Greetings, True Believers! I am super sorry that this entry has especially taken longer than expected. I have been back in the U.S. now for about three months now and I have been relaxing and enjoying my time with my family and friends. But now that I have free time, I can now talk about my time in Beijing, the capital of China.
As I stated in previous entries, I decided to travel to China after my study abroad program ended. I applied for my Visa, obtained that more easily than expected, and paid for hotel and a plane ticket to China. I was fortunate enough to have my Mom come on the trip and we had a great time in China. So, now let's go over the trip.
We got in China on December 11, 2009 at around 10:30 p.m. The flight from Tokyo took about three and a half hours and it was alright for the most part. When we landed, it was cold and the only thing we could was thick smog, not fog. China has huge pollution problems, including smog and not being unable to drink water from the tap. Our taxi driver could not speak English, but we made it to to the hotel at around 11:30 p.m.
The first day in China was meant to catch up on the time differences in countries. I was coming from Japan and my Mom was traveling from North Carolina, U.S. My Mom did not experience any jet lag, so that made the trip more enjoyable for the both of us. We woke up at 1:30m p.m. just to give our body plenty of time to adjust to the time. We went out to explore Beijing and Tienanmen Square was a few block from our hotel. Across from the infamous Tienanmen Square was the Forbidden City (Both will be discussed later on).
At the Forbidden City, we got to see a little bit of it before we would be taking tours of the famous sights. All of our time in China could be described as freezing cold, as every day we had to wear many layers of clothes to protect ourselves from the December weather. We saw many guards on patrol, all were loaded with heavy firearms. I took one picture of a sign that you can view that shocked me to say the least. At the Forbidden City, there is a famous portrait of one of their leaders, Mao Tse Tung. We saw a lot of Chinese citizens trying to sell us good or take us on guided tours. We were advised not to take anything from them because of the scams that are pulled in the country. We walked a bit of Tienanmen Square before the daylight began to fade and we headed back to the hotel.
The hotel was one of the highlights of the trip. We were staying at a Hilton Hotel and it was glamourous to say the least. China wants to cater more to Americans and really pamper people who visit, so we were treated like royalty at the hotel. The room that we were in was very modern, with the latest furnishings and technological features at our finger tips. There was even a television at the bath tub for you to enjoy. The downside to China was that you could not drink the water from the tap, so we had to buy a lot of bottled water during our stay. The meals that were served were excellent, some of the best food I had during my travels. The hotel had a glamorous arrangement of foods for every meal, a tea time, and a wine time as well. Every meal and tea and wine time was $44 a day. That is quite a bargain if you ask me.
The first day of our stay in Beijing included the Forbidden City. It was a large palace complex for the Emperor and it was forbidden to outsiders and by the citizens of the China centuries ago. The palace was also the sight of the movie, The Last Emperor, which was a huge movie for the Chinese when it came out. The entire palace was over 183 acres and contained an impressive 9999 1/2 rooms. 10,000 rooms were only for the Gods, so that is why there is a half amount of rooms in place. The doorways would have a little step, in which we had to step over. This was believed to keep ghosts out of the palace and other rooms in the area. The palace was gigantic and we were not able to see every aspect of the palace. There were many trees, pieces of coral taken from the lake nearby, jade objects, sacred areas, and parts of the palace that we did not have enough time to see. The entire palace has 15 layers of brick, as to keep intruders from burrowing beneath the palace. The five most important elements that represent the palace were earth, fire, gold, wood, and water, with earth being the most important of them all. We saw many caretakers at the palace, who were usually sweeping to keep it as clean as possible. The Forbidden City was a fantastic place to be see and my pictures could never do it enough justice.
Our tour guide took us to Tienanmen Square next on the tour. For those of you who are not familiar, it is the largest public square in the world and also the sight of the famous demonstrations a few decades ago. The most prominent picture one can see is a of a lone man in front of a tanks. My Mom asked the tour guide if she knew anything about the incident and the tour guide quickly denied the incident of its existence. The Chinese citizens are not allowed to talk about it, so the subject was quickly dropped.
During our tours of China, the tour guide would take us to places in which in was requested of us to buy stuff from the locations. This was not a part of our original itinerary, so we were irked by the these pit stops. We would arrive at certain locations and stay there for an hour, so that purchasing could be done by tour groups. Most of the tourists were annoyed by this facet and not too many people ever bought anything. The store owners and workers were aggressive in trying to make us buy products, but we ignored them most of the time. The first place we went to was a herbal clinic, where I got a foot massage. The tour guide said it would be free, but then told me to pay the attendant. I gave him a dollar for his services and was off to lunch.
The lunches that we had on our tours were much different than how food was served in Japan. As a tour group, we were encouraged more interactions with one another as we sat a circular table. The circular table had plates of large portions of food that we would spin and scoop from. The groups would eat together and get to know one another. They encouraged more social interaction in China than in Japan.
