On Friday afternoon, we left work at 2 PM and drove for about 2 1/2 hours to Beijing. We traveled West on an expressway with the same endless fields of rice, wheat, and other vegetables. I am always amazed by the way the Chinese people have transformed the landscape into well planned riverways, and canals with pumping houses dotting the land that are turned on several times a week. The only thing which makes this system work is the sheer number of people who work tirelessly among the fields. Also not as obv ious at first is the endless stream of small truck and vehicles on all roads which collectively perform an incredible task of moving clay, topsoil, stone, bricks, lime, and other necessary items to build the new roads, new houses, and new fields. As we got within 1/2 hour of Beijing, we had to stop and get a special pass for the vehicle (small fee) to drive the car in the city of Beijing. The license plates would show the car was from Tianjin, and apparently the car would be stopped without the large document visible on the dashboard. As we entered the city it was noticeably more western with many more colors in the buildings, a clean look to everything, clean air (Tianjin is very dusty) and straight streets as far as you could see. (Tianjin streets are not straight). There are many tall buildings in Tianjin, but there are many more in Beijing and they are decidedly of more modern architectural design (like a modern western city). There were many more foreign cars (Ford, Jeep, Citroen to name some) and many major hotels giving a real int ernational flavor. The people's clothes were better, and the younger people (in their 20's) looked a lot more cosmopolitan and wore very fashionable clothes. They also sported a very stylish eyeglass design of round metal frames either regular (clear) or sun-glasses. It seemed like either most people needed glasses or wore them for the fashion. We arrived at the hotel on a busy main street. The streets here are 6 lanes wide: 4 lanes and a physical divider in the center for cars, trucks, and busses, and the outside 2 lanes for the bicycles are separated by a narrow island of stone or concrete to insure a safe separation from the vehicles. The sidewalks have an extra width of trees and bushes next to the curb which collects some trash and many bikes, and is mostly devoid of any grass. In front of the hotel, they have placed a fence at the curb, and use the area for an outside sitting area to have drinks and snacks, and a good size fountain adds to its relaxing atmosphere. We walked into the lobby to be greeted by live traditional chinese music. Four musicians played a instruments similar to a bass, a wooden keyboard instrument that uses mallets, a mandolin shaped instrument that was being plucked rather than strummed, and a violin. It was very pleasant to listen to and I hope to get a tape to bring home. We checked in to the hotel, and then because it was early, we decided to do some shopping. We found a silk market which started near the sidewalk and then extended down a wide alleyway between buildings with booths on both sides that were about 8 feet wide and were rented. They all closed up at dark with all their wares inside. There we experienced our first bartering experience. The initial prices were quite high (I was dividing prices by 8 to get dollars to compare), and in most cases we purchased for 1/2 of the starting price. It was fun, and having local chinese people as our guides was a rea l advantage since they knew we would not accept a high price. There was everything from silk scarfs, blouses, bathrobes, and ties, to children's clothes. The hard part was that there was only one size for adults and one size for children. The chinese people are all slender around a size 8 and the clothes are primarily in that size. As we walked out of the area, we found ourselves suddenly surrounded by poor and blind people, and before I knew it, a young boy of about 10-12 had squirted white shoe cream on my sneakers and then tried to clean it off. This is one of the oldest tricks and I knew of it from living in Latin America, but I was not on my guard because until now we had not seen these kinds of people. (A good salesman creates a need for his product or service, but this I can do without !) I stamped off the cream and refused his efforts to clean it, and we quickly left the area. If you pay one of them they will all want their "take". It is sad to see it, but if you give in, you will be the victim. We returned to the hotel to leave our purchases, and then left for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe`. The Cafe` is located on another busy city street next to a hotel and small but very modern shopping "mall" which also had a restaurant. We had to go there and find rest rooms because the Cafe` was mobbed and not as clean. A short aside: rest rooms in China are a real problem. Just like in the US where you do not want to stop at just any gas station, we use the fast food restaurants because they are clean and cared for. The same is true in China, but only the hotels really take care of their rest rooms and pay someone to be there all the time. If you ever travel into the country to tourist attractions, the facilities are so crude that you have to do without, and there is no running water. The