Chapter 8 – Grand Historical Attractions
The girls awoke the next morning, feeling restless. They were excited because they were to see more famous historical attractions in Beijing.
They set off after breakfast to Tiananmen Square. “Tiananmen Square is located in the heart of Beijing. It’s 109 acres, and is the fourth largest city square in the world. Tiananmen Square is named after the Tiananmen Gate, which separates the square from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Gate means the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Many important cultural events took place here,” said Mr Leung, their guide.
Mrs Jenkins suddenly said solemnly, “You girls haven’t been having PE lessons. Run around the square 3 times.”
The girls stared at Mrs Jenkins with surprise. Mr Leung had said that the perimeter of the Square was 2,760 meters!
Mrs Jenkins laughed at their horrified expressions. “I’m just joking!”
After taking a group photo, the choir headed to tour the Forbidden City.
“The Forbidden City was used as the imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It has served for almost 500 years as the home of the Emperor’s family, and also as the government center. It was built from 1406 to 1420, and covers over 180 acres of land,” introduced Mr Leung.
The girls looked around, gaping at the grandeur of the design, the beautiful sculptures, the bright colors, and the massiveness and unendingness of the palace. They admired the extensive collection of vintage artwork and artifacts from the imperial collection. They marked the excessive detail of the design.
They walked through the various courts and the extensive collection of halls.
“I read about the Forbidden city,” said Alice. “I remember the book said it had 986 buildings and 9,999 rooms!”
“Why didn’t they add one more room to make it 10,000?” snapped Cynthia.
“Nine is a lucky number in Chinese tradition, you simpleton,” retorted Alexis.
“Everything in the Forbidden City symbolizes something. Take the rooftops. Almost all of them are yellow. That’s because yellow is the color of the Emperor,” said Mr Leung, interrupting their argument.
“It’s really amazing,” said Alexis. “This is so grand and marvelous. Yet it has been in use for so many years. I cannot think of anything that you can compare it to in America.”
“Exactly,” said Alice. “Everything about it is so nerve-racking, if you know what I mean. It’s really spooky when you think about how advanced the designers of this palace were.”
“Yes,” said Evelyn. “It’s an old palace, but it gives us a lot of new ideas. Even just one fraction of one of the many buildings has so many interesting things you’ve never thought of before for you to discover and explore. It’s really amazing.”
“Thanks,” said Lizboa. “You really have a way of taking what we feel and putting it into words, when we can’t quite place what we’re feeling.”
In the afternoon they toured the Temple of Heaven. This was one of Baixue’s favorites, and on the way over, she told them of the immeasurable beauty and genius of the place.
When they got there, they realized that her praises were not exaggerated. The day was bright and sunny, and the colors glittered and glimmered fabulously in the sunlight.
“The Temple of Heaven – literally the Altar of Heaven – was built from 1406 to 1420, by Emperor Yongle, who was also responsible for the building of the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven is a complex of religious buildings that were visited by emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasty. Annual ceremonies of prayers for good harvest were held there,” said Mr Leung.
They walked towards a three-level, circular building in the middle. It was magnificent. They walked up the stone staircase that surrounded the main building, and stood on the circular platform while listening to the guide.
“This is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. It has a diameter of 36 meters, and is 38 meters tall,” Mr Leung told them.
“This base we’re standing on,” said Baixue, using her foot to tap on the ground. “Is made out of pure marble.”
“Really!” exclaimed Lizboa. “This is so beautiful and fantastic for something that was built over 600 years ago!”
“Now in that you are wrong,” said Mr Leung. “I couldn’t help hearing what you said. The original of this building was burnt to ashes by lightning in 1889, and it was rebuilt a few years after the incident. So what you see now is only over 100 years old, not 600.”
They headed on to another building. The guide said it was the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It looked much like the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, but the base was only one level, and so was the building. It was much smaller.
“What’s that bridge?” asked Evelyn. “You know, the one connecting to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests from here.”
“That,” said Mr Leung. “Is the Vermillion Steps Bridge. It’s 360 meters long!”
They then admired the Circular Mound Altar, which was south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It was an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, beautifully decorated by elaborately carved dragons. “The numbers of various elements of the Altar,” said Mr Leung, “including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine or its multiples. The center of the altar is a round slate named the Heart of Heaven, where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. The design of the altar allowed the sound of the prayer to be reflected by the guardrail, creating loud echoes, which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with the Heaven,” said Mr Leung.
“Please,” said Alexis. “Was the Altar built with the rest of the Temple of Heaven?”
“No,” said Mr Leung. “The Altar was built in 1530 as an addition by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740.”
“This is even better than the Forbidden City. The design is so grand and magnificent! I haven’t seen anything quite like it,” said Lizboa.
“It certainly is very beautiful,” said Evelyn. “But I like the Forbidden City more. It had more of a – oh, how should I put it – an experience of ancient life. But I grant you, this is prettier to look at.”
“Since that’s the case, why not get Cynthia to take a picture of the five of us?” asked Baixue. They posed in front of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
They boarded the bus again, and ate dinner. The Forbidden City and The Temple of Heaven were the only two topics that were discussed.
“This has been my favorite day yet,” said Alexis. “You all know I love history, and these historical attractions were really interesting to me.”
“I have to admit that today’s activities weren’t as low down and stupid as the night market,” said Cynthia.
The others also expressed how much they had enjoyed the day.
But alas – the day ended very soon after this discussion, back in their hotel room, when they went to bed.
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