No class on Wednesdays, so everyone got to sleep in today. The day's big activity was going to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Urban Planning Center. The square is the tourist capital of not only Beijing, but all of China. Although Tiananmen Square itself was built quite recently, the Tiananmen Gate, for which the square is named, and the Forbidden City are several centuries old. Essentially, the emperors of each dynasty lived in the Forbidden City. When a new emperor came into power, he would often expand the city, building outward toward what is now Tiananmen Square. Thus, the entire Forbidden City is massive in area. Though only approximately one-third of the city is open to the public, it would take an entire day to go through just that part.
We left Bei Wai at about noon, and took a private bus that dropped us off near the square. The square lies in the heart of the city, so it was about a 35 minute drive. However, our first stop was actually an exhibit at an exhibition center near the square, known as the urban planning center. I am fairly sure it was built in preparation for the Olympics because some Olympic regalia still hung in the lobby. The main attraction of the exhibit was a huge room that contained a 3-D, to scale replica of Beijing (see pictures). It had almost every building and actually looked quite realistic. On the outsides of the replica, the floor was actually transparent glass, and the parts of the city that lie outside the borders of the replica were projected upward to see (it was like standing on top of a giant google map). Needless to say, it was an awesome exhibit, and it definitely evoked a feeling that you were Godzilla, towering over the city. It was especially interesting because you were able to get a feel of the geography of the city without being too overwhelmed by its extensive nature. Beijing is similar to American cities like Phoenix and San Antonio in that they sprawl over many many miles. Beijing is certainly not a walkable city.
From there it was about a five-minute walk to Tiananmen Square. The square is the largest city square in the world, and is the tourist heart of Beijing. In the middle of the square is the Monument to the People's Heroes, and on the sides lie the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, the Great Hall of the People, and the Tienanmen Gate to the Forbidden City. One thing that foreigners really have to understand when coming to Tiananmen Square is that there are Chinese who come from throughout China to see the square and the Forbidden City. In Beijing, folks are relatively uninterested in foreigners; it's nothing new to them. However, for many people who come from rural regions of China, seeing foreigners is part of the experience, and thus they love to take pictures of you, and will ask you to take a picture with them. This experience can range from mildly amusing, to a little disturbing depending on if they ask you or if they equate you with a zoo animal. Personally, it didn't bother me. Most people are very friendly and just seem curious. It was quite hard to communicate with them, though, because their accents/dialects tended to be much different than the Beijing accent. The least amusing circumstances were when a person would come up behind our group of 20 or so and just take a picture standing in front of us, as if we were some type of extravagant scenery. Even if people didn't take pictures, you definitely noticed a lot of staring. Although there are a lot of foreigners at the square, the number of Chinese far outnumber them.
The square and the Forbidden City was cool, but its really not something you need spend a lot of time seeing. Especially in the Forbidden City, the architecture is very repetitive, and to foreigners there isn't a lot of significance. It's certainly something you need to see in your lifetime though. We had a historian who took us, so he told us a little of the history behind the city and the square. I wish I would have had a better grasp of Chinese history because I think it would have helped me appreciate them more. One of things you learn is that the Forbidden City is never complete. Throughout its history, it has constantly changed, and even today it is constantly being remodeled. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful place, and one that has had much historical significance for China throughout the centuries.
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