Beijing

Day One

We arrived in Beijing and were taken to our business hotel.  We can’t even brush our teeth with the tap water.  Each room has a pot to boil water in for that purpose, or to drink if you want to cool it, or use to make tea.  We each get one bottle of water a day from the tour guide.  There is a shop across the street where we buy more.  2 Yuen for a 16 oz bottle—about 13 cents.  The 1-½  liter bottles are 5 Yuen, about 33 cents.

Beijing is about 250 square miles.  It takes four hours to cross the city without traffic which is unbelievable. Cars go everywhere, in and out; bicycles, motor scooters, and pedestrians are scrambled in the mix.  Then there are the rickshaws.  It is a mad house.

David (his English name), our guide, is very fluent.  He is a college graduate and is 33.  He says the one child to a family rule is presenting problems because there are now not enough children to care for the elderly.  Also, there are three men for each woman because of the preference for boys, so it is hard to find a mate.  He, however, is married.

It was pouring down rain, so we rearranged the schedule and started with the Silk factory.  Learning about silk worms and different types of silk thread was interesting.  We got to try stretching the silk filaments across a frame for a quilt.  The quilts were tempting, so light, allergy free, but expensive.  Then we went to the Pearl factory. The minute we walked in a young sales lady led us into an area with oysters and explained about the fresh water pearls. Unfortunately, though she tried really hard, I didn’t buy anything. The kids bought some items, though.

After that we went to the Temple of Heaven where the emperor came at the winter solstice to pray for divine inspiration.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world’s largest surviving imperial sacrificial altar complex. Constructed in 1420 under the Ming Dynasty’s Yongle Emperor, it was used by emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to perform solemn rituals, praying to the heavens for favorable weather and bountiful harvests. The entire complex is explicitly designed around the ancient Chinese cosmological concept of “round heaven, square earth,” featuring circular structures built upon square foundations.  It was built without nails.  It is surrounded by a big park where lots of people gather to sit, play hacky-sack, practice tai chi, sell things, and just relax.  There were lots of older people The temple has three main sections: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Circular Mound Altar.

Our next stop, the infamous Tian’an Men Square, is the center of the city.  It is a huge square with government buildings all around.  It is the symbolic center of China, as well.  Lots of people gather there.  In it is a big Hammer and Sickle as well as Mao’s tomb. Lots of Chinese nationals come to show their children. Buildings surronding the square include the National Museum, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall.

One striking thing about the square and everywhere else we went were the cameras on tall poles.   Everyone is monitored.  This brought up an interesting conversation about freedom vs. safety. The students felt safer here than at home.  But you trade that safety for control.  Everywhere one goes can be monitored.

Next to Tian’an Men Square is The Forbidden City and Palace—the spiritual heart of Beijing, completed in 1420.  It must be at least a mile long or more.  It has the largest and best preserved buildings in ancient China.  We went through gate after gate; courtyard after courtyard; palace after palace.  The number of animals on the roof corner of a building indicates the level of the prince in the palace. It was very much as depicted in the film The Last Emperor. It was the residence of the Emperor.  Entrance was forbidden to all but those on imperial business until 1911 when the last emperor was overthrown.  

An example of the tight control–Mr. Wang was picking us up after our tour and stopped in a crosswalk.  A policeman gave him a ticket.  David tried to get out of it, but no success.  

All of the places we have been are filled with Chinese nationals as well as foreign tourists.  History is very important to the Chinese.  One of our students asked David, our guide, how long he studied to learn all the information.  His response was he learned it in school.  He knows so much, though, I am sure he studied a lot.  They were impressed though because they know so little of our short history.