On May 14, 1991, ten Washington State University faculty members were sent on a tour of China to prepare them for teaching the new World Civilizations courses being developed at WSU, with funding from a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The tour was led by history professor Tom Kennedy. We were going just a year after the massacre in Tienanmin Square, so there were few American tourists around. The Chinese housed us well and fed us lavishly (we essentially had two feasts a day for three weeks), but ordinary Chinese people were afraid to speak with us, though we were stared at constantly.
The growth of capitalism within the shell of the old Maoist structure was evident even then, but had achieved nothing like the frenetic pace it was to reach in the following decade.
HONG KONG:
We flew from Spokane to Seattle to Hong Kong, where the airport officials refused to let Marina Tolmacheva leave the airport on her Soviet passport since, saying she needed a different transit visa from the rest of us, so she spent the night there on a bench.
HONG KONG:
Terry Cook and I, rooming together at the Empress Hotel, spent a few hours walking around warm and humid nighttime Hong Kong, constantly solicited by vendors who murmured: “Copy watch?” We saw lots of high-fidelity equipment, cameras, many jewelry stores. Big neon signs hung out practically across the streets.
I bought some Hong Kong CDs of Chinese music cheap, we browsed through a nice bookstore, walked down to the harbor, and ate late at a Chinese restaurant: barbecued duck and goose.
Right: Hong Kong street by daylight on May 15, a hot and muggy day.
HONG KONG:
We walked by a neon sign on fire that first night and watched part of it fall off onto the sidewalk and be doused with a hand fire extinguisher.
HONG KONG:
We explored more shops, including the huge complex of posh shops full of luxury imports in the basement of this hotel.
HONG KONG:
Fountain in the plaza in front of our hotel.
CHENG DU:
At the airport, we had a long series of waits for our flight to Cheng Du. One cleaning woman was collecting duty-free plastic shopping bags and stowing them in a firehose compartment along with her lunch. There must have been a ready market for the bags: we saw them hanging in small private shops in Cheng Du.
We arrived late at night in Cheng Du, me somewhat apprehensive about customs since I was bringing in a book of savage anti-Deng cartoons by a Hong Kong artist about the coming takeover in 1997; but the inspector didn’t spot it. We were warmly welcomed by Mr. Cai Li, Associate Director for Foreign Relations of the Szechuan Education Commission. He had worked with Tom Kennedy some years before and proved an excellent guide and friend. But our intiial viws of the country were uninspiring. The airport looked bombed out and ugly, the roads were ugly, the air was polluted. My first surprise was spotting little roadside shops, open late at night, selling food, drinks, etc., with groups in them watching television.
By daylight, Cheng Du was much more attractive. This was our comforable hotel. Plumbing by American Standard, elevators by Mitsubishi.
CHENG DU:
Our hotel exterior and lobby had some unexpectedly racy decorations.
CHENG DU:
At that time bicycle traffic was very heavy, with many elegantly dressed women pedaling along the streets as well as the men.
CHENG DU:
Goods were also hauled by bike. Note the empty “truck” at left.
CHENG DU:
Goods hauled in panniers.
CHENG DU:
Reading pedicab driver, waiting for a fare.
CHENG DU:
May 16: our first day of touring began with a visit to the Taoist Two Kings Temple (Fulongguan), dedicated to deified memory of two ancient hydraulic engineers whose work we were to visit next.
Closest to the camera: Bonnie Frederick and Michael Neville; at far right: Doug Hughes and Margaret Andrews.
CHENG DU:
Our local guide, in a tight skirt and high heels, strode past us briskly up steep mountain paths later in the day.
Right: Doug Hughes and Linda Stone.
CHENG DU:
Roof of the temple showing traditional curved beam ends and a carved dog.
CHENG DU:
More of the roof from a distance. The Communist government disapproved of the old curved eaves and they are rare in modern China.
CHENG DU:
Li Bing, who designed the 3rd-century Dujiangyan irrigation project for which he and his son are remembered.
CHENG DU:
The waterworks consist of a carefully engineered barrier in mid-stream at a fork in the river which diverts most of the water toward agricultural areas in times of low flow, but keeps excess water from flooding the fields in periods of high flow. The Russians built a modern dam to replace it, which turned out to not work as well, and has been abandoned.
