November 16, 2009
Our second day in Beijing.
Yesterday was a busy day in Beijing and after climbing on The Wall and visiting the Ming Tombs, etc., I don't think anyone had the energy to go out on the town last night.
Yesterday was a busy day in Beijing and after climbing on The Wall and visiting the Ming Tombs, etc., I don't think anyone had the energy to go out on the town last night.
A couple of places that we visited yesterday but not mentioned included a Traditional Chinese Medical examination with prescriptions for any malady's that were found. This was done at a 400 year old Chinese pharmacy.
Last evening at the last stop of the days tour we went to a Chinese Acrobatic show that everyone enjoyed. We think that it was a training school for acrobats and most of the performers appeared to be teenagers and they put on an entertaining show.
One thing that I decided was that you don't want to drive in Chinese cities, maybe on the city to city expressways but not in the city. Traffic rules seem to be about the same as here in the US but you have to be fearless when negotiating lane changes in solid traffic there and it's not for the faint of heart. Below is the view ahead from the bus. The routes and exits are well marked on their highways and with some high tech traffic sensing and overhead displays drivers have some idea of blocked exits and highways ahead hopefully giving drivers a warning and what to do. The real time overhead graphic highway signs have back lighted portions that were green for open sections, yellow for congested sections, and red for blocked portions.
Left click on picture to enlarge!
As you can see below McDonald's has a presence in Beijing as in most cities around the world. Much to my chagrin I have to admit that Joan and I did have a sundae in one of the Shanghai McD's. My normal policy is to not to eat American fast food in any foreign country. If my interpretation of the sign below is correct then Y15 yuan or about $2.75 US for the meals shown on the sign. Not bad!
The Beijing Crown Plaza where we stayed was a very nice hotel and would recommend it to anyone. I don't know what the cost per night was as it was included in the price of the trip. The bar below was very elegant.
A curious thing about the room was that the bathroom had a wall of glass. I had never experienced that before. For a degree of modesty there was an electrically controlled blind on the bathroom side. I guess with the blind open you could enjoy the Beijing skyline while soaking in the tub.
Today we were excited about seeing Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City because of their significance in China's history.
The Square is the largest public square in the world and has been the site of several key events in Chinese history.
The event most of us remember is the pro-democracy movement and gathering in the square in 1989 when hundreds, more likely thousands of mostly student protestors were killed by government troops. What started as a non-violent protest turned into a really bad confrontation and disaster. And who could forget the "Tank Man" ? One person brave enough to risk his life to face down and stop a column of tanks. Talk about putting your life on the line for something that you believe in - this guy did it. I can't believe it's been over 20 years since this happened.
Below is one of a number of videos of the scene. Quite moving!
Below is another video describing the uprising itself and some history since then.
Apparently the Chinese government has made any public discussion of the uprising strictly forbidden but it is historically well documented. Just walking through the Square kinda makes chills run up and down your back.
Well this is 2009 and a different world exists around us, economic conditions are far better in China than 30 years ago, but China still has a communist government and if given a choice to go democratic what do you think would happen?
On this day the surprising thing to me was that there was very little (at least observable) presence of security in terms of police or army. As we arrived we walked through a scanner but I don't think that everyone had to do that. President Obama was on our heels and arriving the next day and I'm glad that we didn't happen to be there the same day as there might have been limitations on where we could go.
Below is the east side of the Square as we arrived there. It's BIG!
Below is the Chinese Museum of History along the East side of the Square.
Below is the Great Hall of the People on the west side of the Square where the National Peoples Congress meets. It is the political center point of China. It was built in 1959 over a construction area of 42 acres. The Great Hall can hold 10,000 people and the banquet hall seats 5,000 people.
Below is the Tiananmen Gate from which the name of the Square comes from. It is the entry point to the Forbidden City. Although you can't see it in the picture you walk over a ramp or bridge to enter the gate. It goes over the moat that was originally dug around the entire Forbidden City. The dirt from the moat was piled at the north of the City outside the moat and created a large hill upon which was built a large pagoda. The Tiananmen Gate was built in 1417 by those Ming guys.
Tiananmen Square was definitely one of the high points of the trip and of course The Forbidden city which will be put in the next entry. The Square is a fantastic place combined with the historical buildings on all sides. Wow!
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