potatoes and eggs on it as you could and ate it like a burrito. It was delicious! After our lunch we decided to finally explore the villages.

The town was named a National Village Architectural site and has been able to stay a living breathing museum because of it despite the dwindling population. The village consists of 500 homes which approximately 70 families still reside in, all with the family name of Han (meaning they are all related). The village is known for its courtyard house nestled together at times the structures appear to be clinging to the sides of the mountain. The village originated during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) flourishing as a respectable inn community for traveler going to Beijing from Shanxi Province. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) the village continued to thrive on inn hospitality for weary travelers and trade from the local farming and mining communities. One translation of the name cuan referred to the word kitchen. The landowner at the time had wanted the village to have a warm appealing name so travelers would feel as though they were being invited into the village.

Another reason for the villages significance has to do with the random graffiti marring these ancient walls which were defaced during the Cultural Revolution. The original graffiti is some of the only remaining throughout all of China supporting Chairman Mao.

the village safely nestled between the mountains

houses clinging to the side of the mountain

tightly packed houses and their famous courtyards

A window with the word lucky written on it from the last New Years festival

a view of the terraced farming style sitting within the mountain pass

corn hung on the local landowners house to bring a bountiful harvest

Graffiti from the cultural revolution, this one says something about how wonderful Chairman Mao is

Me :-)

A staircase leading to a shrine and an inn

a cool grain grinding stone and more of the cultural revolution graffiti in the background

an inn with an outdoor dining facility

overlooking the mountain

Us again in front of building built into a rock face

an old door...I just liked how it looked

this was a farm on the road above the first village

a local farm, these were everywhere!

to get to one of the villages we had to walk through this crevasse in the mountain

a walkway between houses

a waterway where we watched locals fishing

This wall is an original from the Ming Dynasty. It is directly in front of the main families doorway. It is meant to keep good fortune within and bad from entering

The main local families family heirlooms dating from the Qing Dynasty

clothes from the Qing Dynasty

A birds eye view of the main village

warm pear and fungus soup :-)

After spending the day exploring we decided to head back to the Haidian District in Beijing where we both live. 5 hours later (on public transport again) after more conversation and a couple episodes of a Chinese drama (zhenhuanzhaun, "Empresses in the Palace") that we had on an iPad, we finally get to have a late dinner before saying our final farewells. A wonderful day, I don't want my time in China to end.

Location Information
Address: about 100 km W of Beijing,
Cuanbai scenic spot in Zhaitang Town
Mentougou district, Beijing, China 102309

travelchinaguide.com LINK
visitbeijing.com.cn LINK 
 www.china.org.cn LINK



Ladies ONLY Excersion!

After nearly a month with twenty five other students (mostly males) I decided it was time to have a female’s only excursion. So, I invited our Mandarin teachers along and we set out on an adventure. As soon as class was out at 11:30am we all gathered together from our different classes, our loashi’s recommended that we have lunch first and escorted us to a place on Renmin campus to indulge on Peking Duck! We were given a private room and enjoyed one of the best meals I ever had while in China (who would have known it would be on campus!) Then we took the subway close to the Forbidden Palace, we were searching for a couple famous hutongs (Zhuanta and Yandai Xiejie, which we found and explored) and Beihai Park.

                

Ordering our Peking Duck lunch at one of Renmin's campus resteraunts

This was a desert type of dish

Lots of FOOD!!

duck soup, it was the best soup I had in China "hands down"

AHHH, the Peking duck was the last dish to arrive but it was definitely worth the wait

The first hutong we visited was Zhuanta Hutong

This was one of the only remain corridors I was able to find that still lead to a courtyard, a lot of this famous hutong has been torn down for new construction

This is one of the streets in Zhuanta Hutong that was almost finished being redone

One of the branches of the National Library of China, just outside the gates of Beihai Park

Beihai Park was originally built during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), it is 176.5 acres in size and is positioned just northwest of the Forbidden City. It is considered to be the best imperial garden in China and was opened as a public park in 1925. It has been rebuilt and renovated continuously through multiple dynasties including the Jin (1115-1234), Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911). In 1741-1771 the park went through a large scale reconstruction during the reign of Qing Emperor Qian Long and today still looks much the same.

