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Beijing Politics Meet Monuments

Beijing really is a captivating city. There is so much history here that it could truly battle Rome and Paris for a title. I do suppose that Marco Polo and the Chinese have argued about a few things already- such as the invention of pasta (we Italians know that the noodle came from the mediterranean zone, right?!). So, it is scary to think that almost 20 years ago the pro democracy rallies in this square dominated the news. We have heard so many conflicting reports, and it is near impossible to find data here on the web. I had to ask a friend from home to copy and paste info from wikipedia for me. In fact over a million people in China sit in front of computers every day, censoring lots of information that doesnt jive with the official information. Anyway, ranges estimate between 500 and 3,000 students and protestors who died over the course of two days. Ironic that the gate between the square and the palace is called the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
One of the stupendous results of China's booming economy ("to be rich is glorious" said Deng Xiaoping) is the prolific amount of Chinese tourists on the move. It is hard not to notice them when they line the palace walls, red caps in unison. I will admit, on this trip, with 76 students at a time, we followed a little green flag! AUGH!
The big round pagoda is the Temple of Heaven. The emperor used to go there to pray for a good harvest. We are lucky that the Olympic games are quickly approaching. Many beautiful monuments, like the T of H are being repainted, refurbished and generally cleaned up.

The miniature city photo is a clip from the Urban Planning Museum. It was a 1:1000 scale model of the city. It helped me to understand the North South axis that Beijingers talk about to explain the orientation of the city. One axis runs from the bell tower north of the palace, through the Jin Shan park north of the palace, and down through the palace. Everyone's address or description of their location in the city is somehow relative to the axis. The doorway image was shot in a hutong- a small niehgborhood area near the Forbidden City. These neighborhoods date back hundreds of years. Four homes share a courtyard and a community is born. These hutongs are "dying out" so to speak as the city knocks them down to build modern buildings. Many Beijingers love their space and don't want to move into government provided housing. However, the old people we interviewed there cited that no young kids want to live in the hutongs anymore, without technology, much privacy, or even steady flows of heat. However, we did notice some happy birds, fish, and turtles in the hutong courtyards. These are the three traditional pets for a Beijinger.
It seems to me that the Chinese are obsessed with heaven. Considering that they are a atheist nation, it is quite a paradox. The Forbidden City has 9,999 rooms. Only heaven is graced with the perfect number of rooms- 10,000. Notice the carvings on the stone pillars surrounding the Temple of Heaven- whispy clouds. When you think that a culture can be defined by it's art or art defined by a culture, it makes sense. You wouldn't see cloud carvings in Versailles, would you?

The Great Wall

We hiked 10km on the Great Wall. 36 of us started at the Jin Shan Ling end and the other 36 in our group started at Simatai. We met half way, in the middle, to eat our bagged Subway sandwiches. Leave it to the American School trip coordinator to get us American size sandwiches in the middle of China! It was steeper than I could have ever imagined. It was windy, hot, and breathtaking. Trees in full blossom painted the hills white and pink. I consider this hike on of the most amazing things I have ever done.

Beijing With Students

Beijing with 144 students. 5 days. Epic. Tian'an men Square, The Forbidden City, learning Tai Chi in the Temple of Heaven Park, learning to make dumplings with our cutie guide Steven, hiking 10km on the Great Wall, checking out Beijing's Olympic planning, travelling through the hutong neighborhoods in the heart of the city, and travelling home on the overnight train!

Hangzhou City of Heaven

An old Chinese expression says, "In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou." West Lake, epic and famous Chinese tourist site. National Park. Trees. Green everywhere. Hiking. Lakeside trails. Mountains. Tea houses. Bamboo forest in the Botanical Garden. This particular weekend, the blossoms were out. As was cotton candy, gigantic plastic fish, whole chicken face and feet on a plate, and the beginnings of my confidently spoken Mandarin.

