Sunday
August 26
Today was
our first day in Beijing. Everyone was excited.
On our list was Maos's tomb, the forbidden city and the temple of
heaven. The day was supposed to be sunny, in the 80s and low humidity.
It was
thankfully low humidity and in the eighties.
But with the pollution that doesn't exist is what made the air
smoggy. Yes the pollution that no one
discusses. The official government and
party line is that the pollution in beijing is low and that is the truth
everyone must say. No matter that the
air is smoggy and has a yellowish hazy.
No matter that the cars have a dusty film on them is they are parked
outside under a covered space. No
matter as Katy pointed out sometimes you can taste it in the air. So there is no point in taking about is with
a local. At best they get uncomfortable
at worst upset. I believe it is because they can't talk freely. If you want to see what happens when there is
no EPA and environmental regs, visit Beijing. Enough of that.
Our hotel was close to Tiananmen square so we left at 9am. Our hotel was called the Marriott Beijing City
Wall. This is the only surviving part of
the outer city wall still surviving right next door to it. This section ran for a couple of blocks.
Our first
stop was Mao’s tomb. The fact that Katy and I wanted to see Mao’s Tomb I think made our guide curious. It is not that we
are communist, but curious about this very unique historical monument. Even at 9 am there was a long line. All
Chinese nationals, many hard core communists, some with tour groups. The line
wound from the front entrance around the side and as far down the street as we
could see. I really though no Mao was
us. It looked like at least a 2 hour
wait.
Then our
guide Nancy said “wait here” and ran back to the front of the mausoleum, she disappeared for a about 10 minutes then
reappears and waved us back to the front. She told us to cross the police tape
and walk to the first entry point in the line way way up front.
Along
this line there are entry points with a guard.
Every time we got to another entry point, I thought we would enter the
line, but the guard waved us onto the next entry point, until in fact we jumped the entire line and were
standing at the front entrance to the tomb.
Without
whatever connection Nancy had, we would have never seen the tomb. If you ever thought too I need a guide, this
was a great example why.
I thought
it was funny that in China, at the holiest site of the communist party, where
people are worried to freely discuss pollution, we cut the entire line in front
of all these serious guards who kept waving us forward.
From this
moment on Katy and I both thought our guide Nancy was a member of the secret
police. LOL. Or as our friend Katherine told us, they make a big effort to make
sure westerns see Mao.
You enter
the tomb up a long flight of steps. The
main entry has a area to place flowers and behind it is a giant white marble
statue of a seated Mao. Some locals place their flowers as they perform the
same ritual I have seen in Chinese Buddhist temples. For a leader who hated religion, Mao
certainly set himself to be misinterpreted as a god. You walk to the right and
around it and through another corridor to the tomb. The tomb area is a room
behind the Mao statue. Mao is lying in his coffin. A Chinese flag covers him up to his upper
chest. The strangest thing is that they
not only embalmed him but illuminated his skull from the inside which makes his
head glow a yellowish light.
One exits
on the square, the square is huge, it was expanded several times during the
1970s. I think you you'll fit a half
dozen red squares into it.
From the
square you walk across, actually under the street to the famous southern gate
of the Forbidden City with Mao’s picture on it. This is the
iconic setting of Tiananmen.
Tiananmen
is huge
The Forbidden
City is also huge. It is a city within a
city. It runs basically south to north
along the dragon line, the named center axis of Beijing. Maggie and Nicholas were great. The city is a series of walled areas each
closer to the emperors living and working area.
But the scale is massive. We did
not pack enough water or snacks for the kids.
While Maggie did well, Nicholas was ok, but almost just too young to
really put up with the crowds and heat.
The other challenges were the steps. Each building was raised so there
was always steps to traverse.
The other
thing is that there were not as many westerns as you would expect. Our guide told us it was early and most of
the people were from other parts of china.
This she said was the last “crazy time.” A time for locals’ vacations before school starts in china. Great.
However she told us the crowds were normal. This is Chinese for really really crowded. Because there were so few westerns and many
people were from parts of China that never saw a western, every so often
someone wanted their picture with Maggie and Nicholas.
