"I feel like I'm in Lord of the Rings"

Today was one of my most anticipated days on the whole trip, we were going to the Great Wall of China! First on our agenda, though, was stopping off at a kung fu school. It is a boarding school where students take lessons and classes till they graduate at 18. They showed us a spectacular performance. From shattering porcelain bowls with one chop, to breaking 6 ft pieces of wood with their collarbone, the performance was incredibly impressive. Afterwards, they gave us a few lessons, and as I’m sure you can imagine, I was born to be a kung fu warrior.





After an hour drive, and a PonderGROSSa lunch, we had arrived at the Great Wall! When we stepped off the bus, vendors of all kinds selling tons of Great Wall paraphernalia lined the steep slope up to the cable cars. We were at the Great Wall-Mutianyu section, which according to the sign, was home to the best cable cars. We slowly ascended up the steep mountain, taking in the full view of the landscape. Once we stepped off and arrived at the first ledge, the sight was nothing I could have ever imagined. The wall snaked miles from east to west along the very tip of the steep snowy mountains. It was built during the Ming Dynasty (1364-1688) and stretches over 5,500 miles. The architecture is truly incredible, and to me it seems virtually impossible how almost 700 years ago they had the technology to build such a fortress at the top of such a high mountain (this is probably why its one of the seven wonders of the world). I’ll just let the pictures do the rest of the talking:

Cable car:








This was probably not safe seeing as there was a 50 foot drop on the other side:


My attempt at being artsy:


View from the wall:


The towers of the wall could be seen from really far distances:


Jason and I with our tour guide, also named Jason:

When it was time to go down, we had three choices. Walk, take the cable car, or ride down a half mile track on a toboggan. I think we all know which one I chose. The ride was by far the coolest thing I have ever done. You fly around curves while taking in the view of the beautiful mountainside.





After a sad goodbye, we left the Great Wall to go to dinner and to an acrobatic show. The acrobatic show was amazing. The Chinese can do things with their bodies that just doesn’t seem natural. There were constant ooing and awing with the occasional gasps. It was a great way to end our trip in Beijing.

Working as a used car salesman comes in handy

This morning we departed for Beijing. We had the evening at our leisure so a group of us went to a nearby restaurant to try a Chinese favorite called a “hot pot”. I’m sure the waitress regretted very deeply taking our table. We had absolutely no idea how to do it, so she had to spend an hour and half cooking all of our food and serving us. Within the hot pot are two different broths where you cook various meats, vegetables, and pastas. Since chopsticks were the only material to retrieve the contents from the boiling pot, our waitress saved us many burned hands. We tipped her quite nicely for her efforts though.



In the morning we woke up and traveled about 10 minutes to go to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world. The balcony overlooking the square was where Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949 proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It is also the sight where in 1989 hundreds of revolutionary protesters were killed by the government.



Connected to the square are the gates to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors, beginning from its creation in 1420 to 1924. It is estimated that 8000 to 10000 people, including enuchs and concubines, resided in the 170 acres of the compound. The city was strictly off limits to Chinese ordinary people (hence the name). The city was absolutely enormous. The public is only allowed access to a very limited part of the city, and even then it felt huge. There are many vast squares lined with elaborately decorated buildings and rooms. It was amazing to see such beautiful Chinese architecture.







Ancient Rock Garden:



We left the city and were taken on Trishaws through the windy alleys of Beijing. I felt sorry for the drivers because I’m sure they were not use to pedaling around fat Americans. We took the trishaws to local homes where we were prepared traditional Chinese cuisine. This was one of the best meals we had. We learned how to make homemade dumplings and feasted upon a variety of Chinese dishes.





We hopped on the bus for a 30 minute ride to view the stadiums constructed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The most famous structures are the Bird’s Nest and the Bubble Aquatics Center. The Bird’s Nest holds over 90,000 people and is the coolest designed building I have ever seen. The stadium currently is being used as an almost amusement park for fun winter games, like tubing and skiing.









Our next stop was a silk factory. It quickly turned from an interesting presentation on the creation of silk to a sales pitch. Luckily working as a used car salesman I do not fall for such games. My wallet came away unscathed, knowing I could find 100% silk must cheaper at the local markets.

They take the cocoon of silk worms and thread them through this machine:



The buses then dropped us off at a famous market in Beijing, called the Pearl Market. If I thought the alleys of Shanghai had cool counterfeit items, I was not prepared for the Pearl market. It was five stories of purses, clothes, rugs, jewelry, electronics, accessories, and practically anything else that could be sold. Vendors were everywhere. These vendors were quite vicious as well. If you started walking away they would grab your arms and pull you back or come find you from across the room. They would take a lighter to the purses to assure you they were 100% leather. I became quite the haggler (thank you again to Carmax). I got a large Long Champ bag, a Dolce and Gabbana wristlet, and a Marc Jacobs leather purse for my mom all for about $30. Try doing that in the states.



That night we had a Peking Duck Dinner. Yet again the food was pretty good. I knew asking for three good meals in a row was too much, and rest assured with our next lunch we were back at the Golden Corral.



That night we went bar hopping in Beijing. Every bar had the cheesiest karaoke singers I have ever seen. They would butcher classic American songs, while the girls would just sway in place back and forth. Additionally, we found a ridiculous version of a giant panda.





Annecdote:
2/19/2010: It’s true! The Chinese really do eat dog. Here is a picture of it on our menu. I for one really wanted to eat Lassie, but unfortunately no one else at my table was game.

Just call me famous

Our first stop of the day was the Xian City wall. The Xian city wall is the most complete city wall that has survived in all of China. It began construction in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and was completed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The wall is over 14 kilometers in length. All along the walls were huge decorations for the New Year.









