April 15,2006: Day 3 of my trip to Shanghai – Beijing. I woke up early at 0400 (roughly 3 hours of sleep) that day because I had to get myself ready for the flight to Beijing. The flight wasn’t until 0900 but the airport is at the outskirt of the city and it takes 2 hours (?) or so to get there and frankly, I don’t want to be late and missed the flight. And so, by 0430, I was all done and down at the lobby waiting for the rest of group. Apparently, I’m too early because I was the only “guest” in the lobby (aside from the 2 hotel staffs, a bellboy, a guard, and a janitor). I was about to read the book that I bring along when I realized that I was being “stupid”. After all, I could just have waited in my room till the 0600 meeting time. With that thought, I went back up to my room and watch TV (they had HBO by the way) until the appointed time. By the time I went down again, I was surprised to “see” everybody at the lobby “waiting” for me! They thought that I had overslept and had the operator call me and even sent a bellboy to “fetch” me. Poor me, I had to insinuate rather strongly that I was at the lobby by 0430 and had to go back up because no one was there yet but nobody believed me. Dang! I learned my lesson, never be too early to a meeting and never wait till the exact time to show up either! We had our packed breakfast courtesy of the hotel at the bus (the only time I didn’t have a “heavy” breakfast) and got to the airport just in time for the opening of the counter check – in (Whew! For a while I thought we’re all going miss our flight because of me). While checking in, we were surprised that our tour guide, Sally requested us to fill up a performance evaluation form. It is quite an oddity since such evaluation was never done before but I could see why. There has been one too many complaints about “bad” services by Chinese tour guides and the travel agency apparently wanted to ensure the quality of service, which is a great idea whose time has come. Anyway, Sally did really a great job and so we gave her all 5s (the highest score) on the evaluation except for the driver (he got a 4). All things went well at the airport and the plane took off exactly on time. I had to say I had this “misconception” about Chinese airlines (I’m on China Southern, FYI). I heard many people say that the planes are old and dilapidated. The services are bad and the travel “bumpy”, which generally gave passengers a feeling of insecurity. Well, none of them are true. The plane we were on was a brand new Airbus. The travel was rather smooth and uneventful actually. In short, it was a safe ride! The food though ok was something left to be desired. I was expecting a “hot” meal for breakfast but instead I got nuts (packed pistachio nuts) and more nuts for snack (apparently, they don’t serve breakfast on the first flight)! When we arrived at Beijing, the temperature is a little bit warmer somewhere in the vicinity of 10 – 12oC. Nonetheless, it was still cold because of the strong winds. The wind in Beijing is different from Shanghai since it was both gusty and dry. I could readily feel my face being “stretched” and “scorched” by the wind. Later on, we would learned from our tour guide that after being exposed to the wind for sometime, one would develop “rashes” on the nose and the surrounding cheeks making it appear as if we were “blushing” (which is true and therefore, never fool yourself into thinking that Beijing women are “shy” when you flirted with them). This is also the reason why facial moisturizers are the best sellers in Beijing! Well, we eventually met up with our Beijing tour guide, Kitty and boarded the bus to the city. As we got out of the airport and went to the city, the first impression I got about Beijing is that it is “conservative”. Unlike Shanghai, where one could see “slick” new buildings and sky scrappers literally littering the sky, in Beijing, the building architectural designs are more “normal” and “shorter”. Beijing also has its share of tall buildings and modern elevated highways, lighted streets and pavements but it dwarfs in comparison to Shanghai. In fact, Beijing looks “parochial” if not “provincial” or worst, outright “backward” when compared to Shanghai. Maybe it is because Beijing is the “old” political – cultural capital of China and therefore, the government has to preserve some sense of “dignity”, of “reserve”, of “history”, of “mysticism”, and of “conservatism” in this center of China. As Kitty puts it, “if you want to see the face of modern China, visit Shanghai; If you want to see the beauty of 500 year old China, visit Beijing and if you wanted to look at what 1000 year old China looks like, then go to Xian”. Even so, Beijing like Shanghai is in the middle of a construction frenzy. This is in preparation to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and one could really see that the government is sparing no expense in “rebuilding” Beijing. Another thing I noticed about