So I did it. I climbed part of the Great Wall of China. I feel like this is the most China-like thing you can do while in China. When I told people I was moving here, that was always one of the first questions I was asked - "Are you gonna see the wall?". Let me tell you, it was spectacular. I don't know if it's the history, the iconic status it holds, or the fact that it was a gorgeous day in a beautiful part of China, but I loved this wonder of the world.
We got into Beijing from Xi'an on Thursday night late. Our first struggle was the taxi driver. It's never a good sign when the taxi driver has no idea where the Forbidden City or Tiananmen Square are (our hotel was next to both) ... made us a bit concerned. Miraculously, we made it there. I noticed right away that the language was different. Yes, I have been taking Mandarin lessons for a few months now, but I am definitely not qualified to say I much understand it. I was surprised that I could instantly recognize the difference in speech, which actually made me quite proud. Until he asked me to pay the taxi fare, and I had no idea what numbers he was blurting out.
Friday started off early with a morning run to take in the city. I was so excited to see Beijing and all that it had to offer. What I didn't fully anticipate was how different the cultural climate is - Beijing is much more a political center for China, whereas Shanghai is much more trendy. The packs of Chinese military out on their morning runs made me, for just a bit, feel uneasy. I realized I was definitely a foreigner. But what made me most concerned was that somehow on my run I ended up inside of the Forbidden City area. I don't think I did anything wrong - just followed the sidewalk and paths. But all of the sudden I realized I was in an area I'm not sure I was to be in. Yikes. I got out of there quick and kept running along the perimeter. Then, all at once, I realized I wasn't sure where I was. This whole thing was pretty dumb. Thankfully, I could read the directions on the street signs and navigated my way home. Maybe running wasn't the greatest idea.
Anyway, we got ready and headed out for an exciting day with our tour guide, Stephen:
What most intrigued me about Stephen was when he told us he has had multiple English names. Most Chinese people in the working or tourism world do take on English names, but I was amused that Stephen had previously been a few other names. He said he changed them when he got bored. Too funny.
The first stop: the Great Wall. We went to Mutianyu to see it, which is a restored area about an hour outside of Beijing. To get up to it, you have to take a ski lift. Once we were dropped off, we started climbing. It was stunning scenery. The hike was STEEP. I was shocked at how much effort it took - literally, we were climbing the wall. Here are a few pics of us attempting to reach the summit guard post:
Interestingly, on our way down we saw a guy with an Ohio State hat on. His daughter was studying in Beijing, but he was a Buckeye through and through. O-H!
One of the best parts of the wall is the way down - by toboggan! I had heard people talking about this before and how it was a can't-miss experience. Sara and I had a blast. We were both scared and so didn't go too fast, but it was a cool way to take in the countryside on the way down. Seeing the wall is quite honestly one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life.
After the wall, we headed to the Summer Palace. This is where Chinese royalty vacationed. It was a beautiful area on a lake. In reality, it's a series of little buildings, walkways and bridges - not one big palace. Here we are on one of the enclosed long-corridor hallways, in front of a marble boat (symbolic for the emperor - a marble boat may be on uneasy water at times but can never sink) and on a dragonboat on the lake:
Our next stop was to see all the Olympic stadiums built in 2008. They were so cool! Here we are in front of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, icons of the Beijing games:
Wow, what a day it had been. We had seen so much. We headed back to our awesome little boutique hotel to shower, rest and get ready for dinner. Before eating, we decided to check out the Night Market at Wangfujing Lu. I'd read up on this - a spot for all the foodies out there who love the weird and the taboo. It was definitely strange. Here are a few shots of what we were lucky enough to see. Fried enema or squid head, anyone?
After being sufficiently grossed out, we had to walk around in the regular shopping district before we could possibly hold down food. Here is Sara in front of a cool shopping area, and here we both are posing with some cute statues (including one of a bao, or steamed bun!):
Our last morning in Beijing was spent going to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. One of the oddest experiences I've ever encountered was what we did in Tiananmen ... we saw Mao's body. My aunt and uncle had told me that this is a must-see for the experience alone. And that it was. Stephen thought it was odd we wanted to go to Mao's mausoleum, but I really did want to. Maybe that makes me cryptic in some way, but when in China ... right? We had to leave everything we owned with Stephen - you can't bring anything inside. We had to have our passports. We also were told we needed to put sweaters on to cover our bare shoulders. That was fun - about 90 degree heat, wearing black sweaters. People bought flowers while we waited in line to take in to show respect. The first room you walk into has a large Mao statue. The second room, which we filed into in two continuously-moving lines, contained a crystal coffin with Mao's body. His actual body was draped in a Chinese flag, but his head was exposed. It was surreal. In the end, I'm very glad we did it. Stephen asked if we noticed that we were the ONLY non-Chinese people who went in, and to be honest I didn't.
Here we are in Tiananmen Square in front of the mausoleum and in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which is just before the Forbidden City:
The Forbidden City was a bit of a let-down. I thought it would be super impressive. The history is very interesting - the place for the emperor, his wife, his concubines, and his officials to live for hundreds of years. It was built in the 1400s and was used until the fall of the last emperor in 1912. No commoners were able to go inside the City, and the emperors never really left it's gates either. Unfortunately for us, it was crowded, the buildings were only ok, and the property was just a bit too huge. It's weird because once you're inside the gates, there's very little greenery. We tried to move though fairly quickly. A very interesting thing we found out here was that apparently there used to be a Starbucks inside! How crazy! They did great business, but finally the decision was made that this American business didn't fit the cultural significance of the place.
Our next stop was the Temple of Heaven. This was a religious site for centuries for the emperor. He would come here a few times a year to pray for good harvest, etc. There is a famous picture of President Nixon with Mao in front of this Temple from the 1970s (and Mao with lots of other dignitaries over the years). This was a major milestone in modern times - when China and the US formalized a relationship. Here are Sara and I in front of the main temple:
There was also a cool echo wall where religious ceremonies were carried out. We patiently waited our turns to try it out and get our pictures taken. Apparently when Stephen asked me to say something, instead I waved. Oh well. Still a really cool experience!
Beijing was awesome. I am so, so glad we went. The perfect way to end the experience was our bullet train ride back to Shanghai that evening - over 800mi in less than 5 hours! I was so at-ease being able to relax and read my Kindle on the journey home:
Thanks Sara for a wonderful visit! I hope you've been able to "de-China-fy" everything by now (code for clean and wash everything you brought)! I'm sorry you had the experience of seeing children with split pants using the restroom on the street (if you haven't heard much about this, it is absolutely true!!!). But I also hope I could give you a little taste of my life here in China. What a week!
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