Mao and Me

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Day 1 & 2

Traveling to China during Chinese New Year meant participating in the biggest annual human migration on the planet...and I couldn't wait! Of course, this also means that since we've been here almost nothing has gone according to plan. Trying to find train tickets to Xi'an was hopeless and so when we arrived Sunday evening we quickly scoured the net for flights. Several failed attempts later and we were finally booked to Xi'an and decided to book our return flight at the airport. We've also had a man down for the last few days thanks to a bout of food poisoning so needless to say, things have not been going very smoothly...but I digress.

China is a land that immediately calls to mind images of warring Mongols, dragon dances, pandas, the Silk Road, ancient emperors, dumplings, overcrowded cities, and of course, communism. It has only been three days and we've already experienced many of those (not the warring Mongols though...maybe tomorrow.) We arrived in Beijing on Sunday afternoon, the day before the lunar New Year, and I was surprised at how efficient the airport was. I made it from my gate to the taxi line in 20 minutes though the airport was basically abandoned because of the holiday. We hired a taxi to take us to our hotel and when he pulled up to a luxury place, we were thrilled that we'd stumbled upon such a gem! Sadly, it was short-lived and we were back in the taxi and off to a much more quaint hotel, located right off Wangfujing St. (famous walking street with lots of shops and restaurants.) We decided we needed to get our bearings and some dinner and so we turned onto Wangfujing and settled on the first place that looked authentic. It was a Muslim Hotpot restaurant and it was delicious! Hot pot is a Chinese style of cooking where they place a, you guessed it, hot pot filled with a light broth and you cook your food in the boiling broth. Ours had ginger slices and some things that looked like berries floating in the broth and we ordered sliced beef and chicken along with some potatos to share family-style. The place was packed, there must have been more than 125 people in there and we were the only foreigners. All the families were watching us, probably to see if we knew how to use chopsticks, and one women who spoke English, came over to help us decide what to order. It was really tasty, if a bit awkward, but all in all a good experience. Afterwards we wandered down the street and tried to ask a guard, who managed to look surly in his big green coat despite weighing no more than 160lbs., which way to Tien'anmen Square. It didn't go well.

We did make it to the famous Gate of Heavenly Peace (that's the one with the big picture of Mao) and took quite a few pictures of the square at night, plus we got to see people shooting fireworks off EVERYWHERE!!! This town is crazy with the fireworks! People would shoot them off between tall buildings, in narrow alleys, and in the streets. Cars would drive over fireworks that had been lit and the ground was completely littered with the red paper remains. We didn't get to see the dragon dances that we see on t.v. back in the States or any huge festival but we had a hard time falling asleep and from our hotel window the city looked and sounded like a war zone, but it all added to the festive atmosphere. The next morning we decided to go to the Forbidden City and after being invited to an art expo (conveniently opened for only one more hour!) and having my friend be sexually assaulted/pick pocketed (we aren't quite sure which, but it was upsetting nonetheless) we went for some authentic Chinese food at a place offering English menus. Honestly, the fact that it was opened on New Year's Day had me sold. As soon as our food arrived, we missed our respective homelands because in China, as you would expect, people can still smoke everywhere and they do. Nothing quite like getting ready to enjoy some pork and spring onions (it was the best thing I've had in China yet) and being met with an overpowering cloud of cigarette smoke. Lovely. The owners were kind enough to let us move to another table after we said that we didn't like the smoke. Though after we moved tables, the older women brought over an ashtray for us and seemed baffled when we refused it. Clearly we had not been terribly successful with our communication. One thing is true, although I know that there is a big push for the Chinese people to learn English, as they have now made it mandatory in their schools, of the countries I've been too in Asia, they speak the least English. There is a certain charm to Beijing because it feels more authentic somehow. You know that it will be a challenge to communicate whereas in Korea or Thailand or Japan so many people speak varying degrees of English that you can usually get your message across fairly quickly.

