The Olympic City - Days 4 and 5

We are back from Qufu and Tai Shan, and we'll have blogs about the trip soon. But first, let's finish up our journey to Beijing. On Day 4 we decided to tackle the Beijing subway. It was much easier than we had expected. There are only five lines in Beijing, the last line opened right after we left. Of the four lines we were dealing with, one goes horizontal across town, one goes vertical across town, one goes vertical out of town, and one makes a loop, intersecting with the others. Thanks to our location, our destinations were really simple to reach. Beijing's subway is really old. Have you ever been in a subway where they have one person tearing tickets before you can go down to the train platform? That's how antiquated this subway system is; supposedly that is all changing before the Olympics, otherwise they'll need to hire some more ticket-takers.

So we hopped on the subway at Chongwen Station and got off at Yonghegong. Yong he Gong translates to The Lama Temple. For those of you who still don't know what I'm talking about, the Lama Temple is a well preserved Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing. Here's a helpful poem about lamas:

The one L Lama, is a priest

The two L Llama, is a beast

And I would bet my silk pajamas

That there's no such thing as a three L Lllama.

In other words, we weren't at a petting zoo. The lamasery (monastery for lamas) has been in Beijing since 1744. Before that, the buildings were the home of Emperor Yong Zheng. Because it was once the home of an emperor, the lamas enjoy some nice digs. The Lama Temple is kept immaculate (one of the few places that way in Beijing), and it seems that the Temple has plenty of cash flow. For example, every ticket (25 kuai/3 dollars) comes with a mini-VCD that you can pop into your computer and learn more about the temple. This is definitely not anything I've encountered at other temples.

Without going into too much detail (aka I might disappear), Tibetan and Chinese relations aren't great. Usually China gets most of the blame and Tibet gets the sympathy (a natural tendency to route for the underdog) from Westerners. However, both sides have a role in their current situation and icy relations. Nevertheless, the temple is a great and encouraging symbol of possibility in the capital city of the People's Republic.

This blog is already getting a little long, so I'll save Chinese temple descriptions for a future blog, and just give you what you really want, pictures!

Above, I'm rubbing a prayer wheel. Each wheel has inscriptions of some type (sutras, prayer, mantra). You spin the wheel, rub your hand along it, and the prayer is released. One might say the prayer or mantra aloud or silently in hopes of gaining compassion. Right is an icon, different icons, depending on the temple, are spread out throughout the complex. This is Skanda, he is protector of all the Buddhist relics. He's here to keep Maitreya safe. The Chinese don't discriminate with their praise, everyone receives love - as long as the deities, buddhas, spirits, etc. provide them with what they want.

Above, breathing can be difficult in a Chinese temple. Huge sticks of incense are offered in large fire pits. Top right is fat and happy Maitreya, the next Buddha. Below Maitreya, is another Tibetan deity, often called a wrathful deity. These guys and gals defend Buddhism and Buddhists from passion and evil influences outside and within. This is Mahakala, he won't hurt you. The greatest sight in the lamasery is a 56-foot statue of Maitreya made out of one piece of wood. Unfortunately, pictures aren't allowed, though I'm sure you can see it on Google.

After the temple, we crossed town and eventually made our way to the Beijing Zoo - along with every other tourist that happened to be in Beijing at the time. This place was packed. We headed to the Panda house, which was even more packed, got a look at a Panda, felt bad for the Pandas because the Chinese are always banging on the glass and being loud, and got out. If you're in Beijing during the offpeak season, the zoo would probably be cool, just not during national week. That night we took Jimbo to see his first, authentic Chinese acrobat show. While it didn't live up to the one we saw in Shanghai, it was still a good time.

The next day we got up and decided to visit the Beijing Underground City. Once again, pictures weren't allowed. The Underground City was created during the Cold War and is a series of weaving tunnels under Beijing. We got to walk through these cold, damp tunnels and it was pretty cool. Supposedly, one could walk all the way to TianJin (which is a good ways away, probably at least 70 miles) through the tunnels. If things had gone nuclear, the (select) Chinese could stay in the Underground City with the comforts of restaurants, libraries, and even movie theaters! We proceeded from the Underground City to view the City Wall Park. A well landscaped park which holds the only remaining part of the ancient Beijing City Wall. Pretty cool stuff.

Oh, then we went home via train (soft-seat!).

Here's a panda picture for being such a good reader:

Poor Chinese Pandas. Check out this recent article from the Beijing Zoo and what the Pandas have to go through: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21430375/

We'll be Back,

DB&KM

The Olympic City - Day 3: The Greatest of Walls

Without a doubt, one thing everyone must do during their time in China is see the Great Wall. Chairman Mao said, "He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man." Sorry ladies, guess the ol' Chairman wasn't a big fan of gender inclusive language. However, I have to agree with his sentiment. Walking along the Great Wall is one of those indescribable moments in life, but maybe we can help you picture just a bit of its transcendence.

