The night before I left I went to Tiananmen Square. Security is right for the upcoming 100 year celebrating of the communist party. I took the photos one should take while standing in the square.
A hubao which is said to send the will of the people to above. These assist near palaces and tombs. This is its front of the forbidden city.
Of course walking back to my hotel earlier I was reminded of the times we are in. An ambulance taking away a person. The people in contamination garb. One watching the street after the ambulance left and another had just reentered the building spreading all surfaces. We have a long way to go with covid.
At the airport I was quite early. I have not much experience with Beijing Airport so took no chances. Actually, of all airports I have been: Amsterdam and the US are the worst for getting through security. Security is still tight here, they just don’t have lots of wait. If course this is actually not peak season yet. So I went to the very affordable flight lounge (no alcohol that is why it is affordable).
For 500 years in the Ming and Qing dynasties, this was an important place of worship for abundant harvests. It is the most important temple in China.
Imperial hall of heaven
An important building with 9 figurines on the roofline.
The echo wall is a building so designed that you can carry on a conversation on one side with another person on the other side through whispers.
The circle mound is comprised of stones around a center stone with 3 circles of 9, 18, and 81 stones referring to the 9 heavens. The center is called the heavenly centre stone and one that stands there will be particularly resonant.
Another beautiful park. This one has been a model for architecture and landscaping in the east and the west. The buildings in particular are architectural marvels.
I spent a morning touring the grounds of the summer palace. This is northwest of the forbidden city and the imperial family would escape government life to relax here. It is really a park and one can imagine what it would be like to be free to swim, walk through the woods, and be carefree. I enjoyed the beauty of nature and the smell of pine and cedar.
The gardens, temples, and pavilions are in harmony with nature. The Chinese name means Nourishing Peace Garden.
During the hot summer, the imperial family preferred the Summer Palace to the Forbidden City. Dowager Empress Cixi lived here for some time, with much speculation of extravagence.
History:
In 1750, Emperor Qianglong, 4th Qing Dynasty emperor ordered the building of the first Summer Palace, named Qingyi Yuan or ‘the Garden of Clear Ripples’.
In 1860, it was destroyed by the Anglo-French Allied Forces and rebuild in 1886.
In 1888, the Summer Palace was given its present-day Chinese name, Yihe Yuan, and served as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi.
In 1900, it was destroyed by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers.
In 1912, it was rebuilt as one of the final commissions of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).
The drum tower was used for telling time until 1924. It was built in 1272 during the reign of Kublai Khan and was rebuilt after two fires during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Beginning in the Han Dynasty, the system of the “morning bell” and “dusk drum” necessitated towers to be built. The Drum Tower was used to keep time during the night hours.
Many very steep stairs to get to the tower.
In the tower are many relics used to keep time through Chinese history.
The Kalou used the movement of water to tell time and was very accurate. Of course the water had to not freeze and later mercury was used instead of water for clock movement. The beilu uses movement of little balls to accurately tell the time. The bell tower was under construction.
From there I searched for Beihai Park and the white tower I have seen from time to time. It is a large park with half being covered with water. In the center is the Jade Flowery islet with a large white dagoba.
The Tibetan lama suggested to the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty to build the Tibetan dagoba to show his belief in Buddhism and his desire for the unification among various Chinese ethnic groups. It is a beautiful park and while walking around the dagoba you could smell the numerous pines there. It has been two years since I smelled the pines and miss that.
This Reading Cloister houses tablets kept from 220 to 1644 and had important history of Chinese calligraphy. You can see the tablets on the lower floor (they look like windows).
After that I went back to the hotel. It was a very long day with a lot of walking. Quite interesting to be on the Great Wall, then see innovations in how they measured time, and walj in a beautiful park.
I had a big breakfast and grabbed a pretzel, hard boiled egg, apple, and pack of nuts for snacks /lunch before heading out to the great wall. Jack had booked the tickets for me and the hotel arranged a driver who would drive me there (1.5 hours one way), stay until I was done, and drive me back. The price was 850 rmb which is $131.85. Not bad for service for 8 hours.
I booked the cable car at Mutianyu as I wanted to get to the top without crowds. So we left early. The cable car puts you in the middle of the section of the wall that is open. I walked to the one side first.
In one of the towers.
At the end of the section of Wall it is blocked off. From here the wall has been poorly maintained. Local village women bring fans, water, and beer for thirsty walkers. The price is steeper than a store but then they carried it here. I was thirsty and already had water so a beer was in order. They speak a little English and I practiced a little Chinese.
I had already promised one woman at the bottom of the steepest stretch I would be back to buy beer so after spending time at the top I headed back the way I came to buy another beer and talk with her.
On the way back there were more and more people but not like it is in the busiest tourist season.
I walked all the way to the other end of the section that was open. At both ends it is pretty steep and you climb steps with hands and feet. At that end I met a friendly young Chinese woman and we conversed through translation apps. We took pictures for each other too.
