June 17 – 20
We collected our luggage at the Beijing airport and met our guide, May. The question above was the first thing she asked us. I’ve never heard the bathroom referred to in quite such a way. She continued to use that phrase the rest of the day. I know four different words in Chinese for bathroom, but I think “Happy House” is my favorite.
It was a busy first day. We visited the Summer Palace where we marveled at the Long Corridor, enjoyed the lake and saw a short musical performance.
On the way back we drove by the Olympic Village and saw the Bird’s Nest Stadium for the Olympics. It’s impressive on TV but even more impressive in real life – modern lines but an ancient shape. There are 88,888 seats and the opening ceremony will start at 8pm on August 8, 2008. Eight is a lucky number here. People pay big money for telephone numbers and license plates that include 8s. The Olympic organizers aren’t leaving anything to chance.
The second day we got to sleep in until 9 o’clock and then headed out to explore the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven includes a huge park where in the mornings people come to dance, exercise, practice instruments, play cards. The weather was beautiful and we would have been happy staying there all day, but when you have a guide, things keep m
oving. We had a little time before lunch, so we went to a silk factory. They showed us the stages of a silk w
orm and we got to attempt to spread out a layer of silk that would be used inside a comforter. I don’t think we’ll get hired anytime soon because our layer developed a hole. Mom was very impressed with the silk quilts and bought three and Anne and I bought some silk tops.
Day three was the Great Wall at Mutianyu about two hours outside of the city. On the way we received a demonstration of how to make cloisonné. After the demonstration, we made it to the wall. May suggested that we take a cable car up and back, but Chris and Matt had told me that there was a toboggan run, so we all took the cable car up (posed for the required pictures) and then mom and dad went back down and Anne and I hiked several towers to the toboggan and zipped down the side. The day was slightly cloudy, but you could still see the wall continue to the horizon line. One of the great wonders of the world and I was there!
The final day in Beijing was a little more low-key. We actually spent over an hour at the post office because mom decided that the three quilts she bought were too heavy to pack in her luggage. My mom also found some great holographic Olympic postcards that they agreed to mail on the day of the opening ceremonies. We wrote 福禄寿 (Happiness, Prosperity and Longevity) on the cards to be sent next month. Other activities included lunch in the home of a woman in the Hutong district, a bicycle rickshaw ride, the obligatory tea ceremony and visiting the large drum tower that used to be used to signal the time of day for the city. That night Anne and I went exploring down one of the pedestrian streets and bought too much in the Olympic store.
Beijing was a success. It is full of history and government – a mix of new and old. My Chinese allowed us to find a laundry outside the hotel and order dinners and navigate the subway system. After four days there, we were ready for the next city – Xian.
We collected our luggage at the Beijing airport and met our guide, May. The question above was the first thing she asked us. I’ve never heard the bathroom referred to in quite such a way. She continued to use that phrase the rest of the day. I know four different words in Chinese for bathroom, but I think “Happy House” is my favorite.
It was a busy first day. We visited the Summer Palace where we marveled at the Long Corridor, enjoyed the lake and saw a short musical performance.
On the way back we drove by the Olympic Village and saw the Bird’s Nest Stadium for the Olympics. It’s impressive on TV but even more impressive in real life – modern lines but an ancient shape. There are 88,888 seats and the opening ceremony will start at 8pm on August 8, 2008. Eight is a lucky number here. People pay big money for telephone numbers and license plates that include 8s. The Olympic organizers aren’t leaving anything to chance.The second day we got to sleep in until 9 o’clock and then headed out to explore the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven includes a huge park where in the mornings people come to dance, exercise, practice instruments, play cards. The weather was beautiful and we would have been happy staying there all day, but when you have a guide, things keep m
oving. We had a little time before lunch, so we went to a silk factory. They showed us the stages of a silk w
orm and we got to attempt to spread out a layer of silk that would be used inside a comforter. I don’t think we’ll get hired anytime soon because our layer developed a hole. Mom was very impressed with the silk quilts and bought three and Anne and I bought some silk tops.After a huge lunch, we headed to Tiananmen Square. We saw soldiers and tourists and the big portrait of Mao hanging there. May told us that it’s replaced once every year. 
Crossing the square, we then entered into the Forbidden City. I have seen Versailles, visited the Vatican, explored castles in Spain but the immense scale of the Forbidden City took my breath away. The emperor had complete power and the palace was built to instill that symbolism into the hearts and minds of his subjects. Five toed imperial dragons are everywhere. I tried to close my eyes and imagine how everything looked when it was furnished – full of luxury and courtiers and concubines. We spent several hours there and ended in the gardens before exiting to the street and our waiting coach.
Crossing the square, we then entered into the Forbidden City. I have seen Versailles, visited the Vatican, explored castles in Spain but the immense scale of the Forbidden City took my breath away. The emperor had complete power and the palace was built to instill that symbolism into the hearts and minds of his subjects. Five toed imperial dragons are everywhere. I tried to close my eyes and imagine how everything looked when it was furnished – full of luxury and courtiers and concubines. We spent several hours there and ended in the gardens before exiting to the street and our waiting coach.Day three was the Great Wall at Mutianyu about two hours outside of the city. On the way we received a demonstration of how to make cloisonné. After the demonstration, we made it to the wall. May suggested that we take a cable car up and back, but Chris and Matt had told me that there was a toboggan run, so we all took the cable car up (posed for the required pictures) and then mom and dad went back down and Anne and I hiked several towers to the toboggan and zipped down the side. The day was slightly cloudy, but you could still see the wall continue to the horizon line. One of the great wonders of the world and I was there!
The final day in Beijing was a little more low-key. We actually spent over an hour at the post office because mom decided that the three quilts she bought were too heavy to pack in her luggage. My mom also found some great holographic Olympic postcards that they agreed to mail on the day of the opening ceremonies. We wrote 福禄寿 (Happiness, Prosperity and Longevity) on the cards to be sent next month. Other activities included lunch in the home of a woman in the Hutong district, a bicycle rickshaw ride, the obligatory tea ceremony and visiting the large drum tower that used to be used to signal the time of day for the city. That night Anne and I went exploring down one of the pedestrian streets and bought too much in the Olympic store.
Beijing was a success. It is full of history and government – a mix of new and old. My Chinese allowed us to find a laundry outside the hotel and order dinners and navigate the subway system. After four days there, we were ready for the next city – Xian.
I will post more pictures later when my parents and sister get back from Hong Kong. I have some, but want to share all of them with you.
I’m back in the States now, so hope to see you all soon!
G
1 comment:
Welcome back!
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