Right: After sitting crunched in tiny (middle) seats for 13 hours, we finally arrive in Peking/Beijing and clear Customs. Holy cow! We’re actually in China now! We’re excited to begin our exploration!
We meet up after clearing Customs. Charlie’s Angels’ theme song is playing in the background – or maybe just in my head.
At the luggage carousel, we’re excited to see signs for the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing.
Beijing Railway Station at night – taken from Tiananmen Square
At the end of Tiananmen Square, near the entrance to the Forbidden City
Approaching Tiananmen Square
The Great Hall of the People
Tiananmen at night
Red flags flying in Tiananmen Square at night
Beijing Railway station
We walk by the National Museum of China (displaying the Olympics countdown clock).Many important buildings line the outside periphery of Tiananment Square.
A closer look at the Olympic countdown clock in front of the museum.
Monument to the Peoples’ Heroes – in T-Square
Mao Zedong’s mausoleum sits just at the edge of Tiananmen Square. People queue up all day to pay homage to the dead leader.
Statue to ‘The People’, adjacent to Mao’s tomb in ‘T-Square’
It seems that guards are stationed at prominent locations in T-Square. This man is standing guard at the Monument to the People.
A bit of a stealth shot of a guard in T-Square.
Guards and more guards at Tiananmen Square. In the background is a portrait of Mao, at the entry to the Forbidden City.
Our first night in China, we are surprised at how quiet the square is – not knowing there is a curfew (which we were breaking). We are politely escorted off the very large grounds by a nice and very young guard. We asked how he was, and he confided how long he works and how tired and hungry he was.
He took to us (as he would a mother) and we had a sweet interaction with him. Later, he saw us while he was marching in formation – and he smiled and waved to us! We will never forget the time we were able to transcend geopolitical differences and bond with this young man!
Though there are larger public squares, Tiananmen is perhaps best known and most popular. It’s an endless array of concrete and monolithic structures meant to showcase the grand scale of the communist party. Guards are plentiful and always in view. At 109 acres, it can hold around 600,000 people. It is impressive, and I for one will never forget the feeling of seeing and experiencing Tiananmen Square for the first time!
The Palace Museum is housed in the former palace of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Popularly called The Forbidden City, the museum covers an area of 720,000 square meters. The collections comprise nearly a million art treasures spanning five thousand years of Chinese history, with a rich concentration of art and artifacts from the Qing imperial court. Tiananmen, or the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is a monumental gate in the center of Beijing, widely used as a national symbol of China. First built during the Ming dynasty in 1420, Tiananmen was the entrance to the Imperial City, within which the Forbidden City was located.
It could take days to properly go through the Forbidden City. It is a feast for the eyes with auspicious rooms, animals, glazed-tile roofs and walls, and hundreds of years of rich history. These photos show a small portion of Tiananmen we are lucky to explore.
LEFT: Gate Tower to Tiananmen, or the Forbidden City
MIDDLE: The white marble ‘Huabiao Pillar’ is a common feature at most of China’s ancient buildings. Dragons are carved into the column and a life-size stone animal keeps watch atop the column.
RIGHT: The Receiving/Entry Courtyard
A ‘Nine Dragon’ wall is a type of screen wall with glaze-tiled reliefs of nine different Chinese dragons. These auspicious walls are found in imperial Chinese palaces. There are currently only 4 of these walls in China – one of course within the Forbidden City.
TOP: the entire wall BOTTOM: a portion of the wall showing the intricate glaze-tiled relief and colors.
LEFT: The Royal Door. Notice 81 (9 x 9) Gold knobs on the Emperor’s Door. The number 9 is the auspicious number of the Emperor.
MIDDLE: Auspicious ornament on the Royal Door (middle of the knobs)
RIGHT: An acting Emperor and concubine under a parasol high up in the Forbidden City.
Bridges over the moat of the Forbidden City.
Far corner section of the Forbidden City.
LEFT: Roof with nine ‘wenzhou’ (zoomorphs).
R to L: Dragon, Phoenix, Lion, Heavenly Horse, Seahorse, Suanni, Xiayu, Xiezhi, Divine Bull, and Xingshi. The animals are to protect against evils like fire, windstorms, and hail. Again, ‘Nine’ is the Emperor’s auspicious number.
