02.22.2011 Visit to Tianamen and Forbidden City, Lu Xun Museum, and new friends in Beijing, China

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Kaori was very anxious for today since we were going to the only place she wanted called “Lu Xun’s Museum”. The Museum was somewhat difficult to find except that if you wonder around eventually there is a stainless steel sign that points you in the right direction. This was the only museum visit that was planned throughout the entire trip, so I was interested to see what kind of place this would be. The entrance is free and the exhibit was well coordinated and extremely well kept. Kaori was excited to see this because she read a book published by Lu Xun when in school. Here is a brief history lesson about Lu Xun and his importance to Chinese literature and history. Lu Xun is one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua (the vernacular) as well as classical Chinese. He was a short story writer, editor, translator, critic, essayist and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the Chinese League of the Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai. Lu Xun's works exerted a very substantial influence after the May Fourth Movement to such a point that he was highly acclaimed by the Communist regime after 1949. Mao Zedong himself was a lifelong admirer of Lu Xun's works. Though sympathetic to the ideals of the Left, Lu Xun never actually joined the Chinese Communist Party - like fellow leaders of the May Fourth Movement, he was primarily a liberal. Lu Xun's works became known to English readers through numerous translations, beginning in 1960 with Selected Stories of Lu Xun translated by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang, and more recently in 2009 when Penguin Classics published a complete anthology of his fiction titled “The Real Story of Ah-Q” and “Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun”, of which Jeffrey Wasserstrom said "this could be considered the most significant Penguin Classic ever published."

Kaori and I had different plans for the rest of the day so she ended up going off on her own after Lu Xun Museum. My plans for the day included both Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I arrived at Tiananmen and of course it was packed, but most of the people were tourist. I got my stereotypical photo in front of Mao and headed in for the main event. Apparently, touching the bells in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace signifies good luck to those who enter. There are massive sections of open land inside the Forbidden City, with vendors, gifts, and foods for all. I must have been approached at least 10 times and asked if I wanted a tour of Forbidden City. I politely turned them all down since they don’t really look like they work there. Personally, I felt like I had a lot of power since I could choose to accept offers or not, but at the same time I was a little irritated with some many people trying to ask me for money or sell me something. Sometimes people will follow you till you either tell them sternly “no thank you” or lust say “NO” over and over again. It seems like tourism and underground businesses fuel China’s economy more than big businesses like America has. I’m not sure how the government monitors sales from individual companies, such as street vendors or how they retrieve the China’s average income level.

Although Japan maybe a smaller nation and may not have a lot of gigantic structures like China, that doesn’t take away from the fact that both cultures understand the beauty of detail. For example, even though it is tough to see; the corners, doors, and buildings on top of the scarlet red walls have small carved medallions and minutiae colors that clash with the architecture. At the top of Upright Gate are three mannequins’ dressed in colorfully decorated aged clothing posing for photos. The Meridian gate is the main gate to pass through into the city center. The ticket costs only 40 Yuan and allows tourists to view the entire city, just make sure you have enough time to observe it all. The golden stream is the first part of city and it is awe inspiriting. It takes a minute or so to soak up the vast open space of the city and you must take time to see all the intricate details of the statues and the bridge structure. The sheer amount of time spent on a project like this makes me think of how grand this nation really is.

I moved through the Gate of Supreme Harmony and onward to Court of the Imperial Palace. The Hall of Supreme Harmony sits smack dab in the middle of the court and was the first of three major halls built in the Forbidden City. It was rebuilt several times after a number of fires caused by lightning. I guess it is true what they say; lightning can strike twice in the same place. Anyways, the Hall of Complete Harmony was stationed right in the middle of the Hall of Preserved Harmony and the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The Hall of Complete Harmony was reconstructed several times due to fires as well. During the Qing dynasty the emperor held banquets here for his princess, dukes and ministers of ethnic minorities on the lunar New Year’s Eve and the Lantern Festival.

