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The first thing we thought, although it wasn't right,
was that we were in a tourist area. Our deduction had been made by the
fact that as we pulled into the hotel we passed a Pizza Hut, McDonalds,
Starbucks and Sizzler. These, as we saw throughout our time in Beijing
were literally everywhere! One thing that was different to everywhere
else we had been in China was that many more people spoke English, even a
few basic sentences.
The first trip we took was to see The Great Wall. We
decided to go Mutiyanu, a section of the wall further away from Beijing
than Badaling, where most people go. The wall stretches 4,000 kilometres
inland from the East China Sea to Central Asia. While estimates as to the
actual length of the wall itself range from 10,000 to 20,000 kilometres.
The wall was started in the seventh century b.c., although the oldest
remaining section is from the fifth century b.c. It was built in
incomplete sections that were not joined together until 221 b.c. during
the Qin Dynasty. Mutiyanu was built in 555 b.c. although it has been
extensively restored.
The wall was inspiring, from when you first saw it in
the distance as you drove towards it to when you ascend the wall in a
cable-car and then walk along it, it just amazes you with its grandness
and history. After spending about an hour walking around on the wall we
again used the cable-car to get back to the bottom. As we left the
cable-car to return to the bus we were subjected to a scenario that can
only be described as running the gauntlet! There are literally dozens of
stalls, all selling exactly the same thing, down a passageway that is just
wide enough to walk down and the locals stand in the middle and thrust,
grab and jostle for your attention. The good news is that with so much
competition you can pick up real bargains by bartering.
On the way back to our hotel we stopped at a factory,
as is always obligatory in Asia on bus tours, that make Cloisonne China
Ware, which is actually made of copper. First, they make the pot, or
whatever they are producing, stencil on it, then copper wire is soldered
over the pattern and heated in an oven to permanently attach it. Next
they paint crushed glass powder paste into the partitions and after it
dries fire it in an oven to melt it onto the metal. This process is
repeated seven times to build up the coating to the height of the
partitions. It is then ground and polished to create a smooth surface and
finally the exposed metal is electroplated with gold leaf. The results
are really spectacular, we bought a multi-coloured dragon which is
absolutely gorgeous.
After seeing the wall at Mutiyanu we decided not to
bother going to Badaling as several locals, including the tour guide, told
us that we would be disappointed after where we had been.
The purpose of the Great Wall of China was to stop
enemies invading, but despite its size it actually failed to do so as the
Manchu invasion, which started in 1618 finally took control of China,
defeating the Ming Dynasty, in 1644. This was when the last imperial
dynasty of China, the Qing Dynasty, was founded.
After visiting the Great Wall we went to Tiananmen
Square and the Forbidden City. The film, "The Last Emperor" is about the
tenth and, funnily enough, last emperor of the Qing Dynasty and also
China. Puyi, of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro ruling family, was the Xuantong
Emperor of China between 1908 and 1924, ascending to the throne at age 2
years 10 months. He was ruling emperor between 1908 and 1912, and
non-ruling emperor between 1912 and 1924.
Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the
world, built in 1417. It was renamed in 1699 and enlarged in 1949. In
the middle you have the Monument to the People's Heroes and the Mausoleum
of Mao Zedong. The square lies between two ancient, massive gates: the
Tian'anmen to the north, known as the Gate of Heavenly Peace, and the
Qianmen to the south. Along the west side of the Square is the Great Hall
of the People and along the east side is the National Museum of China.
The protests of 1989 resulted in the killing of Chinese
protesters in the streets to the west of the square and adjacent areas
although it is claimed that nobody died on the square itself. Chinese
expatriates who left the country after the killings said that the numbers
ended up being in the thousands. This was a combination of hundreds
killed on the spot and in the purge that followed. The number of dead and
wounded remains a state secret.
The suppression of the protest was captured by the
media because they were already in the country to film Mikhail Gorbachev's
visit. The most famous film was taken, the day after the massacre, on 5
June 1989 of a lone, unarmed, man in a white shirt standing in front of a
column of eighteen tanks which were attempting to drive out of Tiananmen
Square. He moved back and forth as the tank driver attempted to go around
him, standing defiantly in front of the lead tank. He then climbed onto
the tank, spoke to the soldiers inside and again returned to his position
blocking their way when they attempted to move. He was eventually pulled
away by onlookers who feared they were going to shoot or drive straight
over him. Apparently, even to this day, nobody is able to identify him
and what happened to him afterwards is unknown, although a couple of
sources say he was executed shortly afterwards. Time Magazine called him
"The Unknown Rebel" and later named him one of the 100 most influential
people of the 20th century.
The Forbidden City, known locally as the Ancient Palace
Museum, completed in 1420 was a 200 acre home to twenty-four emperors,
across two dynasties, spanning 500 years. It was first known as the
Purple Forbidden Palace as the North Star, also known as the Purple
Palace, was thought to be the centre of the cosmos and thus the Forbidden
City was associated with the centre of the cosmos.
We felt a strange mix of emotions as we walked around
the Forbidden City. Smiles as we saw buildings and passageways that we
remembered from the film, the Last Emperor. Then we ended up grimacing as
we saw some buildings have been turned into tacky souvenir shops,
pot-noodle bars and even worse a Starbucks! Finally, as you got deeper
into the grounds and wandered amongst the narrow passages, buildings,
archways and gardens at the north of the city you could gain a sense of
the grandeur and history of the Imperial Palace.
One evening we went to the Quanjude Roast Duck
restaurant, which has been open since 1864. This place, where you have to
book to guarantee getting a table, has seven floors and seats 2,000 people
at a time! Here, they carve the traditionally roasted duck at your table,
rather than shredding it. The waiter then shows you how to make the
delicate little pancakes without having to use your fingers. As soon as
he left us alone we decided the best way to eat the pancakes was to stuff
as much in them as possible! They definitely tasted better than the
flimsy little things he made for us!
Another very memorable evening was when we went to the
Dong Tu Theatre. Here we were treated to a dazzling display of
acrobatics, music, dance, mask-changing and kung fu. The mask-changing
involved a guy gracefully moving around the stage and around the audience,
shaking hands with both of us, and then changing his mask, at least a
dozen times, without you seeing him do it! It was incredible, although
easy enough to work out how he did it if you watched carefully, but
nevertheless spectacular!
Then there were these blokes called Shaolin Warriors
who you really would not want to upset! Firstly, two of them put a spear
with blades at both ends against their throats and then proceeded to push
against each other bending the spear in half! Then one of them held a
razor-sharp sword against his stomach whilst the other guy repeatedly hit
it with a metal pole! Finally four of them came out, put two spears
against one of the guy’s chest, one spear on each of his thighs and lifted
him into the air! Completely bonkers, but not a single puncture wound,
drop of blood, or wound in sight! Finally they then proceeded to
demonstrate their incredible balance, speed and kung fu skills through
different means, including mimicry of animals. One guy, who was imitating
a cat moved around the stage by tumbling, spinning and jumping quicker
than anyone could probably run around the stage.
We both felt that sight-seeing apathy was starting to
kick in after three months in Asia. We were both ready to do something
different to visiting ancient temples and buildings. Although we had
loved everything we had done in China we hit a wall and decided that we
had seen enough history and so spent a couple of days just chilling out
around the hotel before flying to Hong Kong. |