[Fragrant Hills, Beijing] The Temple of Azure Clouds, or (碧云寺, Bi Yun Si) is a buddhist temple located in the west of Fragrant Hills, built in the 13th century, and was expanded at least 2 times during Ming and Qing dynasty. The entire place is more than a scenic place, but also full of hidden cultural treasures, I don’t mean literally. Other than being a buddhist temple, it was also a designated burial place for Wei Zhongxian (魏忠贤), an infamous and powerful eunuch from Ming dynasty, hundreds of upright and loyal officials were expelled or killed by his treacherous actions. The flatters were clamouring for a while and the imperial court fell into the darkest days, it was disaster for the empire, but the Ming emperor was only indulging in his personal interest and he died at the age of 21. Emperor Chongzhen was swift and severe in eliminating Wei, the latter hung himself with his own belt. However, the new emperor ordered to have Wei’s corpse dismembered and displayed in his hometown to serve as a warning to other eunuchs. In the end, he couldn’t be buried in the Temple of Azure Clouds as planned. Today, there are no longer any monks or religious personnel living in the Temple, thus strictly speaking it shouldn’t be seen as a place of worship anymore, many believe that as long as there is no more chanting of scriptures and offering of incense, the statues are just beautiful arts sculptures. 📍Beijing, China. 中国北京。🇨🇳 . . . #china #beijing #forbiddencity #travelthroughthelenses #nonmainstream #ancientchina #travelgram #igchina #history #love #snow #seetheworld #bitesize #beijinger #chinese #chinesearchitecture #citygrammers #oldplaces #chinaexplorer #discoverchina #createexplore #xiangshan #instatravel #sihantravels #igdaily #instabeijing #notatourist #中国 #北京 #香山

[Mukden Palace, Shenyang] Although the Baoji Palace (保极宫) wasn’t really located in a prominent location in the Mukden Palace, but it was where the Emperors would stay at whenever they visit Shenyang and the eastern part of the Qing empire. However as I mentioned previously, many of these buildings were built in the Qianlong era where the imperial family had long moved to Beijing, so these buildings included some architectural features similar to those in the Forbidden City, such as the soho concept. According to historical records, other than residential uses, the emperor would often summon senior local officials and meet them here during their royal visits, he would ask them questions about various issues pertaining to local state affairs, national and defence related policies, to show his concerns about the north eastern area. This is very important for the rulers so they would not be deceived by the treacherous officials, however towards the end of the Qing dynasty, the rulers could not afford to travel as much as their predecessors due to economic downfall and many other problems. The Shenyang imperial palace then started to step off the stage of history. 📍Shenyang, China. 中国沈阳市。🇨🇳 . . . #china #beijing #shenyang #instachina #travelthroughthelenses #asia #nonmainstream #ancientchina #travelgram #igchina #history #love #learnsomethingnew #seetheworld #bitesize #chinesearchitecture #chinaexplorer #discoverchina #igdaily #oldplaces #chinese #createexplore #instagram #instatravel #sihantravels #notatourist #中国 #北京 #沈阳

Maneuvering through the strongest and most treacherous tides with grace, empathy and compassion is a virtue that tends to go astray as life unfolds. Thank you for reminding us. And more specifically - thank you for reminding me :). • 📸 @diveand.co @yeen_angsu #diveandco