Going to Bejing!

 

Going to Beijing

 

I’m back in Beijing! It is September 5, 2005. I’ve come over from the States. My journey's been tiresome but it’s almost over. Once again I see the grand view of the airport as the plane lands, then the guy waiting for me after customs. And the busy blur in the parking lot. Hallelujah, I’m here!

 

Why my return to Beijing? Officially, to deliver a report on my hike through what had once been the Last Palace of the Southern Sung, near the old downtown of Hangzhou. Personally, to see if I could separate historical fact from (albeit delightful) historical fantasy.

The next morning, I take off to toward the “Temple of Heaven," exploring that area of the city. All car-parts and motorcycles, but one path leads inwards and I see an old woman there, under an awning.  Phoenix Hill beckons me.  I continue up the path, remembering the previous year's adventures and wondering what new ones await.

 

Marco Polo’s destination in the 13^th Century

 

At that time in history, as the story goes, one thousand women were in the service of the Sung King. Ten thousand (other) persons, “…chief lords, great masters, and rich artificers” also numbered among the King's visitors. The guests dressed in “silk and gold” because each “did his utmost to go with the greatest of wealth in his power.”  The King would invite people to visit for twelve days, and see to it they were very well entertained.

 

The Palace dimensions were known since Marco Polo

For 700 years the old Sung Palace had been deserted since Marco Polo visited there for an interview with King Fanfur.  Why was I searching for something so long buried?  Because the hiking terrain of Hangzhou was known since Marco Polo.  And that terrain, which I had hiked, had supposedly contained the old Sung Palace! Amazing to think that this terrain had remained essentially unchanged in all that time. I wondered how much longer that would remain the case, especially considering the frenetic construction taking place in Hangzhou during recent years.  

 

In 2002 or so, I had discovered a map of that area, authored by A.C. Moule, which included written notes - a guidebook to the map, if you will.  Then a colleague gifted me a Topo model of Hangzhou. This was a 3D rendering of the “up-and-down,” hilly portion of the area.  And I was already a big-time GPS mapping geek.  So I had what I needed in order to hike Phoenix Hill, a key Palace area. 

I could walk it with GPS, then try to reconcile all three: My independent "on-foot" GPS map, the topo model, and the Moule map!  Fun! 

It didn't seem as though anyone had mapped the Palace area, on foot, in recent times. Old neighborhoods in the area were being torn down at a rapid pace to make way for modern construction. One such neighborhood bordered Phoenix Hill, where the old Palace had once sat.  Was it just a matter of time before Phoenix Hill and the old Palace foundations were bulldozed too?   

The possibility that such a historic site might fall to "development" didn't sit well with me. Maybe this could be more than a recreational mapping adventure.

If I was able to complete this project and present my findings to the right people,  it might stir interest in conserving the site, or at least inspire further investigations.

The Beijing North China University of Technology Project, as I dubbed it, was born. 

On Foot with A.C. Moule

I like to take you on one of my first hikes in Hangzhou. The author of my map, A.C. Moule, said in a footnote that until 1936, the foundation stone of the Palace was right at Fantian Road. So it’s at Fantian that we will start on our first hike!

We start by taking a cab ride from the hotel, down Wansong Road - all the way to Fantian Road.  The street retreats up a ways. There are houses on each side. They are very simple, but incredible to me - because the residents, as it happens, know their dwellings are in the old Palace area.

 

Last Chance for an Orange Soda

 

Two long blocks along Fantian get us to the Palace foundation border, which is filled largely with trees. At the last minute, before going up the hill, we come across a street vendor selling cold drinks. Amid the local offerings, I spot an orange soda! The gentleman pulls it out of the machine and hands it to me. Thus provisioned, I’m ready for the trees and bushes. Upwards on the path and into them!