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| Great Wall of China (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
To enjoy a visit to Beijing, China you must be willing to accept and submit to the assault this city will be sure to have on all of your senses. Don’t fight it…just give in! The sights will astound you, the sounds will excite you and the smells…well the smells can best be compared to the shock of an ice cold shower when you first awaken. All of this before you even leave the airport. You must also be willing to accept these elements very quickly or else you will be left in a head-spinning, tailwind going nowhere. To understand China a little more, you must also be willing to put aside a lot of what you’ve become accustomed to in the West, and be open to the experience you’ll be sure find severely different in far East. If you have the opportunity to go to China, especially Beijing, go with an open mind. I went there not expecting anything and left with a new-found awareness for the Chinese culture.
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| Emperor's Silk Robe (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
Being alone in such a megatropolis is one of the most intimidating situations to be in. You become lost the moment you step into the bustling crowds. If you don’t know a few key survival words, you’ll be lost. Be sure to learn some if you plan on visiting.
My Beijing experience begins with a tour of the Ming Tombs. I visited Chang Ling (where the first Emperor Yongle in Beijing and his Empress Xu are buried). The tombs themselves are not open for public viewing, but the museum and monument to the Emperor are quite fascinating. There is an impressive statue of the Emperor in the middle of the museum. You can’t miss it!
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| Emperor Yongle (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
My excitement was uncontainable as the next experience was the Great Wall of China. Did you hear me? I visited the Great Wall of China! The Wall (1,700 years old) at Badaling (this section is from the Ming Dynasty), is the most famous and best-preserved section of the Wall. The moment you see the first sighting of the Wall, it’s breathtaking! Once you are one the Wall, it’s one of the most surreal experiences you can have. Nothing can prepare you for the feeling you get once you are there. There are expansive views that go on as far as the eye can see through the mountains. I tried hard to block out the hoardes of tourists who were climbing the Wall and tried to envision it in its purest serenity. I could just have stared at the Wall for days and still not believed where I was. The Wall is approximately 6,000 miles long, but only a mere faction (one mile) of that distance is open to tourists. During building, it is reported that about one million people died and are buried in the Wall.
After the excitement of the Great Wall, I saw a Chinese acrobatic show. The Chinese take this craft very seriously. The show was fascinating.
Next day was a city tour beginning in Tian’anmen Square. The 1989 incident, which I had only seen on TV and read in the news, was amplified by the expansive area that is Tian’anmen Square. Right next door is Chairman Mao’s mausoleum. Experiencing this with hundreds of thousands of other people was mind-boggling. No one can speak freely of the “incident” that happened in the Square, but being there and knowing the history took me back to the time when the event happened.
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| Nine Dragon Screen (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
The Forbidden City...wow! Where to begin is exactly the feeling when you start exploring this area. It is an endless expanse of temples, gardens, land and more gardens and land. As I wandered around the compound, I was taken back to my childhood days growing up in Trinidad, running around with no shoes. The temples stand impressively as you approach them, and they invite you to peek in and see what stories they tell about events that happened hundreds of years ago. The Summer Palace (largest imperial garden) also known in China as a museum of gardens. The Temple of Heaven is also a sight to behold. The Nine Dragon Screen of the Place Museum is a display of nine dragons each painted with a different color.
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| Jade Chinese Cabbage (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
I visited a jade factory (government-owned and operated, of course) and learned how to tell the difference between real and fake jade. Jade is a living organism and needs water or moisture at all times. There were many exotic creations at the Jade Factory which were made on-site. The pieces were very creative and represented many of the things that the Chinese people believe. For example, the color green means good luck, a Chinese cabbage is supposed to bring you good luck, etc.
Visiting the silk factory was also amazing. I saw how silk thread is turned into the most beautiful pieces of fabric used for linen and clothing. The work to turn the threads in fabric is cumbersome and much patience is needed.
Driving is pretty intense on the highway. In most countries, the shoulder of the road is reserved for emergencies and the like, but in China, the shoulder apparently serves the purpose of a passing lane. On any given day, there are hundreds of fender benders in China. I witnessed several dozen during the National Day holiday on my way to the Great Wall. There are so many cars on the street, and the streets are so congested that this is not so surprising there are not many, many more accidents.
I visited a traditional Chinese medicine shop (which was one that used to provide herbs and medicine to the last emperor of China) where a Chinese doctor took my pulse and was able to tell me a couple of things that were going on in my body. He was exactly on point with his diagnosis.
I saw a traditional Peking Opera at Liyuan Theatre. Honestly, it took a lot of effort to sit through this opera. To Westerners, this show would be unbearable because of the tones used by the performers, but the Peking Opera has a very long history and played a very serious role in entertaining the Emperors. The performers take their craft seriously and are very meticulous in applying their makeup and getting dressed, before the performance begins. The Chinese language is very tonal, and these tones carry over into the performance of the actors. They are not tones that a Westerner has ever heard nor is accustomed to.
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| Sleeping Panda at Beijing Zoo (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
We all know that a visit to China without going to a panda house, would be a unheard of. Seeing the Pandas in the Panda House at the Beijing Zoo was thrilling. Even though they were mostly sleeping or just lazing around, it was exciting to see them in China in their original habitat. The Chinese are very proud of their pandas.
At the Yonghe Lama Monk Temple (Tibetian style Buddhist temple) the strong smell of incense reminds you of where you are. The fires burning in the huge pits give you a chance to make an offering to Buddha. Don’t forget to rub the laughing Buddha’s belly for good luck (another Chinese ism). There is a commanding 18 meter Buddha statue inside the Temple that is a sight to see.
Visiting old Beijing and riding in rickshaws in lanes where only the rickshaws and pedestrian traffic is allowed was very relaxing on the Hutong tour. These were not traditional rickshaws where the driver is on foot, these rickshaws were attached to bicycles.
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| Temple/Forbidden City (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
I also visited a Tea House and learned how to pour tea from a teapot and how to hold a tea cup to drink tea. The most important part of making tea is the temperature of the water. The Chinese use a “pee pee” boy (a gadget) to test the water temperature. When drinking tea, a woman should point her fingers one way and a man should point his fingers another way. I saw tea that was 50 years old, which is an acquired taste, but the health benefits are said to be superior.
Water Cube (Aquatic Center) is spectacular on the outside. I did not go inside, but heard it is the same on the inside. There is a kaleidoscope of colors on the outside of the cube.
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| Dragon Boat/Summer Palace (Photo by TriniDiva a/k/a NSL-R) |
The Bird’s Nest (Beijing 2008 Olympic Stadium) is now a tourist attraction, but is an amazing and commanding sight from the outside. It truly looks like a birds’ nest for a teradactyl. The location of the Bird’s Nest is expansive and you can check out the inside for a fee.
Pedestrians cross anywhere in China. Crosswalks would be useless there. Personal space is at a minimum, almost non-existent. You will get bumped and bruised when you are out and about, but don’t expect an “excuse me.” This is just the way things are and is quite normal.
Very apparent is the age of China’s workforce, which is very young. When shopping in stores in China sales people are pushy, eager and will try to sell you something you did not even know you wanted. They approach you when you’ve barely entered the store and are all over you before you’ve had a chance to look at anything.
This blog has not even scratched the surface of my experience in China, but it captures enough of what I experienced while I was there.
Written by Screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R) on 2/1/13. All photos taken by and are property of TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R)
