Forbidden Palace
Jonathan Shaller, a fellow traveler from the Red Lantern Hostel in Beijing, rendered this pavilion using Autodesk Maya. Jonathan is a professional 3D Environmental Artist with an impressive background. Notably, he’s worked on the graphics for The Chronicles of Narnia, Madagascar, and Transformers. He modeled this pavilion after visiting the Forbidden City’s Imperial Garden, where the Emperor once chose women for his harem.
Emperor's Bedroom
The Imperial bedroom was the most popular scene in the Forbidden City. Crowds of tourists pressed their lenses up to the glass and peered in to see where the Emperor slept. The symbol on the far wall is “double happiness,” literally comprised of two happiness characters strung together. Many translations of Chinese into English happen to sound like Orwell’s 1984 “Newspeak.”
Chinese Cannon
A weaponry gallery featured various spears and cannons. The exhibits were well curated with labels and often explanations for each artifact. Paintings or photographs served as the backdrop, artistically illustrating the objects in action.
Bridal Palaquin
The largest exhibit was devoted to imperial marriages. This gold palanquin carried the bride into the Forbidden City. Before the marriage, a formal proposal event took place involving three phases: stating the proposal, requesting the woman’s full name and lineage to ensure there were no blood relatives in common, and an astrological process to check compatibility.
Forbidden City Art
Many pages from the Emperor’s “wedding albums” were displayed on the museum walls. It was fascinating to recognize the paintings since you had just walked through the locations they portrayed.
Forbidden City Lantern
Since the Empress-to-be traditionally came through the gates of the Forbidden City at midnight, lanterns such as the one above were supposedly lit for the occasion. Once the Empress stepped over a saddle to enter the bridal chamber and the Emperor formally joined her, they proceeded to the bed and … ate underdone dumplings, literally. This special food was consumed on their marriage day to provide them with good male heirs. Drinking the nuptial cup was then climax of the marriage.
Forbidden City Pathway
Emerging from an indoor museum at the Forbidden City can best be described as walking out of the Medieval Art exhibit at the MET in NYC and finding yourself strolling through the corridors of a European castle. The more I wandered around this landmark, the more realistic it felt to my senses. The museum closed at 16:20, meaning there was an exodus of Chinese tourists moving toward the gates at 16:15, escaping the possibility of experiencing the palace after dark. At that time, crows came out to perch on the ornate eaves alongside the ceramic animals, and the palace really started to feel alive.
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City served as the Emperor’s Palace in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1644, 1644-1911). It’s the most impressive place I’ve seen in China and happens to be the world’s largest palace complex.
Crossing the Moat
To enter the Forbidden City, you must first cross a 6-meter deep moat.
Palace Blueprint
The southern half of the palace, where the Emperor ruled, is devoted to prominent buildings on the central axis, large open spaces, and a royal obsession with symmetry. The northern half, where the Emperor and his family lived, is a maze of smaller buildings that are unfortunately not open to the public.
Lion Statue A
Bronze and copper statues guard the entrances to the central axis buildings, which have very impressive architecture.
Lion Statue B
Perhaps this lion was meant to be so fierce that it was clawing one of its own kin…
Painted Wood
In addition to gold, all the primary and secondary colors are on display except for purple, which is nowhere to be found on the intricately painted wood underneath the eaves. Orange is rare and looks like white paint that was mistakenly mixed with red paint when it is used.
Fire Protection Vessels
When the palace was inhabited, these bronze vessels were filled with water in case of fire. During the winter, they were covered with quilts to keep the water warm or heated with coal.
Grain Measure Vessels
These grain measure vessels were placed outside the palace to credit the Emperor with establishing a grain measuring standard that unified the nation.
American Express Translations
Outside each central axis building, there was a sufficiently well-translated sign noting the parameters of the structure – one auspicious bay number times another auspicious bay number – and describing what function the building had for the emperor. Note the line at the bottom indicating that the sign was translated by American Express, the only piece of advertising in the whole palace.
Changing Clothes Throne, Bao He Dian
Though one structure was for meeting dignitaries and another for resting, they all looked similar on the inside: a mainly empty hall with a carpeted throne , statues, and vases. These interiors were also not open to the public. Instead, tourists swarmed at the front rail, and pushing was necessary to get a view of the throne.
Ceilings
Most of the buildings had gable roofs and beautiful panelled ceilings.
Non-Axial Buildings
The continuous structures lining the sides of the palace have been converted into museums that house artifacts from weddings and wars. Of course there was no mention of servants’ lives or the role of anyone below royalty.