RIGHT: Notice the ever-present cauldrons around Forbidden City – in case of fires.
Looking across the rooftops of the Forbidden City to the Hebei Stupa (white shrine in background).
Aerial diagram of the beautiful and expansive Forbidden City
Another Imperial door – this one leads to the magnificent Imperial Garden. All doors have the 9 x 9 gold knobs for the Emperor.
There’s no way this place could be any more ornate and colorful. Beautifully crafted, glazed tiles form the colorful reliefs, line the roofs. Intricate architecture and finishings perfected over hundreds of years.
Inside the Great Throne Hall (Taihe Dian). Emperors used this throne from 1420-1911.
As the Forbidden City complex is large, there were six thrones, but this one in the Palace of Supreme Harmony was the main throne. From 1420 to 1911, 24 Emperors lived in the Forbidden City – 14 of the Ming dynasty and 10 of the Qing dynasty.
Tourists will be tourists. This Chinese family wanted to be photographed with ‘Americans’ (and vice versa). Very sweet moment!
Eager to see the Great Wall, we head about 50 miles outside Beijing to Badaling. The portion of the wall running through the site was built in 1504 during the Ming Dynasty. Many vendors occupy the site near the entry point to the Wall, selling Great Wall memorabilia. We opt to start climbing right away. The higher we walk, the better the view below, the thinner the crowds, and the more interesting the watchtowers became. I could have spent days just walking the wall! Wow!
Approaching another turret / watchtower. Watchtowers provided a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may observe the surrounding area.
Quintessential China – rooftop animals and the Great Wall!
Lynn & Pat at Mao’s stone plaque at the Great Wall. The plaque has a replica of Chairman Mao’s handwriting which translates to “You are not a real man until you have visited the Great Wall.” Well Mao, we did and we’re still real women!
The zig-zagging wall, leading up to another watchtower.
Higher up, fewer people, better views.
The Great Wall snakes up, down, and around the mountains.
Lynn up high – so much to see! While walking up the Great Wall, endorphins kicked in and I felt great! Thinking I’m alone, I’m singing and dancing to Cole Porter’s ‘Let’s Fall in Love’. But oops, I run into another person, who happily took my photo. Quite a feeling up there!
Hazy view of the valley below. .
Some of the watchtowers seemed a bit more ‘traditional’ than others. Seeing the ‘next’ tower was the incentive to keep going..
The views are so worth the climb! Wish I could spend days doing this!
From up high, it’s possible to see the winding sprawl of this Great Wall –
as far as the eye could see
Hazy view of the valley below. .
Lynn, on the way back down, stops at the Mao sign for a photo. Wow, what an incredible experience!
Panoramas of winding wall (above and below).
Hutongs and School Children
It’s a cool Fall day in Beijing and we decide to head off for some sightseeing. We head to a bank of parked pedicabs, select a friendly driver with warm blankets and head off to a Hutong. Hutongs, old residential neighborhoods, form the heart of Old Beijing. The homes all face inward toward one central courtyard.
During China’s Zhou Dynasty (1027-256 BC), emperors planned the city of Beijing and arranged the residential areas according to the social classes. The term ‘hutong’ is of Mongolian origin, meaning “water well”.
In the Ming Dynasty (early 15th century), the center was the Forbidden City, surrounded in concentric circles by the Inner City and Outer City. Citizens of higher social status were permitted to live closer to the center of the circles. Aristocrats lived to the east and west of the imperial palace. Farther from the palace, and to its north and south, were the commoners, merchants, and laborers. These communities were smaller and the alleys smaller.
To take a virtual tour of an old Beijing hutong,
Pedicab drivers line up on a cold day, waiting for customers. They happily offer warm blankets for the ride.
Denise and Lynn in a pedicab. We begin a pedicab tour of the Chinese Hutongs.
Entrance to a residence in a hutong. Entrances line the alley/street. Homes face inward to a common courtyard
A typical hutong courtyard setting. Sadly, many of these old historical hustings were torn down to make way for more showy buildings in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Many people lost their generational homes, and are now living far outside the city they’ve called their home and relied on for work.
Pat – arriving in style!
In front of the Huaxia National Children’s School – Beijing.