CHENG DU:
The bridge across the river.
This is a popular tourist spot, with lots of fast food and souvenir stands. You could have your picture taken as if in the water, or pose on camel-back in a military uniform.
Marina discovered that our second local guide spoke Russian, and they greatly enjoyed conversing for the next few days.
CHENG DU:
Among other souvenirs for sale: Mandarin caps with queues attached! We ran into a group of German tourists wearing them later. Also available: beautiful birds in bamboo cages.
QINGSHEN:
We had our first massive lunch of many, then were led up a very long, very hot, very steep climb on Mt. Qingshen, the famous Taoist mountain on which Taoism is supposed to have originated. Here is the entrance.
QINGSHEN:
Elegantly-dressed Chinese (even elderly folks) strode past us without breathing hard. All that bicycle riding and walking keeps them in shape! The path was lined with vendors of souvenirs and snacks. This was one of the few non-infested spots on the trail.
QINGSHEN:
Those who didn’t want to make the long climb could hire bearers to carry them. We all climbed, but too slowly to suit our guides.
We got only to the first of two planned temples. The mountain is covered with them.
QINGSHEN:
The gardens were quite beautiful.
QINGSHEN:
Many people were offering prayers, accompanied by a ringing gong. A color TV was playing a soap opera in one corner of the temple. We learned that the bat symbol means happiness.
CHENG DU:
Billboard uraging one-child population policy. We saw only one family with more than one child: twins.
Back in Cheng Du, the Szechuan education commission gave us a lavish banquet, maybe 30-40 dishes, pressing us to sample such delights as pork tendons, fish maw and raw river fish. Some of the group were queasy, but I gamely tried everything. Much of it was delicious. The food in Szechuan was the best on our trip, but the abundance was overwhelming. They always insisted on dining early, 6:40 for this meal. Restaurants close by 8:00. At the feast we were given souvenir vases and beautiful brocade tablecloths from a local silk-weaving factory.
At night, went for a walk around a very long block in the dark (there was a planned power outage). In the twilight saw lively street life, including couples dancing on the river bank, children’s rides, people lounging outside homes, businesses, mostly lit by candles. One shop had its own generator and light, plus three video games–very popular in China.
CHENG DU:
Theragran-M vitamin ad using black football players as models.
CHENG DU:
We saw popular magazines on sale everywhere, including fashion magazines and love stories. We saw some couples holding hands, etc.; but it was still unusual. Women often held hands, as in Italy.
CHENG DU:
Movie ads. Lots of violent macho thrillers. Schwarzenegger and Stallone were very popular here.
CHENG DU:
Sample photos from a wedding photographer’s display.
CHENG DU:
Typical Cheng Du residential courtyard, set back from the street, with bamboo chair in front of the door.
CHENG DU:
Shopping in a store specializing in Tibetan curiosities. Many fine shops on this street, selling prayer wheels, gemstones, paintings, and even a ceremonial horn made out of a human femur fitted with silver.
CHENG DU:
In one shop the English-speaking clerk asked if I was attending the science fiction convention. It turned out World SF was meeting just down the street. British SF author and acquaintance of mine Brian Aldiss was attending, but I didn’t run into him.
CHENG DU:
Gate in Cheng Du.
TEMPLE OF DIVINE LIGHT:
May 17: Visit to the Temple of Divine Light, a Buddhist monastery training monks for temples all over China.
Left to right: Mr. Cai, Doug Hughes, Marina Tolmacheva, Pete Mehringer, Bonnie Frederick, Linda Stone, Paul Lurquin, Terry Cook, Tom Kennedy, Michael Neville.
TEMPLE OF DIVINE LIGHT:
At the entrance, visitors tried to touch a lucky character with their eyes closed, striding from across a courtyard. Although several tried, Terry Cook was the only successful one from our party.
TEMPLE OF DIVINE LIGHT:
An ancient monk–head of the monastery–greeted us at the entrance and hosted us to green tea and showed us the grounds, including two fragments of the Buddha’s ashes in a reliquary, and a huge hall filled with hundreds of carved Buddhas of various designs. He explained the marks burned on his head were meant to remind him that he was like a joss stick, burning in Buddha’s honor.
