Beijing

  Beijing, China
Sunday, January 6, 2008

Peking man lived in the Beijing area some 690,000 years ago, no doubt vascilating about whether he should hold on for another 689,000 years or so when he could enjoy the favor a few concubines, or just get it over with before the eunuch era began.

Commerical Hutong 1

12 million people and growing in an area of 6552 sq mi, a density lower than most American cities.  Capital of the world's largest population, sitting off the Eastern edge of the world's largest (Gobi) desert, protected by the world's longest wall, home to the world's largest sacrifical temple (Temple of Heaven), Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) and Imperial Playground (Summer Palace).  Beijing was twice the largest city on Earth.  It is very proud of its heritage, in fact, the entire Country, whether they live here or not, or have even visited here, take immense pride in their capital.  It's not uncommon to hear facts such as "Tiananman Square is 1100 meters long and 850 meters wide", or "Emperor Zhu Di sent junks to North America in 1421".  Everyone seems to know their heritage.  

Ritan Park

The City itself is spotless, busy, freindly (of the big city sort), modern, and diverse.  It is surprisingly not very international, like say Paris or London.  Even in Tiananmen Square, the center of the tourist traffic, non-Asian faces make up a tiny portion.  But Beijing is no 3rd world capial.  Every convenience seems to be available here.  Architecture and infrastructure are robust.  Preparations for the August 2008 Olympics are running on schedule with several sophisticated signature buildings.  There are dozens of choices for performance art, museums, and public events.   Trains run on time, and the subway may be the world's best.  English is a strong second language here with many people studying on their own while the kids are taking mandatory English classes in school.  Beijingers even respect traffic lights.

The Beijing area has a significant archaeological history extending to before Peking Man.  Recorded history starts about 475 BC, called the Warring States Period, when the area then knwon as Ji, was developed into a strategic cache and transport station, later an administrative center as China's dynasties jockeyed over the next 10 centuries.  After 916 AD, the town became known as Nanjing, South Capital, because the Liao Dynasty was from the North, not to be confused with the current Nanjing from the Ming dynasty, a beautiful city near Shanghai.   Ji was developed into an Imperial City by the Liao - temples, palaces, parks and defense.  It remained a capital city through the next few dynasties, changed its name to Zhongdou (Central Capital), and grew to a city of about 1 million by 1150.

Bell Tower from the Drum Tower

The Mongols came to town in 1215, Kublai Khan establishing the Yuan Dynasty, conquering most of what is now Eastern China, and renaming the place Dadu (Great Capital).  The Khan built and re-built palaces, canals, defenses as well as offices, temples, streets and residences.  Dadu became a showcase for the empire, and a world renowned destination, popularized by such adventurers as Marco Polo as well as other Asia, Africa and European guests.  Polo's description of the palace:

"You must know that it is the greatest palace that ever was The roof is very lofty, and the walls of the palace are all covered with gold and silver. They are adorned with dragons, beasts and birds, knights and idols, and other such things The Hall of the Palace is so large that 6,000 people could easily dine there, and it is quite a marvel to see how many rooms there are besides. The building is altogether so vast, so rich and so beautiful, that no man on earth could design anything superior to it. The outside of the roof is all colored with vermilion and yellow and green and blue and other hues, which are fixed with a varnish so fine and exquisite that they shine like crystal, and lend a resplendent luster to the palace as seen for a great way around."

Ming troops moved in August 2, 1368, renamed it Beiping (Northern Peace) since they were from the South.  Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), liked the other Nanjing, however and made that his first capital.  Eventually the Mings were attracted by  Beiping's defensible location with the nearby Great Wall, and its good geography for an Imperial Palace or two.  Beginning in 1406, Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty spent 15 years constructing city walls at Beiping, 12 meters high and 10 meters thick at the base. The construction of palace buildings and gardens began in 1417.  Phase 1, which included a major part of the Forbidden Cuty, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace were completed in 1420. The following year, Emperor Yongle formally transferred the capital from Nanjing to Beiping and, for the first time, named the city Beijing (Northern Capital). 

North Lake 2

The Qing Dynasty stormed in from Manchuria in 1644.  They continued to build on the palace, temples and monuments.  They also perfected the gradens such as Yuanmingyuan and the Summer Palace.  Beijing reached its architectural peak during the Qing (1644-1911), a masterpiece fit to serve the world's most powerful country.

