WE have discovered why it is called the Red Wall Hotel – there is a whopping red-bricked building outside my window, so no view then! Pity, as we are within a stone’s throw of the Forbidden City.
We got up early and went down to breakfast to discover a full-blown buffet with loads of Chinese specialities including won ton soup, which I just had to have.
We met with Sally, our enthusiastic Dragon Tours guide, who explained that she had an (unpronounceable) Chinese name which meant ‘pretty flowing river’, but English speakers called her Sally.
Our party numbered eight from different hotels across the city and as well as us, there was an older couple from Singapore, a younger couple from France and two girls from Russia, so a thoroughly international minibus-load.
Beijing is a city packed with bicycles and hordes spun by us and we forged our way through the morning traffic. Sally pointed out the Olympic velodrome and the statue of a famous farmer on a horse who had seized power at the end of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 and had ruled for just 42 days.
The Ming Tombs was our first port of call. A total of 13 of the 16 Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) emperors are buried at the tombs, which are situated at the bottom of Heavenly Longevity Mountain and guarded by Dragon Mountain and Tiger Mountain. This site is some 55km from the centre of Beijing and is actually very large, though we saw only a small part of it.
We went to Chang Ling, which is one of only a handful of tombs open to the public, but it really was an incredible sight. One of the first things that struck me about these wonderful historical Chinese buildings is that they are made almost entirely of wood, yet they have survived for hundreds of years.
Chang Ling was packed with tour groups, with many of the leaders carrying little flags like Sally’s – yet almost all the visitors were Chinese, even though it was a working day in the city.
As we stepped into the massive building, I was amazed at the hugely-ornate painted ceiling and by the huge amount of Yuan (Chinese currency) people had left at the foot of the large Buddha dominating the room – which turned out to be a museum.
Sally started to show us round the crowded museum and it was hard to see the display cases over the heads of so many others, but there were gold bowls and ingots, jade jewellery, Ming vases, beautiful clothes and head-dresses belonging to the emperors and empresses and all the things they were buried with. It was extraordinary to think of all these riches being put into the ground with them and reminiscent of the rulers of ancient Egypt whose pyramids were built centuries earlier.
It was also tragic to hear of the poor concubines, who had to be sacrificed in the event of the emperor’s death. Some emperors had up to 3,000 concubines, all aged between 14 and 18.
Chang Ling is the tomb of Emperor Yongle (died 1428), who was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was felt to be a very good ruler and was responsible for much development in Beijing, including building the Forbidden City and the Temple Of Heaven. It was Yongle who chose the site of the tombs and he was the first to be buried there. Hence his tomb is the largest and most centrally located – and it has never been excavated.
Stepping out of the museum, you discover a courtyard with a massive yellow incense burner on one side and the most extraordinary gate in the middle.
Sally explained that we would go round the Gate Between Two Walls on our way to the next building, instead of through it, because the gate represented the step between the living and the dead.
The imposing building which loomed up in front of us was the Soul Tower, the gateway to the underworld. Although heaving with tour groups, its thick walls and cool interior gave it a really spiritual feeling and from the top of the tower, I could see other tomb buildings punctuating the green swathes reaching out to the mountains.
On returning to ground level, we approached the Gate Between Two Walls. Tradition has it that women are required to step through with their right leg first and men with their left to represent Yin and Yang and when you step though, you recite the Chinese words for ‘I am back already’ to ensure that your soul remains intact – which our group and many others did en-mass.
After the Ming Tombs, we took a short drive to a government-run jade carving factory and Sally explained that the Chinese believe jade is good for the heart and represents good fortune, so almost everyone wears jade jewellery or owns a carving. She also told us that different animals have different meanings – a running horse means success will come soon while a fish is a symbol of great wealth.
A young man showed us round the factory and explained that jade comes in all colours, told us how it is carved and showed us how to tell the real from the fake. We also saw a suit of armour made of jade and an exquisitely-carved fish pond, complete with live goldfish swimming around in it!
Once in the showroom, I selected a green jade running horse for my mum and an agate jade bracelet in browns, creams, ochre, reds and greens for myself.
It is said that jade glows with the vitality of the owner and if the owner becomes ill, the jade becomes tarnished – which may explain the origins of our word ‘jaded.’
We had lunch at the factory, then continued to the Great Wall of China at Badaling. No matter how much you have read about it, or seen it on television, the Great Wall is an arresting sight in the flesh.
In his book Riding The Iron Rooster, travel writer Paul Theroux likens the Great Wall to a dragon, which is regarded as both a good omen and a guardian symbol in China. He states: “I found a bewitching similarity between the Chinese dragon and the Great Wall of China – the way it flexed and slithered up and down the mountains; the way the crenellations looked like fins on a dragon’s back and its bricks like scales; the way it looked serpentine and protective, undulating endlessly from one end of the world to the other.”
