Weekend in Beijing

Brad and I joined a group of BYU China Teachers this weekend in Beijing.  We took a high-speed train from Nanjing and arrived four and half hours later.  The high-speed train is a great way to travel in China--so much better than flying!  The second class seats are comfortable and reserved, and the train stations all have subways, that make getting around once you reach a city so much easier and less expensive than taking cabs from the airports.  Even when you have your destination written out in Chinese, there's no guarantee that 1) the cab drive will even take you and 2) that he will take you to the right place.  We met the group a half day late, because Brad and I both had to teach a night class, so we couldn't leave on Thursday.  Unfortunately, that meant we missed the Tianamen Square and Forbidden City tours, but we were able to go there on our own on Sunday.

Getting ready to climb the Great Wall of China

We had been warned to expect a lot of smog in the city, something the world media is always reporting on.  Much to our surprise and good fortune, the skies could not have been bluer nor the air clearer.  It was perfect!  We were glad we brought layers of clothing because it was a little cool.

When we arrived in Beijing Friday morning, we called the travel agent, Marvin Wu, who arranged the trip to figure out where the group was and between text messages in Chinese and handing Brad's phone to the cab driver to talk to Marvin, we set out into the city.  We'd heard to be wary of cabs with no meters, because the driver will try to charge you anything they want.  Thankfully, the cabs in the line at the train station are pretty legit, but we were definitely approached with offers in the station to get to a destination.

Our fellow climbers. The monks caused quite a stir!

After a wonderful lunch, we went to the Temple of Heaven, which is considered the most holy of Beijing's imperial temples.  Built during Ming Dynasty (1420), once a year, at winter solstice, the emperors came here to worship Heaven and to pray for a good harvest. The harvest ceremony was combined with the emperor's worship of his ancestors. In ancient China the Emperor was regarded as the Son of Heaven, who administered earthly matters, representing heavenly authority. To be seen be showing respect to the source of his authority was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies. The temple is complex of buildings in a huge garden city.  The biggest building in the complex is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a circular building built with wood and no nails.  Like so many things in China, the hall was burned down and rebuilt on the mid-nineteenth century.

From the Temple of Heaven we journeyed to the "Temple of Consumption" -- better known as the Pearl Market -- floor after floor of knock-off goods for sale.  "Lady, lady.  You want a Michael Kors purse, a suitcase, a Rolex watch, Dr. Dre headphones, Converse sneakers" -- the vendors beckoned us to their shops.  There were pearls, too.  If we even looked at an item, we were surrounded by sales people who had just the thing for you in any color you wanted.  Then the bargaining begins -- a full contact sport in China.  The vendor shows you the opening price on a calculator and then we countered.  Everyone gets into the act, and we decided you don't compare what others paid, because you're either going to be excited that you bought it cheaper or disappointed that you paid more.  Brad ended up with a new leather belt, and I bought a wonderful red Michael Kors bag.  I know it has to be the real thing!

Brad ready to make it to the top.

The day ended with a performance of Chinese acrobats.  Clearly a show for tourists, it ended up being very fun.  The performers were amazing and entertaining as they demonstrated incredible agility and strength.  The show ended with a huge ball on the giant stage, big enough for a motorcycle rider to get in and drive around.  I've seen something similar at a state fair, but by the end of the act, there were eight motorcycles and riders driving around in the ball!  Fun evening.

Just a few of words about the Beijing traffic!  It is definitely a challenge.  Hours must be spent trying to get anywhere in the city.  I was grateful for a patient tour bus driver and good companions on the bus.

