A una di queste chiamate, ci fermiamo a fianco a una coppia di giovani. Non solo i due incauti avevano diversi sacchetti, ma portavano con sé anche una torta. Dopo varie discussioni con la bigliettaia perché la torta nel pulmino proprio non ci stava, provano ad aprire il finestrino e a passarla alla ragazza seduta di fronte a Justine. Visto che non riuscivano a spostare il vetro, sporgendomi, faccio alla bigliettaia: "Lo faccia passare da qui" (okkei, va bene, ho detto solo "da qui", il resto della frase era sottinteso!). Io, anima ingenua, credevo che una volta saliti i due giovani avrebbero trovato il modo di riprendersi la torta. E invece no! Mi sono fatta una decina di chilometri di strada sterrata con una torta gelato sulle ginocchia! E giusto per renderla ancora più precaria, era una torta a due piani con complesse decorazioni, tra cui un drago giallo con occhi e baffi di cioccolata. Avevo il terrore di spetasciarla. A questo punto, però, ridevamo da non riuscire più a respirare.
Gola Jingdong, un assaggio di natura incontaminata a una manciata di chilometri da Pechino
Jingdong Canyon, a taste of uncontaminated nature just a few kilometres outside Beijing
By Chiara Braccagni
Tutto era pronto per la gita a Chengde, lo zaino era alla porta. A meno di 12 ore dalla partenza, il mio amico mi chiama e mi dice: "Fatti una risata e poi ti dico". Una volta riagganciato il telefono ho pensato: e domani si sta a casa.
Ma anche no! Mi attivo e nel giro di due minuti trovo una valida opzione: Jingdong Grand Canyon. Le foto su internet erano piuttosto piccole e veniva indicato del trasporto locale per raggiungere siffatto Canyon, ma l'opzione era restare a casa, ergo andava benissimo. Diffondo l'invito, ma alla fine partiamo solo io e Justine, la mia coinquilina.
The trip to Chengde was ready, the backpack was at the entrance. Less than 12 hours before the departure, my friend calls me and tells me: "Have a laugh and then I'll tell you." Once I hung up the phone, I thought: so tomorrow we're staying home.
No way! In less than two minutes I found a valid option: Jingdong Grand Canyon. The pictures on the internet were pretty small and local transportation was required to get there, but the option was to stay home, so it looked perfect. I spread the invitation but in the end I and Justine, my flat mate, were the only ones to leave.
Una delle cascate della gola Jingdong
Waterfall at Jingdong Canyon
Sveglia ore 6:30; dopo 50 minuti di viaggio in metro arriviamo a Dongzhimen, luogo che suscita la stessa reazione delle parole "interrogazione di latino" sussurrata all'orecchio del povero studente. Dongzhimen è stazione degli autobus, di due linee della metro, dei pullman e del trenino per l'aeroporto. Il che la porta ad avere una popolazione in transito pari a quella di Venezia durante il Carnevale. Dopo svariati sgomitamenti, un'uscita sbagliata e una semi crisi di nervi di Justine sconvolta dalla sua prima esperienza a Dongzhimen, raggiungiamo l'espresso per Pinggu. Saliamo e partiamo. Un'ora e fischia di campagna più tardi, ci ritroviamo a Pinggu, villaggio dalle significative fermate del pullman: Ospedale di Pinggu, Rotonda di Pinggu, Mercato di Pinggu, Stazione delle Corriere di Pinggu. Mancava solo Tempio di Pinggu ed eravamo a posto. Una volta ragg341iunta Pinggu (che a questo punto posso anche dirvi significa Tranquilla Vallata) dovevamo prendere il bus n°12. All'ospedale, lo vediamo fermo alla fermata del senso opposto, chiedo conferma alla bigliettaia e scendiamo. Veniamo letteralmente assalite da tassisti abusivi, da curiosi e da simpatizzanti. Perché da quelle parti non passano molti stranieri. Soprattutto biondi. Perché dovete sapere che Justine è bionda, ma tanto bionda. Bianca, quasi. Girare con lei è come girare con un bersaglio sulla fronte e uno sulla schiena. Mentre aspettavamo il maledetto numero 12, 15 interminabili minuti in cui tutto passava tranne il 12, abbiamo anche avuto occasione di migliorare il nostro cinese, sezione "cacciare i molestatori". Perché dovete sapere che io dicevo "Qù ba", vattene, mentre un gentile signore a cui avevo rivolto siffatto invito mi ha corretta dicendomi che il modo migliore (o corretto) è "Zou le", cammina via. E dopo questa parentesi linguistica che vi ha appassionati tutti, riprendiamo la narrazione.
