Waiting now and taking my time.
CHINA: PART FOUR
We left for Beijing by overnight train at 7:30pm on December 15. A 12 hour train ride isn’t so bad when you’re given bunk beds to sleep the trip away in. We even got given little dinner bags, which weren’t the most filling of meals, so it was lucky we bought plenty of cup noodles and snacks with us. Getting water was a bit of a mission as we navigated our way through several narrow carriages to get to the dining car. Our train arrived slightly earlier than expected so we were all woken up and told to quickly get our things together. The crisp Beijing morning certainly helped wake us up. We were given time to shower, have breakfast sneak in a very quick nap before being carted off to lunch. It seemed the meals never ended on this trip.
After lunch we spent the afternoon at the Temple of Heaven which was quite spectacular. It was a typical Beijing tourist attraction - very big = lots of walking. Despite this we were treated to some interesting Chinese architecture and even by just walking around the place I could feel ancient stories unfolding. The curved echo wall was of particular interest. Although we looked a little silly shouting into the wall we figured it out and managed to hold a conversation with two groups on either side of the courtyard. It was simple science but it still amazed us. Before dinner we had a quick stop at the Hongqiao markets, which weren’t as interesting as previous markets we had visited. Plus there was an off-putting stench of fish on the ground floor and the vendors here were a lot tougher to bargain with. Our dinner that night was steamboat, only we were given individual gas burners and pots to cook our meals in. It was the perfect meal for a chilly winter’s night.
The next day was just as busy with places to visit. We started bright and early at Tiananmen Square, a significant site in contemporary Chinese history. Even though the place was teeming with tourists and security personnel it had a peaceful calmness about it, which made it hard to imagine such violent events had taken place there. This was and is the people’s square, after all. While we were there we popped into Mao’s Mausoleum, which was pretty anti-climactic considering it was a wax model, though at least I can say I’ve been through it. I find it odd how they make such a big deal about him being a great leader, yet when you step out of the mausoleum you’re hounded by vendors selling tacky Mao souvenirs like bobble heads, which I think are an inappropriate way to remember one’s legacy.
Anyway, after having a group portrait taken we moved on to the Forbidden City which was much more interesting, even if sights within the city walls started getting a little repetitive. Its labyrinthine size was remarkable and yet we only saw a fraction of it. I’ve decided I need to return to all these places during a warmer climate, not because the cold bothered me, but it is a hassle trying to operate two cameras when wearing thick gloves and bulky jackets!
In the afternoon we went on a small tour of the Hutong district. Our mode of transportation for this tour was rickshaw. The two-seaters were pulled along by bicycle and as expected we all got a little competitive, urging our drivers to ride faster. I’m not entirely convinced on their practicality, though the tourists seem to love them and we all certainly found them fun. The rickety hustle and bustle of the rickshaws over the stone roads and the occasional bump into other rickshaws gave me flashbacks of the
dodgems back in Guangzhou.
We made three stops while in the Hutong district. The first was to visit a local house, which for some reason reminded me of old Chinese television shows my Ma Ma used to watch. The design and layout of the house was interesting, very traditional but with a slight modern touch. The second stop was a stroll down the main shopping street. There was a man there, probably a few sandwiches short of a picnic, announcing that people could pay to watch him eat live snakes or turtles. The turtle he was waving around didn’t look very alive to me, and some of us found this rather distressing so we kept our distance. The shops were small but full of character, much like what you would find in a small New Zealand town. One of the local bars - Shut Up Just Drink - caught our attention with its hilarious list of bar rules (#2: No shit in our toilet but u can pee). The third and final stop was at a local preschool for deaf children. Suffice to say everyone fell in love with these kids, who even knew how to work it for our cameras! Their teachers told us about how they learn and what sort of activities they do at school. It’s a shame we could only stay for so long because their smiles and laughs were so infectious!
Once the Hutong tour was over we paid our rickshaw drivers for their hard work and got back onto our boring bus. We rested up for a few hours before our long-awaited Peking duck dinner. A few of us had sworn of all poultry during the trip, but tonight it seemed everyone was immune from the bird flu. We watched with eager stomachs as they brought the ducks out into the dining room and carved them up in front of us. We were like kids in a candy store as we piled duck, spring onions and sauce onto our pancakes. Our table received a challenge from my Aunty Janet: if we could finish the duck soup, she would get us another duck. We stepped up, polished off the soup (which was not as bad as most people made it out to be) and the third duck with little trouble. Some of us (I won’t name names) were a little incapacitated for a couple of hours after dinner - the term ‘duck coma’ was thrown around. I wouldn’t let the duck overcome me, so I took an hour to walk it off. I felt fine afterwards, if a little disgusted with myself for eating so much! But the meal definitely lived up to expectations and at the end of the day, good food is good food, just savour the memory!
