新老 (xīnlǎo) - New and Old

Prof G and his safari hat are
always ready for an expedition.

On Saturday, we went on our first expedition - er, I mean, excursion, to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. On our way to the site, our tour guide, Michael, shared a few important tips:

1. Keep your belongings close. As Prof G mentioned the day before, "anything you lose at the Forbidden City belongs to the Chinese emperor." With all due respect to Prof G, I think Michael was actually trying to warn us against pickpocketers.

2. Don't buy anything from the vendors. Though that Mao watch may seem mighty attractive, it's not worth having a vendor follow you around for the rest of the day, begging for you to purchase a fake Rolex from them (only to give you change back in counterfeit money).

3.  If you have blond hair and blue eyes, your picture will inevitably make it into some Chinese tourists' photo album of their trip to Beijing. But actually:

Gabby and her new friends.

Yes, Gabby was one of the first to be asked to be photographed as soon as we entered the Forbidden City. Just moments later, many other girls in our group were pulled into the picture, as well. You see, I look much more Chinese than I act (heh), so of course, I wasn't invited to be in the photo (but neither were any of the guys). I got a good kick out of it nonetheless.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Tiananmen Square.

The contrast between Tiananmen Square (a symbol of new China) and the Forbidden City (a symbol of old China) was striking in both architecture and historical significance. According to Michael, all the buildings in Tiananmen Square were built very quickly and efficiently in conjunction with the rise of the new Communist party (the massive parliamentary building took less than a year to build, for example), and the square has already been the site of many triumphs and challenges for the new Chinese government. On the other hand, construction on the Forbidden City began in 1406 and wasn't completed until 1420. Up until the early 20th century, it served as a sanctuary for the Chinese emperor, and was open only to the most elite civil and military officials. 

(Of course, the Forbidden City is no longer forbidden to those who pay 60 ¥ at the gate.) 

The Forbidden City was quite the hoot.