Forbidden City
Pictures & videos coming soon. I’ve spent the past two days at The Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, Zhongshan Park, Silk Street Market, and a family music shop.
In addition to the traveling, hostel life is very interesting. I room with a Frenchman who was originally here to study calligraphy, an Englishman in the video game industry, an American w0man who volunteers for the Peace Core as an English teacher in western China, and a Zhōnggúorén (person from China) who speaks no English and has been kind enough to offer me small packaged pieces of unidentifiable food from his province. In a conversation about the food, I knew only enough Chinese to understand that it was not sweet, a little spicy, not chicken, not pork, not beef, not lamb, and not fruit. Once I exhausted my Chinese culinary vocabulary, I had little else to do than eat it. I enjoyed it. When I told him it was “hao chir” (good to eat), he piled more into my hand and pointed to the bottom of his bag that was swimming with the little packets. I enjoy sharing a room.
Today, I visited the largest lamasery, where Tibetan temple architecture is framed by figures of tourists lighting incense in fire bins. I hope to get pictures up soon, though the biggest role of monks at the temple – from what I, a westerner, could tell – was getting in front of tourists’ cameras and requesting, “no photo.” I wonder if they realize that angry monks make good tourist pictures too.
I just arrived in Beijing and will be here until Feb 21. The only trouble I had was at security. The airport staff unloaded my backpack while asking me if I had an “organ.” Wondering if they really thought I was carrying animal parts, I watched them curiously go through my possessions until they found my harmonica, exclaimed “mouth organ,” and let me repack.
I’m now sharing a room with 3 other people at a hostel near the center of the city for 50 Yuan a night ($7.32). If you have suggestions for where to go or requests for pictures, please let me know via comment or email.
Glass Ship
Hefang Jie feels like an extraordinarily realistic live museum. While strolling down the old street, you can see artisans showing off their skills to the curious tourists. A glass blower works at a table covered with his creations in the middle of the street. Below, you can enjoy my first attempt at editing a movie for the blog.
VIDEO
Tags: Glass·Hangzhou·Hefang·Song Dynasty
Hefang Jie
Hefang Jie, a famous pedestrian street off the southeast shore of Xi Hu, is the heart of old Hangzhou. Also known as the South Song Dynasty Imperial Street, it is lined with a variety of artistic souvenirs and snacks from all over China. ‘Though the street was recently heavily renovated, it is still home to century-old shops and maintains a Song Dynasty theme.
Biking in Hangzhou
Biking is by far the best way to explore Hangzhou. In fact, a bike is needed to see everything in the tourist town. There is a trail around the perimeter of Xi Hu (West Lake) as well as on both of its causeways. The government-subsidized red bikes are the most popular and cheapest to rent.
Hangzhou Bike Station
Hangzhou has several bike stations scattered around Xi Hu. Rachel, my fellow tourist from Hong Kong, taught me the ins and outs of the Hangzhou bike system. First, a $300 Yuan (44 USD) deposit needs to be placed at a bike station booth in order to get a card. By scanning the card on a bike stand, you unlock a bike and are free to take it wherever you like. The trick to the system is that the first hour is free. After that, the price goes up incrementally. Rachel timed our bike rides so that when we had been out for almost an hour, I would quickly find a nearby bike station on the map. We’d then scan our card on an empty bike stand to lock the bike, wait a minute, unlock it, and continue biking. All the bikes seemed to be the same and after a while the only characteristics I had to look for were a high seat and working bell. Aside from those inconsistent qualities, the bikes were pretty good and exceptionally stable, which is a blessing when you have to navigate around crowds of pedestrians and brake to save yourself from turning taxis.
No Biking Sign
In some locations, bicycles were forbidden from lakeside parks. Biking around the lake was still enjoyable, but I was always eager to get near the water again, so I finally pretended to not read the Chinese signs and entered the park. I was promptly yelled at by a Chinese cop, biked away, and got a picture of the cop strolling where I had just been. There is something Soviet about the appearance of security guards and policeman here, who always seem dwarfed by their fur-lined black winter coats two sizes too large for them. What especially struck me about the Hangzhou cops was how peacefully they’d stroll around the beautiful lake shore while being attentive enough to yell in a split second at an American girl biking into the park.
Hangzhou Cop
After having fun being thrown out from three gates by three different guards, I decided to stop messing with Chinese law enforcement. However, there was one clearing next to the lake that was three meters from the bike path with a beautiful bridge and Lefang Pagoda in the background. Desperate to get the perfect picture, I carried my bike this time, placed it on its kickstand, and proceeded to take a picture. No sooner had I turned on the camera, than a guard started yelling at me about the parked bike. I communicated as best as I could with hand motions that I wasn’t biking, but just stopping to take a picture. He wasn’t pleased with my attempted explanation and started lifting the bike, so I carried it three meters back to safety.
