2021 Spring Festival Beijing Travelogue
On September 6, 1982, at 6 a.m., I arrived at Beijing Station. It was my first visit to Beijing, and my heart was pounding with excitement. Looking back, it has been forty years now, and I have deep feelings for Beijing. During my student years, I explored every corner of the city. Back then, Beijing was not very big. Outside Xizhimen were crop fields. I once walked from Jianguomen to Fuchengmen, and also from the Beijing Iron and Steel Institute to Ping'anli, and often walked from Tiananmen to Ping'anli. I used to ride a bicycle through the hutongs around Xuanwumen and Guang'anmen. Tiananmen Square was not like it is today; even the bricks on the ground were aged, looking somewhat shabby by today's standards.
Back then, the places I visited most were Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and History (now the National Museum of China), Zhongshan Park, the Working People's Cultural Palace, the Military Museum, Xiangshan Park, and the Great Hall of the People. However, I think the most special experience was boating in Zhongnanhai back then—something that is impossible today. It's a great pity that I didn't take many photos in those days, unlike now when we snap pictures one after another with our phones.
During the Spring Festival, I wanted to get out and walk. Often I think of revisiting places I've been before. I had planned to go to the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven, but I couldn't book tickets.
The weather on the third day of the New Year was bad—it was drizzling and foggy. I took the subway to Xidan. I used to come to Xidan often, mainly to shop at the Xidan Department Store. My first tape recorder was bought here for 140 yuan, which was very expensive at the time. The streets and buildings of Xidan have completely changed, of course not just Xidan but also Wangfujing, Qianmen Street, Dashilar—in fact, the whole of Beijing has undergone a tremendous transformation. Apart from the names, most places have no connection to what they were before.
I walked along Chang'an Avenue toward Tiananmen. Security checks are very strict now; back then, you could walk here freely. What a world of difference! After passing the security check and walking past Xinhuamen, I went through another security check to enter Tiananmen Square. Today, there were not many people in the square—a scene I haven't seen for a long time. Chairman Mao Memorial Hall was also open, with few visitors. I noticed the green belt in the square was covered with wood chips, which looked very practical and effective.
After crossing the square, I reached West Qianmen Street. I planned to go to Lao She Teahouse at noon to watch a crosstalk performance—just to relax and have fun during the holiday. The crosstalk was performed by young actors from the Beijing Quyi Troupe. Sun Guosong performed a clapper talk tongue twister, and there were four crosstalk pieces. The first was by Wang Zheng and Zhang Tianlei; I felt Wang Zheng's Beijing accent was too heavy and his delivery was a bit unclear. The finale was by Guo Tianyi and Liu Xing, who did quite well. Others included Sun Zhongqiu and Zhang Shuo, and Li Han and Chi Yongzhi. The audience wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but there was constant laughter—all in the spirit of the New Year's joy. The show lasted an hour and a half, and our tickets were 120 yuan, the cheapest ones.
After the crosstalk, I passed by the newly built Beijing Fun and arrived at Dashilar. There were quite a few tourists. I wanted to check if there were any performances at the Sanqingyuan and Guangdelou theatres, but there were no announcements. Without lingering, I took the No. 5 bus home.
On the fourth day, the sky was clear and sunny, with blue skies and white clouds. I planned to visit Prince Gong's Mansion. Since it wasn't open to the public in the 1980s, I had never been there before. The ticket was 40 yuan, purchased online, and I just scanned my ID to enter. I felt the reconstructed buildings of the mansion lacked the beauty of the old brick-and-wood structures; I didn't like them very much. However, the garden scenery was quite nice, with rockeries, water, a lake, bamboo, pavilions, and towers. I especially liked the strangely shaped rocks because they inspire endless imagination—you see whatever you imagine in them. I strolled around for forty-five minutes and overall thought it was very good.
Leaving Prince Gong's Mansion, I walked to the shore of Houhai and Shichahai. The scenery at Houhai was beautiful; even though the lake wasn't open, there were still many visitors. I wanted to visit Soong Ching-ling's former residence, but when I arrived, I found it was closed that day. Later, on the 24th, I visited it again, and the scenery was lovely. So I rode a shared bike to Lao She's former residence.
Lao She was a great writer, and his works are filled with strong local flavor. I've read some of his novels, and I like 'Four Generations Under One Roof,' 'Camel Xiangzi,' 'The Biography of Niu Tianci,' and 'Under the Red Banner.' The first work of his I read was 'Dragon Beard Ditch.' Coming here today was a way of remembering this great writer. After leaving Lao She's former residence, I walked through Wangfujing Street. The festive mood was strong. I saw someone pulling a yangpian (a kind of peepshow), and wondered if anyone still enjoys this old art form. A sugar-blown figurine cost 35 yuan. Then I took Subway Line 1 home.
