China 2007 - Beijing

3 April 2007

Beijing - Forbidden City

We spent the day exploring the Forbidden City. Wow! I don't how this is possible, but everything from an archeological stand point seems to be getting better by the day. It is quite possible that we have topped out with the Forbidden City though. It was huge, with courtyard after courtyard, garden after garden, and museum after museum appearing around every bend. The sheer size and opulence of the place was overwhelming. Inlayed wood and jewels covered many walls, pottery and bronze pieces dating back to 1800 B.C., and unbelievable gold with pearl, precious stone and porcelain pieces. We spent six hours walking around, and I'd say we saw about half of it.

We exited the Forbidden City by way of Tianamen Square, which was filled with people. I know Tianamen as that site of the communist government crack down (a.k.a. slaughter) of pro-democracy students in 1989, and also as the military parade ground for the Red army. On a more positive note, it is the largest public square in the world, and even with a large police presence to crack down on would be Falun Gong members, it is an awe inspiring public gathering place.

We also saw blue sky today for the first time since we arrived in China! It was so nice to enjoy clean air on a sunny day! Obviously Beijing is gearing up for the Olympics, and claen air is a part of the preparation. Maybe they have installed coal burning power plant scrubbers here . . . now if they could do the same in the other 99% of the country.

Here are a couple short videos

Forbidden City 1 (4.5 mb file)
Forbidden City 2 (7.5 mb file)
Forbidden City fish (4.5 mb file)
Tianamen Square - Mao (3.5 mb file)
Tianamen Square (9.5 mb file)

Click on the thumbnail images to enlarge

4 April 2007

Beijing - Summer Palace

Visited the Summer Palace today. We took the subway and bus out for a different type of experience. One thing that I noticed, and thought was a great idea, was countdown clocks on the stop lights. The clock counted down time left on both a green and red lights. It took all of the guess work out of whether to 'gun it' or 'step on the breaks'.

My dad and I caught people taking photos of us several times today. The more adventurous Chinese tourists would ask us to have their photos taken with them. It sort of gave us the feeling of being rock stars, which was fun. They seem as curious of us as we are of them.

The Summer Palace itself wasn't as opulent as the Forbidden City, but what it lacked in size and antiquity craftsmanship (let's not forget that that it was razed during the Boxer Rebellion - in part by us) it made up for in natural serenity. The main building sat an a hill overlooking a lake, all of which were made by a massive labor force. When one reads that hundreds of thousands of workers were involved with not only the Summer Palace, but the other sites we have seen as well, the absolute power that the Emperors wielded becomes startlingly apparent. It is amazing to think that one person could have direct control of so many people.

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One of the more disgusting Chinese habits is all of the phlegm and mucus related noises. Sixty seconds in public scarcely goes by without someone loudly clearing their nose and throat with a wet gurgling snort followed by and equally wet gurgling "hocking" of the throat. It's revolting. Men and women alike let fly with these noises with no embarrassment what so ever. It remind me of learning how to spit a "loogie" on the baseball field in grade school, but instead of eight other ten year old boys on a 'field of dreams', I'm surrounded by the 13.8 million people of Beijing. Snort, hawk, spit. Disgusting!

Here are a couple short videos