He also states that the wall is an intimidating thing: “...less a fortification than a visual statement announcing imperiously ‘I am the Son of Heaven and this is the proof that I can encircle the Earth’.”
I don’t know if the Great Wall can be seen in space or not, but it is truly impressive – it winds its way thousands of miles from Shanhaiguan in the Yellow Sea right up to the Gobi Desert.
Above: The Great Wall of China winds its way around the hills for many miles.
The first parts were built in the 5th Century BC, but the present wall was largely planned in around 220BC by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Chinese emperor and founder of the empire. It was designed to keep invaders out, though it didn’t always succeed, as proved by the marauding Mongols in the 13th Century.
Badaling is probably the most heavily renovated and popular section, largely due to the fact it is only around 80km from Beijing, so it is a popular day-trip destination.
The Great Wall was originally designed so that five or six horsemen could ride side by side along it and fortified towers, signal beacon towers and garrisons completed the defences. Today, it is hard to see how you could ride horses along it, because there are some very steep sections and lots of large, uneven-sized steps with slippery patches – health and safety, eat your heart out!
Badaling is quite touristy, right down to having bears to feed in a compound near the coach park, but you do get a real sense of how important the wall is to the Chinese and I think at least 95 per cent of today’s visitors were Chinese.
Chairman Mao climbed to the Eighth Watchtower in the North at Badaling when well into his seventies and he proclaimed that anyone who could reach this point was a hero, so I just had to do it!
To save time, Sally suggested taking the sliding cars part-way up the hill to the fourth tower and this was great fun – they were just like bumper cars right down to the brightly-coloured plastic, except they were fixed onto a ground rail which pulled them up the hill. When we came back down on these, the young man driving a long chain of them let the brake off and we flew down the hill.
After climbing the Great Wall, Sally took us to a Chinese medicine centre, where we got to have our feet soaked in hot tea, them massaged and a shoulder/back massage. A Chinese doctor looked at us all too and told me some very interesting things about how taking ginseng could improve my energy levels.
When we finally got back to our hotel, we popped out in search of a restaurant and discovered scenes from a movie being filmed right outside. We went in anyway and when our food came, it was far more than we had expected and it was beautifully presented. I persuaded one of the staff to show me how to use chopsticks in the Chinese way and dug in.
I have been following Ching-He Huang of the BBC2 series Chinese Food Made Easy, who said that one of the important aspects of Chinese food is the philosophy of yin and yang – all ingredients have one of these elements attached to them and yin foods are cooling while yang foods are heat-giving. Traditionally Chinese cooks would try to balance them in any one dish. Cooking techniques also impart a yin or yang element to a dish – stir-frying and steaming are yin, while deep-frying is yang.
After finishing our monster meal – which was both tasty and affordable – we went back to the hotel and I put an entry on my blog (http://transsibwriter.wordpress.com) before going back to our room to read about Chinese mythology.
According to Chinese mythology, Zhongguo (the middle kingdom), the world and the universe all owe their existence to a giant named Pan Gu, who once lived in an enormous egg. He sliced the egg in half to create Heaven and Earth, then stood like Atlas between the two halves, holding them apart.
After countless millennia, Pan Gu died. His left eye became the sun and his right eye the moon, while his body turned into mountain ranges and his blood into flowing rivers. His perspiration became rain, his hair became vegetation and his bones metamorphosed into minerals and rocks.
Somewhat unflatteringly, the myth goes on to tell us that the human race arose from the lice on Pan Gu’s body!
We woke up late this morning – so conversely our tour guide, whose English name was Jessica, was early.
We were the first ones on the minibus, but it transpired that we were a smaller group today, just Nikki and I and two German gentlemen.
I have been thinking about the many things we owe to the Chinese. Indeed, China is the motherland on many inventions. Imagine a Bonfire Night without fireworks, or navigation without a compass or even windy days without kites to fly. These familiar objects, which we take for granted in the West, owe their origins to the ingenuity of the Chinese in ages past.
Papermaking was unknown in Europe before the 11-12th Century AD, but can be traced back in China to the 3rd Century BC. Among the things paper was used for was the construction of kites, which were flown by normal people for recreation, by Taoist monks as a meditative exercise and even by some intrepid enthusiasts for experiments in manned flight!
The 4th Century BC saw the Chinese using the world’s first magnetic compasses in the form of lodestones (pieces of naturally magnetic iron ore) and by about 132 AD they had developed another sensitive directional instrument: a seismograph, able to detect earth tremors hundreds of miles away. It was not until 1703 that the first working European seismograph was invented.
