by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 12, 2016 | two girls in China
Today we went to explore some of the mountains of Northern China! Kircher talks about how the Chinese study and observe mountains with the diligence and rigour of astronomers. Today we can still see the remains of this fascination in the form of countless temples,...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 11, 2016 | two girls in China
Yesterday night we left Beijing on a night train and this morning we arrived in Datong in the current Shanxi province. Leaving Beijing, we will continue our trip towards the West of China trying to follow the route undertaken by Grueber and D’Orville while...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 11, 2016 | two girls in China
One of the greatest evidence of the presence of the missionaries in China is their cemetery; the Zhalan cemetery. The cemetery is located in what is now the Communist Party School and it took a while to convince the guards to let us in to visit it. Here, 53 Jesuits...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 11, 2016 | two girls in China
Today we went to visit the Imperial City, in the center of Beijing. The Imperial City, or Forbidden City, used to be the residence of the Emperors and until the Republic was forbidden for the public. Kircher in the China Illustrata describes the center of Beijing with...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 10, 2016 | two girls in China
Today we conquered the Great Wall of China! Well, at least one small section of it. Mutianyu is one of the most beautiful, large and popular sections of the Great Wall stretching about 70km. The wall was built in the mid-6th century and has been re-built since. One of...
by Ivo Kruchten | Aug 9, 2016 | two girls in China
Today was packed full of exploring the city and attempting to find the remnants of the Jesuits who came here centuries ago. Beijing is such a dense and busy city that finding anything is a challenge, especially when those places are the lesser visited tourist...
