2010-06-16 China - Beijing

To start the day we had a lavish buffet breakfast, including many Chinese dishes and familiar Western breakfast items. I tried a little of everything until I ran out of room on my plate. After breakfast we went by bus to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was jammed with people, apparently today was the last day of a Chinese vacation so everyone was out. There were vendors every few steps, offering goods of every description, but mostly books, maps, fans, soft drinks, and trinket souvenirs of the Forbidden City. It was a hot muggy day, but very hazy - we were wondering if it was smog or just haze. It didn't seem to burn our eyes, but there was a smoky undertone, so we suspect smog. We walked what seemed miles across the Square, and finally came to the entrance. There was a crush of people entering, but we made our way in, only to find out there were several more gates to negotiate, of which we could see the first in the far distance. After another long walk and crush as everyone tried to pass through the gate, we were in another courtyard, with the next gate far in the distance. Needless to say, the Palace grounds are huge. Photos and videos don't give a good indication of the size, especially without people to give perspective, and cuts of the time it takes to traverse the courtyards and stairs. There was a wide-screen TV in the Square; we're used to 50 inch TVs, but this looked like a 50 foot TV!. I had to take a picture, and fortunately there were plenty of people to give the size its proper perspective.

After the Square and City, we went to a lavish Chinese lunch at the New Nikko Hotel. Kiyomi recognized the Nikko name from Japan. The lunch was typical Chinese, featuring a lazy susan about 4 feet in diameter made of glass. Then the surface was soon covered with numerous dishes of various traditional Chinese cuisine: corn soup, sweet and sour, stir fried, fried rice, noodles, won ton, dim sum, watermelon for dessert. We enjoyed Chinese beer with the food, a mild flavored beer with not too much hops taste.

Next we went to the Summer Palace, another huge property constructed for the Dowager Empress. We took a Dragon Boat to the main area, rather than walking a mile or so. Then we walked around the grounds for about 45 minutes, seeing only a small portion of the garden area. It was like a huge park, with pathways winding among the trees, interspersed with areas to stop for a view or contemplation. We could not imagine the Chinese royal ladies walking; we suppose they were carried in palanquins. It was hard enough for us to walk up and down the hills and steps.

After the Palace, it was "and now for something completely different", a visit to a working-class neighborhood to see an ordinary home in the Hutongs (narrow ancient alleys) district. It was very different from the opulence of the royal dwellings and surrounding gardens. The home was typical of the neighborhood, several generations living together, with kitchen and bathroom across a small courtyard (which was also a public walkway). The owner proudly displayed many souvenirs from previous visitors – flags, notes, postcards, photos, dolls, etc. along with traditional family heirlooms passed down over the years. There were several magpies (which could speak Chinese!), koi, and cats. After our visit, we were given a rickshaw ride back to the bus. The surroundings were not well maintained and ramshackle, lots of trash strewn around, but quite a few nice cars: VWs, Ford, Toyota, Suzuki, etc.

We returned to our hotel, and both of us commented how we were impressed by the wide straight city streets bordered by trees and flowers. The streets were normally three lanes in each direction, with a fourth lane for left turns at the lights, and separate side lanes in each direction for bicycles, and for taxis and buses to drop off and pick up passengers. There were many very colorful flower beds along the way, and weeping willows seemed to be the most popular tree, but we saw many other kinds. We did not expect so much greenery. We were also impressed by how tall the buildings were, especially the newer ones. At night some of the buildings put on an impressive light show.