We next went to the Temple of Heaven, which may look familiar to people who have been to Disney's Epicot. It was located in a large park area, one that was bigger than the Forbidden City, if that can be imagined. In the park itself, we saw many poor individuals, families, and merchants, but all were having fun and seemed happy, even under the cold weather conditions. Here is a video I took of an old lady practicing Tai Chi:
The Temple of Heaven was quite a sight to behold and it truly was marvelous to see it still standing after all the centuries it has been there. Here are some pictures of the park and the Temple of Heaven itself:
After we were done with the Temple of Heaven, we went on a detour to a Pearl Shop. These tlittle detorus were a part of every tour, every day and they were quite annoying. We would spend an hour at each distraction where the tour guides preyed upon us to buy things. They would grow to annoy the tour groups as the days progressed because all we wanted to do was spend time at the places we wanted to see, instead of being distracted by these sidetracks. At the Pearl Shop, we had an analyst discuss with us what the process was like in terms of getting pearls from clams. We played a guessing game of how many pearls were in a single clam and I guessed the closest. In estimating, there were over twenty pearls to be found in most clams! I was able to keep a few pearls for guessing correctly and I will probably have something made with them someday. Here are some pictures I took at the Pearl Shop:
The last place went on our first tour day was the Summer Palace. It was one of the largest palaces in China when constructed and has been used by the Empresses, known as the Dragon Ladies. During a war, most of the property was burned down by the opposing forces, but has been rebuilt several times in its existence. The palace sits on a huge lake that at the time was frozen solid and could be walked across by individuals. We got there from the Pearl Shop and were told as we got halfway through the palace that we only had twenty minutes to be there. The site was fantastic and we only had twenty minutes? My mother and I were quite ticked off. The area was too big to cover, so we sprinted to get to the places we found the most interesting. Here are some pictures from that short time there:
So, the first tour day in China was fantastic and what would proceed it would be one of the crowning moments of my life thus far. The first place we toured was the Ming Tombs, a burial site for many of the former Emperors of China. We were not able to explore the whole tomb area as it contained over fifty different burial sites. Most of the objects that were on display were of objects that both Emperor and his wife wore. Jade is one of the most important objects to the Chinese and we learned that white jade is more valuable than the green jade. We went to the most famous tomb, took a short tour, gained some background information, walked around for a bit, and then continued onto our next destination. Here are pictures taken from the Ming Tomb:
The next stop on our way to the big landmark was a jade factory. The tour group saw first hand how jade is produced. It is a very long process of cutting jade, cleaning, spraying, and furnishing it as a final product. One interesting product we saw was of jade sphere, which acts as a family heirloom to be passed down from one generation to another. It is hollowed out and more spheres are placed insider, allowing a person to shift the spheres inside themselves. Some of the pieces that we saw were magnificent and cost too much money to purchase. So, I took a lot of pictures for everyone's enjoyment. Here you go:
The next stop was the big one for my mother and I: we visited the Great Wall of China. People have read so much about it, so many stories, and a history like no other and were there. The sight of it was well worth the trip and stepping onto such an important landmark will definitely be one of my favorite moments ever. The tour bus we were on took us through the mountains and we began to see bits and pieces of it from far away and close-up. Today, most of the Great Wall is no longer walkable, due to the Chinese government not fixing it all the time and people taking stones to make houses. We could only travel so far on one part of the Great Wall because the other part of it we were at had disintegrated. We reached a cable car lift in order to get to the first summit and it was quite scary. The cars we were traveling in had to be over fifty years old, were not in great shape, had been vandalized, and my door would not shut.
We got to the top and spent two hours walking or in this case, climbing, the Great Wall. Where we were at was incredibly steep and required a lot of strength to haul yourself up to other steps. It was just as difficult to maintain one's balance going down, as my mother and I had to use a guardrail to climb down. It even began to lightly snow, which made the experience even a bit more magical. Here are many, many pictures from my time at the Great Wall of China:
I will never forget this time I spent on the Great Wall. I could not believe my mom and I actually walk parts of it. Even when I talk to her after the trip, we still come back to the Great Wall. The most disappointing aspect about it was that there was so much to travel and we only had so much time. When were were at the Wall, we did not see as big of crowds as the Wall usually gets during the tourist season. We could have spent hours there, but instead we only had two. We went to a Silk Factory after the Great Wall and my mom was angry to say the least. She felt that although it was informative and interesting to learn about silk worms making some of the toughest clothing material out there, we wish we spent more time walking the Great Wall. Well, there is always next time.
After our fantastic time at the Great Wall, we spent the last day of touring at a Lama Temple, a Panda exhibit, the Beijing Olympic stadium, and spending time with a Chinese family. The Lama Temple that we were at had a very proud and long history of Buddhist tradition. When we were there, we even saw monks praying during the morning hours. They were sitting together and were beginning their morning rituals. The temple itself was split into multiple buildings and in some parts pictures could be taken while others could not. There were many variations of Buddha on display for us to look at. There were usually three statues of Buddha at the end of each building and each one of them signified a trait about his existence or human emotions. We even saw the world's largest wooden statue of Buddha at the end of the temple. It was over eighty feet tall, and as much as we wanted to take pictures of the statue, it was not allowed and caused bad luck to whoever did. Here for your viewing pleasure, the pictures I was able to get off at the temple.
