Just down the road from the Lama Temple is the The Temple of Confucius, my last stop during the Beijing Day Out by bicycle. The temple is the second largest Confucian Temple in China, after the one in Confucius' hometown of Qufu.
Enough touristy spots and culture, finishing off the Beijing by bicycle day out at Home Plate BBQ Beijing = Home Plate BBQ ~ Beijing China » Website of Home Plate BBQ ~ Authentic American Barbecue in Beijing China. and decided to get some serious riding done soon away from the hustle and bustle and motorcycle restrictions…..
The KHAN RUN 2014 up to Nei Mongolia was on the agenda during my Beijing stay... Inner Mongolia (Nèi Měnggǔ), officially Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region or Nei Mongol Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the north of the country, bordering Mongolia and Russia. Its capital is Hohhot, and other major cities include Baotou, Chifeng, and Ordos. In Chinese, the region is known as "Inner Mongolia", where the terms of "Inner-Outer" are derived from Manchu. Inner Mongolia is distinct from Outer Mongolia, which was a term used by the Republic of China and previous governments to refer to what is now the independent state of Mongolia plus the Republic of Tuva in Russia. In Mongolian, the region was called Dotugadu monggol during Qing rule and was renamed into Öbür Monggol in 1947, öbür meaning the southern side of a mountain, while the Chinese term nei menggu was retained. Some Mongolians use the name "Southern Mongolia" in English as well. Took of from Beijing going North towards the Mongolia / China border for the "Khan Run 2014", a mate based in Beijing joining with his BMW GS1200-LC for a few days. We met up North of Beijing at the Changping traffic circle, rain - rainy weather..... Heading out of Beijing towards Zhangjiakou (Hebei province) passing the Badaling Great Wall section during the early morning. Zhangjiakou, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Shanxi to the southwest. Leaving Zhangjiakou riding North towards Xilingol (Nei Mongolia = Inner Mongolia in Mainland China). Crappy foggy rainy weather all the way, not much picture taking took place.... A quick visit to Shangdu (Xanadu, was the capital of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty in China, before he decided to move his throne to the Jin dynasty capital of Zhōngdū, present-day Beijing. The "friendly" Shangdu gate keepers (security guards) refused to let us pass the gate and into the grounds, oh well ~ heavy rain / foggy weather and no time to waste arguing about a visit to some ruins = Shangdu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and onwards to Xilingol we went.... Xilingol or Xilinguole is one of 12 prefecture level divisions of Inner Mongolia. The seat is Xilinhot, while the area is 202,580 km2. The league's economy is based on mining and agriculture. Xilingol borders Mongolia (the country Mongolia) to the North, Chifeng, Tongliao and Hinggan League to the East, Ulanqab to the West and Hebei province to the South. Overnight in Xilingol, local hotel, cheap ~ nasty... the usual out in the Chinese cities and towns....
Brilliant clear and sunny day for our high speed run from Xilingol over to famous border town Erenhot....
Erenhot is a county-level city of the Xilin Gol League, in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, located in the Gobi Desert along the Sino-Mongolian border, across from the Mongolian town of Zamyn-Üüd. Erenhot info = Erenhot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nicknamed Erenhot "Dinosaur City China" some years ago as this is not my first time here, went through Erenhot a few times heading to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).
More Erenhot pictures…. China - Mongolia border crossing in Erenhot and some souvenirs for sale by the roadside....
Tasty and spicy lamb skewer dinner at Erenhot restaurant.... Our Erenhot hotel for one night, apparently the best one in "Dino-City"...
Departing Erenhot towards Baotou, great weather first that turned nasty later in the day. Our original plan riding along the China / Mongolia border was changed during a serious detailed armed military check-point (resident permits / passport) and we got stuck onto asphalt and concrete roads most of the time...