Westerners were not allowed to reside in Beijing until the end of the 19th century.  They might still be on the edges if China had not been decimated by the Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion, and other equally pathetic military efforts.  At that time, the Western countries - Britain, Gemany, France, the US and Russia - simply told China what part they were taking over and how China was supposed to respond.  China was powerless to do anything about it.  

Central Beijing Map 1

After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, China and Beijing suffered through Japanese invasions, Warlords, Kuomintang, until finally the Chinese People's Liberation Army formally entered Beijing on January 31, 1949, where Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1st of that year, with Beijing as its capital.

Hutong Alley

The 1950's were a boom time for Beijing and China with much welcomed stability and prosperity.  Then Russia started to get too eager and Mao lost control of his senses, initiating the conservative Cultural Revolution, an economic, agricultural, artistic, and political failure of immense proportions.  Several million people starved to death as a result of the program and China was set back another generation.

Fortunately, the Chinese have been able to put a neutral spin on the period.  Since 1976 when Mao's sometimes arch-rival Deng Xiaoping began economic and political reforms, China and Beijing have had a good ride.
 

Central Beijing Map 2

Beijing today has everything a modern city can offer - high rise buildings, traffic, hucksters, noise, retail, museums, mobile phones, taxis, food, search lights, parks, cops, buses, and people everywhere.  It also is lacking some of the more popular features like beggars and pickpockets, though I understand they are not missing entirely.  Beijing is administered by the central government, like Washington DC, and I got the impression that it was very well managed.  The streets, monuments, even the public lavs are incredibly clean and well maintained.  It is China's showcase, and they seem to be quite serious about it.  Of course, they are in gear for the Summer Olympics in August.

Tiananmen from the South

The heart of Beijing is Tiananmen Square, surrounded by The Forbidden City, The Great Hall of the People, Mao's Mausoleum, and The Museum of Chinese History.  Tiananmen Square can hold 1,000,000 people, they say, the largest urban square of its kind.  

Tiananman Gate 1

Tiananmen gate on the North (Gate of Heavenly Peace) is the one with Mao's picture above.  Mao is revered in China, in spite of his imperfections, or maybe because of them.  

Tiananmen Gate 2

The picture is definitley over the top.  I mean the guy's frozen body is only a few hundred meters away in the Mausoleum, it's not like the place needs another 20' high image of his face.  Speaking of which Mao's frozen corpse used to be raised and lowered every day for public viewing.  And view they do, about 15 million people each year.  In spite of the best that the Soviets could offer at the time, the body is not aging well (havng been dead for 31 years now), and it seems that the body on view is more likely a wax replica.  

Forbidden City West side

The Forbidden City, so named in the Ming Dynasty, now includes 999 buildings in an area 960 meters by 750 meters.   The complex was very much forbidden to the general public.  Nobody among the unwashed was allowed to gaze on the Emperor.  He was attended and concealed from his country by 10,000 concubines and 10,000 eunuchs, all of whom lived and worked in the Forbidden City or the adjacent neighborhoods.  It is profound Architecture.  The organization is calming and pervasive.  All oriented symmetrically North and South (except for the North garden).  The buildings have names like "Hall of Mental Cultivation" and "Palace of Union and Peace", and apparently that's what they were used for.  With 999 choices, you find yourself looking for the "Temple for Excess Stomach Gas", just to make you don't offend the Emeror's memory in the wrong location.  

Forbidden City Map

The last Chinese emperor abdicated in 1911, but did not leave the Palace until 1923 when he was forced to leave by the new "People's Governemnt", led by Chiang Kai Shek.  Chiang eventually managed to acquisition many of the Palace valuables (650,000 items) to Taiwan, now housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, much to the frustration of the rest of the Country, who think the entire collection belongs where it was accumulated in Beijing.  Just one more untouchable aspect about Taiwan.  

