Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing

Beijing

by Philip Greenspun
Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing.

Home : Travel : China : One Part


Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Capital of China since the Mongol Yuan dynasty of 1271, Beijing today is a city of somewhere between 11 and 20 million (the official data are unreliable). Beijing is dramatically situated close to the mountains through which the Great Wall runs.

Forbidden City

See The Last Emperor first to get an idea of the lifestyle and splendid isolation of the emperor, his family, and the eunuchs. Then go to the real live Forbidden City and take the tape tour with Roger Moore's narration.

Forbidden City.  Beijing Forbidden City. Beijing Forbidden City. Beijing

Throne. Forbidden City. Beijing

Porcelain.  Forbidden City. Beijing Forbidden City. Beijing

Rock. Forbidden City. Beijing Carved Dragon. Forbidden City. Beijing Sculpture. Forbidden City. Beijing

Forbidden City.  Beijing Just south of Forbidden City.  Beijing

Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing

Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing

Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Gongyuan).  Beijing

Bird and Flower Market

Just south of the Temple of Heaven...

Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing. Cat for sale. Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing. Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing.

Tossing corn.  Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing. Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing.

Cacti. Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing. Yuting Flower and Bird Market. Beijing.

Old versus New

Beijing is constantly growing. The old streets (hutongs) are summarily replaced with concrete apartment hi-rises and freeways. Families are displaced by the thousands. The government found that giving people months of notice was bad; they had enough time to try to find uncles of friends of brothers with enough influence to put a stop to a project. Giving people two weeks of notice to move out resulted in despair. But if you give a family a month they'll start packing.

Beijing Beijing Beijing

Hutong.  Beijing

Hutong.  Beijing Hutong.  Beijing Hutong.  Beijing

Coal delivery. Hutong.  Beijing Hutong.  Beijing

You can watch hutong life whizz by from a bicycle rickshaw...

Hutong.  Beijing

The standard tourist hutong visit starts at Prince Gong's Mansion. This is an interesting place if only to see the face of Chinese tourism: huge groups stepping out of buses, guides bossing around their charges with megaphones:

Prince Gong's Mansion.  Beijing Prince Gong's Mansion.  Beijing

Prince Gong's Mansion.  Beijing Prince Gong's Mansion.  Beijing

Prince Gong's Mansion.  Beijing Prince Gong's Mansion.  Beijing

Summer Palace (new)

Suzhou Street.  New Summer Palace.  Beijing Suzhou Street.  New Summer Palace.  Beijing

New Summer Palace.  Beijing New Summer Palace.  Beijing New Summer Palace.  Beijing Lake.  New Summer Palace.  Beijing New Summer Palace.  Beijing New Summer Palace.  Beijing

New Summer Palace.  Beijing New Summer Palace.  Beijing

Stone boat. New Summer Palace.  Beijing

Summer Palace (old, ruined; a.k.a. "Yuanming Yuan")

The Chinese keep Yuanming Yuan in its ruined state to remind people of how bad the British and French were in 1860. The signage at the park details the destruction of the palace by European troops but doesn't explain that Anglo-French occupation followed the Chinese dynasty's execution of their envoys. Most of the park is simply for recreation: boating, fishing, looking at an exhibit of totem poles. The only intact historical section is a stone maze.

Old Summer Palace (ruins). Beijing Maze at Old Summer Palace (ruins). Beijing

Bird sculpture at Old Summer Palace (ruins). Beijing Totem pole at Old Summer Palace (ruins). Beijing Fishing at Old Summer Palace (ruins). Beijing

Great Wall (at Mutianyu)

According to the guidebooks, when Richard Nixon was here he said "It sure is a great wall." Also, the Chinese frequently say that the Great Wall is one of only two manmade objects that are visible from space. Reading this always gave Jin a good laugh. He is from Los Angeles and insists that a 12-lane Interstate freeway lit by arc lamps would be more visible than an unlit mist-shrouded stone wall just wide enough for four horses....

Mutianyu (Great Wall of China)

The rules. Mutianyu (Great Wall of China) Cablecar at Mutianyu (Great Wall of China)

Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Great Wall of China at Mutianyu

Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Great Wall of China at Mutianyu

Great Wall of China at Mutianyu Great Wall of China at Mutianyu

If you're going to visit the wall, Mutianyu is the best choice. It is about a 90-minute drive from Beijing, the last part of which goes through some interesting villages and countryside. There is a cable car up to the mountain ridge along which the wall is built. There is a separate chairlift and toboggan ride down the mountain slope for the kids. Mutianyu is less crowded than some other Great Wall sightseeing stops such as Ba Da Ling. You can get an ice-cold Diet Coke at the top of the cable car. You can make an international phone call from the wall itself.

China Aviation Museum

Instead of heading straight back to Beijing from Mutianyu, go west through the mountains. It is a beautiful ride along a river through an uninhabited forest. You're less than 50 miles from Beijing and the country contains 1.3 billion people but you'd never suspect it. Meet up with the main and drive straight past the Ming Tombs (boring and a lot of walking) to the China Aviation Museum. This has been built on an old air base and the main exhibits are in a tunnel hanger built through a mountain.

China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing

China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing Bombs. China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing

China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing China Aviation Museum.  Suburbs of Beijing

Transportation in Beijing

Bicycles.  Beijing Bicycles.  Beijing Hutong.  Beijing

Text and pictures Copyright 2000 Philip Greenspun.

PhotoCD scans by Advanced Digital Imaging.


philg@mit.edu