First Day
Trip Start
Jan 05, 2009
1
3
12
Trip End
Jan 26, 2009
Beijing,
China
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
around 6:30. After we got off the plane, which was a relief to say the least,
we went to baggage claim (My bag made it!) and met our tour guide for our days
in Beijing. We checked into our hotel, I made a phone call home, and was soon
sleeping. The hotel is really nice, the beds are really comfortable and the
hair dryer has to be one of the weirdest things I've ever seen, it looks a lot
more like a vacuum cleaner than anything else. Christie and I were out pretty
soon after checking in, and knew that our 6:30 wake-up call wouldn't be too
long.
I woke up at 6:30 this morning, showered and Christie and I joined the group
downstairs for breakfast. Probably one of the best breakfasts I have ever had.
After breakfast, I exchanged some of my money, so I would have some cash today
and we went back to room, grabbed our jackets and loaded the bus to head for
the Temple of Heaven. It was built in 1420. The grounds cover an area of
2,730,000m2 and took
only 10 months to build. The temple is the largest extant sacrificial temple in
China. When we first arrived we spent a few minutes on the grounds surrounding
the temple. Many Chinese people come to the grounds in the mornings for
dancing, exercise, games and even karaoke. When I say dancing, I mean, real
choreographed dancing. Every morning people come out, and partner up with a
stranger to dance. On the way back to the bus, a Chinese man offered me, what
looked like a tennis racket, only with a pouch and we passed it back and forth
for a while. The events surrounding the temple were so interesting, a lot of us
were thinking this would be a great addition to college coffee at Elon. When we
made it to the Temple of Heaven, all of us were very impressed with the size
and beauty of the structure. Our tour guide, David, (I wish I could recreate his laugh on the computer, because
it has been a benchmark of this trip) told us that Henry Kissinger has come to
the temple many times, and it is one of his favorite places. The structure is
made completely out of wood, there is no metals at all on the temple. The
temple and the stairs surrounding it are circular, as the Chinese believe
heaven is circular. The platform on which the Temple was built is square,
because the Chinese believed the earth was square. The Emperor would come to
the Temple of Heaven to perform a ceremony to request a good year, as the main
building is called, The Hall of Prayer for a Good Year. While looking around
the grounds I found the 70-year-old door which was added for an older emperor,
who was unable to walk the long distance, he was afraid that his successors
might use the door out of laziness, so he required that only emperors 70 years
or older could use the door.
After
leaving the Temple of Heaven, we went to Tian'an men Square. Tian'an men Square
is the center of Beijing, and is home to Mao's Memorial Hall, Te Great Hall of
People, The Museum of Chinese History, the People's Hero Monument and the
entrance of the Forbidden City. First, we went to Mao's Tomb. I can't explain
how intimidating this was. First, you are not allowed to take any bags,
cameras, anything in with you to see Mao's tomb, You go through security in
order to get in. You then form two lines at the bottom of the entrance.
Silently, you walk into a large room with a statue of Mao, and a giant tapestry
behind the statue, there is greenery at Mao's feet, and many Chinese people
bought flowers after going through security and lay them on the ground at the
Mao's feet. Then you walk into the room, containing Mao's body. You are not
allowed to stop, the security guards push you along if there are any gaps in
the line. Needless to say, I was on the heels of the guy in front of me the
whole time. Its amazing to see the position Mao still holds in China today.
After leaving Memorial Hall we met at the center of Tian'an men Square, beside
the People's Hero Monument, which is a tribute to the people who have died for
China. To our right was the Museum of the Chinese History, and Revolution, and
to our left was the Great Hall of People , which houses government and banking
offices. In front of us was Mao's portrait and the Tian'an men Tower. We took a
group photo in front of the Chinese flag which is raised a lowered daily. Dr.
Crowe & Dr. Xiao purchased a Beijing book, with all the sites and
description as well as a group photo for all of us on the trip, which is a
great souvenir. After we left Tian'an Men Square heading for the Forbidden
City, we stopped for lunch. When you have a meal in China, you all sit around a
big table, and in the middle is a giant Lazy Susan. We had sweet and sour pork,
French fries, a chicken dish, pepper steak, another beef dish, rice, fish,
cabbage, egg drop soup, and a few other things I couldn't identify. It was a
fabulous meal, and it was fun to experience Chinese cuisine as a group.
After eating we went to the
Forbidden City. The place is huge. Once you enter there are two great halls,
then we went to see the bed chambers and concubines' rooms, as well as the
Imperial Garden. The size and detail of the Palace is incredible, its hard to
believe that something so old could be that detailed and overwhelmingly large.
There is a moat surrounding the entire palace, and even today, entrance fees
apply to everyone, even tour groups with permits, which still gives it a
"forbidden" element, as our tour guide told us. The group photo we took inside
the Forbidden city, includes our group and about 10 Chinese people. Every group
picture we took, Chinese people all gathered around to take pictures with their
cameras. There are two black guys
on the trip, and left and right people are taking pictures with them, also,
Craig, who is about 6'9" has been approached a lot and there are about 5 of us
blondes, and people are always staring and taking pictures when we are together
in a group. The Forbidden City was beautiful and overwhelming. We were supposed
to leave for the Summer Palace after walking through the Forbidden City, but
everyone was exhausted, so we are putting that off until Friday before we leave
Beijing. The pollution is pretty noticeable, my roommate has had a sore throat
and her eyes have been bothering her a lot. Dr. Crowe said within 3-4 days we
might start having symptoms from the pollution, it seems it only took her about
3-4 hours. Beijing is really unique in the way it is both modernized and
traditional. I feel very safe here. Today after getting off the bus, Christie
and I walked down to the convenient store, and tonight a bunch of us are
planning to spend some time in the city. Tonight we are going to have a traditional
Peking Duck Dinner, which is a very popular meal here in Beijing. I'll have
another update soon! Enjoy the pictures
Love, Anna
Comments
YOUR DAD
HOPE U HAVING FUN AND LEARNING A LOT KINDA WISH I WAS WITH U TO SHOW SOME OF THETHINGS I LEARNED I KNOW U ALREADY GONE FROM BEIJING BUT HERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE RESTAURANT IN CHINA THAT SERVES FOOD MADE FROM VEGTABLES BUT TAST LIKE MEAT U MAY ASK IT IS CALLED THE VEGETABLE RESTAURANT.MOM IS HAVING TRO UBLE SENDINF POST HER ID AND USERNAME IS MESSED UP.OOO PUT YOURSELF IN SOME PHOTOS
have a good time
have a nice trip in China!