A Month in Beijing

China is big. Beijing is big. Everything seems to be big in this country. One has to crane one’s neck to see the temples, towers, palaces and the modern buildings. Our legs ached as we walked through the National Museum of China, the Forbidden City or through the busy Central Business District of Beijing. 

Coming from India, we were struck by almost every feature of this country. We were awed by the length, breadth and orderliness of their roads, the pavements, the efficiency and affordability of their public transport system, the toilets, the maintenance and cleanliness of their public spaces and a general civic order followed by the people themselves. 

In May 2016, we lived in Beijing for 25 days. Lately, our travel formula has been to live in one city in a new country for a month. This annual project generally gets implemented in May as it is a month of holidays both for my courts as well as our daughter Hannah's school. 

Beijing has so much to offer from the past and the present, having been the capital city of the Ming and Qing dynasties as well as the People’s Republic of China. If the museums and temples are one set in the itinerary, equally awe-inspiring is the imposing presence of the vibrant and bustling modern China visible in every nook and corner of the city.

The photo essay is loosely structured. It meanders from roads, palaces, museums to public conveniences to the culture of parks, food and friendships. Please note that the text comes first followed by the image.

There are high rises and high rises. Some are regular, while some are spectacular.

Beijing is a city that is constantly battling pollution. We were told that the Chinese government has strict laws to control pollution. It is mandatory for every car to go through pollution checks once a year. If it fails the test, the car has to be junked.

Within the city, we traveled mostly by the Subway. The Subway has signposts in both Chinese and English, unlike the buses which had their maps and sign boards only in Chinese. Slated to be the largest in the world by 2020, the Beijing Metro is also the newest and the cheapest in the world. It has 16 lines and they are adding more. It is supposed to have been built even under their major heritage sites.

We were often confused and intimidated by the number of exits in each of the subway stations. We wondered at the expansiveness of the city since the crowd from each station emerges out into at least 5 to 6 exits. 

There are strict security checks manning all these exits. The Subway also has their staff manning the platforms. On one occasion, Hannah had walked to the edge of the platform. Even before I shouted I heard the security woman shout to keep away.  

Because of language problem, we couldn't experience the bus services. In the buses, we were anxious about missing our stop or going in the wrong direction.  

Forbidden City: the maze of palaces and courtyards.

The most touristy destination of Beijing next only to the Great Wall of China. The smaller courtyards in this huge palace complex were exquisite, and so were the special exhibitions that were organised in them.

In one of the inner courtyards, an exhibition featured Peonies, the most sought after flower of the Chinese empire. You could see clusters of peonies in paintings, carved in jade and glass,stitched on shoes, robes and curtains. 

Like in any country, the stories of palaces are entertaining. Add to this the English translations of the intrigue and the machinations of kings,queens and their courtiers. See below the description of a cypress tree in the Confucius Temple, 

The Confucius Temple is located on a piece of land that is considered to be an ancient centre of education. It has large gardens with benches under the old cypress trees. A quiet and serene atmosphere. 

The 7.6 metres Bell in the Bell and Drum Tower. The bell is the largest and heaviest in China. This tower is in the Hutong quarter of Beijing. A steep tower with innumerable stone stairs. Certainly not for the weak-knees. We gasped and panted as we climbed the stairs. You can see the entire grey hutong quarter from this tower. 

The man below is the chief drummer of the Bell and Drum Tower. Four times during the day, six drummers dressed in white and red beat the drums. We were lucky to experience this grand show.

The Beijing Zoo. 

The most beautiful animal in this zoo is the panda bear. One is so familiar with stuffed panda toys that it was a pleasure to see it in real. A must watch scene is the intense concentration with which the panda peels and eats the bamboo. 

The zoo has water bodies which include lakes and streams that simulate the forest. There is also an aquarium adjacent to the zoo. Unfortunately we missed it. 

The Yongegong Lama Temple, a prominent Buddhist temple in Beijing attracts thousand of devotees.    

The Maitreya statue housed in the Yongegong Lama Temple, rising to a height of 18 meters, is made of a single block of sandalwood. 

The National Museum of China is located adjacent to the Tiananmen Square and diagonally opposite to the Palace Complex called the Forbidden City. Mao’s mausoleum is located close by and so is the Hall of Heroes. 

In the museum, The Road of Rejuvenation exhibition is a proud and confident rendering of Chinese modern history. The ultimate story of rebuilding the nation - from the ravages of imperial occupation, famine, disease and poverty to what China is today, the vibrant and prospering economy. The exhibits are curated with minute attention, pride and respect. 

.

