China: Day 2

Day 2

When you are in one of the largest cities in the world, with only 4 days to explore, sleeping in is not an option. With that in mind, we woke up fairly early to find a Chinese Tea House to visit for some morning tea and dumplings. The one we came across was called the Confucian Tea House, which happened to be up the road from the Confucian Temple.

We ordered a few types of tea to get a good sampling, and a very nice, but difficult to understand, woman taught us (or tried to teach us) everything about the different types. I was pretty excited about this since I take my tea seriously. Tea pots are beautiful and it was interesting to learn a little about the different types, why they are used and even the purpose of different tea cups (taller, narrow cups are used for more fragrant teas). There is a whole art to making the tea that includes rinsing and warming the pot with boiling hot water, rinsing the leaves (the first time you pour the water in you are supposed to dump it out! Who does that?) and even washing the tea pot with a paintbrush.

The other factoid that I am very aware of now, is that men and women are supposed to hold their cups differently (Who knew??)

Here I thought you just steep a bag of Lipton’s and call it a drink…

Once our bellies started sloshing around, we walked over to the Confucian Temple to educate ourselves on Confucianism.

Confucius was born in Shandong Province, south of Beijing, during an age of uninterrupted war. Confucius (551-479 BC) was prompted by the suffering around him to develop a practical philosophy built on the principle of virtue. He died unrecognized because no one would apply his rules of governance.

The temple was first built in 1302 during the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Around 200 ancient stelae stand in the courtyard in front of the main hall, inscribed with the names of those who successfully passed the imperial civil service exams.

(stelae)

Overall, the temple was pretty standard as far as temples go. There was a small museum in one of the halls that provided details about his upbringing and his struggles as he tried to win over followers.

After the morning lessons, it was time to SHOP! It was also an inspired idea because walking around temples in near-sub zero temperatures is not the best way to see China. An indoor shopping market is MUCH, much, MUCH better!

The Silk Market, more properly known as Xiushui, is one of the most popular tourist destinations next to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The reason is most likely the abundant surplus of cheap knock-offs.

When we arrived I was not disappointed. Four floors of everything that you could ever want. I easily could have spent all day dickering and haggling with the shop owners, but they do close at 5, sharp. A song started to play over the intercom and everyone got very excited. It’s probably why I got such a good deal on my jacket! OR, it could have been that they were just really excited for the Lunar New Year. It happened to be a wise choice to visit that day since the New Year celebrations started that evening and the Silk Market was closed for the next two days.

As for the New Year celebrations, I can best describe them as being caught in a war zone. I have never seen so many fireworks in my life. We opted to grab a drink and stay as warm as possible before heading to the madness. As midnight ticked closer, we started walking towards the commotion. Moments before the new year we came across the drum tower and hundreds of people standing around a court yard, setting off fireworks. There was never a countdown, but it was evident when the commotion a few moments earlier turned into complete chaos.

Rob and I pushed our way to the front for a better look and before I could even get my camera out there was a bright flash, Rob jumped back and BANG! It took a moment to register that a firework (a loud one, not a pretty sparkly one) flew into Rob’s leg, ricocheted over to me and BLEW UP ON MY FOOT! I couldn’t feel my toes for a while and I started getting really scared. My shoe looked fine but when the feeling came back I thought my toe was broken.

Since the party didn’t seem to be slowing down, but rather amplifying, we began looking for a cab to take us home. The Great Wall trip was planned for the following day and our pickup time was 7am, just a few hours away. Like New Years in the states, cabs are hot commodities after midnight and we had no luck. Instead we wandered the streets, dodging the random fireworks being set off in the middle of the street every 20 yards or so. By 2am we were headed down the road that lead to our hostel and I was thankful for the cold that numbed my throbbing toe. We finally did catch a cab and he drove us the last 100 yards to the hostel door.

Pretty good for Day 2 of the Tour de Beijing, and a great way to welcome the Year of the Ox!

China: Day 1

Day 1

I could tell it was going to be a memorable trip when we got to the airport about an hour before the international flight and were told by the attendant that we were too late. With a little persuading, she made a phone call and said we needed to hurry. After cutting in front of a long line at security and running through the terminal, we made it moments before taxing out to the runway…where we sat and waited for half an hour for ice treatment (it had snowed the night before).

The flight was only two hours and we arrived before 11am, leaving the whole day for sightseeing.

First on the agenda was The Forbidden City.

