ANCIENT PAGODAS and HUNDREDS of CATS! - Shandong, China.
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Maybe my best day out ever in China! The mountains south of Jinan in Shandong Province are a treasure trove of ancient structures. The Four-Door Pagoda dates to 611 making it the second oldest standing pagoda anywhere in China. But, who knew this wonderful historical spot would have so few visitors...and so many cats....
As a Chinese, I am grateful to you for exploring the ancient pagodas in China and sharing your videos.
I'm glad you enjoy the videos! There is so much wonderful history in your country!
Really enjoyed this day out! Has anyone else been here? What are your thoughts? Also...keep an eye on the map!!!
www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1hTgSMEXlk4ZE7JzGtts9JGI_rbX1-2s&usp=sharing
Hi Nick, I've just been to Shentong Temple! There are many more people here out and about now that it is spring.
Yeh, it was a sunny (but freezing cold) winters day when i visited. Pretty peaceful! i guess Spring/Summer must be busier
So quiet and meditative! Am sure the cats chose to stay for that reason.
It's a nice place for cats to live. The video doesn't really capture how many there were...crazy haha
Thanks for showing us unknown and beautiful places like this! The location is great!
I'll keep finding more! This place is really special though. Beautiful.
I'm watching this for the second time just to see the cats.
I really loved this place, history and cats make me happy hahah. I'm glad you like the videos 😃😃
Amazing pagodas. Cute cats. Awesome Buddhas sculptures. Cool place to visit in Shandong ❤❤❤.
It's a really good day out! a few hours of travel getting there and back but some amazing architecture (and cats) 😃😃
Thank you. Very interesting. It looks like the lower parts of the temples and pagodas are build with a more advanced technique, which might indicate like in the rest of the world that the ancient cultures were more skilled. I would like to visit this place myself some day :) And the carved Buddha mountain looks amazing :)
The Tang dynasty pagodas here are all pretty unique. The Tang wad quite an open-minded time in Chinese hitory.
The dragon and tiger pagoda is so beautifully detailed! I would be so scared being around maimed and probably violent cats lol
I have never seen a pagoda so covered in art. Really beautiful! The cats seemed ok, i think they just brawl amongst themselves
This place is magnificent.. can’t wait to visit it in person. Great vlog as always.
Thanks so much! Really worth a trip. One thing worth mentioning (that i forgot in the video) The Nine-Pinnacle pagoda is a few kms away from the others so a taxi is needed
Nine pinnacle pagoda. I've never seen anything like it and unique indeed.
This place is otherworldly! the cats definitely add to the mystique!
Cats make everything better 😎
Woo that’s really beautiful, and very cool. And since it’s super hot in here, it’s also cooler to watch now seeing snow😮
amazing video as always Nick, thank you so much!
Glad ypu enjoyed it. This was one of my best travel days
Your choices reflect the wonderful diversity of pagodas just in one spot - the nine-pinnacle, four-door, and dragon and tiger pagodas. Going from the simple, staid four-door one to the intricately carved dragon/tiger pagoda was like walking from one dynasty to the next...which it kind of was.
The three main pagodas in the video are all fabulous aren't they?! Old Tang pagodas near where i live in Xi'an are much more uniform
@@nickinchina2552 Yes. And they almost stretch our idea of a pagoda. The only pagoda I know from X'ian is the Wild Goose one which everyone talks about because it's very tall. But honestly, to me it's not very interesting, like a stack of square pancakes. Thanks for finding better pancakes, er, pagodas for us!
Such a history nerd, Nick.
You know it! 😂😂
Looking at historical sites that I have never seen up close in this way is another form of healing for me
History, mountains, cats...these things all help. Hope you enjoy the videos!
Beautiful, stately, showing the ravages of time yet standing tall and proud...these cats are truly a sight to behold.
