Some more Beijing "must see"s

A couple of days ago, I wrote a longer than originally intended blog entry about Beijing's Forbidden City. This time around, it's my intention to devote the better part of this post to discussing a few other "must see"s that lie within the capital city of the People's Republic of China. However, it would be remiss of me to not also mention a particular famous portal that actually is part of the Forbidden City and, in fact, is the main entrance to it.

Tiananmen (trans. "Gate of Heavenly Peace"), as it is so named, is the traditional front as well as southern most entrance into the Forbidden City. Originally built in 1417, the 34.7 meter high, 62.7 meter long and 27.25 meter wide structure -- which comes complete with such as a rostrum, terracing, a glaze tile-roofed gate tower, five watch towers and five entrances of its own -- is easily recognized these days by way of having a giant portrait of Mao Zedong hanging just above its central door.

Chairman Mao officially announced the founding of the People's Republic of China from atop Tiananmen's rostrum on 1st October, 1949. In 1988, this same rostrum was opened to the public. Consequently, visitors to Beijing are free to scale the 67 steps that lead up there -- or rather, they are able to do so after paying an admission charge that varies by season! -- to take in the panoramic views that await them of both the rest of the Forbidden City to the north, and the now infamous square that shares the gate's name to the south.

Tiananmen Square. There's no denying that the world's largest public square, one that the Frommer's Beijing guide factually describes as "the size of 90 Amerian football fields (40 hectares/99 acres), with 300,000", is inextricably linked in the minds of many people around the world -- myself included -- with the tragic events that took place there and around its vicinity on 4th June, 1989.

And it was with a sense of pilgrimage of sorts that I made my way to that public space in the center of Beijing. At the risk of sounding like I'm making light of things, however, upon stepping onto that site, the fact of the matter is that what you become more immediately aware of are the place's physical attributes rather than historical associations. For Tiananmen Square really is big in a way that you can only truly understand when you go there and see it for yourself.

Moving on and further afield: Another monumental attraction which visitors to Beijing must make room for in their itineraries is the Summer Palace. Or, rather, I should say two monumental attractions -- as there actually are two Summer Palaces to speak of: i.e., the still extant Yihe Yuan (which was first built in 1750, largely destroyed in 1860, then restored on its original foundations in 1886); and the ruined Yuan Ming Yuan (work on which began in 1707 but which was greatly expanded later on, only to be largely destroyed by foreign invaders in 1860 and then had its decimation more or less completed in 1900) .

As can be gathered by its being known in English as the Summer Palace, the Yihe Yuan which is located in what is now a suburb of Beijing was used as a summer residence cum retreat by imperial Chinese rulers. At the same time though, the fact that its Chinese name translates into English as "Garden of Nurtured Harmony" (or, alternatively, "Garden for Maintaining Health and Harmony) should clue people in to the bulk of the Summer Palace's 294 hectares (726.5 acres) being taken up by garden -- or, rather, park -- space rather than actual buildings per se.

And if truth be told, aside from three notable exceptions (i.e., the triple-tiered, stand-alone China Opera Theatre that was a favorite of the Dowager Empress Cixi; the picture-festooned 700 meters (approx. 795 yards) in length covered walkway known as the Long Corridor; and the beautiful 17 Arch Bridge that has 544 stone carved lions along its railings), the structures in the Summer Palace were far less impressive than its lakes -- notably Kunming Lake, on which one can go boating -- and the exquisite garden-within-a-garden that is the Garden of Harmonious Interests.

In view of its original buildings being no more, it's even more so that the Yuan Ming Yuan is to be primarily enjoyed these days as a park rather than anything else. To be sure, the historically minded might wish to think of it -- or, to be more precise -- its destruction as "a vivid symbol of foreign aggression and humiliation". However, a visit to that whose Chinese name translates as the Garden of Perfection and Light will confirm that, these days, many people, including many residents of China itself, treat its confines as a set of scenic outdoor spaces to stroll around and have picnics in.

On a lighter note: Individuals who have viewed Mabel Cheung's The Soong Sisters will find the labyrinthic structure variously known as Wanhua Zhen (trans. "10,000-Flower Maze") or Huanghua Zhen (trans. "Yellow-Flower Maze") that lies within the Yuan Ming Yuan to be a surprisingly familiar sight. ("Surprising" since that particular scene in the movie in which the maze appears was not supposed to have taken place in Beijing!)

Asian film fans also might like to know that the Summer Palace figures in more than one cinematic work directed by the late Li Han Hsiang. Furthermore, they may recognize that the gate which Yu Shu Lien, the character in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon played by Michelle Yeoh, passed through into Beijing in that movie is the still-in- existence Qian Men (trans. Front Gate) which is located on the south side of none other than Tiananmen Square... ;)