Mah Jiang Brunch

I really really want to learn to play mah jiang. Chinese tile game played by millions of Chinese. Traditional game. Played in the streets. Played over hours. Old men and women hover over boards of tiles. Onlookers stare mesmerized. I want part of that action. Four goals: buy a mah jiang set, find a mah jiang teacher, find three mah jiang partners, win mah jiang. Kevin is eager to help. Teacher and tiles acquired. Invite Nina and Ben to play as well. Gruesome foursome. First warm weather of the spring allows us to play outside. Start with a delicious brunch on the patio, people are revved for the game. We all don sunglasses. One must be aware of spring fashion while playing mah jiang.
I will not go into details of the rules, but I will say that it is not easy. The tiles have Chinese numbers on them. 144 tiles in all. Different groups of tiles, pictures, characters, and combinations of numbers. AUGH! I must quickly learn the characters for these numbers. I take mad notes.
Nina and Ben are cut throat. Nina is struck by beginner's luck. She wins 6 or 7 times. Ben tries to side talk with Kevin in Chinese about strategy. NOT FAIR! Nina still beats Ben. Kevin could win at any moment of the game, he is just waiting for the best possible win with the best possible rare combination for a big win. I do not win at all. At least I cooked the most fabulous quiche and apple crumble to appease this tough crowd. Three out of four goals met.

More Dumplings

I first came to Shanghai 5 years ago. 2002. I went to a huge dumpling restaurant on Nanjing Dong Lu. Could I ever find it again? I remember eating river snake meat. Not that I wanted to have that experience again, but the dumplings.... They come steaming from the kitchen like little mysteries wrapped in dough. Fillings of pork, onions and chives, mushrooms, shredded chicken... I remember.
Then suddenly, one cold windy night Kevin brings me there. THIS IS THE PLACE!!!! I shouted! This is the exact place. Still no English menu, still order by the ounce, still arrive on two plates, alomst overflowing with the mystery packages. Kevin devours them, picking them up dexterously with his chopsticks and dips them in garlicky vinegar sauce (Chinese don't add soy sauce to their food, they cook with it and them dip food into vinegar). He eats four in the time it takes me to eat one. "Just stab them with your chopsticks, he explains!" Wo xi huan bao ze- I love dumplings and my Chinese is improving!! How many dumplings can you eat? Kevin wins.

Shanghai to Yangshuo trip

The Shanghai to Guilin flight serves very Asian snacks. Like squid floss lice. Dried pieces of squid. Lice?? Hmm... Dave, the Japanese-American adventure man loved it. Hmmm. Suspect.

Also suspect: our riverside hotel, the Yanghsuo mountain resort, was "rustic". This means doors open to the great outdoors and heat is not something that this chilly mountain resort knows much about. We spent one afternoon snuggled under blankets and clothes and hats, 15 minutes outside of town, along a mud road, far from the world... It didn't matter that we were stuck in the frigid room at the retreat (for the first night, at least!), Dave had brought US Weekly and People magazines from the states and we spent hours pouring over Britney drama. Had about 9,000 cups to tea and coffee, and didn't even freak when Dave lost his credit cards because, SNAP!, his blackberry AND cell phone worked in the throes of lost China countryside... and Citi was on the case....

After experiencing "rustic", we decided that maybe after one night in the bush we could go into town to a real hotel. The Paradise Hotel in downtown Guilin. In the same neighborhood as the hotel, we got our muddy boots cleaned for 25US cents and bought candied ginger, sesame seed candies and dined at the same little restaurant three nights in a row. Beer soaked fish with chilis, fried eggplant, noodles, and bowl after bowl of delicious rice. I can't wait to go back to this quaint town. I really mean town. After the small cities in China of 5 million people, this town really was cute. Only 60,000 people!!! Perhaps a cliche to say, but if you have ever seen a calligraphy painting of Chinese mountains or river scenes, chances are it was an image of Yangshuo. Absolutely gorgeous.