China: Beijing, Hainan Island, Guangzhou
The company which I founded in 1980, Keck & Co
Business Consultants, provided me and others in my company with much
opportunity for international travel.
The company’s focus was to assist USA manufacturers of food processing
and food packaging equipment with their market entry in developing markets. We
did this through market research and communications programs. As export-quality foods were generally a first
item to garner foreign exchange in the course of development, US equipment
proved to be tried and tested, ruggedized for a workforce that might currently
be learning factory skills, and favorable cost and terms of purchase were made
possible by many international and US aid programs. (We also had some German and Japanese
equipment clients – as their equipment products were also ruggedized and
produced export quality foods and packages).
BEIJING 1993
In 1993, I was fortunate to attend a food processing
equipment exhibition in Beijing on behalf of several clients. When not talking to the international press
about the advantages of my clients’ equipment in Chinese factories, I had time
to do a little touring. (The processing
and packaging press had great sway in legitimizing the efficacy of equipment in
a production environment … favorable press in terms of case-history articles,
etc., could significantly affect
equipment sales!)
The accommodations were spartan – hotels built
originally I think along Russian lines:
long corridors branched out from a central stairwell, and on the landing
of each floor was situated a guard. Room
interiors were fine, however. My notable
experience was coming down with the flu, and badly. All I had in my travel kit was allergy
medicine, so I took that. Voila! Cured.
I then understood that I had an allergic reaction to the terrible
pollution in Beijing at the time.
I was able to hire a local guide who spoke adequate
English, and off we went!
The Forbidden City
One of the top tourist attractions in Beijing at that
time, and probably currently also.
Description below courtesy of Britannica.com
The Forbidden City is
the imperial palace complex
at the heart of Beijing (Peking), China.
Commissioned in 1406 by the Yongle emperor
of the Ming dynasty, it was first officially occupied by the court in 1420.
It was so named because access to the area was barred to most of the subjects
of the realm. Government functionaries and even the imperial family were
permitted only limited access; the emperor alone could enter any section at
will. The 178-acre compound was
designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 in recognition of its
importance as the centre of Chinese power for five centuries, as well as for
its unparalleled architecture and its current role as the Palace Museum of
dynastic art and history.
The architecture of the walled complex adheres rigidly to
the traditional Chinese geomantic practice of feng shui.
The orientation of the Forbidden City, and for that matter all of Beijing,
follows a north-south line. Within the compound, all the most important
buildings, especially those along the main axis, face south to honor the Sun.
The buildings and the ceremonial spaces between them are arranged to convey an
impression of great imperial power while reinforcing the insignificance of the
individual. This architectural conceit is borne out to the smallest of
details—the relative importance of a building can be judged not only from its
height or width but also by the style of its roof and the number of figurines
perched on the roof’s ridges.
Among the more notable landmarks are the Wu (Meridian) Gate, the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian), and the Imperial Garden (Yuhuayuan).
The Wu (Meridian) Gate is
the imposing formal southern entrance to the Forbidden City. Its auxiliary wings,
which flank the entryway, are outstretched like the forepaws of a guardian lion
or sphinx. The gate is also one of the tallest buildings of the complex,
standing 125 feet high at its roof ridge. One of its primary functions was to
serve as a backdrop for imperial appearances and proclamations.
Towering above the space stands the Hall of Supreme
Harmony which is the largest single building in the compound and was the
center of the imperial court. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the most
dignified building in the Forbidden City, and is commonly referred to as the
Hall of Golden Chimes. It was built in the early fifteenth century (the Yongle reign).
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there is beautiful décor such
as this divan.
Belvedere of the embodying benevolence (below)
was originally called the civil belvedere. Its current name was given by the
Qing emperors who were inspired by the ancient writings. It is to the
south-east of the pavilion of the supreme harmony and it dates from the
Qianlong period (1736-1795). Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) used the pavilion to
test candidates for ministers on poetry. Since the reign of Emperor Qianlong
this pavilion has been used as dressing room of the royal family, making it a
real royal clothing store.
Roofs of many buildings in the Forbidden City are of glazed golden tiles, and woodwork is beautifully finished with vermillion paint, lacquer and gilding. This is one such building, and a German photographer has identified it as the Gate of the Highest Harmony… but I can’t verify that….
Time to take a break while walking around this huge city…
At the northernmost limit of the Forbidden City, is the 3-acre Imperial Garden of the Palace. The imperial garden is the smallest of the eight areas of the palace. It was a private refuge for the imperial family and it is perhaps the most typical example of Chinese garden design. It has about twenty buildings, each of a different style, and the ways in which they harmonize with trees, rock gardens, flower beds and sculptural objects such as bronze incense burners are of great harmony. The garden was designed as a place of relaxation for the emperor, with a fanciful arrangement of trees, fish ponds, flower beds, and sculpture. I took this picture of the artificial stone hill known as the Mountain of accumulated elegance, which has above it the Imperial Prospect Pavillion.
