| Beijing |
| After Guangzhou and Guilin, Beijing was a treat. It seemed that people there were much more accustomed to seeing foreigners although we were still the object of intense staring. We found a great hotel, called the Lu Song Yuan Bin Guan, which was located in a HuTong. Hu Tongs are Beijing's classic narrow alleyway neighborhoods with high walls and mysterious doorways. Some doorways are ornate and brightly painted while others are simple or even run down, but each leads to a residence made up of several rooms set around a central courtyard. Our hotel was laid out in this manner as well, decorated with Chinese red carpet and lanterns, ornate eaves, and peaceful courtyards. We were lucky enough to have breakfast included and so we sat in the courtyard each morning as we planned our day. |
| Beijing was misty, foggy, muggy, and bright almost the whole time we were there. We made our way to all the key sites including Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, Jian Shan park and the Temple of Heaven. We also visited a Taoist Temple and Buddhist Lamasery. We hit all the major markets including the silk market, pearl market, and dirt market and are now professional bargain negotiators. "Tai gui le!" (too pricey!) We ate Beijing jiao-zi (dumplings) and noodles galore and witnessed just about everything on a stick. We rented bikes and braved both the insane traffic and the winding alleyways. We navigated the ancient bus system, took the subway, and even braved a taxi ride here and there. But, our favorite was walking around the alleyways that made up our HuTong because it was there that we were exposed to people just doing their daily thing: cooking dinner in a wok on the stoop, doing the family laundry, squatting with a cigarette, playing chess, majong, or hanging out with neighbors. |
| Turns out the HuTongs are hot real estate and are at risk with the "ling ba"('08) upgrade for the Olympics. But some are also being converted into funky little neighborhood tea house/coffee bar cafe's. We visited one called Zhou Bar which was tucked away behind two simple red-painted doors in a narrow HuTong alleyway. There is also a hip new area called Hou Hai made up of unique restaurants and bars lining a city lake. As with everywhere else in Beijing, it was packed with people, vying for space with bikes, 3-wheel vehicles of all shapes & sizes and, of course, impatient taxi drivers....it was a miracle there weren't more people run over! |
| By the time we got to Beijing, a lot of my Chinese had returned and Bill was well on his way to being able to order a beer in Chinese, which he can now do with ease. People are continually amazed that a foreigner can speak any Chinese and they are inordinately complimentary. We think the real gauge of language competency comes in a restaurant when the dish that arrives resembles that which you believe you have ordered. We are not quite there yet. |
| Topping off our site-seeing in and around Beijing was our visit to the Great Wall. We hooked up with the Americans we had met on the train and the four of us piled on to the city bus headed northwest out of town toward the wall. Riding until the last stop, we bargained for a rickety van taxi driven by a maniac the rest of the way and ended up at Huang Hua. At 5:30pm on the only clear, sunny day of our China trip so far we started up this unrestored and crumbling portion of the wall. This was, of course, after being haggled to buy some souvenirs and homemade firecrackers that put our U.S. firecrackers to shame. By sunset we had completed the steep stretch to the second watch tower and climbed up a ladder made of sticks to the top to take in the view. From there we could see the wall stretching off in either direction along the ridge of the surrounding mountains. As the light fell we made our way up to the 5th watch tower where we climbed on top, laid out our sleeping bags and slept under the stars. We woke up for a misty sunrise and made our way down, unable to avoid the "toll" imposed by a random Chinese man on the way down. |
| Spending 12 days in Beijing allowed for lots of relaxation time. And, by the time we were ready to leave, we were sad to go. Our next stop is Xi An purely for the purpose of visiting the Terracotta Warriors and to make our way to Xining. From there we will head to Qing Hai province and Surmang for our volunteer project (www.surmang.org).....stay tuned. |