Palaces and Hutongs – Beijing Day 3

After visiting The Great Wall we apparently still had enough energy to say yes when our hosts invited us to come to a nightclub. The club was very western and very expensive (we were guests so they paid for us), but it was fun. The next few days I felt the lack of sleep, but there was a lot of interesting things left to see, so I tried not to dwell on it. I can rest in Guangshan.

The third day was very sunny and hot. We were meant to meet with our coordinator from our supervising organization (China Association for NGO Cooperation – CANGO). Her name is Chen Guo, she lives in Beijing and she manages the Chinese part of our project. We left our hotel in the north-west of the city, took the Beijing Subway (this is the official name in English, I think) to East Tiananmen square, where we met Miss Chen. The subway was really nice and easy to navigate, and cleaner than some of the western ones I’ve experienced. There also weren’t that many people, but I guess we didn’t travel during rush hour.

The Tiananmen Square is enormous, what you see in the picture is just one corner of it. It is surrounded by equally enormous and imposing buildings, including the National Museum of China, Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and The Great Hall of People. Even their names are imposing. To the north, the Tiananmen Square is facing the Forbidden City, which was the Chinese imperial palace for nearly half a millennium. Rather than a palace you could say it is a small city, as the name suggests. These days it is a museum. We didn’t have time for the National Museum, which I wanted to see (next time!), but we did go to the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City spans nearly a kilometre in length, and not much less in width. Most of the big halls are closed off, but you can see inside through the doors or windows. They boast with names like Hall of Supreme Harmony and Gate of Divine Might. Most of the walls are a slightly washed out red color, with golden roofs and green details.

We walked down the length of it, passing through the different gates, halls and palaces. There were also museum shops, which I didn’t really feel like browsing, so I usually waited outside. During one such wait I took the photo below.

We didn’t have a guide or someone who could talk about it at length (in English), so I had to rely on the information that was written on the walls (not much of that). We entered a side alley somewhere in the middle, and there were more museums, with artifacts such as vases and bells from different periods. There were also some beautiful trees and bushes there.

There are no plants to see if you just go straight, with the big exception of the Palace Garden, which is the last thing before exit. The garden is very nice, but there were tons of people there, so I imagine it would be amazing if we were there alone.

We left the Forbidden City after a few hours and then we headed towards the Shichahai area, where Chen Guo lives.

To get there we walked through narrow streets with low houses. These streets are called hutongs and are a famous part of Chinese cultural history. They came into existence as residents joined the walls of their courtyards. I loved walking through; it didn’t feel like we’re in a big city at all.

We visited Chen Guo’s home in one of the hutongs. She lives with a roommate in a very small flat, which includes a small living room/office, even smaller bedroom and a tiny bathroom (shower is not separated from the toilet at all) where they also keep the electrical stove, so it doubles as a kitchen. She gave us really good black tea while we talked and browsed through her things. The place was really small, but it was so cosy and in an amazing neighbourhood – I wouldn’t hesitate to live there for a while.

Shichahai neighbourhood is an area that surrounds three lakes. We walked past those back to the main road, where we took a taxi to get to the restaurant where we were meeting Charlene’s friend from high school and her husband, who were very nice and treated us to dinner.

I saw a side of Beijing this day (especially in the afternoon) which I didn’t expect. Lots of trees, interesting architecture and very relaxed atmosphere, which is not something you’d expect from a city with 20 million people. It definitely exceeded my expectations (which may have been partly brought on by prejudice – yes, I am ashamed).

There is still one day left to describe, so I will leave my final impressions for that post, but it is safe to say they are positive.