Saturday
Today we went on an outing with our church to the Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival. The event is sometimes called the "Little Three Gorges” in reference to the three gorges of the Three Gorges Dam project.
--- Warning history lesson---
Longqing Gorge, located about 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Beijing, and is named after Emperor Longqing of the Ming (1368-1644) Dynasty, during whose reign (1567-1572), the Great Wall had been penetrated by a Mongol force under the command of the Altan Khan, reaching Beijing itself, though the emperor managed to repulse the khan's army. Later, the emperor, seeking to neutralize the Mongol threat by peaceful means, signed what one might today call a trade and security pact with Altan Khan whereby the khan purchased silk from China in exchange for horses. Peace ensued.
---Lesson over---
The Ice & Snow Festival, which, at night, is illuminated by a flood of colorful lights, is held each year from the 15th of January through the 29th of February. During the rest of the winter season, the area is closed to tourists, but opens for the summer-autumn season (April 10th to November 15th), where the gorge is known for, among other things, its bungee jumps. Yee Haw!!
It was very beautiful and very cold! The only thing that kept me from hightailing it back to the bus was the numerous fires that they had scattered about the place, and Mike not letting go of me. He was mumbling something about me being a party pooper.
This is part of the frozen damn.
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