Beijing Tourism

In 2008 - four months before the last Olympics - I visited Beijing. News outlets all over the world were discussing human rights abuses in Tibet . Meanwhile CCTV, the Chinese English-language news network, reported that the Dalai Lama was training assassins in Japan. Why slander one enemy when you can target two? 

  Tienanmen Square

Mao's face still looks out over Tiananmen Square from the picture on his tomb where Chinese tour groups queue to see his pickled corpse. 

Monument to the People's Heroes at the centre of the square, an obelisk dedicated to the 'martyrs to the revolutionary struggle' is certainly not a monument to the people killed there in 1989. It's an unfortunate irony for the Chinese authorities that all the tourists taking a picture of it do so with that massacre in mind. Back at my hostel I Googled 'Tiananmen Square 89', just to see the Great Firewall of China.  

Forbidden City

A place that used to be barred to everybody but the nobility during the Ming and Qing dynasties now is criticised for being too open to commerce and tourism with all kinds of tat is sold within its walls. That said, the medieval Forbidden City is a sight to behold and quite rightly a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hutong

A network of hutong or alleyways within central Beijing  formatted in a quadrangle around the Forbidden City are a taste of ancient China but one where people still live. The mix of the ancient and the modern is a boon for tourism. But there are some who see the basic nature of these hutong as an embarrassment. A lot of them were being cleared around the time of the 2008 Olympics. Nevertheless, a third of the city is still hutong.

Great Wall of China 

There are different parts of the Great Wall including some great hiking spots. Not being that hardcore, I did the easy thing and visited the main touristy part where people climb stairs in a line. The wall itself is a remarkable feat of human engineering. My only problem with it was the tour that stopped  on the way to the wall at a jade factory, a tea house and herbal medicine clinic where we were all diagnosed as riddled with disease and given a bill for a prescription. It's hard to make your own way to the Great Wall, leaving the way open for dodgy tour operators. I recommend checking yours is reputable before booking. 

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is another UNESCO World Heritage Site dating from the same period as the Forbidden City. The magnificent circular building symbolises Heaven in the Taoist tradition.  This and the Great Wall were my favourites in Beijing. 


Having seen China's Washington, I hopped on an internal flight to its New York: Shanghai.