The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 13, Milford, Kosciusko County, 11 April 1984 — Page 11

Return to Peking finds growing city

By ARCH AND DELLA BAUMGARTNER PEKING, China, Feb. 28,1984 - The provinces of rural China had treated our touring group royally, in particular the Shandong Province. We were feted, toasted, looked over and probed about things American; but, for that matter, we did our fair share of probing about the ways of life in modern day China. And so it was on to Peking (or Beijing, as it is called today), the capital of the Peoples’ Republic of China. We are cautioned never to say Red China nor Communist China. From Kufu, the birthplace of Confucius, to Peking was an overnight train ride. Again, the ride was comfortable, we sleeping four in a compartment, with two lover births and two upper births. With us three were Bill Meyers, publisher of the Marion (Kans.) County Record, and our accommodations proved adequate, if the toilet facilities at the end of each car left something wanting. We slept with our clothes on. but when we approached the outskirts of Peking and were so notified, we noticed big (6'7”) and somewhat suave Harry Fleetwood, program manager for New York radio station WOR, sleepily moving up the narrow hillway in full pajamas. Harry said, “I sleep better h pajamas.” At 4:30 a.m. we arrived at the huge Peking train statioi and carried our baggage a very long way to our vaiting buses, which then took us to our hotel for the next several days Approaching the hotel in yet the dark of night, we noticedwe were going down a bright, tree-lin-ed broad ivenue which our guide said was the Everlastirg Peace Avenue, to the Hau Du Hotel, the nicest hotel we stayed at in China outside the Jingling at Nanjing. As might be expected. air rooms weren’t ready, but we were soon located We often found hotel reservations unorganised, as in the case at the Shanghai Hotel where wt had no key to our room, but had to get the “floo - man” to let us into the room each time We breakfasted at 7:30 a m. as usual, then boardedour buses at 8:30 for our customary city tour. Wetwo had a fairly good idea what we would be seeirg. since we made this identical tour in 1979 Tien An .Men Square The Tien An Men. the huge square in the center <f the city, is the first stop, and despite the biting ©ld. we were all out to walk the square and take pittures The square was originally 27 acres, but in 1955, during a massive city-wide face-lift, the square was rebuilt and extended to 98 acres. Its acreage is covered with 18-inch square concrete bkcks. where during a parade there is a soldier pe block It makes for an orderly arrangement of men. The square is flanked by the Gate of Heavenly Peace, where the VIPs arranged themselves in a net row during reviews of all sorts, the massive Ciairman Mao Memorial Hall, Arrow Hall, and tit Great Hall of the People where as many as S,MX) can be seated at a banquet at one time, and a miseum to the Chinese People and the Peoples’ Revolution In the center of the square is a large obelisk, ir the form of a Monument to the Peoples' Heroes. And off to the side is the Gate of Heavenly Peace. We asked our guide. Zhu Shiu Ying, why the uje of the word ‘Heavenly” when the country professes no religion. “Well.” she said, “heavenly only means sky.” She gave us all sorts of explanations for things wt could not understand At 31 years of age and with a nine-month-old daughter, we asked if her pay of some $24 per month was sufficient. “It’s enough,” she answered And about her religion Zhu said. “I do not believe in any religion . . no heaven ... no hereafter When one is dead he doesn’t exist any mft-e I think western religions are nice.” but we Chinese have peace as our religion.” How the Chinese leaders have instilled the

f I I 1 I 1 I 1 I CHAIFMAX MAO MEMORIAL HALL - Chairman Mao Tse-Tung lies in state in this huge memorial hall flanking the Tien an Men Square. His body lies in state in a hermetically sealed catafalqm for all to see. Viewers by the tens of thousands pass by his crypt in silence three days each week.

AVENJE OF THE ANIMALS — About two hours’ bus ride northwest of Peking is the famous Avenue ofthe Animals where stone life-size animals Hank the highway leading to the Ming Dynasty excavaties. This is not far from the Great Wall, and of course it provides excellent picture opportunities. I

