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.