A met a couple of furry friends too. Here is one of them and they loved all the attention.
I made my way back to the cable car to do some shopping and leave with the driver. A great day on the wall back and forth and could not ask for better weather.
Before breakfast I took a run to go around the wall of the forbidden city. Since they are preparing for their 100 year celebration of the communist party, security was pretty tight. Just getting on the sidewalk in front required screening and checking ID including questions:
Where are you from?
What do you do in Guangzhou?
What kind of school?
Why are you here?
Of course I was just going for a run at that time. I passed in front of Tiananmen Square.
I had to make a long square around due to the security checkpoints. It was good to get a feel for the places around the hotel. Many police and forces….
Along the North side of the forbidden city.
In ancient times, the emperor was said to be a son of Heaven, and therefore Heaven’s supreme power was bestowed upon him. The emperors’ residence was built facing north. Common people were not to be at the Palace. Some facts :
The construction of the grand palace began with Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty in 1406 until 1420.
From 1420 to 1644 there were 14 emperors of the Ming Dynasty.
Then it served as the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty.
During the Second Opium War it was controlled by Anglo-French forces until the end of the war.
The last Emperor of China, Puyi, left in 1912.
In 1925, the Forbidden City became the Palace Museum.
There are 90 palaces and courtyards with 980 buildings and over 8,728 rooms.
It is 961 meters long from south to north and 753 meters wide.
There are 3 parts : the defense which consists of a moat and wall, the inner court, and the outer court.
Gate of heavenly peace.
Meridian gate which is the south gate.
Outer court consists of the hall of Supreme harmony which houses the dragon throne, hall of Central harmony where speeches were practiced, and hall of preserving harmony where there were banquets.
Gate of correct conduct where military entered. Gate of Supreme harmony is where the emperor meets with officials. Hall of Supreme harmony. Hall of preserving harmonyThese vats are used to hold water for fighting fires and are throughout the city. Fires in the winter keep the water from freezing.
The gate of heavenly purity leads to the inner court.
The first inside the inner court is the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong), the emperors’ sleeping quarters.
The second , behind it is the Palace of Union and Tranquility (Jiaotaidian), where the imperial seals were stored.
The third hall is the hall of Terrestrial Tranquility (Kunninggong), the emperors’ wedding room.
Palace of Heavenly PurityPalace of Earthly Tranquility
There are 6 eastern and 6 western palaces where business was conducted and contained living quarters of the emperor, expresses, and concubines.
Animals in the roof line
There is a row of mystical animal statuettes placed along the ridge line of halls that were only for official use. The animals, like phoenixes, dragons, and lions, have powerful meanings in Chinese culture.
The number of animals is different based on the importance of the buildings. You can see nine animals on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most important structure in the Forbidden City, and seven on the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the residence of the Empress.
The roofline of hall of Supreme harmony.
Lions
In Chinese culture, the lion is the king of the animals, and is regarded as a symbol of power and strength. The lions are always in pairs, with the female lion on the left and the male on the right.
Other buildings
Floating jade pavilionPalace of eternal harmonyHall of imperial peace Hall of literary eleganceMountain of accumulated elegance Hall of imperial supremacy.
I then visited the gallery of timepieces. This houses some really ornate timepieces gifted from throughout the world.
Palace of tranquil longevity
This is one of three 9 dragon screens that exist in China and made in the 1770’s.
It was a beautiful day and everything is gorgeous. I love the history and seeing all of the beautiful buildings.
Last year I was fearless traveling around China even when covid tests were needed every time I chose to leave Guangzhou. Cases were only in the North and I spent the summer touring the south and west.
This time feels different and I had to remind myself I had traveled with uncertainty and was careful about what I did and where I went. Therefore I would be okay. We were encouraged not to leave but being in my apartment (with construction upstairs was driving me nuts). At the last minute I decided to go to Beijing. There is only a handful of places on my list to visit and that is one. Chinese schools are still in session and it is less crowded now. Perfect timing.
A local clinic I use offered 24 hour turnaround for covid test results. This is important because you cannot fly or check into a hotel unless you have a test less than 48 hours old. To be clear, last year foreigners needed tests to go anywhere but they could be within 7 days. Because of the outbreak in Guangzhou, everyone there needs to meet the 48 hour mandate. That made me feel good as we felt singled out last year. Now you say where you are from and people are taken aback. The health code though shows all your results.
The Beijing Nuo Hotel Forbidden city was one that I saw in an advertisement and it looked lovely. Despite the price, I decided to book my stay. It is gorgeous and 100 years of history…
Outside the pool and gym area. This connects to the convention center.
The drawing room is the bar and where I had a late dinner after taking time to swim and sit in a hot tub. 1920’s swing music, beautiful accommodations, and wonderful service… The asparagus risotto was fabulous. I wondered if it was socially acceptable to lick the bowl (kidding of course, but it did cross my mind).
Next, running around forbidden city then touring inside.