The
things that struck me about the Forbidden City was how large it is and how
easily an emperor could wall himself off from the world of the real in here.
Nancy told us about a tourist who got lost in there for 8 hours before she
found her way out. The are so many alleys and buildings. You could really spend
days exploring just this site.
After
about 75 percent through the Forbidden City, Nicholas had had it. It was hot as
well high eighties and the crowds wear you out.
You exit
on the north side and we headed for a Chinese lunch of noodles and rice.
Next was
Temple of Heaven. We knew Nicholas had
to go back to the hotel with Eva but asked Maggie what she wanted to do. She opted to head back since we were seeing
an acrobat show later.
I thought
Temple of Heaven: one building temple right?
No. The temple of heaven is not a temple but a very large temple complex
and park, the famous building is the largest but there is a lot of walking, two
times a year the emperor came to make sacrifices and pray for the harvest and
to his ancestors. Think of it almost as
an imperial Vatican city of the Chinese imperial state religion.
The guide
took Katy and I around. It was
Great. From the Tempe for the harvest
to where he prayed to his ancestors, to the stone he stood on to talk to god,
to the complex grounds are massive.
But
clearly that would have been too much for Maggie.
We headed
back and Maggie, Katy and I saw a fabulous acrobat show. Well worth it. Then dinner back at the hotel lounge with the
3 of us. When we got back up to the
rooms Nicholas was asleep.
Tomorrow
our first look at the great wall.
Monday August 27: our first trip to the Great Wall
We
planned 2 trips to 2 different sections of the wall. Today we went to the Mutianyu section of the
wall. It is about 2 hours north of the
center city.
We woke
up to rain in the city. OK. Packed our umbrellas and headed off. The first thing you think about is how far
the wall is from the actual city about 2 hours by car.
The
second thing is how high up it is. On
the Mutianyu section it rides the cilffs. So you drive north and to the
boundary where the Beijing plateau meets the mountains.
When we
arrived it wasn't raining but foggy. You
park near the foot of the mountain and walk up to the cable car. There are 2 easy ways to get to the wall:
cable car and chair lift. We chose the
cable car. But in order to get to and
from the cable car you have to run a gauntlet of what appears to be an endless
succession of stall after stall of souvenirs, Tee shirts, and people pushing
them on you.
The
thankful thing was the ever present massive crowds of tourists were not
there. Our guide told us that local
visitors usually go to sections of the wall closer to the city.
We got
the top and took the cable car. I think our guide thought "they will
probably look around, not walk very far and head back." we'll everyone was
interested. Nicholas was the most. He
wanted to run from guard tower to guard tower and walked a great deal of the
way. We probably stayed up there about 2 hours and ate a picnic lunch on the
wall. We also walked a considerable way.
They thing is that the cable car is only at one point, so as far as you
walk, you have to walk back.
What
strikes you is how they followed the natural contours of the mountains. So some parts are steep with steep steps and
others very flat. But we al made it.
On a side
note, on our way up, our cable car had a sign on it: "President William J.
Clinton took this car up the great wall on June 28th 1998." Katy and I thought
“right” LOL, sure he did, we bet every car says something like
this. Then when we exited at the top,
our guide Nancy who was in the car behind us with Eva said, "Did you see you got a VIP car." so
apparently the Clinton's did ride in the car!
We got
back to the city around 3pm, and Maggie wanted to go to the toy mart which is
across from the pearl market. So Maggie,
Katy and I took a taxi over there. They
had one full stall of just Barbie stuff. Maggie was in heaven. I think she
spent 20 minutes deciding what to buy.
They thing about barbies in China is that I think they feel the
"official" Barbie clothes are not appropriate or modest. (I agree) So thankfully they have an industry
of very nice clothes for Barbies. I picked up a souvenir shirt and we got 2
puzzles of china and one to practice language.