Green Guard Enters
By this time, a green guard was approaching and they seemed to be conversing about my nerve to carry a bicycle in to take a picture. Perhaps the cop wasn’t as worried about the bike being stolen as I was. I then figured that maybe if I got the same cop to take a picture, I could keep an eye on the bike and a thief would have to be a little more gutsy to steal right next to a cop.
Cop Armed With Camera
The cop was actually quite glad to take pictures. After finding a place to put down his tea thermos, he even motioned for me to pose a few times to take photos from multiple perspectives.
Biking Around Xi Lu
A few hours before catching the train from Hangzhou back to Shanghai, I visited a bike station booth to get my deposit back. After returning my card, the woman at the booth put one finger up. I couldn’t imagine what she was referring to, since the rental fees I had accumulated couldn’t have possibly been more than the deposit. I finally asked, “yi quai?” She nodded, I handed her a one yuan coin, and she paid me back the full 300 yuan deposit. I basically paid 15 cents to rent bikes for two days. The price was completely out of proportion with how much biking enhanced my trip to Hangzhou.
Gondola?
From the moment I laid eyes on Xi Hu (Xi = West, Hu = Lake), I yearned to take a boat ride on it. While Suzhou is called the Venice of China, Hangzhou’s Xi Hu has a more palpable Venetian feel with its paddle-propelled ferryboats. On Saturday, I met up with Rachel, an engineer from a city near Hong Kong. She was also traveling alone, so we decided to hire a boat together.
Dragon Boat
The Dragon Boats were the most noticeable and decadent. The inspiration must have been a Viking longboat made Chinese by practically plopping two traditional buildings in the middle with a single longitudinal connecting beam.
Dragon Boat
Gaudily colored with upturned eaves, these boats featured disproportionately large figureheads. Everyone seemed to want their picture taken with the Dragon Boats.
Lions on the Stern
If this wasn’t a Chinese lake barge, I would be surprised to see enormous bronze statues placed on the poop deck for display with no worries in respect to weights and centers.
Chinese Traditional Boat
The most popular pleasure boats afloat were these wooden tour boats built in the traditional Chinese style. They were probably the most stable as well.
Row Boats
Common rowboats were the most costly since the tourists had to pay for the privelege to row themselves around the lake. The rowers on the right were having a little trouble with coordination.
Motor Boats
Small motor boats were available in one nook of the lake.
My Favorite Boat
This was my favorite boat, a loosely carvel-planked paddle-propelled boat. I say loosely-planked because a one-centimeter thick layer of adhesive was sloppily pressed into the cracks between planks.
Small Ferry Boats
We found a gathering of the small boat drivers hanging out near the lakeside who all had the same price, 80 yuan (12 USD), to hit up two islands and come back. It wasn’t until we approached a few of these groups that we realized the price was fixed and we couldn’t haggle.
Island in Xi Hu
It was frustrating to not see the beautiful landscape on the other side of the like, but the fog lent a mysterious quality to the waters. Xi Hu seems to be one of those unique locations that is beautiful in all seasons.
Rachel & I
Here is one of the three stone structures, or “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon” that we visited (or “poos” depending on which translated map you’re carrying). These small pagodas date back to the Song Dynasty. Everyone described them as “mysterious,” which I soon came to realize meant that no one I met knew what they were, though they are featured on the 1-Yuan bill.
VIDEO
While the driver paddled us out to the islands, him and Rachel discussed the history of the lake. According to the driver, rowboats were common until it was thought improper for a person of low status to paddle around a person of high status. The same mentality led to the phasing out of rickshaws. When Nixon visited Xi Hu in 1972, he supposedly told the people that motor boats were harmful to the environment, so they switched back to rowboats. The driver also claimed that when asked what he thought of Xi Hu, Nixon stated, “the people are poor, but the lake is beautiful.”
VIDEO
A dragon boat motors by us in the second video. Our vessel, on the other hand, slid through the water like a canoe. It rolled easily in the wake of the motor boats too.
Dredger
The old-fashioned dredgers were the most unusual boats on the lake to me. West Lake was first dredged almost one thousand years ago. At that time, the sediment was used to construct the Su Causeway that traverses the lake. Now, dredging is carried out as part of a restoration effort.
