Research Trip, Based out of Beijing - Very Specific Help Needed!
 

Hi! I am applying for a research grant in order to travel to China for 10-14 days this summer. The program is quite flexible, but I plan to tie it to my independent study course exploring the history of the Cultural Revolution, from its origins to any lasting impacts. I definitely know that I want to visit the National Museum of Chinese Revolution in Beijing. I am looking for some other places that would be important to experience first-hand, and places that will allow me to more fully explore the destruction as well as the preservation that occurred during the Cultural Revolution. As well, anything historically important to the Communist Party history in China would be vital.

I know that this is very specific but would love any insights that could be offered by your experiences. I am putting my proposal together over the next few weeks and would love to get some advice on the places that are really worthwhile to see. Thanks so much!

I'm not sure why you are asking Fodorites for this information. Isn't this the kind of thing you are supposed to know in order to qualify for the grant? What am I missing....

Can you read Chinese and speak mandarin?

What I'm looking for are any personal experiences one has had with specific museums, attractions, in Beijing. This is precisely the thing that I turn to Fodorites for - on the ground information! I have not been to Beijing so it's hard to know which places will have quality information and which places I can skip.

I have a low level of proficiency in Mandarin, both reading and speaking. It will be a challenge, however my sponsor is from Beijing and is hooking me up with someone who will help me navigate the language barrier.

The Beijing home and garden of Madame Sun Yat Sen, Soong Ching Ling,is now a very interesting museum interesting to visit, located on a pretty lake.
Read her biography to understand her connection to the Chinese Communist Party.Her two sisters took different paths, an amazing story of these three US educated sisters.

The information that you are seeking is very specific and I doubt that travelers to Beijing would be your best source.

Who is sponsoring you? How did you get your project approved? Do you have an advisor to guide you through your research? Whom are you contacting in Beijing in the academic circles?

The Cultural Revolution is still a bit controversial in China and the wounds are still raw. You need to have good academic credentials to even begin to get some honest answers to your questions. Otherwise, people will be very wary in answering you.

There's a lot of "destruction" in Beijing. The ancient city walls were destroyed to make way for the subway and for the Second Ring Road. It will be difficult to tie down the physical damage to any specific period, such as the Cultural Revolution. You really need someone in Beijing who has made a study of these things to come up with viable answers, since your time is so short.

In this respect, you really need to have set up interviews with the right scholars in Beijing; otherwise, there's not much that we Fodorites can help you with.

Thanks HappyTrvlr, that will be a great place to include and a great person to delve into during my research!

I'm not actually looking for interview subjects - you seem to have the wrong idea. What I'm proposing is simply a trip to some culturally-important sites to supplement the 8 months of research I will be doing here in the States. This is textual-based research, the travel portion is the "cherry on top" that allows me to connect my research with an personal, physical experience.

As I said in my original post, and as HappyTrvlr grasped, I am hoping to find out more about museums and other sites that others have visited to gauge sites that should definitely, probably, or not at all be included during my short trip.

Hope this clears things up!

Madame Soong Ching-ling's home is not specific to the Cultural Revolution, as per what you have written above:

<i>I plan to tie it to my independent study course exploring the history of the Cultural Revolution, from its origins to any lasting impacts.</i>

It's like saying: "Go and visit Versailles" when you have specified that you want special information on Louis XVI. BTW, this comment is not a negative reflection on Happy Trvlr, who was just trying to help.


The museum which you plan to visit is now known as the "National Museum of China" and it may disappoint you in what it may have relative to the Cultural Revolution:

<i>Some critics have alleged the museum's historiography focuses on the triumphs of the Communist Party and the narrative of China's ethnic groups uniting for a common cause, while ignoring politically-sensitive subjects such as the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution</i>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_China


Again, you do not seem to take into account the sensitivity that the Chinese Government has towards a subject like the Cultural Revolution. It appears that you think you will go to some place that's been partially destroyed (like some private homes) and find it labelled "This part was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution", "This part was destroyed during the storms of 19xx" and "This part was restored after the Cultural Revolution". Not going to happen.

Ask yourself what were the targets of the Cultural Revolution? Then you'll find your answers - yes, temples, mosques, churches, shrines, museums - remember, it was to change culture, to destroy the old cultural symbols and replace them with new ones. The buildings were damaged. What was actually destroyed were books, antiques, art objects - irreplaceable items that are gone forever, with no trace.

And I take it you are going to China <i>first</i> and do your research <i>afterwards</i>? If I were your advisor, I'd say you should do these two things in reverse.

If you do your research first while at home, then you would know which sites you want to visit while in China. The best sources of information are right at home - in your own libraries and on the internet.

Is this a high school project, a college project or a postgrad project?

I lived in China 6 years teaching at a university. My first hand information is that the 'cultural revolution' is a forbidden topic, hence no chinese person will speak of it, esp to a foreigner.

Again, not interviewing people. Thank you for your concern but I am simply looking for some information on good places to go in Beijing, NOT help with my research. I've got that covered, thanks. I'm realizing I should never have mentioned the research project as it's only a side story to what I'm looking for out of my trip to Beijing. easytraveler, I am a little uncomfortable with how much superfluous information you are requesting from me. Can you recommend any place in Beijing or not? You sound as though you have familiarity with the National Museum of China - ignoring that I will "tie in" my trip to my research project, which by the way will study in-depth the circumstances leading up to the Cultural Revolution - would you recommend it, and why or why not? If you'd rather fixate on the details of my research then please just refrain - I am on a Fodor's forum looking for interesting places to visit. However specific my interests may be, I am still JUST looking for travel information.

Sorry, I tried to help by targeting your interests as you had detailed in your first post. That's what we try to do here - help you and others with their personal interests. In order to do this, we need more specific information. You seem to want things from us but you refuse to give details.

Your last post is 180 degrees opposite of your first post.

If you are genuinely interested in the Cultural Revolution and in the history of the CCP, then the best resources are outside of China.

Start with Jonathan Spence's THE SEARCH OF MODERN CHINA.