Our wonderful hotel set us up with a driver, Yang (yahng), to take us to the Wall. There are many different places to see the Wall in Beijing; most are at least an hour or two from the city. We decided to stay away from the most touristed area, Badaling, fearing that it would be even more crowded because of National Week. Instead, we opted for a more rugged area called Huanghua. Even driving to the Wall was an experience. Along the way we passed through quaint mountain villages, and beautiful outlooks - something to whet the appetite. Yet, even beautiful scenery gets tiresome when driving up and down curvy moutain roads after a while. Thankfully, Yang notified us that we had arrived in Huanghua. As we gazed at the terrifyingly rugged section of wall, Chinese police officers started shooing us away (but not before a few well deserved pictures). After some confusion, and a few cigarettes, our driver let us know that we couldn't climb there today, but that he would take us somewhere else. So, begrudingly, we got back into the car and faced the long and winding road to Mutianyu.

Mutianyu is more touristy than Huanghua. For example, in Mutianyu, the path leading to the Wall is lined with vendors, restaurants, and hotels. In Huanghua, there is a dilapidated building with a vicious dog chained to it. In other words, both sights have their charms. We decided to take a cable car to the top of the mountain, which turned out to be a good decision. The Wall stretches along the very top of the mountains. The hike, while not impossible, would have been long, steep, and fairly demanding. The cable car provided us with some fantastic views, and got us to the wall with fresh legs. I cannot state how important it is to have fresh legs, because, the Great Wall is rarely, if ever, flat - quite the contrary. Most sections have very steep declines and ascents; in fact, after we got out of the cable car, we were greeted by at least a dozen people with sweat-drenched shirts (though it was a mild day). As I said before, being on top of the Great Wall on a clear day in the mountains is an indescribable experience. Therefore, I'll let the pictures do most of the work:

The wall snakes along the peaks of the mountain range. Sometimes it disappears into the lush forest, but not too long before bursting out again in a steep ascent. There are no handrails to help people along the Wall, yet the Chinese elders were out in force, making their way slowly but surely. The picture above right displays the watchtowers that would house the guards. From there, they could fire outside the windows, or climb to the top and hurl objects at their enemies. Below is a shot of the scenery outside one watchtower window.

Top right, Jimbo stands next to a canon positioned to nail invading Mongolians. Below that displays how steep the wall can be. The steps are different sizes, so you always have to watch your step. One wrong step, and you could be rolling on the Great Wall for quite a while.

As you can see from the picture on the right, the Wall goes a long way. It is also on the toughest and most unforgivable of terrains. Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall is not visible to the naked eye from space. Although the Great Wall did successfully thwart a few Mongolian invasions, Genghis soon learned that bribery was the best method of getting past the Wall. Much of the Great Wall, especially in the tourist areas, has been renovated. However there are a portions of the wall that are crumbling and being overtaken by growth, as can be seen below.

We decided to head back down the mountain and get back to Beijing. We were making our way to the chair lift when a sign caught our attention: "Great Wall Toboggan This Way." After debating whether we should do it for about, oh, seven seconds, we eagerly bought out tickets and made our way to the sleds. Maybe it was the mountain air, but I will admit to being giddy before hopping on the sled. There was one lever, pull up to brake, and more importantly, press down to accelerate. It took us over ten minutes to get up the mountain on cable car, and it took us about five minutes to get down by toboggan. Along the way, some guards would shout things like "Slow Down," "No Camera," or "Waiguo..." (Foreign something in Chinese), while the others would be reading a magazine or sleeping (I liked them better). Once we reached the bottom some "Mongolian invaders" were waiting to attack us...with requests to take a picture for only 10 kuai. Jimbo agreed, and the rest is history (look a few blogs back if you don't know the picture).

Before heading back, we decided to shop around a bit, and ended up making a lot of Chinese merchants very happy. Some treasures from the day include: A Great Wall staw hat, painting, and some sweet "I Climbed the Great Wall" t-shirts! On the way back we decided to stop and see the Olympic venues. Of course, the stadium was still under construction, as was just about the entire block around it. Unlike construction sites in the USA, Chinese constructions sites are pretty open and we managed to snap some pics of the Olympic stadium lovingly coined, "The Bird's Nest." After some rest, we went to find the newly opened National Theater which is one gorgeous building. It was night, so we couldn't get any good pictures of it, but its worth a Google Image search if you're not familar with it. It kind of looks like a UFO landed in this big lake in the middle of downtown Beijing. If that doesn't make you want to see it, nothing will.

We are almost at the end of our Beijing blogs, but not quite. We still have another eventful day to report, so look for that soon. Also, we are lucky enough to be going to Qufu and Tai Shan this weekend. Qufu is the home of Confucius, and Tai Shan is the holiest mountain in China; therefore, we'll be a lot wiser and a tad more holy when we return next week.