VIDEO
The Music Fountain in Hangzhou is located near Hubin Lu, the most modernized street on the lake with shops like Armani and Dulce&Gobbana. Click on the link above to see Chinese tourists watching the fountain rise and fall with the trumpeting of Spanish classical music. The entertainment reminded me of Aldous Huxley’s fictitious scent organ.
Longjing Tea, Hangzhou
This weekend I traveled to Hangzhou, capital of the Zhejiang Province. Hangzhou is known, among many things, for its long leaf tea, Longjing.
Xi Hu (West Lake)
The city’s famous two-square-mile West Lake, Xi Hu, is surrounded by cultural and historic sites. An entire trip to Hangzhou can be spent just at the lake. Pedestrian paths line the lake’s perimeter and consist of many beautiful stone bridges, such as the one pictured above. Leifeng Pagoda is in the background.
Red Antique Boxes
These markets have a liberal definition of the word “antique,” ranging from authentic red Mao soldier books to items made last year.
Wusong Estuary
Wusong is a port town in the Baoshan District of Shanghai where the Huangpu tributary flows into the Yangtze River. Ken and Aili, along with their friend from Wusong, brought me along to a waterside park in Wusong that preserves the estuary to inhibit local habitat destruction. After getting accustomed to Shanghai crowds, it was both refreshing and eerie to walk in a quiet park. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to nature since coming here.
Canons at Wusong Park
Wusong Emplacement Memorial Square commemorates the port’s role in the Opium War of 1842 and wars with Japan. Featured above are cannons that once lined the Huangpu and Yangtze Rivers. The cannons were positioned in such a way to make the memorial look active, as if the armaments were still defending the port. There were also glass-enclosed exhibits of captured British cannon replicas. I’m not sure if the replicas were on display because the real ones were too precious to place in the park, or because no enemy cannons were captured.
Climbing the Canon
The sole security guard told us that since no one else was there that day, we could climb the canon at the center of the square. It was used to fight the British in the Opium War.
Fruit Trees
To get our money’s worth, we threw water bottles at the park’s fruit trees. Boys sat nearby devouring the fruit while watching our frustration. After we left, they returned to the tree with long sticks to shake the branches.
Fruit
Aili finally got one, but though it looked like a sweet orange, it ended up tasting like a grapefruit.
Chinese Signs
I appreciate signs that I can understand without being literate in Chinese.
Times Square, Pudong
The Huangpu River bifurcates the metropolis into Puxi and Pudong (”xi” means west and “dong” means east). I live in Pu Dong, or Pu Jersey as the expats on the other more eventful side call it. In the 1990’s, the area was farmland. Now, it’s one of the newest and most built up districts in Shanghai.
Pudong Apartment View
Above is the view from my twentieth-floor apartment in Pudong. Below is a close-up of the base of the skyscraper in the top-left corner.
World Plaza
I work in the World Plaza. Though the English letters are conspicuously written above the entrance for all passerby to see, if you say “World Plaza” a block away, no one will know what you’re talking about. The 50-cent DVD dealer outside the entrance probably would not know where to direct you.
Union Square, Pudong
It confuses my senses to see New York names here, especially since Union Square is supposed to be southeast of Times Square, like in Manhattan. Pudong places them only a busy block apart from one another.
South Pudong Lu at Night
The most hazardous aspect of my 15-minute walking commute is crossing the street. I feel like I almost get run over on almost every crossing. Taxi cabs in particular appear to be exempt from the rules.
Suzhou
Suzhou (pronounced Sue-Joe) is a water town west of Shanghai known for its beautiful traditional gardens, the largest being The Humble Administrator’s Garden. The town was right out of films: red lanterns, silk, gardens, and canals.
Shanghai Railway Station
To get there, a coworker, his friend, and I took a high-speed D-Train from Shanghai Railway Station. The 45-minute journey was more like a flight than a train ride. Seats are assigned by ticket, tea and snack carts are pushed down the aisles, and there are sickness bags and exit maps behind every seat.
Streets of Suzhou
The city, especially this shot, reminded me of Tintin in China. I would have brought a copy of The Blue Lotus by Herge but didn’t want to be caught with literature that stereotyped this culture. The ancient part of the town has broad paved walking lanes lined with old or historically renovated buildings.
Spicy Chicken with Peanuts
Before sightseeing, we went out for lunch. Pictured above is a popular Szechuan dish (Sichuan is a province known for its spicy food). Also on the table are shrimp cooked in another province’s style, a hot pot dish from yet another province, and deep fried salty-sweet pork, a Suzhou specialty.
Suzhou Infant
This girl, the restaurant owner’s daughter, stared at me by my side for the entirety of the meal.
