Ni Hao, y'all. Today was our last full day in Beijing. It was once again a day filled with seeing the sites of Beijing. We boarded the bus this morning around 8:30 to tour the city. Today was once again pretty cold, even for us Chicagoans, but thankfully didn't rain. Our first stop was Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. These sites were pretty amazing to see after reading about them prior to our trip. Tian'anmen Square serves as the main entrance to the Imperial City, or Forbidden City. I think the Square covers something like 109 acres, so it is a huge area. We got to walk around a bit and take pictures, and were warned not to take pictures of the soldiers unless we wanted our camera confiscated. Yeah, our new camera. Needless to say, no pictures of the soldiers are in our possession. Within the Square is the Monument of People's Heroes built in memory of the martyrs who fought for the revolutionary cause, and Chairman Mao Zedong's Memorial. Mao Zedong was the founder of the People's Republic of China. His body is encased in a crystal casket and many Chinese people come daily to pay their respects.
Within walking distance of Tian'anmen Square is the Forbidden City. We have had the same tour guide since we arrived in Beijing, and she is full of so much information. It is hard to take it all in and hard to remember what everything was, and why it was, etc. The Imperial City, or Forbidden City, called that because it used to be an area restricted to officials, was very big and long. We walked from one end to the other, and it seemed to go on forever. It's broken down into many areas, separated by many gates, all serving some purpose. Google it, I am sure you will find it all very interesting. The details of the buildings are quite ornate, and requires regular restoration. It is truly beautiful, but very overwhelming all the history and information involved. Seriously, google it. One of my favorite parts was goosing Jason, and when he turned around he spotted an old Chinese man walking behind him. He looked a little freaked, until he looked to the other side and spotted me. Another thing that sticks out in my head today at the end of Forbidden City was when our bus driver came to pick us up, and he ended up getting a ticket for picking us up in a No Parking zone. He had to pay 200 Yuan, which is about $30USD. We all chipped in a paid for it. Mr. Gong is an incredible bus driver. I am truly obsessed with the traffic in Beijing. I find it fascinating. It's like hundreds of cars all going into a funnel, merging here and there, and there is no fingers flying, no honking, no yelling, but most of all rarely any accidents.
We ate lunch after we got through the Forbidden City. For the first time today, I ate something I didn't care for. It was a pork meatball, which was too mushy for me. Everything else was delicious. I was afraid that I wouldn't get enough to eat in China. I think I will have some extra meat on my bones when I get back.
After lunch, we went to a silk factory and learned about how silk is taken from the cocoons spun by the worms. Very cool. We got to see how the quilts are made. They were beautiful. Then we went on a Rickshaw drive through all these streets and alleyways. We stopped at a home and learned about the owners and got to view the rooms. Most people live in condos in Beijing. It is just too crowded; there is really no other option. People are allowed to own their condos, but they are not allowed to own the land. You are able to lease the land for 70 years. At the end of 70 years you must demolish the building and rebuild. Construction is ongoing. If you were to sell your condo, the new owner gets the remainder of the 70 year lease. However, the home we visited was owned by the family. The same family has lived there for 6 generations so it is preserved. Our rickshaw ride was fun, but scary because we would fit in areas that didn't seem possible. Jason nearly got clipped by one. Jason has been my comic relief on our trip, by the way.
We ended our site seeing early because we need to get packed up for our flight tomorrow. Five of the families go to Guangzhou, which is south of here, and two families are flying to Gansu, which is closer to Mongolia. We are among the five. We will meet up with another family that had flown straight to Hong Kong. The two families from Gansu will be joining us in Guangzhou at the end of the week.
The Sobecki's and Jason and I went out to eat together tonight. We ate at a restaurant that was recommended by Bob and Bill, saying it wasn't too spicy. Apparently we didn't order right, because what we had was HOT. There was something in Lisa and my dish that set our mouths on fire. Kids, mommy and daddy ate eel. It was very good. The taste reminded me of pepperoni. Greg saved a piece of the hot thing and took it to the hotel trying to figure out what it was. It, as we learned by the third person we spoke to, was a Chinese pepper called pipa, or something like that. Very, very hot.
We are excited about tomorrow, finally going to the province where Arisson is from. We are less than 2 days away from seeing her for the first time. Unbelievable! I am signing off now, our morning starts very early. We love you Austin, Aislinn, Aidan, and Aaron. Miss you lots. |