Moving past all the “halls”, I made my way to The Gate of Heavenly Purity. If you note the long stairway that leads to the gate, this was for the Dragon Pavement which is the largest stone carving in the palace at 16.75 meters long and 3.07 meters wide. The carving contains interlocking lotus patterns all around and has curling waves at the bottom and nine dragons amidst clouds in the sky, representing the imperial signal. To transport the blocks, water was sprinkled on the streets to make ice in the winter, then pulled all the way to the palace. In order to get to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, one must first pass through the Gate of Heavenly Purity. This structure sits atop of a 1.5 meter marble base and stretches from one side to another. In the Qing dynasty, the emperor heard reports delivered by officials here. The Palace of Heavenly Purity across the gate is where the emperor lived and handled political affairs during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Next was the Hall of Union and Peace. Behind the throne is a board inscribed with the words “doing nothing”. Behind the Hall of Union and Peace lies the Hall of Earthly Tranquility. This hall served as the empresses’ residence who later hung herself when Li Zicheng captured Beijing.

The last section of the Forbidden City was known as the Imperial Gardens. I believe this was one of the best sections of the Forbidden City and there is something very special about this location. This section has an organic balance with the rest of the manmade structures inside the garden. The clash of earth and man is almost chaotic at times but the flow and feel of this place allows the visitor to enjoy both at once without an overflow of one or the other. Some places allow the visitor to use the earth as a guide but then out of nowhere a pavilion or manmade stairway will take over. In the center of it all is the Hall of Imperial Peace. Every part of this hall is covered in gold, which meant the emperor was very fond of this building. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the hall enshrined the Water God Zhenwu, one of the Taoist deities. Every New Year the hall would be set up for the emperor to burn incense and pay homage to the gods. Just to the right is the Hill of Accumulated Elegance. This artificial hill was made of rocks piled on the original site of the Hall of Appreciating Flowers. The hill is just about 10 meters high and on the top stands the Pavilion of Imperial Scenery. At the Double Ninth Festival every year, the emperors, empresses, and Imperial concubines climbed the hill along the path. A cave at the foot of the hill is arched with a stone caisson carved in the shape of a dragon. The rest of the area is a calming walk and will defiantly bring a smile to anyone who is having a bad day.

The Gate of Divine Prowess is the final gate to pass through and exit the Forbidden City. The moat around the lake is amazing; I can’t image how they would fill it. Of course while exiting the gate a number of locals approached me and asked if I needed a ride, some candy, maps, gifts and so forth. I do like that service comes to you but sometimes it feels desperate and it is mostly unwanted attention. Overall, the experience was both beautiful and eye opening. I would defiantly go again and take more time to look around at some of the buildings architecture and small details I may have skipped the first time though.

After the Forbidden City I walked around a little to get a feel of the city. The first two days were chaotic and I never took the time to really just get lost in Beijing. Even thought I had my map and my books it still felt raw and unplanned and it was a breath of fresh air. I wanted to find something to eat but did not happen to find anything of interest. Most of the shops around the area didn’t look to inviting, so I found the American Embassy, McDonalds, and walked in for a bit to eat. The McDonalds was difficult to order from since other customers tend to push you out of the way so they can order. I saw a picture of some local burger so I pointed and paid the cashier. While waiting for my turn a young French gentleman by the name of Côme de Cézac asked if I needed some help. We get to talking and I learn the he is and expatriate for a company in France. Côme works in a plant, for a French company called Schneider Electric and he is in charge of project in supply chain. He told me “For example I'm working with a plant in India to try to manage the flows between our plant and the plant in India.” He will stay five months, and has survived in China for 3 weeks now. We chatted about some differences in culture compared to home and also about my study abroad in Japan. It’s always nice to meet friends and other travelers who can relate to your situations and share stories. I told Côme he is welcome to visit Japan anytime since we would be so close together. After our chat and meal Côme told me he needed to collect a phone bill, so we headed over to a local phone store. When entering the store you can instantly tell the different in service and the difference in stores compared to America. For example, all the phones were behind glass containers where as America has plastic replicas out in the open for customers to see and try. There were also a lot of knock off phones like the Sansung, Iphon, and a t-moible. The good part was its cheap to have a phone but I’m pretty sure it’s monitored all the time. Unfortunately, Côme didn’t bring the right papers for his phone so we ended up leaving empty handed. We exchanged cards and parted ways after the cell phone visit and headed back the hotel before dark. The rest of the night was spent indoors eating and talking with Kaori about our upcoming plans. Kaori and I watched ended up watching CNN to catch-up on the world. Some of the news gets blocked and the T.V. turns black and shuts off. Its only parts where China is mentioned but I still can’t get used to all the censorship that China has. At least we had some movie channels to surf through till bed time.

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