Citylife: Beijing

Beijing, the city that goes on forever through both time and space.

The Forbidden City, not so forbidden anymore.

We file in with the hundreds of Chinese, cameras and fans in hand, to walk through the massively thick and intimidating doors to this ancient city of palaces. The square opens up, revealing large, ornate walls surrounding a largely vacant plaza. Not even the flood of bodies pouring into this space can begin to fill it.

We close our eyes, leaving the image of the plaza in our minds and imagine the sort of elaborate processions, festivals and celebrations held here when the city was still forbidden. I want to see that. The colors, the costumes, the spectacles. My eyes open to see a group of Chinese wearing the same bright yellow hat, dragging children, eating popsicles and following a tiny man with a yellow flag held high. A modern-day procession I suppose.

The enclosed city continues for what feels like forever, especially in the hot, humid air. Ancient gardens and smaller palaces dedicated to thinking or meditating surround the larger centers. Every stairway, roof corner and dividing wall display different forms of colorful expression of culture and art from centuries ago. Statues guard the entrances, mosaic pictures form the garden path, carved dragons tell a story along the stairs.

There is too much to see and not enough time to truly appreciate its importance in the history of this place. Like many overly-visited historical sites, meaning slips away with lines, tickets, gift shops, glass enclosures, restorations, bottled water and tourist maps. Now it stands as the skeleton of a once mysterious, magical and fascinating place. This being said, I can still close my eyes, knowing where I stand and imagine the spectacle around me in its true form. No book, movie or picture will ever allow me to come that close to such a distant time and place.

Aside from the Forbidden Palace, my week in Beijing was not filled with guide book driven trips. Instead, I moved through the city with Adam as he checked items off his list, ran errands and accomplished the required tasks to be able to fly south to Kunming. We traveled 2 hours to the outskirts of the city—that probably continue for another 2 hours—to visit a factory where rafts are made. These small, two-person crafts carry “adventure-seekers” down a short and controlled section of water. With no paddles and a cheap vest awkwardly filled with foam the guests hold onto the rope and splash each other on their brief descent. This is how the Chinese see rafting. Incredible. They don’t understand the exploration of natural features, the movement and control of a vessel through varying currents, the thrill of accomplishment or the peace of a vast and epically beautiful place. Hopefully Last Descents will change this.