2010-02-28 39 116
| Sun 28 Feb 2010 in 39,116: 39.7557524, 116.4283349 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
Yinghai, Daxing District, Beijing, China
Planning
Crox planned to leave the city center (Fuxingmen area) around 0915, and reach the hashpoint around 1000 (local time).
Participants
- Crox
- Uncle Shi
Expedition
Since we had arrived in China I had been looking at the coordinates on a frequent basis. Two days before flying back finally there seemed to be an opportunity.
We (Crox and uncle Shi) ended up leaving the center around 10:00. Unfortunately Ting Ting and Elisa were too busy to join.
Because there was more and more traffic on the main axis, uncle Shi decided not to follow the directions from Google and use secondary roads, so that we would reach Yinghai from the N-NE instead of W-NW. On the way we passed by a number of "features", including the CALT headquarters (Chinese rockets manufacturer), an Army University, Beijing Southern airport, Nangong Park and the City Hall of Daxing.
We arrived within 1 km of the hash shortly after 11:00. Google estimates were definitely too optimistic.
1 km. 750 m. 500 m. Getting closer and closer. We found the block where the hash was located, parked the car, and gave a first try from the West. There were three kids playing in the street, which allowed me to show my Chinese skills and the kids to practice their English. Now down to ~ 20 m, in front of a closed inner yard door. The door was not locked but it would not have been correct to enter without authorisation. The kids did not know if someone was there. Apparently nobody was, apart from a dog guarding another door on the first floor.
Standing in front of this door was getting frustrating (with 11 - 15 m accuracy reported, the expedition could hardly be considered successful 20 m away from the coordinates), so I decided to go around the block and give it a try from the other side. Indeed the hash was now only about 9 m away! Unlike the first attempt, somebody was there this time, and thanks to uncle Shi's negociation skills we were allowed inside the small inner yard. Another, smaller, dog seemed to be guarding the hashpoint. Unwilling to disturb the family for too long (although they were kind enough to let us in, they were definitely not as enthusiastic as the kids we met before), we quickly took a few pictures and left.
On the way back we saw/heard a number of people celebrating the last day of the Spring festival (Chinese New Year) - this culminated later in the evening with fireworks everywhere. We were back downtown around 12:30. (initial planning was 11:00...)
Achievements
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Crox and Uncle Shi earned the Graticule Unlocked Achievement
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Crox and Uncle Shi earned the Ambassador achievement
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Crox and Uncle Shi earned the Tale of Two Hashes achievement
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