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Published: March 23rd 2013
My arrival in Beijing was the end of my 12th trip around the world; and onward travel would be the beginning of my 13th RTW as it all started here in 1949; not in Beijing itself, but in Xiahe, China (home the the Labrang Monastry), which Will and I will visit in a couple days.
As mentioned in my previous blog, this trip kind of evolved; and it wasn't without moments of anxiety. I had surgery for a broken ankle on 6 February, six weeks and one day before the trip was to start. I met with my surgeon on 18 March where he declared I was healed, although the soft tissues would continue to heal over the next six months. I could get rid of the crutches, but should wear the black boot (think ski boot) for longer walks. I had already come up with Plan B to minimize walking; e.g., taking a cable car up to the Great Wall. However, minimizing walking at some sights, e.g., the Forbidden City, was impossible, so I would just have to see. He also suggested that I get disabled traveler support from the airline, which I thought was great, especially at O'Hare
with the long distances between gates...I might even get a seat with more leg room!
Then there was the matter of visas. I received my last visa (Uzbekistan) on 13 March, a week before the trip was to start, and then only through the intervention by my friend Darryl who went to the consulate in DC to "expedite" the processing. My son, Will, picked up his Uzbekistan visa on 15 March and his China visa on 18 March...talk about cutting it close!
21 March 2013 Thursday. My daughter, Tamara, took me to the Colorado Springs airport in time to catch the 7:39 am flight to Chicago. After a 90 minute layover, where due to my disabled foot I was able to board even before the business class, I was on my way to Beijing. There were plenty of in flight movies. I watched Argo, Taken II, Skyfall, and the Life of Pi.
22 March 2013 Friday. Upon landing in Beijing an hour early, the benefits of being disabled really kicked in. I met the girl with a wheelchair at the top of the gangway, and she took me what must have been a mile to Immigration. There
the lines for Chinese nationals were short, but for foreigners there must have been 40 people in each line. However, there was also a line for disabled, so I cleared Immigration in minutes. I proceeded to Customs and my check on bag was there, and I breezed through again. Given that I would have to drag a 20 kg roller bag and a carry on bag, I decided against taking the express train in Friday afternoon rush hour to the Dong Zhi Men where there is no easy connection to subway Line 2. Instead, I took a taxi, which would cost me about $17 from the airport to my hotel near the Chong Wen Men subway exit. My wheelchair lady took me to the beginning of the taxi rank. I knew that Chinese are notorious line cutters, but being the person benefiting from this was both appreciated and somewhat embarrassing!
I arrived at the hotel at 4:15 pm and met my son, who had arrived by overnight train earlier in the day. We were both hungry, so headed out to the Night Market and the nearby walking street. We ate in the food court of a huge shopping mall.
We then returned to the hotel and turned in by 8 pm.
23 March 2013 Saturday. Given our limited time in Beijing, as would be the case for most stops on our trip, and the tremendous number of sights we wanted to visit, I arranged for tours for both days we were in Beijing. Today, the tour to the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall at Badaling, and the Olympic venue would cost $32/person; and would include pick up and drop off at our hotel, an English speaking guide, all entrance fees, lunch, and the inevitable tour of a "factory," in this case jade and tea factories, where every tour agency is hoping to collect a commission. We could have done this using multiple modes of public transportation to save a few dollars, but my priority on this trip was to save time, inconvenience, and unnecessary impact on my still healing ankle.
After our early morning pickup, our first stop was the Ming Tombs, about 30 miles northwest of Beijing, and located in a south facing box canyon. The entrance to the canyon was fenced off and guarded; and no one, even an emperor, was allowed in, unless
of course he was dead. The site shielded the tombs from the bitter north winds, although I'm sure the occupants wouldn't have noticed; perhaps the guards did. The site was chosen by the emperor Yongle who also constructed the Forbidden City. Of the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty who ruled China from 1368-1644, thirteen are buried here; the first, second and seventh being buried elsewhere. The sharper reader will have determined that Yongle was emperor number three.
We toured the Chang Ling complex with the largest of the tombs which was for Emperor Yongle, who shared his tomb with Empress Xu. Not coincidentally, the architecture was similar to the Forbidden City, just smaller of course. The most impressive structure was the Ling'en Dian, which served as a museum for artifacts discovered in the various tombs.
We then continued on to the jade factory for a 45 minute tour before lunch. Lunch was a wide selection of Chinese dishes.
After lunch, we drove to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. I knew when booking the tour that this was the most touristic and heavily restored section of wall near Beijing, and therefore I expected some disappointment
with crowds and tacky tourist trinkets. But this section had a cable car that would save me a walk up to the wall, whereas the other sections involved considerable walking.
The first sections of the Great Wall (which cannot be seen by astronauts from space), were built during the Warring States Period (453-221 BC), when these states built defensive walls against each others armies. The Great Wall is just the macro version of walls around family compounds and cities...the Chinese believe in walls. The Warring Period ended when Qin Shi Huangdi, a sociopath tyrant whose Qin dynasty only lasted from 221 to 206 BC, conquered the other states and became the first emperor of a unified China. He is the emperor entombed in Xian, surrounded by the terracotta warriors. He also undertook large scale wall building, connecting many of the individual sections. That wall was built with tamped earth and eroded away within a few years. This wall, from the Ming Dynasty, begins in the east at Shanhaiguan and snakes its way west to Jiayuguan, which we will visit a bit later on this trip. Even this wall has disintegrated for much of its length, and only by the
rebuilding efforts by the government do we see what is there today. As there is no single wall, there is no precise length...but it is Great as in Long! The wall did not serve its purpose...the Qing armies just bribed the sentries to let them through. The Qing Dynasty originated in Manchuria, and was the last dynasty to rule China from 1644 to 1912. This reminded me of the equally ineffective Maginot Line built by France to defend against Germany before WWII. The German army just went around through neutral Belgium...neutrality wasn't much of a defensive wall either. So much for learning the lessons of history!
We paid for the optional cable car to the wall where the negative side of my disability soon revealed itself. I had difficulty on uneven ground and stairs and steep slopes. I made it to the wall, but couldn't walk in either direction. Instead the tour guide found me a place between two elderly couples where we could sit. Soon Chinese tourists were taking pictures of me! Then a group of elderly Chinese ladies wanted to talk to me...despite the total inability to understand each other. One of them pulled out a plastic
bag with grated black stuff in it and gave me a pinch. I wasn't sure what it was or what to do with it, but when she ate her pinch, I followed her example. It was sour tasting, and hoped that I wouldn't have hallucinations.
On the way back to our hotels, we cruised by (no stopping for pictures) the Olympic Green and saw the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, and then stopped at a tea "factory." We sampled a few flavors, but again, we didn't buy anything.
That evening, I had planned to eat Peking Duck, but my knees were so sore that I could hardly walk. Instead, Will walked across the street to Pizza Hut, so we shared a pepperoni pizza. Then I went to the spa for a massage...boy did I need it! Tomorrow I will borrow a wheel chair for our tour of the Ti'an Mien Square and the Forbidden City which would otherwise involve hours of walking. Will has agreed to push me.
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JenGog
Jennifer Jones
A lovely start
Look forward to reading more. Sounds like an difficult trip with the surgery but hopefully you will manage it all. You have brought back memories of O'Hare from our trip to Chicago. The sights and sounds all come to life reading teh blog . Enjoy