So, the show officially starts now!
10:03 Underground city
Okay, so the Chinese built underground shelter in case of nuclear attack. No. 46 Fang Jia Hutong has a bomb shelter?! Hey, can we come and go there? Woah! It's huge and vast! There was a restaurant, office, machine room and even an elevator shaft.
10:07 Tunnel in the underground city
So narrow! Not for the claustrophobic as it gets narrower. They call it the underground Great Wall. It was built in the 1950s to the 1960s.
10:09 Construction of the underground city: Narrative account from an officer involved.
300,000 people built it; half a square meter allocated per person inside the bunkers. As long as there is nuclear power, the officer says the bunker will always be relevant.
10:12 Commercial
So, No. 46 Fang Jia Hutong, I'm looking at you now.
10:14 Some bomb shelters have been destroyed
Oh, a cute Chinese journalist. They'll go into one of the bunkers again. Another hutong (Nanluoguxiang), another bomb shelter. The cute journalist who accompanies the host says some people does not even know that there are shelters underneath. Oh, they went into another tunnel. It looks creepy, like straight from a horror movie.
There are even exit signs, men's toilet signs, even no smoking signs. They say some have been converted into subterranean hotels before for budget travelers and migrants, but not anymore because of safety concerns.
10:21 Oh crap, the History Channel's having signal problems.
10:21 Old Summer Palace
Five times the size of the Forbidden City. The host is talking about the looting and destruction of the Old Summer Palace. Experts are attempting to recreate it in 3d. And it's commercial break.
This is one place that I'd really love to visit, I just don't know if I could cajole my friends to do so.
10:25 Tsinghua University's attempt to recreate the Old Summer Palace in 3d
Old Summer Palace is huge; 8x the size of Vatican City. They've completed the western section, the palace where Qianlong Emperor lived.
They're now in Haiyan Pavillon, now in ruins. They'll conduct a laser scan, with the professor and two of her assistants.
Back at the University. Holy crap! 3d images, of even complex buildings!
10:31 Tian Yi Tombs
Eunuchs' history. Important eunuchs were likewise rewarded with massive tombs, such as Tian Yi, and they're visiting his tomb. The tomb is circular with a dome roof. Going underneath the tomb now. Tomb split in two sections, one like a courtyard. Looters have been inside the tomb. And, it's commercial break.
10:40 Religious sites: Beijing a religious hub
Fayuan Temple, a Buddhist temple. Then a mosque, Niujie mosque, built in the 10th century. It's a traditional Chinese structure. They're showing the cleansing ritual, then to the main prayer room. Oh, Arabic calligraphy in gold. The oldest section is built a thousand years ago and it's well preserved.
10:48 Dining with a Chinese muslim family
Lively dinner with delectable meal. And there are 20 million muslim in China.
10:52 Relic hunting in Bao Guo Temple
Thursdays and Saturdays have more relics for sale. The host calls it a glorified garage sale. 95% are newly manufactured. Few antiques are far and between. Replicas are mostly from Henan. They make it look really old.
Relic hunting in demolished hutongs.
10:57 Beijing recap
The end.
The episode was very entertaining and informative. Hope I could visit some of these places as well. Learn from the episode: antiques are now far and between, so be cautious. And, we should try to visit the hutongs before they disappear.