Officially known as the Palace Museum, this is a grand monument to the emperors who ruled from its halls over a period of almost 500 years. The symbolic center of the Chinese universe, the palace was the exclusive domain of the imperial court from its completion in 1420 until the last of the emperors was forced to abdicate at the beginning of the 20^th century. The modern world intruded in 1949, when the public was finally admitted through the palace gates.

The last emperor, Pu Yi, ascended the throne at the age of 3 in 1908, but his brief reign was brought to an early end in 1912 by a new Republican government. The young ex-emperor continued to live in the Forbidden City until ejected in 1924. He was later imprisoned under the Communists, until Mao granted him amnesty in 1959. He died in 1967 after working for 7 years as a gardener.

The hostel we stayed at was conveniently right around the corner from this famous landmark, so we set off on foot. A 10 minute stroll and we were standing at the Meridian Gate.

Once inside we spent a few hours roaming the various side alleys and halls… and probably didn’t manage to see more than half of it. It really is a huge, impressive place to see.

When we were sufficiently frozen from meandering, we made our way through a little hallway and stumbled across a very recognizable landmark.

Who hasn’t seen this place before?

Tian’an Men Square is the world’s largest public square and the final resting place of Mao Zedong.

Mao proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949 from this Ming-dynasty gate, where his huge portrait still hangs.

Seeing a dead guy decomposing in a crystal casket (that he has been in since 1976) didn’t sound very appealing to me, so I passed on that attraction. Plus, I am apparently the only oddball in China who doesn’t want to see some dead guy… and lines are rumored to be massive.

What did peak my attention was the flag ceremony that is performed every day at dawn and dusk. We got there just in time to join the masses that shared my idea and then we waited. When I couldn’t feel me feet, fingers or nose, a large group of soldiers finally appeared under Mao’s portrait and goose-walked across the street to the flagpole. It was freezing, but a great thing to witness. These guys had everything timed down to the millisecond and took a lot of pride in their country and duties.

After warming up at the hostel for a bit we headed out (the huge group of us) for a roasted Beijing Duck dinner!

The most memorable part of this was when I actually ate the head of an unfortunate duck…which happened to be pretty unfortunate for me, too.

Something about crunchy skull bones, eyeballs and brain goo that wasn’t appealing to my sophisticated palette… weird!

The Great, Great Wall

Over the Lunar New Year (January 24-27^th) I traveled to Beijing for a quick 4-day tour de China. A friend of mine, Dr. O (seriously, that’s his name), organized the flight and accommodation for a group of 13 expats. The itinerary was completely discretionary and we were able to explore at our own leisure.

 

Like most people, the number one thing I wanted to see in Beijing was the Great Wall. Unlike most people, I didn’t just SEE the wall, but I actually WALKED 10K of it! I was a little reluctant booking the 2 ½ hour taxi ride there…since it was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the city. I could only assume that it would be colder in the rural area we were headed (something that would worry any desert rat, like myself).

 

My concern was ample enough for me to splurge (if you consider less than $20 for a nice, knock-off) on a snazzy new snowboarding jacket from the Silk Market, a large indoor (indoor = warm, YES!) flea market packed with everything from clothes to jewelry to silly souvenirs like Mao paraphernalia and chopsticks.

 

With the risk of freezing to death partially mitigated with the purchase of my new jacket, I agreed to make the journey.

 

We arrived early enough so the sun didn’t have enough time to melt the frost and the air was nippy; however, there was no snow on the ground so things were looking up. After breaking a sweat just climbing up to the wall, I felt a lot more confident about the challenge ahead. The first view from the wall was amazing...

 

And it only got better.

 

We took our time, stopping to take hundreds of pictures along the way. This truly was the highlight of my trip to China, so I will just let the slideshow speak for itself. Like usual, the camera didn’t do justice…but you get a good idea.

 

For the curious, my 10K partner is Rob, from Diamond, Ohio. He lives and teaches in Gyoha, like me. He is the one who introduced me to Dr. O and invited me on this unforgettable trip. Without him, I would not have this awesome story to tell!

 

For the shopaholics, my purchases at the Silk Market expanded far beyond the snazzy, warm coat. I also bought some beautiful Jade jewelry (since China is know for its Jade), some cute “Diesel” jeans (I tried them on right in the middle of the market! The lady just held up a sheet and I dropped trou), a silk shirt (because I was AT the Silk Market- duh!) and a giant paintbrush. I know the giant paintbrush is an odd purchase, but it’s something I really wanted. Korean and Chinese calligraphy is beautiful and I’m hoping to master the art (or dabble in it)