Trip in Beijing Day 1

Today was supposed to be my results release day. But 1.5 hours has passed since I woke up to check and the server is still unavailable GRRRR. To pass time, I might as well blog about my trip to Beijing just last week while my memory is still fresh.

Hotel that I was staying for the whole trip. Pullman Beijing West Wanda. LOVE it!

Lobby area

The highlight of the room was the bathroom. No worries, there was a remote controller to pull down the blinds

Our first stop was at Temple of Heaven or known as 天坛. It was the  place "where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would worship the God of Heaven and pray for good harvest".

There were countless stone carvings adorning the steps of these ancient buildings 

This is the interior of the great hall. Sadly, and for good reasons, no visitors were allowed.

We didn't walk the whole 273 hectares (siao) due to lack of time so we just stopped short after visiting that iconic temple-like building.

Arrived at infamous Tiananmen. 

I'd say its infamous as contemporary China had seen a massacre in 1989 on these grounds. But prior to that when emperors still reign, this entrance wall was used to hang the scrolls of laws decreed by the emperor and passed on from officials to the people of ancient China. At least that's what I think my tour guide said. -_-

Crazy huge Forbidden City i.e. 紫禁城 

The emperor's bed. 

Again, according to my tour guide, she said that everything was left in the original state. Like the silk bedsheets, where such top grade silk and materials were used that even after hundreds of years, the colours are still as vibrant as ever.

The empress' bed. Notice that the bedsheet colours are much duller than the emperor's. This is probably because lower grade quality of materials were used for the empress instead.

Random room inside the imperial quarters. 

It looks so eerie that I can almost picture the emperors and empresses of the past gliding across the room or sitting on the chairs. Shudder.

The concubine's room

Apparently, potential concubines were asked to wait in this room before they were presented to the emperor. Makes sense - the bed is much more modest than the previous two.

The above pictures were all taken through dusty window panes. The rooms are all sealed up. Which may explain why some pictures turn out grainier or something.

In the courtyard where there are small streams flowing through the palace and plenty of  really fascinating architecture . Boy the royals sure live it up good!

Forbidden city from the back view

Another temple like place for the emperors to pray. 

This building resides on top of an artificial hill. As for why they need to make this hill, well. It's cos of fengshui. :)

After which we ended our day with a nice theatrical show; The Legend of Kungfu, which was in the Red Theatre.

Stage backdrop before the show started

The show was basically about the practices of Kungfu which took place in Shaolin temples as well as the principles behind it. The actors were all highly talented and they had been learning the real deal type of kung fu as practised by Shaolin monks in the secluded temples.

Day 1 in Beijing was an eye opener. I was drooling at all the ancient places because it's hard to believe that such huge architecture from hundreds of years ago are still kept in tip top conditions. Yes, some buildings have been repaired and repainted but others have still been kept to the original state up till today like the royal pathways that ONLY the emperor can walk on and some others for special occasions.

Stay tuned for more updates!