Sightseeing in Beijing

Let me start today by making a correction. The mascots for the 2008 Olympics are not bears like previously stated (although they still look like 'em to me). Instead I am told that they are, from left to right, a fish, a panda (well one is a bear), the flame, an antelope, and a sparrow. Isn't it obvious from the picture.? The names of the animals come together to say "Beijing Welcomes You."

Today was sightseeing day. We started with a very nice breakfast at the hotel. I particularly enjoyed the pumpkin cakes which tasted to me like funnel cakes with powered sugar. Aunt Betty liked a boiled dumpling with bean paste filling. It looked as appetizing as it sounds. But she really liked them. The restaurant was filled with a group of about 10 French couples that had just gotten their babies. All very cute and all quite well behaved.

We met the other Great Wall couples in the lobby and set out for our first destination, Tiananmen Square. Our tour guide, Rui (pronounced Ray), talked briefly about the protests in the Square (I can't open the Wiki page on the protests from here). She talked about how it did benefit the country. How the party leaders how grown out of touch. Favored promoting relatives over the qualified. She says that today that is not the case. Immediately after being dropped off, we were surrounded by street vendors looking to hawk their wares. Mostly, the goods consisted of postcards, fans, umbrellas, little red books, and knockoff watches. It reminded me a bit of the streets of Tijuana but not nearly as bad as what takes place in Morocco. Prices are pretty good. 10 postcards for $1.50, a bottle of water for $0.50. The Square itself was pretty impressive. In the middle was a large monument with gold inscribing dedicated to "the People". To one side, was Chairman Mao's mausoleum where his body is interred and can be viewed five days a week. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation (like many important buildings in preparation for the Olympics). Even if it wasn't, Rui said we would not go see it because the line would be too long. Rui spoke reverentially of Mao and how important a figure he still is in today's China. On another side was the Parliament building where the new president is inaugurated and opposite that is a museum. The final side of the square leads into the Forbidden City which was our next stop.

The Forbidden City was built 600 years ago and served as palace to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a fantastically huge place although it is smaller today than it was when it was in use (9999 and a half rooms). We mostly strolled through the place soaking in the history. Our guide would stop every so often to provide insight and perspective. It was crowedd to say the least and bottlenecks required either brute force or extreme contortion of the body. The Chinese way to deal with crowds is to push through. Personally, I did not have a problem with this. I mostly just got knocked in the head with umbrellas carried by smaller women. But some of the women in the group reported getting shoved around. At exhibits that only had narrow openings for viewing there were no lines or queues. Only crowds that you pushed to the front of then back out when you were done. I, personally, like this system. It is expected. It is not considered rude. No one gives you sideways glances or yells at you. No apologies are given. No one is being pushed to the ground and no one one is getting hurt so you just go with it. In the US, I can just see these actions leading to a dust up between hot heads. One more story from the City. A young Chinese woman came up to a woman in our group and started speaking Chinese to her. Rui translated that she wished to have a picture with her. She agreed and stood next to the young lady. Just as the picture was to be taken the young woman put her arms around our American compatriot leading to a slightly startled look appearing on her face. It was as if they were producing a Chinese version of an American comedy bit. (More on this later)

Before we moved on to the Great Wall, we stopped at a Friendship Station for lunch. This is a place designed for tourists (a trap one might say). It had a very nice restaurant where we had lunch Chinese style (Family Style as we would call it). Kung pow chicken was my favorite. I did not even attempt to use the chopsticks. Most of the rest of the table did but I wanted to get the food to my mouth so I used a fork. Attached was very large area where you could buy souvenirs. Although, I plan to do most of the shopping in our last city, I did succumb and buy a couple of items. We also got to see artisans producing some finely detailed copper paintings and vases (Now with 95% less lead). Very talented and patient.

Final stop of the day was a section of the Great Wall. The mountains surrounding the city were beautiful. They were covered with trees that were only about ten years old. They were planted to keep the sand from the Gobi Desert on the other side of the mountains from blowing into Beijing. The mountains also made for a workout and a terrific view. To travel along the Wall, you had to climb. And climb straight up. Ended up making it to the next to last visible turret in picture above. Only one couple in our group went higher. Aunt Betty stopped at the turret below my endpoint. While she was waiting for me, a man approached her and said "picture". Aunt Betty thought he wanted her to move so he could get a clear shot. When she started to oblige, the man said, "No, Grandma stay". That is how Aunt Betty got to be a token white person in a Chinese tourist's photo.

When we got back to the city, we did what you would expect anyone visiting China to do for dinner. We went to a Thai restaurant. I love me some red curry.

Have to go to bed now. We are getting up at 5 in morning tomorrow to catch the flight to Cainan's home province. Looking forward to that.