Until then,

DB & KM

One last treat. It occured to me during the tobogganing that some of our readers might enjoy this too. You've got to love modern technology (that is if this actually works). Enjoy!

I don't know why I listened to that guy.

The Olympic City - Day 2

The second day of our holiday we decided to do the ultimate tourist destinations of the Forbidden City and The Temple of Heaven. On entering the Forbidden City, Kendall left us and went to purchase tickets. On his return several minutes later, once more we had confirmation that you should never get in line behind Chinese tourists. They do not seem to understand the concept of a fixed price. So the 5 or 6 people in front of him all had to argue with the ticket lady, trying to bargain down the entrance fee. Of course there is yelling on both sides with the final answer of course being that they must pay the same price as all the rest. We are of the conclusion that they must welcome western tourists because we simply walk up to the window, hand them the correct amount of money and take our tickets. No questions, or bargaining, asked.

The Forbidden city is considered one of China's best preserved land marks. You can definitely tell that they have repainted and rennovated most of it. Below you can see the traditional chinese painting that covers all the eaves of any relatively old building across the country. They are quite fond of bright colors.

Entrance to the Forbidden City. We definitely understand now why it is called a city. The site is enourmous. It would take several days to explore the whole thing. I can see now why they never wanted to leave.
You would think that a national monument with thousands of tourists each year would have an interpreter that would be able to spell check the signs. But no....and the one below is one of my favorites...along with the switch in the hotel room to turn on the "ceding" lights. I suppose its a combo of reading and ceiling??

The Imperial Chariot. Imagine carrying that on your shoulders.
This huge marble carving is made out of 1 piece of marble that they had to deliver into Beijing on an ice path. It was the official road they could convey the emperor over while he was sitting in the sedan chair above. Just a bit of shameless advertising...JB Outdoors goes to China!
The Imperial Throne, well one of them. Apparently there are several.
One of the coolest things in the Forbidden City is by far the Watch and Clock museum. They have preserved over a hundred clocks given to the Chinese emperors during the 19th century mainly by England. They are quite extravangant and perfectly preserved. My favorite is the one below. Look closely and you will see the western gentleman who writes 7 different chinese characters with real ink at certain times when the clock chimes.

The moat surrounding the Forbidden city. All the dirt was taken across the street to create a mountain to protect the city from dust storms.

The entrance into the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is surrounded by a giant park where people simply come to practice tai chi and various intruments. We walked among the various buildings and took part in the Echo wall, which is a circular wall enclosing one of the prayer buildings. Kendall stood on one end and we stood at the other and we could hear each other as if we were standing right next to each other, well minus the screaming chinese tourists in between us. They didn't seem to understand that the concept is to whisper and see if your friend could hear you... The buildings all have round walls with square bases symbolizing heaven and earth. Below is a picture of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests which has 3 tiers of white marble surrounding it. Everything surrounding the Round Altar consists of something to do with the number 9, which is the imperial number because odd numbers possess heavenly significance and it is the largest single digit odd number.

We finished the day by scouring through the Pearl Market, a five story building selling everything from knock off purses to real pearls. The best part of our brief look around was when we tried to pass through the shoe section. The only way to describe it is as if we were trying to survive the gauntlet. Kendall was in front of me and dad behind. Once we entered the row of shoe sellers, women simply poured out to meet us. Kendall got bashed in the head a few times with some knock off pumas, I was shoved so much that I couldn't help laughing hysterically thinking "Is this really happening?" I looked behind me to find dad surrounded by tiny women shoving shoes at him, his face red from trying to hold in his laughter. We made a break for it and finally got to the end, with all limbs in tact. Though I still think Kendall might have gotten a concusion.

The Olympic City - Day 1

As promised, the next couple o' blogs will be about our trip to Beijing - the capital of China. Beijing isn't too far from Qingdao, so we bought some high-speed train tickets and left early one morning. Thankfully, the train ride was pleasant and took a mere 6 hours. We also got to view some authentic Chinese countryside; not surprisingly, it was mostly packed with large farms. But, on to the good stuff, right?

The Beijing train station was conveniently close to our hotel. We dropped our bags and headed for the largest public square in the world.

For those of you who guessed Tiananmen Square, give yourself 200 points! The photo above shows the Gate of Heavenly Peace, also known as the building with the huge portrait of Mao. As you can also see, we arrived at the square around dusk, and were greeted by a Disney-like atmosphere that the square emanates at night. All the buildings are outlined with white lights like the one above. Another great surprise was a special botanical exhibit in the square aimed at getting the Chinese pumped about the olympics. There was a variety of flowers and arrangements configured to look like athletes engaging in various olympic sports. All of the athletes were standing in front of a Great Wall replica made out of flowers. It was really quite beautiful. At night, the exhibit was also lit which only increased its beauty. Tiananmen Square is also surrounded by many government buildings, and there are many monuments in the square itself - Monument to the People's Hero, and of course the Maosoleum. We decided to bypass these, but were slightly disappointed when we learned the Chinese Natural Museum was closed...until 2009 (how in the world can you close your national museum for that long, especially when you have the olympics coming to THAT city?)!

