TGI Friday!
16 Sep 2005 — Having visited both the Great Wall and the Forbidden City the last time while we were in BJ, I wasn’t particularly keen to play the tourist during this trip. However again with Weiling at work and a few hours to kill, I thought I’d do so today. Have heard some pretty good things about the Summer Palace, but it was a bit far away, on the outskirts of town, and so I decided on 天坛 or the Temple of Heaven (ToH), which was right smack in the middle of the city instead. Still feel rather wary of travelling around on my own, my biggest concern — being taken for a ride by the cabbies, so always must pretend that I’ve lived in Beijing for years.
Turns out the driver I got was pretty nice and friendly, and before long, we were on the front steps of the ToH, so I reckon I didn’t get cheated.
For those unfamiliar with this place, I’ve taken the brief description of it from UNESCO’s site: The Temple of Heaven, founded in the first half of the 15th century, is a dignified complex of fine cult buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods. In its overall layout and that of its individual buildings, it symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven – the human world and God’s world – which stands at the heart of Chinese cosmogony, and also the special role played by the emperors within that relationship.
Hmm… first impressions: so quiet, none of the busy crowds typically associated with these touristy spots. And I soon found out why. Nestled amongst 273 hectares of stunning forest, it was easy to simply “get lost”, not seeing another person for a good few minutes — no easy task considering we were in the heart of Beijing. Indeed it felt heaven-like, an oasis of peace, a respite for the soul. Even within minutes from entering its gates, I felt as if I’ve been transported miles and miles away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Finding myself walking down avenues and avenues of perfectly lined Chinese cypress, Chinese juniper and scholar trees, it was easy to feel this way.
Isn’t it beautiful? I definitely wasn’t expecting this little gem, such a well kept secret. But I get carried away, this is afterall the Temple of Heaven, and there is indeed a temple to see. So come…
Passing through the North Celestial Gate
As luck would have it, “The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest”, which is the main structure commonly associated with the ToH, was closed for repairs.
All I could see of it was this. Huh… so naughty! How come we weren’t told earlier. Luckily, having spent some time amongst all that lush greenery has done wonders for my spirit and I’m feeling rather calm and forgiving given the circumstances. So never mind lah, just see other things lor!
The next building to see was the Fasting Palace, and on the way there I also caught a couple of mini attractions. First there was the rose garden.
So gorgeous and the garden seems very well tended to.
And this is the Longevity Pavilion, its double ring shape is supposedly quite unusual.
Also saw this bunch of gardeners hard at work, pruning the bushes till they were all uniform in shape and size.
But without further ado, here’s the Fasting Palace.
It is girdled by a double wall and a double moat, of which we’re passing the first.
The palace proper
And within it, artefacts that date back to the Ming Dynasty during the 1400s.
Next I was off to the Imperial Vault of Heaven.
To get there, you would have to walk down the Danbi Bridge.
Here at the Vault, one feature that gets people rather excited is the Echo Wall.
It is said that the hard and smooth wall in a perfect circumference constitutes an excellent reflecting body for sound waves, such that if two persons stand on opposite ends of the wall, behind the East Annex Hall and West Annex Hall respectively, and speak with their face towards north, they can hear each other’s voice clearly despite the distance of about 30 metres between them. With a gimmicky thing like dat, many tourists were of course more than eager to give it a go. Pictured above is one. So sad I alone, so couldn’t try. Where’s Billie when you need him?
The final attraction was the Circular Mound Altar.
This was composed of several levels each with a flight of 9 steps. Something about the slabs of each tier also being arranged in multiples of 9. This was all to symbolise the 9 levels of Heaven, emphasising its importance.
Right at the top of “Heaven”…
…with its bird’s eye views!
With that we come to the end of our ToH visit. Even with the closure of the Hall of Prayer, my mood wasn’t dampened one bit and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Unlike the Great Wall or Forbidden City, this is one place I feel I could come over and over again. A short stroll through its grounds and you’ll really feel the difference. Instead of feeling tired with all that walking, I felt more recharged than before I started. And yes, as mentioned by someone on the Virtual Tourist site, you do get the sense that the ToH is well cared for, there’s minimal commercialisation and great respect from Chinese visitors themselves. Definitely a “Must See” for those travelling to BJ.
Since I was already in the area, I thought next I’d head down to the WangFuJing area, which is Beijing’s main shopping district. And I dunno what possessed me, but I thought I’d even try my hand at taking a local public bus.
Terrible service. I must have asked the bus conductor at least 10 times whether I was on the right bus, but she continued to completely ignore me. So to “get her attention” (when it was obvious anyway that I was speaking to her), I very lightly tapped her on her arm, to which she suddenly flared up, screaming: “Don’t Touch Me! Don’t you have any manners!?” What?!? I no manners?!? Wah lao! Buay-tahan! So I screamed back at her: “Who’s the one that’s being rude?!! How can China expect to be a progressive and cultured country with citizens like you?!!” That shut her up. And to top it off, I refuse to pay for my ride. Tommy teach me one, when the locals try to be fierce to you, you just have to be even fiercer back to them. Like dat than you won’t kena bullied. Unfortunately, decorum and propriety rarely come into play here. So sad right? Barely have I left the grounds of the ToH, and the harsh reality beyond its walls has already struck. Ah! All in a day’s work. When living in China, you’ll just have to get used to it.
