by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 28, 2016 | two girls in China
We finally made it to our end destination at the edges of China, the marvelous city of Lhasa! On their way back to Europe after 5 months of traveling since they had left Beijing, our priests stopped in Lhasa for three months in order to rest and prepare for the...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 24, 2016 | two girls in China
The 31st of July 1661, our two brave Jesuits left Xining and head towards Lhasa traveling for three months trough the Tibetan Plateau. This was one of the hardest parts of their trip as the territory from Xining to Lhasa is composed of desolate lands inhabited only by...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 24, 2016 | two girls in China
Gruber and Dorville report arriving in the city of Sining, today named Xining, after two months after they had left Beijing.The distance travelled by the Jesuits and us is of about 1800 km and two months is a pretty impressing record to go all the way! We took about...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 22, 2016 | two girls in China
Gruber and Dorville report crossing the Yellow River two times in their trip trough China, however they do not mention how or where they cross it. The Yellow River is often so big that it resembles a lake and, after having stood by its shores, we can imagine how hard...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 19, 2016 | two girls in China
The Desert: Over the course of several months, the Jesuits crossed an area of the Gobi Desert (which Kircher refers to as the Kalmak Desert). Kircher describes the Desert; “…They carried on across the Kalmak Desert of Tartary… the Desert is partly mountainous and...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 19, 2016 | two girls in China
Today, we explored the Gao Miao Temple in Zhongwei. Over time, this temple has catered to Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Today, the refurbished Buddhist architecture and deities outnumber the other faiths. In China Illustrata, Kircher has translated the...
