( SENSING PLACES )

Beijing 1995

For a boy at 9 going on 10, the trip that started it all.

_EN

            In the late spring of 1995, as mid-year exams drew closer, my parents suggested going to Gold Coast for a family trip.

            They had finally saved a little from downsizing our 5-room HDB flat the year prior, and Australia was where many middle-class Singaporean families aspired to holiday in the 1990s — with Europe and USA for the well-to-do.

            But then there was this precocious kid (read: me) who suggested going to China instead. And miraculously, my parents agreed.

            It turned out to be such an eye-opener, with the 1990s being the final decade before the country gained entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO), forever changing its outlook and trajectory.

            These are my family’s photographs from the Beijing that first introduced me to the time and weight of a civilisation in flux.

_简

在1995年晚春、年中考来临之际，父母提到想趁学校假期带一家四口去旅行。目的地是澳洲的黄金海岸。

他们因为在前一年卖了五房式组屋终于存到了一笔。况且在90年代的中等收入新加坡家庭里，澳洲确实是向往的旅游圣地。富裕家庭的首选自然是欧洲或美国。

不过，就有这么一个小孩 （就是我啦）提议改去中国。更意外的是，父母竟然答应了。

果不其然，这一趟真让我们大开眼界。1990年代，是中国加入世界贸易组织前非常独特的十年。之后的腾飞彻底改变了国家的面貌与气象。

这些照片，是我们一家当年在北京的记录。也正是这座历史深远的城市，让我第一次体会到一个文明在时代变迁中的厚度与重量。

_繁

在1995年晚春、年中考來臨之際，父母提到想趁學校假期帶一家四口去旅行。目的地是澳洲的黃金海岸。

他們因為前一年賣了五房式組屋終於存到了一筆。況且在90年代的中等收入新加坡家庭裡，澳洲確實是嚮往的旅遊聖地。富裕家庭的首選自然是歐洲或美國。

不過，就有這麼一個小孩（就是我啦）提議改去中國。更意外的是，父母竟然答應了。

果不其然，這一趟真讓我們大開眼界。1990年代，是中國加入世界貿易組織前非常獨特的十年。之後的騰飛徹底改變了國家的面貌與氣象。

這些照片，是我們一家當年在北京的紀錄。也正是這座歷史深遠的城市，讓我第一次體會到一個文明在時代變遷中的厚度與重量。

Our Chinese tour guide 小曹, and his Singaporean colleague Mr Teo

Horseback riding at the foot of Marco Polo Bridge

Pedestrians and cyclists actively using the bridge

Domestic tourists at 避暑山庄

Chinese and foreigners buzzing about at the foot of 八达岭

Look closely, and you can see names carved into the bricks

Even back then, the crowds were crushing

Peering into the distance of the 八达岭 section of the Great Wall

A sparse morning crowd at 午门

Nature finds its way to the rooftop of 太和殿

Somehow, bicycles were allowed to park inside the Forbidden City

My parents posing next to the 中轴线 before 太和门

The imposing facade of 普陀宗乘之庙 at Chengde

Graced with a blue sky at the 天坛 altar, before the sandstorms of later years

The processional path towards 天坛

The time-worn entrance to 定陵

Mum at the 五龙亭 at 北海公园

Dad doing his impression of Leslie Cheung in 纵横四海

Part of the tour group at Tiananmen Square

It definitely wasn’t as crowded back then

Dad taking a break at 世界公园

Beijing Grace Hotel, which no longer exists today

The park had only opened two years prior to our visit

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