Beijing Arrival

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My arrival in Beijing has been a marked turning point. As soon as I landed, it was a whole new ball game. Culturally, it has been absolutely mind-blowing. Language wise, it's been a sort of linguistic playground where my Mandarin has improved greatly.

Ironically, nowhere else have I felt more like a 100 percent red-blooded American. Chinese culture is vastly different than its Western counterpart. In the overcrowded, pollution stricken city of Beijing, I've at times struggled to remain flexible and understanding in my cultural tolerance. The city is very dog-eat-dog, where push often comes to shove. However, the people are also incredibly social and helpful when called upon. It has been very interesting encountering the pervasive government presence, whether while watching the state-run news channel, or through chatting with the locals about policy we've often heard of like "one child one family". Chinese nationalism is very strong, and the people's love and pride for their homeland is self-evident. One example of this was when I visited Mao's mausoleum, where his body is on display (no photos!) - he's practically deified! My discoveries have been numerous, and I'm thankful for being able to get such an inside view in such a closed country.

My pre-trip investment of Mandarin practice has paid off, and I'm very happy with the decent fluency I've achieved. The language has opened up doors for meeting locals and cultural interchange. Truly, traveling by myself can get lonely at times, and I'm happy to report that this week I've been much more social, hanging out with foreigners and locals alike.

The sights have been great. The Great Wall was a nice break from the smog of the city, and sights like the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace have been wonderful looks at Chinese imperialism.

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Photos

Tian' Men
"The Heavenly Gate" that heads the Tian Men square and gates the Forbidden City.

Met some people
Met some cool people on the tour, we later went out for Beijing Roast Duck (famous Chinese dish) and had a blast!

Outside the Forbidden City
It's really big.

Girl from Cheng De
After asking each other for help snapping a photo, we ended up touring the Forbidden City together and she was great company!

Comments

[Ann Liao]

Good thing
You did great job, like Taichi you did very well more than others . Your photos are the best sample of the china . Have a wonderful trip !