Beijing and to some lesser extent, Shanghai and that is the conspicuous public toilets. They looked like it was built somewhere in the 60s. At first thought, one might think that the public toilets are for tourist or for the “passing” city residents but its actually not. It is actually a neighborhood toilet, which indirectly suggests that most “old” houses here in Beijing and probably in most of China had no modern sanitary facilities. The government built all these to improve public health, which is actually a good thing when one considers the state of public sanitation in the Philippines, where there is a seeming absence of such in slum areas. I presume that the public toilets are free in “ancient” times but nowadays, they charged 0.50 RMB per use and by the way, they stink, big time (that is if you happen to pass by)! Furthermore, Beijing seems somewhat to be “sparsely populated” compared to the “crowded” party atmosphere at Shanghai. All of this gives me the impression of an “old” Beijing. Anyway, our first stop in Beijing was Chuan Si Te to get our lunch, the second of those great lunches we had during our trip. Chuan Si Te is famous for it’s Peking Duck (after all, where could you find the best Peking Duck in the whole wide world but in Beijing, the old “Peking”). According to Kitty, the secret to a delicious Peking Duck is not only in the herb and spices and how they cook it but also on the specific genus of the duck and how they are fed. These ducks are fed with the finest feeds and reared in cages so they could fatten up quickly. The end result? The Peking Duck we had was quite meaty with no fats, best of all, it is greaseless too! Outrageously delicious! The best Peking Duck I could remember. Aside from the duck, we were also served with 5 – 7 dishes with duck meat and innards as the main ingredients. All of them are delicious (dang! I just want to get back just to taste the Ducks!). I would say that I probably gained most of my weight gain from there (I’ve gained 4 kg!)! Chuan Si Te is not only famous for it’s Peking Duck. The restaurant is also renowned as the favorite banquet hall for foreign guests by the Chinese government. Along the corridor, one could see the pictures of presidents who came by and sample their famous dish. There is Richard Nixon, Carlos Menem of Argentina, Rajiv Gandhi of India just to name a few. There is also Henry Kissinger and several other top diplomats and generals. Among the “lesser” personalities who had the “honor” of being able to sign their name on the wall minus the picture are the ambassadors of the different embassies in Beijing. Oh, I’m so tempted to pull out my pen and sign my name beside them but I hesitated. Perhaps someday, I might have my chance (apparently, delusion is one of the side effects of eating too much of their Peking Duck). After that sumptuous meal, the tour guide took us to the famous Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace complex, home to 2 dynasties of sons of heaven. As we approach the “inner” city (not the Forbidden City), we came across the walls of the ancient city of Beijing (the present Beijing is thrice the size of the ancient city). The city walls, according to history, are guarded by 12 gates. The walls no longer stand although one could see certain sections of it but the majestic gates still stands and it quite imposing even by modern day standard. Too bad, like most scenic spots in Beijing, the gates are under heavy renovation. Not far away from the gates, is our destination, The Tienanmen Square and the Tienanmen gate, the first of the 5 entrance way to the fabled Forbidden City. If Beijing is the political center of China then Tienanmen is the political center of Beijing for one could find the Tienanmen gate itself with the ever watchful portrait of Chairman Mao hang on it’s face, the Great Hall of People’s Congress, China’s “main” government institution, the obelisk monument dedicated to the fallen heroes of the revolution; the Beijing Museum of Antiquities and Chairman Mao’s mausoleum, where they kept the body of the Great Helmsman refrigerated in a glass coffin (it’s rarely open to the public). Not far away are the homes of the communist top brass in Chong Nan Hai. Tienanmen Square is quite huge and is actually populated at all times. This is also the place where the Chinese government holds their flag ceremonies everyday. There is also something else that one would notice in the square, something so “unthinkable”. In this heartland of communism, one could see that capitalism has indeed taken root in China for conspicuously within the square are the trailers peddling everything from snacks, to colas and bottled water to camera films to newspapers (BTW, a 500mL bottled water cost 2RMB). I wonder what Chairman Mao would say if his could see these from his “post” at the walls of the Tienanmen gate (where his portrait hangs)? Anyway, we took some pictures at the square culminating with a group