We woke up at 6:30, took the subway and after 50 minutes we got to Dongzhimen, a place that provokes the same reaction to the words "latin oral exam" whispered in the ear of the unfortunate student. Travellers in Dongzhimen can choose from several buses, two subway lines, several long distance coaches and the airport express train. The place has the same amount of people buzzing around as Venice during Carnival time.
After elbowing our way out of the subway, taking a wrong exit and avoiding a nervous breakdown by Justine, shocked by her first experience at Dongzhimen, we reached our coach. We hopped in and left. An hour of countryside later, we arrived in Pinggu, a village with very significant bus stops: Pinggu Hospital, Pinggu Roundabout, Pinggu Market, Pinggu Bus Station. With the Pinggu Temple, the little trip would have been complete.
Once in Pinggu - and now I can tell you it means Peaceful Valley - we should have taken bus No.12. At the Hospital, we saw it at the stop on the other side of the street, we asked the ticket seller for confirmation and got off the bus. Taxi drivers, the curious and sympathizers literally attacked us, as there are not many foreigners down there. Especially blonde ones. You have to know that Justine is blonde, really blonde, her hair is almost white. Walking around with her is like walking around with a target on the forehead and a target on the back.
While we were waiting for the damn bus No. 12, a period of 15 endless minutes when every number went by except the No. 12, we also had the opportunity to improve our Chinese, "get rid of molesters" section. You have to know I usually said "qù ba", go away, but a kind man to whom this short invitation was directed, corrected me telling that the best way to send somebody away is "zou le", walk away. After this linguistic parenthesis which I'm sure sent you all into raptures, let's move on with the story.
And no, woman no cry!
Dall'arrivo del bus. Ora. Un minibus da 15 posti in cui erano stipati dentro in 25. Si apre la porta (a mano, ovviamente) e Justine fa: Non entreremo mai! E io: Non esiste proprio che rimaniamo ancora qui! E salgo. La bigliettaia, che non poteva credere all'ingresso di due occidentali (di cui una bionda!) sul suo pulmino ha fatto brutalmente alzare una ragazza seduta in uno dei sedili anteriori e ci ha piazzato me, sempre con una certa brutalità. Poi ha praticamente fatto entrare di peso Justine e l'ha fatta sedere a fianco a me. Sullo stesso sedile. Dopo nemmeno tre secondi, io avevo già entrambe le chiappe nel vuoto e Justine aveva le sue in una posa da contorsionista. La ragazza spodestata era stata bellamente fatta sedere sul cassone del motore, tra noi e l'autista. Già qui io e Justine non la smettevamo più di ridere. Quando poi ho letto il cartello che indicava la distanza dal Canyon, abbiamo entrambe avuto un momento di mancamento: 18 chilometri. Oh, santo Cielo!
And 'we'll' move on, with the arrival of the bus. So. A minibus for 15 people with 25 packed inside arrives. The door opened (pushed from the inside) and Justine said: we'll never get in! To which I answered: "no way we're staying here any longer!" And I got on. The ticket seller, who could not believe her eyes when she saw two foreigners (one blonde at that!) getting on her bus, she forced a girl sitting in one of the front seats to get up and placed me there instead, with a certain amount of brutality. Then she practically lifted Justine in and placed her beside me. On the same seat. After no more than three seconds, I had already fallen off the seat and Justine was sitting like a contortionist. The ousted girl was now sitting on the engine, between us and the driver. Justine and I were laughing our heads off by this point but we briefly stopped when we saw the panel with the distance to the Canyon: 18 km. Oh, Goodness!
A pensarci bene, forse è meglio farsi 18 chilometri seduti sul cassone del motore che in sella ad un asino ...
If you think of it, maybe it's better to sit on an engine for 18 km, rather than on a donkey ...
Il nostro autista, Mao e il nulla dal sedile di Justine.
Our driver, Mao and the nothingness - from Justine's seat.
