Post by souwa on Aug 9, 2005 12:32:12 GMT -5
Five days in Beijing were probably not enough... it left me wanting to know more about Chinese culture, the city itself and the history it narrates through the palace walls, the streets and monuments.... but mostly, through it's people.
It is a huge city... my dad says it's slightly smaller than El Salvador... just slightly. And it has around 12 million habitants... woah... but I guess that's the case in most Chinese cities/towns now.
Ok, to make things easier... I'll describe a few of the places I was able to visit:
The Imperial Palace (a.k.a. The Forbidden City):
The moment I saw the structure of it... or at least part of it... one single word crossed my mind: Majestic. Woah... it has 9999 rooms... although the tour guy told me 9999.5 rooms but I don't understand how can you have half a room hehe...so let's stick with 9999. Why 9999? The Chinese believe that only the "Palace in Heaven" can have 10,000 rooms... so the Imperial Palace on Earth must have slightly less hehe. Anyways, right in there... the King lived with around 1000 wives and concubines. Not that he had children with all of them... some he barely even saw. But it was all to just show his power (through machismo ), in various if not most cases.
The architure of it... I must say... really impressed me. The moment you stand there it's like.. .woah. You are able to actually feel it's greatness... it's simply impressive how people those days were so skillful and perseverant. In fact, it's even more impressive how much oppression they had to suffer as well... just to please their king.
Tianamenn Square:
It is actually the back door of the Forbidden City. Maybe you have seen a picture of this place before... it has a huge (and when I say "huge" in China... I really mean it) portrait of Mao, symbolising his power, even over the history of the Imperial Palace itself.
Everyday, a group of soldiers will march through the Tianamenn Gate, heading to a flag of China which stands right across the street. So when the sun rises, they rise the flag, and they take it back right exactly (seriously, they have everything synchronised) at sunset.
Right at that moment, I must say, I felt kind of patriotic... which is not usual of me hehe. Patriotic not in favour of the Government.. .but in favour of the people; the land (which reminds me of "Hero" -the movie, haha)... the country itself. I mean... through the ceremonial style of the whole flag-act, I realised that all this is something serious for the Chinese people. Even if that flag represents years of pain and oppression, it also represents to them... their fight for freedom, the strength of the people, and the nation itself. Haha... I was pretty moved by the whole scene, you can tell. So sorry if I got a bit too deep on that one...
The Great Wall:
What can I say? It's tiring. But it was definitely worth it. How can I describe it... I think it's best for you to see it yourself.
The problem with this tourist site -as almost all the others- is how commercial it has become. Almost at every single stop in the Great Wall, there was someone selling stuff. And if you are a foreigner, they give you higher prices in all that they sell.. so be careful. In Beijing, especially in small businesses... you can always negotiate the prices. Just don't be too agressive... but neither too soft on them, and you'll get around well.
Wang Fu Jing:
Woah... it's just one single street, but what a street. Ever tried "smelling tofu" (which is actually fermented tofu with some sauce.. ."yummy" haha)? or what about some fried star fish? Oh wait... I bet you haven't tried this one: fried animal testicles :S... hahahaa.... and don't ask me what animal it is. I don't know and I don't want to anyways.
It's interesting. They have all these sort of "snacks" in that street. It looks pretty much like a market place, but it's definitely not an ordinary one. Don't worry, they do have some normal food... well, depends on your definition of "normal" though... hehe.
Overall, the experience in Wang Fu Jing was quite funny, especially when the foreigners (and believe me, there were tons of them) asked the sellers what this food was, and what the other one was... Haha.... I won't forget the look on their faces. ;D
The Summer Palace:
The style and the environment reminds you of the Forbidden City itself, so I won't go on describing too much about it.
But they do have the world's longest corrider in this very place... woah... it's quite amazing how the people back then still have that world record. Chinese people rule
There were other places we visited (eg: Tsing Hua University, the Tomb of the 13 Kings of the Ming Dinasty, the Jing Shan Gardens - where the last king of the Ming Dinasty killed himself; they actually have the tree where he hung himself from hehe)... but to describe them all would take too long, and I don't want to make this boring. Anyways... overall, Beijing meant a lot of walking, sightseeing, tasting and smelling new foods (hehe), but all worth it.
