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Forbidden City 1
The pictures really can't capture how vast this thing is, maybe the panoramas will.
Entry #6: 6/7/2010
Beginning in Beijing
Wow, we've been so busy on the tour that I've neglected to write entries in this thing. In the evenings I have felt like going to bed right away. I don't of course, and end up staying up until midnight at the earliest, but nonetheless I'm never in the mood to write for a prolonged period. Additionally, we had a lot of trouble setting up the internet once we got into Suzhou. Anyway, let's begin from where we last left off: last Wednesday, 5/26/2010.
Beijing is quite the city. It's not as populous as Shanghai, but it is actually larger. Perhaps the thing I love most about it is it doesn't just look like a modern city. Especially the little district we stayed in, it has a very traditional feel to it. The buildings and architecture are very unique, even the tallest office buildings have some kind of traditional flair to them. Unlike most of the cities I'm used to, the buildings aren't just dull, boring, gray rectangles. It's an interesting blend of old, ancient styles and progressive, artsy styles. Check out the "dragon building" in the
Trouser Building
Just an example of the unique architecture pictures for a reference, the designs are really pleasing to the eye. It's also worth noting how clean everything is. Even in populated areas like Tiananmen Square you will be hard pressed to find litter. Granted there were several people hired to walk around and pick up the garbage, but even then you never see anyone neglect to use a trash can. Most of them are paired with recycling bins as well, which when paired with the lack of paper towels in all the bathrooms gives me the impression that Beijing is a rather green city. And by green, I mean neon. Like the other cities we have been to, night time is like a light-brite on steroids. There are Christmas-esque lights on
everything.
While I wouldn't call it culture shock quite yet, there are a couple of social aspects of China that really take some getting used to. First off, people talk quite loudly. This has something to do with the tonal aspect of the Mandarin language, it makes it easier to tell what someone is saying the louder you are. Then there is the shoving. Especially in crowded areas like tourist attractions, people will not hesitate to
Dragon Building
Rumor has it Bill Gates has a private helipad up there. Not kidding. bump right through you to get where they are going. Although it seems incredibly rude at first, it's necessary to put this into perspective. It's the most populous country in the world, being "polite" by leaving people their little bubble of space isn't really efficient. I guess you could also say it is a social norm, I don't think the people here consider it rude like we would. It's even worse on the roads though, I would absolutely hate to drive here. Things like yield and right of way do not exist in the slightest. It's like a melee, if you want to turn or change lanes you just do it and the rest of the world be damned. Really takes some getting used to, especially as a pedestrian. However, I have yet to see a single accident on the streets. Maybe they are just more skillful drivers here, contrary to the popular stereotype in America. You should have seen our driver parallel park a bus, it was amazing.
The Tour Starts
We ordered our tour service through Travel China Guide, a division of the Marco Polo International Travel Service. Right now we are
Tiananmen 1
People are just everywhere. near the end of our tour, in Shanghai, but I'd like to pay my dues and comment on the service we have gotten so far from them. The tour guides have been wonderful, the meals and locations have been great (although Kevin can't stand the beer here), and everything has been extremely well organised. I would recommend these guys, nothing but good things to say about them.
Anyway, back to Beijing. Our tour guide's name was Sarah. She had such a cheery personality and a sense of humor, so we all verily enjoyed her company. She picked us up at the Beijing airport when our flight came in, sometime around 10:00 at night. Although the Chinese use 24 hour time, and it would be called 22:00 (not to mention at home it would have been 10 in the morning instead). The poor girl had been there since 7 in the morning picking up people, and still did not have the full group yet. Anyway, she set us all up at our quaint little hotel and we spent the night trying to adjust to the jet lag. I'm still getting up every morning at 5:30 for some reason. We started
Tiananmen 2
A statue of PRC heroes outside of the final resting place of chairman Mao. the tour with a family from Manchester, a couple from San Francisco, a couple from Germany, a couple from Mumbai, two ladies from Indonesia, a woman from Indiana, and a man from the UK who was spending his retirement living in Thailand. Quite the international group, but we all felt much more in common adjusting to this new culture together.
The first thing we saw the morning of the tour was... breakfast. All the breakfasts have been Western style at the hotel, nothing too different from home. Except the chicken sausage, not sure if I'm a fan or not. And the maple syrup tasted more like sugar water than actual tree sap. Anyway, the first stop on the tour was Tiananmen Square, the world's largest public square. The Chinese have a lot of the world's largest things it seems. Tiananmen is hard to describe, I think the most accurate depiction would be "wide open space". It's really vast, much more so than the mall at Washington DC. Littered around it are statues of national heroes and important government buildings. A more recent addition are these wide monitors in the center, continuously looping a national pride video. When we were
Forbidden City 2
The entrance. Not as foreboding as I thought it would be for something so "forbidden". there, there was this incredibly long line to go see the burial place of chairman Mao. Take the longest line you've ever been in at Disney Land, and multiply it by 50. Just an insane amount of people. Chairman Mao is very popular amongst the people here, and a portrait of him is always hanging at the Tiananmen gate.
Through said gate lies the Forbidden City, which was one of my absolute favorite things to see on the tour. For a little bit of background history, it was used during the Ming and Qing dynasties as the seat of imperial power, and only royalty was permitted to set foot in it.. I had seen it on Google Earth and in pictures plenty of times before, but actually seeing it in person was unforgettable. Walking through the gate and seeing the scope of the courtyards just blows your mind, it feels straight out of a movie. You get the feeling that it was once home to giants, far too big for mere people. I wish I could spend a day just living there, it would be like having the biggest back yard in the world and no need to mow
Forbidden City Pan 1
So epic, it's really amazing. Imagine how many bricks it took to make just the floor of that courtyard. the grass. The architecture is the traditional style you'd expect to see, and the colors are beautiful. Shades of red, green, blue and gold all adorn the buildings, and they look newly painted. I believe one of the guides mentioned that the paint is re-applied every few years, not an easy thing with an establishment that big. Overall, the entire thing seemed incredibly well preserved for being over 800 years old.
The last thing we saw the first day of tour was the Temple of Heaven. While not as grand as the Forbidden City, it is considered an important relic of the past and stands as the symbol of Beijing. While the entire area was a large natural park where you could find many retirees playing games and breaking out into dance, we went straight to the temple section. It consists of a tall, circular building that served as a house for animal sacrifices, and a long stone causeway. From the top of it you could see Beijing all around you. Like everything else we saw on this day, it emphasized wide open space. The tour guide explained to us that this had to do with the ancient practice
Temple of Heaven 1
Looks so pleasant, but inside thousands of animals were brutally slaughtered to appease the heavens. Don't tell PETA. of "feng shui", a methodology of arrangement to achieve balance and what not. I think it works, every place we visited had this feeling of space and freedom accompanied by the traditional beauty. Overall, it was definitely a full and exciting day. There was plenty more to see in Beijing, but I think I'll leave that to another post. Enjoy the lovely pictures.
Oh, and as a final note. We stopped by a pearl factory on the first day, which I used as an opportunity to practice what little Chinese I know. One of the workers told me I should open my mouth more. Kevin found this hilarious.
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Allison
non-member comment
About TIME!!!
Wow, Harry! These pictures are incredible! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying yourselves! Please post more soon!