Beijing, China: My final of 3 posts

What a difference a day makes. While the first day was “foggy” as Alan tried to explain, day two was brilliantly clear. I don’t know if the wind changed direction, or if they were taking a dry run shutting down factories and power plants before the Olympics, but Beijing is especially beautiful under a blue sky.

We started at ground zero of Chinese history, tourism and news – Tiananmen Square. When our driver dropped us off with Alan we were told to carry no backpacks, just cameras due to security. As we arrived at the security checkpoint things went exactly as we were told by our guide – the guards waved us through without a second look. He was however required to present his papers and his bag was subject to search. It is forbidden to bring photo copies of anything into the square and memorials such as flowers etc are completely off limits.

Although the word Tiananmen has a particularly stained history to those who were awake in 1989, the Chinese connotation is completely different. The word in Mandarin is “Heavenly Peace”. More importantly, it is the most notable collection of nationalist monuments and government buildings in all of China. This is their “mall” if you were to consider Washington, DC. Here you’ll find the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the National Museum of China, the Great Hall of the People (where the communist party’s Congress meets) and most famously: the Tiananmen Gate with Chairman Mao’s portrait. Beyond this wall lies the otherworldly Forbidden City.

Beijing, or Northern Capital in Chinese, was established as a co-capital in the 14th century along with Nanjing, or Southern Capital. The Forbidden City was constructed in 1405-1420 in an attempt by the emperor to approach the prosperity of heaven, while on earth. Although the Chinese vision of heaven is said to be a palace of 10,000 rooms, the emperor was told he could not have this many – a number reserved only for God. In response he instructed his palace be built of 9,999 rooms – a number that he believed were indeed constructed. In reality, his palace/city contains more than 8,000 rooms. In addition, the tenants of Feng Shui required the palace be placed to the south of a large hill. As none existed using the natural topography of Beijing, one was constructed, by hand, on the northern side of the moat. Today you can see this large earthen mound topped with a number of pavilions in the distance. A walk through this complex could take days. Alan helped us find the high points, including the Hall of Preserved Harmony and the Palace of Heavenly Purity. With 175 acres of buildings and courtyards to cover it was all completely overwhelming. The photos above are but a small sample of those we took.

Thankfully a restful lunch of Peking Duck was scheduled next! If you’ve never eaten Peking Duck… do. It is nothing like I imagined, and nothing like any other duck you’ve seen. Among its secrets, Peking Duck is sliced after cooking into 120 perfect cuts. The meat is then mixed with fresh veggies and rolled into small crepe-like pancakes. Mix that with some soy paste, fried rice and a cold beer and you have yourself an absolute feast! I was very excited about having added this to our tour and I was not disappointed. This is a must for all Beijing travelers.

Our last stop of note was the Temple of Heaven. Situated on the Dragon Line, along with Chairman Mao’s tomb, the Forbidden City and other important sites, this large complex is one of many UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Beijing. It was here that the Emperor came annually near the solstices, changed his clothes, fasted on a vegetarian diet, and prayed for good weather and harvests. To accomplish this, a 675 acre park was established – no ordinary Chinese were allowed to see either this ritual or the imperial procession from the Forbidden City. Today the “Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests” is often mistakenly called the Temple of Heaven. In either case, it is said to be the most photographed building in all of China – although I’m sure the Olympic Stadium is giving it a run for its money this year!

Although we’ve covered a lot in 3 posts on Beijing I hope I can summarize our experience with words of optimism and encouragement. You likely saw the amazing spectacle the Chinese put on last summer for the Olympic Games. How could you not be fascinated by the history and imagery NBC brought to a TV near you for over 2 weeks? That said, it is the people of China that make this type of trip worthwhile. Go meet them, in their remarkable land and perhaps you too will come home reminded how much we have in common on this small rock we call home. Alan, thank you for your kindness and assistance in making these dreams a reality for us both.

Happy Travels.

PS... to continue reading on the theme of China, click here to be directed to my post on Shanghai.