Beijing Day 1
I arrived in Beijing after 18 hours on planes and a layover in Tokyo. I was greeted at the airport by Master Sang’s wife and Lorraine, another AFSI instructor. I went to the hotel and completely collapsed.
I had a sound sleep, despite the hard mattress (I am told that is normal in China). Today was my first day in China. I was eager to begin exploring Beijing and find out about all of the history and Feng Shui that awaited me. First though I had to go to a Chinese computer store to get an internet card. Basically it is a PC Card that works with a cell phone connection. I am now able to connect thanks to this. Then on to the main part of the city to see Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City first hand.
What amazed me was how massive the area is. It is a good half hour walk from one side of the Forbidden City to the other.
I have frequently students how water holds the qi and is a way to protect a house from difficult time periods. I have mentioned the moat around the forbidden city in my lectures, but have not seen the actual waterway in pictures. So here it is.
Additionally, they also have fountains to further enhance water.
The area just to the left of the Forbidden City is Zhongshan Park. It was built according to the “Rite of Zhou,” with the ancestors on the left and the land on the right” during the Ming dynasty (1420 AD). It was built as the “Alter of Land and Grain” and used to conduct ceremonies during February and August according to the lunar calendar to ensure a prosperous crop.
According to the entry gate visitor center, this alter contained five colors of soil, red in the south, black in the north, white in the west, blue in the east and yellow in the center. (Note: I think that the blue is a translation error as typically it is a jade or blue/green color in the east.)
Additionally:
“By putting the soil of 5 colours together in one place, the feudal emperors not only reflected the ancient Chinese Yin Yang Five Element Doctrine, but also symbolized the unique rule of the emperor over the whole country as the dictum: “All land under heaven belongs to the emperor.”
I was very excited to see this link with the past and Feng Shui. I literally just walked into it. The park also contains great water features to support the forbidden city as well. I held off going into the forbidden city as that will be an excursion taken with Master Sang during the upcoming class.
My overall impression of Beijing is that it is of course a large city. I also see the city as very gray. Although it is late March, the city is without vegetation. The trees are dormant and there is very little green to be seen. They really do have four seasons here. There is a rush to build things as the 2008 Olympics are just around the corner. There are new, giant high-rises with construction going on 24 hours a day! Here is a picture of what I am talking about with the construction of an Olympic arena in the background. This is from my hotel window.
Beijing is what you might expect (to a degree), it is a lot of old and very plain buildings (Cultural revolution era) with many new buildings replacing the old. It is beginning the transition into a modern city, but it has a ways to go before catching up with Hong Kong or Shanghai.
After a dinner with Master Sang, his wife, and Lorraine, I was just about beat! Jet lag setting in, I returned to the hotel and crashed. Of course, here I am up at 3:30am writing. Jet lag takes a while to get over doesn’t it?
More tomorrow…
