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Published: June 11th 2007
Imperial Garden, Forbidden City, Beijing.
Imperial Garden, Forbidden City, Beijing. Well I guess that China’s rail system is as indicative as anything, of the countries contrast and diversity, as my most recent journey was much more civil. The twelve hours from Xian was a glowing, example of Chinese efficiency.
I may have cut it a little too fine arriving on the platform, as I had to board the train as it was in motion, but once I was on board things were quite different, clean white sheets and an individual reading lamp awaited me on my resourcefully designed bunk. The isles were kept solely for walking and not cooking, and there was even a western toilet, which I was grateful for as navigating a ‘long bomber’ (squat toilet) on an ever bumpy train, takes some skill. I was again however very much the anomaly, being the only foreigner, and I must have offered somewhat of an attraction and photo opportunity to the kid’s two carriages down. But once everyone had finished, I settled in for a relaxed ride to Beijing.
Beijing is the nation's political, economic and cultural center. It has been the heart and soul of society and culture throughout China’s long and somewhat turbulent history, consequently there
Me & Mao, Tienaman Square, Beijing.
Me & Mao, Tienaman Square, Beijing. is an unparalleled wealth of historical discovery to delight and intrigue any who crave to explore Beijing's ancient past, and all this is painted on the backdrop of its abundant modern development, due to the encroaching Commonwealth games.
Beijing city boasts so many phenomenal places! It’s hard to comprehend. Its long and illustrious history started some 500,000 years ago and in this time it has endured much; invasions by warlords and foreign powers, devastating fires and the rise and fall of powerful imperial dynasties. Yet it has emerged each time as a strong and vibrant city.
I arrived early on Wednesday morning and was immediately struck by the inflated prices of Beijing, and so decided to fill my days as to not waste any time. After making my way to my hostel, which was nestled in a concealed alley not far from the centre of Beijing, I was off. First heading for the ‘Forbidden City’ and ‘Tiananmen Square’
I spent the best part of the day drifting through the ‘Forbidden City’, so called as it was off limits for around 500 years. It is widely regarded as the largest and best preserved cluster of ancient buildings within China, it comprises
The Great Wall, Simitai.
THe most amazing experience! of 74 hectares and is essentially divided into two sections; the Southern Section, or the ‘Outer Court’ which was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation, and the Northern section or the ‘Inner Court’ where he lived with his royal family. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are a myriad of temple buildings, mini museums and more. But I think a little of Chock’s green thumb must have rubbed off on me, as I was most taken by the Imperial Garden, he would have been proud as I found myself oowing and aahhhing at Elms? and Junipers? alike.
In the afternoon I crossed over to ‘Tiananmen Square’ which sits directly adjacent to the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest public square, and is a sprawling mass of steel grey paving stones. It is a poignant reflection upon imposing Communist architecture and is under the ever watchful eye of former Chairman Mao Ze Dong, as the infamous great helmsman portrait still hangs at the entrance of the South Gate. Unfortunately the Mao Memorial Hall and Mausoleum were closed for restoration at the time I was there. The present
Garden of Clear Ripples, Summer Palace, Beijing.
Garden of Clear Ripples, Summer Palace, Beijing. Tiananmen Square is totally at ease, and has become a relaxing place for people to fly kites walk and take photos. Far from the images of the pro-democracy protest which were crushed by Chinese military in 1989.
That night I walked down to Beijing’s famous ‘Silk Market’ and immersed myself in a plethora of vendors pushing anything from freshwater pearls to deep fried scorpions whilst being deafened by calls of “Hello, you buy something” and “Looky Looky”, as Chinese markets go this one was crazy!
I woke up early on my second day in Beijing as I had big plans I was going to see the ‘Great Wall’ of China there was a particular section that has come highly recommended, and rightfully so, it is the 10 km hike from Jinshanling to Simatai
To the east of the Jinshanling stretch of the Great Wall lies the quiet and remote Simatai section. The ruinous state of this part of the wall gives it an air of authenticity that has earned it the reputation of being the most beautiful section of the Great Wall. Unlike many other sections that have undergone extensive restoration, the wall at Simatai has received very little attention. Here, the wall really looks as one would expect it to look some 600 years after it was built during the Ming Dynasty.