work ethic in these people, where they work diligently for so little pay, and where they put the state (with a capital “S”) first, baffles Americans who are governed by private initiatives. The buses took us from the Tien An Men square to the Forbidden City, another major tourist attraction. It is also known as the Palace Museum as well as the former Imperial Palace. It has 9,000 rooms and comprises the largest and most complete group of ancient buildings that has survived to the present day. The literature tells us the Forbidden City was built in 14 years, from 1406 to 1420 by 100,000 artisans and a million laborers, under the Ming Emperor Yung Lo, and was inhabited by each of the remaining 12 Ming emperors. Sacked and looted by the Manchus, the complex was restored to its original splendor under the late Ch’ing rulers. In 1961 the Chinese government decreed the Palace Museum as one of the most important historical sites and should be given special protection. It was miserably cold when our group roamed the grounds. We entered the south gate and was met several hours later at the north gate by our heated buses. The large rooms of the many buildings were open, high-ceilinged, and one had to wonder how they had any heat at all in them. Some of the rooms we entered on our first trip were cordoned off to visitors. The stream of visitors were many but not overpowering. It was easy for us to get lost from our group but we re-assembled easily at the north gate. The Forbidden City gives one a feel for the splendor in which ancient rulers lived in China and how the common run of people were left in servitude. The opulence of the marble carvings proved a good tip-off to this style of life. Its several halls included the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Perfect Harmony, the Hall of the Preservation of Harmony, and the Meridian Gate. Visit Mao’s Tomb On our second day in Peking - it was Tuesday. Feb. 28 - we had to visit the tomb of Chairman Mao Tse Tung. This is a must for all visitors. It should be noted, visitors are taken through the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall only on Tuesdays. Thursdays and Saturdays. The assemblage on the Tien An Men square is large, and far from the building's entrance guards form the visitors in a column of fours, army-style, and they approach the long flight of stairs in this fashion. Once into the hall’s first room they come upon a large marble statue of the Chairman seated, legs crossed, with his right hand on his left knee. It reminds one of President Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. At this point two columns move right and two left and they enter the second room where the remains of the revered Chairman lie in state, under glass and well preserved. We noticed that on our first trip a large tapestry of the Great Wall hung behind the body on a large wall. It was gone. In the building head pieces are removed, there is no talking and no photographing. It has a solemn air about it all, giving it the sort of diety the Chinese people hold for Chairman Mao. We reassembled in our column of fours in the next room and went down a similarly long flight of stairs. It all took just a matter of minutes. A wry comment came from Criss: “Isn't it about time they bury him?” Mao lies in a crystal coffin surrounded by banks of flowers, the sides of the base each bearing the emblem of the Communist Party of China, the Peoples’ Republic of China, the Chinese Peoples' Liberation Army, and the dates “1893-1976,” the dates of the birth and death of Chairman Mao. The flag of the Communist Party of China is draped over his encased body. Summer Palace Later that day we visited the famous Summer Palace. Our first visit there was in September 1979 and it was warm, providing for a comfortable visit. But this time it was cold, our trip more hurried. The Summer Palace is on the shores of Kun-