Due to the creation of the Silk Road, there is a large population of Muslims in Xian. After the city wall, we went to the largest Islamic Mosque in Xian. The Great Mosque was built in 742 A.D and is a beautiful blend of Islamic and Chinese architecture.





There was a huge ceremony going on at the time in honor of the New Year:



We stopped in for lunch at yet again another 500 person arena. You will begin to see a clear trend in my entries that almost every place we went to eat was one where you sat with 10 strangers and shared the same plates of food, using your own saliva-ridden chopsticks to dish it out. Unfortunately, I think the mass produced food didn’t leave me with the best impression of Chinese cuisine.

Finally, it was time for us to go to one of the places I was looking forward to the most, The Terra Cotta Warrior Museum. The Terra Cotta Warrions were uncovered in 1974 by peasants digging a well. They were built by the first emperor in the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi. There are over 8,000 soldiers, including the varying officers and horse drawn carriages. Each figure is unique to the person who built it. The initials of the creator were marked on the back of every figure’s necks. They are each on average 5’10. Qin Shi built the army to protect him in the afterlife. He was so adamant on keeping the army a secret that when he died many of the sculptors and architects, as well as his concubines were buried alive with him.





This carriage was buried with the warriors, weighing over 2 tons.


I got a book chronicling the discovery of the terra cotta warriors signed by the farmer who originally found the warriors.





After the museum we stopped in at a local orphanage in Xian. We viewed where the children sleep, bathe, and take lessons. There were about 30 orphans there at the time, whereas we were with over 100 students. This was a stop I wish we had not of made. It felt as if we were touring and taking pictures of their disparity as if it were a zoo. The children acted as if we were not there, appearing as if tourists were a common occurrence at the orphanage. I felt a little better knowing that included in the price of our trip there was a donation, but I still wish we could’ve given back in a more substantial way than just touring their complex. However, I am thankful because it was inspiring to make more of an effort to help those who are living in such unfortunate situations.

Entrance to orphanage:


Sleeping quarters:


That night we attended a Tang Dynasty Dinner Show. The dinner was pretty good, however anything is better than the feeding troughs we had recently been frequenting. The show was spectacular. It was all based on music and dance from the Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. The costumes were elaborately decorated and the grace of the dancers was stunning.






Annecdote

2/18/2010: The Chinese love seeing Americans. Everywhere we went, the people would stop and wave or take dozens of pictures. We even had a few instances of awkward stalking. Jason and I became local celebrities however when we were at the Terra Cotta Warrior museum. A reporter and her cameraman approached us and asked if they could tape a segment about the tourists in Xian during the New Year. Of course we did not pass this up, and so she began giving us a historical tour of the museum while on camera. I am now a famous Chinese-American celebrity. You can have my autograph when I return from my world tour.

First day in Xion

We woke up early to meet with the group for our Semester at Sea 6 day trip. Our flight was destined for Xion, the original capital of China. Our flight was about two and half hours, and I enjoyed watching season 2 of true blood throughout it. I had forgotten how much I miss American television. When we got to Xion we had an hour drive to an art museum where we would practice Chinese calligraphy. The drive was interesting. Periodically there would be large mounds of earth on the treeless fields, which were tombs for the dead. Although I also viewed this in Shanghai, the disparity between rich and poor became very evident. Cardboard shacks, dirty children walking the streets, and people commuting on rusty bicycles could all be seen from the bus. At the same time, we saw dozens and dozens of high rise apartment buildings and other various construction projects going on.


The art museum was very beautiful. It displayed traditional Chinese shadow puppets, masks, and art. We learned how to do Japanese calligraphy, using the standard brushes and ink pallets. I bought a beautiful hand made painting of the national flower of China. After we left, we stopped off at the hotel to drop our bags off and regroup before dinner. The hotel was very nice, and very accomodating for Westerners. We had randomly assigned roommates. Of course I would get the girl who dyes her hair green, wears black leather, and harry potter sweatshirts.




At 6:30 we left for what is acclaimed to be the best dumpling restaurant in Xion. I’m going to venture to say that it is the equivalent of an American tour company taking a group of Chinese tourists to a Golden Corral and saying this is the essence of American food. The restaurant housed over 500 people, and they would just throw the dumplings on the table at you and walk away. One of the major differences I have noticed between the Japanese and the Chinese is in terms of manners. The Japanese, no matter what position they hold, put major emphasis on excellent customer service. I would not say the same for the Chinese. After perhaps eating ground dog and horse, we luckily had a friendly fellow at our table who bought us all a round of beers. This made the dinner taste a little better.

Don't let the fancy table and place settings trick you:



After dinner Jason and I walked the streets of Xion. We are here during the midst of the Chinese New Year, which is the Year of the Tiger this year, so the streets are filled with beautiful lights and incredible decorations. The skies are filled with lanterns that people have bought and set off. Fireworks go off in every decoration. It is an amazing experience to witness such a celebration.




We took a cab from the city back to our hotel and watched the Olympics before calling it night. It was kind of weird joining in the crowds cheering for China.


Annecdote

2/17/2010: So my friends, it is official. I am an ogre, not just to the Japanese, but to all Asians. While at the dumpling restaurant I had to use the bathroom. In China, they have no toilet paper in the stalls, but you have to retrieve it from a wheel attached to the wall next to the sinks. I was standing next to a small Chinese woman, and I ripped off my portion of toilet paper. The Chinese woman, who I towered over, looked up at me with wide, astonished eyes and in a completely serious voice said “You so strong!”. I just can’t believe my ability to rip thin paper from a wheel is an impressive feat.