When it comes to big, surely the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the biggest. An earth shattering event. The CPC will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2021. 

One of the exhibits in the National Museum. 

The exhibits in Road of Rejuvenation include the sound system used by Chairman Mao to address the nation, the first publications of the CPC, paintings of the land struggles where peasants burnt the land records, several sculptures and paintings of labourers and peasants, the communist slogans on the doorway of a landlord’s house, 'sound and light' shows of 'resisting the Japanese occupation', and the long line of leaders of the CPC who worked towards the strengthening of China as a nation. However the best of the paintings are those of Chairman Mao.  

Notice the sheer charisma of the man behind building of this extraordinary nation.

See below the painting of the Proclamation of the People’s Republic of China from the palace of the Forbidden City. 

There are several museums in Beijing. One of the museums that caught our attention was the Chinese Museum of Women and Children. It was housed in a huge colourful building. 

Ever noticed a play area in a museum? Definitely, our first time. 

While one floor of the museum displays local dresses worn by women of China, two other floors were devoted to the participation of women in the Communist Party of China and their role in building of modern China. On display were rare pictures of women artists, bare-foot doctors, women soldiers and technicians, news readers and others. 

The museum also gave statistics about the developments undertaken by the Chinese State to reduce maternal mortality, infant mortality and increase women’s participation in education and skilled employment. 

The picture below is our favorite from this museum. Read the caption in the picture.

Feng Zhiqin, main campaigner in the fight against arranged marriages in the 1940s.

The barefoot doctors of China. A Maoist concept which has resonated around the world. 

Rest room for pregnant women in a textile mill. A dream policy. 

Women soldiers in the People's Liberation Army. 

Famous Composer Qu Xixian.  

Shen Li, China's first woman TV anchor.... 

The maintenance of their public places is impeccable. Be it their subway stations, roads, museums, the pavements or even the public toilets. The National Museum of China had long queues of people coming to visit. But see how the floor shines. Like a mirror. 

 Tiananmen Square. Overwhelming in its majesty and history. 

Because we had a child with us, parks were very important in our itinerary. It was difficult to maintain the child's interest in museums and temples. We had to alternate between her interests and ours. Thanks to her, we got to experience the pleasures of the world of children too in Beijing. 

Beijing had several parks. These parks are very different from the parks that we have in India. For one, their parks did not have swings and slides that is common to our parks. 

We had heard so much about the parks of China. About how landscape is carefully designed to offer different experiences. So we expected to see beautiful gardens that combined flowers, trees, lakes and pavilions. We saw all that and more. 

These parks were full of people. Walking, singing, karaoke, tai-chi, fishing and dancing. 

It was not just young people who were dancing. Often older people were dancing. They were also playing several folk instruments. First we thought that they were playing for money. But we didn't see anybody giving them money. They seemed to be playing for the sheer pleasure of it.  Each of these performers had avid onlookers too.

In the pavilions, we saw groups of men and women practicing their music - one some with their violins, and some with their saxophones. Each nook and corner of the garden had something to offer. Here are some pictures.  

The pavilions in these parks have such lovely names. Pavilion of Forgotten Desires and Accompanying Clouds. Pavilion of the Mountain Scene and the Water Brilliance. Pavilion of Multi layered Greenery. And so many more. 

My favourite park was the Taoranting Park. It has a collection of pavilions drawing from different regions of China. Each turn in this park would give you a different vista. One of the pavilions in this park was the Receiving Moon Beams Pavilion. I lingered in this pavilion. My child, however, was impatient to move. 

These parks had an additional feature. You will see what we are referring to.  

These exercise bars were available both in the parks as well as on the pavements. 

One definitely sees a number of older people in Beijing. We found them playing mahajong on the pavements. Or simply sunning themselves on the pavements in their wheelchairs. We heard from friends that China is a disability friendly country. There were scores of old people and disabled people coming to the tourist spots in their wheelchairs. 

Most roads have pavements. Except the narrow roads leading into residential complexes. There benches provided on these pavements. And see the way trees are protected. 

And not to miss the cycles on the pavement.

The Beijing Bike Sharing Project enables people to hire bicycles for a nominal fee, use them and deposit them back in the parking lot near their destination. We found cycles parked near several metro stations. Another of Beijing's moves to battle pollution. 

Cycling seems to be a desirable and ideal mode of transport. We also found autos, small garbage trucks, mopeds, scooters, wheelchairs running on batteries. On the pavements we saw young people on personal transporters (what we call skates), again powered by batteries. Not as a sport, but to commute between places. 

The Auto-rickshaws...also running on batteries. 

