Day 2: Beijing (northern capital)

Kettlejing

Kettle 壶 (Hú)

Noun: A vessel, commonly of metal, for boiling water or other liquids over a fire.

(Source: Oxford English Dictionary)

Kettle

The act of being in someone’s face and/or area of space. A variation of the phrase… “Getting in someone’s grill”.

(Source: urbandictionary.com)

Today was all about finding our feet in the heart of Beijing; something of a scouting mission in preparation for our planned visit to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, tomorrow. Although we were aware, we had not fully accounted for the fact that China’s National Day (National Day of the People’s Republic of China) is celebrated annually on 1 October to commemorate the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It may not be 1 October but, it being 5 October, we are still in Golden Week: a seven-day public holiday running from 1 October to 7 October, giving citizens a long break for travel and family reunions. So, long story short, Beijingers head out of town, with the rest of China migrating in!Visiting the Forbidden City is something of a pilgrimage / rite of passage for all Chinese people. Damned tourists, eh?! Is this helping you understand why this post is headed by the definition(s) of ‘kettle’? If not, bear with me.

Talking of ‘getting in someone’s grill’, we couldn’t resist asking this lovely couple if they minded. They appeared not to. What do you think? Read their faces. He appears to be a tad more willing?

Along with a general air of celebration, many (mostly young/ mostly couples) were dressed up in traditional costume. Quite a sight. Something of an upgrade on being in Whitby on a certain weekend of the year.

If you look over the young man’s shoulder you will see the road sign, ‘Dongchang’an Jie’. It was this road we chose to follow as it is the very street featured in Jonathan Chatwin’s Long Peace Road: A Walk in Modern China (see blog name page). We came across some beautiful and well thought out garden areas along the way.

The bed for the two images above is – according to the Chinese government website – ‘set against emerging industrial elements such as running robots, CR450 EMUs, and high-end equipment, symbolizing the use of technological innovation to lead the development of new quality productive forces, relying on high-tech, efficient, and high-quality industrial advantages to promote the steady and long-term progress of Chinese-style modernization. The flowerbed roof height is 8.0 metres’.

The next two images capture a design that ‘uses the Liangma River renovation as a microcosm of the capital’s renewal, combining the Guomao three-dimensional flower corridor and waterfront sports space construction to outline the city’s renewal blueprint, focusing on building a livable, resilient, and smart city, and practicing the development philosophy of a people-oriented city. The flowerbed roof height is 8.0 metres’.

Call it propaganda, call it political engineering, call it what you will… whatever, it’s an ingenious way of portraying the goal, don’t you think.

So, back to kettling, and something a little more utilitarian… the essential equipment…

We had learned before visiting that 1. security in the Tiananmen Square area is ultra-tight, and 2. the Chinese authorities have crowd control down to an art form. My word, this is true, on both counts! More army, police and security personnel than you could shake a stick at. And, speaking to the second…

You are not going anywhere until it is seen as fit (safe) for the next tranche of people to move on. You cannot get within a stone’s throw of Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden City without a ticket, and without appropriate documentation – in the case of foreign nationals, a passport. And no, you cannot blag your way through, it ain’t happening! If you have the two said items then you are in. Well, into a holding area, that is. Corralled and ready to go – ready for admittance. We cannot add to that. For more, tune in tomorrow, when we will be duly armed and prepared. In all seriousness, it is something we are very much looking forward to, accepting that strict control of numbers in the area – especially given the week we are here – is a necessary measure.

Content that we left the general area with an idea of what we needed to do logistically the following day, we headed for Nanluoguxiang. Built originally during the Yuan Dynasty (around 1276) and named Nanluoguxiang during the Qing Dynasty, the area has an 800-metre main spine with eight lateral hutongs branching off to the east and eight to the west. It is now an area renowned for its street food, boutiques, cafes and bars.