Our Chinese experience started well: the train crew's method of emptying the compartments in order to get them clean after a week's travelling was free food vouchers for breakfast and lunch. This, coupled with spectacular river gorges linked by a warren of 63 tunnels wound us into our epic train journey's final destination: Beijing.
After reaping the benefits of the 2008 Olympics in the form of the clean, frequent and non-Chinese speaker friendly underground we found our Hostel, tucked away down one of Beijing's many winding Houtongs or alleyways. At first glance this didn't fill us with confidence but on closer inspection this proved to be where real inner city Beijingers live and their children play in the streets whilst old men chat and look on.
The days that followed took us around Beijing's highlights and gave us a excellent look into what is a fascinating and exciting city which is clearly on the up.
Tianamen Square says a lot of things to a lot of people, but to be there? Its a large square, but a large square that is the focal point not only of a nation's capital but also, in part, of its identity. This means a few things, firstly CCTV and policemen - think Parliament Square in London but four times the size and none of the trees. Secondly it means crowds, not just foreign tourists though, most of the camera toting masses were from within the People's Republic. It's not an empty expanse, however, at the northern end, is the large flagpole, facing the Forbidden City which is where the flag is ceremoniously raised and lowered every day. Here we saw the changing of the guard, which seemed to consist of a bit of marching, a short chat between the people in charge and then a little bit more marching. The soldiers though, didn't seem to be the first line of defence, that appeared to be the role of a man with an umbrella, you know, just in case.
The Forbidden City, forming a sort of second heart of the city along with Tiananmen, is testament to China's Time Lord like longevity. Whilst we get excited about digging Roman treasure from the ground, there are artefacts in the Forbidden city which have been carefully stored, looked after and catalogued by successive dynasties from the same period. The buildings themselves are huge, dwarfing even the crowds that flock to marvel at the huge courtyards, beautifully detailed painted beams and allegorical roof decorations. The Forbidden City gives a real flavour of the isolation and privilege of the Emperors. Being carried in ornate sedan chairs, kowtowed to every morning and ordering lavish additions and rebuildings. Whilst once audiences for 100,000 people could fit into the courtyards, the only audiences now are those of the tour guides leading visitors through what was once reserved only for the emperor and those he chose to admit. At least they weren't paying 10RMB for a coke though (for those unused to Beijing prices, a normal price is around 3-4RMB).
Beijing Zoo has Pandas, Pandas and Pandas, oh and don't forget the Pandas. Despite the absence of their fairly disparaging review from the index of Lonely Planet's Beijing book we thought Beijing Zoo was great fun: There were Monkeys whose enclosure we could see all the way around, swimming Hippos, sleeping Lions and a very excited gentleman elephant chasing a not so enthusiastic lady elephant as well as Camels, Rhino and these funny black and white bear type things. Through some character matching and constructive pointing exchanges we discovered that our tickets were also valid for the boat that runs between the Zoo and the summer palace. Whilst we hadn't planned on it we decided to go ahead and give it a go, something we're glad we did. Although its pace was more sedate than the subway (it took and hour and one change of boat to get there) we did get to see Beijing from another angle and take some time out from the hustle and bustle of the big city.
The Summer Palace is a vast expanse of immaculate gardens and palaces, set around a large lake. The complex includes a Buddhist temple atop a steep hill, with steep steps up to it and winding paths down. This, and the sheer size of the rest of the park led us to the conclusion that Chinese Emperors must have been in pretty good shape. The Summer palace has suffered more of the ravages of history than the Forbidden city, with some buildings having been burned down by the British and French troops who put down the anti-foreigner Boxer rebellion and more damage being done during the anti-'old' iconoclasm of the cultural revolution. The buildings have been rebuilt and restored and are a feast for the eyes, even if a test for the legs.
The Lama Temple, despite its relatively anonymous entrance is the most important Tibetan Buddhist temple outside of Tibet itself. As such it combines tourist attraction with active religious site, something it seems to do well, with the many worshipers praying almost completely in impeded by the not inconsiderable number of visitors who weren't praying. It's also the only place we've visited so far which has given us a small CD as part of our our tickets, although we've yet to discover what's on them. The temple buildings and interiors were masterpieces of religious art, with a towering 18 metre standing Buddha, several huge seated Buddhas as well as countless other statues and icons. Its roots as a Lamaestry (monastery for Lamas, the foremost Buddhist scholars) were also clear to see, in the throne from which the Dalai Lama lectured when in Beijing. Seeing the temple, the people praying there and an exhibition detailing the different statues and the variations in their depictions was a true education in Buddhism, something we felt we missed at Erdene Zuu. What we remain unsure about, however, is why the 'coupling' of the tantric statues had to be covered with silk drapes.
Across the road, the Confucius Temple provided a stark contrast with its Buddhist neighbour. Where the Lama Temple had felt calm and tranquil in part because of all the people there and it's active worship, the Confucius Temple felt still and quiet because it was nigh on deserted. Despite being the second largest Temple to the philosopher in China it isn't active and seems to have lost some of its soul as a result. The buildings were equal to those of the forbidden city, the carvings more than impressive, but the meaning that oozed from every aspect of the Lama Temple seemed to be missing.
Of course we didn't simply spring from one sight to the other, lots of our time was spent wandering exploring and on the subway (not least on the mini walking adventures that were change stations), soaking up the city. That's not to mention the afternoon spent with hired bikes exploring as the locals appear to, avoiding cars in the bike lane, muderous buses and the odd awkward pedestrian groups who clearly just didn't like the look of the pavement.
Four days gave us an insight into the city, a fair amount seen but a lot still to discover, maybe a return trip in the future is in order....
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