China Day 8—Beijing

Today was a day for the Forbidden City, Tian’anmen Square, and whatever else we could fit in without exhausting ourselves, or at least without hurting ourselves severely. We opted to walk to the center of the city because it was quite close and the weather was beautiful. In our travels we encountered several important and imposing government buildings as well as the Beijing Center for the Performing Arts, a massive steel dome that was built in a way that it appears to be floating in the middle of a lake. It was beautiful, although every activity known to man was prohibited on the grounds, including firecrackers, kite flying, roller-blading, and building fires.

The square sits directly in front of the Tian’anmen Gate of the Forbidden City, but we didn’t get to go on the square, much to my disappointment. The area was swarming with Chinese police of all type and flavours; there were S.W.A.T. teams, complete with vehicles as well as trenchcoated official looking police and green-uniformed patrols that seemed rather military-oriented to me. They were checking identification, searching people, and had the entire square blocked off. I don’t know if there was a special reason for this, or if this is just normal practice in this hotbed of Chinese protest.

We entered the forbidden city and sauntered through, enjoying the brilliant colors and impressive architecture. It was, for me at least, a little underwhelming. All the buildings are the same, and visitors are only allowed to look inside some of the most important ones, rather than enter to explore. It is also home to the Palace Museum, which is principally a collection of artifacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties who ruled from the city from 1420 to 1912. The museums did not attract us, but we enjoyed the stroll and picture taking, and exited from the North Gate and made our way to lunch and further adventure. In the metro we ran into the Australian couple from yesterday, and they were heading the same place we were. It was amazing to run into them again, and it was such a chance meeting that we regarded it as miraculous.

From the Imperial Palace we made our way to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of religious buildings where the emperors would go to offer sacrifices and prayers for successful harvest. It is commonly referenced as Taoist, but the Emperors’ heaven worship predates the establishment of Taoism.

While the buildings were beautiful, the most entrancing aspect of the area was not the architecture or the historical significance, but the masses of Chinese Nationals gather together in the park. There were groups of people hacky-sack games, singing songs, performing small concerts, doing karaoke, and playing cards on almost every bench there. It didn’t feel like a tourist site, but a real park where people gathered to exercise and play. I learned on this trip, that this is the kind of place I like to visit. While the Forbidden City was magnificent to behold, it was rather uninteresting to me. The park full of people, however, afforded both the experience of the important site and the immersion in the Chinese culture.

We were close to a famous market, so we stopped by to browse and maybe shop. Well, we definitely shopped, and picked up some fun things for Justin and Jodi, us, and the boys. It was so fun to barter and taunt, and walk away, even though the vendors were convinced that their “Lookie! Lookie! Cheaper for you!” would change our minds. Justin and I even embroiled ourselves in a rather heated argument with a salesman who sold me a defective bag. Ultimately, however, we were victorious, and I left with my money and pride still intact, despite his attempts to derail me through constant insult. “Are you a baby?” Yeah, good times, and our wives were so kind and patient while their crazy husbands fought the good fight in multiple languages. Hey, it was worth the ¥200.

By the end of day eight, a person starts to drag. We were planning to look for another feeding frenzy at a night market, but we decided a good sit-down dinner for our last night in Beijing was definitely in order. We found a place that looked satisfactory a few blocks from our hotel, and took our chances. It turned out to be absolutely spectacular, and some of the best food we had the entire trip. We enjoyed a classic Kung Pao chicken, cilantro flavored beef, and an amazing lamb tomato noodle dish that I simply must try to recreate. Family style dining at a Chinese restaurant is awesome. Everyone just takes what they want and piles into their own personal rice bowl. Everyone gets some of everything and we enjoy the meal together. It’s a winning situation, and one day I might just open a restaurant that operates in just the same way.

After dinner Jodi and Jaime went to bed and Liz, Justin, and I sat up looking at photos. I bought a card reader at the market so I was able to get the photos Justin took during our adventures. Another glorious day followed by a tired night. An excellent final full day in China