Beijing - Day 2

Our second morning in Beijing, we met our guide, James, a 27 year old Beijing native. My friend Jeanine who lives near Shanghai had recommended him.  James introduced us to our driver and quickly whisked us off to our first stop, Tian'an Men Square. It is the largest square in the world and bordered by somewhat bland communist buildings with Chairman Mao's mausoleum in the center. The square is used for state events, such as the recent celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China 60 years ago. And, of course, it was the sight of the violent protests of 1989.

Pillars in Tian'an Men Square

I noticed a long line of people snaking across the square. They were waiting to pay their respects to Chairman Mao. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to view the embalmed leader. I saw Lenin's body in Red Square so why not go two-for-two on seeing Communist leaders' preserved bodies? It took us about 15 minutes to make our way into the building that appeared to serve no other purpose. The decor was a typical understated 1960s design. Mao's body was on display in a glass casket and with the low lighting in the room, the orange light shining on his face made him appear to be glowing in the dark. It's hard to believe that someone would want their body kept in that condition after death but it's obviously very important to the Chinese people to visit him. It was the first time Karen and I felt people staring at us during our visit to Beijing and that was just the beginning.

After exiting the mausoleum, we headed over to the end of the square near Tian'an Men Tower. Originally a gate in old Beijing, this is the spot where Mao first proclaimed the founding of present day China and his huge portrait hangs there. The square and all the buildings around it were in pristine condition thanks to restoration efforts leading up to the Olympics last year and the 60th anniversary celebration last month. Chairman Mao's portrait had a fresh coat of paint so he had nice rosy cheeks.

Tian'an Men Tower

From the square, we walked over to Forbidden City. This area is the heart of Beijing and dates back to the early 1400s where the emperor lived and conducted business. It was called Forbidden City because only the emperor and imperial court were allowed inside the walled area until the last emperor abdicated the throne in 1912. I took several pictures when we first arrived without even realizing that we were only standing in the Outer Court of the complex. It was enormous. We viewed the Gate of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Each structure shared similar architecture and color scheme and it was clear that dragons and the distinctive red color were reserved for the emperor. The ornate details and vivid colors combined with gold highlights were stunning. I was a little surprised that we could only peer into the buildings rather than walk around in them. Either way, it gave us a feel for the emperor's decadent lifestyle. Did he really need a building just for changing clothes before he arrived in court? Apparently so. We also learned about the 3,000 concubines (we would call them "girlfriends") that the emperor had to keep him company. He only had one empress but shared his bed with thousands of young women. Perhaps this marked the beginning of the Chinese population boom.

Beautiful Architecture inside Forbidden City

Dragons, Dragons Everywhere

Outer Court of Forbidden City

With tired legs, we enjoyed a hotpot lunch with James. He instructed us on how to properly prepare our food. Basically we had pots with hot water flavored with stock and herbs and dropped portions of beef, chicken and vegetables into the water to cook. I preferred the beef and spinach because I was uncomfortable with using my chopsticks to handle the raw chicken and using the same set to eat it later. We declared it a successful meal because it didn't disgust us or make us ill. We had pretty low expectations with the cuisine.

Hotpot with a Coke - Lunch in Beijing

After lunch, we inquired about an unusual vehicle we had seen earlier in our visit. We had named it a winter rickshaw but James informed us that it was a motor-taxi. They took a motorcycle and enclosed it with enough space for 2-3 small people behind it. It resembled a mobile sardine can on the street. I really would have liked to ride in one during our trip but the only time we needed a cab was at night and since the headlights and tail lights never worked, it seemed like a bad idea. Seeing other people crammed in the back of the little metal truck provided amusement for us though.

Motor Taxi

Our next stop was the Temple of Heaven. It was constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1400s) and it was where the emperor would go to pray for a good harvest. In present day Beijing, the area is surrounded by an enormous park that draws thousands of people each day. My favorite structures were the round altar and Qinian Dian (Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests). The round altar was constructed in the middle of the forest where the emperor believed he would be closest to the heavens. He stood on a round stone in the center of the altar and gazed up at the sky to pray. Standing on that altar, I suddenly realized how different it was for me to visit a place of prayer that was outside. I'm so accustomed to seeing grand old cathedrals in Europe, yet in China, the emperor stood in the forest and spoke to the heavens in solitude. It seemed foreign to me that such an ancient civilization didn't recognize an organized religion.

Qinan Dian is where the emperor prayed for a good harvest in autumn and the tower is gorgeous. It has to be one of the most beautiful structures in Beijing as the shape is unique and the colors are brilliant against the sky. For hundreds of years, the entire area was reserved for the emperor and thank goodness the people of Beijing can now enjoy the park.

Qinian Dian

Gorgeous Colors

From the park, we rode over to the Silk Market near our hotel where we were educated about the silk-making process and could have purchased silk bedding and clothing. If I wasn't using a "rental" bed right now, I would have been tempted to buy a quilt for use with a duvet because the prices were reasonable and the quilts felt wonderful.

We spent a little time back at our hotel before we left for our big evening on the town. We planned to go to an acrobat show and then out for Peking Duck afterwards. During that evening, we experienced rush hour traffic at its finest. Beijing has a population of 17 million people and when you're on the road during rush hour, it feels like they are ALL out there with you. It was crazy. And the pollution was always noticeable while driving around town. Our driver always kept his window cracked and we felt like we were inhaling car exhaust the entire time.

The acrobat show was amazing. The Chinese government must take retired Olymic gymnasts and train them for acrobat shows. They contorted their bodies in such bizarre and unnatural ways that we wondered if they had been surgically altered. It was awesome entertainment.

and we thought we were flexible from Pilates classes...

Afterwards, we went out for Peking Duck and were delighted to discover that it was delicious. Looking back, it was the best meal during the trip. They roast the duck in such a way that gives it a crispy skin, carve it into thin slices and serve it folded inside thin pancakes with special soy sauce, garlic, green onion, radish and cucumber. You construct your little duck burrito however you choose so I guess it was the Chinese version of fajitas.

Peking Duck and all the trimmings

During dinner, we took advantage of James' company to talk to him about life in Beijing. What were his biggest worries? Well, for starters, he described the gender imbalance. Currently there are about 1.5 men for every woman in Beijing so that makes it tough for him to find a potential wife. He spoke about the need for a nice apartment, car and a credit card (apparently it's quite difficult to get one in China - maybe the US would be in better shape if we tried that approach!). He has never traveled outside China and when asked where he would go if he could travel anywhere, his answer was Paris.

I inquired about Taiwan and asked him to explain its relationship with China. He quite plainly declared that Taiwan is part of China and that mainland China allows it to do its own thing to some extent, but at the end of the day, the people in Taiwan know that they belong to China. He said that in present day, China and Taiwan have a good, "smooth" relationship so I asked why the US has a military presence there. He turned the question around and asked, "I don't know. Why DOES the US have ships in the Taiwan Strait?" I simply guessed that the US must not entirely trust China and has a fleet there to prevent China from ever trying to exert its will on Taiwan. That started an entire dialogue about the US being the world's police and James describing how Chinese people aren't as concerned with life outside their country. We also talked about the importance of family in their culture. It was great dinner conversation.

When we said good night to James back at the hotel, I was glad we hired him because while he was a wonderful resource when touring the historic areas of Beijing, I truly enjoyed being able to have casual conversations with him. Karen and I both learned a great deal about his perspective from our chats and he was very open with us. It made our tour so much richer than it would have been otherwise. We had a fabulous day and we were wondering how our feet would fare at the Great Wall on Friday...