More neighbourhood - Beijing alleyway cruising…..

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Next Beijing Day Out by bicycle stop = Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It has been regarded as a Daoist temple, although Chinese heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, predates Daoism.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Heaven

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Beijing Day Out by bicycle goes on, heading over to the Lama Temple Beijing (Dongcheng District) = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonghe_Temple

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

more Lama Temple Beijing pictures….

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

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.

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Enough touristy spots and culture, finishing off the Beijing by bicycle day out at Home Plate BBQ Beijing = http://homeplatebbq.com and decided to get some serious riding done soon away from the hustle and bustle and motorcycle restrictions…..

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

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 = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangdu 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....

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Brilliant clear and sunny day for our high speed run from Xilingol over to famous border town Erenhot....

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

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 = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erenhot



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).

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

China - Mongolia border crossing and some souvenirs for sale by roadside peddlers....











Sunset and evening pictures around Erenhot....



















Tasty and spicy lamb skewer dinner at Erenhot restaurant....

























Our Erenhot hotel for one night, apparently the best one in "Dino-City"...

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

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 and detailed (passports / visas / etc.) armed military check-point and we got stuck onto asphalt / concrete roads most of the time...

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Erenhot to Baotou ride...

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Flat BMW GS12LC rear tyre, quickly fixed with sticky rope ~ old fashion style, quick and simple repair to continue rollin' towards Baotou....





Wasn't the 08/08/2008 the Beijing Olympic Opening Day? Seems the mountain village got a new public toilet that day....



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 bike ~ not sure about the bird….

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Leaving early morning for a visit to the Baotou mountains and the famous Wudangzhao Lamasery….

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

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 Sugabi Prayer 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.

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR