Blogs from Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Asia - page 13

Fry up for breakfast, first in a long time. We were right next to the forbidden city so went looking. People were fighting outside to offer to be our tour guide; offering business cards, also a lot of people were asking for money, massive cultural difference to Japan. Once inside it wasnt much different either, we had to pay a much higher entrance fee than locals which was odd, and the complete lack of queing was noticed. We waited to buy tickets and everyone else just jumps to the front. Unusual, but when in Rome..... We bought some audio tour gadgets, after another que experience, then began to wander. The Forbidden city was neither forbidden, nor a city but was huge, with fantastic architecture, and very impressive. Inside were really groovy looking trees, and also big ... read more

Our final full day in Beijing we had reserved for Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. They weren’t far from where we were staying and it was only two stops via metro to get there. Tiananmen Square is a really really REALLY big square. It looks big on TV and in pictures but the full scale of it doesn’t hit you until you’re standing in it and it seems to stretch on forever. Other than that it’s fairly boring. It’s probably the most boring national landmark I’ve ever visited because it’s just a really big square. There’s a statue in the middle and stuff all the way around. But unless there’s something going on in it it’s just a big empty space. Out of morose curiosity we decided to visit Chairman Mao’s mausoleum where the guidebooks ... read more

Today we visited Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City. We started with a bus ride downtown then walked 1-2 miles to Tian’anmen Square. On our way, we passed an elaborate structure with a few soldiers standing outside along with a few men dressed in suits. We asked Yuehua what it was. Her answer? The Chairman’s residence. It was just so unexpected and had little fanfare associated with it. We continued down the sidewalk until we reached Tian’anmen Square. It had taken us nearly two hours to reach this point. We crossed over the bridge and through the doorway under Mao’s picture. This image looked heavily airbrushed/Photoshopped. It reminded me of an image from a funeral mass card. By this point, we were surrounded by thousands of Asians. This was the only time during the entire trip ... read more

On the Friday the opening ceremonies were held for the new Tibetan Research Center at the Palace Museum. The location was what seemed like a remote location on the grounds behind a temple built by Emperor Chenlung. The temple is quite unique in that the outer architecture is completely Chinese but inside the four floors are decorated with murals depicting the iconography of the four classes of Tantra (based on the instructions of Rolpai Dorje). The four Tantra Classee are Kriya, Charya, Yoga and Anuttarayoga. Unfortunately we were not able to go inside the temple on this trip. The new Research Center is past this Chenlung temple and through a courtyard with a clutter of small buildings behind, in all shapes and sizes. All of these buildings, except the first temple built by Chenlung, are brand ... read more

The first full day of papers is over. There were some good papers and the usual number of drop dead boring papers. We had the group photograph taken this morning during the coffee break. I will post it when I get a copy. This evening we had our welcoming banquet replete with plates of simmering duck heart and intestines. Yes, there was the rest of the duck and duck soup but all I could think of was the Marx Brothers. I have been asked to lecture at the National Minorities University at the request of a good friend who is now the dean. I will keep the lecture art based with a strong hint of Bon since the Dean is a Bonpo from Amdo. Maggie is here for those of you that know Maggie from the ... read more