In England, the father of modern seismology was John Milne, who lived on the Isle Of Wight. He is buried in a graveyard in my home town of Newport.
Possibly the most momentous of China’s discoveries was gunpowder. It was first created in the 9th Century AD by alchemists seeking the elixir of life! In due course it was used for fireworks, which probably inspired the invention of military rocket-launchers. Guns and cannons followed and were enthusiastically adopted by the powers of Europe as soon as they heard about such weapons in the late 12th Century.
Astonishing as it might sound, China had been unified for nearly 1,500 years before the first eye-witness accounts of this extraordinary eastern land reached Europe. These accounts came from the brothers Nicolo and Maffeo Polo, Venetian merchants who travelled across the great Tien Shan mountains and then overland to China in the early 1260s.
After a nine-year round trip, they returned to Europe with fantastic tales of their adventures, most notably their cordial reception at the court of China’s first Mongol ruler, the emperor Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis.
In 1271, the Polo brothers set out again, this time with Nicolo’s 17-year-old son, Marco. Four years later they reached Kublai Khan’s summer palace at Shangdu. The young Marco – now 21 – so impressed the emperor that during the next 17 years he was charged with many missions on the Great Khan’s behalf and travelled throughout the land as his personal ambassador.
The stories Marco Polo recounted on his eventual return to Europe seemed so far-fetched that he was accused of falsehood; yet the reality of what he saw was probably even more fantastic. When urged on his deathbed to take back some of his incredible tales, Marco is reported to have whispered: “I did not tell half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed.”
Marco’s caution was well founded, for what he had discovered was a country that was technologically far advanced in the production of steel, ceramics and explosives; that used paper money and that had a sophisticated system of government over a land larger than all the squabbling nations of Europe put together.
Small wonder people were unable to believe Marco Polo – it must have been like your best friend coming back and telling you what the landscape looked like on Pluto!
This morning it is raining in Beijing and there are thousands of cyclists in brightly-coloured capes pouring down the road like a rainbow river. We pass the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium and the now-empty Olympic village on our way to the Summer Palace.
Situated on the outskirts of Beijing, the Summer Palace was built in the 1700s by Emperor Qianlong as a summer residence for members of the Ming Dynasty. It was originally known as the Palace Of Clear Rippling Water because of its location on Kunming Lake.
It didn’t look too summery in the rain, but the buildings were beautiful and Jessica explained that the palace had burnt down during the Second Opium War (1856-60), but had been rebuilt in 1888 by Empress Dowager Cixi, using money that should have gone to fund the Chinese navy. In turn, she promised the navy they could train on her lake, but it wasn’t big enough.
For many nations, it may be unusual to think of a woman in power at this time, but China seems to accept female rulers more easily – Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty was the first female ruler of China and reigned from 690-705 AD.
Jessica explained that Empress Dowager Cixi was known as the Dragon Lady by the Chinese people and was not well liked. Originally a concubine, she poisoned the emperor’s first wife so that she could become empress. Then when the emperor and his heir died, she put younger children on the throne so that she could keep the governing power.
She loved extravagance – she ordered more than 100 dishes to be prepared for every meal, but hardly ate any of it. She ordered fruit in the fruit bowls to be changed every six hours – she didn’t eat any, but she loved its fresh fragrance. She even ordered a massive marble boat to be built on the water’s edge, so she could take tea in it every day!
As well as seeing the Summer Palace with its beautiful Long Corridor and gardens, we took a boat ride on Kunming Lake, so we could see the mountains behind (bit cloudy) and were even shown a display of art painted on silk by local students – beautiful, but I didn’t fancy its chances of surviving the Trans-Siberian in my case!
Next, we went to a silk factory, which was familiar territory for me, but I have never seen silk duvets being made before. They use only double cocoons for duvets and hand-stretch the felt made from them. They also had silk bedlinen and clothes and I spent ages looking around before selecting a silk tie for Hugh.
Symbolism is everywhere in China – for example, red and yellow are imperial colours, dragon is emperor, phoenix is empress and turtles, cranes and peaches are all connected with longevity.
Afterwards we went a restaurant in the grounds of the Temple Of Heaven and we were given a useful tip – if you are looking for a restaurant in China, look for lanterns outside because that means you can eat there. Handy if you cannot read the words above the door.
The Temple Of Heaven (aka Tiantan) is an extraordinary building. Recognised on the World Heritage List, this amazing structure is some 40 metres (130ft) high, is made entirely from wood and blue-glazed tiles and doesn’t have a single nail in it!
