Beijing, January 1996
Beijing, The Forbidden City 
January 15, 1996
Beijing is an exciting city. There is both so much of the old and so much that is new. And the city is so rich! I have never been to a communist city that is so wealthy. People are well dressed and well-fed, and very, very tall (like Americans).
Shops are filled with things to buy. New and well-designed apartment houses are going up all over town.
Streets are filled with cars (including Jeep Cherokees made in China, the latest status symbol) -- and, of course, bicycles. It is a fascinating place.
We stayed in the south part of the city, in a quiet residential district, at a hotel next to The Grand View Garden which was built as a replica of the garden in a Sixteenth century Chinese classic (The Dream of the Red Chamber or The Dream of the Red Mansion) that has become a serial on TV throughout Asia. The hotel was built in imitation of Ming Dynasty style to match the building in the garden. And the staff all wear Sixteenth Century style clothing as well.
Many of the new buildings going up are exquisite, post-modernist creations that use roof lines from classical Chinese architecture.You can see twenty-story buildings with caps that are modern versions of the tiled roofs of the Forbidden City.
The Grand View Garden Hotel
Even the apartment buildings have a post-modernist flavor, with interesting colors and shapes.
Of course, the classic buildings are incredible. Frescos are found everywhere under the eaves and tile roofs of temples, palaces, and even the shops that date from the last dynasty. The Chinese have certainly gone out of their way to preserve their cultural heritage in Beijing.
Tom at the Ming Tombs 
On the first few days of our trip we visited the Forbidden City, Tienamin Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall at Badaling (there are several places to view the Great Wall, but Badaling is the most accessible to tourists).
Then, we hired our guide to take us to Tianjin, the third largest city of China and Beijing's port. For the guide, a typical Beijing native, the most important aspect of Tianjin was "Food Street", a large enclosed gallery of two streets with every imaginable food for sale (including live snakes); for me, it was Ancient Culture Street, a reconstruction of a Ming Dynasty Street. Our guide go t lost in Tianjin trying to find Ancient Culture Street and so we walked through many interesting parts of the city we might not have seen, including a street market selling antiques. Interestingly, all these markets, including the antique market, cater to Chinese --- Western tourists seldom go to Tianjin.
The Main Taoist Temple in Beijing 
The next two days we went round Beijing by ourselves. The first place I wanted to see was the main Taoist temple, The Temple of the White Clouds. The temple was beautiful and the Taoists were as droll as they were supposed to be and dressed in the ancient manner with topknots and flowing garments. The temple also has a bridge built especially to diminish a series of sever wing storms that plagued Beijing in the early Nineteenth Century.
Afterward, we went back to Central Beijing to the Great Hall of the People, one of the few major building that does not harmonize with Beijing, since it is built in the Russian style -- that is massive, cold and grandiose. We had lunch in THE Dining Room and toured the building. Later, we went to the Antique Shop District and I had the chop I had bought at the Great Wall recut because the original inscription was done so poorly. The Antique Shop District was also mainly Ming in style and quite beautiful.
Sunday, we visited the main Buddhist temple, The Lama Temple, which is still the main Buddhist Lamasery in Beijing with 100 or so acolytes. In this temple both the Dalai and Pachen Lamas used to attend ceremonies. 1954 was the last year they sat side by side at a major rite here. The new Pachen Lama (still a very young boy) was visiting the President of China while we were in Beijing.
Finally, we ended up at Tienamin Square again and walked to the main shopping street of modern Beijing, Wangfijing Street, where one of the thirty-two McDonald's in Beijing is. Even McDonald's was designed with classical Chinese elements, such as round windows. Wangfuijing was crowded with people buying gifts for Chinese New Year -- the street was filled with banners in red, advertising (I guess) various bargains and some store fronts had twelve or thirteen banners in various colors hanging down from the roof advertising bargains inside.
Later that night, we took one last walk around the neighborhood of the Grand View Garden to get a sense of the street at night. There were many open food stalls in front of the numerous apartment buildings, our final evidence that the major concern of the Beijing native is his stomach.
We left the next morning. I hope we will return.