An additional attraction is that Simatai is 130 kilometers or 4.5 hours to the north-east of Beijing putting it just beyond the reach of the mass package tourist crowd, that apparently throng to the more popular and accessible parts of the Wall.
The 10 km between Jinshanling and Simatai comprises of some 30 watchtowers set at semi-regular intervals, and every single one of them is unbelievably spectacular. The moment I reached the top of the first ascent and was engulfed by the unbelievable panoramic views, I new what I was embarking on was something special. I spent the entire journey unable to wipe the smile from my face.
Those four hours were the most remarkable, enjoyable and unforgettable of my trip to date, I have now been truly awestruck, and have experienced something I was anticipating for a very long time, and was infinitely more rewarded than I ever could have anticipated!
I slept well that night, and when I woke I thought I’d treat myself to a special breakfast, so I paid the $5 AU at the hotel down the road for the buffet breakfast, with my trusty jar of vegemite in hand I toasted up a storm. I attracted some disapproving looks when I made my fifth trip to the toaster, but hey, you can buy a lot of bread for that kind of money in China. After putting the bakers stockpile to the test, I headed for the ‘Summer Palace’ after 3 trains, two buses and a unintended detour I arrived, thinking that was much harder than it should have been. Anyway the Summer Palace is the opulent dominion of palace temples, gardens, pavilions, lakes and corridors which were once the playground of the imperial court, who were escaping the stifling summer heat of Beijing. I spent the entire day searching every lane, garden and building of this enormous complex, it truly is one of Beijing’s most visited sites, but the pure expanse allows a few moments of serene solitude, where you can contemplate how it would have been during the Ming dynasty. Again I was mesmerised by the beauty of the traditional Chinese gardens.
On my third day I headed for the ‘Temple of Heaven’ a enclosed 267 hectare park with four gates, representing each point on the compass, the temple originally served as a site for the Emperor to undertake prayers for a good harvests and was also where he sought divine anointment for the sins of his people. This was quite a nice area and I spent most of the morning here.
From the Temple of heaven I went for lunch, and decided that I couldn’t come all the way to Beijing, the home of Peking Duck and not have some myself, so I wandered back towards Tiananmen Square where I dined, dined being the operative word as I really haven’t paid more than $3 AU for a meal in a long time, at ‘Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant’. Being a specialty duck restaurant they only offered serves of either half or whole duck, I ordered the half and was told to wait a moment while the chef prepared, minutes later he appeared in his sparkling white uniform with gloves and hat to boot, wheeling a trolley consisting of one whole roast duck, sauces, onions, cucumbers and spices. He began to carve and serve the duck in the traditional way, right in front of me. Sitting there on the second floor enjoying Beijing’s most mouth watering delicacy, with views over Tiananmen Square, I could really see how the other half lived and ate in China. It was great and unforgettable, but give me street vendors and haggling any day.
On My last day in Beijing I got back on the bike and just went to explore, get lost and go at my on pace, it was great and as always offered a seemingly more authentic view of the city, particularly as I had the opportunity to view many of the historical sites from areas that are off the major tourist path
However dwelling too much on the historical past of Beijing may give the false impression that it is little more than an ancient city in style, but this is definitely not so! Riding around Beijing, I also found it has much in common with many other of the great capitals. There are towering skyscrapers; busy shopping malls and an endless, I mean endless, streams of traffic that makes the city much the same as others. This will only increase in the near future as even now you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a building site. But the magic lies in the fact that, interspersed with all the modernity are extraordinary relics from almost the entire timeline of Chinas past. So I am off to Suzhou to continue exploring
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Maomania
Nice one mate... I'm so glad you made it to the Simatai section of the wall, the more we speak to travellers here in China, the more they complain that their Great wall experience was tarnished by a plethora of tourists!! Also, we rode our half-dead bikes to the Summer palace, yeah it was a long way, especially without brakes, but somehow sounds like it may have been a bit easier!!! Thanks for your bday wishes the other day, and travel safe. Enjoy Suzhou.