Day 2 began with a two-hour drive up into the mountains west of Beijing to visit the Great Wall of China.  I've seen pictures, but they really don't prepare you for the magnitude and scope of the wall.  Built originally to protect the country from invaders, the Wall has several different sections, which stretch about 5500 miles across China.  Some parts date back to 200 BC, but portions still standing are from the Ming Dynasty.  We visited a section called Mutianyu.  Our guide gave us a couple of hours to climb the wall as far as we wanted, so Brad and I set out.  We climbed and climbed, stair after stair.  Many other visitors had the same idea so we were always surrounded by other climbers.  Climbing stairs and walking everywhere in Nanjing the last two months had paid off.  The views were spectacular looking up the mountain and back out at the vistas below.  It's hard to imagine the hundreds of thousands of people it took to build the Wall and the estimated thousands who died building the Wall.  Brad made it all the way to top.  I waited a few hundred yards below when my legs started shaking.  Coming down was also an adventure.  The steep decline challenged the most in-shape thighs!

Another fellow climber. I felt so under dressed!

From the Great Wall we went to the Summer Palace, the largest and best-preserved royal park in China.  It was built in the 1700s where the royal family could rest and entertain.  Located about 10 miles from central Beijing, the Palace is located on Kunming Lake, where Dowager Empress Cixi controlled the country for almost 50 years.  She was the power behind the throne, controlling her own son and nephew, who become emperors of China.  She was known as "the concubine who launched modern China."  Her legacy is a bit checkered, but her influence was unrivaled as China entered the 20th century.  Judith Chang, who wrote Wild Swans, has just come out with a new biography on Empress Cixi (Empress Dowager Cixi), which is on my list.  The Summer Palace was also the place where Mao Tse Tung waited in 1949, before his entrance into Beijing.

I particularly enjoyed this trip to Beijing because I could enjoy the food. (Our trip to western China, not so much!) We had reservations that night at a Beijing restaurant famous for its Peking duck.  My experience with duck was limited so I wasn't sure what to expect.  The duck was preceded by numerous other courses, and then the staff entered with the duck and sliced it right in front of us.  The waiter served the slices, along with a special sauce (maybe plum), rice pancakes, and some sliced onion and cucumbers. He showed us how to put it together and we were off.  It was delicious!

Looking back and seeing the Wall wind through the mountains.

Our last stop, on an already busy day, found us at the Beijing Summer Olympics center.  It was evening and the perfect time to see the Bird's Nest (the Beijing National Stadium) and the Water Cube, the swimming venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics.  The lights on these buildings were a perfect end to a wonderful day.

Sunday morning we made our way to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City.  Tianamen holds so much modern historical significance for everyone in the world except the Chinese.  The events of 1989 mean very little to the people here and remembrances of the student-led demonstrations are not allowed.  It was interesting to walk into the Square and see brigade after brigade of young soldiers marching in formation.  No weapons, but a clear military presence.  It is primarily the ceremonial center for events of the People's Republic of China.  We walked across the street to the Forbidden City and took self-tour.  The automated tour included an earphone and device which began working as you approached the buildings in the complex and stopped automatically when we walked on to another.  It knew where we were!  Freaky! 

We made it to Tianamen!

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace for the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as the home of Chairman Mao, when he took power in 1949. The word ""Forbidden", referred to the fact that no one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor's permission. The "city" has 980 surviving buildings and is surrounded by a 26-foot wall and a 6-foot moat.  After walking for some time, Brad and I had to laugh at the names of the buildings -- the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the Palace of Earthy Tranquility -- particularly as we were being pushed by the growing crowds of tourists.  I wasn't feeling especially harmonious or tranquil.  Another favorite -- the Hall of Mental Cultivation.  We walked for almost two hours, and I know were didn't see a fraction of the "city."  We definitely want to go back to see the Palace Museum.

The trip would not have been complete without another shopping opportunity.  We met the rest of the group at the Silk Market where the phrase "lady, lady" is emblazoned in my brain.  Then it was off to the airport for our return trip to Nanjing.  Frankly, I preferred the train.

Looking at the entrance of the Forbidden City.

Brad looking harmonious and tranquil!

A family who shared the Forbidden City with us.

The royal yacht at the Summer Palace.

Entrance to the Summer Palace.

Looking up at the Tower of Buddhist Incense.

