Magical Mystical Beijing

With our family a little leary about our going, we embarked on an independent vacation to China & Thailand. We were in China just one month after the 10th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square student demonstrations & just two short months after the NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. While we did experience a few incidents that were a bit unsettling (a man whispering to his little boy & the boy spitting @ us, a woman circling us & yelling in Chinese, a glass bottle thrown & broken behind us), we still were amazed @ the overall warm welcome & friendliness of the Chinese people. Everywhere we went (even in Thailand!) Chinese students wanted their pictures taken with us. I can hardly wait to return one day. Beijing alone has blossomed into a city w/ international appeal. Still magical...still mystical...definitely worth a visit.

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The Qianmen Hotel is located about 1/2 way between Temple of Heaven & Tiananmen Square. This was a beautiful hotel. A full breakfast was served daily. The Chinese Opera played in a room dowmstairs. The Hotel had two restaurants, a grocery store, & three gift shops. The staff were attentive, friendly, & very helpful. We would definitely stay here again.

We had lunch at the beautiful Bamboo Gardens. There were pretty little caged birds inside & out, along with grapevines laden with grapes on the outer patio. We ate inside, overlooking the patio. The sweet 'n sour pork was the best I've ever had in my life! We were brought enough food to serve a small army. We found chopsticks to be a bit tricky. They ended up bringing us forks.

Temple of Heaven, built in 1420, was one of ancient Peking's (now Beijing) greatest temples. The round design of the halls, with their wonderful dark blue tiles, are symbolic of the heavens. Temple of Heaven Park is said to be the exact meeting point of Heaven & Earth. In ancient times, on the day before the winter solstice, the emperor proceeded to the Temple of Heaven to pray for plentiful harvests. The ancient annual procession to the Temple of Heaven was so sacred that the people of Peking (Beijing) could not cast their eyes upon it.

Situated at the foot of Xishan Mountain is the Summer Palace, built in 1750. The area is a unique combination of natural beauty & exquisite architecture. Be sure to see the beautiful Long Corrider, which runs about a 1/2 mile along the lake. Chinese say that the Long Corrider is so long that couples who fall in love after they enter, set the wedding date by the time they exit! The main palace is situated on Longevity Hill, overlooking the pretty Kunming Lake. Stairs are steep up to the main palace. After seeing the palace, we enjoyed taking one of the colorful boats across Kunming Lake, with great views looking back at the palace.

I recommend you watch (or re-watch) the movie "The Last Emperor" before visiting the Forbidden City. It sort of sets the tone & gives the needed history. The Forbidden City, from which Ming & Qing dynasties ruled for centuries, is more than 175 acres & 9000 rooms of palaces, pavilions, courtyards, & museums--so allow plenty of time. Most areas were devoid of trees, scrubs, & flowers to prevent the possibility of dangerous people or weapons being hidden in them. The paving bricks were 15 feet deep, laid in opposite directions, to prevent any chance of an outsider tunneling in. Twelve million bricks encompass the compound. Can you imagine living in such a stark place with little vegetation? The vastness & starkness of the Forbidden City numbs the mind. Just imagine the mystery, the intrigue, & the incredible power that reigned here!

From Tiananmen Square (located in the centre of Beijing), all roads radiate out: North to the Forbidden City, South to the Temple of Heaven, East to Downtown & Diplomatic Sites, & West to the Summer Palace.

Tiananmen Square is the symbolic heart of China & gathering place for the masses. At the far end of the square Mao's portrait stares out at you over the imposing "Gate of Heavenly Peace". Beyond those walls lie the Forbidden City, from which Chinese emperors once ruled. In the past, the famous portrait of Mao on the gate was accompanied by three other Communist icons: Marx, Lenin, & Stalin. Marx was pictured in a full beard, Lenin in a goatee, Stalin in a mustache, & Mao clean-shaven. This solemn display was sometimes jokingly referred to as "The History of Shaving".

Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, is surrounded by the Museum of Chinese History, the Great Hall of the People, the Gate Tower, & Chairman Mao's Mausoleum. The Mausoleum is where Chairman Mao's body lays in state. It was built in 1977, a year after Mao died. Each evening Mao is lowered into the floor to be refrigerated underground. At dawn, he rises with the sun. Long lines of people, especially Chinese, wait for a chance to see him. In the center of Tiananmen Square is the Monument to the People's Heroes, erected in 1958 to commemorate patriots who became martyrs to the Communist Revolution. Ironically, it became the focal point of martyrs to the democratic student movement in 1989. An eerie place, even now.

"...hiking the Great Wall of China is never an ordinary affair."--William Lindesay from Alone on the Great Wall.

Said to be the only man-made structure viewable from the moon, you'll be absolutely awestruck by the GREAT WALL!

We climbed the Wall, as many do, at Badaling, 42 miles northwest of Beijing. This is a grand section of the Wall, set in a steep, forested mountain range. Once you maneuver through the "Great Mall" of Souvenirs at the base of the Great Wall, you'll have a decision to make. The path to the right is the one most frequented by tourists & is an easier climb. The path to the left is less crowded, much steeper, & affords the best view. We chose the path to the left.

The incredible steepness & high rise of the stairs were astounding, as was the fiercely steep descent. For part of the descent, I turned & went down backwards. Two things struck me about the people we encountered on the Wall, mostly Chinese. The young girls came dressed up in high heels & nice pantsuits, dresses, or skirts. Also, several children had on Mickey Mouse shirts--it's a small world after all! I'm so glad we went.

As William Lindesay said, The Great Wall is the "...world's most spectacular open-air museum." I concur.

When you stop to think about it, Americans owe a lot to Chinese influence. From China we get such things as kites, Tai Chi, tangrams, Chinese Checkers, the Abacus, Chinese jumprope (though they use wooden bars instead of a soft rope--ouch to the ankles!), Calligraphy, many herbal remedies, accupuncture, Fung Shui practices, windchimes, firecrackers, dragons, & much much more. Our lives our most definitely enriched by things we've gained from this ancient culture. I am frequently reminded of a quote I have printed on bookmarks for my travel clients, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."--St. Augustine. I feel so fortunate to have "read" that page on China, to have experienced a part of this magical, mysterious land. GO--it may change your life forever.