Marco Polo Bridge, Beijing Marco Polo Bridge

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Beijing attractions Home : Beijing Attractons Marco Polo Bridge The Marco Polo Bridge, Beijing’s oldest bridge, became world famous because it was a Japanese attack on the bridge which started the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. The bridge was built in 1189 by the Jin Dynasty Shizong Emperor. Damaged by floods it was restored in 1444 and 1698. It has eleven arches and spans over a dried up Yongding River in south-west Beijing. The river was initially called Wuding River meaning Instability River because of its surging irregular water flow. It is was renamed Yongding River meaning Eternally Stable River by the Kangxi Emperor. Apparently the river was flowing until recent years The interesting feature of the bridge is the 485 lions in all in different positions sitting on 140 balusters. The locals claimed the lions are too many to be counted. At both sides of the bridge are two stellae, one describing the renovation by the Kangxi Emperor in 1698, and the other with the characters “Moon over Lugou Bridge at Dawn” in the Qianlong Emperor’s handwriting. There is a museum nearby in Wanping town called the Museum of the anti-Japanese War Resistance. It was called Marco Polo Bridge in the West because Marco Polo (1254-1324) described it in his travel book, “The Travels of Marco Polo”. This book was apparently dictated by Marco Polo and penned by a fellow prisoner in Genoa called Rusticello of Pisa, purportedly the author of a romantic tale of King Arthur. The book fascinated Europe at that time with tales of the grandeur of Chinese culture and technology, but it was then so unbelievable that the book was called Il Milione, The Million Lies and Marco Polo received the nickname Marco Millione, i.e. Marco Polo of a million lies. The bridge was originally called Guangli Bridge, but Beijing locals called the bridge unceremoniously as Lugou Qiao or Reed Ditch Bridge. (Lu or reed can also mean black in old Beijing dialect, so the Yongding River was originally called Heishui or Black Water River.) In ancient times it was one of the Eight Great Sights of Yanjing (ancient Beijing) for people would go early in the pre-dawn morning to see the reflection of the moon in the river water. Whether Marco Polo did in fact reach Beijing and Eastern China is now debatable because his name as Governor of Yangzhou was not mentioned in the Yuan Dynasty archives. Also, he did not mention the Great Wall, the bounded lotus or lily feet of Chinese women and the tea houses in Yangzhou and Hangzhou. Frances Wood formerly of the British Museum wrote a book “Did Marco Polo go to China?” She contended that it was possible that Marco Polo did go on the Silk Road but not all the way to China because many of his descriptions could have been taken from Arabic or Persian books. Nevertheless, Chinese historians still maintain he could have been in China proper.

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Maco Polo Bridge and Zhoukoudian Peking Man Private One Day Tour

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Beijing Tours Home : Beijing Tours BJPODT-7: Maco Polo Bridge and Zhoukoudian Peking Man Private One Day Tour Attractions: Maco Polo Bridge ,Zhoukoudian Peking Man ◆Tour code: BJPODT-7 ◆Departure: Daily ◆Duration: 1 day ◆Itinerary Details ◆Tour Cost ◆Payment Methods ◆Quotation includes and excludes ◆Vehicles pictures of this tour ◆Friendly notes ◆Important Note Itinerary Details ---Our well-trained English-speaking tour guide will pick you up from the hotel at 8:30 in the morning. ---Drive to Zhoukoudian(Peking man site)-the Chinese apeman, also known as Peking Man, lived some 690,000 years ago, in mid-period of Pleistovene epoch. The first complete skull of Peking Man was discovered in December 1929. ---Have lunch at a nice local restaurant. ---Drive to the Lugou(Marco polo) bridge after touring around the Zhoukoudian(Peking man site). The great Italian traveler saw it towards the end of the year 1276 during his tours in China under the Yuan Dynasty. Lunch will be arranged at the local restaurant. Stone flower cave visit in the afternoon. It’s one of the biggest caves in China, and contains a superb collection of beautiful sights. ---Drive back to the hotel around 5:30 in the afternoon. To customize or book please email us on info@chinatravelcompass.com or phone our English speaking booking hotline on +8610 5979 6302 or (+86)13910057873 Tour Cost Number of Guests 1 Guest 2 Guest 3-5 Guests 6-9 Guests 10 Guests and above Cost per Guest USD 144 USD 89 USD 70 USD 65 USD 50 *Half price per child below 1.2 meters *Baby (less than 2 years old) free Quotation includes: --Air-conditioned private car or van, --Admission fee, --English-speaking tour guide, --Typical Chinese lunch, --Hotel pickup and drop-off, --Fuel, highway tax and parking cost. Quotation excludes --Hotel expense, --Personal expense, --Tips to the tour guides and drivers. Friendly Notice from Chinatravelcompass.com 1. The above tour is tailored for you exclusively. You will use private vehicle, driver and English-speaking tour guide. 2. Lunch is not refundable if you do not need it. 3. The sunshine is very strong in summer. Sunglass is helpful. 4. A visit to Chinese silk shop and Jade processing factories are included. Please let us know if you are not interested in these. We will cancel the shop according to your request; but no refund will be made. 5. You will walk a long distance with our tour guide. Soft and comfortable shoes are helpful. 6. Chinatravelcompass.com highly suggests you use bathroom before you start the hiking. It is not easy to find a bathroom on the Wall. Important Note: 1. We will buy Travel Accident Insurance in advance, so please provide full name on passport of all travelers. 2. Once we have the above information,, we will start arranging your tour according to your request. Confirmation will be sent to you when all tour details are arranged.

China Travel Compass, Your First and Best Choice for China Tour. (since 1989) ! About Us | Contact Us Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the China Travel Compass User Agreement and Privacy Policy @Copyright 1989 - 2008. All Rights Reserved to China Travel Compass