Day three in Beijing began just as early with a visit to the grand Summer Palace. Again, we were only shown a small fraction of it, but we got the gist. I found the Summer Palace a lot more interesting than the Forbidden City in all aspects, from the natural to the man-made. I was disappointed that I couldn’t walk the entire length of the outdoor corridor as sections of it were closed for refurbishment. It seems China is very fervent in their preparations for the Beijing games, renovating and tidying up all their cultural and historical sites. It would be great to pop back in 2008 to see how things have changed - if you’re willing to battle the crowds that will be descending on the city. Our Beijing tour guide informed us that 400 new hotels were being built to accommodate all the tourists, at the expense of hundreds of smaller and older buildings that were being demolished right before our eyes.
After a morning of constant walking, our first afternoon stop was a low-impact visit to China Gourmet Tea for a tasting. These teas were a lot different to the green teas we had sampled back in Hangzhou; they were from the jasmine and oolong family of teas and exhibited bolder, more extreme flavours. I found that the teas had very pleasant and enticing aromas, but the textures were far too strong for my personal tastes. I guess most people felt the same as the hostess didn’t make many sales off us. I don’t think it was down to a lack of funds because we all went a little crazy at our next stop, the Ya Show markets. Yes, more shopping - more bags, more shoes, more Polo’s…we were insatiable! Once we got the shopping out of our system we went to the most amazing restaurant for dinner.
We were split up into four small private rooms. Ours had a view of the indoor traditional Chinese garden, complete with a ‘lake’ and pagoda. There were also some very still goldfish in the water which we were worried might be dead. Once we were finished we were bundles straight back onto the bus to head to a show at the Laoshe’s Tea House. The show was essentially a Chinese variety show incorporating many different performances: orchestral, vocal soloists, Beijing opera, magic, dance and even stand-up comedy. Some of the earlier acts, where an understanding of mandarin was essential, were a little tough to follow, but things got better as the show progressed. The highlight had to be the final performance, a dance incorporating split-second mask changes that had the audience cheering at each switch. At the end of the night we were all pretty exhausted, and we knew we had to rest up for our biggest day yet.
We left for Beijing by overnight train at 7:30pm on December 15. A 12 hour train ride isn’t so bad when you’re given bunk beds to sleep the trip away in. We even got given little dinner bags, which weren’t the most filling of meals, so it was lucky we bought plenty of cup noodles and snacks with us. Getting water was a bit of a mission as we navigated our way through several narrow carriages to get to the dining car. Our train arrived slightly earlier than expected so we were all woken up and told to quickly get our things together. The crisp Beijing morning certainly helped wake us up. We were given time to shower, have breakfast sneak in a very quick nap before being carted off to lunch. It seemed the meals never ended on this trip.
After lunch we spent the afternoon at the Temple of Heaven which was quite spectacular. It was a typical Beijing tourist attraction - very big = lots of walking. Despite this we were treated to some interesting Chinese architecture and even by just walking around the place I could feel ancient stories unfolding. The curved echo wall was of particular interest. Although we looked a little silly shouting into the wall we figured it out and managed to hold a conversation with two groups on either side of the courtyard. It was simple science but it still amazed us. Before dinner we had a quick stop at the Hongqiao markets, which weren’t as interesting as previous markets we had visited. Plus there was an off-putting stench of fish on the ground floor and the vendors here were a lot tougher to bargain with. Our dinner that night was steamboat, only we were given individual gas burners and pots to cook our meals in. It was the perfect meal for a chilly winter’s night.
The next day was just as busy with places to visit. We started bright and early at Tiananmen Square, a significant site in contemporary Chinese history. Even though the place was teeming with tourists and security personnel it had a peaceful calmness about it, which made it hard to imagine such violent events had taken place there. This was and is the people’s square, after all. While we were there we popped into Mao’s Mausoleum, which was pretty anti-climactic considering it was a wax model, though at least I can say I’ve been through it. I find it odd how they make such a big deal about him being a great leader, yet when you step out of the mausoleum you’re hounded by vendors selling tacky Mao souvenirs like bobble heads, which I think are an inappropriate way to remember one’s legacy.
Anyway, after having a group portrait taken we moved on to the Forbidden City which was much more interesting, even if sights within the city walls started getting a little repetitive. Its labyrinthine size was remarkable and yet we only saw a fraction of it. I’ve decided I need to return to all these places during a warmer climate, not because the cold bothered me, but it is a hassle trying to operate two cameras when wearing thick gloves and bulky jackets!
