LINGERING GARDEN, SUZHOU

Lingering Garden, one of the most renowned in China, was originally a private garden built during the Ming Dynasty. Covering an area of nearly 6 acres, the magnificent halls, temples and other buildings blend harmoniously with trees, flowers, water, and rocks. The Garden is divided into four parts.  The middle part is noted for its view of the water; the eastern part includes the Crane House, the Small Garden of Stone Forest, ant the Return-to-Read Study; the northern part is a bonsai garden; and the western part features a beautiful rockery.

LITTLE PENGLAI

WUFENG HALL

MOON GATE

CLOUD CAPPED PEAK

BONSAI

 
 

SUZHOU

After we arrived at Pudong Airport in Shanghai, we boarded a motor coach for the 50 mile trip to Suzhou.  Suzhou, a city of over 6 million people lies northwest of Shanghai in  the Yangtze Delta. 
Famous for its classical gardens, Suzhou is often called the "Venice of the East" or "Paradise on Earth" It is also famous for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, silk, Grand Canal and canal-side housing.
"The natural scenery of hills and waters in Suzhou is as charming as a delicate beauty. Of the whole area, 10 per cent is cultivated fields, 30 per cent hills, and the rest covered with water. Streets and alleys in Suzhou extend side by side with canals. Small bridges and flowing waters, white walls and dark gray roof tiles match one another in tranquil elegance."

GOODBYE TO BEIJING

After leaving the Temple of Heaven, we had an early lunch at a beautiful restaurant.

Then on to the airport for our 2 pm flight to Shanghai.

GOODBYE TO BEIJING

The history of the Chinese dynasties is intriguing. The ancient buildings, art and artifacts are breathtaking. There was so much to observe and experience while in Beijing it was difficult not to feel on overload. Looking over my tour pictures, I had a problem sorting out the what, where and significance. I did keep a diary but now wish I had been much more descriptive. I'm thankful to "google" for providing references for filling in blanks.
 
Here are some random impressions, observances and bits of information for future visitors. 

Beijing is often windy, cloudy, overcast.
Beijing residents still like to hang their laundry on racks outside their windows even those who live in modern high rise buildings. 
There seems to be a paper shortage in China. Toilet paper in public bathrooms was not a given. Napkins were cocktail size, extras were not freely given. Our tour guide only had one satisfaction survey for 29 people.
Being a pedestrian is dangerous, bicyclists and scooter drivers pay no attention to traffic signals.
Public bathrooms usually contained one toilet but most of the stalls were "squatty potties".  (most of us waited in line for the one toilet)
There were many buildings being erected, many buildings being demolished, many streets being repaired but safety precautions were not obvious in most cases. I didn't see barriers or yellow tape to protect the public.

Our tour guide, Angela was amazing, very knowledgeable and extremely patient. Despite a couple of "wander-offers" in the group, she did not lose anyone.

ANGELA

TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

It's Monday morning and we're on the motor coach headed to the Temple of Heaven, our last tour before leaving Beijing.

There are three main buildings on the Temple grounds (270 acres). The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a triple-gabled circular building built on three levels of marble stone base.  It's completely wooden, no nails were used in construction.  The Imperial Vault of Heaven is a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base.  The Circular Mound Altar is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons.
 
The entire Temple Park contains a great deal of symbolism.  Centered on the main idea that Earth is square and Heaven is round, the whole park has the shape of a square surmounted by a semicircle in the north.  The temples and altars are round and stand on square bases.  Inside the Hall of Prayer are 28 huge posts.  The four posts along the inner circle represent four seasons; the 12 posts along the middle circle represent the 12 months; and 12 posts along the outer circle represent the Chinese  day (12 Shichens = 2 hours).  The roof is covered with black, yellow and green glaze representing the heavens, earth, and everything on earth.


During the dynasties, twice a year, the Emperor and his retinue would move from the Forbidden City through Beijing to encamp within the Temple complex. Ordinary citizens were not allowed to view the procession or the ceremonies.  The Emperor would pray to Heaven for good harvests. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation for the coming year. 

I was fascinated by the local people who used the park grounds for various social activities.  Many were practicing Tai Chi, playing various board games, playing badminton, etc. The most interesting observance was a flamboyantly -dressed middle aged couple, probably from the northern region who danced energetically as a crowd of admiring bystanders surrounded them.

T  

PEKING DUCK

Could a trip to Beijing China be complete without a Peking Duck dinner! 

"The ducks are raised for the sole purpose of making the food. Force-fed, they are kept in cages which restrain them from moving about, so as to fatten them up and make the meat comparably tender. Peking Roasted Duck is processed in several steps: first the ducks are rubbed with spices, salt and sugar, and then kept hung in the air for some time. Then the ducks are roasted in an oven, or hung over the fire till they become brown with rich grease perspiring outside and have a nice odor.  Peking Duck is always served in well-cut slices.  The whole duck must be sliced into 120 pieces and every piece has to be perfect with the complete layers of the meat.  Normally there are many dishes served with the duck, including a dish of fine-cut shallot bars, a dish of cucumber bars and finally a dish of past-like soy of fermented wheat flour."

Here are the instructions we were given for eating the Peking Duck.

Spread a thin layer of plum sauce over the crepe-like pancake, add a few slices of shallots and cucumber, then one or two slices of duck.  Fold the bottom and side flaps like a burrito.  Bon appetit!!

