-- From Datong to Beijing

The day of the 30/07 was harmful, the way of 297 km from Datong to Badaling was made in 8 hours, that is to say an average of 37 km/h. Indeed we met three congestions as well on the road as on the highway. Whatever are the causes, they were create by the indiscipline of the Chinese drivers. Indeed they forced the passage while being put on two or three lines of vehicles making impossible traffic in opposite direction. Then they was interminable palaver to release the road, then the process started again during hours. The traffic police force was non-existent as well in downtown as on road. The patrol craft on highway did not exist more. On the highways there was almost no information of accidents, works, congestions. The event was discovered while arriving above! When a highway was stopped, divers made half-turn and rolled to misinterpretation on emergency lane to the next exit.

Badaling is the city where the Great Wall of Ming is visited by all tourists. It was here that I visited it in 1982 and 1988. Of course, it had not changed. However infrastructures were added, such as a feniculaire. We bivouacked on the carpark at the foot of the Great Wall which we visited towards 18:30. The temperature was of approximately 34°C with a moisture higher than 85%.

Great Wall of Ming 
Badaling 
30/072006 

Trucks at the bivouac 
Badaling 
30/07/2006 

Chengde is the city where the treaty of Beijing was signed in 1860 at the Summer Palace after Anglo-French forwarding.  It is located in a marvellous landscape of mountains. Arrived at the beginning of afternoon the 31/07, we visited the Summer Palace, “Hamlet of mountain to flee the heat”, which was built under the Qing dynasty in an immense park with lakes where it was pleasant to walk. The following day, two temples were visited.

The courtroom 
Summer Palace
Chengde 
31/07/2006 

Flowers of lotus 
Park of the Summrt Palate 
Chengde 
31/07/2006 

The Puningsi temple or temple of the Great Buddha is dedicated to Boddhisattva Guanyin whose statue measures more than 22 meters in height.

The Putuozongcheng temple or small Potala was built in 1767-1771 in commemoration of a victory of the emperor.

Putuozongcheng temple 
Chengde 
01/08/2006 

We left Chengde the 01/08 at the beginning of the afternoon to bivouac in Miyun. The 02/08 we took the road towards 8:00 to arrive at Beijing at the end of the morning. Traffic as well as on the access road than on the peripherals was fluid. We located the carpark of the hotel for the bivouac without too much difficulty. After midday was devoted on the one hand to find the administration to extend the visas and the other documents and on the other hand to recognize the site of the bivouac of a German group met in Datong. When we returned to the bivouac, towards 20:00, Bruno taught us that we must leave it. Without alternative we went to the German bivouac whom we had extremely judiciously recognized. It was a quiet street behind hotels and in front of Lianhuachi Park.

The 03/08, we went to the administration of Secvurity where we learned that it was too early to extend the visas and the other documents, we could not do it before the beginning of September. The afternoon was devoted to the visit of the Lama Temple and the evening to walk on Pekinese Champs Elysées.

Tsong Kapa 
Room of the Wheel of the Law 
Lama Temple 
Beijing 
03/08/2006 

The 04/08 I had appointment at the MAN garage to make the service of my truck. A car sought me to lead me to the garage. After some mistakes on the peripherals we arrived towards 11:00. The conversation with the Chinese employees was impossible, they called an English speaking person of the technical department. Work started at the beginning of afternoon and were not finished at 17:00. A long discussion took place to choose the type of engine oil according to MAN recommendations, moreover the spare parts are stored in a warehouse at the airport. I due to return Monday 07/08 to complete work.

MAN garage 
Beijing 
04/08/2006 

The days of the 05 and 06/08 were occupied visiting the most prestigious sites of the Chinese capital. The crowd of the tourists, primarily Chinese, made very difficult the access to the monuments.

Press tourists 
Forbidden City 
Beijing 
05/08/2006 

Temple of the Prayer for Good Harvests 
Beijing 
05/08/2006 

China Millennium Monument 
Beijing 
05/08/2006 

Beijing had become a modern city with great height buildings surrounded by six peripherals. The traffic of trucks was impossible apart from the peripherals. To move we used either taxi or public transport, subway and bus. In spite of the density of the population the motor vehicle traffic was fluid. The atmosphere was very polluted, a fog stagnated permanently above the city.
There like elsewhere in China, the urbanization erased the traces of a recent past of residential buildings with leprous frontages. The city did not have any attraction out the historic buildings, the Huton district of old Beijing and the “Pekinese Champs Elysées” where crowd pressed itself up to one hour late of the night to seek a little of freshness in the air-conditioned stores.