The Long Corridor that winds along Lake Kunming at the Summer Palace

Looking back over the lake at the Summer Palace.

Score!  The Bird's Nest. (Olympic Stadium)

Carving the duck!

Playing Hooky at Purple Mountain

We made it to Purple Mountain.

Brad and I spend hours every week teaching and even more time preparing.  Sometimes it feels like aren’t really seeing the amazing city we live in.  So we’ve decided that Friday is our day to play hooky.  Neither of us teach on Fridays, so we’ve started visiting some of sights in Nanjing.

One of my favorites is Purple Mountain.  It’s only about six metro stops away, but all of a sudden we found ourselves in a huge park (4800 acres), and, yes, there is a mountain.  Supposedly it got the name “purple” because its peaks are often found enveloped in mysterious purple and golden clouds at dawn and dusk.  I didn’t see any purple envelops, but I’ll go with it.

Climbing the  392 steps to Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum.

The area is home to many historical sites, but we chose to focus on a couple and leave more for another visit.  We rode a tram from metro stop up to the base of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, and began our climb. Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary and the first president and founding father of the Republic of China in the early 20^th century.  He helped overthrow the Qing dynasty and was a uniting figure in post-imperial China (thank you Wikipedia!).  He’s considered the father of modern China.  What’s interesting about him is that he is equally revered in both main land China and Taiwan.

We walked up the mountain for a while, and then started climbing the 392 stairs leading to the actual tomb.  It’s considered quite a sacred place, and no pictures were allowed in the actual sanctuary.  The climb was well worth it for the view alone.  It was a beautiful day, and the vista was beautiful.  And then we walked back down!

Brad and the Ming Xiaoling Tomb.

Another part of park we wanted to see was the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.  This tomb dates back to 1381 and was built for Hongwu Emperor, the found of the Ming Dynasty.  We walked to the mausoleum, but my favorite part of the site is the Spirit Way or Sacred Way (Shendoa).  At Purple  Mountain it’s also called the Elephant Road. Spirit ways are found throughout China as ornate roads leading to tombs of major dignitaries.  The one leading to the Ming Xiaoling tomb is lined with huge statues of animals – camels, elephants, lions, horses, qilin (Chinese unicorn), and xiehi ("righteous beast, which rams the wrong party when it sees a fight, and bites the wrong party when it hears an argument") – all guarding the entrance.  Four pairs of ministers and generals (or warrior guardian figures, wengzhong) of stone have been standing there for centuries to guard the journey to the after life.  I had seen pictures of the Spirit Way before coming to Nanjing, and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

We’ll be playing hooky more often! 

Warrior guardian guarding the journey to the afterlife.

Elephants on the Spirit Way.

Camels, too.

I think these are the xiehis with Brad.

My favorite part of our walk!

Missing in Action

My blog has gotten away from me the last few weeks.  We've been doing much more than I have had the energy to write about.  I know I will regret not chronicling everything, so I'm back at it today (with a little nudge from my friends).

I didn't take this picture of Nanjing Rd, but I love it.

Our kids are all coming to spend the holidays with us next month, and they're all flying into Shanghai.  So Brad and I decided we'd better do a reconnaissance mission to Shanghai so it won't be the blind leading the blind.  We hopped on a high-speed train on Friday morning and arrived in Shanghai in less than two hours.  We now know how to buy train tickets and navigate the train stations.  Our next task was figuring out the Shanghai metro system.  With 10 different lines (we only have two in Nanjing), we were a little nervous, but it was really easy.  Line 2 goes from the Hongqiao Rail Station on the east side of the city all the way to the Pudong International Airport on the west.  It passes through all the major city sites and crosses from the old part of the city to the new.

I had investigated the major sites we would want to see in a day and half, and we set out to find them.  We spent the day urban hiking.  What a great city!  Shanghai combines old China with the influences of foreign cultures (German, British and French) to become a major, sophisticated, modern commercial center.  It's the largest city in China, with 23 million residents.

