China 2019
Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:00 pm
So on the 2nd of August I flew to Ulanbaatar and then to Beijing. What suprised me was crowdedness and noise everywhere but It can be atributed to the fact that it was a vacation time for the Chinese people as well.
In Beijing on the 3rd of August I went through hutongs to a city lake with a garden- Park Beihai. There were many beautiful Nelumbo nucifera plants, some of wich were flowering. Among many non-wildlife attractions in that park there was a "Nine Dragon Screen"- as you see dragons in China don't have wings.
In that park there were some Trachemys scripta elegans in a moat.
In evening we went to a restaurant to eat a supper and I noticed a Pelodiscus sinensis in aquarium in that restaurant- one could ask for a dish out of that turtle.
I tried to do some city herping after sunset but it was not successful.
The following day we went to Temple of Heaven. This is a very important religious place, emperor used to do religious rituals there. Of course it was very crowded. I found there pictures of a Chinese mythical creature- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_turtle
There were many pictures of dragons as well- for example as building ornaments.
The next day was for The Great Wall. It was not very spectacular. I tried to find some lacertids but I noticed only a toad (Bufo gargarizans) from top of the wall. However there were quite many nice millipedes but I dont know what species they are of.
The next day we went to another "must see" place- Emperror's Summer Palace. It is next to a lake and there are also smaller ponds full of water lillies and lotuses. In such a pond I spotted basking young Chinese Softshell Turtle but it escaped under water the moment I aimed photo lens at it. However not long after that moment I found less fearfull animal nearby- Elaphe anomala. This species is not seen often!
Then we went to Jingshan Park to have a look at the Forbidden City from a hill. It was already dark but we took a subway to Tiananmen Square. We were not allowed to enter the square though. Nearby there is Mao Zedong mausoleum, National Museum of China, Monument to the People's Heroes, and Archery Tower, Great Hall of the People (parliament).
The next day, in the morning, we went to admire beautiful, buddhist Lama Temple. We tried to get into Confucius Temple as well but unfortunately it was already closed. After that we got a fast train (even 300km/h) to Luoyang . In the train I met a biotechnology professor and we talked a bit.
In Beijing on the 3rd of August I went through hutongs to a city lake with a garden- Park Beihai. There were many beautiful Nelumbo nucifera plants, some of wich were flowering. Among many non-wildlife attractions in that park there was a "Nine Dragon Screen"- as you see dragons in China don't have wings.
In that park there were some Trachemys scripta elegans in a moat.
In evening we went to a restaurant to eat a supper and I noticed a Pelodiscus sinensis in aquarium in that restaurant- one could ask for a dish out of that turtle.
I tried to do some city herping after sunset but it was not successful.
The following day we went to Temple of Heaven. This is a very important religious place, emperor used to do religious rituals there. Of course it was very crowded. I found there pictures of a Chinese mythical creature- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_turtle
There were many pictures of dragons as well- for example as building ornaments.
The next day was for The Great Wall. It was not very spectacular. I tried to find some lacertids but I noticed only a toad (Bufo gargarizans) from top of the wall. However there were quite many nice millipedes but I dont know what species they are of.
The next day we went to another "must see" place- Emperror's Summer Palace. It is next to a lake and there are also smaller ponds full of water lillies and lotuses. In such a pond I spotted basking young Chinese Softshell Turtle but it escaped under water the moment I aimed photo lens at it. However not long after that moment I found less fearfull animal nearby- Elaphe anomala. This species is not seen often!
Then we went to Jingshan Park to have a look at the Forbidden City from a hill. It was already dark but we took a subway to Tiananmen Square. We were not allowed to enter the square though. Nearby there is Mao Zedong mausoleum, National Museum of China, Monument to the People's Heroes, and Archery Tower, Great Hall of the People (parliament).
The next day, in the morning, we went to admire beautiful, buddhist Lama Temple. We tried to get into Confucius Temple as well but unfortunately it was already closed. After that we got a fast train (even 300km/h) to Luoyang . In the train I met a biotechnology professor and we talked a bit.