ming Lake where many people were walking on c the frozen ice to an off-shore island. The present Summer Palace is largely the work of the Ch’ing emperors, and is set on 700 acres of land on the shores of Kunming Lake, a lake with a beautiful setting but with murky water. The Emperor Ch’ien Lung built the Pai Yun (White Cloud Palace) on top of Longevity Hill in 1791 as a tribute to his 60-year-old mother. The Empress Tsu Hsi extended the palaces and the lovely “Painted Gallery,” a wooden walkway, also called the Covered Promenade, 2,388 feet long that grids the north shore of the lake. Its wooden beams are painted with exquisite landscapes. Tsu Hsi is also responsible for a now-famous curiosity, the Marble Boat, built by funds diverted from their intended use in creating China’s first modem navy. The best view is provided from the top of Longevity Hill, which affords a panorama of the lake, with its traditional humpbacked (17-arched) bridges, the exotic Jade Belt Bridge, a lovely pagoda, and the Garden of Harmonious Interests (Hsieh Ch’ou Yuan). Shimmering in the sun on a clear day, the glazed tiles of the palaces impart the feeling of a traditional Chinese landscape painting. Visit Ming Tombs The cataloguing of the various Chinese dynasties left our minds reeling, but suffice it to say is so rich in history it is almost staggering, and when we think our country is but 200 years old, it is hard to comprehend a country whose history is known as far back as the 21st century BC. It was in this period, from the 21st to the 16th century BC, that the HSIA Dynasty reigned. Perhaps this is where the word Asia comes from. Not far from the Great Wall is the burial grounds of 13 Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In all, there were 15 Ming Emperors, but for reasons not known only 13 are buried in this hallowed ground. The period of this dynasty runs from 1368 to 1644 AD. One large room, not a tomb but built in 1427 by one of the emperors, was supported by 60 giant cedar beams about 50 inches through. It had a stone floor and very decorated high ceiling. We could only think. “What a newsprint storage building this would make! ” We were taken to the tomb of Ting Ling, the third of the Ming Emperors, who was buried with his two wives in 1620 in a marble vault some four stories underground (apart from the remarkable feats of engineering and architecture that characterize the vault, its depth makes it one of the coolest spots in China during the summer, we were told). This is the first underground palace at the Ming Tombs that has been excavated. In keeping with the imperial tradition that dated back to the Chou Dynasty, the Ming emperors selected the location and design of their tombs while they were still alive. Construction of the tomb site began in 1584 and was completed in four years at a cost of 4 million oz. of silver. All but one Ming emperor (T’ai Tzu, buried in Nanking) chose to be buried in this beautiful valley 30 miles north of Peking. The Great Wall The Great Wall, northwest of Peking about two hours bus drive, is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and we can see why. It is our second visit here. All visitors to this Oriental capital go to the Great Wall. Just before we arrived our bus stopped at the Avenue of the Animals, where large stone animals of some 20 to 30 feet in height line the road. It provided a rare picture opportunity, and we all took advantage of it. By now we were well tucked into our winter clothing. Criss had her large Chinese thermal coat on, with sock cap, and we two with appropriate clothing to shelter us from a biting cold wind. To make only one section of the wall this time would be challenge enough. Before we began, a photographer in our group had to have a group photo with the wall in the background. He set the camera on delayed timing, jumped in front, and “click,” a photo, which we show here. And so it was up the Wall, the real challenge. At one time we did 10 to 15 steps at a time, then stopped to catch our breath. Meanwhile, Criss clammored on ahead. We did reach the top, nonetheless, and took all sorts of pictures, but the other side would have to remain unchallenged. Not all of our group made it to the top. Bill Meyers, whom we mentioned before, held up his Marion (Kans.) County Record and had his picture taken with the paper. Why didn’t we think of this? From the top of the Great Wall on the side we climbed, we could look ahead and see where the crumbling wall is being restored for a considerable distance. In centuries gone by, natives have taken stones from the wall to build themselves shelter. It’s gradually being put back, and why not? It brings in more tourist bucks. In 1979 there were only a few novelty or gift

APC postpones decision on Van Buren Twp. subdivision

By CATHY BRILL Staff Writer The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission reviewed one case during their regularly scheduled Wednesday afternoon meeting, April 4. The case involved a petition to rezone just over five acres of ground from an agricultural district to a residential district. The property, owned by petitioners Mr. and Mrs. Marion Elam, is located onequarter mile east of 300E in Van Buren Township and near Dewart Lake. Mrs. Elam represented her case before the APC. Stating that her intended use of the 54 acres was platting off lots for a residential subdivision. Although the soil type of the acreage was said to be moderate, plan director Dan Richard stated the slope of the acreage had a potential to cause drainage problems. Robert Stein, and Thomas and Donna Young, owners of neighboring properties, were present to remonstrate. They voiced concerns involving drainage, the nearby site of the former Scott’s Landfill, and a junk yard located across from the proposed home sites.

Visit The China Daily Os interest to Americans traveling in China is the English-language China Daily, owned by the Chinese central government, according to Bill Meyer, publisher of the Marion County (Kan.) Record, a member of our tour group, who visited their printing plant in Peking. The snappy six-page broadsheet paper was started in June 1980 to serve tourists, reported Meyer, with considerable difficulty, since most people believed it would fail. “Cold type” electronic composition with Compugraphic equipment is used, including the MDT-350 editing terminals. The paper is printed on a spotlessly clean American made Goss Metroliner offset press with a 65-page capacity, having four deliveries (16 pages each), a capacity large enough to accommodate the six million daily press run for “The Peoples’ Daily,” largest Chinese official publication. This latter paper is hand-set composition from type in huge cases with over 6,000 individual compartments for type. The type is in multi-meaning Chinese characters cast on a monotype and melted down following printing. China has 490 newspapers printed three times a week or more often. Weeklies are considered periodicals, not newspapers. Publishers of the China Daily state distribution is their number one problem, mostly due to poor mail service, but, the editor commented, “That has already begun to improve.” All 150 employees on the China Daily speak English, with most of them having one year at an American college journalism school. They don’t allow for more American training. As American tourists continue to flood into China, the prospects for the success of the China Daily seem brighter. .