Every feature of this city was enchanting. We were envious of their civic culture. In the subway trains children, old people and pregnant women were immediately given a seat. Wherever there was a crowd, people would quickly form into a queue. In the subway we found people wearing masks. We came to know that people suffering with cold, cough or flu, would immediately wear masks to prevent spread of infections. 

And now we come to food.

Plenty of vegetables. Very little vegetarian food. Not knowing Chinese made it even more difficult to locate restaurants that served vegetarian food. But living in an apartment with a kitchen helped the lone vegetarian in the family to be well fed. We bought a variety of local vegetables and pulses, and ate different varieties of sticky rice. Unfortunately, we did not eat their black rice. 

Sarath was however quite happy with the assortment of eggs and meats that were served. Nothing was a taboo for him. People seemed to buy eggs in kilos. And quite an assortment of eggs. White eggs. Brown eggs, Duck eggs, goose eggs, speckled eggs, tiny eggs. They were put up for sale in huge piles in all local shops. Not in egg trays that we are used to. 

Following are pictures of the food in Beijing markets. It was a pleasure to see the wide range of meats and seafood that was on offer. Much of the food was very affordable. There was plenty of street food. We were living on a tight budget and yet we could afford to eat out at least once a day.  

Street food in Wangfujing Street..

Below, the local bread with a generous dash of sesame. There are local bakeries which make small sweet breads with a dollop of jam inside.

Beer and other alcoholic drinks are not sold in separate shops. They are sold along with other groceries and household items in local shops. Wonder if they have an excise policy. Hundreds of questions but no language to converse. In any case Sarath was delighted.

See the big container in the picture below. The pot contains steaming broth with two different kinds of noodles, fresh herbs and a choice of meat or sea food. The pot arrives on your table with the food on a boil. 

Hannah struggling to eat with chopsticks. All of us struggled with chopsticks. It was a matter of pride to not to ask for spoons and forks. But, we were also keen to learn. 

There were people all around. Keen to talk to us. Not knowing Chinese was so frustrating. Yet we made friends. Brief friendships. Friendships that are intense and of the moment.

Hannah was coveted. Everyone wanted a photo with her.

The Chinese went out of the way to give us directions, read maps, and helped us buy gifts online. 

A word about Chinese hospitality. They buy gifts. In restaurants they order plenty of food. J

We did not venture out of Beijing. We were too lazy to even visit the Great Wall of China. We have reserved it for the next round of China. 

Beijing is in the north and the capital city. A very small part of China. There is still the South, the East and the West of China. Like India, we were told that each of these regions are unique in their culture and development.

It was evident that the Chinese State continued to pursue its socialist welfare policies inspite of embarking on a capitalist model of economic growth. Our readings showed the mammoth struggle that China had waged to eradicate disease and famine and to promote a inclusive development that addressed all its people. Their statistics of poverty alleviation are mind-blowing. 

We were envious and wondered how the Chinese State could achieve all this. After all, China and India shared similar histories at the time of independence  - brutalized by wars and imperial occupation, overwhelming numbers of peasants and unskilled workers, lack of industrial infrastructure, low literacy in skills and formal education and huge populations to contend with.

We are often told that China does not have a 'democratic' form of government. But what little we saw and heard told us a different story. The Communist Party of China seems to have evolved over the years a radically different form of government and governance and an altogether different set of procedures of accountability to its people. We were full of questions about the contents of this very unique 'Chinese model of accountability' between the State and the citizen especially in the absence of general elections, an opposition party and a judiciary to scrutinize the administrative machinery. 

It is also true that scholars from China are pointing to the problems of the contemporary Chinese model of development that it is increasingly autocratic and moving away from the people.  That the capitalist model of growth is surely and steadily making inroads into the welfare policies of the Chinese State - on one hand lower budget allocations in universal health care and education and on the other, relaxation of labour laws.  

However, for people like us coming from India, we find China to be so advanced in its welfare policies. For instance we have learnt that the Chinese have set such high standards for land acquisition and rehabilitation that few countries can follow.     

We were full of questions. So much food for thought and further reading. And, hopefully further journeys into China. 

We conclude with a song. Do listen to it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCDkPShADSc

We heard this song being played outside the main gates of Temple of Heaven, in the parking space which was by then empty. In the twilight about fifty couples danced to this song. Ten feet away heavy traffic was moving at its regular pace. Underground, the metro trains were relentlessly entering and leaving. In the darkening sky brightly lit kites were flying over the silhouette of the Temple of Heaven. This brought tears to our eyes...

Towards friendship and learning.