TEMPLE OF DIVINE LIGHT:
More of the grounds at the Temple of Divine Light.
TEMPLE OF DIVINE LIGHT:
Details of buildings on the temple grounds.
TEMPLE OF DIVINE LIGHT:
Details of buildings on the temple grounds.
MT. EMEI:
Stayed overnight in luxurious (by Chinese standards) mountain inn near Mt. Emei. The rooms were very large, but it was our only noisy hotel, with the TV playing loudly next door. This is the view from the grounds in the woods, looking over rice paddies in the morning “mist” (pollution).
MT. EMEI:
A long, jolting bus ride through beautiful mountains (recently reforested) and a steep tram ride brought us to the mountain top (commercial photo).
MT. EMEI:
The site is famed for its views of misty forests below (commercial photo).
MT. EMEI:
Another idyllic photo sold on the site.
MT. EMEI:
Travelers for centuries have reported seeing circular rainbows with their silhouettes enclosed. A rare, but photographable phenomenon (commercial photo).
Our own experience of the site was considerably less romantic.
MT. EMEI:
The place was actually a dump: run-down, littered, with broken concrete and rubble everywhere. Cloth rags were tied to trees as offerings–traditional, but ugly.
MT. EMEI:
Tradition says some visitors were so moved by the beauty of this spot that they threw themselves over the cliff in ecstasy. It seemed that modern visitors were more inclined to throw their trash over the cliff.
MT. EMEI:
Our view of the main temple complex.
MT. EMEI:
Chinese tourists seemed to take pictures of scenery only with someone standing in front of it.
MT. EMEI:
Antenna complex in back of the temples.
MT. EMEI:
Usually we weren’t allowed to photograph the Buddhas (most were being used for worship), but I shot this from the outside, with our guides in the foreground. The guy in the middle was kept telling us to hurry up and argued here with the monk who wanted to charge more to write Bonnie’s name on a scarf in Chinese characters than he charged the locals. Then the guide pocketed the difference.
MT. EMEI:
A traditional tiled roof, with lightning rods added.
MT. EMEI:
Decorative eve details.
MT. EMEI:
A decorative dragon.
BUDDHIST MONASTERIES:
Throughout the mountains, saw people swimming, washing clothes in the river. All that day we passed rice paddies filled with busy peasants densely dotted over the countryside, giving us a real grasp of the enormous rural population of China. Then we visited more Buddhist temples, among loud groans from some in the party, complaining about Buddha overload. Learned there were 150 monks for 25 local monasteries.
BUDDHIST MONASTERIES:
In one quite lovely Buddhist nunnery we saw statues being gilded.
ROADSIDE RESTAURANT:
Food on display at a streetside restaurant.
LESHAN:
In Leshan, we strolled around the streets, seeing women knitting everywhere (and everywhere in China), using three bamboo needles.
LESHAN:
Three women in ethnic dress sitting in front of a shop (Doug Hughes standing in rear).
LESHAN:
Orange vendors.
LESHAN:
Bottles being transported. Huge loads are normal.
LESHAN:
Food on display at a streetside restaurant.
LESHAN:
Terry in a Chinese pharmacy.
LESHAN:
Women (and one man) doing group singing on the street . . .
LESHAN:
Bonnie wowed a crowd with her expert Texas marksmanship at a balloon-shooting stand along the riverfront (Marina in glasses).
LESHAN:
May 19: Mr. Cai and the Russian-speaking guide on the boat on the way to the Big Buddha.
LESHAN:
Fishermen in the river near Leshan.
LESHAN:
Boat on the river.
LESHAN:
We crossed by boat, then climbed to the top of the cliff behind the Big Buddha. Passing the first display we had seen dedicated to Chairman Mao, Mr. Cai confided to me that he was a Red Guard leader while in middle school, during the Cultural Revolution. “It was a lot more fun than studying!” He added later that a whole generation had been lost to the movement, with many talented people failing to get the educations they needed to succeed in careers.
