The one thing I will always remember about Beijing is the number of stairs we had to climb! It's really not a wheelchair-friendly or lazy-person-friendly (me) kind of a place. I suppose when this ancient city was built, there were not many mobilly-challenged people to consider... so there are stairs (LOTS of stairs) at every attraction...
Tiananmen Square
One of our first major tourist attractions was Tiananmen Square. The square is situated on the back end of the Forbidden City, and faces the Government Buildings and Chairman Mao's Tomb.
The first thing that people (expats) will warn you about is NOT to talk about the "Three Ts" to anyone in China (unless they bring it up... which they won't). The "Three T's" being: Taiwan, Tibet and Tiananmen Square (massacre). In China, it is forbidden to talk about these, and internet searches on the subject are blocked by the Great (Fire)wall. I didn't ask our tour guide about the events that took place in the square in 1989, and she didn't offer any information on the subject either - probably because she's so young and has never learnt of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Anyway, we walked around the square, which was being dolled up for the Moon Festival activities the following day.
In the square are two BIIIIIG screens in the centre, which were erected for the Beijing Olympics. Two of the biggest screens in the world (apparently). Naturally, according to the Chinese, everything in China is the biggest and the best in the world... and they actually believe that a Chinese Eunuch discovered America...but I digress... these screens were erected so that locals could gather in the square and watch the games live on the big screen. Pretty impressive.
The Forbidden City
It's MASSIVE!
The Drum Tower is exactly that. A big-ass building (tower) with a whole bunch of drums in it. The drums were used during times of war to notify the soliders of incoming attacks, as well as motivate them when sending them off to war.
Opposite the Drum Tower is the Bell Tower. This is used for telling time.
The Ming Tombs
There were 16 Emperors in the Ming Dynasty. 11 of their tombs are here. The area is very mountainous, and each Emperor is buried underneath their own mountain. The gravesite is marked by a tower which houses a tablet with the Emperor's name carved into it.
The first Emperor's tomb is in the Nanjing province (which was the capital of China before Beijing). The second Emperor was killed by his Uncle and disappeared... so there is no tomb for him. We went to the tomb of Emperor Zhu Di (Yongle) - who was the third Emperor. The name of the tomb is Changling. Which is the largest mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty.
That's part 2 for now. I have loads more photos to post. Next up is The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven and the Olympic Stadium!
Chat soon!
xxx
Tiananmen Square
One of our first major tourist attractions was Tiananmen Square. The square is situated on the back end of the Forbidden City, and faces the Government Buildings and Chairman Mao's Tomb.
The first thing that people (expats) will warn you about is NOT to talk about the "Three Ts" to anyone in China (unless they bring it up... which they won't). The "Three T's" being: Taiwan, Tibet and Tiananmen Square (massacre). In China, it is forbidden to talk about these, and internet searches on the subject are blocked by the Great (Fire)wall. I didn't ask our tour guide about the events that took place in the square in 1989, and she didn't offer any information on the subject either - probably because she's so young and has never learnt of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Anyway, we walked around the square, which was being dolled up for the Moon Festival activities the following day.
In the square are two BIIIIIG screens in the centre, which were erected for the Beijing Olympics. Two of the biggest screens in the world (apparently). Naturally, according to the Chinese, everything in China is the biggest and the best in the world... and they actually believe that a Chinese Eunuch discovered America...but I digress... these screens were erected so that locals could gather in the square and watch the games live on the big screen. Pretty impressive.
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| The Beijing Opera House - on the way to Tiananmen Square |
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| View of the Forbidden City overlooking Tiananmen Square |
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| The Chinese Governmental Buildings, overlooking Tiananmen Square |
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| Tiananmen Square |
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| The decorations for the national holiday |
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| Us and the big basket of flowers |
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| Us and the Olympic screens in the background |
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| Chairman Mao's Tomb overlooking Tiananmen Square |
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| One of the Olympic screens |
The Forbidden City
Next on our list was a visit to the Forbidden City. This used to be the home of Emperors and their families, as well as the political and ceremonial centre of the Chinese Government - during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now it houses the Palace Museum. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 720,000 m2.
It's MASSIVE!
