My Beijing trip - Part 1

[lesart]

Hi

This is my first time, so please be gentle to me, he..he..

I would like to share with you some images that I captured during my recent trip to Beijing (Nov 4 - 11)

I was there for a week to attend a biotech conference. My uni (UM) send me there to present a paper. Very tight schedule, but I still manage to slip out during the in-betweens to explore the city. My exposure to Beijing is therefore, limited to the vicinities immediate to my hotel and the convention center where I attended the conference. (except once when I ponteng one session becoz I went to see the Temple of Heaven, but my boss must not know this, haha...)

I ll start with my flight.

I flew Malaysia Airlines. Their birds are ageing, but that is more that made up by their good service. I have no complaint here. Everything about the flight went well. No drama or whatsoever.

MH 378 at MTB, KUL



Breakfast on board (at was an early morning flight)



Beijing Capital International Airport T2





MH 371 at the gate in PEK



I stayed at this hotel - Days Inn Forbidden City. This hotel is centrally located, within walking distant to Tiananment Sq, Forbidden City and Wangfujing Shopping Street. Hotel is just so-so but I love the location.

The Days Inn





Since this was my 1st trip to Beijing, I made a point to stay somewhere as central as possible so that my sightseeing will be easier, although that meant that I have to commute daily to the Beijing International Convention Center where my conference was held.

Oh... just to share with u guys. This was the boring conference that I attended while I was in Beijing



BICC is located at Chao Yang district, northeast of Beijing. In term of subway distance, it was 11 stops away or slightly over 40 minutes ride from the city center.

The subway



Entrance to subway



Peak hour -Beijing style!



I will continue my posting in Part 2. I hope U enjoy what I posted so far.

[lesart]

Pics around Tiananment Square and Forbidden City.



Tiananment Sq is perhaps the only place in Beijing that reminds me that China is still a Communist state - the big Chairman Mao potraits, the kitschy socialist-themed mural, the constant military presence, workers and school children in gray uniform, the 70s soviet-style communist building, the red flags...

Although China has long embraced capitalism, it seems that socialist ideal is alive and kicking in Tiananment Square.

Long live the Chairman!



Another view of the square



Military change-of-guard



Me at Tiananment



I also visited the The Forbidden City as it is located immediately south of Tiananment Square (the city formed 1/4 of the square's periphery)

The Forbidden City used to be the seat of Imperial Chinese government for hundred of year and as such, it was accordingly grand and massive in scale. It is basically a collection of smaller palaces, gardens, halls and staff quarters that served the imperial household.

The wall outside the city



The entrance



The interior









Miles of corridor within the city



The imposing high wall



The throne hall



A rather interesting name for a hall...

[lesart]

This is The Tample of Heaven, where the Emperor receives his annual mandate to rule from Heaven, and pray for bountiful harvest for the season.



The temple itself is not that big (at least when compared to other imperial monuments). Just a grand rotunda that sits on top of a multi-tiered pavilion.

Notice all those incredible details...



The temple is located deep within century-old garden. Some of the trees within the garden are at least 400 years old.







I am absolutely in love with the temple ground. I have no idea that Chinese garden can be this minimalist. Although no less lovely, I always thought that a typical chinese garden is too crowded with "human elements", such as man-made water body, sweeping pavilions, pagodas, stone statues and archways, manicured plants (u get the idea?).

This imperial garden in Forbidden City for example, typifies everything that I don't like about Classical Chinese garden.





Simple garden like those at Temple of Heaven actually helped to accentuate the beauty of the temple itself because it does not compete for attention. In fact the serene ground provides an excellet contrast to the heavily gilded temple exterior.

[lesart]

Ancient monuments apart, Beijing is also home to some of the most spectacular and ambitious project in modern history. Not content with their chequered past, the Chinese authority has commissioned "Starchitects" from all over the world such as Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron to built various new landmarks for Beijing, all of which were targeted for completion before the Olympic.

I didn't have the time to see them all, except for the brand new Beijing Grand National Theatre at Tiananment Square, and the Olympic Stadium, located just adjacent to the convention center where I had my meeting in the Chao Yang district. I wanted to see the CCTV Tower so badly but my schedule was extremely tight, I barely had any free time left with me.


Olympic fever

The frenetic pace of Beijing's construction work can be attributed to a single event - The 29th Summer Olympic Games, scheduled to commence from 08.08.2008. This sporting event is poised to be an important coming-of-age party for China, and as such, no expense was spared. The main Olympic Stadium, otherwise known as the Bird's Nest is a tangible proof of Beijing's commitment to the game. They are truly iconic, and will probably be remembered as the most beautiful stadium in the world, a lasting legacy that the Chinese authority so desperately sought.

The way I see it, I feel that the Bird's Nest is too self-indulgent. The Swiss designer duo, Herzog and de Meuron should be ashamed that they come out with this design. It is almost grotesque in its sheer boldness. Just look at the amount of steel that they use for the external cladding. I hope it serves some sort of structural purposes, otherwise this stadium will go down as one of the most wasteful structure in modern history.

This is the stadium that everyone talk about.



Sorry, I couldn't get a better shot becoz the stadium is located deep within the Olympic Park construction site which is off-limit to casual visitors. I made this shot across the parking lot at the BICC. For better picture, u can visit the China sub-forum.

The Egg

The Grand National Theatre, a.k.a The Egg is another major undertaking by the City of Beijing. The Egg is designed by French architect Paul Andreu and thrived on a different principles from that of Herzog and de Meuron.

In my opinion, the look of The Egg can be best described as "restrained elegance". Contrary to the busy facade of the Olympic Stadium, the beauty of this structure instead lies in its pure form. Although the design is space age, I think it fits perfectly within the context of the environment where it was built. Tiananment Square is lined with Soviet-era buildings from the 70s that are very staid, very clean-cut, and very boxy, that they appear almost fashionable by today's architectural standard. So in a way, adding a pure form in the highly symmetrical environment of Tiananment Square is not as offensive as people initially thought it would be.

The shiny external cladding of The Egg is made from titanium (similar material to Frank Gehry's Guggenheim at Bilbao), and it is surrounded by a man-made lake to give it a floating impression. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to see that because the lake was completely drained out during my visit for routine maintenance.

Close up of the external cladding





The Egg, in relation to its surrounding

[clarence]

beautiful pictures. beijing is a place that i've always wanted to visit. i will do so one day, and i hope its originality will stay till that day.

[TYW]

Thanks for sharing the pics...

i guess you'll be going back again to tour those parts you've missed? don't forget to share them here again