The kids are let out for recess to play games. It’s obvious that the glee of recess is universal!
Playground pagoda and horoscope drawings
A fun moment when East meets West (us). It was a mutually fun time for us all!
Kids practice Tai Chi during recess, when not playing games.
She looks good enough to compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympics!
Temple of Heaven – Tiantan Park
To view a video of the Temple of Heaven,
Imperial doors opening to the iconic Temple of Harvest, at the Temple of Heaven.
Three tiers of stone steps lead up to the beautiful temple.
The temple is entirely hand-carved from wood – with no nails.
Close-up of very ornate, hand-painted details throughout the entire temple.
Close-up of a beautiful Phoenix bird tapestry at the Temple of Heaven.
In China, Phoenix represents Ying energy – Dragon represents Yang Energy.
Inside the Temple of Prayer.
A special door built for 70 year-old Emperor QianLong, to shorten the distance of his walk to the Harvest Ceremony. He decreed that his offspring could not use this door until they were 70. Since no other Emperors reached 70, QianLong was the only one to use this door..
Map of the Temple of Heaven complex. In 1918, the temple was opened as a park where you can experience local people’s leisure life. .
In the park, we watch locals practicing Tai Chi, playing musical instruments, and even a group of men learning how to waltz – to ‘Silent Night’. This woman is perfecting her Ribbon Dance.
A local musician entertains passers-by
in the park with his Zhonghu, a low-pitched Chinese bowed string instrument.
Another local musician plays her Yueqin,
a lute with a round, hollow wooden body
which gives it the nickname ‘moon guitar’.
A group of women doing Tai Chi – with tennis racquets. Great exercise, fun to watch!
– Tibetan Lama Temple –
Yonghe Temple, also known as Harmony and Peace Palace Lamasery, or Yonghe Lama Temple, is considered the largest and most perfectly preserved lamasery in present day China. Built in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty, this building was the residence of Emperor Yongzheng when he was just a prince. In 1744, the Qing Dynasty formally changed the status of the dwelling to that of a lamasery.
The Lama Temple’s colorful ‘Paifang’ – an arch made of wood or stone and inlaid with glazed tiles. In feudal times, calligraphers were requested to write moral inscriptions that were carved in the middle beam.
One of the main gates leading into the Lama Temple.
The air is filled with the aroma of burning incense as worshippers use the many sensors placed around the temple.
Colorful pagoda on the Lama Temple grounds
A common worship area for the public
Ornate greeting sign above the public worship area
Quan Yin altar for prayers
A worshipper tends to his incense.
Hand-carved stone sign – resembles a large ‘chop’
Denise and Pat on a cold Beijing day – Lama Temple
This is part of the Temple complex with adjoining walkways
Man buying more incense from a vendor
One of many colorful prayer flags around the Lama Temple
Denise and Pat checking out the restaurant menu. We found this to be good to do 🙂
Vendor just outside the Lama Temple. She does all paintings with her palm and fingernails.
Quiet neighborhood just outside the Lama Temple
Tibetan Buddhist vendors – where Lynn bought her Quan Yin statue
Daily life continues on a lazy street outside the temple
– Imperial Summer Palace –
Located on the western edge of Beijing (between the 4th and 5th Ring Roads), the Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by China’s imperial rulers. Its Chinese name, YiHeYuan, translates to ‘Garden of Nurturing Harmony’, or ‘Garden for Maintaining Health and Harmony’.
One of the main gates leading into the Lama Temple.
The Tower of Buddhist Fragrance
Left: Part of the ‘Long Corridor’ down by the lake. The corridor has over 14,000 traditional Chinese paintings on the beams and crossbeams. Paintings are touched up every 12 years to keep them from fading.
Right: At the end of the Long Corridor – many interesting and colorful dragon boats.
The Marble Boat, completed in 1893. The notorious Empress Dowager Cixi ordered its construction, diverting funds earmarked to build the Chinese Navy. One year later, China was defeated by Japan, who then ‘annexed’ Taiwan and Manchuria. A war was lost, but the boat remains.
Dragon boats ferry people across Kunming Lake.
A closer look at the Dragon Boats, parked next to Cixi’s Marble Boat
One of many beautiful bridges around the Summer Palace.