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| Liesl outside the entrance to the Forbidden City |
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| Can you say, "CROWDED"? |
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| Me outside the entrance |
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| Inside the gate |
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| Susanna and Liesl |
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| Me and Susanna |
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| Another entrance - the middle archway was for the Emperor's use only. Emperor's family to the left and High Ranking Officials to the right |
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| Sculpture leading up to the main hall. There are 9 dragons in this piece. The Dragon was the symbol for the Emperor, and 9 is considered the luckiest number in China (and stairs) |
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| More people |
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| Little Statues on the top of all the roofs - these symbolise the children of the Emperor. None had more than 9 children, the final little statute at the back was added by one of the Emperors, because he was the only one with 10 children |
(more stairs)
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| Detail on the halls. Wallpaper. Literally. The patterns were drawn on paper, and the paper was stuck to the wood of the hall. |
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| The Lion with Dragon's head. There are two of these at the front of the building (as in the case of most Chinese official buildings). The Lion to the left (this one) symbolises the Empress and the little baby lion under her foot symbolises the children. The male lion is to the right of the building and he holds a ball in this foot to symbolise power and everything else. |
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| Bridges and stairs... |
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| The moat surrounding the Forbidden City - for protection |
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| One of the many incense burners |
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| Pretty tower - these are on all four corners of the square |
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| Mini temple in the Imperial Gardens |
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| Susanna and Liesl in the Imperial Garden |
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| During certain festivals, the man of the family had to climb a hill to prove his virility and strength. Seen as the Emperor could not go out in public and climb a hill, he built his own private hill in the Forbidden City. (there are stairs to the left of this to climb up) |
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| A pagoda |
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| The exit to the Forbidden City |
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| The exit |
The Drum Tower
The Drum Tower is exactly that. A big-ass building (tower) with a whole bunch of drums in it. The drums were used during times of war to notify the soliders of incoming attacks, as well as motivate them when sending them off to war.
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| The Drum Tower |
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| The Drum Tower |
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| The STAIRS up to the Drum Tower! |
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| No Shit! |
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| A drum |
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| Pretty lantern in the Drum Tower |
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| Drums |
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| View from the Drum Tower |
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| More drums |
Opposite the Drum Tower is the Bell Tower. This is used for telling time.
The Ming Tombs
There were 16 Emperors in the Ming Dynasty. 11 of their tombs are here. The area is very mountainous, and each Emperor is buried underneath their own mountain. The gravesite is marked by a tower which houses a tablet with the Emperor's name carved into it.
The first Emperor's tomb is in the Nanjing province (which was the capital of China before Beijing). The second Emperor was killed by his Uncle and disappeared... so there is no tomb for him. We went to the tomb of Emperor Zhu Di (Yongle) - who was the third Emperor. The name of the tomb is Changling. Which is the largest mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty.
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| Entrance to Changling |
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| Inside Changling - more stairs... |
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| Me and Susanna |
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| X marks the spot - the tower which houses the tablet with Zhu Di's name |
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| The offering ornaments - incense burner, candle stick and flower vase |
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| The gate between earth and the afterlife. It is believed that this side of the gate signifies earth. Once you pass through the gate, you will be in the afterlife on the other side. Therefore, most tour-guides will tell you not to pass through the gate on the way to the tomb. But instead, you have to pass through the gate on the way back, clap your hands and say "I'm back" once you've crossed through. |
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| Actual Ming vases |
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| Cooking and eating utensils made out of pure gold |
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| Chinese money of the day - gold and silver pieces |
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| View of Changling |
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| Because there are so many stairs... and you're so high up |
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| Statue of Emperor Zhu Di (pronounced Judy) |
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| Wooden pillars inside the hall. These are the most expensive items at the tomb. Because the type of tree only grows in one part of China, and is very rare and expensive. |
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| Zhu Di - also known as Yongle (they had birth names and Emperor names) |
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| Headdress for the Empress |
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| Large incense burner |
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| The tablet for Zhu Di - this used to be natural marble, but when Chairman Mao was in power, he ordered that all of China should be painted red to signify the change and the revolution - 'cos that makes sense right? Unfortunately, the Ming Tombs did not escape this inane idea... so they were slightly ruined by a coat of Plascon paint... |
That's part 2 for now. I have loads more photos to post. Next up is The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven and the Olympic Stadium!
Chat soon!
xxx
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