Mongolia | Dornogov Aimag | Shambhala

Two kilometers (1.24 miles to normal people) ATCF from Khamariin Khiid is Danzan Rajvaa’s Huge Three Dimensional Representation of the Sacred Land of Shambhala. Created in the last two years of his life, this Shambhala consisted of a huge square encompassed by a wall of 108 stupas with four gateways, plus several other larger stupas, ovoos, and other constructions. Most of the original Shambhala here was destroyed during the repressions of the late 1930, but a big project is now underway to restore the complex. The square of 108 ovoos is being rebuilt, along with three of the original four gateways and eight larger stupas.

According to tradition noblemen entered Shambhala by the right gate and lamas and teachers by the left gate. Pilgrims and worshippers entered by the Central Gate. The Central Gate had two doorways named the Golden Doorstep and the Silver Doorstep. Visitors to Shambhala entered by the Golden Doorstep and left by the Silver Doorstep. Upon entering the Golden Doorstep you were suppose to leave all harmful thoughts behind and think only auspicious thoughts while in Shambhala.

A path leading from near the temples to Shambhala ends just in front of the Center Gate.

The Center Gate with the two doorways under construction. The Brick front will have representations of the 25 Kalkin Kings of Shambhala.

Two of the larger stupas and one of the completed smaller stupas which will make up the square of 108.

Large stupa and two smaller stupas making up the square.

The ring of rock in the background is known as the Twelve Year Circle and represents the 12-year cycle of the Tibeto-Mongolian calender. In front of the Twelve Year circle are three different-sized ovoos representing the Future, Present, and Past. The Ovoo of the Future is in the front. The Ovoo of the Present is just visible immediately behind it. The smallest ovoo is the the Ovoo of the Past. According to tradition, If you put a white stone on the Ovoo of the Future while saying your surname and then first name when you die you will be reincarnated very quickly.

The Maidar’s Circles. These three circles make up a line pointing to Khairkhan Uul, the mountain where Danzan Ravjaa’s spirit is supposed to reside.

The Brain Ovoo—Center of Shambhala—in the distance.

The Brain Ovoo

The Brain (Tarkhi) Ovoo. This is the center point of energy in Shambhala. Local monks claim that when there are dust storms and high winds outside Shambhala Land here by the Brain Ovoo it is always calm. Some people also claim to feel heat or some other form of energy emanating from this place. Monks also claim that there are just two places like this in the world. The other place is in Tibet, although they say they do not know the actual location.

Shambhala from a nearby hill. The complex is expected to be completed by September of 2006, when there will be an official opening and dedication.

See more about The Legend of Shambhala.

Mongolia | Dornogov Aimag | Khamariin Khiid

We entered some slightly hillier country and soon came to a low pass surmounted by two ovoos known as the Women’s Ovoos. They are said to represent a woman’s breasts and a mother’s milk. By tradition all women are supposed to stop at these ovoos and while circumambulating them look back toward Khairkhan Uul, a mountain off to the distance in the southwest. According to tradition if they wish for good things while doing this their wishes will come true. In a depression a half-mile or so away from the ovoos can be seen the temples of Khamariin Khiid.

The Women's Ovoos

Gateway to Khamariin Khiid

The monastery turned out to be 34.9 kilometers as the crow flies (that's 21.7 miles ATCF to non-metric-heads) from Sainshand as measured by GPS, and perhaps a kilometer or two more by vehicle, as the road is pretty much straight.

The temples of Khamariin Khiid.

Buddha

Stupas at Khamariin KhiidTemple containing the Statue of Ten Thousand Knives

Dush Lama and Enkhjargal, the two main monks at Khamariin Khiid

The famous Statue of Ten Thousand Knives

Detail of the Statue of Ten Thousand Knives

For more on the Statue of Ten Thousand Knives and Khamariin Khiid see "Treasures of the Sand—The Legacy of Danzan Ravjaa” by Venerable Dude Konchog Norbu.

Mongolia | Dornogov Aimag | Sainshand

From the Big Dumpling I winged into the Big Buutz, then with historical consultant Mönkhnyagt in tow I backtracked south by catching the 9:35 a.m. local train from Ulaan Baatar to Sainshand, capital of Dornogov Aimag, arriving there at 7:30 in the evening. My ultimate goal was nearby Khamariin Khiid.