front of the Hard Rock Cafe` has it's logo, and we took pictures on the steps. Once inside you are inside the largest Hard Rock Cafe` in the world. The room is 3 stories high inside with a second floor balcony overlooking the large dance floor. The music is VERY loud and there is a large screen on the wall about the 2nd floor level where a video of the song is being shown. All around the walls are photographs and mementos of hundreds of hard rock musicians and groups. There are platinum records, guitars and other musical instruments hanging everywhere mostly in some kind of a frame to set it off. There is a long bar beside the dance floor area, and a small stage across the room almost underneath the large video screen. The place is full of the younger set, and we estimated that half of them were foreigners. At this time the dance floor area was covered with tables and we sat down at one and ordered dinner. The menu fare was international and we were persuaded to try Singapore style chicken dinner. It was OK, but I don't have any notes to recall it. We stayed for about 2 hours, and then the ladies of the group went next door to the hotel facilities. We stayed and kept the table. When they returned, the men took their turn to the hotel. On the way back as the sidewalk turns to the Cafe`, two asian young women approached us and (I found out later) asked us to join them for dinner at a karaoke place. My host spoke to them in Chinese, and told them that our "dates" were in the cafe waiting for us. I thought it w as a riot, but I think he was embarrassed for me. Once back at the Cafe` we told our story and left soon after. By that time they were clearing the tables from the dance floor, and we had a long day ahead of us the next day.
The next morning, we went to Tiananmin Square. It was so large it could easily hold over a million people (but I would not want to be there). It was similar to standing in Washington DC on the mall between the Washington monument and Lincoln's monument, but there was no grass here... it was all pavement with large government buildings and museums surrounding it. One building had a large digital "count down counter" showing the time left for Hong Kong to be joined again with China. There is a big celebration planned for the square. We walked across the square in the middle and then headed toward one end which was the Forbidden City. The entrance has a large photo of Mao Se Tung, the last revered ruler of China who died it XXXX. In order to not have to cross the streets, there are underground walkways, and we went down to this 100 foot wide walkway. During the Tiananmin Square uprising, I was told that many people stayed there overnight before they were dispersed. As we came up on the Forbidden City side of the street, I noticed that the entire "city" was surrounded by a small moat of water. There were raised gardens of grass and flowers along the entire front behind which were large water fountains. As we got closer, the fountains began to rise up (at first I did not know they were there). Then a slowly changing pattern started where individual fountains on each side of the center rose and fell together. As we passed through the main gate, we entered a massively lon g walkway leading through many "gates" on the way to the final audience chamber of the emperor. These "gates" were large buildings with an arch walkway through the middle and a second story observation deck, and a large red roof on top. As we walked through each one there was a feeling of power and authority and a visiting person would easily feel intimidated by the surroundings if he was planning to see the emperor. Each walkway between the "gates" was higher than the last, so there was also a feeling of a scending up to a god. When we finally reached the audience chambers, the first were for lesser dignitaries or events, and they kept getting more impressive towards the final throne room. Once you reach the final throne room, you are not disappointed and feel the culmination of power and majesty of the emperor. Passing through a side door after the throne room, you suddenly find yourself in the cool of a garden... such a contrast ! There are many walkways with patios and porticos to pause and enjoy, and more museum buildings of palace artifacts. Passing through this garden area, you suddenly find yourself at the rear entrance (or exit) of the palace. There was so much more we did not see that I purchased a tour book to read later.
Summary: The Forbidden City, now called the Palace Museum, was first built during the Ming dynasty in 1406. It is the center of the city of Beijing, and also the center of an 8 square kilometer group of temples: the Temple of Heaven in the south, the Temple of Earth in the north, the Temple of the Sun in the East, and the Temple of the Moon in the West. The entire palace area is 960 meters from north to south and 750 meters from east to west is surrounded by a wall 30 meters high, and a moat outside of 52 m eters wide. The palace structures included more than 9000 rooms, and it housed the emperor, his family and concubines, his servants, and was guarded from within by 36 battalions of soldiers. There is much more to explain about this place than I have space for. I only hope to whet your appetite to read more in a library.