This may seem a bit disjointed from the title of this blog entry but the reason I found myself in Beijing was a Yanfeng management meeting. These meeting occur twice a year and always in a different location. I think the purpose is really more team building and as a reward for hard work than it is to report out the status of the company and motivate the management.
Although it sounds great, I was really lamenting the fact that I would have to work on yet another weekend, and this weekend was to be near 100 degrees with high humidity. So what was our first event, a plant tour and not just one, but four of them and needless to say none of them were air conditioned! Although getting through the day was tough, it was more than made up for by the dinner and the great teambuilding (or should I say drinking) events that followed. I had a great time and got the chance to make many new friends (or should I say drinking buddies). It is very hard for me to meet people at work because I really do not interact with many of them as I am in the advanced group dreaming up solutions to problems you didn’t know you had. So it is great that I can now strike up conversations with my “new friends”.
Fortunately the next day was more team building, so with head in hand (because of the throbbing), we headed out to the Great Wall Of China. I had been to the great wall some 25 years ago and although the wall didn’t change, the environment and the crowds sure have. It was a logistically nightmare trying to get 350 people all going in the same direction at the same time but the staff did a great job and we really enjoyed the often strenuous climb on the great wall.
In 221BC the Emperor Qin unified the six states and set up the first unified kingdom. In order to strengthen his authority and defend himself from the Huns in the north, he ordered that the wall of the six states be connected and then added more sections of his own. This was the start of the great wall which was already some 5000 kilometers long.
During the second dynasty, the Han dynasty, the Hun became a stronger threat and Emperor Han Wu ordered the extension of the wall, it was now 10,000 kilometers long. But the wall that we see today was built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Although the wall was built principally for defense, it never housed an army, rather it was patrolled by guards who would signal their counterparts with smoke signals which were passed along the wall until they finally reached the garrisons which were then deployed to cast down the attack.
It was a great experience to see what dedication and hard work can accomplish, and I am sure this is the message that the planners of the trip were hoping to convey.
So the next day it was back to propaganda and more group discussions, but once again the dinner was a fantastic experience with a Chinese show and great food. Then of course more team building, this time with some great wine and even the CEO got into it.
So for our final day we toured the Temple of Heaven complex. Now what was normally a beautiful location turned into a real steam bath! Even the Chinese people thought it was unbearable, 102 degrees with 95% humidity. But not to be beaten by the weather we soldiered on. Actually the tour was great and the grounds were very beautiful, I especially enjoyed the “echo wall”.
The Temple of Heaven or the “Altar of Heaven” is a large complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southern part of Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (the builders of the new wall). Here they would hold annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest. It is regarded as a Taoist temple although Chinese Heaven Worship pre-dates Taoism.
The temple complex was constructed by Emperor Yongle in 1420; he also built the Forbidden City. The complex was expanded to its present size in the 16th century by Emperor Jiajing. The complex was inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1998 when it was described as a masterpiece of architecture and landscape.
In ancient China, the emperor was regarded as the “Son of Heaven” and he represented heavenly authority. Twice a year the Emperor would come here to pray for good harvests. The largest of the ceremonies takes place at the winter solstice when the Emperor would make sacrifices to the god of the heavens. The complex is comprised of many buildings for worship all with blue ceilings and roofs. The blue and gold colors were reserved for Royalty and no ordinary people were allowed to use these colors.
The trip was a great experience, a great cultural learning opportunity and a great time to enjoy friends and colleagues.
More pictures on Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/116382736159542073538/Beijing#
The contrast between Shanghai and Beijing (in terms of history) must be amazing to witness! (Although, it's unfortunate there wasn't more contrast in terms of that AWFUL weather!)
ReplyDelete