Forbidden City 3

The Forbidden City has a collection of about 1,000,000 items, known as the Palace Museum.  The Qing emperors, especially the Empress Dowager Cixi who was in power for about 47 years, were rabid collectors, demanding outrageous gifts on every possible occasion from birthdays to promotions to military victories (of which there were too few), and even change of weather, real or anticipated.  The gifts were taken very seriously, many receiving ratings in the official documents.  Inventory includes every imaginable type of jewlery often representing dragonns or pheonixes, flowers, animals or landscapes with their own special symbology, furniture, utensils, clothing top to bottom, clocks and toys.  Silk, marble, exotic woods (including Oregon douglas fir), jade, brass, and every type of precous stone and metal.

Foribdden City looking North

The Ming and Qing Dynasties with 14 and 10 emperors respectively over a 600 year period were not satisifed with only the world's most complex Imperial Complex.  The needed Temples too, protection, crowd control and pleasure.  So in addition to the Forbidden City, they underook a few side projects:

Great Wall looking West

The Great Wall. Already a considerable fortress when they moved to Beijing, the Mings consolidated and connected walls that had been in progreess since at least 200 BC.  The Mongolians and other Northern tribes (Ghengus Khan, among others) had been trouble since before that time.  The Mings extended the Great Wall to its current limits - 6700 kilometers long.  Researchers claim that the total length of the various "Great Walls" as built over 20 centuries might amount to as much as 50,000 kilometers.

www.paulnoll.com/China/Tourism/tourist-Great-Wall-history.html
www.kinabaloo.com/great_wall.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall 
 

Great Wall 5

At times the labor force working directly on the wall amounted to more than 1,800,000 laborers.  By one estimate, as much as 20% of all China's labor force worked on the wall at one time, and as much as 70% of China's work force may have participated counting the food, materials, supplies and transport necessary.   Every dynasty for more than 2000 years built on the Great Wall, until the last one, the Qing who held peace with the North by building and outfitting a Summer Resort in Chengde to entertain the Mongolian and Tibetan nobles.  Instead, the Qing diverted (well, embezzeled) money appropriated for a Navy and spent it on ..

Summer Palace 1

The Summer Palace.  This garden consistis of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, about 294 hectares, rougly the size of New York's Central Park. The Qing actually rebuilt the Imperial Summer Palace which was begun and improved over the previous 800 years.   It needed rebuilding because in 1860 the British, in one of their uglier moments, torched the place when the Chinese resisted the Opium trade.  British General Lord Elgin, son of the infamous plunderer of Egypt, was the pervert who ordered the destruction, allowing his troops and any other westerner, like the local Bishop, to loot as much gold and anything else of value that they could carry.  What a moron!  Then 3500 British soldiers set the buildings on fire, totally destroying the Gardens and structures over 3 days.

According to one of the participants, Captain Charles George Gordon of the Royal Engineers:
"We went out, and, after pillaging it, burned the whole place, destroying [it] in a vandal-like manner [a] most valuable property which [could] not be replaced for four millions [pounds sterling]. We got upward of £48 apiece prize money....I have done well. The [local] people are very civil, but I think the grandees hate us, as they must after what we did [to] the Palace. You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one's heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large , and we were so pressed for time , that we could not plunder them carefully.   Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralising work for an army." 

Summer Palace 4

Empress Dowager Cixi, who took over the Ming Dynasty, embezzled funds from the Imperial Navy starting in 1888 and restored the garden for her own pleasure.  Seems she couldn't stand to be around the Forbidden City crowd and spent 9 months of the year at the Summer Palace.  After 10 years and one seventh of the nation's annual revenue, the Garden of Clear Ripples was completed, given the new name of Yiheyuan (Garden of Nurtured Harmony). 

Summer Palace 8

It nurtured for about 2 years.  During the savage commotion of the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, in retaliation for Chinese attacks on the Allied poachers, troops from Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Tsarist Russia, Japan, Italy and Austria looted and demolished the gardens again.  This time they did the job more thoroughly, making sure that all but one of the large temples and halls were completely ruined.  Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled to Xian.  On their return in 1903, restoration started again with more diverted public money, this time using the excuse of Cixi's 65th birthday.  In 1924, after the last Emperor Puyi was driven out of the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace was turned into a public park.