Erenhot to Boutou ride... Wasn't the 08/08/2008 the Beijing Olympic Opening Day? Seems the mountain village gor a new public toilet that day.... Flat BMW GS12LC rear tyre, quickly fixed with sticky rope ~ old fashion style, quick and simple repair to continue rollin' towards Baotou.... Well ~ the crappy muddy sections as usual in between and a white bird hit the MTS front during the Erenhot to Baotou ride, no damage to the MTS but not sure about the bird...
amazed you get anywhere taking all the pictures! lol very little luggage there too, how are fuel stops? Easy to find?
Mate, using a "pull out of the jacket pocket quickly" Sony point & shoot camera, easy as taking pics while riding or during stops.... Kriega US30 (Klim moisture wicking underclothing & layers, MacBook Air 13", Crocs, Shorts, t-shirt, toothbrush & personal cleaning kit, chargers) and Kriega US10 (Abus bike chain and cheap nylon bike cover, tools) suits me just fine for a 8 day trip. Well ~ few weeks ago got my new set of Klim Adventure Rally 2 gear, amazing amount of pockets to stash all sorts of things... brilliant all in one piece of kit. Fuel ~ quite easy but we usually carry a 5l jerry just for emergency on remote China rides....
Wudangzhao Lamasery is the largest and most well preserved Tibetan Lamasery in Inner-Mongolia. It belongs to the group of the three grand lamaseries in China together with the Potala Palace in Tibet and the Kumbum Monastery in Qihai. In Mongolian "Wudang" means "Willow", the temple is situates right amidst the willow-shaded area and that is why it was named"Wudangzhao". The famed Wudangzhao Lamasery is situated approximately 70 kilometres northeast of Baotou. The entire compound boasts of six main halls, the most elaborate them being the SugabiPrayer Hall. The extensive collection of Buddhist art is an integral feature at the Lamasery which includes ancient sculptures and frescos of gold, silver, wood and soil.
Departing Baotou going South towards Ordos with a quick stop at a touristy desert section (Xiangshawan) of the so called Kubuqi desert = Singing Sand Ravine, Resonant Sand Bay or Resonant Sand Gorge. You will notice that all the names have to do with sound – that’s because of a unique natural phenomenon where the sand at Xiangshawan Desert makes interesting echoes which varies according to weather and how you walk on the sand e.g. when sliding down from the 90-meter-high, 45-degree sand dunes of Xiangshawan Desert, one can supposedly hear the sound of car and aircraft engines! It is also said that the sand also produces a light “shhhh” sound as you walk on it. However, it is very difficult to hear such sounds today as Xiangshawan Desert has become quite crowded and noisy with tourists (like a zoo following the standard of most popular attractions in Mainland China). Nobody can explain this strange phenomenon – not even scientists and researchers studying this sound. There have been quite a number of folk stories on this sound – some say that a Tibetan lamasery was located here and it was suddenly buried in sand (together with all the lama monks who were chanting when that happened) by a sandstorm so it was thought that the sound was produced by the lingering spirits of the lamas who are still chanting. Xiangshawan is approx. 45 kilometres from the city of Baotou...
Another Khan Run 2014 overnight stop = Ordos..... Ordos is one of the twelve major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It is within the Ordos Loop of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered as aprefecture-level city. The administrative seat is at Dongsheng which had a population of 582,544 inhabitants at the 2010 census. Another Banner is being urbanized quickly around the city of Ejin Horo with about 251,894 inhabitants at the 2010 census which is the seat of Ordos Airport. Built for over a million people, the city of Ordos was designed to be the crowning glory of Inner Mongolia. Doomed to incompletion however, this futuristic metropolis now rises empty out of the deserts of northern China. Only 2 percent of its buildings were ever filled; the rest has largely been left to decay, abandoned mid-construction, earning Ordos the title of China’s Ghost City...... Spirited laps around the Ordos International Circuit, built in 2010, is a motorsport facility located in Kangbashi New Area, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China. It hosted a round of the China Touring Car Championship, Scirocco Cup China and Superleague Formula in 2010. The circuit is 3.751 km long with 18 corners.... 鄂尔多斯国际赛车场||www.oic2010.cn
