Tiananmen Square at 9 AM is buzzing with throngs of people – truly resembling the ‘largest public square’ that it has been built in any of the world’s cities. There is absolutely no mention of the student demonstrations of 1989 and we were actually instructed not to speak of them, except when alone on our bus. We felt like we were on the scene of a movie set, as the landmarks around the square are so iconic. We didn’t join the very long line to view Chairman Mao’s body, but instead went directly to the Forbidden City, which flanks Tiananmen Square. Chairman Mao’s huge face wears a benign smile as he views the entire scene from the wall around the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City truly has been a movie set (we must remember to watch The Last Emperor again on Netflix). But no movie has done it justice. The palace contains 1000 rooms, most of which are in the process of being restored. The detailed roof tiles, many sporting intricately carved animals that represent the ‘worth’ of the individual residing underneath them, were stunning. Visually appealing though all of this was, our pleasure was dimmed slightly by the sweltering heat and the crowds of street vendors eager to tackle a tour bus full of Americans – clearly in need of paper fans, colorful umbrellas, and sun hats, given the saturation of our clothes and hair. The gardens were full of ancient trees, flowers, rock formations, and pathways leading to pagodas…and thankfully, our cushy air-conditioned bus.
Lunch was traditional Beijing fried noodles made of wheat, vegetables, and fruit, which gave us a nice burst of energy that permitted us to tackle the Bird Cage and Water Cube in the Olympic Village despite the fact that the temperature had ratcheted up a few notches to ‘beyond-sweltering.’ Again, I’m going to resort to the picture-being-worth-a-thousand-words strategy.
In the evening, everyone in our group except for us went to view a Chinese Acrobat show…we met Wei Hao – the best Chinese teacher in the world…and ‘mei-mei’ to Sally and I. Wei is teaching English in Beijing and it was such a pleasure to spend time with her. Best of all, she released us from ‘tour-mode’ and we became ‘Beiging-ren’ (Beijingers) for the night. We started by stuffing ourselves (quite literally) into subway cars and heading back to Tiananmen Square to watch the nightly ceremony of the lowering of the flag. This ritual occurs every morning at dawn and every evening at sunset, with the time shifting ever so slightly each day as the earth revolves around the sun. Wei said we were so lucky, as yesterday’s rain had eradicated the smog, cooled the evening air, and provided us with a beautiful and rare-for-July blue sky dappled with cirrus clouds (see Eliza’s picture, below).
Quite a crowd gathers each time this ceremony occurs and Wei told us that it’s a ‘must-do’ whenever Chinese citizens visit the capital – it’s quite patriotic and Wei feels very proud of her country when she is there. We waited for about 45 minutes in our prime spot near the flagpole – during which I shot a particularly good photo of a little boy on his dad’s shoulders:
The ceremony begins with a squadron of soldiers marching in synchrony from the Forbidden City, across the street (where traffic is stopped) and up to the flagpole. Wei indicated that she thought all of the soldiers were incredibly handsome (I agree, but in a ‘son’ sort of way…guess that’s age)! The chief officer twists the flag into this beautiful shape that’s hard to describe, and then is joined by the remainder of the soldiers as they march again in synchrony back to the Forbidden City – singing a traditional marching song. It was a beautiful ceremony, with the sun setting and the people singing and waving flags. Several people asked to take a picture with Eliza and I (okay, just me) – which suggests that westerners typically don’t attend this ceremony. We’re so glad we did! We then had a lovely dinner of noodles and a broth with very smooth tofu in it, that Wei said is quite traditional in Beijing – and very healthy (a good antidote to heavy Peking duck). It was a perfect night and we’re so glad that we got to see Wei!
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