The Imperial Garden also features several notable pavilions, each with its own unique characteristics. At each of the four corners of the garden there is a pavilion. They symbolize the four seasons. The one I visited is the Pavilion of One Thousand Autumns.
Pavilion of one thousand autumns
This pavilion, built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is
square with a round roof and porches on all four sides, giving it a particular
and technically accomplished architecture. It has carved eaves and multiple
angles. Buddhist statues have been dedicated here, as well as the spiritual
tablet of Emperor Tongzhi (1862-1874). This pavilion is located to the west of
the imperial garden, a direction that, according to Chinese philosophy,
correlates with autumn.
The Great Wall of China
Of course, a visit!
We went to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China which is in
the Huairou District, about 45 miles northeast of Beijing. It is considered one of the most scenic and
well-preserved sections of this iconic monument.
Mutianyu boasts 22
watchtowers within a 7,380 foot stretch, which is a high density compared to other sections of
the wall. It also has double-sided battlements: Unlike
most sections of the wall with battlements only on the outer side, Mutianyu
features crenellated parapets on both sides, allowing soldiers to defend from
either direction – a rare feature.
Visitors can ascend the wall
using a cable car, seen here. I trugged
up a small section.
At the entry to the steps, tourists
can take a camel ride. You probably know
by now that I am not all that fond of camels, so I passed on the opportunity.
Up and up and up…
Somewhere in the middle,
there is a chance to pose behind a cutout of a costume from the Ming dynasty
costume and have a photo taken. Who
could resist?
But for me, the best memory
was of making a phone call to my father back home in Indiana. “Dad,” I said, “this will be short, but I am
calling you from the Great Wall of China.” He took this in good humor! (The sign says, “Public Telephone”)
I have no idea now how many RMB’s that phone call cost, but well worth it. As the lead-in to this blog says, a girl from
the farm area of Indiana travels the world… and my parents were always very
supportive of my curious and adventurous nature. I was fortunate in so many ways!
Still, there were a lot of
steps remaining, and the chance to see the Chinese countryside as I went…
And so that brief visit to
Beijing and environs came to an end.
Hainan Island ~ 1993
I don’t have any photos of this trip, as it was strictly business. Now Hainan is known as a resort area, but at that time there was not much to see. In a big can-making factory, my client had installed a press that made ring-pull lids for beverage cans.
I remember being shocked that in the hotel, the open
drain under a grate in the floor actually flowed water when you used the sink
or bath. Despite the fact that this part
of China was pretty remote, the bar in the hotel stocked all the high-end
liquor you’d ever want. You bought the
whole bottle at a shockingly high price, and everyone shared.
Doing my job of conducting interviews and taking photos
was a bit of a challenge due to the language difference. But I noticed a young female factory worker
who was trying out her English, and enlisted her. Perhaps it is different now (in 2025) but
women were not treated anywhere near equal;
the management was surprised that this young woman could speak decent
English. Hopefully her skills earned her
a higher level of respect after the visit was finished.
New Territories ~ 1989
I was involved in a market research project for James
River Co., assessing the prospect for a corrugated plant enterprise in
Indonesia. The gateway for the trip to
Jakarta was Hong Kong, and I managed to go to the New Territories easily enough
from Hong Kong; just a public taxi ride, actually. I wanted to look at a corrugated paperboard
processing plant there, and I accomplished that. Sorry to be foggy on the details… of course
everything is different now since 1997, when Hong Kong was handed back to
China, transitioning from British rule to Chinese sovereignty.
Guangzhou ~ 1993, 1994
In 1993 and 1994, two other factory visits for clients
took me to Guangzhou. I remember being
amazed on the train from Hong Kong, to see a trolley of the largest turkey
drumsticks I’d ever seen being rolled down the aisle and passengers eagerly
buying them.
Again, foggy on more details.
Hong Kong – lots of trips
Some of my visits to Hong Kong in the 1980’s and 1990’s were
only changes of planes. But I never
really considered Hong Kong to be part of China… it was a free market economy,
with beautiful hotels, safe transportation, and practically everyone spoke
English. The last time I was there was
to change planes on the way back from Vietnam.
That was the spring of 1997 when my son Martin and I toured much of
South Vietnam and also Hanoi. As to Hong
Kong ~ I’ll get back there someday…and hope it hasn’t changed too much under
communist rule.
