Grand China - Day Two

Grand China – Day Two

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Weather: Cloudy, cool. 12-15 C

Okay, if you plan to go to Mutianyu on your free pre-day, I suggest a six month Stairmaster program before attempting it.

Boy, did we pay the price.

We were both like two old women with our shins and quads reminding us of every step we took down from the Great Wall. It was especially hard after we were sitting still for any length of time.

The others on the tour were getting worried about the tour’s visit to the Wall, but I assured them that Badaling would not be as bad.

From what I heard.

On Google.

Anyway, I managed to sleep till 5:30 and then got up to do stuff. After breakfast, I collected all my gear for the day and went down to meet Jin and the rest of the tour. I had no idea if there would be twelve, twenty-four or forty-eight on the tour, but all I could think as I went down in the elevator was wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had seven on the tour like in Israel.

Guess what?

There were seven people on the tour. Two Americans from Florida. Two English from South Hampton. Two other solo females from B.C and New York.

Spiffy!

Jin met up with us, and without much fanfare, we were on the twenty-four seater bus and off to visit Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. He introduced us to our driver, Peng, the second-best driver in Beijing.

As we drove, Jin pointed out the condos. Skyscraper after skyscraper of condos that he pegged at about 1.5 million RMB – roughly two hundred thousand dollars give-r-take. The prices had jumped 400% in just the last six years.

We pulled up just short of the Square and Jin told us that it would take about two hours to visit the Square and the Forbidden City.

Lots of walking.

Or, as he called it, the Long March.

He said that his cell phone number was on the back of our Uniworld cards and that if we got lost, all we had to do was stop a local and ask to use the phone. No need for translation. Anyone in the city would understand that we were lost.

He also warned us not to pay for anything from a street vendor until it was in our hands. He said many are illegal vendors and will run if they see the police and will take off with your money and merchandise. But if you hold on to the money until they give you your purchase and the police show up – then you have your money…and a free souvenir.

The bus dropped us off next to Mao’s tomb where the locals were lined up to visit the tomb. And I mean lined up.

If anyone has read my Moscow tale, you know about the Stand in Line Optional. Well, if you ever take a tour of Beijing that includes an optional to visit Mao’s tomb – skip it unless there’s a fast track option. Otherwise, it would be the Stand in Line Until your Next Birthday optional.

We walked along the wide sidewalk towards the square. The line continued next to us. We entered the Square where the line continued along the edge of the Square and around some large screens, ending near the flagpole in front of the Forbidden City.

More than a kilometre – easy.

Tienanmen Square is the largest square in the world and is believed to be able to hold a million people.

I believed it. There must have been at least that many visiting Mao’s tomb.

There was a monument to heroes from the time of the Opium War in the centre of the first half of the Square.

The Great Hall of the People and the National Museum border the Square. The museum had a counter on the side that was counting the number of visitors to the Shanghai Expo – sixty-five million so far. It had about two weeks left at that point.

Then the Little Mermaid goes home to Denmark. (I was in Copenhagen five months ago only to learn the Little Mermaid was in Shanghai).

Two weeks ago, the Square was the centre of attention for the national holiday, and the flowers used during the celebration remained in part of the Square. Jin said it gets so crowded on that day, that if you pick up your foot, you may not have room to put it back down.

Something we saw everywhere were panda hats. Not just the kids – even adults. One tourmate said she considered picking one up, but decided not to just in case people back home would think she had lost it.

We had some free time in the Square to take pictures and met up with Jin at the flagpole. He had our tour picture taken and it came with a fairly detailed book on Beijing for about $15. Good deal. Everyone took one.

Then Jin led us under the main street to the entrance of the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was built six hundred years ago and was surrounded by a moat. The whole city was refurbished in 2008 in time for the Olympics. So all the paint looked new and everything was very clean. (Actually, Beijing was quite a clean city – except for the air).

We walked in under the big picture of Mao that everyone is familiar with, and just inside the gate was where the security for the Emperor lived and worked. Some still do. The rest of it was souvenir shops.

Do you think the Emperor’s guards ever imagined their bedrooms would be selling t-shirts?

