cgschina's blog

A guard tower at left, the Wall snaking endlessly over mountains to the right (click on images to enlarge)

On Wednesday we traveled about 2 hours north of the city of Beijing to visit the Great Wall.  We hiked a spectacular section of the Wall, called Jinshanling, on a beautiful, sunny day.  In all directions we enjoyed views of mountains, walls, and watchtowers as far as the eye could see.

An unrestored section of Ming Dynasty-era Wall

Several sections of the Wall have become so clogged with tour buses, gift shops, and visitors that one's enjoyment of the Wall may be a bit compromised.  Jinshanling, however, is a less heavily visited section, and our hike was both challenging and rewarding, and we often had long stretches of the Wall to ourselves.  We even hiked up to the Wall in darkness early Thursday morning, in hopes of catching a spectacular sunrise over the Wall.

The Wall at sunrise - about 4:50 a.m.

Clouds prevented us from seeing a truly memorable sunrise that morning, but it was peaceful and beautiful to watch the emergence of the morning light gradually change the colors of the landscape, both natural and constructed. The Walls in this section date to the mid-Ming Dynasty period, about 450 years ago, and were intended to repel Mongol raiders from the north.

BU conquers the Great Wall of China

In 1406, the Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of the vast array of buildings that would come to be known as the Forbidden City.

The CGS crew in the Forbidden City

Between 1420 and 1911, it served as the imperial palace complex for 14 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and 10 emperors of the Qing Dynasty.  Partly due to the intervention of Zhou Enlai, the Forbidden City avoided the destruction of the Cultural Revolution, and today it is one of China's foremost tourist sites, with good reason.

The fanciful creatures that adorn rooftops in the palace

We were very fortunate to have a beautiful day of sunshine and blue skies for our tour of this remarkable historic landmark.  Such days aren't terribly common in Beijing, which is known for it's infamous smog.  After making our way through the palace itself, we walked to Jingshan Hill to enjoy a view over the entire complex.

The whole BU Shanghai contingent on Jingshan Hill, with the Forbidden City in the background

The Forbidden City contains nearly a thousand buildings, and it is over 3,00o feet from north to south, and nearly 2,500 feet from east to west.  The north wall is also guarded by a moat, which you can view by clicking on the photo at left and enlarging it.

Shanghai's huge, gleaming new Hongqiao Railway Station

The students and staff of the B.U. Shanghai Summer Programs arrived in Beijing today for our week away.  We'll visit major historical sites in the capital, then venture off to the Great Wall and the mountains north of the city.

We came via the high-speed train between Shanghai and Beijing; we made a journey equivalent to traveling from North Carolina to Boston in 4 hours and 40 minutes - not bad.

The speedometer in the cabin of the high-speed train (that's 187 mph)

China has embarked on massive infrastructure projects in recent years, with some very substantial results.  The railway projects have not been without their problems, to be sure, including a major accident and numerous accusations of official corruption. But after taking this trip, it's hard not to think that rail travel in the U.S. is about 30 years or so behind the times.

B.U. arrives in Beijing

It was a pleasant way to travel between these two huge, fast-changing cities, and a good start to our trip.  If internet connections cooperate, I'll continue to post about our experiences during the week.

The site of the first Chinese Communist Party Congress in 1921

The students and I visited the Xintiandi section of Shanghai today.  This neighborhood is home to the museum that commemorates the site of the first congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921.  Here, firebrand iconoclasts like Chen Duxiu and Marxist philosophers like Li Dazhao built the party that would come to dominate China some two decades-plus later.

The birthplace of the CCP to the right, a gateway to shops and restaurants to the left

The location of this museum couldn't be more incongruous.  It is surrounded by what could only be described as a frenzy of consumer capitalism.  Just to the left of the museum entrance is a gateway to fashionable cafes, bars, restaurants, and shops.  And the city blocks surrounding this street are absolutely filled with high-end shops and malls.

The students enjoy an ice cream in Xintiandi

It's hard to imagine what Chen Duxiu, or for that matter, Mao would think of this neighborhood if he came back and saw what it has become.  But I think it's pretty safe to say they'd be confused.

In any event, it's a nice place to stop for an ice cream on a hot day.  And Shanghai has more than it's share of hot days.

One of the interesting things you can find in public city parks in China is a "marriage market."  For a relatively small fee, parents of unwed adult children can post descriptions of their offspring, hoping to attract a possible mate (or, more likely, parent of a mate, who will pass along the information).

In some cases, the advertisements, for lack of a better word, include photos, but normally, they include text that describes the physical details, job or job prospects, and other statistical information about the single person in question.  Apparently the success rate of these marriage markets isn't very high, but as you can see, that doesn't seem to detract from their popularity. A couple of years ago, I saw one in Chengdu, in Sichuan Province, and it was just as busy and crowded as this one, in People's Park in Shanghai.