At the Forbidden City there were swarms of Chinese who had, no doubt, traveled to great lengths to have their picture taken with the Chairman. I was no different. (This is also when I decided to begin my ill-fated mission to see Mao in his crystal coffin.) The line moved pretty quickly and once through the Gate of Heavenly Peace we picked up an English speaking guide (who turned out to be a history professor) to take us through the imperial estate. There was gate after gate and we passed through all of them marvelling at the details and the stone carvings on the ramps. At the far end we wandered around the rock garden which was an area for the concubines to relax. We were also pleasantly surprised to see that the Starbucks had been removed from the within the walls of the gated city. Apparently a few years ago, China decided that it made no sense to have an American company peddling hot beverages in one of their most historically significant sites. Good call China. Honestly, although there are 9,999.5 rooms (9 is a lucky number and apparently they couldn't have 10,000 rooms,) as tourists, we couldn't see most of them. We were able to peek into a few and managed to see the Emperor's thinking room, the place where he would rest, and the place where he would sit and his mother would stand behind a curtain earning her the nickname "the woman behind the curtain." It definitely a place worth visiting but I wished we'd been able to see more of the rooms and palaces. Afterwards, we made a quick stop across the street for some photo ops in Tienanmen Square and it was back to the hotel for a breather.

Beijing (formerly known as Peking) is known for its duck. I've always been well served by the "when in Rome" attitude and so it was with this in mind that we decided to go for a traditional roast duck dinner in Beijing. As luck would have it, one of the most famous duck restaurants in the city was located right behind our hotel and we decided to go for it! As soon as we walked in we were escorted to a table on the 4th floor and we immediately noticed we were the only Westerners in our dining room. I find that when eating out in other countries, it's not always a bad thing to be the only foreigner in restaurant. You gotta believe that if a place is packed with locals, it can't be that bad, or at least it's what they consider some of the tastiest eats in town. This is what I was thinking as I bypassed the duck webs, liver, toungues, hearts, and various other parts masquerading as appetizers. My friend observed that we were the only ones who hadn't ordered a first course but, given the choices...I was o.k. with that! After what seemed like an hour, four chefs in surgical masks and chef hats wheeled in two carts with a couple of ducks on each. Then began the very efficient carving, plating, and serving of the duck. The waitresses brought different pieces to different tables depending on the order. Like clockwork. Each table also got a plate of crispy duck skin with a layer of fat that seemed to be a delicacy (or at least the part people fight over.) I tried it with a little plum sauce but it was far too rich for me and I could barely get it down without feeling like I was drinking melted butter. When the waitress brought over a sliced duck heart, I think she could tell by the confusion (we didn't order this, did we?) and repulsion on my face that we wanted to donate our heart to another family and she quickly took it away. The duck was served sliced and with steamed pancakes, like the ones that go with Moo Shu Pork, along with a delicious plum sauce and green onions. Our waitress even rolled a duck pancake for each of us, lest we roll the wrong way. It was one of those things that I would have liked if I didn't have a deeply ingrained fear of eating duck. Oh well, no harm, no fowl! The night ended with us walking the streets of Beijing, taking in the fireworks and lights, and peeking into a few shops on Wangfujing St. Once back at the hotel, I wanted to get to bed ASAP. I couldn't wait for the tour of the Great Wall the next day, so I put in my ear plugs and tried to fall asleep in the midst of a city in celebration.