Downtown Sainshand

Suburb of Sainshand

The next morning under slightly overcast skies we headed east across the featureless Gobi to Khamariin Khiid. Monkhnyagt’s friend in Sainshand had arranged for the jeep and driver; the driver turned out to be an off-duty cop who said he was quite pleased to have the opportunity to visit Khamariin Khiid on what he deemed to be an auspicious day. It was the day of the Full Moon; the exact moment of the Full Moon was at 3:52 this afternoon. I had planned the trip to be at Khamariin Khiid at this time.

As is so often the case in Mongolia with distances in the countryside I got wildly different estimates of how far it was from Sainshand to Kharmariin Khiid. I had been told by various people in Ulaan Baatar that the distance was either 60, 50, 40, 35, 20, or 17 kilometers, and one otherwise knowledgeable person, apparently mistaking the Gelug monastery in town for Khamariin Khiid, claimed it was in Sainshand itself.

On the road to Khamariin Khiid

Along the way, we saw several ger camps plopped down on the vast expanses of sand. Our driver said they are quite popular with Japanese tourists in the summer, although I can’t imagine what people actually do there all day, especially in what must be the ferocious heat of summer.

Ger Camp

Recreational facilities at ger camp
Desert near Khamariin Khiid

Mongolia | Bayankhongor | Segs Tsagaan Bogd Uul

Segs Tsagaan Bogd Uul is one of the most sacred mountains of the central Gobi Desert. Located seventeen miles north of the Chinese border, at N42º51.815 / E098º48.612, the 7101-foot mountain can be seen from much of southern Bayankhongor Aimag and would have served as a beacon for the several of the old caravan routes passing through this area, including the Shar Zam (Yellow Road) to Beijing, routes south to Lhasa, in Tibet, and west to Urumqi, in Xinjiang, China. On the northern flank of the mountain is a famous spring, Süüjin Bulag.

On the trail to Segs Tsagaan Bogd Uul

The beacon of Segs Tsagaan Bogd Uul from near Ekhiin Oasis

Gov-Altai Mountains from the summit of Segs Tsagaan Bogd Uul

The 7101-foot summit of Segs Tsagaan Bogd Uul. From here the Mazong Mountains in China, over 100 miles away across the Black Gobi, can clearly be seen. The Notorious Warlord and Bandit Dambijantsan, who was infamous for robbing caravans in this area, built his fortress hide-out in the Mazong Mountains.

China | Hebei Province | Chengde Summer Resort

From Ulaan Butong we drove south to the old Qing Summer Resort at Chengde and spent the night.

Qing Emperor Kangxi (r.1661-1722), founder of Chengde Summer Resort

The next morning I was up early and joined the thousand or more people funneling into the summer resort. A ticket to the resort grounds is an unbelievable 90 yuan ($11.22) for Chinese and foreigners alike (the notoriously frugal Kangxi would be appalled), although surely the many elderly retirees present get a free pass or at least some kind of discount. As the sign notes, after a sojourn to the Mulan Hunting Grounds Emperor Qianlong retired here to the Pavilion to Enjoy Chilly Fragrance.

Pavilion to Enjoy Chilly Fragrance

Oldsters doing the Tai Chai thing in the courtyard of the Pavilion to Enjoy Chilly Fragrance.

Although it is early spring and not much vegetation is out yet there were some nice blooming shrubs in the Pavilion to Enjoy Chilly Fragrance.

Another nearby pavilion

Yet another pavilion

The resort’s many secluded nooks are handy for lovers young and old

Another pavilion

The surprisingly austure quarters of the Qing Empress Dowager Cixi, who if we are to believe the many lurid accounts written about her engaged in an Endless Series of Orgies and Bacchanals. Modern historians have tended to discount many of these stories.

Students from the Chengde Tourism Institute with their teacher (in the red sweater). They were having a class at the resort itself, part of which included befriending foreign tourists and guiding them around for free. Their English teacher is from the Philippines and although she speaks English with an almost pure American accent claims to have never been in the USA.

China | Inner Mongolia | Ulaan Butong

In 1688 Zungarian chieftain and warlord Galdan Boshigt invaded Khalkh Mongolian and proceed to trash Erdene Zuu, Khögnö Tarnyn Khiid, and Saridgiin Khiid. Zanabazar, the First Bogd Gegeen of Mongolia and head of the Khalkh Mongols, was forced to flee southward to China. In 1690 news reached Beijing that Galdan Bolshigt had reached Khulun Nuur (Dalai Nuur) area in what is now Inner Mongolia and was proceeding southward along the Khalkh River. On July 26, 1690, Galdan’s army overran Qing outposts south of the Seyelki Mountains in what is now Inner Mongolia. To the emperor’s advisors in Beijing it now appeared as if the Zungarian upstart intended to actually march on Beijing. It was decided to sent two armies north to confront Galdan. First, however word was sent out to Galdan that Kangxi wished to met with him and negotiate a peace treaty. Hopefully this would slow down Galdan long enough to allow the armies to get in place and then administer the coup de grace.

