A Trip to Beijing

Sorry it’s been a while since my last post. Time is fleeting!

We took a whirlwind trip to Beijing over the last weekend. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get close to the Olympic venues (still under construction) and it was hazy so distance pictures aren’t very clear. But we did see the Bird’s Nest and the Bubble Pool building. I’ve posted the new pictures.

The Temple of Heaven was our first stop. Very interesting in that the grounds are now a public park. Many retiree’s were playing instruments, practicing Tai Chi, and basically socializing in great numbers. The temple area was very beautiful with vivid colors and immense architecture. A high point for me was finding a small lizard in the trunk of a hemlock-like tree on the grounds (I know, it takes so little to amuse me!). Tiananmen Square was smaller than I expected. I remember thinking how large it seemed seeing it during the student lead riots many years ago. I can still see the image of the young man stopping the tank by standing there alone; I am still amazed at his bravery.

The lines at Mao’s mausoleum were very long and our guide was less than interested in us walking through to say ‘Howdy!’. So we crossed the square into the Forbidden City. One of the clearest images I have is of the guards at the front yelling at the crowd, waving their arms for us all to hurry and move in. Of course, there wasn’t that much room left to cram more people into this artifact. It was very interesting to here some of the uses for the different sections. Much of the buildings were under renovation before the Olympic rush. Unfortunately, our timing was bad and the crowds were enormous. In the City, you enter from the front, walk through and exit at the rear of the complex. The small gardens at the back of the complex were very enjoyable.

A quick trip was to the Summer Palace. Really a short trip but with the worst traffic snarl I have had the pleasure to ever see. When we got into the palace grounds it was a bit of a let down. There were so many people there (a holiday) that at times you stood still waiting for people to start moving again. There a couple of nice pictures posted.

After we left the area (after dodging beggars and entrepreneur salesmen), we had a brief rest and went to the Red Theater to see Chun Yi and the Legend of Kung Fu. This was an enjoyable evening. The show, designed for western tourists, was full of martial arts choreography and percussive music. Since we hadn’t walked enough for the day, we walked the 40 minutes back to the hotel. A cool clear evening.

The next full day was the visit to the Great Wall. It truly is a wonder to see. The section was at the JuYongGuan pass. The pass is very steep and high, not an easy climb. I’ve posted many photos that give a perspective of the height and the effort put into building this Wall. On another note, it was splendid to be away from a city, to see trees and breathe fresh air. It took me 2 hours to climb up to the peak and back. A side trip back took us to the Ming Tomb.

We followed the trip with a show called Beijing Chaoyang Theater Acrobatics World. Very enjoyable circus like show again meant for western tourists.

During our open time, we walked through the New World Mall. Typical brand names and close to brand name clothes mostly. The prices were crazy high, above the reach of most of the Chinese I have met and most Americans.
Funny thing, though. This mall has an indoor ice skating rink. So we decided to take a picture of it. I snapped a shot and as Josh was getting to do the same, Security Man swoops in yelling that there will be no photo taking. Heaven forbid that the western world know about such things! Imagine if we had Malls with ice skating rinks!

Should have taken that as an omen. Tomorrow: The Great Toothpaste Incident

Until then,
jeff!