WC
Suzhou’s public restrooms were reminiscent of India, where even the toilets in the airports consist of no more than two treads and a hole.
(more pics to come – Garden of the Humble Administrator)
Dajing Lu
On my way to Yuyuan Gardens in the Old Town, Puxi, I found many interesting small streets on the other end of the urban spectrum from the financial district where I live. Dajing Lu, pictured above, was by far my favorite street.
2 Yuan Store
I finally found the Chinese equivalent of the dollar store, or the 2 Yuan store (converts to 30 cents). I was in disbelief that the jewelry was that cheap, so I asked the shopkeeper, “duoshao chian” (how much)? He reacted strongly by holding up the large purple sign on the right with a serious expression and made welcoming gestures to buy as much as I wanted. I would describe the products in detail for you but many of my cheap purchases here are presents for the primary readers of this blog.
Kite Seller
Each shop had its own specialty with goods hanging outside like beautiful bait and a usually pushy merchant guarding the entrance.
Cops on the Corner
After I tried to get a picture of the cops on the corner, one of them took an aggressive step toward me, shrugged his shoulders, and put his palms up in front of me in a sharp motion, expressing something like, “why the hell did you feel the need to take our picture? There’s no scene here.”
The Chopsticks Lady
I’m glad I had the opportunity to snag a photo of this woman on my way out of her shop because she was by far the most fun out of all the characters I encountered that day. Like many people I meet here, though her expression never changed and she spoke no English, she managed to clearly convey to me what she was wanted. In her shop, I browsed fancy chopsticks until I found a single beautiful jade set with matching turtles as chopstick rests. Keenly following me and noticing my curiosity, she plugged 350 (51 USD) into her calculator to indicate the price to me but I shook my head. All the vendors keep calculators with them to display the cheap register’s price to gullible foreign customers. The woman then shoved the calculator into my hand and I punched in 100 (14 USD). She acted shocked, put my fingers on the chopsticks to feel that the jade was real stone, and then punched in 330 like a gaming addict. Eager to show her how I played the game, I punched in 100 again. After dropping her offer in several small but drawn out increments, she made made a fed-up expression, abruptly laid down the calculator, and dropped the chopsticks into a plastic bag for 100 Yuan. I was probably foolish to have not set the price even lower, but I’m happy with what I bought. Prior to this purchase, I had given up haggling because of my linguistic lack, but the Australian girls I met nearby gave me confidence by claiming that they always set the price they wanted, never budged from it, pretended to walk away, ignored all pleas, and walked off with the good purchased at their reasonable price.
Clothes Shop
I bought a pretty white Chinese top here. At one point, when I expressed interest in different patterns of another top, the shopkeeper sent off a boy lurking around the shop to fetch some more tops from some nearby shop. While I was finishing bargaining for the white top, he returned panting on a bicycle with a few more shirts in hand. He seemed a little upset with the merchant as I exited.
Yuyuan Gardens
Yuyuan Gardens is a peaceful retreat in the Old Town, costing 3o rmb to enter, or about $4.40. Though the garden was not designed for the multitude of international tourists who explore its bridges, rocky paths, and wooden interiors every day, it is possible to achieve peaceful moments within the garden.
Traditional Clothing
Look carefully at the picture above to discern which article of clothing does not match the others. A sign at Yuyuan Garden reads, “Digital Photo Taken With Wearing Ancient Costume.” As soon as this Chinese tourist posed with the traditional garb, every tourist within sight gathered around her to capture what appeared to be authentic.
Latin Tree Names
The Chinese signs identifying trees are subtitled by binomial nomenclature. It disturbed me to see a dead language take priority over English. Notice the famed rock also pictured above. It looked and felt exactly like the fake rock in the Bronx Zoo. I understand what the zoologists were going for in their Asian exhibits much better now.
Jade?
Yuyuan Garden is known for The Exquisite Jade Rock. Aside from these green ceramic pillars and perhaps the occasional tint of the rock pictured in the first and third of these pictures, the most jade thing I noticed about the garden was the color of the water.
Yuyuan Garden
There were more Caucasians here than I had seen in China previously. I almost started taking pictures of them, but then remembered that would be of no interest to you all. I asked a tourist to take this picture of me because at first I thought he was speaking Tagalog, the Filipino national language, which feels native to me compared to difficult Chinese. I could not figure out which language he was speaking, though.
Yuyuan Garden
The architecture is stunningly well integrated with the surrounding rocks and water. Crossing every bridge feels like a scenic privilege .
Corridors
The tall white corridors lined with wooden, stone, and glass art between the buildings set the pace for transitioning from one part of the garden to another.
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