We headed
back and decided to eat dinner at the same restaurant that we eat our daily
breakfast buffet. We decided to eat from
the menu and not the buffet. This was
the fatal flaw. You see from the eyes of
a 3 year old this is the buffet place. So when we ordered from the menu and
ignored the buffet, he got angry. Took a
while and 2 gin and tonics, for Katy not him, to calm Nicky down. But finally we ate our dinner at the hotel.
Lesson in Traffic
Beijing
has a lot of traffic. Our guide
explained that to try and cut back n pollution, each day has restrictions on
which cars can drive. The system is
based in the number of your license plate. Each day has a number. If your car ends in that number you can't
drive that day. You have to take public
transportation. She said during the
Olympics, they went with a strait even and odd number restriction every other
day. But you know, it is good to be the king.
Each plate starts with the Chinese symbol where it was issued. Beijing is the character for
"capital" followed by a letter then the numbers. If your letter is "A" (government
car) or the character and letter are Red(military car) the restrictions do not
apply to you at all!
So I
asked Nanacy who enforces this. I never
saw a local policeman or patrol car. She
pointed out all the nondescript cameras.
When they are pointed out, you realize they are everywhere. The cameras
monitor it.
Tuesday August 28
This day
stated with a rookie mistake made the night before. As our tour day ended the guide asked us when
we wanted to start our day on Tuesday. She mentioned we could start later. So Katy and I thought great let’s start at 10:30. We
can sleep in and get to breakfast then head out for the day.
Well that
plan would have worked if we didn't have children. Children who get up at
6:30am which is exactly the time more or less they came in and woke us up. We
gave them iPads and went back to sleep. Well by the time we got up and out it
was 9am and we all did not have breakfast yet. Maggie was fine, it was Nicholas who was on the brink of a
breakdown...then he did.
I am not
sure what the Mandarin is for "screaming boy" but that is what he was
at breakfast brunch. Way too hungry and also tired. You see even though they are waking up at
their normal time, they are having less than normal days. While Maggie can now tell us how she is
feeling, Nicky still expresses himself by crying.
I had to
escort Nicky screaming out of the hotel restaurant and up to the room. When I got him up there, he admitted he was
hungry. I gave him 2 squeeze packs and he calmed down enough to head back to
the restaurant.
We
started off to the Summer Palace which was about an hour drive from the hotel.
It was a
hot but clear day. The palace again
stretches for a long way around a manmade lake. Everything about what the Chinese emperors
did was huge and grand. It really puts
the Russian tsars and European kings to shame. But also puts into stark
contrast the absolute inequality of these emperors who lived in such grand
opulence while the majority of the Chinese people lived day to day in the mud.
I would
though highly recommend the Summer Palace. There is the residence of the
emperor and the famous emperor dowager Cixi.
There is a big temple in the top of the hill and a nice boat ride. The biggest issue was the heat.
We got in
the van and headed for the hutong. This
is apparently a part of every Beijing tour.
This was the commoners section of old Beijing. The hutong is that
courtyard house architecture. We took a
rickshaw ride with a guide. The thing is
that maybe for the most interested architecturally minded it would be
interesting. But it is not renovated and seems that that original privately
owned hutongs were long ago seized by the communists and are not some sort of
communal living. The best part is we got
to visit with a Mr. Lee who has lived the for 50 years. He was very
welcoming. I must note Maggie found it
interesting. Nicholas after getting his bearings made fast friends with Mr.
Lee.
Right in
the hutong is the drum and bell towers of Beijing. We toured the drum tower next and climbed the
69 steps at what appeared to be a 60 degree angle up to the top. Did I mention I had to carry Nicky up those
69 steps.
Once up
there and having got my breath back, the view as great and we got to see the
drum show.
After the
drum show we visited the Tibetan Lamma Temple. This is also in the hutong area
so a close drive. By this time Nicky was
done. So Eva rode him around the
stroller in the front temple courtyard while Maggie, Katy and I toured the
temple. This is must see. It has the
largest wooded Buddha. This Buddha was
made from one piece of a tree trunk.
They erected the tree, carved the Buddha, then built the temple around
it. Stunning.