This was the biggest Buddha in the world until a businessman build a bigger one in Japan in modern times. It was badly corroded, perhaps from air pollution. The scaffolding had been erected for restoration purposes.
LESHAN:
Guardians carved in cliff.
LESHAN:
Tourists labor up the winding trail to the top.
LESHAN:
Tourists having lunch on the Buddha’s toes.
LESHAN:
Tourists having lunch on the Buddha’s toes.
LESHAN:
The Buddha’s head.
LESHAN:
The monk who planned and accumulated the funds for the building of the Big Buddha, refusing to let a noble lord grab the money for his own purposes.
LESHAN:
Spouting turtle and her young in a cliff-top restaurant pool.
THREE SUS:
Temple of the Three Sus near Meishan: shrine to three famous ancient writers, surrounded by beautiful gardens. We could explore only a fraction of them. Terry walked into this shot.
THREE SUS:
The same shot with Terry Photoshopped out.
THREE SUS:
Doug reading a guidebook on the site.
THREE SUS:
Shrine featuring ornate rocks.
THREE SUS:
Unusual porcelain characters enclosing pictures.
THREE SUS:
More from the shrine
THREE SUS:
From the shrine a dragon handle on a pot.
THREE SUS:
Paul in a circular doorway.
THREE SUS:
plaque to one of the three Sus–three famous writers with the same family name of Su honored at this shrine: Su Xun and his sons Su Shi and Su Zhe (11th-12th C.).
THREE SUS:
One of the writers. It was refreshing to see the honor paid ancient writers all over China, even when their ideas did not necessarily align with Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought.
THREE SUS:
Tom and Doug talking in the shrine.
THREE SUS:
Doug with our guides.
THREE SUS:
A gate at the shrine.
AGRICULTURE:
The only shot I got to take of agriculture, man plowing rice paddy with a water buffalo. In the next paddy a gas-powered cultivator was being used. The dense dotting of farm families working in rural fields reminded me of a demographic map–very different from the wide, unpopulated fields of the U.S.
One of the great frustrations of traveling on guided tours is that bus drivers are generally deaf to all pleas to pause for impromptu photography. They are always bent on getting to their next scheduled stopping place regardless of what wonders you may be passing through.
CHENG DU:
May 20: Free morning of shopping and wandering around, then a visit to Tu Fu’s “cottage,” where he took refuge from civil wars to write poetry in peace.
A movie magazine on a Cheng Du newsstand featuring woman in Medieval dress.
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
I had talked the group into trying Chinese music (with Tom loudly protesting “No Peking opera!”), expecting we would get tickets for some performance; but Mr. Cai arranged a stunning private concert for us at the Szechuan Music Conservatory. They treated us to a fantastic dinner cooked by their flutist-chef. . . .
. . . including this fish carved out of vegetables, blowing radish-slice bubbles.
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
The food was overwhelming, and we applauded the chef, but he complained, “You didn’t eat very much!”
I found that if I sampled just one chopstick-pinch of food from each dish at a feast like this, I would still wind up stuffed. Of course, the problem was exacerbated by the fact that we were usually offered dinner around 5:00 or so, after having earlier eaten a heavy lunch.
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
Then followed a great concert of traditional folk music (some in modern arrangements) by faculty and students. Afterwards, we were invited on stage to try out the instruments. Above left, Doug examines a gu-zheng. Above right, musician holding a ruan.
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
Doug at the yang chin.
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
Michael with pipa and erhu. (We had pipa’s made of food floating in soup at dinner.)
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
Michael with pipa and erhu.
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
This clay wind instrument is traditionally considered the most ancient in China. One was dug up at Ban Po. The performer played an eerie 1,000-year-old piece on it during the concert. It is reportedly very difficult to play.
SZECHUAN MUSIC CONSERVATORY:
We posed with the musicians in the recital hall.
TRAIN STATION:
That night, in a torrential thunderstorm, we headed for the train station, where we waited in a room filled with dozens of armchairs adorned with lace antimacassars. On TV: a wild variety of music: Banchieri’s Festivo Animale, Flight of the Bumblebee, a Mozart overture.
