Seeing Beijing by bicycle
Trip Start
Jan 24, 2004
1
15
31
Trip End
Apr 01, 2004
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Beijing,
China
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
24th February 2004
Ever prepared, I have the name of the Far East Youth Hostel written on a piece of paper in Chinese. The taxi driver takes me past Tiananmen Square and noses down a maze of narrow lanes ( hutong ) that are clearly so old they were never intended for cars. The preferred mode of transport in these old enclaves is still predominately peddle power. I venture out into a perfectly alien world and eat a delightful bowl of noodles. The waitress is rosy cheeked and very friendly. I adore the complimentary jasmine tea which comes in a little china pot.
At the earliest opportunity, I hire my own bike. The ubiquitous shopper variety, complete with basket and no gears at all. Around Tiananmen Square, traffic swarms about me. Not really what you'd call nerve-shattering, just annoying. Trouble is, more now than ever, China tries hard to modernise and the bicycle is increasingly seen as backwards. Perhaps as the modern world goes green, it's China itself that's backwards. I attempt to take the bike into a park instead but it is forbidden to do so. There is a designated cycle route out to the Summer palace and I muse over it before committing to the exercise.
I move to an older more classical dormitory in the courtyard across the thread of a street and select breakfast type' B ', modifying it slightly. It's the eggs you see, I just won't eat them. Its another day on the bike and its windy. I park up and throw myself at the mercy of Beijing's biggest tourist attraction ; The Forbidden city.
1.Sentinals of the Forbidden Palace
I choose the self-guided tour , with walkman and headphones. The English language version has commentary by Roger Moore , though the tour office has a wall-chart which impertinently displays a picture of 007 alongside the American flag . I find it quite comical. James Bond , a Yank ? Once inside the forbidden city, the succession of gates and courtyards, side chambers and gardens is a spectacular wonderland. There are stone lions, huge incense burners. Elaborate ceilings. And the eaves of the classic Chinese style roofs have many sculptures of animals. Each one symbolising merit or good fortune. The number indicating the importance of the building. The principle colours are mostly red and gold. Red illustrates power for instance. Roof tiles are in yellow - the Emperor's colour except that the tiles on the library roof are black. The colour symbolising water. In case of fire. Roger Moore recounts ( in Queen's English without a trace of an American accent ) tales of the Emperors who lived here and their many concubines and eunuchs. Over 6 centuries ago. Ruling the country from inside these walls. Forbidden to the likes of you and me. Thus it is surrounded by a 52 meter wide moat . The 'cannon-proof' outer walls are 8 meters high. The interior complex covers about 1 square kilometre. The craftsmanship and symbolism are awe inspiring. So are the names such as 'The Palace of Heavenly purity'. The materials are exotic woods and marble. It took 14 years to complete the construction and is the culmination of 2,000 years worth of Chinese architecture. Impressive.
Next ; Contemporary Beijing
