Just to recap, on Day 3, we visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Beijing Opera.
On Day 4, we visit a jade factory and the Great Wall of China. Returning from the Great Wall, we have lunch at a cloissangé factory and shop, and then on to the Ming Tombs, ending the day with Beijing Roast Duck.
Jade Factory & Shop
China is very famous for its jade. Jade everywhere. What to buy? And where to buy it? How do you know you're getting a good deal? On leaving our hotel, we're going to stop at a jade factory and shop. If you're looking for jade, this is the place to buy it. Prices are quite good. Make sure you get whatever you buy securely wrapped.
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is the "longest" structure on earth stretching 6,350 km (3,950 miles). It's the only man-made structure that is visible from space. It's actually a series of walls constructed during different periods of China's history with the longest continuous part being 2,400 km (1,500 miles). The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. A comprehensive archaeological survey using advanced technologies has concluded that the Ming walls measure 8,850 km (5,500 mi) in total length. This is made up of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) sections of actual wall, 359 km (223 mi) of trenches and 2,232 km (1,387 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. Another archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km (13,171 mi).
Cloissangé Factory & Shop
For lunch we travel back towards Beijing but then down a back road in the middle of the country to a cloissange shop. Cloissange takes sheets of copper, and transforms them into copper vases. Thin strings of copper are affixed to the vases and then heated. The heating fuses the copper strings to the vase. The vases are next painted with ceramics, fired, and then polished to perfection, clearly revealing the intricate patterns created by the copper strings and the ceramic paints.
The Ming Tombs
After lunch, we travel to the famous Ming Tombs, where the emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) are buried. It is located 40 km NNW of downtown Beijing on the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain (originally Mount Huangtu). The site was chosen by the third Ming Dynasty emperor, Yongle (1402–1424), on feng shui principles. Yongle moved the capital of China from Nanjing to its the present location in Beijing. After the construction of the Imperial Palace in 1420 (the Forbidden City which we saw on Day 3), Emperor Yongle selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum. From Yongle onwards, 13 of the 15 Ming Dynasty emperors were buried in this area.
Since only 13 of the 15 Ming emperors are buried on this site, where are the tombs of the first and second Ming emperors?
The tomb of the first Ming Emperor, Hongwu (1328 to 1398), is located near his capital city of Nanjing. The second emperor, Jianwen, was overthrown by Yongle and disappeared without a known tomb.
The "temporary" Emperor Jingtai (1449 to 1457) was also not buried here. Jingtai came to the throne after his older brother, Zhengtong (later called Tianshun), was captured by Mongols. Jingtai ruled for 8 years until his brother was released by the Mongols. Zhengtong then resumed the throne (hence the reference to Jingtai as being a "temporary" emperor). However, Zhengtong refused to allow Jingtai's burial in the Ming Tombs as Zhengtong considered himself to be emperor even during his capture by the Mongols. Jingtai, the "temporary" emperor, is buried west of Beijing.
The last Ming emperor buried at the Ming Tombs is Chongzhen, who committed suicide by hanging on 25 April 1644 due to the capture of Beijing (and the end of the Ming dynasty) by Li Zicheng, the first of the short-lived Shun Dynasty. Instead of being buried in his own tomb, Chongzhen was buried in that of Tian, his concubine and consort. This is why Chongzhen's tomb is much smaller compared to that of the other Ming Emperors. Tian's tomb was later declared as an imperial mausoleum by Li Zicheng, the emperor of the short-lived Shun Dynasty (1644 - 1645) who ruled between the Ming and the Qing dynasties.
During the Ming dynasty the tombs were off limits to commoners. In 1644, as part of their march into Beijing, Li Zicheng's army ransacked and set many of the tombs on fire before advancing and capturing Beijing in April of that year, thus ending the reign of the Ming Dynasty.
Presently, the tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are designated as World Heritage sites, some of which are located in other parts of Beijing and elsewhere in China.
Beijing Roast Duck
Duck has been roasted in China since the Southern and Northern Dynasties (386-489). A variation of roast duck was prepared for the emperors in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The dish was mentioned in the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages manual in 1330 by Hu Sihui, an inspector of the imperial kitchen. The Beijing roast duck that came to be associated with the term was fully developed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which by then, was one of the main dishes on imperial court menus. The first restaurant specialising in Beijing Duck, Bianyifang, was established in the Xianyukou, Qianmen area of Beijing in 1416. By the Qianlong Period (1736–1796) of the Qing Dynasty, the popularity of Beijing duck had spread to the upper classes which inspired poetry from poets and scholars who enjoyed the dish. One of the verses of Duan Zhu Zhi Ci, a collection of Beijing poems was, "Fill your plates with roast duck and suckling pig". By the mid-20th century, Beijing duck had become a national symbol of China, favored by tourists and diplomats alike. The dish is prized for the thin, crisp skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook.
Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days. For the last 15-20 days, they are force-fed four times a day until they reach a weight of 5–7 kg (11–15 lbs). After being slaughtered, cleaned, and eviscerated, air is pumped under the skin through the neck cavity to separate the skin from the fat. The bird is then par-boiled in water and then hung up to dry. While drying, the meat is glazed with a layer of maltose syrup and the inside rinsed once more with water. After hanging for 24 hours, the duck is roasted in an oven until it turns shiny brown. Beijing duck is traditionally roasted in either a closed oven or hung oven.
The closed oven is built of brick and fitted with metal griddles. The oven is preheated by burning Gaoliang sorghum straw. The duck is placed in the oven immediately after the fire burns out, allowing the meat to be slowly cooked through the convection of heat within the oven.
The hung oven was developed in the imperial kitchens during the Qing Dynasty, adopted by the Quanjude restaurant chain. It is designed to roast up to 20 ducks at the same time on an open fire that is fueled by hardwood from peach or pear trees. The ducks are hung on hooks above the fire and roasted at a temperature of 270 °C (525 °F) for 30–40 minutes. While the ducks are cooking, the chef may use a pole to dangle each duck closer to the fire for 30 second intervals.
The meat is eaten with pancakes, scallion, and hoisin sauce or sweet bean sauce.
The two most notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this dish are Quanjude and Bianyifang, two centuries-old establishments which have become household names.
Tomorrow on Day 5, we visit the Summer Palace and the Imperial Garden built in the Qing Dynasty. We then take a rickshaw ride to visit the Hutongs - the narrow streets and alleyways of old Beijing.
After the 21,000Km walk along the Great Wall, Beijing Duck will be appreciated.
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