Travel Diary - The Imperial Palace Beijing 2011

In 2011 I was back in Beijing for my third visit, this time in winter.  As always for my trips to this city, the skies where clear and blue.  The commercialisation and development of Beijing continues unabated, as hutons make way for even more western style shopping malls.  It is sad to see what has happened to this delightful city.  Yet there is still something appealing about Beijing and its residents, despite all the changes not necessarily for the better.  Here is what I had to say after my third visit to the Imperial Palace.

Beijing Saturday 10 December 2011

Today was an odd day.  It was a search for the China, the Peking, I liked so much in 1993.  But I am afraid it is gone.  Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.  This morning I got the metro to Qianmen and went in search of the entry to the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.  The queue was not very long, and it was moving at a nice steady pace.  Security was very tight (no bags, and definitely no cameras).  The hall is quite impressive, and it looks something like the National Library in Canberra, the Nation's Capital.  On the way to the front door several people bought a single yellow flower, for three yuan, to place at the feet of a large statue of a seated Chairman Mao in the outer chamber.  The space in front of the statue was nearly full of flowers, so no doubt they eventually make their way back to the little shop later in the day.  A nice little earner that must be. As we approached the inner chamber, most people became subdued, though there were a couple of men still chatting away loudly (just try and keep a bunch of Chinese quiet).  A highly decorated military man hissed at the remaining talkers, and must have told them to take off their hats.  They uncovered their heads, and shut their mouths quick smart.  

Then it was into the inner chamber.  It was very '70s in decor; wood panelling, hidden lighting, and potted plants.  The chairman was under glass, on a slight incline, wearing a green Mao suit.  A Chinese flag covered him from the chest down.  He looked like a wax figure, even his hair looked fake.  But I suppose there is no reason to doubt that it really is he.  So this is the man responsible for the death, suffering and misery of millions of people.  But to what end?  Across the road from him are now a KFC, and malls full of crappy shops.  Mao has become nothing more than a curious relic; a pop culture image on a tacky watch selling for 120 yuan.  If he had a proper grave, I suppose he would be spinning in it.  There was no chance to linger, and members of the Peoples' Liberation Army kept everyone moving at a steady pace.  Then it out the other side back into the late morning sun.  It was an interesting visit, and as an exercise in the macabre it was certainly a worthwhile.  In a way it was also the closest I have come to capturing the nostalgia of that 1993 visit.  

After I picked up my bag and camera I went over the road to have lunch at KFC.  I must admit that it was the best KFC I have had in years.  The chicken was crispy, the chips where just perfect, and the Pepsi Max cold and sparkling.  Thus fortified, I made my way up to the Meridian Gate for my third visit to the Imperial Palace.  The crowds were huge and completely lacking in any historical respect.  But it was nice to be back again.  It was cold, but sunny and clear (I am yet to experience anything but blue skies in Beijing).  I wondered about slowly for a couple of hours.  There was nothing new since 2007; all the same exhibitions, the same displays.  The face lift for the Olympic Games has not been maintained, and some parts were looking a bit tired and run down.

I went to my favourite spot in the Imperial Garden.  In 1993 there were old men sitting around chatting, with their little singing birds in cages nearby.   There were also the smiling ladies selling the hot snacks from their little hot plates.  They are long gone, and Imperial Garden has lost a great deal of its charm.  It now feels somehow sterile; overrun my dozens of loud Chinese tourists.  I had afternoon tea at a new cafe.  It was a complete rip-off; 65 yuan for a small heated up bowl of Gōngbǎo Jīdīng, a huge scoop of stodgy rice, and a dry, tasteless muffin.  I planned to stay until dusk and closing time, and hopefully experience something of the peace and quiet that must descend on the palace as the crowds depart.  One new thing I did see was the Hall of Mental Cultivation where, on 12 February 1912, the Dowager Empress Longyu signed the Imperial Edict that granted China a republican government (well, I had seen it before, but did not realise its importance).  The Articles of Favourable Treatment meant that the Great Qing Emperor Xuantong would keep his title and his palace, but the empire was gone.  

After a quick visit to the Hall of Supreme Harmony I went in search of somewhere sunny to sit as the temperature began to drop in the late afternoon.  Then I saw the most disgusting example of just how bad things are at the Imperial Palace.  A shop has opened called "Fly Over the Forbidden City".  Yes, you too can dress up as the Emperor or Empress and be filmed pretending to fly.  This is then superimposed over aerial footage of the Imperial Palace, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall.  The Emperor flying over his palace; it was all too depressing for words.  A girl in the shop saw me staring incredulously at this abomination and smiled and called me in.  With a great effort I smiled sadly in return, and then beat a hasty retreat.  I found a nice spot in the sun, and sat down for a rest.  It started off nice and quiet, but far too soon my peace was disturbed.  A pack of photographers came rushing past, following a woman wearing the most ridiculously tight pair of leather trousers I have ever seen.  Maybe she was some sort of minor celebrity, but to me she just looked like a slut.  

So this is what this proud old palace has been reduced to: a theme park; a backdrop against which masses of newly prosperous Chinese, ignorant of their own history, can have their photo taken doing star jumps.  A palace now the stomping ground for trampy D grade minor-celebrities trying to drum up some publicity.   Over 2000 years of imperial dynastic history reduced to a tacky DVD of an emperor flying over their palace.  Bad taste wins the day.  This is what millions of people died for.  But how can the Chinese Communist Party maintain its dictatorial control when it has so obviously sold out to consumer greed?  What socialist ideology is left?  Precious little as far as I can see.  However, the people seem content with the situation, so it looks like the men in power, hiding behind the fiction of the CCP, will hold onto power for the foreseeable future.  Well, at least until the Mandate of Heaven is bestowed upon a suitable new Emperor and the dynastic cycle is reestablished. 

