BEIJING GOES FOR GOLD

Purpose of this blog: personal observations to introduce Beijing and encourage viewer exploration.

Photos and text © Gary Crallé 2008. All rights reserved.

All photos made with Olympus digital cameras and lenses: 10.2MP SLR E410 & E500 bodies, 11-22mm Zuiko lens, 14-54mm Zuiko lens, 50-200mm Zuiko lens, 1.4X Zuiko tele extender. This kit gave a 35mm film format equivalent of 22 to 560mm focal length coverage.

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Was I really in China? My room at the Beijing International Hotel was immaculate and modern. And the morning breakfast buffet was a mini cornucopia of western foods. The view from my room was of wide boulevards and modern buildings. Thirty years ago, our guides would tell me, the city was definitely Chinese, whereas now it is generic modern with growing pains.

China is thrusting itself from fiefdom into the future --- with seemingly unstoppable momentum.

The capital, Beijing, is a city on the move, a greatly magnified version of Baron Haussmann’s Paris makeover in the mid 1800’s. Daily construction begins at 2:20am, according to the clock in my hotel room. Although Rome wasn’t built in a day, Beijing appears to be trying to break that record.

An evening walk to a bistro style restaurant was a mild lesson in culture clash, with small shops adjacent to international hotels, a crowded night food market, African businessmen, mini-skirted girls.....while our bistro ‘facilities’ instantly removed any stodgy thoughts about washrooms.

A full day of sightseeing began with our experienced guide, Liu, escorting us to the Temple of Heaven, a Taoist complex of buildings dating from the early 1400’s. Circular buildings represented heaven; the square symbolized earth.

Sunday mornings now witness crowds of Beijing residents who use the grounds to practise ribbon gymnastics, tai chi, badminton, the tango, story telling, board games and even Chinese opera.

Interior of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest

The great entrance to the Forbidden City is the ‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’ (Tian'anmen) facing the square of the same name. The square has been the historic center of Beijing for centuries, with its ceremony and conflict permanently woven into Chinese history. Hundreds of families and groups were out for a Sunday stroll, taking snapshots, buying souvenirs, nibbling snacks, sightseeing and just enjoying the sunshine.

Possibly the most photographed portrait in the world, the over-size picture of former Chairman Mao, founder of the People’s Republic of China, adorns the Tian’amen Gate entrance.

The Forbidden City, home to 24 emperors from the early 15th C. to 1912, was the ceremonial and administrative apex of the Chinese empire. Within its protected walls were the imperial palace and various key government buildings. Under a heavenly mandate, the emperor’s role was to preserve the status quo and ensure harmony and balance in society.

The entire complex is numbingly impressive, and in the process of being restored for an Olympic debut. My heart fell when I saw the scaffolding draped over several buildings, but closer examination revealed a timeless shroud over a boastful beauty. UNESCO lists the compound as the world’s largest collection of preserved historic wooden structures.

The number of roof charms was a building’s rank of importance. The Hall of Supreme Harmony had the maximum of 10 such mythological figures.

English signs within the palace compound allow greater visitor appreciation of this UNESCO World Heritage Center.

Elaborate palace decoration included external wooden eaves with painted gilding, thick protective doors with ornate handles plus this replica of the Emperor’s chair.

Chambers of the Emperor and Empress can be viewed through nose-smudged windows.

It’s a long way from the early 20th C. telephone used by the imperial family between summer and winter palaces to the 432 million cellphones used in China 2008.

Few visit Beijing without at least a quick run 80 km (50 miles) north of the city to Badaling, where a restored section of The Great Wall nearest the city is trod by millions. Invaders of old wouldn’t recognize today’s treed and landscaped route to the capital. From the 6th to the 16th C. there were several walls built and rebuilt to repel northern Mongol invaders.

A million soldiers reputedly stood guard along the 6,700 km (4,160 miles) wall during the Ming dynasty. With the advent of tourism, many more people than that now walk on the Wall just for pleasure. We chatted with a monk who wished us well on our journey.

Young entrepreneurial artist Zhao Jie presented me with one of his finger paintings done from a vantage point along the Wall. Through a translator, he said that publicity from a journalist would benefit him. Mr. Jie’s shrewd business sense is typical of the new China.

'Hutong' is a word of Mongolian origin meaning "well", now common reference to a labyrinth community of small one-story homes and narrow alleys which characterized the city before modernization. Also, many were either destroyed or confiscated during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. A concerted government effort now preserves the few remaining designated hutongs from further development --- just in time.

Rickshaw tours whisk visitors through the many sidestreets too narrow for most vehicles. This is the pre-Olympics Beijing, somewhat gritty but genuine. And here is where I bought my first souvenir: a set of chopsticks from a street vendor.

Madame Zhang Gong Wu is a Beijing-born resident in one of the city's few remaining hutongs. She delights in preparing lunch for visitors at her home of 40 years which she shares with her 90 year old mother. They live on a government pension. Heartbroken after her husband's death, Madame Wu puts her energies into entertaining tourist guests. She's been doing so for nearly 6 years, cherishing her neighbourhood, which she describes as having a good atmosphere and helpful neighbours.