Al che, non volendo arrivare già disintegrata, mi sono spostata anch'io sul cassone del motore, mentre Justine metteva la testa fuori dal finestrino di modo da stare seduta comoda. E nel mentre ridevamo e ridevamo. Anche perché i sedili del pulmino erano coperti da una interessante tela grigio polvere decorata dalle scritte "I love you", mentre al posto dei dadi di peluche, allo specchietto retrovisore era appeso un portafortuna con Mao. L'aria condizionata, poi, era costituita da un ventilatore sgangherato posto sopra la testa dell'autista. Autista appena uscito dai campi, accento incomprensibile e faccia gioconda.
Seeing that and not being willing to get to the Canyon disintegrated, I moved onto the engine, while Justine sat comfortably (which involved her putting her head outside the window). In the meantime, we were laughing and laughing, partly because the seats were covered by an interesting dust-grey cloth decorated with the words "I love you" and a good-luck charm with Mao was hanging from the rear-view mirror, and the air conditioner which was just a decrepit fan, was hanging over the driver's head. The driver appeared to have been someone who had just come in from the fields with an incomprehensible accent and a jolly face.
We met all kind of interesting people on our way to the Canyon.
Sulla strada, abbiamo incrociato un sacco di gente interssante.
Le fermate di questo interessante pulmino campagnolo sono "a chiamata". Tu gridi "Scendo!" e la porta si apre. Se sei in strada, fai un cenno e l'autista si ferma. A una di queste chiamate, ci fermiamo a fianco a una coppia di giovani. Non solo i due incauti avevano diversi sacchetti, ma portavano con sé anche una torta. Dopo varie discussioni con la bigliettaia perché la torta nel pulmino proprio non ci stava, provano ad aprire il finestrino e a passarla alla ragazza seduta di fronte a Justine. Visto che non riuscivano a spostare il vetro, sporgendomi, faccio alla bigliettaia: "Lo faccia passare da qui" (okkei, va bene, ho detto solo "da qui", il resto della frase era sottinteso!). Io, anima ingenua, credevo che una volta saliti i due giovani avrebbero trovato il modo di riprendersi la torta. E invece no! Mi sono fatta una decina di chilometri di strada sterrata con una torta gelato sulle ginocchia! E giusto per renderla ancora più precaria, era una torta a due piani con complesse decorazioni, tra cui un drago giallo con occhi e baffi di cioccolata. Avevo il terrore di spetasciarla. A questo punto, però, ridevamo da non riuscire più a respirare.
The stops on this interesting bus route had to be "called". You shout "I get off!" and the door is opened for you. If you are on the road, you just wave and the driver stops. At one of these calls, we stopped near a young couple. Not only did they have several shopping bags but they were also carrying a cake. They discussed with the ticket seller for a few moment, about the fact that the cake would not fit through the door. Then, they tried to open the window and hand it over to the girl sitting in front of Justine. As the glass did not move, I leaned out and said: "Let it in through here!" (OK, right, I just said "through here", the rest of the sentence was implied!). I am a candid soul and I though that once inside the couple would manage to take the cake back. But no! I went through ten kilometres of dirt road with an ice-cream cake on my knees! And just to make it even more precarious, it was a two storeys cake with complex decorations including a yellow dragon with chocolate eyes and moustache. I was so afraid to squash it. At this point, though, we were laughing so hard we could not breathe.
Un'ora di campi dopo (la coppia è fortunatamente scesa un po' prima dell'arrivo) raggiungiamo la nostra meta. Manco a dirlo eravamo le uniche due occidentali del parco (e forse dell'intera vallata) e siamo state quindi osservate e fotografate per tutta la giornata. Sembrava di stare al circo, dall'altra parte delle sbarre.
An hour of countryside later (fortunately the young couple got off a bit before our stop) we reached our destination. Needless to say, we were the only foreigners in the park (and maybe in the whole valley) so we ended up being stared at and photographed the whole day. It felt like being a circus beast.
Rifugio in caso di inondazioni. Chiaro, no?
Shelter in the event of flood. Clear, isn't it?
Caratteristica memorabile del parco, le toilettes. Sul cartello c'è scritto: "Caro turista che non ti sei portato la carta igienica, prendi pure questa che è gratis". E non sto rielaborando. Il cartello con annesso rotolo è a bordo sentiero, viva la privacy! Che poi queste toilettes sono incredibili. Sembrano delle toilettes normali a cui non funzioni lo sciacquone, ma ci siamo poi rese conto al ritorno che è una finta. Il buco si apre su una bella fossa. E la si sente tutta.