General Fu-ch’uan (1653-1703) was chosen to lead one part of the Qing army. He was the second son of Emperor Shih-su; his mother a third-rank concubine from the Donggo clan. The half-brother of Kangxi, Fu-ch’uan had earlier been given him the title of Prince Yü by the emperor, and on August 6, 1690 Kangxi named him “Generalissimo for the Pacification of Distant Lands.” On August 10 Fu-ch’uan and his army left Beijing and proceeded north through Gubeikou Pass, seventy miles from Beijing, the first pass through the Lesser and Greater Jin Shan (Golden Mountains) near the Jinshanling Great Wall. Kangxi’s younger brother Ch’ang-ning was given command of another army and sent through another nearby pass. Kangxi himself accompanied one of these armies, it is not sure which, to the Great Wall, but soon became ill and had to return to Beijijng.

Commemorative ovoo on the edge on the Ulaan Butong battlefield

Just south of the current-day town of Saihanba, on the edge of the Mulan Hunting Grounds, the forested ridges of northern Hebei end and with dramatically abrupt suddenness the terrain changes to the rolling, treeless steppes. Not coincidentally, here is also the current-day border between Hebei Province and Inner Mongolia. About ten miles north of the current border, on a broad flat expanse of steppe broken only by a conspicuous hill of reddist rock known as Ulaan Butong in Mongolian or Hong Shan in Chinese (Red Mountain, or in a more poetic rendering Red Urn), the two armies collided on September 3.

Ulaan Butong, or the Red Urn, in the distance

The Qing had cannons, a relatively new innovation, and one which would have seemed to have given them unquestioned superiority. At two o’oclock in the afternoon the Qing army commenced firing their artillery. Across a broad swamp or lake the Mongols lined up their camels as barricades again the artillery and stood their ground, returning a heavy barrage of musket fire. Curiously, a French Jesuit in the Qing court by the name of Jean F. Gerbillon had accompanied the Qing army from Beijing and later gave an eye-witness account of the battle. Toward evening Qing Duke Tong Gougang was killed by Mongol musket fire in what must have been a devastating blow to the morale of the Qing army.

At night-fall the fighting ended and each army returned to their camp. There had been no clear victor, but nevertheless “Generalissimo” Fu-ch’uan sent a dispatch to Beijing claiming the Mongols had been decisively defeated. In fact, further engagements over the next day or two again ended with no clear victor. The tenacious Mongols simply refused to give up. In order to break the stalemate Fu-ch’uan called in a high-ranking lama to begin negotiations with Galdan. An agreement was reached whereby Galdan could return to Mongolia after swearing an oath to his “war-god” (perhaps a Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhist diety), that he would never again invade Qing territory. Thus ended the Battle of Ulaan Butang.

Smaller ovoo on the battlefield itself

Another view of Ulaan Butong

Fu-ch’uan, however, was left with the unenviable task of informing Emperor Kangxi that Galdan had not been defeated and captured but had instead been allowed to return to Mongolia. Elated by the earlier dispatch in which Fu-ch’uan had claimed a victory, Kangxi and his advisors were infuriated when they found out what actually happened. The oath of a renegade like Galdan, they said, was worthless; he would simply regroup and attack again. Fu-ch’uan was ordered to stay put until scouts who had been sent out reported back that Galdan had actually returned to Mongolia, and then he was ordered back to Beijing. He reached the capital on December 22 and was made to wait outside the city walls while his fate was decided. Finally he was court-martialed, dismissed from his military command, removed from the council of princes and advisors, and docked three years’ salary. Many of his officers were also fined and demoted. Stung by the rough handling by Kangxi, Fu-ch’uan was down but not out. He retired to his luxurious home in Beijing and became a literary patron, famous for entertaining writers and poets in his well-appointed garden.

As for Duke Tong Guogang, who had been killed at Ulaan Butong, according to legend a lake sprang up at the site of his death. This lake is now known as Jiangjun Paozi (General’s Lake). There is ger camp nearby and the lake, as well as the battlefield itself, are now minor tourist attractions.

