Monday, May 5, 2008Beijing
Mao was scared of the Russians. As a result, he ordered 70,000 laborers to build an underground city that could hold 40% of Beijing’s population. During the Cultural Revolution, political leaders used it to secretly move around the city. During the Tiananmen Square riots, the army used it to move in on crowds of protesting students.
Today, only one of the three entry ways is open to the public. If you can find it.
After my little stroll through the hutongs, I circled around about a square mile’s worth of charted and uncharted streets, finally coming to what I just knew was the nong tang with the secret wooden doorway. Ran into a group of five British college girls doing the same, so they followed me in. Another five minutes of searching and—gasp—there it was. Right in front of us.
And it was closed.
For renovation. Due to water damage. Seriously.
According to the very, very kind guard (for some reason, only female guards are given this post), a nearby tear down of hutongs resulted in serious water damage to the tunnels. They were closed for clean up, and in anticipation of tourists this summer.
The past hour and a half has been quite a journey, but it ain’t gonna end where I’d hoped. Oh well. All in all, it was kind of fun.
Now that it’s over.
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