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Architecture * To house 16 million people, and their offices, the most feasable way is stack them. No wonder that the major building direction is upward, for both houses and offices. By no means in a standard way. It also means demolishing old quarters (hutongs) to make room for these new buildings - the Olympic area was cleared that way. The government has opened a museum on the cty planning that houses a big maquette of the city and of some remarkable buildings - including the Olympic stadiums. * (28 Slides) Traffic * Moving 16 million people in this relatively small area means heavy traffic - and each day, about 3000 cars are added to the continuous stream of traffic. No wonder the rush hour is a mess....The Chinese have always been inventive - as shown by the mix between motorcycle and van. However - within this modern traffic you'll find artefacts of old-fashioned China, where the bike was the fastest and, for most people, the only way to travel around with goods.... * (4 Slides) ForbiddenCity * The old imperial palace - a town-in-the-town, not accessable for mortals - is a showcase of traditional Chinese building: Wood structures covered with glazed terracotta tiles. As a side effect of the 2008 Olympics, the complex is restored to it's former colourfull state. Alas, it was raining all day... * (78 Slides) GreatWall * Another big undertaking from the past is the defence against Mogul tribes: The Great Wall. A section near Beijing has been restored so it can be walked. It follows the mountain countours - going up and down. We went up by cable car and returned several kilometers further, by a chairlift. * (12 Slides) TempleOfTheHeavens * The Temple of the Heavens is another ancient relic. The most remarkable fact is that the roofs aren't yellow (the colour of the emperor) but blue: the colour if the heavens. * (16 Slides)
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Hutong * The governemnet has understood the historical value of the old city quarters. These quarters, called Hutong are normally considered something to get rid of. They might have been, and most have been demolished to make room for modern living quarters and offices. But this one is kept as it is, even updated, for tourist's sake, probably. This one surrounds two historical towers used for timekeeping. That may be the rescue of this quarter. We crisscrossed it by riksha - a human driven ' cyclecab'. After the ride, we had a tea ceremony in one of these towers, and a drum demo in the other - going up 67 (uneven) steep steps. * (20 Slides) Towers * The two towers - Bell Tower and DrumTower - that were used for timekeeping and alarming the area, in the middle of this Hutong. In the Bell Tower is a teashop that also demos the Chinese tea ceremony. * (9 Slides) BehaiPark * The Behai Park is the area of the first (Mogul) Forbdden City. Just the dome of the temple remains, but from there you have a nice view over Beijing. And of course, there are the restored gates. * (21 Slides)
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$text.updated-on 24-Jun-2008 20:36
(c) 2008 Willem Grooters