shops at this stop, but now there are more. “What a place for a McDonalds’,” we thought. Anything we say about the Great Wall win oe inadequate, so we’ve chosen to quote from a piece of their literature which we hope will more completely explain this human phenomenon: “The Great Wall, first built during the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), was the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese working people in ancient times. It was a military project built by various small kingdoms for holding back inroads by nomadic tribes coming from the north, as well as for protection against each other. After unifying the six states in 221 BC, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty issued an order that the walls originally built by the States of Qin, Yan and Zhao be reinforced and linked together for defense against the attack by the slave-owner regime in the northern part of China. This is how the well-known 10,000 li Great Wall came into being. “The Great Wall played a significant role in protecting the economic and cultural developments in the central plain area of China. “Since the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall had been restored and reinforced during the successive dynasties, but the most ambitious efforts were made under the Ming dynasty. After its founding in 1368, the Ming dynasty devoted huge amounts of manpower and resources to the project, with a span of over 100 year and on the basis of the Wall of the Qin dynasty, a 12,700-li-long Great Wall was finally completed that stretched from Jiayuguan in the west to Yalu River in the east. When the Wall was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty, a lot of bricks and stones were used, and some of the slabs were as long as two meters, weighing one ton. Considering the conditions of the time, one can imagine how extremely difficult the project must have been. “Because of the high quality of its construction most of the Great Wall built under Ming still stands intact. The section at Badaling, restored in 1957 for visitors, is typical in structure, 7.8 metres high on the average, 6.5 metres wide at the bottom and 5.8 metres wide on the top. On the outer flank of the Wall, there were battlements for watching and shooting. The guard towers built at intervals were used as sentry posts and living quarters for soldiers. Beacon towers were built at commanding points on either side of the Wall. There were facilities used in ancient times for signalling by making smoke in day time and fire at night in case of emergency. “The Great Wall has been put down by the Chinese government on the list of important historical sites to be given special protection.” We were scheduled to fly out of Peking on Wednesday, February 29 - Leap Year! It would be a flight to Shanghai, then overseas to San Francisco and home.

Everett Rookstool, an owner of adjacent property, who will be attempting to receive a zoning change on part of, his neighboring acreage at next month’s meeting, presented another problem inherent with the land in the area. It seems a natural ditch fed by springs on Mr. Rookstool’s property allows drainage across the Elam property, and into Dewart Lake, and may need improvements once extra ground water is created by covering the acreage with buildings. It was determined that the responsibility for the improvements of the ditch would lie with the developers of the land at the time of platting. Through remonstrance and the discussion that followed the APC

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members determined it necessary as well, to call in state agencies to test surface water, drainage, the neighboring Bob Spearman well, and the springs which originate on the Rookstool property to determine that no contamination has occured from the nearby site of the former Scott’s Landfill. The landfill has been closed for a number of years. A motion carried unanimously to postpone action on the case until which time the results of the water testings can be reviewed. The next meeting of the Kosciusko Area Plan Commission will be Wednesday, May 2, at 1 p.m. in the basement meeting room of the Justice Building in Warsaw.

Wed., April 11,1984 - THE MAIL-JOURNAL

' I s ' I *' .w; -w .. Wr-..i ■ v $ I " it i. 'in!* COLD AT THE GREAT WALL - When we went up the Great Wall, located about two hours’ bus drive northwest of Peking, it was February and very cold. You can see we dressed for the occasion. Criss, shown here in her Chinese coat, scurried to the top ahead of most of us, in what proved an exhausting climb.

/ r ;•* Iwaß OPEN FORBIDDEN CITY - Open to the general public in 1949 with the Revolution, the Forbidden City in Peking has become a major attraction for Chinese and tourists alike. In 1949 we have relative free reign of the rooms of the various buildings, but now we found many of them cordoned off from the growing traffic. The three of us are shown in the center of this photo.

Lions' ladies' night marks opening of Leesburg building

With construction of Leesburg’s brand new community building nearing completion, backers of the facility plan to celebrate that fact on April 12 by holding a ladies’ night at the building beginning at 7 p.m. Leo W. Anglin, president of the Leesburg Lions Club which is spearheading the construction of the building with help from the rest of the community, said the ladies’ night will mark the first time any activity will have taken place in the town’s new community center. An open house and chicken barbecue are said to be in the planning stages to mark the

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building’s dedication. During ladies’ night, there will be a fashion show with local models, sponsored by Harriet’s Dress Shoppe of Leesburg, Anglin said. There will also be entertainment by Max the Music Man, with ladies from the Leesburg Methodist Church serving a buffet-style meal. Anglin added building committee members Robert Bishop, Charles Rule and Terry Epply were deserving of thanks for their efforts. "The building basically is done,” he noted. “What remains mainly are some finishing touches on the outside.”

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