Situated in the middle of a massive park, it is a superb example of Chinese Confucian architecture, dating from the Ming Dynasty. The roof tiles are deep blue to symbolise the vault of heaven and the roof is held up by 28 pillars – the four largest central ones represent the four seasons, then there is a double ring of 12, which represent the 12 months and the 12 traditional sections within a Chinese day (each is two hours long).
Like many Chinese wooden buildings, the Temple Of Heaven has been destroyed by fire several times and was last rebuilt in 1890.
Above: The Temple Of Heaven (aka Tiantan), Beijing.
Having spent some time looking at the Temple Of Heaven in awe, we were taken to a popular tea-house in the grounds to learn more about the art of tea-drinking. And in China it really is an art...
I already knew tea-drinking originated in China, hence our saying: Not for all the tea in China. The Chinese were brewing it for many centuries before us, yet for many people, tea-drinking remains a quintessentially British habit. No-one knows exactly when tea – or cha, as the Chinese call it – was first brewed into a cuppa, but it was well-documented in the literature of the 4th Century and by the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), tea was the favourite beverage of cultivated people.
Chinese Buddhist monks lent tea a further dignity by giving it their approval and developing suitable rituals for brewing and serving it. But tea-drinking became progressively less ceremonial in China as ordinary people discovered its pleasures, particularly in pub-like tea-houses.
Once sat comfortably in our tea-house, we learned the Chinese traditionally have two types of small cup for tea – a tall thin one called the smelling cup and a bowl-shaped one for drinking only.
Next, the staff brewed us several types of tea to try, including jasmine tea, which is particularly popular in Beijing; oolong and ginseng tea which is good for energy and surprisingly sweet; pur-tea which is compressed like a brick, can be used many times and can keep for up to 20 years and lychee and rose tea, which is very sweet and uses real rosebuds for the aroma.
In the afternoon, we went to the Forbidden City (aka Gugong), home of many former emperors, and this was a real eye-popper, even though it is currently only half-restored.
Built during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, this architectural wonder housed the emperor, empress and imperial concubines and served as a seat for government for more than 500 years.
This walled city is one kilometre long by 750 metres wide and is surrounded by a 52-metre wide moat and 10ft castle-style walls. Jessica explained that in the emperor’s time, only he would be allowed to walk through the centre opening of the gate. The other four openings would be used by the empress, the royal servants (all men were eunuchs) and the concubines.
More than one million labourers and 100,000 craftsmen toiled for 14 years to assemble the hundreds of halls, pavilions, libraries, courtyards and gardens that cover the Forbidden City’s 180-acre site and today it is open to all.
There are lots of superstitions and symbolism surrounding the Forbidden City. For example, Jessica said all the main buildings were built on a north-south axis with all their doors facing south – because it was believed only bitter winds and barbarians came from the north!
Incredibly, the emperor’s bedroom had 27 beds – all occupied at night – so no-one would know which one he was sleeping in and sneak up and murder him!
There was also a whole building for the empress’s birthday celebrations, while another building had two rooms – one for weddings and one for human sacrifices, hence perhaps Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter (apologies to Iron Maiden).
Numbers are hugely important too – eight symbolises the eight noble paths in Buddhism and is thought to be lucky, hence the Olympics started on the 08/08/08, while nine signifies merriment and 25 is a heavenly number (which is why I must be so happy at my house – it is number 25).
Above: Inside the Forbidden City (aka Gugong), at the start of the newly-restored north-south axis.
On returning to our hotel, I feel as if I have been assaulted by colour today – so many reds, golds, greens and blues at the amazing buildings we have seen, not to mention the cyclists in the rain this morning.
After collecting our Trans-Siberian tickets, which have been delivered to the hotel, we arrange to go to the Chinese opera tomorrow night, email all our friends then take off down Wangfujing Street in search of a top Peking Duck restaurant, which we find in a nearby side-street.
We enjoyed a half duck with pancakes, freshly sliced by the chef at our table, then made our way past Donghuamen Night Market, which is well known for serving up all manner of foods.
The Chinese do eat all sorts of things which would make Brits cringe and I never forget reading Colin Thubron’s Behind The Wall, in which he tells of how he saw an owl for sale at a food stall, so he bought it, hid it on the Trans-Siberian and later released it – much to the disgust of his fellow travellers, who were horrified that he had let such an expensive meal go!
Thankfully there are no owls or other live creatures at Donghuamen Night Market, although we spot plenty of stuffed dumplings and pancakes, kebabs, squid, glazed fruit and other tasty snacks, as well as deep-fried scorpions, crickets, silkworm, octopus and even starfish. We vow to come down here on Friday night to try some ‘traditional Beijing street delicacies.’