The pagodas are nice too ;)
Nice! hahahah
We enjoyed this video very much, as we've just come back from 3 months in Jinan, but never been to this place. My wife thinks she went 35 years ago, but I now want to go when we go back next year. The Tang dynasty is one of my favourite eras, mainly because of the detective Judge Dee stories, translated by Robert Van Gulik. When I went to the Jinan miltary museum, I was the only visitor, plus when I went to the Natural History museum near 1000 Bhudda mountain, I was also the only visitor, accompanied by a Chinese student who'd never been before and the officials followed us, to turn off the electric heating, as we went from one room to another.
Glad you liked it! The Tang Dynasty does have a real draw. I live in Xi'an and people here are so proud of their Tang Dynasty history. It gives me a pretty special feeling when i find anything from that time. A museum all to yourself sounds great!!
I'm from Shandong province and I had no idea these places existed! Will try to visit this summer when I go back.
Oh then you must visit! Your province has some wonderful history
100 million people in Shandong and Nick found the one place with more cats than people. 笑
Haha! I have to keep looking for places you haven't been to!
@@nickinchina2552 You certainly hold the crown for the number of places. I simply experienced some of these places in a far simpler era. Laoshan in Shandong would be one example. When we visited in 1987 there was little to no development there. My GF and I hiked through hills with pine, bamboo and streams that looked like a Song Dynasty painting.
❤❤❤thank you. the warm winter sunshine made a great filter for the video shooting. u r so lucky to have 🐱🐱🐱. do u like 🐶too?
Thanks!!!! It was sunny...but damn cold. I love animals, but have a real soft spot for cats. I really appreciate you generosity, super big thanks!
It's so solemnly quiet....i love those kind of places
Magical. So many great places in the mountains of China
I really like your pagoda hunting tour, from which I've learnt some Chinese history. Thanks 👍👍
By the way, those cats are the spirits of monks buried under the pagodas 🤣🤣
Ohi like that idea! Hahaha. No pagodas in the next video...but there shall be more soon
The Longmen Grottoes are absolutely packed with people, bizarre that nobody comes here.
Longmen is great, but very well-known and has great transport links (high speed rail). This place is still not the easiest to get to which might out people off?
Such a solemn and serene place.
Highly recommend it. This is one of favourite daytrips i've done in China
#37 Very unique looking pagoda!❤ #40 absolutely gorgeous, and the temple cats…wow, love them too ❤absolutely great tour for us too Nick, thank you. Yes, i will put this place on my bucket list to China!❤️🙏🙏❤️🙏
#40 is so beautiful. If you do visit, number #37 is a few kms away from the others so you need to take a taxi. You can check the locations on the pagoda map
Really enjoy your videos. All are very informative and well done. I'm quite interested in Chinese history and have done some travel throughout China (my wife is Chinese born in Anhui province). It's seems a bit odd because neither her nor much of her family has much, if any, interest in their own history. Can you recommend a book on introduction to Chinese history? Again, thanks for all of your great work.
Glad you enjoy them! Chinese history is a bit of a monster to get into but a good overview book is 'China - A history' by John Keay. Not super detailed but a good book to give you a decent basic timeline and cool stories
@@nickinchina2552 Thanks mate. I'll give it a read.
Love, love this episode. Never knew such a temple existed in China!
I really like this one too! Glad you enjoyed it. This was such a great day out.
there is no one else in this place. feels strange as every other china vid has so many people in them
Yeh, you have to get out there a bit to escape the crowds. Also, i think it was due to the time of year - winter, just before Spring Fest
Who is feeding the hundreds of cats roaming around?
good question! No idea, but they were all fat and fluffy so i guess they eat well
☸️🙏
Another great find!
btw, Sui Yang Di "ended" up in Yangzhou.
I'm creeping closer to Yangzhou....
Ancient temples and cats are really a good combination. The whole scenic spot looks more friendly and lovely, instead of being so deep and solemn. Your introductions always combine the attractions with historical background in an engaging way, which is really great. I commented on the last video and mentioned the bell notification for video updates, but I still haven’t seen it this time. This is because I noticed your video appointment on the homepage, so I found your video quickly. Thanks again Nick for the wonderful video
I think in other times (not the dead of winter) this place must have more visitors. Very nice to be there alone with the cats though! UA-cam bell notifications...ergh