Tiananmen's charm lies in the people that flock to the square in support of their country. It was National Week, so believe us when we tell you, there were a lot of them. One night we walked to the square to hang out and were greeted by a claustrophobia-inducing amount of people packed into the square. Our first night in the square was our most pleasant. We were able to look at the flower exhibit in peace and watch the kites cut through the night sky. Beijing at night is different from many other global cities. First off, the city is expansive, yet there really aren't too many enormous buildings, especially around the Tiananmen area. Second, buildings don't stay lit all night long. If you look out over the city at night, you can tell the tourist areas, they are the ones that are lit up; the other areas remain dark, seemingly lifeless.

One area that is definitely not lifeless is Wanfujing Lu (Street). The street is Beijing's most popular shopping street and is lined with mall after mall. Fortunately, it also has Beijing's most praised Peking Duck Restaurant - QuanJuDe. You can't go to Beijing and not eat Peking Duck, it would be like going to Memphis and not having barbeque. The restaurant was very nice, and the food was hen haochi (very delicious). In true A Christmas Story fashion, the duck was brought out with the neck and head. Luckily, at QuanJuDe, they carve the duck for you. Another aspect that absolutely thrilled Darbie was the tea server. Usually, restaurants have a simple teapot from which the guests serve themselves; not so at QuanJuDe. A lady (perhaps a tea-pouring guru) walks around with a lengthy contraption serving tea. I wish we had video of Darbie's face the first time the lady refilled her glass. Fortunately, we do have some documentation, although it does not quite recreate the magic of their first meeting.

All this info for you, and this is only the first night! Instead of making you read one incredibly long post, we're going to break it up for you. Its kind of like how The Office really leaves you hanging with the whole Jim and Pam thing every season. We just want you to be thinking, "What in the world did they do the rest of the time they were in Beijing?" Plus, not too much goes on in Huangdao these days, so we need future posts. However we will leave you with a picture also taken on our first night in Beijing

One World. One Dream. Indeed. The Olympic Friendlies are hot, get on board now while you still can. And don't worry, at some point we will have an entire blog about just who these friendly pandas are and why they are so great.

Day 2, coming soon!

DB & KM

We're Back!

Sorry to all of you that check the blog everday (ok, that excludes everyone), but we forgot to let you all know that we were going to Beijing for Golden/National Week! So don't fear, we are still blogging, we just have been away for a while. We'll have many, many upcoming blogs about our marvelous trip to Beijing, but first we want to catch you up on Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is more popularly known as the Moon Festival. While there are a ton of different stories that debate the significance of the Moon Festival, they usually revolve around Chang E, a woman who flew to the moon and can still be seen when the moon is full in mid-autumn. Oh, and a giant bunny keeps her company up there. The Moon Festival is similar to our Thanksgiving. It's a time to get together with family, drink some Tsingtao, and eat moon cakes (what else?!). For those of you not familiar with moon cakes, allow me to bring you up to date.

First off, as I know we have many readers from the South, moon cakes are not to be confused with Moon Pies, the delicious marshmallow treat (if only we were so lucky). Around or on the Moon Festival, moon cakes are customarily given to coworkers, friends, and loved ones. We were surprised when Mr. Li (our caretaker) presented us with a tin of moon cakes. Viewing the outside of a moon cake for the first time will likely make your mouth salivate; they look like quite a treat. However, biting into one will quickly reverse that bodily instinct. Moon cakes are often stuffed with quail eggs, red bean paste, dried fruits, ham, crushed nuts - you name it. Furthermore, most of these wonderful fillings are often combined (picture the fruit cake from Hell)! I don't want to make it sound too bad because the Chinese do love their moon cakes, and it is a special holiday for them to be with family. But, let me say that I don't think moon cakes will be making their way to the states soon (although, Haagen-Das and Dairy Queen - yes, there are DQ's here - are now making moon cakes).

Save your R.C. Cola for the real thing

Moon Festival was complete when Jimbo (Darbie's father) arrived later in the week with real delicacies (granola bars, dvds, lint rollers, books, etc); we were very thankful. After much hustle and bustle, we managed to get 3 tickets via CRH (China Rail-Highspeed) to Beijing. These adventures, of which there were many, will follow soon! Here's a sneak peek though:

We had to get this picture out as soon as possible

Stay Tuned!

DB & KM