Beijing is an exciting city. There is both so much of the old and so much that is new. And the city is so rich! I have never been to a communist city that is so wealthy. People are well dressed and well-fed, and very, very tall (like Americans).
Shops are filled with things to buy. New and well-designed apartment houses are going up all over town.
Streets are filled with cars (including Jeep Cherokees made in China, the latest status symbol) -- and, of course, bicycles. It is a fascinating place.
We stayed in the south part of the city, in a quiet residential district, at a hotel next to The Grand View Garden which was built as a replica of the garden in a Sixteenth century Chinese classic (The Dream of the Red Chamber or The Dream of the Red Mansion) that has become a serial on TV throughout Asia. The hotel was built in imitation of Ming Dynasty style to match the building in the garden. And the staff all wear Sixteenth Century style clothing as well.
Many of the new buildings going up are exquisite, post-modernist creations that use roof lines from classical Chinese architecture.You can see twenty-story buildings with caps that are modern versions of the tiled roofs of the Forbidden City. The Grand View Garden Hotel
Of course, the classic buildings are incredible. Frescos are found everywhere under the eaves and tile roofs of temples, palaces, and even the shops that date from the last dynasty. The Chinese have certainly gone out of their way to preserve their cultural heritage in Beijing.
Tom at the Ming Tombs
On the first few days of our trip we visited the Forbidden City, Tienamin Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall at Badaling (there are several places to view the Great Wall, but Badaling is the most accessible to tourists).
Then, we hired our guide to take us to Tianjin, the third largest city of China and Beijing's port. For the guide, a typical Beijing native, the most important aspect of Tianjin was "Food Street", a large enclosed gallery of two streets with every imaginable food for sale (including live snakes); for me, it was Ancient Culture Street, a reconstruction of a Ming Dynasty Street. Our guide go t lost in Tianjin trying to find Ancient Culture Street and so we walked through many interesting parts of the city we might not have seen, including a street market selling antiques. Interestingly, all these markets, including the antique market, cater to Chinese --- Western tourists seldom go to Tianjin.
The Main Taoist Temple in Beijing
The next two days we went round Beijing by ourselves. The first place I wanted to see was the main Taoist temple, The Temple of the White Clouds. The temple was beautiful and the Taoists were as droll as they were supposed to be and dressed in the ancient manner with topknots and flowing garments. The temple also has a bridge built especially to diminish a series of sever wing storms that plagued Beijing in the early Nineteenth Century.
Afterward, we went back to Central Beijing to the Great Hall of the People, one of the few major building that does not harmonize with Beijing, since it is built in the Russian style -- that is massive, cold and grandiose. We had lunch in THE Dining Room and toured the building. Later, we went to the Antique Shop District and I had the chop I had bought at the Great Wall recut because the original inscription was done so poorly. The Antique Shop District was also mainly Ming in style and quite beautiful.
Sunday, we visited the main Buddhist temple, The Lama Temple, which is still the main Buddhist Lamasery in Beijing with 100 or so acolytes. In this temple both the Dalai and Pachen Lamas used to attend ceremonies. 1954 was the last year they sat side by side at a major rite here. The new Pachen Lama (still a very young boy) was visiting the President of China while we were in Beijing.
Finally, we ended up at Tienamin Square again and walked to the main shopping street of modern Beijing, Wangfijing Street, where one of the thirty-two McDonald's in Beijing is. Even McDonald's was designed with classical Chinese elements, such as round windows. Wangfuijing was crowded with people buying gifts for Chinese New Year -- the street was filled with banners in red, advertising (I guess) various bargains and some store fronts had twelve or thirteen banners in various colors hanging down from the roof advertising bargains inside.
Later that night, we took one last walk around the neighborhood of the Grand View Garden to get a sense of the street at night. There were many open food stalls in front of the numerous apartment buildings, our final evidence that the major concern of the Beijing native is his stomach.
We left the next morning. I hope we will return.
On the first few days of our trip we visited the Forbidden City, Tienamin Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall at Badaling (there are several places to view the Great Wall, but Badaling is the most accessible to tourists).
