Beijing...national holiday...sweeping of the tombs

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Geo: 39.9165, 116.391

A totally different day. Jaw dropping and mind blowing in every way.

Going to China? Get a guide! And if you can get yourself one like Howard..do it, because he was a gem. A four year graduate of the University of Beijing (majoring in English and tourism), this cheeky, humorous "transient" was full of stories, information and insights. Howard was backed up by a driver, who magically appeared at the pickup points of all the venues and then navigated through the endless maze which was the chaos of the streets in Beijing.

We started the day with a breakfast buffet in the ARIVA at 7.00 am and finally staggered in the door exhausted to finish the day at 9.42 pm. But what a first day. I'll say it again....the guide thing is the best!

First destination was Tian'anmen Square. A massive expanse of concrete with towers and statues and gardens and lines and rows and groups of people. And, JPC would be impressed, not one minuscule piece of rubbish! Absolutely litter free. And so orderly. Everyone patient, organised and compliant. Volunteer guards every few steps, security checks and screening points to get in, police on hand at every corner. Marching soldiers, bomb disposal squads, fire extinguishers at the ready to "put out" and save protestors who torch themselves.....a very long way away from what we know in Australia.

But again, the incessant mass, crush and movement mass of hordes of people that takes your breath away. The fact that it was a National Holiday weekend ensured that the major tourist venues were packed. Seriously packed with patriotic Chinese Nationals. And it is so different and so great to be in the crush!

I can't begin to describe what we saw in the Forbidden City. As a visitor you get to walk through the Palace Grounds but the buildings themselves are not accessible. As you move from one gate to the next the majesty, pomp and sheer opulence of the days gone by are revealed. Acres and acres of a glimpse of what once must have been. On our return to TV and Foxtel, we will be watching those movies set in The Forbidden City with a new sense of familiarity and curiosity.

Howard organised lunch for us in a back alley local restaurant (we were the only tourists in a very Chinese establishment....Mac loves this combination). It was a Sichuan Restaurant and we were adventurous - thanks to Howard's insights - and enjoyed a sizzling beef, chicken and ginger, steamed vegetables and rice. Every morsel was delicious!

My plan was to buy some "silk" with my birthday money and I did just that at the Yuan Hou Silk Factory. We were fascinated by the whole process of making the quilts - silk threads of approximately 8 000 double cocoons have been used to make our new king sized quilt. It has been posted courtesy of a very expensive China Post package and is on its way home now. And because it was my birthday, I received a beautiful complementary silk handkerchief. Add a pillow and two gorgeous scarves and It was a great start to the spending!

Next stop The Temple of Heaven. Set in parklands of over 230 hectares the mystery and magic of numbers and the harmony of the universe made for a fascinating introduction to Chinese culture. I am sure that if we had known all of this stuff years ago Dragon Ball Z and all the other Asian cartoons that intrigued the boys may have made some sense to me....or maybe not. We gained so many insights into the customs of the harvest, the seasons and the balance in nature. Howard wove stories within stories as we explored walls within walls.

But always, the adventure and exploration was accompanied by the crush and rush of soooo many people. The park benches and resting places played host to hordes of card players and players of Chinese chess. People of all ages were clustered around games, some playing and some muttering or shouting advice. Loved it!

I can't wait to get my hands on the details and background to the dozens of insights Howard shared today. There is so much to learn and understand - we will be Discovery Channel junkies when we get home.

The night finished with a dinner at another decidedly local restaurant. Howard certainly knows some great spots and joined us for a "chicken stew" with lashings of hot spices. Mac was in his element. Still in shock over the bill for this one ....dinner for three including drinks, rounded out to $17 AUD ...and...there was food left over!

We followed this with a visit to the Red Theatre to enjoy the excitement of "Chun Yi: Legends of Kung Fu". Dramatic sets, a trillion costumes, dazzling martial arts, a storyline of persistence and dedication, intricate dance and choreography, aerial silk acrobatics, jumping, tumbling, music, mist and bubbles....with a clever use of projected sub titles....just about sums it up. Worth seeing and glad it was added to our "experience" list.

For all the ladies out there - life in Asia has toileting challenges. Toilet facilities in China carry an official star rating and to start the day Howard had found us a four star toilet facility. But after that it was three, two and one! So thank goodness for my new "best friend" - introducing the newly christened Sheweena.....what a godsend! Don't want to go into too much detail, but seriously, when confronted with the pervasive squat and floors awash with urine and bins overflowing with used loo paper....Sheweena is the stand-up/out solution!

And if you survive the toilets then you have to take your life in your own hands and get into a car. You certainly don't need to be asked twice to put your seatbelt on! We swerved, squeezed, braked and honked our way from one side of town to the other . We drove up the wrong way of streets, parked wherever we needed to regardless of buses, vans and pedestrians, did uturns in impossible places and squeezed through narrowing gaps. And it's not just the cars ..... everything with wheels is doing its own thing. Our best sight today was a scooter (small motor bike) that had a three seater lounge and two single seaters strapped on the back effortlessly joining the stream of traffic. Unbelievable!

About to take care of the washing - a quick shower - then off to bed to get some zzzzzs before we do it all again tomorrow....but this time on The Great Wall to celebrate six tens.

Looking forward to it because Howard informed us today six in Chinese culture means "smooth". So that'll be me ....so smooth!

���� Wonder if he'll think that when he sees me tomorrow in my high viz vest and red glasses (thanks Ros and Lynda).

Pedometer steps: 25 721
Beijing Temperature: 26 C

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Comments

[Lynda]

Loving these posts. Brings back lots of memories. How's the fog?

[carolyn somerville]

Can't wait to see that photo!!

[Von & Co.]

Loving your stories. Julie agrees with you about the guide......she says she's got me!! Hope your day goes SMOOTHLY. Xx

[Louise Wells]

I knew I should've told you about the toilets. Obviously haven't changed much since 1984! Remind me to share my experience at the Shanghai Ballet!

[Kathy]

7am breakfast! Not sure how Mr Mac would have managed that!