The Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City

Tuesday morning, Dr. Novak and I were up early once again to board the tour bus.  Surprisingly, my legs did not complain as I folded them up to fit into the tiny amount of space in front of my window seat.  All the climbing up and down on the Great Wall had left no stiffness or pain.  The bus slowly crawled down the exit ramp from the hotel into of the Beijing rush hour traffic. 
            Our tour guide informed us that we were heading to the Summer Palace first and then after lunch, we would go to the Forbidden City.  The drive to the Summer Palace was not long in distance (only about 10 miles) but took about 45 minutes.  I was delighted that we went past the Beijing National Stadium which will be the site of the opening/closing ceremonies and main track and field stadium for the 2008 Olympics.  It looks like a gigantic metal bird’s nest!  Both Dr. Novak and I tried to get pictures but they all came out fuzzy because of the moving bus and window glass. 
            The Summer Palace is where the imperial court went to escape the summer heat of Forbidden City since the 18th century.  Our tour guide explained that there are three kinds of gardens in China.  They are public gardens, private gardens and royal gardens.  The Summer Palace is a royal garden and is very different in design to the private Yu Garden that we saw in Shanghai.  It is much bigger and grander in design.  Saying it is ‘grand’ just might be an understatement considering these facts.  One emperor order 100,000 men to dig up the Kunming Lake and shape it like the West Lake in Hangzhou.  The Summer Palace has the longest painted corridor in the world being 2,277ft long.  There is a huge Marble Boat that the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered to be built.  Yes, the gardens were beautiful but I enjoyed the Yu Garden in Shanghai much more.  I think the best part of this visit was we got to go for a ride in a dragon boat across the lake.  THAT was fun. 
            After lunch we were off to Tiananmen Square.  It is a HUGE concrete covered square outside the Gate of Heavenly Peace that is the entrance to the Forbidden City.  The square was built in 1950’s.  On one side is the Great Hall of the People which includes a football sized banquet hall.  Directly across from the Great Hall are the museums of Chinese History and Revolution.  In the center of the square is the giant stone Monument to the People’s Heroes that was built to honor all the people that died in revolution.  Behind the monument is the Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall.  This is where you can go and see the body of Chairman Mao which is raised during the day from the freezer below.  All of these details were told to us by our tour guide since we didn't not have time to visit these places.
            Over the Gate of Heavenly Peace hangs a huge portrait of Chairman Mao.  From just about any place in the square, you can see Chairman Mao’s portrait.  Chairman Mao stares out directly at the flag of China that is guarded by special green uniformed soldiers.  Four soldiers stand straight as arrows and perfectly still at attention around the flag.  One soldier walks back and forth.  The guard is changed regularly because it is very hard work to stand still in all kinds of weather.  When we were in the Forbidden City, we saw the relief guards marching out.  The flag is raised and lowered at sunrise and sunset. 
            To get to the Forbidden City you have to take an underground tunnel to the other side of the very busy road and enter through the Gate of Heavenly Peace.  The complex of the Forbidden City is huge covering almost two hundred acres.  It is very overwhelming as you walk through a series of four gates to finally arrive at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.  Much to my disappointment, the Hall of Supreme Harmony is undergoing a major restoration project.  The hall is shrouded in green mesh material that you can barely see the outline of the hall through.  The sound of construction work echoes through the courtyard that has 16 layers of stone beneath the stone pavers you walk on.  All of these layers of stone were to prevent possible assassins from digging into the Forbidden City. 
            Our tour wound through the inner buildings of the complex with the names of each building told to us by our guide.  It was hard to keep your mind on the names of each new building, take pictures and enjoy the experience of walking where emperors of China strolled for nearly 600 hundred years.  Before leaving for China, I had watched the movie “The Last Emperor”.  All I could think of was poor Pu Yi (the last emperor of China) and what it must have been like for a child of three in this overpowering, confusing maze of a palace.  I know that this would be a scary place to get lost in. 
            After looking at the royal bedrooms, we came out to the Imperial Garden near the northern end of the Forbidden City.  It was a good place to rest both our bodies and minds.  Some of the tall cypress trees are centuries old and one dead tree with a gnarled and bumpy trunk still stands tall.  The pathways are made of small colored stones arranged in different patterns of animals and plants.  Some of the stones are so worn it is hard to make out what they represent. Colorful koi fish swim in the ponds.  Oddly shaped rocks are displayed with numerous surrounding the charming Pavilion of a Thousand Autumns with its cone shaped roof that looks like a hat above the lower many peaked roof.  This was my favorite spot in the Forbidden City.  More about our last day in China in another post.  Yours, Mrs. Novak