TRAIN:
We got not the luxury train paid for, but a run-down, noisy shambles. I took a sleeping pill and slept most of the trip to Shanxi, which was very hot.
SHANXI:
The Merchant’s Hotel, nice enough, but next to a spectacular new Hyatt, almost empty. When we entered the hotel, “Amazing Grace,” was playing in the lobby. Later: “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (a good title for China). Mr. Cai says that Chinese prefer Western music. The other night in a hotel restaurant we were serenaded by a trio (including a synthesizer) with such tunes as “Red River Valley.”
SHANXI:
The hotel featured a fashion show at dinner.
SHANXI:
Fashion show cont.
SHANXI:
This was followed by traditional Chinese acrobatics. Here a contortionist balances flaming lamps on her feet. Eventually she held five of them.
FIRST EMPEROR’S TOMB:
May 22: We visited the First Emperor’s tomb–or rather, the outlying excavations where the “soldiers and horses” have been dug up. No pictures allowed inside, but tourists pose on models outside.
FIRST EMPEROR’S TOMB:
May 22: We visited the First Emperor’s tomb–or rather, the outlying excavations where the “soldiers and horses” have been dug up. No pictures allowed inside, but tourists pose on models outside.
FIRST EMPEROR’S TOMB:
The group follows Pete up the tomb mound.
HUAQING TEMPLE:
Visit to Huaqing Hot Spring, where the last T’ang emperor frolicked with his favorite concubine, Yang Guifei, while the empire crumbled, 8th century CE.
HUAQING TEMPLE:
The springs have mostly dried up, but here is one pond with water lilies.
HUAQING TEMPLE:
Me demonstrating proper use of a Chinese garbage can.
HUAQING TEMPLE:
Marble boat-pavilion at hot springs.
XIAN:
On the way back, we visited a pottery factory where they make T’ang reproductions and lots of soldiers and horses.
XIAN:
Horse replicas
XIAN:
Fired pottery figurines cooling.
XIAN:
This outlet also sold beautiful (and costly) carved-lacquer screens.
BANPO:
This painter near Banpo was creating splashy t-shirt designs. We saw few hand-painted t-shirts, but I bought some nice ones earlier in the day. At this spot two people cut themselves on a bottletop trying to get a bottle of peach juice open for me. The easy-open top didn’t quite work right.
BANPO:
Banpo is a famous excavated neolithic site, now all under one roof. From 8,000 BC. Peter was a great help here. He was friends with the chief excavator, and knew more than our guide.
BANPO:
Model of Banpo in its heyday.
BANPO:
Replica of Banpo daub & wattle house. A rope slanted across the opening to keep the curious out.
BANPO:
The same shot with the rope Photoshopped out.
BANPO:
Painted bowl with man/fish design: symbol of the museum.
XIAN:
Old-fashioned cart seen along the road.
XIAN:
I felt ill that night, woke in the middle of the night with a ranging fever and felt lousy all the next day (May 23), but climbed to the top of the Empress Wu’s tomb (path lined by sculptures beheaded by peasants who thought guardian beasts were causing drouths. We descended into the tomb of a princess nearby where we saw this mural of women–the only picture I managed to take that day. m
XIAN:
Xian is home to China’s largest concentration of Muslims, and we visited the mosque there, restrained by Chinese standards, but still including some carved dragons and other animals.
XIAN:
A little Arabic lettering; Marina noticed a mistake. She donated some Arabic texts to the Imam, who accepted them somewhat nervously. The mosque is closely watched by Party officials.
XIAN:
It was a rainy day at the mosque, still in regular use in this Muslim neighborhood.
XIAN:
A modern painting of musicians on the wall of art studio where Michael bought paintings. We also visited the Archaeological institute, where
Peter arranged to return to China the next year and visited the spectacular exhibits at the T’ang Art museum. Beautiful pottery, gold objects, but the gift shop sold no postcards. We saw a fellow painting t-shirts in a wide variety of styles, including Léger.
XIAN:
Lobby of China Merchants’ Hotel, Doug & Tom.
XIAN:
Our local guide in Xian, friendly and well-liked. Also quite tall. In front of our bus, one of several uncomfortable (though sometimes air-conditioned) “Coasters” that we did our traveling in.