TIANANMEN SQUARE

Across a busy boulevard, Chang An Avenue, from the south gate of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square.  We accessed  the Square via an underground tunnel. We had to submit to a cursory security check near the tunnel exit. Our guide reminded us that many government buildings are near the Square so there is lots of security and an obvious military presence.
Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world.  Along the east side of the Square is the National Museum of China; along the west side is the Great Hall of the People (parliamentary building).  Trees line the east and west edges but the Square itself is open. The Monument to the People's Heroes and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong are near the center of the Square.  There were also two large screens near the monument that showed of slide show of relaxing scenes.

FORBIDDEN CITY

After our visit to the Hutongs we visited a "Traditional Chinese Pharmacy".  Here we heard a lecture regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine from one of the practitioners. The talk was very interesting, especially the theories about disease origins and the importance of keeping the body systems in balance. ( He associated eczema with problems with the spleen.)  Several in our group took advantage of the free consultations and departed with pricey recommended remedies.

Next stop, THE FORBIDDEN CITY

I'll list some facts about The Forbidden City.

Construction began in 1406

It was home to emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties until 1911

Ordinary people were not allowed to enter the City until 1925

It is surrounded by a 52 ft wide moat, a 30 ft high wall, and contains over 800 buildings

Most of the buildings have yellow-tiled roofs, red walls, gilded doors, vermillion colonnades and marble balustrades

The buildings face south in accordance with feng shui principals

The stature of the main buildings is defined by the number of animals on the roof ridges

We entered from the north through the Gate of Divine Might into the Inner Court, the home of the emperor and his family. At the center of the Court is a set of three halls, The Palace of Earthly Tranquility, Hall of Union, and Palace of Heavenly Purity.
In the Outer Court, where the emperor handled court affairs, were the Hall of Preserving Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, and Hall of Supreme Harmony.  The three buildings were constructed with double-eaved roofs and rest on three-tiered marble terraces.  The doors and steps are always in odd numbers.  The Hall of Supreme Harmony, the tallest and most magnificent building in the Forbidden City, is the largest surviving wooden structure in China. The vast courtyard in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, The Sea of Flagstones accommodated up to 100,000 people on festive occasions. When the emperor appeared here all in attendance prostrated themselves nine times. The courtyard symbolized the great power of  imperial rule.

This is a bit of interesting information:
"The number "nine" carried a special significance in old China. Ancient Chinese regarded odd numbers as being masculine and even numbers as being feminine. "Nine", which is the largest single digit number was taken to mean the "ultimate masculine" and was, therefore, symbolic of the supreme sovereignty of the emperor. For this reason, the number "nine" (or its multiples) is often employed in palace structures and designs. A noticeable example is the number of studs on palace gates. The studs are usually arranged in nine rows of nine each, totaling eighty-one."
 
We exited the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate after crossing one of the five bridges over Inner Golden Water River. 
 

The Tiananmen Gatehouse is decorated with a portrait of Mao Zedong in the center with two placards on either side reading, "Long live the People's Republic of China" and "Long live the great unity of the world's peoples".

HUTONG TOUR

Our next adventure was a rickshaw ride to a home in a Hutong.

Hutong means a lane or alley formed by lines of siheyuan (a compound with houses around a courtyard).  During the dynasties the Forbidden City was surrounded in concentric circles by the Inner City and Outer City. Aristocrats lived in sihyuans close to the Forbidden City; commoners, merchants, artisans, and laborers lived farther out in siheyuans that were smaller in scale and simpler than those of the aristocrats.  Our short tour of a Hutong gave us a glimpse of old Beijing. As we wound through the narrow passages we viewed people going about their daily lives. To cap off our visit we were treated to a wonderful meal and tour at one of the residences. 

It's been interesting researching Hutongs as there appears to be lots of controversy concerning the preservation of these structures.  Because Hutongs are in central Beijing they are prime real estate. In 60 years more than half the Hutongs have been demolished. Below is a quote from a member of the team which filmed the documentary,  "Beijing's Vanishing Hutong". 

Gentrification is a difficult issue for the hutongs. Of course the hutongs need money spent on them, and adding bathrooms and modern touches will significantly improve the lives of residents. That being said, most gentrification of the hutongs involves pulling down the old buildings and replacing them with faux hutongs. Residents describe these as soulless and missing any feeling of history. Gentrification also raises the prices and drives out traditional hutong residents. Gentrified hutongs are predominantly the homes of wealthier Chinese or foreigners which adds a greater disparity between older residents and their homes and the newer residents. 

THE SUMMER PALACE

The Summer Palace (The Garden of Peace and Harmony) was built by a Qing emperor in an area northwest of Beijing. The natural features of the Garden are the Hill of Longevity and Kunming Lake. These are complemented by man-made features, bridges, boats, sculptures, pavilions, temples and many other buildings.

When I entered the gates of the garden I was totally taken aback. Although the sand storm blowing unrelentingly across the lake made me shiver, blink and cover up as much as possible, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. The low mountains, bridges, pagodas, and graceful willows were the typical elements of a Chinese painting.  In spite of the large crowd I could feel the tranquility and experience the harmony of the setting.

 

 We were surprised to see this group of tupperware dealers from Indonesia posing for group pictures. Notice that the banner is in English.