Then, we hired our guide to take us to Tianjin, the third largest city of China and Beijing's port. For the guide, a typical Beijing native, the most important aspect of Tianjin was "Food Street", a large enclosed gallery of two streets with every imaginable food for sale (including live snakes); for me, it was Ancient Culture Street, a reconstruction of a Ming Dynasty Street. Our guide go t lost in Tianjin trying to find Ancient Culture Street and so we walked through many interesting parts of the city we might not have seen, including a street market selling antiques. Interestingly, all these markets, including the antique market, cater to Chinese --- Western tourists seldom go to Tianjin.
The Main Taoist Temple in Beijing
The next two days we went round Beijing by ourselves. The first place I wanted to see was the main Taoist temple, The Temple of the White Clouds. The temple was beautiful and the Taoists were as droll as they were supposed to be and dressed in the ancient manner with topknots and flowing garments. The temple also has a bridge built especially to diminish a series of sever wing storms that plagued Beijing in the early Nineteenth Century.
Afterward, we went back to Central Beijing to the Great Hall of the People, one of the few major building that does not harmonize with Beijing, since it is built in the Russian style -- that is massive, cold and grandiose. We had lunch in THE Dining Room and toured the building. Later, we went to the Antique Shop District and I had the chop I had bought at the Great Wall recut because the original inscription was done so poorly. The Antique Shop District was also mainly Ming in style and quite beautiful.
Sunday, we visited the main Buddhist temple, The Lama Temple, which is still the main Buddhist Lamasery in Beijing with 100 or so acolytes. In this temple both the Dalai and Pachen Lamas used to attend ceremonies. 1954 was the last year they sat side by side at a major rite here. The new Pachen Lama (still a very young boy) was visiting the President of China while we were in Beijing.
Finally, we ended up at Tienamin Square again and walked to the main shopping street of modern Beijing, Wangfijing Street, where one of the thirty-two McDonald's in Beijing is. Even McDonald's was designed with classical Chinese elements, such as round windows. Wangfuijing was crowded with people buying gifts for Chinese New Year -- the street was filled with banners in red, advertising (I guess) various bargains and some store fronts had twelve or thirteen banners in various colors hanging down from the roof advertising bargains inside.
Later that night, we took one last walk around the neighborhood of the Grand View Garden to get a sense of the street at night. There were many open food stalls in front of the numerous apartment buildings, our final evidence that the major concern of the Beijing native is his stomach.
We left the next morning. I hope we will return.
The next two days we went round Beijing by ourselves. The first place I wanted to see was the main Taoist temple, The Temple of the White Clouds. The temple was beautiful and the Taoists were as droll as they were supposed to be and dressed in the ancient manner with topknots and flowing garments. The temple also has a bridge built especially to diminish a series of sever wing storms that plagued Beijing in the early Nineteenth Century.
Afterward, we went back to Central Beijing to the Great Hall of the People, one of the few major building that does not harmonize with Beijing, since it is built in the Russian style -- that is massive, cold and grandiose. We had lunch in THE Dining Room and toured the building. Later, we went to the Antique Shop District and I had the chop I had bought at the Great Wall recut because the original inscription was done so poorly. The Antique Shop District was also mainly Ming in style and quite beautiful.
Sunday, we visited the main Buddhist temple, The Lama Temple, which is still the main Buddhist Lamasery in Beijing with 100 or so acolytes. In this temple both the Dalai and Pachen Lamas used to attend ceremonies. 1954 was the last year they sat side by side at a major rite here. The new Pachen Lama (still a very young boy) was visiting the President of China while we were in Beijing.
Finally, we ended up at Tienamin Square again and walked to the main shopping street of modern Beijing, Wangfijing Street, where one of the thirty-two McDonald's in Beijing is. Even McDonald's was designed with classical Chinese elements, such as round windows. Wangfuijing was crowded with people buying gifts for Chinese New Year -- the street was filled with banners in red, advertising (I guess) various bargains and some store fronts had twelve or thirteen banners in various colors hanging down from the roof advertising bargains inside.
Later that night, we took one last walk around the neighborhood of the Grand View Garden to get a sense of the street at night. There were many open food stalls in front of the numerous apartment buildings, our final evidence that the major concern of the Beijing native is his stomach.
We left the next morning. I hope we will return.