Todd's Travels in China: Day 2: Beijing

Day 2 - Mon. Dec. 30: This morning, I met up with a Chinese friend who lives in Beijing, and after breakfast, we walked to Qian Men Street which leads to Tian ‘an Men Guangchang – the Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace. We viewed all of the sites at Tiananmen Square (Qian Men Gate, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall, Monument to the People’s Heroes, Tian’an Men, the Great Hall of the People, and the China National Museum). Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China from the steps of Tiananmen Gate (where his picture still hangs) on October 1, 1949. Tiananmen Square also holds special meaning to the Chinese people for the Cultural Revolution of 1966 and to the rest of the world for the student uprising of 1989.

Qian Men Street

The Arrow Tower (Jian Lou)

Zhengyang Men
Together, Zhengyang Men and the Arrow Tower form the double gate known as Qian Men

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall

Monument to the People's Heroes

Tian'an Men

The Forbidden City was closed, so we walked around it to Bei Hai Park, an imperial garden for over 1,000 years in the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. The park is filled with artificial hills, pavilions, gardens, and temples. We walked around the Jade Flowery Islet, which rests in Beihai Lake (Northern Sea). The White Dagoba (a Lamaist stupa) and Yongan Temple rest on the hilltop of the islet.

Ringing the Bell for Good Luck in the New Year at Beihai Park

Beihai Park

Beihai Lake and the Five Dragon Pavilions

After Bei Hei Park, we took a rickshaw ride through the old hutong, stopping for a delicious lunch at one of the restaurants there. A hutong is a mesh of narrow residential alleyways that often bustle with markets and commerce of all kinds. The homes are often fronted with doorways adorned with symbols that once indicated the families’ station or class. These labyrinths offer a unique view of old Beijing. We also saw a typical courtyard house, which for centuries were the standard housing units in the capital. They consist of a common courtyard hugged on four sides by a house. The rickshaw ride was cold in spite of the heavy blanket provided by the driver to keep us warm, and by the time we finished and got back to the hotel, I was exhausted and still hadn’t adjusted to the new time. I went to bed early without eating dinner. Hopefully, I'll sleep better tonight than I did last night. The bed in the hotel is extremely hard - like sleeping on a wood floor.