Summer Palace Websites:
http://en.summerpalace-china.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/porta l/html/index.html
http://www.khulsey.com/travel/china_beijing_summer-palace.ht ml
http://www.chinahighlights.com/beijing/attraction/summer-pal ace.htm
 

Temple of Heaven 1

Another high point in Qing Imperial Architecture is the Temple of Heaven, which is actually one of at least 4 Imperial sites dedicated to Chinese astronomy.  By the early 15th century, China had mastered solar and stellar rotation and were adept at latitude and longitude sufficient to navigate the globe in the 1420's.  Temple of Heaven was used in conjunction with Yuetan (Altar to the Moon) in West Beijing, Ditan (Altar to the Earth) in the North, and Ritan (Altar to the Sun) in the East, and Xiannongtan (Altar to the God of Agriculture) to cover all the seasonal contingencies.

Temple of Heaven 2

The Temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the building surge of the Ming Dynasty to prepare Beijing for the imperial presence.  Its purpose was to offer sacrifice to Heaven.  It is part of a 270 hectare park, designed according to strict Feng Shui principles with symbolic curved walls in the north respresenting Heaven and square walls in the South respresenting earth.  

Temple of Heaven 3

The annual rigmarole included a procession from the Forbidden City during which nobody was supposed to view the Emperor, a temptation for every juvenile deliquent in town.  On the day before sacrifices, the emperor came to the temple to perform preliminary rituals. He spent the night fasting in the Hall of Abstinence, protected by a few hundred eunuchs, a moat, watch room and bell tower.  For atmosphere, the Temple of Heaven included an office of divine music to train the ceremonial musicians, a sacrifice chamber where animals were prepared, an Echo Wall, the Circular Mound Altar (Yuanqiutan), Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) .  The next morning, number one changed into his sacrifice costume in a building dedicated for that purpose, slaughtered a few dozen specimens of China's finest husbandry, then, no doubt, drinking, dancing, more costume changes, and a covert ride home for another successful harvest.  

http://www.epictrip.com/Temple-of-Heaven-travel-l128190,Beij ing,China.html
http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/Chinese-Things/architecture -altar.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/kuaixun/75120.htm
http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/31018.htm
 
Three other things about Beijing that were pleasant surprises.  

Commerical Hutong 2

The Retail envirnoment is healthy and diverse.  Italian clothes, German cars, American food.  Department stores with every convenience of the modern world.  International bookstores, pizza buffets, Budweiser beer.  Beijing did not have the street vendors like Shanghai or Shenyang, but they did have what was called the "Night Market" where from about 5 o'clock on you could get kabobs, burgers, hot dogs, fruit sticks, glazed cherries, cotton candy, toufu chunks and carved watermelon in a lively, but orderly and probably sanitary, street market.

Night Market 2

There are also several "traditional" shopping areas.  Vendors in stalls of about 150 sf, lined up for blocks selling food, souvenirs, t-shirts, silk (fake silk), jade (fake jade), and antiques (fake antiques).  Bargaining is a hoot, all very fun.

North Lakes 9

The North Lakes Area to the northwest of the Foridden City is an ancient imperial garden, laid out at the beginning of the 10th C and developed over the past 1000 years or os.  The Lakes are mostly man made,  originally including the Round City, palaces, parks, walks, and administrative buildings for the capital Dadu in the Yuan period (1271-1368).  The Qings and Mings also worked on the parks, adding many prince's palaces and Imperial niceties, all conveniently enclosed for the use of the privileged. 

Courtyard House in Hutong

One other thing I really liked was the indigenous housing, clustered in areas called hutongs, basically alleys, or non-arterial streets.  These are mostly 1 story masonry courtyard houses, often occupied by families for several hundred years.  The upscale ones included 2 or 3 courtyards, all occupied by one family.  Others were single courtyards occupied by 3 families, one on each side of the courtyard with the 4th side facing the alley.   A few years ago, Beijing was intent on replacing the hutongs with modern buildings, but the locals resisted and were able to save many of these charming neighborhoods.  I stayed in one compound that was the former residence of one of the palace officials.  I felt privileged, expected a servant to show up and direct me to the royal audience.  Nobody showed.  Many of the intervening buldings have been converted into convenience and specialty stores, so the neighborhoods offer everything necessary for day-to-day operations.

Hutong from Drum Tower

 
arabic.china.org.cn/english/features/beijing/30785.htm