Beijing

Last week I went to Beijing for the weekend - my first time in Beijing. Since I'll be back to Beijing multiple times, like when my parents come in January (woohoo!) and when other friends come later, I decided to spread out the sightseeing a little. This trip included trips to Tsinghua University, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace.

Tsinghua University, considered the top science and engineering university in China, was established in 1911, funded by U.S. money (the "Boxer Indemnity," their website says) to make up for damage done during the Boxer Rebellion. Many of the country's leaders, like Hu Jintao, the current president, attended Tsinghua. The architect was a University of Illinois graduate, so he modeled part of the design of the campus after U of I campus.

Friday at Tsinghua

After Tsinghua, we headed downtown to Hong Qiao, "Red Bridge," which was a huge pearl market. There were literally piles of pearls all over the place. Vending booths lined the indoor walkways, the owners stringing jewelry if they didn't have customers. They yelled out in English as I walked by, the same words echoing all over as the vendors called to other westerners. I didn't spend too much time there, because I wanted to go to Temple of Heaven right across the street.

Temple of Heaven was constructed from 1406 - 1420. The emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty visited the Temple every year to pray to heaven for a good harvest.

People playing cards with the main building , the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvests in the backgroundThe Temple of Prayer for Good Harvests
The sunset from one of the platformsThe Temple of Heaven includes several temples and park off to the sides

One of my favorite parts of the Temple of Heaven was Echo Wall. The large round area is enclosed by a stone wall, except for the open entryway. I stood on one side of the door, facing around the wall, and my friend stood on the other side of the door, also facing around the wall. Because of the structure and how sound waves work, our voices traveled along the outside of the wall to the other person!

Saturday I went to Summer Palace, built in 1750. It was the summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), who used the Navy's funds to build a marble boat in 1888 (shown below). Apparently she allocated funds to help build up a modern navy, but then decided to use the funds to build a 36 meter -long boat, where she could eat dinner and admire her garden! The message she was trying to send was that the Qing Dynasty was solid and would not be overturned, like her boat. Unfortunately (and ironically), the Qing Dynasty downfall is often blamed on this woman. A good reminder that our actions are more important than our words.

Foxiangge Pagoda, the Tower of Buddhist Incense (where Cixi had her birthday parties!) This is the main building of the Summer PalaceKunming Lake Beijing from the Foxiangge PagodaThis picture is taken through a painted window of Kunming Lake and the marble boat off to the leftand...the Marble Boat!