This weekend's visit to Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Temple of Heaven

I will add pictures to this later because I haven't uploaded them to the computer yet.



This Saturday the UF in Beijing program visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Temple of Heaven. This weekend’s trip was different from the one we had last weekend because the students from UF in Chengdu joined us. Because of the earthquake and the aftershocks in Sichuan Provence, the eight students were relocated for the summer to Beijing and Tsinghua University. This excursion was my first contact with these students, and I have to say it was a bit strange because after being here for two weeks, there has finally been a group dynamic developed, so to have them now joining us seemed to throw everyone for a loop. I feel for these students’s situation, however, as a whole I feel that there is little positive sentiment for them being in Beijing. Because of the increase in cost of living in Beijing versus Chengdu, the Beijing students now may not be able to visit Shanghai this upcoming weekend. On a positive note, with the arrival of the Chengdu students’ also brought our first year Chinese language teacher, Zhang laoshi.

On the bus ride to Tiananmen Square, we drove past something of great interest to me. One of the shops in the neighboring area was a knitting shop. I recently learned how to knit but did not bring any yarn or knitting needles with me on the airplane to China. Finding this shop on the side of the road was beyond exciting for me because I have been unsuccessful in finding any listing for knitting shops in Beijing online. Unfortunately, I do not know the exact location of the store, but if I had time to wander around the area one day, hopefully I could find it again.

The bus dropped us off for Tiananmen Square but there was still a five or so minute walk to get there. I really enjoyed the walk because it led us past the Former Legation Quarter. The tree lined streets and various International architectural styles of the buildings formed a stark contrast against the large stone square that is Tiananmen. I think when I go back in search of the knitting shop I will spend a good amount of time exploring the Former Legation Quarter as well. When I set sight on Tiananmen Square, I could immediately imagine the excitement and madness during the Cultural Revolution when it was so often packed with hundreds of thousands of China’s youth waving their little red books cheering in anticipation of seeing Chairman Mao.

For unexplained reasons, Tiananmen Square was blocked off to the pubic this particular morning and we were hurried along past the square and towards the Forbidden City by Chinese military officials. I knew that there is a large portrait of Chairman Mao hanging in Tiananmen Square, but I did not know that it was hanging on the entranceway, just below the emblem of China, to the Forbidden City. In my research before I came to China, I read much about the comingling of old China with new. Chairman Mao’s portrait on the entrance to the Forbidden City was a prime example of old and new China coming together.

To get into the Forbidden City, you must first walk through the Meridian Gate which has two protruding wings forming three sides of a square. The gate has five gateways and the central gateway is part of the Imperial Way. Only the Emperor was allowed to walk or ride through the Imperial Way, except for the Empress on the occasion of her wedding. Once past these gateways under chamber buildings you enter into the outer courtyard. The meticulous and detailed artwork on the buildings, from the vibrant roof tiles to the hand painted beams to the stone carvings lining the walls for good luck were outstanding. I was in awe from the very beginning. As I got further into the Forbidden City and closer to the inner courtyard, I became slightly bored with the different chambers because they all seemed to be exact replicas of each other. I do not think that the buildings being the same style is a negative thing by any means, but after spending quite some time exploring cookie cutter buildings it becomes repetitive. In the glory days of the Forbidden City during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, I can only imagine its grandeur and elegance as a sparkling example of the power of China.

The ancient Chinese were very religious and superstitious people, and many of their beliefs are reflected in the decorative aspects of the Forbidden City. All of the chambers are emblazoned with stones carved with cranes and dragons. The crane and dragon together symbolize family and bring protection to the inhabitants of the building. On the four corners of the roofs, sit eight dragons for protection and good luck because eight is a lucky number in China. Throughout the grounds of the Forbidden City there are sculptures of cranes, dragons, turtles, and lions to protect the emperor, his family, and the government officials working within the city. Within the Forbidden City, all of the building roofs are covered with yellow tiles because it is the color of the emperor; however, the library has black roof tiles because it represents water and they did not want the library and its knowledge to burn down in case of fire.

My favorite part of the Forbidden City without a doubt was the Imperial Gardens. The flawlessly maintained greenery as well as the rock gardens and pagodas were far superior to anything that I anticipated. Never in my life did I think I would consider rocks to be as beautiful as the formations, archways, and silhouettes that are in the Imperial Garden. The roughness of the rock formations were set off by lush greens, pagodas, and gazebos for relaxation and thinking. One of the most touching and romantic areas of the Imperial Garden was the trees with branches that grew intertwined. Many of the emperors with their new wives took pictures standing in front of these trees because they symbolized eternal love and ascending to the heavens together in the afterlife. Because of my love for gardens, I tried to rush through the rest of the Forbidden City in order to maximize the time I could wander around the Imperial Gardens.

As we were preparing to leave the Forbidden City and depart for lunch and the Temple of Heaven, we realized that one of our fellow classmates had not returned to our meeting spot outside the north gate. After waiting for thirty minutes and many attempts to reach him on his cell phone for which the battery had died, our program director Helen decided it would be best to have the group continue onto lunch while the assistant program director, Sarah, stayed behind to wait for him. As it turned out, he had walked to the south gate of the Forbidden City where we had entered, left the premises, and once he realized that we were supposed to meet at the northern gate, was not allowed back into the Forbidden City on the ticket he had but needed to purchase a new one. Somehow he eventually got into contact with the program directors and met back up with the group to join our sightseeing group at the Temple of Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven only added to the bliss I was in from visiting the Imperial Gardens in the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven is quite spread out within a large park so you can visit the main sights as well as depart from the crowds to find some peace within the lush and spacious garden. Towards the entrance to the park, there were many street musicians performing a combination of lyrical and instrumental music. For me, the relaxed and cheerful musicians set the tone for the rest of my afternoon in the Temple of Heaven. My first stop was to the Circular Altar. Growing up in South Florida, I often visited the Walt Disney World theme parks where in the China area of a park was a mock Circular Altar. I was always astounded by its beauty and when I decided I was going to study in Beijing, I knew going to visit the Temple of Heaven would be one of my first destinations.

The Circular Altar was surrounded by three buildings which had been turned into mini museums with information and models of the altar. I chose to visit these first before ascending the three levels of stairs to reach the base of the Circular Altar. After viewing the three halls and building the anticipation for seeing the Circular Altar up close, I must say I found it to be spectacular. The colors, detailing, and accents were vibrant and lively. Although it was only one structure, I liked the Circular Altar more than the whole of the Forbidden City (except for the gardens).

Since I was so blown away by the Imperial Gardens at the Forbidden City, I chose to explore the grounds and gardens of the Temple of Heaven instead of continuing my sightseeing tour to the Echo Wall. I wandered towards the rose garden and garden of one hundred flowers with few expectations except to see beautiful flowers. The rose garden had roses in every color and shade imaginable- solids, blends, and fades. And these were not small rose bushes, on average each bush was four to five feet high and several feet wide. One of the most stunning sights was the red rose bushes that were not pruned back but allowed to grow freely. The huge red flowers covered the entire bush like armor for the plant and its fragrant aroma lingered in the air.