XANXI:
Huge pagoda in Xanxi, on the way to the plane for Beijing.
We had intended to take another train, but Mr. Cai, disappointed with our first one, got most of the money for the tickets refunded and bought us seats on a modern airplane. Instead we got an old Russian prop-plane that was cramped and noisy; but the attendants kept lavishing us with gifts: cookies, a sandalwood fan, drinks, etc.
BEIJING:
Our hotel “The Big Bell” was a disappointment too, so Mr. Cai switched us the next day (May 25) to the luxurious Beijing Friendship Hotel, very posh. It had CNN, a pricey boutique with the International Herald Tribune (we were starved for news), flower shop (with a Sacred Heart of Mary on the wall surrounded by Valentine hearts!), Japanese, western and French restaurants (the latter called, for some reason “The Tulip”), European pastries, and obsequious help. Our hotel was the nicest thing about Beijing, which was very, very polluted. Raw throats, stinging eyes. However, the city is very thickly wooded, with trees lining many streets. Heavily planted twenty years earlier. The Big Bell, doubtless worried about its reputation, invited us back for two mediocre dinners. I found Beijing oppressive, and Tienanmin Square depressing, with thoughts of the 1989 shooting of demonstrators.
BEIJING:
Doug, Terry, and Tom on Tienanmin Square. In the background, the entrance to the Forbidden City.
We did the obligatory tour of Mao’s tomb (rather simple and austere) sights around Tienanmin Square and had lunch at a very nice restaurant neighboring a Col. Sanders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken.
BEIJING:
Sculpture dedicated to peoples of China, Tienanmin Square.
BEIJING:
Mr. Cai with our two local guides hired at the last moment from the Big Bell, giddy young things who kept making mistakes, being late, and ignoring us while they took pictures of each other in front of the sights. The group called them “the Valley girls, Muffy and Crystal.”
BEIJING:
Kids on a lion sculpture in Tienanmin Square, near the entrance to the Forbidden City.
BEIJING:
The Great Hall of the People, which holds 10,000.
BEIJING:
Details of women musicians from screen in a meeting room in the Great Hall of the People.
BEIJING:
More details from the screen. All over the world cultures produce pictures of women musicians. When you’re tempted to think that all women from the past stayed home and took care of the kids, think of scenes like this.
BWIJING:
We made a hasty trip to the Forbidden City in the rain. Here are Tom and Terry in front of the building used as the backdrop in the opening scene of The Last Emperor.
BEIJING:
A more recognizable shot of the building from the courtyard.
BEIJING:
A stone tortoise, symbol–like so much else in China–of longevity. The roll ran out at this point and caused discoloration on the right, but I have tried to rescue it the best I could.
BEIJING:
Porcelain walls decorated with dragons.
BEIJING:
Porcelain flowers and a pair of ducks, symbols of lasting love.
BEIJING:
Intricate gold sculpture in Forbidden City. Many of the buildings are little-visited museums filled with art. One striking object, a huge sleeping mat for an emperor, is woven entirely of shredded ivory. I saw only a fraction of it all. The Forbidden City is enormous, sprawling, but no building is built on more than one story.
GREAT WALL:
May 26: Trip to the Great Wall.
It was very crowded, with lots of Japanese tourists, many other languages; lots of hucksters hawking t-shirts. We ate in restaurant serving only foreign tourists. We were almost overwhelmed by a busload of Germans.
GREAT WALL:
Artist at the great wall, displaying drawings of Margaret Thatcher & Sylvester Stallone.
GREAT WALL:
View from the Great Wall. There is only a short stretch open to the public, and an even shorter stretch actually attracts many hikers. This section is not actually ancient. Though it is often implied that it has some connection with the wall built by the First Emperor, it actually dates only from the 14th century.
It is also not true that it’s visible from space, as is often claimed.
But it’s still impressive.
GREAT WALL:
Another view of the wall.
SUMMER PALACE:
May 17: We made a long visit to the “Summer Palace,” a huge complex outside Beijing where the Dowager Empress lived for years in luxurious buildings.
