This weekend I finally visited Beijing which was absolutely beautiful. It is definitely different from my “home” Tianjin as it is more cultural and touristy. As Beijing is the capital of China, it is very busy with locals and foreigners as they are both exploring the many attractions. On the other hand, Tianjin is a bit slower and is filled with buildings rather than touristy sites.
In Beijing, I visited The Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City and of course one of the wonders of the world, The Great Wall. They are all unique and magnificent as well as have an interesting history. Firstly, The Temple of Heaven is an imperial complex of religious buildings that was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest. The entire place is breath-taking and extremely peaceful, especially in the park sections. Even though there were a lot of people, it still did not take away from the radiant view of the temple.
The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their household and was the ceremonial and political center for the Chinese government for almost 500 years. It is also an incredible and spectacular place to visit as I got to see live where the many various emperors sat on their thrones and also where they slept. Also, the garden is not the typical garden, it is filled with unique shape trees at added such beauty.
Lastly, The Great Wall of China which is cross off my bucket list, six more wonders to go. Besides the long walk and many steps, the Great Wall is a MUST visit when you come to China. It represents so much of the Chinese history and the history is fascinating. It was built to keep out the Mongolian tribe and this wall crosses over 17 providences (states). What really exploded my mind was that the wall took 1000 years to build and it was built by hand. How amazing is that? I mean it must take long to build since it is so long and built by hand but WOW.
“Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” – Elie Wiesel. I am grateful for this opportunity to explore China’s history and carry it along with me for the rest of life. Even though my culture back in Trinidad and Tobago is different from China, it allows me to appreciate deeply my experiences in China because of its great history.