| Submitted by: Mark NowakUnited States |
| Submission Date: 04 February 2005 |
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They gave her a couple of pieces of cloth to twirl around in her hands while keeping her balance on the two ladders and keeping the construction balanced on her nose. She then did everything in reverse without dropping a glass.
It was a great show, but the theater was cold. I was sitting far enough on the left that I could see performers in the wings rubbing their hands together to stay warm. After that, I pretty much just collapsed when I got back to my room.
Thursday, March 17 -- Nanpu Bridge, Jade Buddha Temple, Children's Palace
This morning we found ourselves taking our bus over Nanpu Bridge to the east side of the Huangpu River. The bridge is one of the largest suspension bridges in Asia. It was so high that we had to drive up a circular ramp to reach the crossing elevation. On the other side of the river we saw even more construction. We crossed back near the new TV tower. We stopped for lunch near the Peoples Park along Najing Road. We had time before lunch, so Miroslaw and I explored the park. There were a number of people relaxing, some doing Tai Chi. There were various artworks scattered throughout the park. In one spot we even found people ballroom dancing. Miroslaw and I talked briefly with some girls we met who gave us some of their snack food. It was made of bean curd I think and was very salty. We also stopped into their library and couldn't find a book we could read.
After lunch, we went to the Jade Buddha Temple. In order to enter the room where the Jade Buddha can be found, we all had to take our shoes off. No pictures were allowed. Afterwards, we visited the Shanghai Exhibition Centre which was mostly a lot of stores in a Russian style building. I walked around quite a bit. It was there that the sun finally came out. We were wondering if we'd see it before we left.
Our next stop was the Children's Palace which is basically an after school school for gifted students. The cuteness of the children I saw is beyond description. There was one little girl outside who seemed to be waiting to get picked up looked particularly adorable. Nevertheless, I couldn't figure out a way to legally bring her home with me. We were led into a room where we were served tea and the dean of the school told us through Mr. Yu of the training the students receive there. The pride in her voice was well evident. We were able to see students play instruments, play piano and flute, sing in a chorus, work on computers, practice caligraphy and English typing and in one room grab tourists and make them dance. This one little girl took my hands and dragged me out on the floor and made me dance.
Miroslaw was bored with the school, but I liked it. Of course, we were then led to a little store and told that the money the store generates helps fund the activities for the kids. And so I bought myself a silk tie.
We then went to dinner. In order to get into the restaurant we had to cross a street. Someone from the restaurant actually stopped bicycle traffic so we could cross. Miroslaw didn't much care for the Chinese food. He walked around looking for bargains before we had to leave.
Our next stop was the airport. This would be our first flight on China Air which has the worst record of any airline I was told. Our flight was China Air 930 to Beijing leaving at 8:20. We were flying a 747 without assigned seats. Fortunately, we got on early and had no trouble sitting down. Miroslaw sat across the aisle from me as the plane filled up. He asked a woman to join him and she did. Much to his unhappiness though the kids sat next to us as well, and he wasn't too thrilled with them.
He and I were making each other die laughing during the flight -- much of it at the expense of the guy who sat in front of me. Fortunately in that case, Polish isn't a very popular language. The landing went smoothly, but what followed was quite a sight. In the U.S. as in most places I've been most people pretty much stay in their seats until the plane reaches the terminal. Well, not these people. As soon as the plane touched ground people were getting out of their seats and moving towards the exits. I've never seen such a mad rush on a moving 747.
After a little confusion, we regrouped in the airport. Tony had gone ahead to check on the 20 people we were meeting up with. A woman guard blocked our passage out of the airport and Tony wasn't around. So we just flashed some American smiles until she melted and waved us through.
We met the others and took a very modern highway to the Beijing Toronto Hotel. The city still wasn't bright, but it was very clean and spacious compared to Shanghai. Still, Beijing has over 11 million people. The hotel was very nice indeed. This time I was in room 6029 and every time I used my key at the lock there was a massive spark -- gotta love long corridors and carpets. After our luggage was brought up to our rooms, I just crashed again.
Friday, March 18 -- BEIJING: Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City
Our guide to Beijing (which means Northern Capital) was David Jow (that's what it sounded like anyway). He would tell jokes and suggest we sing 'Row Row Row Your Boat' in the bus. I don't plan on admitting to any singing. After breakfast, we took our bus to Tian An Men (the Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square where we had some time to explore.
The square is so huge it reminded me of Washington D.C. The government prevents any tall buildings from being built around it to keep them from competing with the ones already there. The square has the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution in the east, the Great Hall of the People on the west. Centrally located in the 98-acre space is Mao's mausoleum and the tall monolithic monument to the People's Heroes. I walked around and took some pictures, but we didn't get as much time there as I would have liked.
