Susan's China Journal #2     

Friday and Saturday Allie and I did the all essentials of Beijing-Tian'an Men, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs and the Summer Palace (lived in by the Empress Dowager- a lovely palace outside Beijing proper on a lakeside.)

Though we had eschewed the group tour-bus experience and were even wary of private guides,we broke down and picked up a private guide for the two days. The cost was lower than the per diem of an organized tour, and the extra expense was well worth it. Not only did Amy, our guide,  supplement  the info from our guide book, but she smoothed all the transitions from place to place (we had a driver as well the second day) and she tutored us in "Mandarin. We at first dismissed her offer because we had been fending off scams all day- it is really utter nonsense that these English speaking students all try the very same art scam warned about in my Frommers and they all use the same script-they really need a new one. "Hello, where are you from? Yadda yadda, do you like Chinese art?" By the second or third time, I just said, "No I hate Chinese art." This caught them rather off guard! Then by the fifth time they approached, they would say "Hello!" and we would just say "Goodbye!" Pretty annoying- but I guess that is the nature of the ubiquitous tourist trap areas.

Forbidden City was amazing, though brutally hot. We did veer off the beaten path to quiet buildings and gardens to the Northeast and even found a place to rent concubine costumes for a picture. Pretty cheesy, but a fun $3. After the City we went to a public garden for tea and a view of the spot where the last Ming emperor fled to commit suicide. We enjoyed trying a dozen types of tea in a tea ceremony.

The Great Wall is something that must be done, though in a sense it is a Western invention capitalized on by Mao. Prior to the 20th century there was no word for "The Great Wall" as it is just a series of walls built by different persons for different specific protective purposes, and had symbolized oppression for the common Chinese person- as over a million died in the building of it. Only after Western tourists raved about it in the 20th century did it acquire its Chinese name and
prestigious symbolism. Because of its growing reputation and its use against Japan during WWII it was firmly entrenched symbolically by Mao as a classic symbol of Chinese greatness- he infamously said you are not a hero until you have climbed the Wall. I find it facinating how tourism (and promotion) really creates these famous symbols. Surely the US has similar examples. So are we EVER heros- we opted to visit the Wall at Juyong Guan which is one of the less crowded sites and also the most historically significant (we are history geeks after all...) and it was extremely arduous to climb- a steep, steep path snaking up the mountain. Many of the more crowded sites have cable cars.) The view was amazing though, and I'm really glad I "climbed" the Great Wall without cheating.even though I'm restricted somewhat by imy gimpy foot

 
One night,our guide took us to a "hot-spot" restaurant for dinner which is like Sichuan fondue without the cheese.  There is a double cooker recessed in the center of the table, the outer bowl containing boiling chicken broth and the inner a spicy sauce. You cook raw meats and vegetables in either one and dip in sesame sauce. Served with tiny steamed buns with a honey sauce. Fantastic! I wonder if you can find this anywhere in the States?

I definitely feel myself acclimating to China. At first there is always the confusion of everything being just a bit different-appliances and even the shower were to difficult to figure out. You
realize how trained you are to operate things in a certain way and it is very challenging to see a completely different way of turning something on. I guess my brain doesn't do well "outside the box" in that way. Also the inconsistency of things- you never know what to expect. For example, our hotel lobby has patched, taped couches but a flat screen plasma tv- surprisingly just plain practical to put the money where it matters. (Who cares what your fanney is on.) Now I am really loving it here and I'm very comfortable. I am really going to miss the massages when we get to the village. We have been indulging in 1-2 hour massages before bedtime for $5-6.  Really helps to keep me going!

Today we had quite the shopping extravaganza at a Chinese Flea market. We bypassed the government "Friendship Store" (code for "fleece the foreigners") our guide took us to yesterday- I'm sure she was bummed about losing her kickbacks. (The cloisonne factory was quite interesting though.) As foreigners we were the tiny minority at this huge market, and I got some really fabulous finds. I do rather like to dicker a bit. (But not with those ridiculously aggressive street vendors- those you must simply avoid eye contact and say "bu, bu, bu"(no) very firmly, or you get surrounded.)

Tonight, its Peking Duck and an acrobatic show. Tomorrow we fly to Xian.

Please feel free to E-mail me at ssnbrewer@yahoo.com to ask any questions or comment on our Journals. Its nice to have messages from home.

Until Next time, Susan

                                                                                Back to Table of Contents