SUMMER PALACE:
The fabled Marble Boat, whose expense was reputedly paid for by funds slated for the imperial Navy, symbol of the Empress Dowager’s decadence.
SUMMER PALACE:
A lake on the palace grounds.
SUMMER PALACE:
Buddhist temple where the Dowager Empress worshiped.
SUMMER PALACE:
More palace buildings.
SUMMER PALACE:
Artificial riverfront lined with shops. Lovely, but we had no time to stop.
SUMMER PALACE:
Demon musicians in the temple.
SUMMER PALACE:
Sculpture in the temple.
SUMMER PALACE:
Tourists posing as members of the imperial court.
SUMMER PALACE:
Tourists posing as members of the imperial court. (2)
SUMMER PALACE:
The world’s longest covered walkway, connecting buildings in the Summer Palace, intricately painted with pictorial designs, often displaying Western influence, European perspective.
SUMMER PALACE:
Throne in Hall of Ease and Joy, from which the Empress Dowager watched Beijing opera. (commercial postcard.)
SUMMER PALACE:
The stage opposite her throne, with costumed mannequins. The employees here also wore Imperial garb.
SUMMER PALACE:
Painting of the Empress Dowager in her heyday. (commercial postcard)
SUMMER PALACE:
Emperor Guangxu’s bedchamber in the Palace of Jade Waves (commercial postcard).
SUMMER PALACE:
Emperor’s bed (commercial postcard).
SUMMER PALACE:
The Empress Dowager Ci Xi’s bedchamber in the Palace of Joy and Longevity (commercial postcard).
SUMMER PALACE:
Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, interior (commercial postcard).
SUMMER PALACE:
Hall of Dispelling Clouds, interior (commercial postcard).
BEIJING:
Later that day we paid a brief visit to Beijing University where we were warmly welcomed, one day before students hung out a banner calling for remembrance of the June 1989 demonstrations. The buildings were very run down, the library unimpressive, but the college lake and island were spectacular.
BEIJING:
May 25: Bonnie had asked that we be allowed to visit an elementary school, which we did. They had excellent buildings and equipment, including a language lab, computer lab (kids learning how to program), TV studio linking all rooms (Tom was taped singing “Frere Jacques” in Chinese, from a version he learned in Taiwan–the teachers said their version had more political words). We visited several classrooms, including this one in elementary Chinese where a little Italian girl (daughter of an attache at the embassy) read aloud in excellent Chinese, told Paul (in Italian) that she liked Chinese school (and seemed sincere). Bonnie said she saw one boy throwing spit wads at another, but mostly the kids seemed extremely well behaved.
BEIJING:
An art class just beginning a lesson. Busts of Julius Caesar and Voltaire in the background on the left.
BEIJING:
Music class singing a song with accompanying hand motions.
BEIJING:
A roomfull of harmonica players doing the Ode the Joy from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. They asked us to sing along, but we begged off, pointing out that the lyrics are in German, which seemed to surprise the teacher.
BEIJING:
Magazine rack in the teacher’s lounge, with typical women’s magazines, including photo of Marilyn Monroe.
In the afternoon, I bought very cheap tapes in a music shop where a truly terrible singer was trying out a karaoke machine. Explored the museum of the Revolution on Tienanmin Square, and ate at the famous Peking Duck restaurant, which was one of the few disappointing meals we had on the trip.
BEIJING:
T-shirt in a Beijing department store, with a slightly garbled version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
May 25: much aimless running around, checking in with United Airlines, visit to very interesting historical museum, loaded with Shang bronzes, great pottery, early printing and books. I rushed through it to have time to pay one final brief visit to the Forbidden City–a long walk to the entrance–but I did get to explore some of its ancillary museums. We had trouble finding a place open for a late lunch, and finally gave up. Most of us were ready to skip a meal after the all the feasting we had done.
May 26: up at 5:40 AM for the long trip home: a bus to airport, then flights to Shanghai, Tokyo, San Francisco, and Spokane.
World Civilizations Tour of China, 1991
All photos copyright Paul Brians except those labeled as being from commercial sources, not subject to international copyright. They were bought at a time when China had not yet signed the International Copyright Convention.