Memorable attraction of the park, the toilets. The board reads: "Dear tourist who did not bring toilet paper with you, please, take this one, it is free". And I am not re-editing.
The board & toilet paper are right on the side of the path, long live privacy! The toilets, then, are incredible, they look like normal toilets with a broken flush but on our way back we realised it's a fake, the hole opens on a pit. And we actually realised it because you can smell it.
Nel parco è possibile svolgere un sacco di attività, giri in motoscafo, ammollarsi con un canotto in una simil gola di 100 metri (tristissimo), il passaggio sul lago con sta cosa che vedete a fianco e non so come definire.
Lungo il sentiero, anziani contadini a venderti i prodotti dei loro frutteti. E visto che non sono abituati al passaggio dello straniero, sono stati debitamente fotografati.
La fregatura sta nel fatto che tu ti fai la tua bella camminata per risalire il versante ovest del lago, ma per passare al versante est e tornare indietro devi prendere obbligatoriamente la funicolare. Che ti costa quanto l'ingresso al parco.
The park offers a vast choice of activities, to ride a motorboat, to float around with a dinghy in a 100 meters long gorge (really sad), to cross the lake using this thing I have no idea how to call. Along the path, old farmers selling the products of their orchards. As they are not used to foreigners walking by. We took a few interesting pictures of them.
The rip off is that you walk your way up through the western side of the lake but to go on and come back through the eastern side you have to take the funicular. Which costs more than the park entrance itself.
Io e Justine, indignate, abbiamo girato sui tacchi e siamo tornate indietro per lo stesso percorso.
Outraged, me and Justine turned and went back through the same path.
Una volta uscite dal parco, il numero 12 ci stava aspettando. Saliamo ed era già bello che pieno. Chiediamo allora alla bigliettaia quanto avremmo dovuto aspettare per il successivo e dopo aver scoperto che si trattava di una misera mezz'ora siamo scese e abbiamo aspettato.
The funniest part of the hike. Looking unstable and being unstable are two dangerously close concepts.
La parte più divertente della camminata. E la linea di demarcazione tra il sembrare instabile e l'essere instabile è molto sottile.
Il top del viaggio è stato un cinese dalla stazza sumica che si è addormentato su Justine e che russava talmente forte che ad ogni respiro l'intero bus si girava a vedere se per caso avessimo tirato su un elefante!
Siamo scese al capolinea dell'espresso per Pechino, il 918, e ci è venuto un colpo. La serie di 918 era interminabile e ne partiva uno dopo l'altro, ma la quantità di gente era impressionante e l'ordine .... beh ... avete presente una mandria di mucche impazzite? Ecco. Hanno più disciplina. Gente che spintonava, strattonava, passava sui piedi. Io e Justine abbiamo cercato di infilarci su un paio di bus, ma non c'è stato nulla da fare. Si sono avvicinati un paio di cinesi, ma dopo l'intensa giornata passata a sopportarne gli sguardi e la curiosità insistenti, li abbiamo mandati via in malo modo. Questi, imperterriti, continuavano a importunarci.
Once outside the park, bus n°12 was waiting for us. We hopped in but it was already full. We asked the ticket seller how long we would have had to wait for the next one and after discovering it would be a mere 30 minutes, we got off and waited.
The highlight of the drive back was a huge Chinese falling asleep on Justine. He snored so loudly that every time he breathed the whole bus turned to see whether we had taken in an elephant!
We got off at the terminus of the express bus to Beijing, the 918, and stared at the scene in front of us in despair. There was an endless line of 918 leaving one after another but there was also an impressive amount of people and order ... well ... have you ever seen a herd of mad cows? Well, they are more disciplined. There were people pushing, pulling, walking on your feet. We tried to get on a couple of buses but with no success. A couple of Chinese approached us but after the intense day trying to endure annoying stares and curiosity, we sent them away ungraciously. But they went on pestering us, undaunted.
La meglio foto della giornata.
The best picture of the day.
