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I didn't really know what to expect from Beijing when I got on the plane in Sydney to come here. But I knew it would be crazy and exciting and Beijing has not dissappointed. Laura's Uncle Igor and Aunty Marion had kindly put us up in the very swish Traders Hotel for our first 4 nights here. I don't think we could thank them enough for this as it made our first foray into China much easier than it would have been had we been trying to get to hostel digs on our own. The hotel had sent a very big and very comfortable Audi with chauffer to pick us up from the new Beijing Terminal 3 which we had landed at and which had been opened that day. In complete contrast to Heathrows opening of Terminal 5 back in blighty, T3 was a breeze to get through, easy to collect ones bags and gorgeous to look at with high domed glass ceilings and multicoloured marble floors that were polished like mirrors.
Our first day in Beijing we decided to walk to Tiananmen Square then carry on down to the Temple of Heaven Park. We soon discovered that the spirit of capitalism and sales culture is growing very quickly here when we were approached within minutes of leaving the hotel by a very friendly couple who persuaded us to visit a caligraphy and Chinese art exhibition being run by themselves and other students. We went and enjoyed it (even though the Professors sales pitch, when he arrived later, was aggressive to say the least) and would have bought something had we got any money with us as it was all very beautiful.
Though the exquisite buildings that grace the famous places of Beijing are of the traditional Ming/Qing style (like you see painted in blue on china in the UK) they are not the originals however the reconstructions that stand there are spectacular and are enough to give you an idea of the high importance the 17th and 18th century Chinese placed on their dwellings, designed as they where to support the contention that the emperor and his court should be nearer to heaven by dwelling in heavenly buildings. The workmanship is phenomenal, from the huge carved tablets that often run between twin staircases leading up to the front of the buildings to the intricate glazed porcelain figurines that adorn the eaves of the many tiers all coloured in bright reds, greens, blues and golds. Tiananmen Square is impressive for its size and iconic for the huge painting of Mao overlooking the square from the entrance to the forbidden city. The Temple of Heaven Park south of the Square was simply beautiful and was usd for sacrifice and rituals.
Yesterday we explored the Forbidden City. Its huge. And every courtyard within the huge compound has something of interest in it. My favourite part was the Imperial Garden which had cypress trees grafted to each other so that it looked like a tree with two trunks, as well as all sorts of different colours of cherry blossom and single story pagodas surrounded by statues or sculptures. The other thing I loved about the Forbidden City was the names of some of the buildings such as Divine Military Genius Gate (very militaristic), The Hall of Preserving Harmony and the Mental Cultivation Hall. When I get back to the UK i want to use similar names for the rooms in our flat, perhaps the Hall of Divine Entertainment for the living room or The Palace of Receding Hunger for the kitchen.
In the evening we went to the Quinmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restraunt. It is situated on the 4th floor of an office block near one of the main shopping precincts. The restarunt floor itself is huge and consists of at least 2 rooms of 100 metres by 100 metres and it is rammed with punters. The decor is bright with lots of gold and red with yellow tablecloths and red glaze crockery. All the waiting staff busy around in red embroidered silk tunics whilst the chefs butcher the ducks in sight of your table before they are brought over. As a sort of starter we were served the crispy duck skin which you dip in thick Soy Sauce. Delicious. The duck itself was very tasty too and I ate the ducks cheek which I think is what I was meant to do when served half a beakless duck skull on a seperate plate. We wlaked back to the metro via the night market which we hope to visit today. The night market is famous for the peculiar barbecued fare you can buy there. I have already decided that a BBQed scorpion is what I shall have. Watch this space.
Chris
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