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Published: June 11th 2008
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Today was going to be a busy day. Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, a visit to the Běijīng Hútòng area (one of our options), and then back to the hotel to pick the bus up to take us to the rail station, for our night train to Xī’ān.
From memory, I think we skipped breakfast today, as there just wasn’t time, so we just got snacks from the local store, as well as some more water. Tiananmen Square is only a short walk really, but we went by metro anyway. The nearest station is Tiananmen XI. It was a really hot day in Běijīng today, and I knew I’d have to be careful, so the sunscreen was gonna be topped up during the day.
We got to Tiananmen Square, and Marcia gave us a short history talk, and then we took photos. It was actually very funny here, and most places where we stopped for one of Marcia’s talks, as the locals were photographing us quite a lot. Not sure how they’ll be when the massive influx of Westerners hits come the Olympics in August, but I guess we’ve prepared them for that now.
Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest
public square, and is right in the heart of Běijīng. It’s very touristy (both local and foreign) too, with no end of sellers trying to force their postcards, fans and other rubbish onto you, or art students trying to convince you to visit one of their ‘exhibitions’, where they will try to sell you overpriced art.
The main sights in Tiananmen Square are the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which leads through to the Forbidden City. However, there are also the Ministries of Rites and Revenues, and the Honglu and Taichang Temples, as well as a large statue in honour of the Cultural Revolution.
From here, we walked to the Gate of Heavenly Peace, complete with huge lifelike portrait painting of Mao, and into the Forbidden City, named after being off limits for 500 years. This was home to two dynasties of emperors, the Ming and Qing. Through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, we arrived at the Duan Gate, and then the Meridian Gate, before entering the main walled area of the city. Crossing the Golden Stream, we then came to the Supreme Harmony Gate. Then we came to the three Great Halls
(one of which was being restored); the Halls of Supreme Harmony, Middle Harmony and Preserving Harmony, before finally arriving at the Imperial Garden, a typical Chinese-style garden with rockeries, ponds and pavilions.
On leaving the Forbidden City, we were then asked if we wanted to do the Běijīng Hútòng option. All but two wanted to, so we made our way to where we’d be picked up to be taken there. It was only a short drive to the rickshaws, which would be taking us on the unique trip. Běijīng’s Hútòngs (hútòng translates into “narrow alleyways”), are home to a quarter of the Běijīng population, and are rapidly disappearing, as modern buildings replace them. Hútòng land is a mixture of the old and new, as small bungalows with outhouses and courtyards are mixed with the larger apartment blocks. There was a definite atmosphere to these places though, with people tending to keep themselves to themselves.
Our first stop was at a nice typical home. The family must get a donation for letting their home be invaded by us lot to take pictures. I certainly hope they do anyway. This first home was lovely. It had a courtyard with a
big birdcage in the middle, and all the individual rooms came off of this courtyard. It was nice, quaint, and relaxing. Back on the rickshaws we went, and arrived at the second home.
We’d been told that we shouldn’t take photos at this place though, so in we walked. We were introduced to the family, and given tea and sunflower seeds and peanuts, as a welcome. They were a couple who’d been living there for twenty or so years. Their son was living and working away from home, so it was just them. He was a great artist, with many paintings of his, hung around the small home. It was very welcoming again though, and they were a sweet couple. After a few questions from us all, and a group photo, which they seemed so happy about, it was time to finish our ride on the rickshaw, that took us around the Qianhai and Houhai Lakes, which were where we were last nights for our drinks.
At the end of the trip, we got taxis back to the hotel. We were back in time, so picked up our bags, and then headed back out to the waiting bus.
Only this bus had no air conditioning. It had broken down, so our journey across the city to the station was a little bit warm.
On arriving at the station, we were confronted by absolute mayhem. It was like a scene out of India, with people and luggage everywhere, all waiting for their trains. I think we were waiting around the terminal building for nearly an hour, before we made it to the platform. Our train carriage was number 14, and I was in Berth number 1, and we were on a night sleeper (not sure if it was soft or hard), but it seemed like a hard sleeper. The train was double-tiered, and we had berths of four, each with two bunk beds. It was a bit tight, but bearable for just the one night. Dan and I were paired with Elli and Erlend. Some of the guys and girls headed off to the dining cart, while a few of us stayed behind. Marcia, Elli and I had some good conversation, followed by dinner of noodles and some nice cold beer. I think we all should’ve gone to the dining cart, as when they returned the guys said
they’d had such a great time, chatting with the locals, playing cards, and drinking the local beers. Still, we had a nice evening chatting.
We were arriving in Xī’ān early in the morning, so we needed as much sleep as we could get.
Forbidden City:
http://www.dpm.org.cn
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