Last day in Beijing - sightseeing
I had a good day's sightseeing today - and I remember going to each of the places I went today back in 97. A lot of the buildings have been restored a lot since I was here last, so it was interesting to see them in all their glory. Today was a really nice day weather-wise - crisp morning...sun shining and very little pollution haze. I guess it's a bit of a rarity!
We went to Tiananmen square first this morning - we took the subway. Kitty, my guide, had warned me that the subway was pretty crowded and chaotic, but when we got on it wasn't any worse (and in fact was probably better) than rush-hour in London. Certainly better than a comparable Central line journey!
The square is pretty huge. There are large rectangular paving slabs that make up the square. Each slab could comfortably accomodate two standing people, and so the theory goes that there are 500,000 slabs, and therefore a million people could stand in the square. There were a few things set up for the national day which was at the start of October, and they were just taking them down. Mainly flower displays for the Olympics and a model of Lhasa in Tibet.
At one end of Tiananmen square is the gate to the Forbidden City which has the famous portrait of Chairman Mao on it (apparently a new one is painted every year by the same artist - cushy job!). At the other end of it is the building which houses Chairman Mao in his preserved state. There was a massive queue so we didn't bother doing that...
Went into the Forbidden City, some of which is under restoration in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. I think they're trying to make sure everything is tip-top for the arrival of the tourists.
After the Forbidden City we went to the Temple of Heaven - a nice park area with a bunch of buildings and temples in it. Following on from that we went to a pedestrian street with a lot of artists' shops and antique shops. I picked up a number of nice chinese paintings which I'll hang up back in my flat.
Depending on whether I unwrap them before I get back to the UK or not, I'll post pictures sooner or later.
Pictures follow:
The Temple of Heaven
Inside the Temple of Heaven
Pagoda atop the hill looking at the Forbidden City
Me in front of the Temple of Heaven
A big incense burner in the Forbidden City - biggest in Beijing apparently.
The "mountain" inside the Forbidden City
Nice dragon relief on one of the doors in the Forbidden City
This front block is a marble carving made from a single piece of marble.
Inside the Forbidden City
Ditto - nice restored roof
Bridges over the golden river inside the complex
...
Gateway
Military Manoeuvers
Ditto
Front gate
Chairman Mao's building
The front gate to the Forbidden City
Ditto
What the Olympic stadium will look like apparently...
Chairman Mao's building again
One of the famous statues outside
We went to Tiananmen square first this morning - we took the subway. Kitty, my guide, had warned me that the subway was pretty crowded and chaotic, but when we got on it wasn't any worse (and in fact was probably better) than rush-hour in London. Certainly better than a comparable Central line journey!
The square is pretty huge. There are large rectangular paving slabs that make up the square. Each slab could comfortably accomodate two standing people, and so the theory goes that there are 500,000 slabs, and therefore a million people could stand in the square. There were a few things set up for the national day which was at the start of October, and they were just taking them down. Mainly flower displays for the Olympics and a model of Lhasa in Tibet.
At one end of Tiananmen square is the gate to the Forbidden City which has the famous portrait of Chairman Mao on it (apparently a new one is painted every year by the same artist - cushy job!). At the other end of it is the building which houses Chairman Mao in his preserved state. There was a massive queue so we didn't bother doing that...
Went into the Forbidden City, some of which is under restoration in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. I think they're trying to make sure everything is tip-top for the arrival of the tourists.
After the Forbidden City we went to the Temple of Heaven - a nice park area with a bunch of buildings and temples in it. Following on from that we went to a pedestrian street with a lot of artists' shops and antique shops. I picked up a number of nice chinese paintings which I'll hang up back in my flat.
Depending on whether I unwrap them before I get back to the UK or not, I'll post pictures sooner or later.
Pictures follow:
The Temple of Heaven
Inside the Temple of Heaven
Pagoda atop the hill looking at the Forbidden City
Me in front of the Temple of Heaven
A big incense burner in the Forbidden City - biggest in Beijing apparently.
The "mountain" inside the Forbidden City
Nice dragon relief on one of the doors in the Forbidden City
This front block is a marble carving made from a single piece of marble.
Inside the Forbidden City
Ditto - nice restored roof
Bridges over the golden river inside the complex
...
Gateway
Military Manoeuvers
Ditto
Front gate
Chairman Mao's building
The front gate to the Forbidden City
Ditto
What the Olympic stadium will look like apparently...
Chairman Mao's building again
One of the famous statues outside
posted by Ken at 7:19 am
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