The next place we to on our tour was a zoo that exhibited a large display of pandas. I had heard while in Japan that these exhibits were very popular because some allowed you to hold baby pandas. With this in mind, I was excited. The tour guide had us skip the entire zoo so we could see the pandas. The first pandas we saw were behind glass and were busy eating at the time. Their backs were turned so shots of their faces were very hard to get.
Luckily the next area that featured pandas were all outside and were facing towards us when were taking pictures. It was feeding time and the pandas were all busy eating when were there. After one of the pandas was done eating, it climbed up its jungle gym, and passed out. All of the pandas were exceptionally cute and were very photogenic. Here are pictures and pandas from the outside area:
The next area of the panda exhibit was the panda playground, which featured the baby pandas. I was really excited to pet some pandas, but that was not a part of the is particular zoo. I was disappointed, but the pandas were too cute to stay sad for long.
The last major big place we visited was the Bird's Nest and Water Cube for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Both stadiums were a few hundred yards away from each other separated by a very long street. At the other end of the street was a tall tower that held the Olympic symbols and all the way down that were farms. We were so close to the end of Beijing we could see the farms on the other side. We sadly could not go into the Olympic areas, due to renovation to make them into skiing areas for the Chinese. We saw these marvelous structures from a distance and they were still a sight to see. We even saw the world's only seven star hotel, that was used to house the Olympic athletes. It was over seventy stories tall and featured three large television displays for advertisements. It had a unique structure that made it look like a wave at the top.
We were then on our way to the Tea Shop in Beijing. The one we visited was one of the most popular in all of Beijing and I found this shop to be the most interesting of all the shops we had to stop at. We tried out some really amazing teas here and I started to become a bigger fan of tea ever since. We tried oolong, green, black, and other teas that varied in strengths. There was one that we tried where we poured it into one tiny cup and then quickly turned it upside down in a slightly larger cup. This was to get all of the nutrients to settle to the top faster and it tasted amazing. When I head back to China someday, I plan to get some of that delicious tea again.
We then had lunch with a Chinese family in lower downtown of Beijing. This was an interesting experience because we were able to meet other Chinese citizens in their own home. We had to travel to their house by Chinese taxi, the famous one man pulling a cart. As we were pulled along, I used my mother's camera to take pictures and videos of life on the streets of Beijing. It was very cold and the area we were in looked pretty bad. We saw a lot of people along the streets and we arrived to the home with a great greeting from the family. We noticed that the family room had a large aquarium beneath our feet that featured a lot of big fish. This was a way to save space in the Chinese home and was encouraged by the Chinese government to have more pets with families. We sat at a table, with large plates of food. We took our share of food and we discussed what we thought of China so far. The family was also interested to hear about my studies abroad as well, as I compared Japan and China with them. One thing that turned my mother off was when one of the children picked some of the food from the plate with her fingers. It was one cultural experience I have come to accept that I think Americans have not yet.
The last place we visited was a Porcelain factory in the same area. We saw many big pottery displays, well as how the famous Porcelain known as China was made. Unfortunately, the people at the factory would not allow us to take pictures inside the factory or of their products, unless one bought them. All I can say is that they were very exquisite in design and are a real treasure in China. The one thing I did learn was about the Chinese dragon on China. If one had a dragon on their China with three fingers, it meant that they were regular citizens and if one had a dragon with five fingers, it meant they were one of royalty. This was the last stop on our tours around Beijing.
The last day we spent in Beijing included shopping on the streets of Beijing. We did not venture far into the city because we were still unsure of where everything was. Actually, we did one thing very interesting: we saw Mao Tse Tung. We found out when we were in Tienanmen Square initially that we could see the former leader's body on display. We only thought Lenin was the only leader whose body was on display, but we found out that more Communist leaders have had their bodies put out for the public to view. Because of the importance of the leader, we could not take pictures inside, as it was well guarded and heavily secured. We were told to arrive there early, no matter what because lines form all the time. When my mom and I went, we walked on through security, which included metal detectors and getting padded down. We walked up through a big building, pictured before with the tall tower at Tienanmen Square, and saw the body of Mao Tse Tung. Inside, there was only three rooms and the middle one housed his body. We were told to keep moving and not stop. I saw his body for at least forty seconds before I left. My mother and I felt somewhat accomplished for having viewed the former Chairman on display. It was weird, but neat at the same time.
The rest of the day was spent shopping and speaking in German. Yes, in China, we spoke more German than Chinese. The Chinese in stores would have up to twenty people working in a tiny area, harassing you to buy things. They all thought we were American because of our different hair color, fashion, accents, and noses. Well, in order to prove a point and not be harassed as much, my mother and I stuck together with our German and really threw them off. This stopped them from forcing us to buy things and made them think twice. There were a few times I actually ran into German tourists and my mother and I laughed it off. Plus, we even got good deals out of it because we "speak no English." Hilarious and well done.
We woke up the next morning, enjoyed our last breakfast at the hotel, and were off to Japan. China was awesome and I cannot wait to go back. I have more stories about Japan with my Mom and I'll share those next entry. Thank you all for being so patient and I PROMISE the next entry will be out very soon. Until next time, True Believers.
"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" - Alfred, Lord Tennzson
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