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Published: August 13th 2006
Chinese Acrobats
About to begin their "bouncy ball" act. Basically, it's like juggling, but you throw the balls down instead of up, and you tap-dance at the same time.Another week in Beijing down, one more to go! This week was again jam-packed with lots of work and a little fun. We had a little more down-time this week during the day, which gave us all a chance to catch our breath. We're still all tired, but I think we've made it over the mid-training hump and we're ready to slide into the end.
On Thursday evening, our group went to see Chinese National Acrobat Troupe downtown. I've been to a couple of different acrobatic shows in Beijing on previous trips, but this one was by far the most posh show I've seen. It was really more "Cirque de Soleil" than "Chinese Acrobats." In previous shows I've seen, the stage was almost bare, except for necessary props, and costumes were simple and a bit worn. But, the feats accomplished were amazing! Bodies would twist and turn in seemingly-spine-breaking contortions. Men would leap through fiery hoops and land in perfect balance on top of a tower built of three other men. Girls would somersault and backflip while holding ten slender sticks, each topped by a spinning plate. In comparison, the show we saw this week had colorful backgrounds and fancy
Bouncy Ball Juggling
In a bold move for any establishment in China, the prohibition of cameras at this show was enforced. Ushers walked around, shining flashlights on the people trying to snap photos and growling, "No pictures!" Therefore, this is the only act I have pictures of. lighting and the costumes were new and edgy. All the acts were good and performed skillfully, but rarely did you catch your breath and say, "Wow, that was AMAZING!" It's obvious that the troupe was adapting its show for the foreign audience arriving in 2008 for the Olympic Games. If I'd never seen other shows before, I would have been impressed; but as an "old China hand," I walked away feeling a bit disappointed.
The acrobatic show was a nice mid-week treat, but everyone was really looking forward to today, 2nd (and final) day off from the training. Our group went downtown again, this time to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The Forbidden City is the former Imperial Palace that formed the center of ancient Beijing. (Actually, it's still located pretty much dead-center of modern Beijing.) Build in the 1400's the Forbidden City is a massive complex of buildings and gardens surrounded by a high wall topped by watchtowers. It is accessible by only two entrances, one of the north and one on the south. After entering through one of these gates, you can pretty much walk a straight line through to the other gate, encountering building after
The Forbidden City
Me inside the Forbidden City. The buildings behind me were restored last year. You can tell by the shiny new paint-job. building labeled, "This is where the emperor signed official documents," "This is where the emperor met with his advisors," etc. The fact that this complex exists is mind-boggling in itself. (I don't think you can understand how truly massive it is unless you see it.) But, as this was my 6th visit to the Forbidden City, I was a bit bored. I walked through and checked out some of the recently restored buildings and then I bought a coffee at Starbucks (where the emperor used to drink his morning coffee, I'm sure), bought a book at the giftstore, and then sat on a bench to read. The group was given three hours to explore on their own, so I had a lot of time to kill. Eventually a family sat next to me and started taking pictures (with me in them!) and so I decided to leave before I turned into the day's most popular attraction.
Our group met up outside Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) under the great big picture of Chairman Mao. I can't resist snapping a picture or two whenever I'm standing under Big Mao. The picture never changes, yet I feel compelled to record
What to do when a famous tourist site is closed for restoration
The most important building inside the Forbidden City. It's completely covered in green mesh (seen covering construction sites all over China), but this ingenious method still allows us to "see" this historic spot! each and every encounter he and I have.
Tomorrow starts the final week of training, and then it's a 24-hour train ride to Shenzhen. Now, that's something we just don't have enough of in the USA - 24-hour train rides!
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