Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Saturday, 14 September 2013 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
the Great Wall. The country which is rich in culture and famous for its ancient dynasties is now among the leading powerhouses of the world, shaping the future from its silver throne as the second largest economy of the world.
In its capital city, Beijing, to attend the ‘Sri Lanka shines in Beijing’ tourism promotion campaign organised by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and Sri Lanka Embassy in Beijing earlier this month, we were lucky to find ourselves with a flexible timetable, allowing us free time to visit some of the highlights of the city.
The Great Wall
It is said that a visit to Beijing is incomplete without a side trip to the Great Wall, and there we were, a group of seven journalists accompanied by our translator for the trip, 21-year-old Wang Jingyuan aka Nelum, a young Chinese national who is learning Sinhalese in the University of Foreign Studies, making our way to the Mutianyu Great Wall located in the Huairou District of Beijing.
One-and-a-half-hour’s drive from our hotel, this part of the Great Wall was said to have been built by General Xuda who served in the early Ming Dynasty on the ruins of the Great Wall in North-Qi Dynasty.
Hugged by mountains from both sides, this part of the wall is relatively less crowded than the more popular Badaling or Juyongguan sections of the wall.
We made our way up on cable cars and arrived at a stairway leading up to a large area for travellers to rest before they start their climb. With steel support rails to help the climbers, the walk to the highest point allowed at Mutianyu Great Wall is scenic with beautiful mountains stretching its way across the landscape. There are small pit stops along the way for travellers to purchase water, chocolates or other snacks. There is also a karate man who firsts offers to teach you a few moves (after springing up right in front of you in a full on karate chop Jackie Chan style) and then tries to make you buy cheap medals on red ribbons that he sells 
alongside iced soft-drinks.
The climb isn’t the easiest with the steps being small and at times extremely steep. But one can stop at the watch towers for little breaks and put your legs up sitting on the thick ledge of the windows and enjoy the sprawling landscape and the cool breeze that drifts in and out of the old brick structure.
The climb down is easy and takes less time than the upward climb. However, instead of using the cable cars to make your way back to the entrance, you can also opt to take a toboggan ride and whiz your way down on the slide, a more fun way to end the memorable trip.
Tiananmen Square
Located at the centre of the city of Beijing, visiting the Tiananmen Square is another must if you are in Beijing. When you are at the square you then have access to the Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People’s Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and witness the National Flag Raising Ceremony.
Flanked by the Gate of Heavenly Peace (entrance to the Forbidden City) on the north, Chinese National Museum on the east, the Great Hall of the People on the west and Qianmen or Arrow Tower on the south, the square attracts a large number of visitors on a daily basis.
It was at the Tiananmen Gate that Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of new China. On top of the central door a gigantic portrait of Chairman Mao is placed and on each side with slogans saying ‘Long live the People’s Republic of China’ and ‘Long live the unity of the people of the world.’ These gates lead to the Forbidden City.
Right besides the marble lions of the Tiananmen Gate stands obelisk marble columns engraved with dragons and clouds dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD).
The Tiananmen Tower is located at the north end of the square and was initially built during the Ming Dynasty as the front door of the Forbidden City. Its most important use in the past has been to declare to the people who the emperor and the empress are. Until 1911 when the feudal kingdom was over, no one could enter the tower except for the Royal family and aristocrats.
The Monument to People’s Heroes is a massive granite monument located at the centre of the square. Built in 1952, it is dedicated to those who died for national independence and freedom. On the front side facing Tiananmen are an ight gilt Chinese characters in Chairman Mao’s handwriting, ‘People’s heroes are immortal.’ The base of the monument is decorated with sculptures depicting events during the revolutionary period.
Behind the Monument of the Heroes of the People is the hall where the remains of Chairman Mao have been kept since his demise in 1976. However to be able to go inside and see the crystal casket, one must come early before the gates are closed for the public.
To the west of the square is the Great Hall of the People which is the site of the China National People’s Congress meetings. On to the east is the China National Museum which showcases a combination of Chinese history museum and the Chinese revolutionary museum.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the former imperial palace and was home to 24 Chinese emperors over 491 years. Now known as the Palace Museum, the city can be entered from the Southern gate linked to Tiananmen Square.
Entering through massive red gates with huge brass knobs placed horizontally, the crowd of tourists going in is so thick that it is easy to lose track of the people you came in with. However entering the compound one must buy their tickets and then proceed to see the ancient city that holds many a secret. We learn that the palace is 960 meters long and 750 meters wide with 9,999 rooms.
Due to time constraints we only managed to walk for a couple of hours before heading towards Jingshan Park, located opposite the city. It is said that one of the best views of the Forbidden City is seen from atop Coal Hill in Jingshan Park – a hill made from dirt excavated from the moat surrounding the city, which, according to Feng Shui, prevents the evil spirits from the north from entering.
Jingshan Park
Separated from the Forbidden City by the palace moat, the park is a beautiful landscaped area full of greenery. Benches have been placed under the massive cypress trees and overlooking the water creating an atmosphere that exuberate peace and quiet, after the noisy hustle and bustle of the Forbidden City.
It was noted that the park is located at the central point of the south-north axis of Beijing. In season, there are over 20,000 peony roses in bloom in the park.
Red Theatre
“The lotus blossoms silently;
The sunshine is weaving a rainbow;
A drop of water feeds in to an ocean;
A split second becomes eternal.”
The opening lines of the traditional Chinese performance of ‘The Legend of Kung Fu’ rang out loud as we settled in at the Red Theatre to witness in a ballet like performance a story that has been passed on from one generation to another since the early days within the Chinese community – a story of the Chinese martial arts.
The spellbinding performance revealed how a little boy through practicing Zen Buddhism and kung fu grew up to reach the sacred goal of enlightenment. The performance was truly captivating and was conducted in English.
Silk Market
No trip abroad is complete without the bag load of gifts for those at home.
In Beijing, the best place for this is the Silk Market. Located in close proximity to some of the key hotels in the city, the Silk Market houses five floors of shops that sell anything – from clothes to handbags and gift items to paintings and shoes, etc.
To successfully shop here one must excel in bargaining skills. Although most vendors do not speak English, all of them have bright pink calculators through which the bargaining takes place.
The vendors will start with exorbitant Yuan 300 for a T-shirt (approximately Rs. 6,500) and end up giving you three T-shirts plus jogging pants for the same amount. However, they are strong and pushy and you are bound to find yourself helpless with vendors shouting their prices, gripping your wrists hard if you are alone. This is also the best place to buy fake LV and Mulberry bags at Yuan 50, if you are lucky.
Traditional trinkets, mugs and decorated umbrellas
Near the car park at the Mutianyu Great Wall is a long road of street vendors selling anything from giant panda soft toys and decorated umbrellas, to ‘I climbed the Great Wall’ t-shirts and personalised mugs with eight different views of the Great Wall to be chosen to have your picture photoshopped in.
There are also a host of dried fruits to munch on as well. Beautiful trinkets, calligraphic posters and paperweights, brass dragons and fans also line the road. Here again, it requires great bargaining skill if one is to receive value for money. The vendors will start with Yuan 200 (approximately Rs. 4,300) for t-shirts, which can eventually be bought for Yuan 50.
There are also small shops selling local beers, ice cream and fried rice for those who are ravenous after the climb.