Our next stop was the Forbidden City which was built by the second Ming emperor, Yongle, in 1421. It was much bigger than I had expected, and after a while, it started to all look alike. We spent too much time here. It was neat, however, to see where they used to give 3-day exams that determined your status in society. Some would die during the course of them or kill themselves afterwards if they failed.
We then made a quick stop at the Temple of Heaven. It was a big temple in a big park where the emporer used to pray for a good harvest. While driving around, I noticed that the scaffolding used in Beijing was metal and no longer bamboo. Also, there were small greenhouses using plastic for cover scattered around so that the inhabitants could grow vegetables throughout the year. Every now and then we caught glimpses of the canal that I heard is so long it winds all the way towards Shanghai. Another cool fact I picked up was that you don't need a prescription for birth control pills in China.
Our next stop was the Summer Palace. It was absolutely beautiful. The Qing architecture, Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill made for a spectacular setting. Most of us walked down the 760 meter Long Corridor which had ornate paintings decorating it every step of the way. We saw a huge boat made of marble before we made or way back to the bus.
Another thing I had noticed about the local people was that many people had stained crooked teeth. I suppose orthodontists are scarce and that the stains come mostly from the fact that people smoke more in China than in any other country. Actually, I was surprised at how many people in our tour group smoked. It was most annoying. That was another aspect of our group that Miroslaw disliked.
That evening many of us attend a duck dinner show. The dinner was elaborate, but by this time something in me had cracked. It refused to be lied to anymore -- I WAS SICK OF THE FOOD!!! I swear this time I felt they were trying to weird me out, pushing me to the edge with bizarre food that in no way could I convince myself I liked. I missed burgers and anything my mom could cook. I found myself spiraling into a depression I couldn't escape. One good part of dinner was Miroslaw making fun of the women at our table in Polish. You see, he couldn't stand what he refered to as their cackling as they talked about all manner of irrelevant topics. He'd make remarks implying that the reason these women were traveling without their husbands was because their husbands had killed themselves from not being able to withstand hearing their conversations. Miroslaw also didn't hide his distaste for the food. He had me in stitches at times.
The show was disappointing with lip singing and mostly pre-recorded music. It went on forever. Apparently I wasn't the only one who couldn't wait for it to end. This time before collapsing on my bed I definitely had some chocolate bars. If I had known this is what was in store for us at dinner, I would have joined Joanne and Diane at the opera. This evening was undoubtedly my worst during the tour. |
Saturday, March 19 -- Ming Tombs and the Great Wall
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I got up at 6:00 this morning. On our way to the Ming Tombs we stopped at a cloisonne factory/store where we spent too much time. It turned out that Lauren ended up sitting next to me on the bus all day which turned out to be a lot of fun. At the Ming Tombs where 13 of the 15 Ming emperors have tombs we walked down the Spirit Way which has all kinds of stone animals on both sides of the road. Music could be heard from speakers along the route. We then went into the Underground Palace which is the only tomb that has been excavated -- I thought that was kind of weird. The place was crowded and no pictures wre allowed inside.
Things got much better when we arrived at the Badaling section of the Great Wall. The Wall is one of the wonders of the world. It's about a 1000 miles long and can be viewed from the Space Shuttle but not from the moon like some people think. Construction began around 700 B.C., but it wasn't until after the unification of the first Qin (sounds like Chin which is where China got its name) that the different sections were unified.
There were many vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs there. Climbing up the steps to get onto the Wall, you can either go south (to the left) which has a steeper climb or to the north (the right). I chose to go south. Miroslaw followed. From the Wall you can see it snaking across and around hills for miles in each direction. There are towers spaced far enough apart where soldiers could communicate with each other. There are also vendors all along the tower trying to sell postcards, T-shirts and sweatshirts.
I eventually made my way all the way to the 7th Tower south where the wall isn't in as good a shape. I stopped at a small monument on my way back and then went all the way to the 4th Tower north before coming back. I ended up buying a 'I Climbed the Great Wall' sweatshirt for 14 yuan and 1 dollar (or just under $3). I had been straing to cover that much distance especially the trip north. Climbing up to the towers was quite strenuous which is exactly what I was looking for. I was out of breath by the time I reached my last tower.
On our way back to the bus, six guys tried to mug Tony. He put up a fight, and they just walked away. Miroslaw suggested that since we didn't see this happen, instead of six guys it could have just been a little girl who gave Tony a funny look. On our way back to Beijing our driver got a speeding ticket, and we passed by the Lama Temple.
Dinner was in the Temple of the Sun Park near the embassy area. The style was Sichuan which is known for being spicy. Again, I went to sleep early, deciding not to look walk over to the McDonalds, the Pizza Hut or the KFC. It hadn't helped that Tony hadn't joined us and had stayed in the hotel to have a hamburger dinner. |
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