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.