Today was
the Peiking duck dinner. Now our kids
had never had it. I asked the guide, not
knowing, " is that all they serve." thankfully it was a full service
Chinese restaurant. We had a great Peiking duck dinner and also ordered other
food. Maggie tried the duck but stuck to
the beef. Nicky had pretty much everything. So a dinner I thought would be
tricky turned out great. The restaurant
we went to was also the one Katy had been taken to by the chine Construction
Bank when she visited. So going in we knew it would be good.
But by
the time we sat down for dinner we were all tired from the day. I mistook the glass and accidentally spilled
Orange juice on Eva's pants.
That is
the thing about this vacation tour. It
is at the same time a must do and something you endure.
Wednesday August 29, 2012
Well we
learned our lesson and got everyone up and fed to meet the driver and guide at
9am. It was one of the most beautiful
days in Beijing that I have seen: clear blue skies, low humidity and low
pollution. It makes no sense to sleep in when your kids get up at 6:30am. But today Nicky slept till 7:30.
Our first
stop was a one hour drive north and west to another part of the Great Wall:
Juyongguan Pass. It is actually a
fortress and the wall at this section makes a giant loop around the pass. It
was constructed first in the 5th century then rebuilt in the Ming dynasty.
We got
there to the moutains and it was even clearer than in the city. But the steps were much steeper than the
Mutianyu section. The kids made it up to
one tower. Katy agreed to let me go further up and across while they waited at
the first tower. The steps up we so steep they needed me to carry Nicky up and
down. But the views were great. I was at
times all alone in this section of the wall.
It was a great Christmas gift. As I looked around and took pictures, I
thought how blessed are we to have this experience. But the kids were waiting
so I headed back to where I left them.
And yes to find them taking pictures with a Chinese family's kids.
One of
the things that was tough for Maggie especially is that many Chinese who tour
Beijing have never seen American kids and want to take their picture with
them. So if you stop for a few minutes
someone will come up and ask.
Not that
the Chinese people we met were rude. Far
from it. Actually my impression is the
opposite: these are people who want to be our friends.
Well we
are still two steep flights of steps up the hill and time to take Nicky
down. Maggie did great on her own.
We had a
lunch there and bought souvenirs, then got back in the van at 1pm to head to
the Sacred Road. This is the road that was taken by the funeral procession of a
dead Ming emperor to his tomb. The Ming
tombs are farther on into the mountains.
We did not see them. But Nicky
and Maggie enjoyed walking down this road. On either side were statues in 4s of
animals and generals and civil officials who stood watching the funeral
procession. Nicky got a kick out of running to each animal statue and guessing
which animal it was. He had trouble at the
griffin and unicorn.
I would
recommend the Ming tombs. They sounded
very interesting but we did not have the time.
After
finishing our walk down the sacred road, we drove on to our final stop of our
tour, the Olympic village area. I have
been told it is not worth it because it is run down and not kept up since 2008.
While this may be true of the areas we did not see, the tour of the Birds Net
and the Water Cube were great. I would recommend both but especially the Water
Cube.
The Water
Cube had places to snack and several nice souvenir booths.
We headed
back to the hotel and had a nice buffet dinner there. I would highly recommend the Marriott Beijing
City Wall. Very nice mix of American and
Asian food choices.
Thus we
end our tour of Beijing.
Some
final notes. Maggie was a superstar. She
put up with the grueling schedules, the heat and her brother. But I was most impressed with her maturing
sensibilities. When she was tired or
frustrated or angry, she told us about it and didn't act out. It was a real joy to travel with her. I told
her to teach her brother.
Taking
our nanny Eva we us was great. And her agreeing to go! It helped us mange
Nicky. In truth the schedule was probably too grueling for a 3 year old, or at
least it pushed him to his limits.
Oh, and
when you buy great wall mini snow globes, pack them in your checked baggage
because they will be confiscated by the Beijing security since they have
liquid. You of course return to pick them in the next 30 days.
The only
casualty of the trip.
