What impressed me the most as soon as I reached Beijing, China in May 2006 was the unimaginable hugeness of the city. Beijing is now a metropolitan and its modernity is expanding at rapid and unstoppable pace. People of Beijing have seen their lifestyle changed for the past ten years due to the influx of technology and foreign cultures. Some things from the past like the Chinese people in Mao suits, adorable children in colourful cheongsams, bicycles rolling the streets have become less visible. As Beijing holds the largest collection of ancient sites, it is a melting pot of different cultures that is worth explored. I also learned that the native name of China was Zhong Guo.
Circling the city of Beijing in a taxi, I discovered Beijing was furnished with gleaming high rise buildings, modern subways, sidewalk cafes, luxurious hotels and classy department stores. Six ring roads forming all around and all over the city still did not do much help to improve traffic congestion. Believe it or not, Beijing’s now in the midst of constructing the seventh ring road.
The idea of visiting historical sites such as the Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Mao Mausoleum and Summer Palace was part of the plan in getting to know Beijing a little deeper. Not only that, being more adventurous in trying out their local cuisines was also one of the objectives.
It is not difficult to find halal Chinese food as 30% of the city is populated by Muslims. The rest are the Taoism, Buddhism, Christian and Confucianism. However as a whole, Chinese are more given to superstitions. Their standard language is Putonghua or Mandarin. Mandarin comes from a Portuguese rendering of a Sanskrit word for counsel while Putonghua is the dialect of Beijing, and was the dialect of the court, or counsellors.
Looking down at my wristwatch and then to the digital clock on the taxi’s dashboard, they showed no time difference between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur. The tourist guide, Lina, who could speak Malay language eloquently (fortunately she was a Muslim) brought us to a restaurant that served halal spicy authentic food. I started to grumble as 6 p.m could be too early for dinner. But as people started pouring in I swallowed back my protest. Lina told people here took their dinner as early as 5 p.m. We were then brought to an old library, Dongcheng District Library for an eye-popping acrobatic show. Waahhh… Awww… Woohh… oh shit!
Tian’anmen Square was the first historal site we were taken to. The square, built in 1416 also known as The Gate of Heavenly Peace, sits at the entrance of former Forbidden City and is a symbol of New China. It consists of a double-roofed tower with nine frontal columns, elevated upon a read platform with five vaulted gateways. One of the most celebrated ceremonies, the ceremony to inaugurate The People’s Replublic of China took place at Tian’anmen Square on 1st of October, 1949.
Exiting the last gate of Tian’anmen Square, we entered what had been the residential quarter of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Covering an area of 720,000 sq metres with more than 9,000 rooms, Forbidden City is the largest and most well preserved imperial residence in China today. It took 14 years to build the city and had accomodated 23 successive emperors starting from Ming Emperor Zhudi until the young Qing Emperor Puyi who was forced to abdicate the throne in 1911. As nothing seemed enough for an adventure-lust person like me, I requested the guide to take us to every corner of the city. From the bedrooms to the great halls and to the mistresses’ chambers, every detail fascinated me. It was believed that an emperor kept more than three thousand mistresses for himself but only a few would be his favourites. The tour to the ancient time ended at a bridge crossing over a moat that surrounded the city.
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| The Great Wall of China |
The Great Wall of China, being one of the classical Seven Wonders of the World, stretches over a formidable 6,352 kilometres, is a Chinese fortification built from 3rd century BC until the beginning of the 17th century with a motive to protect the various dynasties from raids by Mongol, Turkic and other nomadic tribes from areas in modern-day Mongolia and Manchuria. This defensive wall on the northern border was maintained by several dynasties at different times in Chinese history. Because so many people had died and were buried in the wall, it had obtained a gruesome title ‘The Longest Cemetery on Earth’. The Great Wall which tourist visit today was built during the Ming Dynasty, around the year 1368 and was preserved until now. Upon reaching the starting point of the west side of the Great Wall, I saw a huge black stone with a saying “You are not a real hero if you have not climbed the Great Wall”. Getting a little bit motivated by the simple words, I started to ascend slowly, one step at a time.
The day I climbed up the Great Wall of China, the temperature had risen up to thirty degree Celcius from eleven the night before. Coughing and laughing all the way up the steep steps of the Great Wall, I found how amazing the view was. Even more amazing when I learned on how the villagers constructed the great structure. No crane, no bulldozer, no special machine. Just bare hands, shovels and strong determination.
On the fourth day of our visit, we reached to a place which had been an example of imperial gardens in Classical Chinese style. The Summer Palace located approximately 15km to the northwest of Beijing city was first built in 1750. It was later rebuilt in 1886. The huge palace spreads on an area of 2.9 million square meters and decorated with small but sacred relics like pagodas and tombs. Stunned with the details I had never known before, I looked around and realised there were many small temples scattered all around the area. I also discovered that three fourths of the area was covered with water surfaces. Its major attractions were the Wanshou Hill, the Kumning Lake and a huge garden. The artistic style of the garden which was once a kaleidescopic and harmonious, was attributed to an unknown designers’ ingenious landscaping skills.
Enough with the temples and all, the guide brought us to Ox Street where lied the spiritual centre for the 10,000 Muslims living in the vicinity. This was the biggest and oldest mosque in Beijing, known as Niujie Mosque. The mosque was a mixture of Islamic and Chinese cultures founded during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The mosque was rebuilt in 1442 by the Ming Dynasty and expanded under the Qing Dynasty (1696). The outside showed the Chinese influence while the inside deco was rich with Islamic flavour making the mosque seem more unique and different.
Five days in Beijing wouldn’t have been so great if I had missed seeing all those astounding historical places. There were a lot more to see but I wish to save them for my next visit. Else, I will have no purpose to come here again.
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