We passed through another gate into a long courtyard where we had to wait for Jin to get tickets. We watched soldiers practicing how to take down a large flag then took pictures of a mother buying three kids a panda hat each.

None of the kids looked like they had lost it, though.

Inside the main square, Jin pointed out that there were no trees in these areas because they feared an assassin could hide behind them. They even built up the ground under the square with fifteen layers of stone to ensure no one could tunnel under the square and get to the Emperor.

We passed through another building to a smaller square and then into another where their living quarters were. No men were permitted into the Forbidden City except for the Emperor, so he lived there with his wives and concubines.

No. Not porcupines.

Though, you never know. Whatever floated his boat. He was the emperor after all.

After the living quarters, we came to the small garden which included rocks shipped in from Central China so that the Emperor had something to climb.

Here, there be trees.

Old, gnarly trees with their age stamped on them. Beautiful spot. The sun even peeked out for just a few moments. Otherwise, it was a very dull overcast and not great for pictures.

Or my lungs. I had no choice. I could feel my lungs contract in the Square and wore my mask on and off. It wasn’t as bad inside the Forbidden City and there were very few other people wearing masks, so unless you have a proven problem with pollution, it shouldn’t bother most people. The Air Quality Index was at the Unhealthy status which was about halfway between Good and Hazardous.

As we stepped through the north gate, Jin reminded us that the Emperor had everything he could have possibly wanted.

Except a parking lot.

So, the Long March continued. We walked along the moat and up a street until we found the number two driver in Beijing. Then we proceeded to the Great Wall Restaurant for lunch.

As we climbed the steps to get to the second story restaurant, my shins reminded me why it was called the Great Wall Restaurant. No one had to ask where we were. They could hear us grunt with every single step.

Lunch was “Chinese” food, but nothing weird or exotic. Rice, beef strips in a nice sauce and vegetables, tofu, eggplant, broccoli, noodles, chicken soup, chicken and vegetables with a free beverage.

No dessert.

The food was not as spicy as the beef we’d had at the hotel restaurant. It seemed restaurants catering to tourists deliberately kept the spice levels down and everything was delicious. I’m not one for exotic food and I didn’t have a problem with the food at all.

And as it turned out, I was using the chopsticks right! I was even getting a blister on my finger.

Our number two driver brought us back to the hotel for an hour break and I went straight for the bath. I made it as hot as I could tolerate it. Not sure if it helped.

At 3:30, we reboarded the bus and drove to the Temple of Heaven. The smog was much worse and I couldn’t take the mask off. When I did, it smelled very much like there was a forest fire just over the hill.

The Temple of Heaven was built at the same time as the Forbidden City and the Emperor had to go there twice a year to worship – in the spring to ask for a good harvest and again at the winter solstice. One of the buildings showed the steps involved in the elaborate two-day procedure the Emperor had to go through for the ceremony.

It included a day of fasting from meat and concubines.

The central structure was a three level building and tall enough to reach heaven. We couldn’t go inside but walked around and took pictures. Jin then led us in another direction down a long walkway to another raised area where the Emperor would worship at the winter solstice.

Then we were led outside to meet the bus which took us straight to dinner and the Peking Opera. It was originally scheduled for tomorrow night but was switched. That meant we had to wait until tomorrow for our foot massage.

I wondered if I could switch the foot massage for a leg massage.

Dinner was at the hotel where the Opera took place. It was an affair meant for tourists (so jeans etc are completely acceptable). Dinner was another lazy susan event with slices of pork schnitzel, cauliflower, bean sprouts, rice, noodles, soup, beef, chicken and a free beverage.

No dessert again.

I was sensing a trend.

Then we went into the theatre where our table was reserved and we were treated to tea and snacks. A young man in traditional clothes performed a little ceremony with a tea pot that had a very very long spout.

In most countries, it’s swords, pikes and rifles.

In China. Tea pot spouts.

The show started at 7:30 and was wonderful. The costumes were traditional and colourful. The make-up really accentuated the eyes and from up front, we could see their facial expressions perfectly. The part that was sung in Chinese was translated on a display next to the stage. Very helpful for understanding what was going on.

The show ended at 8:30 and we were back in the hotel by nine. And I was back into the bath.