Day 3

The Great Wall and Ming Tombs tour
We were up and in the lobby at 7:30am and there was no time to lose! Our guide for the day was already waiting for us and hurried us outside to the van where we met an entertaining, middle-aged, Australian women with stories that made the one hour drive out to Badaling seem like minutes! Talking to this woman was like drinking a shot of espresso! When we actually arrived at the Great Wall, she ran the entire 888 meters to the 4th guard tower! (We also traveled with a family from Finland though they were substantially more subdued.) Alright, the scene: the mountains outside of Beijing, in January, at 9:00am with the temperature around 20F and "breezy" (if you can call arctic blasts "breezes.") Fortunately, thanks to a good friend in the outfitting buisness, I was prepared! Just so you can feel like you were there, I was wearing tights, long johns, wool socks, blue jeans, a thermal top, a turtle neck, a wool turtle neck sweater, a fleecey windbreaker jacket, a knee length down coat (which I fluffed up before the trip,) a scarf, wool flip mittens, a wool hat, my hood, and knee high Uggs. Just to be safe, I brought a fleece hat that had earflaps...just in case. Needless to say, I felt like the kid in "A Christmas Story" because if I put my arms flat against my body I could feel the circulation being cut off. I looked puffy. At least I'd be warm...or so I thought. I think with the windchill it was a far cry from 20F and as we walked to the entrance of the mountain, all I could think of was that I wish I'd brought toe warmers! As we approached, you can imagine my excitement when our guide told us that we should take the motorized cars up the mountain to the actual Great Wall. It was like a kiddie roller coaster that chugged it's way through a tunnel (it was more fun coming down) stamped with random stars, pandas, and dinosaurs...like a bad Willy Wonka sequence but it was a highlight and it takes a lot to steal the thunder of the Great Wall. This place does not disappoint. With many spectacular views of smoky mountains, guard towers, and the Wall snaking through the hills, and even a women in very traditional dress pausing for a midday snack, I couldn't stop taking pictures. I kept shooting the same image two and three times hoping to capture it accurately on film, well digital chip I guess. When it was being used for military purposes, they would light fires along the Wall and the number of fires at any given post would carry a certain meaning thus saving the effort of running from post to post (though I'm sure they did that too.) The Wall is steep in many places and even people holding onto the railings would often slip on the paving stones that have become smooth over the centuries. We decided to make it our goal to climb the 888 meters to the 4th guard tower, the farthest you could climb at that section, and after many ups and downs, twists and turns, and ducking in and out of several watch towers, we finally made it! Ahhhh...satisfaction! There are two famous quotes attributed to Mao about China's most famous landmark. One roughly translates into "You can never truly be a hero until you've stood on the Great Wall" and the other has to do with the myth that the Great Wall is the only man made landmark that can be seen from space (or the moon. I've heard both claims.) Although it has been proven that the Wall is only visible from a very low orbit, along with other highways and bridges, it is not visible from outer space and certainly not the moon. Though this has been disproven by many, it was only when a Chinese astronaut returned with the facts that it was deleted from school textbooks throughout the country.

After becoming heroes at the Great Wall, it was time for some lunch and a quick stop to a jade factory. I would just like to interject at this point and say how amusing it is that tour companies try to put an "educational" spin on what is basically a stop for souvenirs. In Thailand we saw how they made coconut sugar and conveniently, there was a huge souvenir market right there under the same roof! The jade factory was no different. After a 5 minute lesson on how jade forms, how to tell real from fake, and watching the people in the factory busy at work or carving various figures out of jade, we were let loose in a warehouse of authentic jade. Jewelry, figures, sculptures (my favorite was the lucky cabbage,) it was all there. I guess the good thing was that at least we knew it was authentic, but talk about pushing the merchandise! Even the restaurant was conveniently attached to this "famous" jade factory. We were also taken to a silk factory to see how they make silk, which was interesting, especially when we saw the silk worms and my friend and I realized that we'd eaten them in Korea, not delicious. We even got to practice strecthing the silk to make a quilt but with no luck. After learning that it took 12,000 dead silkworms to make a quilt, I felt slight guilty that we'd ruined a layer of silk for the quilt. They told us they would make pillows with the botched layers. Hmmm...

Our final stop for the day was the Ming Tombs. This was not a place I would have come had I not been with this tour group, and I was really glad we stopped. More than 10 Ming dynasty emperors are resting here and the grounds are both picturesque and tranquil. Clearly they are not used to the kind of traffic visited on the Great Wall. We were able to wander at our leisure and although the mounds that cover the emperors are fenced off, you can still peek through and see where they are buried along with a few lucky concubines (they were courteous enough to kill them before burying them. It was considered an honor to be buried with the emperor...of course it was also considered an honor to be chosen for eunich duty, see what I'm saying?) and some animals (also already deceased.) It was a really long day and we saw a lot, including the Water Cube and Bird's Nest of Olympic fame, so when we finally got back to the hotel it was an early night. Next up: Xi'an!

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Photos

Gate of Heavenly Peace
Swarmed during the Spring Festival

Imperial Guard
Inside the Forbidden City

Concubines Garden
Within the walls of the Forbidden City

Fit for an Emperor!
Forbidden City

Can You See Me From Space?
Visiting the Great Wall of China