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Published: June 19th 2005
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Greetings from Beijing, on the morning of our third day. First impression is that it is awesome! 15 million people! There is so much to see, do and learn. We have seen so many aspects of the city already, partly due to my (Jeff) parents who have the stamina for site seeing over 12 hours a day, and partly due to our guide, Kevin, who is very knowledgeable and proud of his city and country, and who is very inspired to share inform. This may be especially due to the fact that we are Guilo (foreigners), and our lack of knowledge invites even more of a desire to educate because my Mother is “abc” (American born Chinse), as am I.
Our first stop, of course, was Tiananmen Square, sprawling and giant, home to so many course-changing events in Chinese History. We passed up Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum due to long lines (so many site seeing Chinese), Kevin’s suspicions that his body is really wax, and the calling of The Forbidden City (Imperial City) on one side of the square. We spent over a half a day looking at the emperors’ bedchambers, vast and beautiful gardens, the giant rooms where he would
meet with foreign and Chinese dignitaries, and amazing jade, gold, pearl, stone and wood artifacts such as a map of the constellations made out of pearls. We, of course, got an overview of some of the historical events that went down there, the symbolism of the design, and a general feel for life as royalty.
After lunch in the royal park we visited traditional hutongs or neighborhoods, most of which have been torn down to make room for skyscraper apartment buildings. In the evening we saw an amazing show by Chinese Acrobats.
Second day: We went to a section of the Great Wall of China, great in views, building design and challenging hiking. We stopped off at the largest jade factory in China and saw giant and amazing carvings out of jadeite, turquoise, jade and wood, and to purchase some wholesale high quality jade items. For lunch we ate at a Friendship Store, run by the PRC. We saw how they make porcelain designs, which are amazing. They have moved into making beautiful modern art designs. We then went to the Ming Dynasty tombs, with huge grounds, and underground tombs that were mind boggling large. The coffins had been
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At the Forbidden City removed and burned by the Red Guard. We didn’t take pictures to avoid being cursed. Then we went to a tea tasting, yummy. Afterwards we had a dinner of Peking Duck. You can tell they have only been entertaining tourists for 10 years and have their own views of foreign hospitality; they sat us at a giant table, and five servers surrounded us as we ate. It was fairly uncomfortable yet humorous. After dinner we saw an incredible Shaolin Monk show, in which they integrated the Kung Fu with a story about a monk and some expressive dance. Never seen people move so fast.
To me (Jeff), impressions of modern life are just as interesting as the historic sites. The people serving us feel the need to give us massive amounts of food, mostly meat, as it is considered something of a luxury. After two days I am desiring much more simple and balanced food, like they usually eat! I knew clothes would be cheap but had no idea how much of a fashion on focus there would be, you can tell who are tourists because they are generally slobbier. There is also really good modern art everywhere. Capitalism
is in your face, yet you can tell people have a great sense of community and sharing. Often, work looks more like socializing, but you can tell stuff is also getting done rapidly. There is constant dancing and singing in the streets by people of all ages, the parks are filled with Tai Chi, badminton, ma jong and lounging. I’m jealous of how school children get to wear colorful jump suits to school. Our hotel room is so much smarter than any I have stayed in, with control panels that make it so we never have to leave our bed during the night (except to pee.)
Third Day: Today we first went to a huge park that contains the Temple of Heaven. The park was filled with people dancing, playing instruments, singing Opera and other types of music, tons of hacky sack, badminton, cards, Chinese chess and ma jong. Most of them were old, and several asked us to play with them, which of course we obliged! One 88 year old man came up to us to welcome us and to practice English as he had recently started learning it. The temple itself was quite a site. Then we
stopped by a silk making factory, pretty cool. After lunch we went to the Llama Temple with some amazing statues of Buddha and some other Tibetan Buddhist artifacts. There were practicing monks and many worshipers. The highlight was a 26 meter high Buddha carved out of a single piece of white sandlewood. We didn’t take pictures to show respect. Then we went swimming and tonight we are seeing a laser/dance/music show.
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Steve Roth
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Awesome
Awesome stuff and awesome account. I'm reading a new book called China, Inc. and you confirm some of the things that I'm discovering about China. Loved the photos of the Great Wall. I've never seen better.