Walking along the Huangpu River, looking at the Bund.  Beautiful!

Starting at People's Park, we walked down East Nanjing Road, Shanghai's main shopping street. It is a pedestrian mall with huge marquee signs, hundreds of large department stores and small shops--and even more people.  The street stretches all the way to the Huangpu River and the famous Bund.  We decided to take a detour to the hotel we have reserved for the holidays, to make sure it was okay.  The internet is great, but seeing a hotel in person gave us a little peace of mind. The hotel is right next to Yu Gardens, another site on my list, so we decided to resume our hike there.  A woman at the door of the hotel directed us to a short cut to the gardens, which turned into another adventure.  We walked through some great alleyways and small streets, not exactly in my tour book, but opened our eyes to another part of the city.

Yu Garden area with yours truly peaking out of the crowd.

The Yu Garden area is filled with shops.  Brad and I have started calling this experience "running the gauntlet."  Every site in China is lined with merchants and food shops to entice the visiting public.  While haggling is a full time, contact sport in China, you can only buy so much.  From the garden, we walked over to the river and found the walkway leading back to the Bund.  I had to look up what "Bund" means, and it's literally an embankment on a river, and in Shanghai is was the center of commerce during the 19th and 20th centuries.  The old buildings are spectacular and stand in sharp contrast to the modern high-rise buildings across the river in Pudong.

One of the big highlights of this trip was meeting up with Tami and Steve Dyer from Ann Arbor.  Their family has lived in Shanghai for almost nine years.  Steve works for a major international consulting firm, and he and Tami have definitely made the city home. They invited us to stay with them and we had a great time seeing the city through their eyes.  They both speak Mandarin like natives (Tami is originally from Taiwan), and, even more important, they understand the Chinese culture.  Their home was a wonderful retreat from a long day of sightseeing.

Tami had sent me a list of things not to miss in Shanghai, so we continued our hike on day two, not quite as ambitious as day one.  Steve dropped us off in the Pudong financial center, where we did some more scouting things to do next month, which definitely includes a trip to the top of Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC).  It was the tallest building in China, but it's about to be dwarfed by the Shanghai Tower next year .  We did walk over to the river again and found the ferry that crossed back over to the old part of the city.  Tami suggested an area call Xintiandi, which has amazing shopping and a Taiwanese restaurant, where we would meet them for lunch.  The food was delicious (we let Tami do all the ordering).  The lunch ended with an amazing peanut ice cream-like dessert.  This will definitely be on the list when we come back.

Looking across the river at Pudong--Oriental Pearl Tower (l) SWFC (r)

 Coming back next month will give us a chance to visit some of these places at night, which I know will add another dimension to what is a great city.

We found our way back to the railroad station, hopped on another high-speed train that had us back in Nanjing in just over an hour.  Another vacation we need a vacation to recover from!

Our own light show on the Pudong.

One Hump or Two. . .Definitely Two

I’m getting ahead of myself on this trip, but we talked to Jeff yesterday and mentioned we had ridden camels, and he said he had to see that. 

The camel holding area -- see all the people climbing the dunes. (The orange dune boots)

After riding on a night train from Turpan to Dunhuang, spending the entire day visiting a UNESCO historic site, the Mogao Grottos, our trip organizer decided we weren’t tired enough, so we had one more stop--the Mingsha Shan or Singing Sands Mountain.  This is a huge sand dune and home to about 700 camels.  Since I had ridden a camel before in Morocco and I wasn’t feeling great, I had decided I would sit this one out.  Brad told me the ticket was already paid for, so don’t decide until we get up to the camels. 

All aboard!

