Tiananmen and Forbidden City

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Right in the heart of Beijing lies the Tiananmen and Forbidden City (Gugong, as the locals call it). The whole city is practically built around the two landmarks, with the main roads forming concentric circles starting from the 1st Ring Road (Yihuan) to the 6th Ring Road (Liuhuan).




The huge portrait of chairman Mao is signature to the Tiananmen.






View of Tiananmen Square - Elaborate military flag raising and lowering ceremonies that literally stop traffic take place each day with respect to the time at which the sun rises and sets.






Intricate beams of the roof supports inside the Tiananmen.



The Duanmen (Upright Gate) is one of the main gates leading into the palace:







The Hall of Supreme Harmony is where the emperor handles the day to day affairs of the imperial court, and is what most people would remember from Chinese dramas such as Huanzhu Gege:







The huge opening between the Gate of Supreme Harmony and Hall of Supreme Harmony is stone paved, and it appears that a part of it has been restored to ease of walking for visitors:





The old and new stone pavement.






Other similarly designed halls surround the main hall.








The interior of the hall is actually much smaller than what the hall appears to be on the outside. It certainly didn't look like it could fit the many ministers and officials that the TV dramas depict.





The writings above the throne (Zheng Da Guang Ming) are by emperor Qianlong, and it is said that the heir to next ascend the throne will be written down and hidden in a concealed space behind the writings by the currently reigning emperor. Only when he passes away will the next emperor be named.

The Hall of Complete Harmony is situated right behind the main hall - It's the place where the emperor prepares himself for appearing in the main hall:





This pavilion may be small on the outside...






... But it really feels more welcoming and spacious than the main hall!



It's interesting to note that the roofs of the halls in the palace have carvings of creatures at each corner - They are said to be able to fend off evil:







Besides taking in all of the rich history presented in the form of the grand structures, there were also a couple of things we made up through direct inference from what we saw, just for laughs!





... That the imperial palace basically contained a cashless society where its occupants withdrew ingots from ATMs...









... And the imperial palace was made possible with loans granted from the American Express bank?! =O



Time flew, and soon it was sunset.







Last capture of the majestic Hall of Supreme Harmony before we leave:







And a 'We were here' shot!







There's nothing like comfort food back at a Malaysian eatery at Huixinxijie Nankou, a few streets away from our hotel:





Curry chicken and vegetables rice with blachan chilli!






And the very tender mutton curry with rice!

Beijing Olympic Stadium

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The Beijing Olympic Stadium sure looks like a stone's throw away from our hotel on the tourists' guide - But it's really not. The map showed that the stadium was 5 streets away from where we are - But I guess the scale isn't large enough to show the many smaller streets we would be crossing in order to reach the Olympic Square! =(

We reached after an hour's walk (Thank goodness for the cool weather!):





The stadium, set against the sky that is so blue it seems artificial. Breath-taking!






Roads at the Olympic Square are lined with beautiful flowers.






A closer look at the interesting IBM building in the distance.



Entry to the stadium requires a ticket - Security's pretty tight at the entrance, even 2 years after the Beijing Olympics:







Inside the stadium, at-a-glance:












For the architectural or civil engineering buffs, it's interesting to note that PTFE and ETFE polymers (Plastics!) are the materials used for its roof. And the external mesh structure that gives the stadium the characteristic look of a bird's nest, is actually concrete, and not steel!










The mobile gong used in the opening ceremony performance of the 2008 Olympics.






Huge fans like this were used to create the visual effect seen in the backdrop for the opening ceremony. Wonder how heavy is it to wave this thing around?



A bird's eye view of the soccer field and tracks:












The external structure of the stadium looks as if it had sprouted out of the ground with great vigour to reach towards the sun:







'Huge' is an understatement when it comes to describing the size of the Olympic Square. It seems to stretch forever!







The Olympic swimming complex where many world records were broken is just around the corner:





The swimming complex uses the same plastic material of the stadium roof for its exterior and promises to look as good as Day One for years to come.



Just can't help but just sit and stare at that blue sky...












A huge block of jade that is known as the 'First Rate Jade of China' can be found at the Olympic Square:







More views of the stadium from the square:











And what better way to celebrate the weekend with beer and a meat fest? =)





The Hans restaurant is kinda like Brewerks - They have their own brews! Mild barley for me, please!






The servers simply strut around with grilled meats and seafood and pile them up on our plates!

Working In Beijing

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Clear blue skies greeted us when we touched down at the Beijing Capital Airport at a time when Singapore is, unfortunately, plaqued by the haze. It is definitely a pleasant surprise as my prior impression of China's capital city was one that has a perpetual cloud of smog hanging over the sky, much like other major developed cities of the world.





Look Ma, No smog! =)



It sure seems like the environment has improved by leaps and bounds since the Olympic games in 2008!

We reside at the 4th Loop of Beijing city, in an area known as Jiamingtongcheng - A quiet little town in the outskirts, which is just a stone's throw away from work.





Supermarkets and restaurants are very accessible where we live.



There's also a serene park lined with maple trees - It's autumn but the leaves have not turn brown and fall. Some of the maple leaves are as large as our faces!





It's about 15 degrees Celsius in the day, and 7 degrees at night. The autumn has just set in...



The workplace is a modern, spartan building that's located along Xiaoying Road:





The Beijing Traffic Control Centre (BTCC) is the central nervous system of the Beijing metro system that moves about 5.3 million people each day.



The lovely weather and scenery outside takes my mind off work once in a while:







And soon it is time to load up at one of our favourite places:





Fastfood - Chinese style. Braised pork belly with a cuppa orange juice with lots of pulp. =)



Sometimes, we take a lil' stroll about the workplace after meals.





Love the dedicated cycling lanes! =)






The wide footpath around the TCC.



Can't help but notice that recycling is serious business in China:





From the front, this truck actually looks like it's wearing a wig of white plastic containers!