Thursday, July 31, 2014
We got up early Thursday morning to make it to the 5:16am flag raising at Tienanmen Square. Even at that early hour it was warm and the humidity was soon stifling. The walked began quietly, but as we approached the square we joined a horde of people trekking to the square as well. When dawn arrived, the Red Guard marched out from under the gate with General Mao’s large portrait, silently and synchronized, carrying a large Chinese flag. Patriotic music blared as the Guard stood at attention and raised the flag over Tienanmen. Unfortunately, the haze of pollution was thick that day, but we were still able to see okay and snap a few pictures.
After the ceremony, we wandered back to our hostel, lamenting the lack of coffee shops that open early, took a nap, and eventually made it to see the Bell Tower and Drum tower. They were, unfortunately, closed for repairs so we could not climb to their tops, but we did get a close-up view of the outside of the towers. The walk there and back was interesting because we could see the demolition of the hutongs nearby. Piles of rubble where homes and traditional alleyways used to be was a evidence of coming modernization in that area as our travel guide talked about (As you can probably guess, they weren’t happy about it).
The Drum Tower
Bell Tower
(up close you can’t see the construction)
😦
Can’t get into the towers? Nothing for it. Guess we just have to take selfies.
We checked out of hour hostel that afternoon and moved to a hotel a short bus ride away. When we were booking places for our stay in Beijing, we could not decide whether we wanted the help that the hostel offered or the comforts of the hotel more. Logically, we booked both places (although, the hostel was such a great experience and so helpful that we would not have minded staying the rest of the time there. We loved it!). We got settled in quickly and then headed to the National Museum of China.
The National Museum of China is large, imposing building, with no-nonsense architecture inside: straight, orderly lines with large spaces, impressive in the sheer size of its columns and rooms. We visited a main exhibition hall with portraits of great leaders and paintings of the road to “liberation” with its bloody battles, both sad and patriotic scenes of the ordinary people of China, and celebration of Mao. We also visited the Ancient China exhibit which traced the history of China from “prehistoric” times up through the dynasties; we made sure to pay close attention to the Yuan dynasty since the Korean drama we love was about Korea breaking free from China during the Yuan dynasty. 😀 I also saw a couple of real Ming vases. Now I know what to look for when I am at yard sales 😀 .
Fittingly, the museum reflected some of my impressions of China: created to awe and make an impression.
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