Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City.


Tese contrasts are just part of the charm of this an- cient land. Shanghai, the most westernized and largest city in China, pop. 24 million, is a blend of the one-time isolated Orient and the gradually increasing influence of the West. Shanghai grew with the support of the British after the Opium War of 1841, which created the opportunity for trade, opening the doors to the West in an unprecedented way and continuing up to the time of the Cultural Revolution and now again, post revolution. Beijing


Since the 13th century, Beijing has been the capital of China, containing the seat of government and about 21 million people. Just across from the ancient buildings of the Forbidden City, home to Chinese emperors from 1420 to 1912 and now a public museum, is Tiananmen Square, where the vision of a tank bearing down on a lone protester in 1989 etched itself in many minds. In contrast to the ancient lines of the palace and the for- bidding buildings of Tiananmen is the futuristic CCTV (China Central Television) tower that dominates East Tird Ring Road, just one of many architectural wonders that make the CN tower look old-fashioned. Consider the oval towers of the Galaxy Soho complex


by designer Zaha Hadid, or the doughnut-shaped Phoe- nix International Media Center dreamed up by Chinese architect Shang Wu. Te astonishing shape and con- struction of these towers provide a clue to the creativity and vision of the Chinese. Beautiful architecture extends to hotels. You may want


28 • Summer 2017


In China the present mingles with the past.


to book a stay at the amazing 200,000-square-foot, 360- room Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, shaped and shining like the rising sun and part of a 3,460-acre complex on a lake.


Of course, everyone takes a side trip to visit the Great


Wall of China, a two-hour ride from the airport. People-watching at the Forbidden City is about view- ing a world of diversity walk by as persons from all over this vast country come here as tourists. Teir many faces and body types bear witness to the time when China was a loose collection of different countries and states.


The Hub


Photo by Kovacs Bela.


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