Tourism in Beijing

The Great Wall of China just outside Beijing - the "Dancing Dragon"...

The Great Wall

by Shen Houjun

Overlooking summits and hilltops from the lofty fortress,

Picturesque view of the landscape takes my breath away.

Praises of the Great Wall are heard far and wide,

A dancing dragon in the starry night.

Looking from here, the sky is lower,

Only steadfast gauge reveals the beauty of this emerald.

Both the nobles and humbles count when the wisest of men is in throne,

Glasses are raised from afar to toast his majestic reign.

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On our last two days in the Capital we left the meeting rooms of official and corportate Beijing behind and spent our time touring must-see sites in and around town. We had expert guides - Karen and Bo Jin - who took us from place to place, and helped us understand the significance of the cultural treasures of Beijing. We started on Saturday at the Forbidden City, then headed to the Great Wall of China for a hike on the amazing historic structure. On Sunday we visited the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple and the Summer Palace. The air quality was not very good the whole time we were in Beijing - it remined me of Los Angeles in the late 80s - but we were told that it was actually pretty good for Beijing... Good photographs require an interesting subject, careful composition and good light. I did my best to achieve the first two, but the light was pretty flat. I hope the dramatic places we visited make your visit to this posting worth while anyway!

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Constructed in 1420 by the Yongle Emperor, the Forbidden City is made up of 800 buildings with 8,886 rooms and covers 720,000 square metres. It was the home of the Emperor until 1924. Many of you may have seen the film "The Last Emperor" which was the first western production filmed in inside this historic complex.

The entrance to the Forbidden City just north of Tiananmen Square.

The week before we arrived, a vandal attacked the portrait of Chairman Mao pictured above and burned a large portion of it. He was quickly subdued, and apparently a new one was unrolled in its place. They must keep a spare handy for just such an occasion. There were rumors that the Forbidden City was closed to the public, but we could find no official confirmation of this, and when we arrived, it was open. There was no mention of the defacement in the Chinese media and when we shared the fact with our tour guides they said they had heard nothing about it...Note the fire extinguisher in the lower right hand corner of the photo - I bet that is new....

Our group enters the main gate while I bring up the rear:

The complex was the home of the Emperor, and access was strictly limited. As you move deeper inside, you get closer to the private quarters of the Emperor, the Empress and, of course, the concubines... its good to be the King...

The architecture is really breath-taking. Much of the Forbidden City was weathered, but sections were freshly painted. Like the Golden Gate Bridge, once they finish painting it, they start again at the beginning... A freshly painted part - notice the vibrant red:

An close up of the hand painted work on the structure:

A close up of a more weathered section:

I loved the figures on the roof line - presumably similar to the gargoyles found on many European buildings?

Joe and Professor Yang at the Forbidden City

Just to prove I was actually there...Go Sox!

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Our next stop, about an hour and a half outside Beijing, was a section of the Great Wall of China. This collection of structures was built between the 5th Century BC and the 16th Century AD to protect China from the Mongols to the north. All its sections together run at least 4,000 miles, but rather than a continuous wall, it is a number of seperate and distinct structures built and re-built throughout Chinese history. It was no match for the toughest of invaders though, as the Mongols penetrated it in the early Ming Dynasty and sacked Beijing. (but they conquered EVERYONE from Japan to Europe...)

Depending on who you ask, the wall represents China's great strength and accomplishment or its isolation and xenophobia. One thing that was clear to me was that the tourists (me included) loved it! At first I was disappointed that there were so many people and I wished I was at some more remote or "authentic" portion of the wall, but after a few minutes of navigating the thousands of Chinese tourists climbing the wall and watching people having the time of their lives, I realized that this is like the Grand Canyon or Disneyland for the Chinese - an important historic place, sure, but also a place to have fun and enjoy the novelty of climbing such a famous landmark. My attitude changed immediately and I happily joined the throng.

A nice shot of professor Yang below - he and I climbed the most famous section together.

Parts of it were so steep that it was like climbing a ladder

Shane, Associate Director of the EMBA program, at the Wall

A few towers up from the parking lot - about 3/4 of a mile straight up - there is a monument.

Inscribed on this monument is a quote from Chairman Mao that, loosely translated, notes: "you are not a man unless you get to this point on the Great Wall" - It is from a poem written by Mao during the Great March (1935) written to rally the troops. Everyone from our group, ladies included I might add, made it to this point or beyond!

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The next morning we headed to the southern section of Beijing and visited the Tian Tan - the Temple of Heaven. Established in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty, this sacred site was where the Chinese Emperor - the "Son of Heaven" - would go on the winter solctice to pray for a good harvest. Today it is a must see tourist site and the park is used by the good people of Beijing as a place to relax, play badminton, cards, dominoes, and sing traditional Chinese songs - no kidding - it was like Central Park on a fine day, including the Yankee caps...

The Qinian Dian, or "Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests"

Looking south from the Qinian Dian

Gateway detail

Gateway, looking north toward the Qinian Dian

Bo Jin, President of the George Washington University Alumni association in China, was one of our guides. Bo Jin works for a government agency, but is also an entrepreneur. He was also our group photographer and took literally hundreds of pictures of us. Whenever our group was questioned by a concerned official, Bo Jin made problems go away... Thanks Bo!

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The Lama Temple, just a stones throw from one of Beijing's massive ring roads, was established as a Tibetan Lamasry in 1744. Beyond the obvious beauty of the place, it struck me because it was the first time I saw people worshiping openly in China.

Making an offering to the Buddha

I was unable to capture it in a photo, but the most amazing thing to see at this temple is a massive three story statue of the Buddha inside the temple. I cannot adequately describe it - you must see it for yourself.

The guardian of the entrance to the temple

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The Summer Palace, where the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would go to escape the summer heat (kind of like Camp David, I guess), was our last stop for the day. We walked around the large lake on the Palace grounds, then took a Dragon Ferry back to our bus.

Hey shutterbugs, what's the big deal?

Oh, I see, the Palace itself, high on a hill next to the lake...

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We worked hard all week, fought jet-lag, and played hard all weekend, so by the end of our trip to Beijing, we were all exhaused....

Before:

After:

Next stop, Shanghai!