No wonder it's been invaded by so many foreign tourists hehe....
It is a huge city... my dad says it's slightly smaller than El Salvador... just slightly. And it has around 12 million habitants... woah... but I guess that's the case in most Chinese cities/towns now.
Ok, to make things easier... I'll describe a few of the places I was able to visit:
The Imperial Palace (a.k.a. The Forbidden City):
The moment I saw the structure of it... or at least part of it... one single word crossed my mind: Majestic. Woah... it has 9999 rooms... although the tour guy told me 9999.5 rooms but I don't understand how can you have half a room hehe...so let's stick with 9999. Why 9999? The Chinese believe that only the "Palace in Heaven" can have 10,000 rooms... so the Imperial Palace on Earth must have slightly less hehe. Anyways, right in there... the King lived with around 1000 wives and concubines. Not that he had children with all of them... some he barely even saw. But it was all to just show his power (through machismo ), in various if not most cases.
The architure of it... I must say... really impressed me. The moment you stand there it's like.. .woah. You are able to actually feel it's greatness... it's simply impressive how people those days were so skillful and perseverant. In fact, it's even more impressive how much oppression they had to suffer as well... just to please their king.
Tianamenn Square:
It is actually the back door of the Forbidden City. Maybe you have seen a picture of this place before... it has a huge (and when I say "huge" in China... I really mean it) portrait of Mao, symbolising his power, even over the history of the Imperial Palace itself.
Everyday, a group of soldiers will march through the Tianamenn Gate, heading to a flag of China which stands right across the street. So when the sun rises, they rise the flag, and they take it back right exactly (seriously, they have everything synchronised) at sunset.
Right at that moment, I must say, I felt kind of patriotic... which is not usual of me hehe. Patriotic not in favour of the Government.. .but in favour of the people; the land (which reminds me of "Hero" -the movie, haha)... the country itself. I mean... through the ceremonial style of the whole flag-act, I realised that all this is something serious for the Chinese people. Even if that flag represents years of pain and oppression, it also represents to them... their fight for freedom, the strength of the people, and the nation itself. Haha... I was pretty moved by the whole scene, you can tell. So sorry if I got a bit too deep on that one...
The Great Wall:
What can I say? It's tiring. But it was definitely worth it. How can I describe it... I think it's best for you to see it yourself.
The problem with this tourist site -as almost all the others- is how commercial it has become. Almost at every single stop in the Great Wall, there was someone selling stuff. And if you are a foreigner, they give you higher prices in all that they sell.. so be careful. In Beijing, especially in small businesses... you can always negotiate the prices. Just don't be too agressive... but neither too soft on them, and you'll get around well.
Wang Fu Jing:
Woah... it's just one single street, but what a street. Ever tried "smelling tofu" (which is actually fermented tofu with some sauce.. ."yummy" haha)? or what about some fried star fish? Oh wait... I bet you haven't tried this one: fried animal testicles :S... hahahaa.... and don't ask me what animal it is. I don't know and I don't want to anyways.
It's interesting. They have all these sort of "snacks" in that street. It looks pretty much like a market place, but it's definitely not an ordinary one. Don't worry, they do have some normal food... well, depends on your definition of "normal" though... hehe.
Overall, the experience in Wang Fu Jing was quite funny, especially when the foreigners (and believe me, there were tons of them) asked the sellers what this food was, and what the other one was... Haha.... I won't forget the look on their faces. ;D
The Summer Palace:
The style and the environment reminds you of the Forbidden City itself, so I won't go on describing too much about it.
But they do have the world's longest corrider in this very place... woah... it's quite amazing how the people back then still have that world record. Chinese people rule
There were other places we visited (eg: Tsing Hua University, the Tomb of the 13 Kings of the Ming Dinasty, the Jing Shan Gardens - where the last king of the Ming Dinasty killed himself; they actually have the tree where he hung himself from hehe)... but to describe them all would take too long, and I don't want to make this boring. Anyways... overall, Beijing meant a lot of walking, sightseeing, tasting and smelling new foods (hehe), but all worth it.
No wonder it's been invaded by so many foreign tourists hehe....