Allora mi giro e faccio per mandare via uno dei due, che mi dice vieni vieni e si avvia al secondo bus della colonna, ancora con la porta ben chiusa. Avevamo provato ad infilarci in uno chiuso facendo pietà all'autista, ma senza successo. Al tipo faccio che non possiamo salire su quello, ma lui insiste e io penso, tanto oramai, meglio seguirlo o non ci lascia più in pace. Arriva alla porta del bus, batte forte e intima di aprire per lasciar entrare le "amiche straniere". Avvolte da un'aura di vergogna ed onta siamo montate sul bus. Seguite da un'orda di cinesi inferociti. Io avrei voluto scomparire.
Il nonnino. - Grandpa.
Per tutta la giornata, poi, eravamo state "seguite" da un nonnino cinese con un ridicolo cappello di paglia con la scritta "Ronaldinho". L'avevamo visto passare in bus mentre aspettavamo la linea 12 all'andata. L'avevamo incrociato in strada dopo essere salite sulla 12. Ha fatto il viaggio di ritorno con noi dal Canyon a Pinggu. E quando siamo partite da Pinggu, comodamente sedute in una 918 fatta aprire apposta per noi, il nonnino era al centro della stazione delle corriere, lo sguardo perso, nessuno che lo lasciasse passare o si curasse di lui. Lo abbiamo salutato con grandi gesti andando via, ai quali ha risposto con un altrettanto grande sorriso.
So I turned and as I was about to send one of the two away he told me to follow him and we walked towards the second bus in the long line. Its doors were well closed. We were apparently trying to board a closed bus. We tried to move the driver to pity but with no success. I said to the guy that we could not get on this one, but he insisted that we should still try. I gave in thinking that if we did not follow his advice we would never get rid of him. He got to the bus door, banged on it and ordered the driver to open up and let the "foreign friends" in. And he did!
Surrounded by an aura of shame, we got on the bus, followed by an angry crowd. I wanted to disappear into the ground.
Throughout the day, we had been "followed" by a Chinese grandpa with a ridiculous straw hat with "Ronaldinho" written on it. We crossed him when we were waiting for line 12 to appear and even after we got on the bus. We travelled back from the Canyon in the same bus. And then, when we left Pinggu, comfortably seated on a line 918 opened especially for the two of us, the old man was standing in the middle of the bus station, looking blindly around, nobody letting him through, nobody even noticing him. We waved goodbye to him with wide gestures and he answered us with an equally wide smile.
Le foto con la data sono state scattate dalla mia coinquilina, Justine.
The two pictures with the date have been taken by my flat mate, Justine.
In 2007 Chiara Braccagni spent 4 months in Suzhou as an Italian teacher before returning to Italy to Graduate from college. After graduating from Interpreter School (Trieste) she returned to China to further her Chinese Studies. After working in Beijing for 3 months in the Italian Embassy she returned to Italy. In 2011, she came back to China to study again. In 2013 she is working in Shanghai. She likes to travel, explore and look for good excuses not to go back home.
My 11.45 am flight left at 1pm. Knowing that this would happen, I had bought my international ticket from Beijing, and chanced travelling to Beijing the day before. That also meant that I would need accommodation on the 14th. After checking the Internet, I came across the Beijing Aulympic - Olympic - Hotel, located very close to the airport. The fees were very very very low and that suited me fine. I did not expect however, that the hotel would be as nice as it was
Summer Palace Beijing: Touring Beijing: Statue di bronzo rappresentanti una fenice (simbolo dell'imperatrice) e un drago (simbolo dell'imperatore) all'esterno della Sala della Benevolenza e della Longevità.
Built in 1406-1420, The Imperial Palace, popularly known as the Forbidden City, was the permanent residence of the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It's buildings are divided into two parts. The front part, or the 'outer court', consists of Tai He Dian Hall, Zhong He Dian Hall and Bao He Dian Hall, which are taken as it's main body, plus Wen Hua Dian Hall and Wu Ying Dian Hall, which are taken as it's two wings, Where the Emperor held important ceremonies
If you do an internet word search for Badaling, you will find many addresses to choose from in your pursuit to know more about the Great Wall. After leaving the great wall we traveled to the Ming Tombs. Unfortunately we never got to go into any because there was a good deal of restorative work being carried on at that time. One of the lesser appreciated side effects of the 'Cultural Revolution' was the amount of malicious damage done to these tombs and other relics of China's past, and our guide was quite open in informing us of some of these events. Such a pity
Now while the tour itself was interesting, the real experience commenced upon leaving the compound. One cannot imagine what it is like to be literally surrounded by hawkers, who will not take no for an answer. They jostle you, prod you, beg, and harass you. They know that if they keep it up you will buy something. Fortunately my meager knowledge of Chinese permitted me to tell them to 'rack off'; that I wasn't interested, and that they charge too much. Not even the Chinese contingent escaped with all their finances intact, for like the westerners, they simply gave in and bought unwanted items.