Jiangjun Paozi (General’s Lake)

China | Hebei Province | Mulan Hunting Grounds

From the Jinshanling Ling Great Wall we continued north, passing through Chengde, the old Summer Resort of Emperor Kangxi and other Qing emperors. The Summer Resort and Associated Temple Complexes are now big tourist attractions, and young women even come up to your car at stop lights, knock on your window, and ask if you need a guide to show you the sights. We shooed them off for the moment and continued on north 125 miles to the Mulan Hunting Grounds.

The Mulan Hunting Grounds were established in 1681 by Emperor Kangxi. Chinese sources claim it was the largest private hunting preserve in the world, covering 4015 square miles. According to the same sources the word mulan is Mongolian and means “the blowing of a wood whistle to seduce and round up the deer and hunt them afterwards.” I have not yet checked this out with competent Mongolian linguists; Mönkhnyat, are you there? (Update: another source claims mulan is in fact a Manchu word, not a Mongolian word, and means "hunting whistle.”)

Emperors Kangxi, Qianlong, and Jiaqing, and perhaps others came here on hunting trips 105 times. Oddly, Kangxi’s own son Yongzheng was probably the only early Qing emperor who never came here to hunt. The hunting parties were immense affairs, with up to 30,000 people in attendance; the court surrounding the emperor, government officials, guests, servants, cooks, huntsmen, horse wranglers, and so on. Several different types of hunting were practiced, including hunting down a single animal, usually deer, from a racing horse; rounding up large herds of animals and killing them en masse, and blowing whistles to lure the animals in and then dispatching them. If bears or panthers were encountered the emperor had to be notified immediately and no one but him could kill them.

The hunting grounds remain a forest preserve to this day. At the southern entrance to the preserve we had to pay fifty yuan just to drive seven miles north to the small village of Saihanba. Much of the preserve consists of heavily forested ridges quite unlike the scattered, spiky, often barren peaks just to the south.

Forested ridges of the Mulan Hunting Grounds

On one of the highest ridges is the site of the old Temple of Buddha Saihan. The temple itself is gone, but a pagoda, newly renovated and sure to be soon an official tourist site, remains. Next to it a new temple-like building is being constructed, but it is not clear if this is actually going to be a temple or just a gift shop attached to the pagoda. Oddly, the pagoda has an newly-installed elevator to take the slothful to the top. The pagoda is not yet officially open, however, and we were not able to ascend to the top either by the elevator or the steps.

Newly renovated pagoda at the Temple of Buddha Saihan

We arrived at the small village of Saihanba just at dark. Although this a fairly popular tourist destination in summer and fall for people trying to escape the heat of Beiing at this time of the year no visitors usually come here. Several hotels were still boarded up for the winter, and one was open but had no heat or hot water. Finally we tracked down a small hotel on the edge of town. The staff was quite happy to see us and quickly agreed to cook up a dinner and serve it to us in a private dining room, as we were the only guests. We asked one of the women hovering around if she knew anyone familiar with the local history who could guide us to places of historical interest. She furrowed her brow and said, “We really should have such a person, but we don’t.

China | Hebei Province | Jinshanling Great Wall

From Beijing we headed north to Inner Mongolia. After about seventy miles we left the the flat North China Plains and passed through the famous Gubeikou Pass into the Jinshan (Golden Mountains). Gubeikou is also the boundary between Beijing District and Hebei Province. A few miles further on we came to the Jinshanling Great Wall.

Gubeikou Pass, now cut through with a tunnel

Although the Great Wall of China is often touted as over 2000 years old, many sections, especially those near Beijing, date from much later. This fourteen-mile-long secton at Jinshanling was built in the 1570s, during the Ming Dynasty, by Generals Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang.

Jinshanling Great Wall

Jinshanling Great Wall

Jinshanling Great Wall

Jinshanling Great Wall
Jinshanling Great Wall

An incredible amount of mis-information has been written about the Great Wall, including the oft-made claim that is it the only man-made object visible from Outer Space. For a debunking of this myth and the historical low-down on the Great Wall read:

Still more on the Great Wall: this book by Julie Lovell includes the interesting thesis that the Great Wall of China has now been replaced with the Great Firewall of China: i.e., internet censorship, a subject which, blogging as I am now in a hotel room in Beijing, I am all too aware of. Even BBC's site is blocked here, to say nothing of wikipedia.com. The internet, as an amazon.com review points out, “has replaced nomadic raiders as the most threatening of China's attackers.” She also debunks the claim that the Great Wall can be seen from the moon.