But before long, we have arrived at WangFuJing. I wasn’t really there to shop, just thought I’d while some time away till I met Weiling. But one place I did want to revisit was this strange little store that sold all sorts of local sweets and treats.
Some of the foodstuff sold there was even too weird for me considering I’m also Chinese, but I did manage to pick up a few items for the folks back home. Some wafer thing with nuts and seeds filling. Whether they’ll like it or not is a different story.
Apart from the candy store, I was thrilled to find a sculpture exhibition being held right on the main thoroughfare. A good variety of forms and materials, and of course many a photo opportunity for the pedestrians.
Couldn’t resist this shot while passing a photo studio. Mao and Liu residing side by side. Hmm…
And finally, a parting shot from WangFuJing.
With that, I was on the train headed back to Soho 现代城.
I know! 2 forms of public transport in one day! A sheer test of will and endurance.
After a short meeting with Alvin, Weiling and I were headed off to dinner. Haha! She’s bringing me to Bellagio, which is this place that has the humongous ice-kachang she told me about previously.
The food’s Taiwanese, but as you can see, unlike the typical Taiwanese 夜市 stalls, it’s served amidst pretty swanky surroundings here. But did you notice something else that’s different… look a little closer… Give up? One requirement for all waitresses here is that they have to don ultra-short boyish hairdos. Yikes!
But on to the food… we have here a spicy mian xian dish and gong bo chicken! Whoo… very exciting…
And with Taiwanese fare, of course have to order the chai po neng (egg with diced pickled radish)! Wah hah hah hah hah hah… So huge, and look at how thick and brimming with chai po it is!!! Weiling ho-gai-xiao!
But finally, FINALLY the reason we’re here today…
Tah-dah! Everest? Try conquering this mountain on your own! C’est pas possible!
So with dinner done, what were we up to next? Well, what any other self-respecting expat in BJ would do on a regular Friday night — bar-hopping! We went to a total of 3 tonight, the first of which was this dim-dim-dark-dark place infested with mozzies, so we had one drink and made a quick run for it.
The second place, which was actually right next door, was this restaurant/bar called Souk. For the second time today, the moment we stepped through its black gate, I momentarily forgot I was in China. Well, for one, the place was filled with nothing but expats, not many locals at all. In fact, I would imagine that in terms of both prices and atmosphere alike, it would be rather intimidating for a local to wander in.
But aside from the crowd, the decor was also pretty foreign-looking. The place was filled with lots of wooden furniture, large chairs, big lush plants and tons of cushions — all done up with a touch of Middle Easten mysticism. Very fitting since the restaurant dishes up an assortment of mouthwatering kebabs and meat skewers, the woody-smokey aroma of which filled the courtyard.
And while waiting for some friends to arrive, Weiling and I also ordered up another Middle Eastern tradition — the shisha pipe. The flavour we chose: green appple. Having seen the Lebanese boys do it in front of the pizza shop back in our Guildford days, I was curious to find out how it works. As it turns out, the taste of the tobacco was light and fruity, almost fragrant, completely different from the chokey stench from normal cigarettes.
Quite unlike the typical bars where you’d dress up and act cool, this place exudes a really loungey, relaxed feel with no false pretensions. Hmm, so even though I’m not the type that usually hangs out at a bar, I can really imagine myself making the occasional trip down to Souk IF I was an expat in BJ.
And as expat circles go, I soon found out that everywhere you go, it’s like everyone knows everyone else. That hour in Souk alone, Weiling ran into a few friends from another group we were visiting an apple orchard with, that rude girl from the other day (I gave her another chance, went over with Weiling to say “hi” but AGAIN, she completely ignored me!!! Ok, there’s only that many times a girl can take feeling like an absolute idiot! It’s official: I really dislike her!), and even the guy from KC Dat (freight company) who came to Weiling’s house a couple of days ago to quote her on delivering her stuff back home! And of course we weren’t there alone, we were meeting up with Lester and Cheng, a couple of Singaporeans who Weiling had gotten to know a couple of months back. Of all WL’s friends, they were my favourite, really easy to get along with, and somehow, compared with the Aussies, Canadians, Brazilians, French, etc (some natonalities of her other friends), I just felt we were more on the same wavelength. I guess growing up in the same place really does leave its imprints.
And the final place we went to, erh, can’t quite remember, we were there for a grand total of 5 minutes. Got off the cab, went in, did the usual smoochie-huggie-”hi hi” thing, paid a visit to the little girl’s room and were out and off in another cab.
So this bar-hopping thing? Well, it’s alright I guess. Not really my cup of tea, but if you were single and in a foreign place, it’s one way to spend a Friday evening.