Yunyansi pagoda is called Tiger Hill pagoda by local people. It was began to built in 959 A.D. and was completed in Song Dynasy (961 A.D.) It is a brick pagoda with seven floors and eight sides. The height is 47.7 meters. It leans to the north to the east and has a lean of 3.59 degrees. It weighs about 6000 tons. This pagoda has become the Symbol of ancient SuZhou. It was put in the protection list of national important historical relics in 1961
This Stele is made of Shandong Jiaxiang Blue Stone, and composed of stele cap, stele body and stele pedestal. Its facade is engraved with Zhang Ji's (Tang Dynasty) poem To Moor at Night at the Maple Bridge inscribed by Yu Yue (Qing Dynasty); while the back is engraved with The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra in Sanskrit) handwritted by Emperor Qianlong (Qing Dynasty).
The Garden of Couple's Retreat. Located on the northeastern edge of the ancient city of SuZhou, the garden was first created in the early Qing period as a pleasure garden of Baoning Prefect Lu Jingzhi. In the 13th year of Tong ZhiReign (1874 AD), Shen Bingcheng, governor of Susongtai Region, acquired it and expanded it into the present scale.The park is located by one of the major canals on the North / East side of SuZhou. It is not far from the Old Water Gate, and right behind it is the SuZhou Zoo. I have been in YanCheng now for 6 months and no longer have a map of SuZhou from which to give precise directions. The entrance looks great from the overpass, but otherwise you wouldn't know it is there. I did take some photos of it at night when I was on the canal tour. That tour leaves from 'ShiLu' which is the 'small' walking street - not Guanqian Jie which is the big walking street.
Leo Rosten in the Joys of Yiddish wrote that there is an old Jewish saying, that the difference between psychotics and neurotics is that while psychotics believe that 2 + 2 = 5 neurotics, although fully cognisant of the fact that 2 + 2 = 4, just simply can't stand it! Personally, I think there are a lot of neurotics in the world. When I read all the bad press Israel gets for it's Terrorism in Palestine, and compare it to the press coverage of the current situation in Lebanon, I can't help but think that the Media are neurotic
Jiaye Ancient Library is a famous private library with the largest collection of books in modern China. the construction of the library was started in 1920 and completed in 1924. It covers an area of 13,340 square meters, and expended the gold of 120,000 liang. After liberation in 1949, it has become part of Zhejiang Library that mainly houses ancient books. In June of 2001, Jiaye Ancient Library was deemed a National Preserved Cultural Relic Unit.
Traduzione di Chiara Braccagni: Nel 2005 mi sono trasferito a Wuhan da Hong Hu, in modo da poter insegnare inglese e allo stesso tempo imparare il cinese. Tuttavia, dopo due anni a Wuhan, avevo seguito solo un semestre di studio del cinese. Avevo accettato il lavoro di insegnante a Wuhan ad uno stipendio minore rispetto a quanto mi era stato offerto da altri istituti, in modo da mettere in pratica il cinese che impraravo in un dialetto che mi fosse familiare. Quando ho richiesto all'agenzia di trovarmi un nuovo lavoro per il 2007 ho messo in chiaro che lo stipendio era la mia priorita'. Sebbene il governo cinese avesse decretato che gli insegnanti stranieri potevano ritornare a casa in anticipo lo scorso semestre, cosi' da trascorrere il Natale con le loro famiglie (decisione resa possible dalle anticipate festivita' del capodanno cinese) la mia scuola non mi ha lasciato partire. Infatti, una clausola mi obbligava a rimanere a scuola fino all'ultimo giorno del mio contratto. E cosi' ho fatto (e sto ancora aspettando lo stipendio che mi devono).
Hu Qiu Road leads to Tiger Hill, and commences in Tong Jing Road at the end of my Street. It took about 10 minutes to ride my bike to Tiger Hill. This scenery is not what you expect in China yes?
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