picture with Chairman Mao’s portrait at the background. We crossed the street to where the gate is to begin our journey inside the Forbidden City but first, we all had to take a “washroom break” (A fundamental characteristics of Filipino tourists). I don’t know about the condition of the ladies’ room but the men’s room is clean but stinky. It’s adequate when you consider the huge volume of “visitors” that it had to “accept” but barely satisfactory. I had seen better. Later on, I found out that tourist’s washrooms are actually “graded”. So far, in my entire trip in Beijing, the best washroom I’ve actually been to is graded with 4 stars. Most of them are 3 stars. From these, one could “imagine” the state of the amenities of the tourist spots in Beijing. Another observation I had is that the bulk of the visitors (about 75%) here in Beijing are locals and not foreigners, specifically domestic travelers from outside Beijing. This is a testament to the rising standard of living among the provincial Chinese (they looked a lot like farmers and peasants) since they could now afford to visit scenic places within their country. As we enter Tienanmen gate, I was beholden to see another huge gate at a distance and a square as huge as Tienanmen Square itself in between the first and the second gate. It is the same architectural lay – out with the second and the third gate, The Wu Men, i.e., the giant imposing gate and the huge square. The Wu Men gate is considered as the first “inner” gate of the Forbidden City and if my memory serves me right, it is here where the emperors beheaded “erring” ministers and courtiers. The Wu Men from the top view has a U – Shape design with guard towers on both flanks and the center. The blast doors of the gates are huge like 3 stories high and are “studded” with lines of brass balls on its face. From what I had seen so far, I came to realize one thing and that is the Forbidden City is not just the Palace where the Emperor lives, works and performs his divine function, it is also a citadel by itself. It is a citadel to protect the Emperor from the “invasion” of a rival claimant. For from a military standpoint, the design of the door with its brass balls is meant to lessen the impact strength of rams. The huge square could easily hold hundreds of troops and this could also tire out the invaders since they had to transverse the great distance. The gates especially the Wu Men gate is designed to entrapped the besiegers at the gate and shower them with arrows as the latter tried to break in. The fourth gate (the second inner gate) has a moat and is only passable by three bridges. On top of that, the entire Forbidden City is surrounded also by a moat. There is also a back door leading to a hill where the Emperor could escape into if things went badly (it actually happened when the last Ming Emperor fled and hang himself on a tree at the hill). This is one tough nut to crack (but it did crack from time to time in the past). The Forbidden City is also a “boundary” that separates the Emperor from the outside “earthly” world. For the majesty of the architecture has imbibed the Emperor with an aura of divinity exciting the awes of any humble mortal who enters the sacred place and caused them to tremble and worship the inviolable sanctity of the imperial person. This is clearly shown with the palace complex within the 5th gate. The palaces are both magnificent and awesome. Too bad, it is under renovation! Even so, the magnificence of the buildings isn’t lost. Not only that, the design of the City itself has incorporated the ceremonial rituals that only enhance the majesty of the Imperial Power. The stone staircase leading to the great hall is separated into two columns and has an intricate stone carving of 9 dragons playing the sun in between the two staircases. On the emperor’s left (my right since I was facing inside), is the staircase for the Mandarin civil officials of the empire and on the emperor’s right (my left) is the staircase for the Military officers of the empire to enter the hall (I wasn’t able to see the hall because it is under renovation!). In ancient times, nobody can “face” the Emperor straight up but only to “humbly” walk by his side. Lastly, the Forbidden City is a wall jealously guarded to protect the “purity’ of the imperial blood line from being “contaminated” and therefore ensure the rightful succession of a divine family. The high walls and huge squares are not only meant for invaders but also to would be intruders. The location of the chambers of the palaces and the quarters of the imperial harem at the inner half of the complex are designed with this consideration. However, the Forbidden City could easily be also a prison for the occupants especially the Imperial women. To ensure that these women aren’t at least feel “bounded” by this “prison”, scenic landscapes and beautifully designed gardens abound the inner half of the Forbidden City making the occupants feel