Famous in Beijing

Onto the rest of the Beijing trip..

real cosy metro rides under the city

On Tuesday, we again set out early. This time our direction was towards the summer palace.  This is where Empress Cixi diverted navy funds to create her own sort of Versailles. And grand and extravagant it was. The area was huge and there were hordes of people. The woodwork was interesting, and the marble boat that isn’t functional. I don’t think my legs were very excited to be used for walking again so soon after the Great Wall.  After lunch, we planned to go back to the hostel and take a break but after a RedBull and snickers, we remembered that we were in BEIJING and there was no time for breaks!

Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake

The marble pleasure barge. Forever docked.

We then went to a hutong which is a traditional narrow street that are individually known for their crafts. They would be Cobbler’s Street, Taylor’s Street, etc. This one, down the block from our destination of a Buddhist temple, had turned commercial from all the tourist traffic. But I Loved it. Oh my, I almost felt at home. Fixie bikes, cute little craft vendors, beer and veggie cafes, and a sign in a window saying “We will refill your re-usable water container for free.” After we pulled ourselves away from there, we went to the “Lama Temple” which is the largest Buddhist Temple in Beijing. The greenery and smell of incense further calmed me. We joined in offering incense for good blessings and wishes.

I said "I'm American!" and he said, "It's too expensive there!"

After, we stopped outside the second largest Confucius Temple and college in China. Following that and dinner, we continued our saga-like day and went to the “Olympic Park”. The area is best seen at night when all the arenas are still lit up. Tourists and vendors were swarming still. One thing that I have noticed is that the Chinese still marvel at their history and love to experience it whether from the age of emperors or 2008.

On Wednesday, we slept in. Finally. Then we hit the day at full force with Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  The square (“of Heavenly Peace”), known for many important historical gatherings, holds Mao’s body, the People’s Congress, multiple museums, and lots and lots of people. We didn’t deign to get swallowed up. Across the street we got our photos taken with Chairman Mao’s famous portrait as well as portraits with many local Chinese. It is not uncommon when there is a group of us posing for pictures, that locals will stop and take ours too. Sometimes, they even join in. Today was that occurrence x1000. Take the capital city, national holiday, rural folks, and foreign ladies and you get children pushed up against your legs, shy people edging in close, and bold people bluntly asking for photos with them. CELEBRITIES. By the end of the day, our egos were bursting and we would boldly pose for people who were still trying to slyly take our photo.

Looking down at the Forbidden City // Outside the gates wit Michelle and Ling

The Forbidden City recorded about 180,000 people on Monday and Wednesday they surely must have been about the same. Fortunately, it’s huge. Over 9,000 rooms that the emperors of old frolicked in. I really enjoyed this place. We also liked that by flashing our drivers license, we were able to get in under student discounts as the cashiers were not in the mood to check closely.

That night, we went for famous Peking (roast) Duck. They bring it out and slice it like artists and leave you with every part of it. (Including the cleaned bones). I had a nibble.  Then we went to Wangfujing Night Market where I followed up with a dessert of “Scorpion on a Stick”. I thought about Penn State’s Ag Fair and realized that if I was going to eat grasshopper in the states, I might as well eat scorpion in China. They were still squirming on the stick when the cook pressed them on the grill. When we bit into them, they weren’t quite dead but really, we were doing them a service. How did it taste? Crunchy. Not much else to them. The seahorses and starfishes I left to others with less of a conscious. In the later evening, we went to  GulouDajie bar street which surrounds HouHai Lake. It is a very pretty area, and very expensive!

enjoying the crunchy exoskeleton

On Thursday, we got up and headed to the Temple of Heaven. Pretty, but at this point I was very weary of crowds and meandering walking. We got some famous Beijing noodles (not bad) for lunch and then headed to the train station! All went smoothly again, and I was happy to be home on my hard bed.

close to Heaven

Overall, a great time. I was willing to put up with the crowds to see things I NEVER thought I would have the chance or motivation to see. I did not expect to find myself in China, but while I am here I will be immersing myself and broadening my horizons on a completely new culture. And I’m proud of myself for it.