             

Many Imperial Parks in China were built by different emperors who were inspired by legendary stories.  Beihai Park is no different, in fact, it has “sister” style parks scattered all over China. Parks were built near palaces by Emperor Yang Di of the Sui Dynasty (605-617) in Luoyang, Henan Province, Emperors of the Tang (618-907) and Song dynasties (960-1279). The Legend that inspired all of them talks about the three fairyland mountains of Penlai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang. It was said that immortals lived there and where a miraculous potion for longevity was located. The first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (211-210 BCE) and Wu Di of the Han Dynasty (140-87 BCE) were so obsessed with this legend that they actually sent expeditions (that obviously failed) out to sea to find the real mountains and potion. Eventually Emperor Wu Di ordered a lake be built (Taiye Lake) behind Jiangzhang Palace in the capital city Chang’an (Xi’an). He had the mountains created using the dirt dug out of the ground to make the lake, Beihai Park was built the same way.

my roomie and I

My roommate, our Mandarin Laoshi's (teachers) and I

The Ladies and Mandarin Loashi's (teachers) of my study abroad

The famous White Dagoba (Bai ta white tower) on Jade Flower Island

Some interesting fun fact about Beihai Park have to do with Emperor Shun Di of the Yuan Dynasty and Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Shun Di was also fascinated with legendary stories, he had a 130 foot dragon boat built, had 16 palace maids dress up like legendary fairies and had them sing and dance on the boat for him as it floated around the lake. When Empress Dowager Cixi took money from the Navy funds one of the things she created was a railway from Yiluan Hall to Jingxin Studio. She would enjoy train rides along the North Sea Lake with Emperor Guang Xu, his Empress and concubines where they would dine together at Jingxin Studio.

Some of the girls getting pictures of the beautiful Xiaoxitian Temple, also known as the Temple of Supreme Happiness

Xiaoxitian Temple

beautiful Buddhist carvings inside Guanyin Hall

Outside Xiaoxitian Temple we enjoyed a large koi pond

I never figured out what the pagoda at the top of the hill was, it will be an adventure for my next visit. I just liked how everyone was relaxing along the stairway

Our group enjoying a ride in a lotus boat around North Sea Lake, actually we had two, I am obviously in the second lotus

Doushan Bridge which leads to Jade Flower Island

While visiting Beihai Park we were fortunate to see a lot of famous locations including the 5-dragon pavilion that sits along the water’s edge. While there we saw dancing, singing music groups. We visited the Xiaoxitian Temple (Little Western Skies) and one of our laoshi’s was able to explain the beautiful Buddhist carvings inside Guanyin Hall. It is the images of Guanyin (a Bodhisattva) and the 800 Arhats. The inscription of "Extreme Happiness" behind the hill is in Emperor Qian Long handwriting. We also visited the botanical gardens and rode in lotus flower boats all around the North Sea Lake.

Botanical Garden with a sea of lotus behind me

After we left Beihai Park we walked a short distance to Yandai Xiejie Hutong to do some shopping and enjoy some BBQ lamb skewers. We stayed long enough to see the night club scene by the canal start to come alive, but we didn't stay we wanted to get back to our hotel because we had class the next day.  We also never made it to Jade Flower Islet in Beihai Park unfortunately on our trip, however, a very relaxing time with wonderful women, and definitely a location to visit again.

LINKS

beihaipark.com.cn/in English  

travelchinaguide.com Beijing Hutongs 

LOCATIONS
Beihai Park

1 Wenjin St

Xicheng, Beijing

China

100034

Zhuanta Hutong

Xicheng Qu, Beijing Shi

China

100034

Yandai Xiejie Hutong

Yandai Byway

Xicheng, Beijing

China