Feeling disillusioned, I gave up on my plan to stay until dusk, and left the palace.  It was with a feeling of melancholy that I looked back towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Will I ever come back to Beijing again?  Maybe one day, after all I still want to do the train trip from Beijing to Urumqi.

Travel Diary - The Imperial Palace Beijing 2007

In 2007 I returned to Beijing and found a very different city to the one I remembered from 1993.  With the Olympic Games coming a lot of change was in the air.  Here is what I wrote after my second visit to the Imperial Palace.

Beijing Wednesday 16 May 2007

The train trip from Shanghai last night was uneventful, I even managed to sleep really well.  We glided into Beijing Railway Station just before 8am.  I was surprised at how pleased I felt to be back after 14 years.  The station looked familiar, and I got ready to run the gauntlet of taxi drivers as I made my way out onto the plaza.  But, surprisingly, unlike my arrival in 1993, I was left completely alone.  The hotel is just across the road and I found it without any difficulty.  My room was not ready, so I dropped off my bag and headed out for a walk.  I did not plan on being gone for long, but it was over five hours before I made my way back here.  

I started off in the general direction of the Imperial Palace, but with no particular plan in mind I often went down lonely looking streets just to see what was there.  I passed some intriguing looking hutons; I'd love to go in for a proper look.  There were not many people to begin with, but as I got closer to the main east-west avenue the signs of life increased dramatically.  The big avenue looked different to how I remembered it.  It wasn't just all the new buildings, it was their height that made it look so very different.  Not exactly a change for the better I must say.  I overshot Tiananmen Square and found myself at the north-east corner of the moat that surrounds the Imperial Palace.  I did not visit the Jingshan Park in 1993 so I went in for a look, and also, I hoped, something to eat: it was about 9:00 am and I was starving.  What a wonderful place it was.  People were dancing, singing, exercising and even praying in the morning sun.  I bought some breakfast; a big bowl of some sort of savoury stew (the only things I could identify were mushrooms and tofu).  It certainly hit the spot, and all for just 3 yuan (about 50 cents).  I sat in in the shade, ate my stew, and watched a group of ladies, all in matching outfits, dancing and singing.  Then I explored the park, its hills and pavilions, and nice views over the Imperial Palace, and and the city further south.  An interesting sight was the tree from which the last Ming Emperor committed suicide.  I left my hat there and when I came back about half an our later it was still sitting next to the hanging tree.  There was no smog at all, just clear blue skies.  My second visit to Beijing, and, again, the weather is perfect.

I came out of the park opposite the north gate of the Imperial Palace, the Gate of Divine Prowess, which leads to the Gate of Obedience and Purity.  I had not planned on visiting the Imperial Palace until tomorrow, but as I was there, I thought I might as well go in.  Starting from the north, I came straight to the Imperial Garden, one of my favourite spots from 1993.  But the elderly men sitting and chatting, and the ladies selling snacks, who I remember from 1993 were nowhere to be seen.  The private quarters of the Great Qing Emperor, however, were just as eery as I remembered them.  Elsewhere there were a lot of renovations under way, and many parts of the palace were closed.  The Hall of Supreme Harmony was completely shrouded in tarpaulins, and all over the place there were big signs proclaiming "Beijing Welcomes the 2008 Olympic Games".  There were large groups of Chinese and foreign tourists, so many that I avoided them if possible.  After muscling my way to the front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity to take a couple of photos, I needed to get away from these noisy people.  I left the main north-south axis, and went in search of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.  On the way I spotted a door slightly ajar.  I gave it a little shove, and it opened.  I could not see anyone nearby, so I thought I would explore further.  I found myself in a courtyard in front of a small pavilion.  The windows were all papered over, but a small opening revealed a completely empty room with white washed walls and a dirt floor.  I wonder who lived here, or what its purpose was?  It was amazingly quiet in the courtyard.  I sat in the shade for about half an hour and enjoyed the silence.  After this peaceful interlude, I decided to head back to the hotel, as I was now feeling very tired. 

I came out through the Meridian Gate and and made my way back towards Beijing Railway Station, but I soon got lost.  I bought a map at a kiosk, but that did not help much as I did not know where I was.  Tomorrow I am going to get a compass!  I spotted a metro station and went down to get a train back to Beijing Station.  What an old fashioned system compared to Shanghai and Hong Kong.  The tickets are little slips of paper, like raffle tickets, with a picture of a train on it.  It cost one yuan for the ticket at the window, which I immediately handed over to a sleepy looking woman at the gate.  They will have to do better next year for the Olympics.  The trains, however, were clean, frequent and the system was easy to navigate, there only being a couple of lines.  It turned out I was just around the corner from my hotel when I got lost.  

At the palace I bought a copy of the autobiography of the Great Qing Emperor Xuantong (known as Aisin-Gioro Puyi in the People's Republic of China).  It will be interesting to learn more about his so-called "re-education" from Emperor to loyal supporter of the Chinese Communist Party.  But for now, I'm exhausted, and its time for an afternoon nap.