In the afternoon we went on a small tour of the Hutong district. Our mode of transportation for this tour was rickshaw. The two-seaters were pulled along by bicycle and as expected we all got a little competitive, urging our drivers to ride faster. I’m not entirely convinced on their practicality, though the tourists seem to love them and we all certainly found them fun. The rickety hustle and bustle of the rickshaws over the stone roads and the occasional bump into other rickshaws gave me flashbacks of the
dodgems back in Guangzhou.
We made three stops while in the Hutong district. The first was to visit a local house, which for some reason reminded me of old Chinese television shows my Ma Ma used to watch. The design and layout of the house was interesting, very traditional but with a slight modern touch. The second stop was a stroll down the main shopping street. There was a man there, probably a few sandwiches short of a picnic, announcing that people could pay to watch him eat live snakes or turtles. The turtle he was waving around didn’t look very alive to me, and some of us found this rather distressing so we kept our distance. The shops were small but full of character, much like what you would find in a small New Zealand town. One of the local bars - Shut Up Just Drink - caught our attention with its hilarious list of bar rules (#2: No shit in our toilet but u can pee). The third and final stop was at a local preschool for deaf children. Suffice to say everyone fell in love with these kids, who even knew how to work it for our cameras! Their teachers told us about how they learn and what sort of activities they do at school. It’s a shame we could only stay for so long because their smiles and laughs were so infectious!
Once the Hutong tour was over we paid our rickshaw drivers for their hard work and got back onto our boring bus. We rested up for a few hours before our long-awaited Peking duck dinner. A few of us had sworn of all poultry during the trip, but tonight it seemed everyone was immune from the bird flu. We watched with eager stomachs as they brought the ducks out into the dining room and carved them up in front of us. We were like kids in a candy store as we piled duck, spring onions and sauce onto our pancakes. Our table received a challenge from my Aunty Janet: if we could finish the duck soup, she would get us another duck. We stepped up, polished off the soup (which was not as bad as most people made it out to be) and the third duck with little trouble. Some of us (I won’t name names) were a little incapacitated for a couple of hours after dinner - the term ‘duck coma’ was thrown around. I wouldn’t let the duck overcome me, so I took an hour to walk it off. I felt fine afterwards, if a little disgusted with myself for eating so much! But the meal definitely lived up to expectations and at the end of the day, good food is good food, just savour the memory!
Day three in Beijing began just as early with a visit to the grand Summer Palace. Again, we were only shown a small fraction of it, but we got the gist. I found the Summer Palace a lot more interesting than the Forbidden City in all aspects, from the natural to the man-made. I was disappointed that I couldn’t walk the entire length of the outdoor corridor as sections of it were closed for refurbishment. It seems China is very fervent in their preparations for the Beijing games, renovating and tidying up all their cultural and historical sites. It would be great to pop back in 2008 to see how things have changed - if you’re willing to battle the crowds that will be descending on the city. Our Beijing tour guide informed us that 400 new hotels were being built to accommodate all the tourists, at the expense of hundreds of smaller and older buildings that were being demolished right before our eyes.
After a morning of constant walking, our first afternoon stop was a low-impact visit to China Gourmet Tea for a tasting. These teas were a lot different to the green teas we had sampled back in Hangzhou; they were from the jasmine and oolong family of teas and exhibited bolder, more extreme flavours. I found that the teas had very pleasant and enticing aromas, but the textures were far too strong for my personal tastes. I guess most people felt the same as the hostess didn’t make many sales off us. I don’t think it was down to a lack of funds because we all went a little crazy at our next stop, the Ya Show markets. Yes, more shopping - more bags, more shoes, more Polo’s…we were insatiable! Once we got the shopping out of our system we went to the most amazing restaurant for dinner.
We were split up into four small private rooms. Ours had a view of the indoor traditional Chinese garden, complete with a ‘lake’ and pagoda. There were also some very still goldfish in the water which we were worried might be dead. Once we were finished we were bundles straight back onto the bus to head to a show at the Laoshe’s Tea House. The show was essentially a Chinese variety show incorporating many different performances: orchestral, vocal soloists, Beijing opera, magic, dance and even stand-up comedy. Some of the earlier acts, where an understanding of mandarin was essential, were a little tough to follow, but things got better as the show progressed. The highlight had to be the final performance, a dance incorporating split-second mask changes that had the audience cheering at each switch. At the end of the night we were all pretty exhausted, and we knew we had to rest up for our biggest day yet.