Nancy’s Big Adventure

The first order of business today was a visit to a “blind man” massage centre.  Massage is one of the few occupations available for the blind in China and the lack of sight definitely does not impede the quality of the service.  I enjoyed a 100-minute foot, face, and (fully-clothed) body massage for the equivalent of US$13. Heavenly!

Today is the day that I will begin a determined sightseeing tour of the city.   As I commented before, the city of Beijing is massive; the map cannot convey the vast distances between the different tourist sites.  What looks like a walk around the block is actually a 2 mile hike. The buildings are immense but so are the streets and highways.  Fortunately, it is pretty easy to get around – taxis are cheap, the subway system is somewhat limited but efficient, and there are lots of buses (if you can figure out the route maps).

    Tiananmen Square was a good place to start.  The largest city central square in the world, Tiananmen Square is not only a symbol of Beijing but also a symbol of China. This enormous courtyard has been the site of many historic events. The square is surrounded by the Chinese Revolution History Museum, Mao Mausoleum, Great Hall of the People, the Heavenly Peace Gate, and Qianmen (Front Gate), but my destination of choice was the Forbidden City.

    Adjacent to T Square, the Forbidden City is the world’s largest and best-preserved imperial palace complex. Surrounded by a moat that is 20 ft deep and a 30 ft high wall are 9,999 rooms – just one room short of the number that ancient Chinese believed represented divine perfection.  The Forbidden City is spacious world of great luxury that had a culture of its own. For five centuries, this palace functioned as the administrative center of the country as well as being the pleasure home of the emperors and empresses who were served by thousands of people.  Incredible!

* side note – if you want a glimpse of the Forbidden City, rent “Curse of the Golden Flower”  Absolutely spectacular!!

   Next, I went to Beihai Park, which features pavilions, beautiful walkways, the 90-ft-long Nine Dragon Screen (built to scare off evil spirits), a jar that is the last remnant of the Khan’s court that had been there, the Five Dragon Pavilion dating from the mid 1600s, and a large lake with an island in the middle.  Absolutely beautiful – so peaceful – a nice break from the huge crowds.

  Another park that is a definite ‘must see’ is the Summer Palace, a famous classic imperial garden. The Summer Palace holds a special place in the history of Chinese gardens.

Beijing also has many beautiful temples that at one time served as the focus for religious life. Temple of Heaven is the largest group of structures in the country dedicated to rituals that pay homage to heaven. This temple was built specifically for the worship of heaven and prayers for good harvests during the time of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are two amazing acoustical spots here. On the top of the tri-leveled round altar there is a spot where your words reverberate around you. You can easily imagine the power that temporal rulers felt as their prayers for abundance echoed as if they issued down from the heavens. The other is at the Echo Wall that partially encloses a circular courtyard that is 65 meters (213 feet) in diameter. Words whispered at one end travel along the wall and can be heard clearly by someone listening at the other end!

After paying full admission for these sights I was surprised and disappointed to find that the major buildings and most important things to see are often totally under wraps for renovation. The Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven, three of Beijing’s top tourist draws, have all undergone recent renovations.

My next intended stop was the Beijing zoo.   However, a Western tourist at the bus stop on his way back from the zoo told me that the zoo is a “total waste of time and money”, dirty and very disappointing.  Enough said!

When I returned to my hotel, full of ambition to report,  I was informed that the server was down temporarily.  It is amazing how dependent you get on an internet connection – I had been chomping at the bit to report on my day of sightseeing!  After a tromp around the neighborhood and dinner at a little place down the way, I returned to find service restored and all is well.

Tomorrow will be another day of exploring, with plans to meet up with Tiff and friends at the Buddha Bar.  I am certain I will have more stories to tell in the next posting!

Until then – N

This entry was posted on Monday, August 6th, 2007 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.