Saturday, June 21 We did some Beijing touring today. Beginning with the Beijing Planning Museum. Then to some of the major sites along the main and massive North-South axis of the city. First was the Temple of Heaven. A gigantic and sprawling monument where the emperors of dynasties past would commune with the heavens. We walked through the vast spatial wasteland that is Tiannamen Square, equal parts monumentality and emptiness. We took a quick peak at the new National Opera House, referred to as “the Egg”, given its large egg shaped. Next we toured the Forbidden City, the emperor’s palace and grounds, aptly named as it is large enough to be a city. The city is an incomparable collection of traditional Chinese architecture and sequenced space. We were then done touring for the day and went out to dinner, drinks or some such thing.
Sunday, June 22 Today a smaller group of us went for a long bike ride to see some of Beijing. Although somewhat crazy, as it turns out, seeing Beijing by bicycle is great and pretty easy to do. We first rode to the new collection of olympic buildings. The information/media building, nanatorium and stadium, “the bird’s nest” were all highlights. The skyscraper with a silhouette of the olympic torch is also interesting. We next were treated to home visits of several relatives and acquaintenances of our Chinese TA. It was nice to see the interiors of several homes and meet our TA’s family. They all lived in mid- and high-rise buildings from about the 1950’s and onward.. We next rode through the more traditional Beijing city fabric of the Hutong (alleyway) and Siheyuan (courtyard house). These tiny streets and mostly beautiful old houses are a terrific part of the city. Many thousands of acres of these streets are razed each year as the Beijing redevelops and densifies. We finished our ride at the city’s Bell and Drum Towers. Cental features of the main North-South axis. Although it may seem like a quick list of sights, this bike ride lasted about 10 hours. After the ride, it’s back to work, ignoring studio is over.
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