that they had forsaken their freedom to roam the earth in exchange for dwelling in paradise. Inside the garden is man – made mountain intricately carved with a mansion on top. And as Megan noticed, the walls beneath the balconies and walkways are lined with mini dragonheads (she asked what is it used for), which are actually water sprouts (according to National Geographic). Not only are those dragonheads located at the walls but they are also located on the roofs. When rain falls on the balcony, the water would be drained through the flooring and pass through to the pipes and out of the mouth of the “dragons”. With that, imagine the scenery when it rains in the Forbidden City (I did asked Megan to imagine that also). It would be a magnificent water show with hundreds of fountains coming out of the dragon’s mouth. And so, this is why the place is called the Forbidden City. Nobody could get in and those who are in couldn’t get out either granted that they do wanted to get out at all. Too bad, the place is under renovation. I couldn’t get to see the place in it’s entirety. Actually, I could understand why it is under renovation. Just look at the brick floorings of the square. It is already uneven and depressed and some are even seriously damaged. This is due to the sheer volume of visitors who trod through the complex. Then again, the renovation offered me an opportunity to get a glimpse of the basic architecture of palaces, an anatomy to the ancient Chinese architecture, a rare view I would say. One of the palaces had it’s roof removed and I could see the Chinese uses concentric logs arranged in squares and put one on top of the other with each succeeding ones smaller than at the bottom forming a pyramid (trusses aren’t invented yet back then). The result was to create an angle for the bamboo to be placed upon and on top of which are laid with tiles forming that signature glittering Chinese style trapezoidal roof. There is a scene spoiler inside the Forbidden City and that is the “omnipresence” of Starbucks (actually there is only one Starbucks inside the complex). Like in the Cheng Huang district in Shanghai, it is somewhat incompatible with the romantic nostalgia of the past. Anyway, we were able to finish the tour under 2 hours not because there was nothing to see (due to renovations) but largely because our tour guide, Kitty kept on walking rather mindlessly with her head bow. She didn’t give us much picture taking time like what Sally gave us during our tour of Shanghai (though we manage to take pictures here and there). We actually had to run to catch up with her. I told the doctor to give her a grade of 2 in the evaluation at the end of the trip, which unfortunately never happened. After the visit, our next destination is to visit Beijing’s Hutong or ancient alleys. We rode on bike carriages (the Chinese version of the Filipino pedicab) in our tour of the Hutong. Nothing much to see though. The houses maybe old but they’re not the Ching era houses but rather the early Republican era houses (built sometime in the 1920s). We end up at the Drum Tower. The Drum Tower along with the Bell Tower is ancient Beijing’s equivalent of the London’s Big Ben or the Clock Tower for the purpose of the two towers is to inform the residents of the time of the day and the season. In ancient times, there is no clock or watch and people don’t have calendars also. The only way they could tell time is when the bells and drum strike. The Towers are like 10 – 15 stories tall (or was it 20?) made of stone and in ancient Beijing where every houses are one to two stories high. The Towers along with the City Gates, the Temple, and the Forbidden City stands out as the most imposing structures in ancient Beijing (it still is because most of the houses beside the tower are “low”). There are nine steps from the ground to the portico at the feet of the tower. The “9” signifies the place as an imperial architecture (9 is the highest number and it came to represent the Emperor). There is only one way to the top chamber of Tower and that is through the staircase. Now, the staircase is one of the main attractions of the Tower for it is VERY steep. The angle of the staircase is like 60 – 75o and according to Megan, has 70 steps (I told her to count her steps, which she really did!). Each of the steps are only 6 inches in width (only half of your foot can land on it) and the distance between the steps is like 2 feet apart or even more (imagine how 70 steps would enable one to climb 10 – 15 stories high?). The staircase is also dark (there are no lights) and if not for the handrails (probably a modern day addition), one might slip and fall. Now that would really, really hurt! At the top chamber, there on display are various drums of different sizes and material of the sheath (that’s why it’s called the Drum Tower). The biggest is something like 6 feet in diameters (it’s actually bigger than me and I’m 5’8”!). There is also a “clock”, more precisely, a water clock. The clock is made of a series of three water tanks, each elevated on top of the other and under the third tank are two more tanks on the same level and lay side by side to each other. The water is filled on the topmost tank and is drained through an orifice to the second tank, which now drains water to one of the “ground” level (a.k.a. the fourth tanks). That tank has a mini statue holding a gong. The water coming out of the second tank would fill a cup attached to the back of that statue and as it fills, the weight of the water would push the cup down and through some strings would pull the gongs apart until the cup is full and spilled empty causing the entire cup assembly to “jump” and return to it’s previous position. The action releases the tension and causes the gongs to clap and thus signal that a minute has passed already. There is another hole in the second tank and it empties to the third tank and the third tank accumulates the water and empties it to another ground level tank. This tank is half covered and has a ruler “floating” on it through a slit in the cover. The ruler has a marking indicating the time of the day (Chinese divide the day into 12 or 2 hours apiece). As the tank is filled with water, the buoyant force would “push” the ruler upwards and reveal the “exact time of the day”. Ingenious! The ancient Chinese has actually expertly manipulate the gravity through the position of the tanks, the flow rate of water through the manipulation of the size of the orifice of each tank, the smart string set – up of the cup assembly, and the effects buoyancy of water as well as density to calculate the time! Ingenious indeed! An observer is probably needed to “watch” over the time. Once the time “came”, this observer would tell the drummer to start beating! A record keeper (probably residing at the Bell Tower) would keep records as to how many times the drum has sounded already. After so many drums, the bell caretaker would then ring the Bell. I surmised that the different types and sizes of drums are used not only to signify the time of the day (whether it is morning, afternoon, or evening) but to also inform of the season itself for the introduction posted showed different drums are used on different seasons. It is possible that the ancient Chinese understood the effects of temperature on the speed and quality of the sound and that is why they use different drums. Very clever! This makes me realize how science and technology has evolved since then. Used to be, our forefathers required a platoon of “experts” who dedicated their lives to their profession to tell us what time is it. Now, all we had to do to tell time is to look up at our wrist! Now that’s advancement! Well, Megan, the doc, the geneticist, and I went to the balcony after viewing the drums to see the surroundings. And boy! It scared the sh*t out of me! The balcony is sloped downwards by about 5 – 10 degrees and the balcony rails are below my waist! In fact, they have a second railing a few inches away from the railings to prevent people from getting near at it in the first place. One could actually felt that he/she might fell off the balcony! Pretty scary! Given the steep staircase and the “dangerous” balcony, it takes a lot of guts to be a drummer or a bell ringer back then, I think. After the visit to the Drum Tower, we next went to see an acrobatic show. We got caught in a traffic and actually got to the show late. The show was in a old dilapidated theater and was actually half way through when we got in. Megan and I sat at the topmost balcony seat in the middle aisle. The show was more like a ballet show rather than an acrobatic show for it has choreography complete with graceful dance numbers and a story line but make no mistake about it. It is an acrobatic show. The acts performed involve “participants” bending their bodies 180 degrees and forming designs like flowers and circles. They even have a bicycle show where there are 10 bikers on a single bike! Amazing! My favorite part of the show is actually a romantic number. Here, the participants are tied to a silk drape and are lifted from the ground. In one scene, the guy pulls the lady up literally like “sweeping” her off from her feet. Quite romantic (the storyline included). The show was nice and the ladies are young and pretty (too bad, they’re quite young or else I would have courted one of them). After that, we had the first of the series of those uninspiring meals during our stay in Beijing. Afterwards, we were bought to our hotel at Beijing Century Nikko Hotel (a 5 star hotel). My room is nice. Smaller than the one I have in Shanghai but still spacious. My bed is good for two people (the bed at Shanghai is good for three) but that doesn’t matter for I’m living alone. The bathroom amenities on the other hand are superior than those of Huating and there I had my second hot bubble bath in three days!
No comments:
Post a Comment