Shidu
(The Juma River Valley)
IV: Back to Beijing; the Marco Polo Bridge
We had finished seeing Shidu and began our return trip to Beijing. Here are a few scenes from along the way.
A field of wheat ready to be harvested. Wheat is the main staple crop of China's North, whereas rice rules in the south.
More wheat ready to harvest.
A long, thin line of wheat drying.
These last four pictures come from the Marco Polo Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing. The bridge is famous for its 485 lions carved from stone, every one of which is unique. This is also the spot where China entered WWII—on 7 July 1937, Japanese troops illegally occupied a railway junction nearby. Japanese and Chinese soldiers then began shooting at each other from this bridge and the railway bridge seen in pictures below. Japan took the occasion to attack Beijing and occupy it. Thus entered China into WWII. Today the bridge is also notable because the broad river that formerly passed under it has completely dried up. Some people say that this is a sign of a long drought in the Beijing area. Only people are allowed to cross this bridge now, and they have to pay a small entrance fee. On the other side of the bridge is a souvenir market.
Here is a close view of one of the many lions along the bridge. Each is different.
A closer view of the same lion. Her two little ones seem just as menacing as she is.
Here is another lion and two cubs. To my eye, they look surreal and more human than the others.
Jinghua in front of one of the lions. The dirt below is the dried river bed.
A close-up view of the dried river bed.
We didn't find out why the bulldozers are sculpting the dried-up river bed. A railroad bridge is in the background.
It appeared that these workers were building something in the middle of the dried river bed, but we had no idea what it could be.