As we arrived at Mingsha Shan, all we could see was a huge line of camels stretching from the base of the mountain all the way to the top of the dunes.  Hundreds of people atop the two-hump, Bactrian camels were making their way up the dune. Supposedly the two-humpers are more mild-mannered than their one-hump relatives, the Dromedary camel.  We’ll see!  As our camel driver motioned for our group to enter the staging area, I decided  In groups of five, we climbed aboard the sitting camels, got our feet in the stirrups and then we were off.  My camel didn’t like bringing up the rear of our group, and even though he/she? (I didn’t want to check) was tethered at the rear, he/she kept trying to move up.  The pictures tell a much better story, so I’m leaving up to them to illustrate the ride.  Bottom line—I’m glad I did it.

what the heck!

Still smiling.

Brad has a new friend, too.

Look at the line in front of us!

A little artsy desert shot.

What goes up, must come down.

Met some friends, too.

"Look mom.  I'm flying a camel."

The camels had wireless.

My camel almost took a bite of Brad's leg.

The proof I did it.

The proof we did it.

Epilogue:  Many people also experience the dunes on foot, climbing up and then running and jumping down – similar to Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan or Jockey’s Ridge on the North Carolina Outer Banks.  One interesting addition to the climb were orange fabric boots that people pulled on over their shoes to prevent sand from filling their shoes.  I see a new business opportunity in the U.S.

Urumqi? Wu Lu Mu Qi? A trip to western China

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post, but internet connections have been at a premium, intermittent at best.  Now you’re going get more than you will have the time or the desire to read.  But here goes.         

China celebrated the 64^th anniversary of the People’s Republic last week with a week-long holiday.  This meant the beginning of a trip to western China for Brad and me and about 50 other teachers in the BYU China Teachers program, our first chance to leave Nanjing.

We flew from Nanjing to meet the rest of the group in Urumqi, Xinliang Uyghur Autonomous Province.  In Mandarin Urumqi is call Wu Lu Mu Qi, and is home to the largest population of Uyghur (pronounced wee-ger) people in China.  They are Muslim, and if I hadn’t known we were still in China, we could have been in Turkey or Afghanistan.   The province borders at least nine other countries, including Pakistan and Kazakhstan.   To call it remote is an understatement.  Getting there was like flying from New York to California.  China has moved millions of Han Chinese (the largest ethnic group in China) to this province in an effort to dilute the Uyghur population.  It’s been the scene of periodic uprisings, as the Uyghur strive for maintain their autonomy. Thankfully, things were calm during our visit, but our guide said tourism has been down sharply this past year because of the unrest.   This area was an important land crossroad on the old Silk Road that led from China to the Mediterranean Sea, before ships took over the transportation from west to east and back.

You can find everything on the street. Loved his hat!

We arrived mid-afternoon and met up with the rest of our group.  It was great to see so many of people we had met in Provo in August.  They are wonderful people and great traveling companions.  Climbing aboard a huge bus, we made our way into the city and were dropped off in the Muslim market.  All the signs were in Chinese and Arabic, but the Uyghur pronunciation of the Arabic would not be recognizable to other Arab speakers.  Strange but true!  The market went on and on, with lots of items for sale from food to herbs and spices to shoes to jewelry to scarves to hats.  One of our favorite vendors was a man who we think was selling some sort of anti-venom serum for arthritis sufferers.  He wound poisonous snakes around his neck and allow scorpions to bite him, just to demonstrate the wonders of this serum, which sold faster than he could get it out.  He put on quite a show.  We wandered in the market for quite a while, watching the food-cooking techniques and sampling the dried fruits, which were abundant.  You’ve never seen so many meats cooked on a stick, some recognizable, some not.  I particularly liked the naan (Arabic bread), baked in huge open ovens and stacked for sale.

So many herbs and spices. Didn't recognize all of them.

One of the highlights of our time in Xinliang Province was our guide, Li.  She was so knowledgeable and made everything interesting, even the process of drying grapes.  More about that to come. 

Isn't this woman beautiful?  Her shish kabobs looked pretty good, too.

Loved the naan!

The interesting people just walking the streets.

Brad surveys the possibilities.

This little girl couldn't make up her mind. Color is her thing!

Another beautiful mother and daughter.

Wasn't sure whether to buy what he was selling!