Wednesday, June 1
Today is the day our China Adventures really begin!
We started the day off with a delicious fusion breakfast at our hotel. At 8AM sharp, we loaded our tour busses and headed to our first stop of the day- The Summer Palace. Along the way, our tour guide, Jane, provided us with some more fun facts about Beijing. Here is a sampling:
- Beijing is 6800 km2 and is home to 16 million people (1/2 the Canadian population)
- Tourism is the number one industry in Beijing. The Forbidden City alone grosses over 500 million Chinese Yuen (~80 million US dollars) annually.
- 1 cup of human milk in the morning and a spoon full of pearl dust at night is the recipe for smooth ageless skin... Anyone?
The summer palace was lovely and serene. There is a beautiful lake that is surrounded by rolling hills and mountains that provides a constant cool breeze- it is no wonder the royal family spent so much time here!
{lake at the Summer Palace}
At the Summer Palace, there is a very long corridor- nearly one kilometer in length (738 meters, to be exact). This corridor was designed as a place for the royal family to walk, enjoying the lake view, shaded from the sun. There are some beautiful paintings covering the framework that are still vibrant and colorful despite hundreds of years of exposure to the elements. UNESCO added the Summer Palace to its World Heritage List in 1998.
{the long corridor}
{close up of the paintaing in the long corridor}
From the summer palace, we headed to a "western restaurant" for lunch. Not my fave! I am not that picky of an eater, but I am rarely a fan of buffets- this one was no exception. Give me Chinese food (what we had been eating) any day over this fare.
After that, we went to the Forbidden City and then Tianamen Square. Although we had been both places before, it was really nice to have a guide this time!!
Here is a picture of me with our tour guide Jane (her flag reads "Super Vacation" in case you were wondering...)
Here are a couple of facts about the Forbidden City-
-Construction began on The Forbidden City on 1406- and took 20 years to complete. Over 1 million workers were required.
- There are 9,999.5 rooms! The half room hosted a staircase. It was thought that Heaven must have 10,000 rooms, so it was only appropriate that the Emperor's Palace have 1/2 room less.
-It was open to to the public for the first time in 1978. Prior to that, no "commoners" were allowed.
{"Commoners" in the Forbidden City}
A note from Mr. Maestro:
One of the cultural traditions that I have observed and admire here in China is the meal time. Group meals at restaurants are shared around a big round table that seats 8-10 people. In the center of the table is a large "Lazy Susan" where the various dishes are placed.
It is the custom that individuals do not order their own personal food, but instead the table orders plates to be shared. There is usually a large bowl of rice (and/or noodles) and soup and then 8 or 10 plates of various vegetables and meats. Each individual has a small (desert size) plate where they place small servings of the various dishes. Once you finish your small portion, you help yourself to more. Hot tea accompanies every meal and fruit (watermelon usually) is served as desert.
I admire this custom for a couple of reasons:
You get to try a little bit of everything. This is great if you are like me can never decided what to order because everything looks good!
The small plate really encourages portion control. It's a lot easier to tell when you are full when you are eating in many little spurts instead of one large plate of food that you feel pressured to clear.
In this arrangement the meal is literally shared together and conversation seems to flow naturally and endlessly (even if you are just asking someone to pass something over and over again). This way the meal feels much more like a family communing together instead of just a simple refueling station. It's good to be reminded to slow down and share what we have with on another.
Thursday, June 2nd
Today we...
...went to the park within the Temple of Heaven. Here people (mostly retired) enjoyed hobbies including tai chi, fan tai chi, sword tai chi, ball tai chi (they really like tai chi), cards, dominos, ballroom dancing and "group singing". Guess which one Mr. Maestro was most excited about...
{Temple of Heaven}
...saw how jade was refined into jewelry and sculptures. {MC might have picked up something nice here.}
...learned how they make cloisonné (enamelware) vases. Oh you want to know how it is done? Ok. Take a look:
{attaching tiny copper wires to a copper vase in intricate designs}
{wires are now attached}
{filling the wires with the enamel paint}
{polishing the nearly finished product}
...climbed the great wall - no big deal.
...visited the Olympic Park where Mr. Maestro swam near the water cube.
...ate a delicious meal of Peking Duck (again, too busy enjoying the food to take a pic)
Two days packed full of Beijing adventures and now a 4 AM wake-up call in our future. Tomorrow we fly out of Beijing. Next stop: Shanghai en route to Suzhou, Wuxi, and Hangzhou.
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