Penelope's blog: Bullet to Beijing!

The image of Chairman Mao at the Gates of Heavenly Peace- the entrance to the Forbidden City

The Bullet Train

Always being asked to appear on photos, this one over looking the Forbidden City

Suitably wrapped up on the shores of the frozen lake at the Summer Palace

I started my journey to Beijing aboard the bullet train which was a great experience, these trains go twice as fast as anything at home.I had booked into Sleepy Hostel, a recommendation that I am grateful for as the location was superb, in the Jishuitan area by a beautiful lake ( which like all the other lakes in Beijing was frozen over for the whole of my stay and I saw people skating, taking walks and playing ice hockey every day on the frozen ice)

Beijing's history is rich and it emerged as a political and cultural force following Mongol occupation in which Genghis Khan razed the city to the ground in 1215 having penetrated the Great wall. His grandson Kublai Khan reigned over the largest Empire the world had ever known on the site of present- day Beijing. Affectionately known as Peking in the days of colonialism( still called this today by many Chinese) it has also been known as Dadu ( Great Capital) and by the Mongol name Khanbalik ( Khan's town).During the Ming dynasty it was renamed Beiping- the only pure Chinese dynasty to rule from the city. During Ming rule hallmark architecture such as the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City date. Beijing's hisory is indelibly linked to that of China and was subjected to power struggles and invasions from amongst others the Anglo- French,the Boxers, warlords, the Japanese and Kuomintang. It changed hands one last time on 1st October 1949 when the People's Liberation Army entered the city and Mao Zedong proclaimed a People's Republic to 500 000 citizens in Tiananmen Square.
Beijing today has retained its historical core with the Communists leaving their own Stalinesque touches alongside the modern day skyscrapers and shopping malls that have transformed it.

It's size is formidable- roughly the size of Belgium- and is one giant grid with the Forbidden City at its centre.

On my first day I started at the symbolic heart of Beijing, Tiananmen Square. It's the largest public space in the world and did not disappoint. It was quite overwhelming as it obviously means so much to Chinese people and big groups were everywhere capturing the moment. I can honestly say I didn't see another Westerner until a couple of hours later as I left my bag before visiting Mao's mausoleum! ( see separate section). The Gate of Heavenly Peace is at one end of the square, hung with a vast likeness of Chairman Mao, and from where he proclaimed the People's Republic in 1949.
*Mao died in September 1976 and his mausoleum constructed immediately after. Still revered by Chinese people today, it is a place of pilgrimage for many Chinese. No bags or photography are allowed and you are rushed through at breakneck speed. Debate rages as to whether its Mao's actual body or a waxwork! One thing I did notice is that he seemed remarkably small although the history books tell us he was just short of 6 feet! Believe what you will..
Next stop was the Forbidden City or Dongcheng to the Chinese, now known as the Grand Palace, directly behind Tiananmen Square.
This is the largest and best preserved group of ancient buildings in China and home to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The largest and most important hall at the heart of the Forbidden City is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, built in the 15th century and resorted on the 17th, it was used for important ceremonial occasions such as the Emperor's birthday and coronations. The Supreme Harmony Gate also overlooks a courtyard that could hold audiences of up to 100,000 people giving you some idea of the scale of this enormous complex of halls, temples, bridges and gardens.Simply stunning. Immediately after leaving the Forbidden City I headed straight over to Jingshan Park which gives priceless views back over the City.It did not disappoint despite it having been a hazy, cloudy day.

A section of the Great Wall at Jinshanling

On my second day I visited the Lama Temple, the second largest Tibetan temple in the world. It's an active temple where locals congregate to pay their respects to Buddha.My Chinese friend John visited the temple to say thank you upon finding out he has a place at an American university to study for his Masters!

Another site I visited was The Summer Palace , a wonderful place to spend an afternoon, walking along the frozen lake to the famous bridge and admire the stunning setting.

No visit to Beijing would be complete without a trip to the Great Wall. I visited the Jinshanling section of the wall which was less touristy than some of the more popular sections.It was about a 3 hour drive from Beijing so after an early start we arrived at our destination having glimpsed sections of this iconic structure as we approached .I had a wonderful day ( one of the best in China so far) as the scenery was stunning and I was in such a historical place. The Great Wall is also known to the Chinese as the 10,000 Li Wall ( one Li is about 500m ) which makes the wall roughly 5000km stretching from Liaoning Province to Jiayuguan in the Gobi Desert. The original wall aawas begun over 2000 years ago during the Qin dynasty when China was being unified as a way of keeping out nomads and invaders. Hundreds of thousands of labourers worked to their deaths in its construction. Although it never performed well as a defensive structure ( Genghis Khan said the strength of a wall depends on the courage of those who defend it) but it did work well as a transport link.
Sections of the wall no longer exist as it was largely forgotten although many have been rebuilt for the tourist industry. I was really pleased that I got to see an original and unrestored section of the wall and we didn't see any other tourists all day. It is in sharp contrast to the most popular and dramatic section at Badaling which has a cable car, souvenir stalls and a fairground feel. However, it is a myth that you can see the Great Wall from space. The first Chinese man in space confirmed this in 2003!


A view of the Great Wall in all its glory


The group who I shared the day wit- me, two American sisters, an Australian couple and our guide

This man climbed to the Flower Tower everyday to sell drinks and trinkets. He was 74 years old, a fact he was keen to share. There's a lot of living in that face!

I met some great people in Beijing which again added to my experiences and enjoyment. Scott, an American studying Chinese and his Chinese girlfriend Rachel ( many Chinese also have a Western name), another American guy David, in China to teach, and a great Chinese guy who spent days showing me around areas such as the 798 Art District ( a former industrial area that has been transformed with a thriving art scene, cafes and funky shops), the Confucius Temple and Beihai Park as well as many hutongs ( narrow alleyways on the traditional Chinese style) . There were once said to be 8000 in Beijing although many were taken over in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. These thriving communities are wonderful to wander or cycle and every rickshaw driver shouts 'Hutongs' at every street corner!
I was also impressed with the cost of things in China. I love eating at street stalls and local restaurants - I think the cheapest I found worked out at 60p for a big bowl of noodles with egg, tomato and greens.Similarly the cost of transport- a ticket anywhere on the Beijing subway will set you back 2 juan ( about 20p) and my cheapest bus ticket worked out at 4p!