On the fifth day, a strong wind blew. Since I had bought a ticket for an afternoon opera at the Chang'an Grand Theater, I still wanted to go out early and look around. I took the subway to Qianmen, passed through security, and arrived at Dongjiaomin Lane.
Dongjiaomin Lane is the longest hutong in Beijing, stretching 1,550 meters. It was once the foreign legation quarter in old China. Starting from 1840, especially after the Boxer Protocol, countries like Britain, France, the United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, and Belgium established legations here. It stands as a witness to old China's history of humiliation. When the People's Liberation Army entered Beiping in 1949, Chairman Mao instructed that they must march through Dongjiaomin Lane to show the Chinese people's disdain for foreign invaders and their determination to expel all foreign aggressors. Today, some old sites remain, such as the Grand Hôtel des Wagons-Lits, the Belgian Legation, the French Legation, the French Post Office, the Beijing branch of Citibank, the Beijing branch of Yokohama Specie Bank, and the French Church.
Leaving Dongjiaomin Lane, I came to Dongdan Park. The park was built in 1955, and the literary figure Guo Moruo inscribed its name. There's a sculpture of workers, peasants, and soldiers in the park. A young man in his thirties asked me who the three figures in the sculpture were. I explained, and then wondered if there's a problem with our education system. The rockeries in the park were nice, with lush trees on the hill. There's a hexagonal pavilion with double eaves and glazed tiles. The winding paths led to secluded spots. Overall, the park was small but exquisite.
At Dongdan, I found a place to have lunch. First, I went to No. 75 Dongtangzi Hutong to take a few photos in front of Cai Yuanpei's former residence. Cai Yuanpei lived there from 1917 to 1920. He was a great modern educator, revolutionary, and statesman, who once served as the president of Peking University.
After taking photos, I walked east along Waijiaobu Street and passed by the villa area of Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Even by today's standards, the environment there still looks very nice.
Further on, I saw the gate of the State Guesthouse. Sun Yat-sen once stayed here, and after liberation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also had its offices here.
Finally, I arrived at the Chang'an Grand Theater. The original site of the theater was at the Xidan intersection, and I had watched operas there in the 1980s.
Today's Chang'an Grand Theater is magnificent and splendid, with excellent facilities.
This afternoon at 2 p.m., the Youth Troupe of the Beijing Opera Company performed the Peking operas 'The Emperor and the Innkeeper' (Youlong Xifeng) and 'Gao Liang Chases the Water' (Gao Liang Gan Shui). 'The Emperor and the Innkeeper' (with Zhang Kai as Emperor Zhengde and Zhu Hong as Li Fengjie) was well sung. Today, I especially wanted to see 'Gao Liang Chases the Water' (with Zhan Lei as Gao Liang, Cao Yangyang as the hunchbacked old man, Liang Junwei as the old woman, Li Yang as the Dragon King, Sun Shimin as the Dragon Queen, and Wang Ning as Liu Bowen). This is a relatively obscure opera, with a script by Weng Ouhong. The plot goes: in the Ming dynasty, Liu Bowen supervised the construction of Beijing. The Dragon King of Black Dragon Pond caused trouble, turning into a hunchbacked old man, while the Dragon Queen became an old woman. They sucked dry all the wells in the city. Liu Bowen sent Gao Liang to chase the hunchbacked old man and seize the water basket. When the basket broke, a great flood surged. After a fierce struggle, the water source was reclaimed, and the people were saved. The Dragon King captured Gao Liang, and the people built 'Gao Liang Bridge' to commemorate him. The opera had many acrobatic fight scenes, and all the actors performed well.
When booking, I chose relatively good seats, priced at 480 yuan per ticket. The opera lasted two and a half hours, and overall I was very satisfied.
After the opera, it was time to go home. I took Subway Line 2 at Jianguomen to go home.
On the sixth day, I planned to go to Beihai Park and Shijingshan Park to take photos. Though there was a bit of wind, the weather was okay, and the blue sky was good for photography. After lunch, I took the subway to Beihai Park and Tuancheng to take some pictures. I remember when I came to Beihai Park in 1982, the steamed buns here were delicious. They were sold from a state-owned mobile cart for 1 yuan per jin, and I always bought 3 liang. After the state canteen disbanded, I never saw them again. Today, my biggest gain at Beihai was taking photos in the newly opened Huafangzhai and Haojian Park areas. Leaving Tuancheng, I went to the corner tower of the Forbidden City to take photos. Many people come here to capture the sunset. Although there was still over an hour until sunset, many photography enthusiasts were already jostling for the best spots. From the corner tower, I walked to Shenwumen and then entered Jingshan Park, mainly to take a few photos. I've been here many times, and I plan to come back when the flowers bloom.
After leaving Jingshan Park, I walked to Xihuamen and took the No. 5 bus home.
Author: Da Song Wanjun, written on February 17, 2021
