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Published: March 28th 2008
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Beijing TV Tower
Part of the model of the city. We did not have a wide-angle lens to do this model justice, so you have to use your imagination based on a few snapshots. Does the top of the tower look crooked to you? Or: The delicate balance between giving in to exhaustion and sightseeing some more.
During our few days in the Capital of the North (that be Beijing, "bei" indicating north. Like the US, China had different cities as its capital at points in its history. The two most important ones are the Capital of the North and Nanjing, the Capital of the South. I will let you figure out yourself what "nan" means), we are scheduled to see the "largest urban square in the world" (LUSINTW), the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and the Pandas--one could figure that the visit to the Beijing City Planning Museum would just be a filler thrown in by the tour guide. One would be wrong.
Aside from the usual exhibits you would expect from such a place ("this is how we save water"), it has a remarkable model of the whole city of Beijing that basically fills a room the size of a moderate banquet hall. You may think that I exaggerate, but I do not. The pictures below don't do it justice. It is like being Godzilla in one of those old Japanese 'Zilla movies. The
Olympic Venue-Birds Nest
This is one of the Olympic venues referred to as the \"Birds Nest\" for obvious reasons. It looks even more impressive in real life. whole city in 1:750 scale is at your feet. About half of the city is just a printed map on the floor encased in glass, on the same scale, but the other half is honest to goodness models. The effect of it really can't be described, but it is right in line with the "everything here is the biggest in the world" theme that seems to permeate the city.
After a terrific lunch at the Wahaha restaurant, where I showed off my American ignorance by asking for noodles for Ian (the Wahaha specializes in cuisine from the south of China, and apparently things made out of flour are a northern thing--smiles, nods, bunch of "look at the ignoramus tourist" comments in Chinese), we went to the Temple of Heaven. It is one of the four major temples in the Imperial city, along with the Temple of Earth, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. The Temple of Heaven is a beautiful round pagoda-like tower made entirely out of wood--no metal. Very impressive.
In retrospective, what was the most interesting place at the Temple of Heaven is something called "the Long Walk," which is a
Temple of Heaven
Built entirely out of wood, it has 28 pillars. It was used twice a year, when the Emperor came here to pray for a good harvest. Notice the blue roof, symbolizing heaven. covered walkway leading up to the entrance of the Temple. We are not sure of its length, but it was at least a few hundred yards and it was filled with retirees doing recreational stuff like playing cards, playing instruments, playing a version of hackysack and a game with paddles where you use the paddles to gently catch and toss a ball, and dancing. We were racing through it, following our guide, and we really regret that. It would have been a great opportunity to meet with people, all of whom were eager to share experiences with you and show you stuff. It was also amazing to see all those people hanging out, sharing time and having a good time. Except for a few boom boxes playing traditional Chinese music for dancers, there was not an electronic device in the bunch. I am bad at estimating these things, but there were easily 500 people playing cards, singing and dancing. There was also an exercise class in the park, about 60 people going through a routine that was not Tai Chi but was akin to it. It was a routine everyone knew by heart and it had the effect of a
wonderfully choreographed musical production without the music but in perfect rhythm. Of course, we took no pictures or videos. But so far, of all of the things we have seen, that is the one thing on the list of "if we ever come back, we have to spend more time here."
I am glad we went, even though it was too much for Ian, who subsequently crashed as soon as we went to the hotel room. When we woke him up to go to dinner, he was so tired that he cried while he tried to get dressed. So I stayed at the hotel with him while Becky and Pam went to the Beijing duck dinner.
Feeling sorry for me, they decided to bring me the leftovers. And this led to one of the more important lessons of the day--don't eat food you don't know in the dark. We did not want to wake up Ian and I was eating with my fingers while we were watching TV. The first bite of what I thought was duck turned out to be sweet lotus root. The second bite (this one from the container with the actual duck) was so-so.
In front of the Temple of Heaven
The intrepid travellers, posing in front of the ToH. The third bite was oddly crunchy. Becky looked over and said, "Oh, that's the head. Is it ok to eat bird brains?" Closer inspection reavealed a slice of duck head, complete with a now empty eye socket and brain cavity. The only positive thing I can say about that moment was that I did not gag.
Tomorrow: the Great Wall.
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Bill Van Auken
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Bird Head Eating
Oh man...I am cracking up. Are bird brains OK to eat. That is so hilarious!! I can't wait for your next eating adventure Anthony.