Day 293 - Censored guide

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Today is one of two days with our guide/translator Melinda. Today we hit the main sights, Tiananmen Square - which is just gargantuan and the biggest city square in the world - then into the Forbidden City situated at one end of the square which we did not get to see much of as A) most of the buildings were behind scaffolding and gauze for restoration and B) those that we could look at were swarmed by Chinese tourists. The Forbidden City was where the emperor lived with his 3000 or more concubines and the only 'men' allowed in were eunuchs so the emperor could be certain the all babies born inside belonged to him.

What particularly caught out interest was that Melinda knew very little about some of the more important parts of recent Chinese history. For example she knew nothing at all about the Tiananmen Square protests and resulting military crackdown. She had heard of it and was very aware that she had never been told any version of events other than the communist party line. The books she had to learn to become a qualified guide made no mention of it. She also knew nothing of the negative side of the cultural revolution, which was fascinating.

After a traditional lunch in a restaurant totally geared up for groups of tourists we visited a Tea House. Here we got an excellent demonstration of the different teas and tea ceremonies, and ended up buying a load that will last until beyond Ed's 70th birthday. We made our way to the Temple of Heaven, probably the most beautiful building in Beijing, and had a surreal moment as we were walking down this huge corridor (the Long Corridor) of adjacent rooms which were full of locals practising singing, dancing, playing instruments, reading music, playing badminton, Chinese style hacky-sack, singing like a strangled cat (which was not too pleasing to the ear bones). Meanwhile tourists are walking along the corridor, learning about the area and history, getting involved and adding to the already loud noise. Quite an experience.

At about 5pm we had walked our little socks off so we told Melinda to go home, who was eager to carry on, whilst we moved hotels and just caught our breath. We found ourselves more at home in the Red Lantern Guest house, which was set out in a typical Chinese house courtyard and run by very helpful staff.

Soon after our arrival we were tucked up in bed. We felt like real tourists today and it's amazing how tiring a full day of sightseeing can be.

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