Okay, so where to begin...I've been putting off this post because it was such an AMAZING trip and I have so much to say about it (and because I have been so busy)!!! I don't want to post all the pictures, but there are a lot more, so if you want to go to picasa to see them, then go here...
My parents (John and Jane Covey) flew to Shanghai to be with us, so we took Ellie, James and Grace up to Beijing for the week. Here we are at the Great Wall. We went to the Mutianyu section and loved it. Our bus (yes, our tour guide company gave us a bus again :) drove about an hour outside of Beijing to get to this section of the wall. It was a drive not to be soon forgotten, with one-lane winding back roads and crazy drivers. I actually really enjoy these drives now. Eventually we arrived at the base of mountain, had some of the best fried rice and meat mixture I have ever had and started hiking up to the place where you just buy the tickets for the cable car up. It was a good affirmation that we were truly in the mountains and happy that there was a cable car to take us to the top. (I now have some appreciation for Coleman's first Great Wall experience that he was not prepared for and was surprising hard.) We hiked up to where the cable car entrance was and it was a serious 45 degree hike. We passed all the vendors and it was fun to see them looking at us like suckers and then start bartering on the way down and teaching them about the "Shanghai Woman" (this is what the shopkeepers were calling me throughout the trip - it means that I was a hard bargainer, because Shanghainese are known throughout China as being very tough negotiators.) It was the very end of March and so there were very few tourists and the weather was pleasant - not hot or cold.
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The great wall is over 2,ooo years old and is an amazing structure.We are seriously babies in America. We are constantly saying to our kids "this is 500 years old, or 1,000 - the history here is so long - even so much longer than Europe. It was breaktaking to see this sturdy and beautiful structure in the middle of the rugged mountains. It has been beutifully restored and maintained. Unbelievable that they built this so long ago and so such a long stretch - about 6,700 km that's
On the first day we hit the Summer Palace. It was an imperial summer resort of the Qing Dynasty. "With it's perfect layout, magnificent buidings and enchanting landscape, it is the most splendid classical garden in China." There is seriously a lot to feng shui. I know that there is a lot of superstition with the Chinese and that's why they have such balance but there is such beauty and they make everything so
Beijing truly blew me away and I have traveled a lot. The grandeur in which the chinese build things is amazing.
Here we are at the Forbidden City. It is called the Forbidden City because it was forbidden from everyone except for the emperor and his family and guests. The emperor's family never even left the city because it has everything they could ever possibly want and more. There was a theater that was very large and set up for one man to watch this production. It was unbelievable all that they did for one person and one family. It is huge (there are many layers to get into the deep sanctuary of the Forbidden City and where the emperor and his main wife and other wives/children/concubines reside.)
Here are the pillars that signify you are entering the Olympic venues (from the back window of the bus:) It was very cool to see and be reminded of those amazing summer games. Now that I am in China I have an appreciation for the opening ceremonies and how amazing they were. It is so China to have all those drummers and to have the huge and amazing things that they did with the hundreds of thousands of people they used to do it. China definitely knows how to put on a production.
Here we are sporting our Gucci sunglasses that we paid about $3 a piece for. There is so much fun shopping in China!!!
One night we went to a Kung Fu Show. We saw some unbelievable stunts including stacking bodies on beds of nails, tricks with fire, breaking metal on their heads (we actually saw the metal boards in the theater before as proof that they were real, and ofcourse lots of very cool kung fu fighting and tricks. It was awesome and with the lighting and costumes it was like a broadway show. Here we are outside of the red theater after the show. I felt like I had just watched Kung Fu Panda and was ready to do a little Kung Fu myself (they make it look so easy:) The theater is called the Red Theater and red is definitely the theme and color in China because it means "good luck" (everything means good luck, or that it will bring you wealth, power and money because that's pretty much what people want) and I love the red - it is a great accent or main color.
Here is my mom and Ellie hot and heavy in Gin Rummy. Grandma's specialty is playing games with the kids. Everyone loves to play with her. She always brings out her own games and the kids beg to play with her all day long. She played so many games while she was here that I think she won't be able to pick up a deck of cards or play a board game for a very long time. (At least until she sees more grandkids:)
We had to get a picture in front of the Fu dog. Everyone else in China calls them the lions but from day one Grandma was looking for "Fu dog's" as she would say to decorate her home and you do see these big lions everywhere as decoration and guarding the home or building they are outside of although they are not quite so big and menacing as these are, although they are a little scary if you look close. I even got a very small pair for my own home. I really think they look cool and I onced mentioned to Coleman that if we ever built a big home it would be cool to put a pair of these outside the front door or front gate in a white or green jade and he about fell off his chair. You think he would be able to embrace the culture a little better - ha ha.
Here we are outside our hotel with our tour guide. The place looked great from the outside, but was definitely no Ritz Carlton. It did the trick and was great. In most Chinese and some european hotel rooms you put your room key in this slot by your door and it turns on all the electricity in the room. My parents saw us do this and then they thought you had to pull out the key at night to turn off the main light. So my poor parents were sleeping in a cold room with no heating (because their key was not in the slot) and opening their doors to get light from the outside hallway if they had to go the bathroom in the middle of the night. They thought that was how it worked because in Europe there are some bed and breakfast places that turn off their electricity at 11 or 12 pm. They were still jet lagged and so they were waking up at 3 am to a cold and dark room and bathroom and unless they were to wake the other person and put in the key - which turned on the overhead light - they were stuck suffering through. We were discussing the rooms the next day or two and my mom was telling me stories about her cold bathroom until I finally realized what they were doing. My mom can tell a great story and so as she was going over things they had done I was laughing so hard I was in pain. It still brings a smile to my face.
Here we are outside the Summer Palace which was an imperial summer resort of the Qing Dynasty. where the emperor and his family would spend their summer vacations. It is in the Guiness Book of World Records for having the longest corridor in the world. The corridor was built by the emperor for his mother as a birthday present so she could stroll the beautiful grounds even if it was raining. The insides have beautiful paintings and I think it took about 10,000 aritisans to paint the inside. The millions of people that worked on homes and resorts for the emperor and his family is almost disgusting. This place is considered one of the most splendid classical gardens in China and I could see why. Everything is placed very strategically with beautiful landscapes and magnificent buildings. They know a thing of two about balance and Feng Shui.
Here is a picture of a many writing a poem in characters using sponges and water. It is interesting the hobbies that the older people come up with. This is considered a form of exercise and was really quite beautiful. People have to retire at about age 65 and so there is a huge retired community in China. We went to a park outside Ti'annamen Square where many older people hang out dancing and singing and playing games and cards. They have no problem just singing right out and dancing and having people watch them and this is pretty much what they do all day. Many hobbies have been created for this age.
Here we are on a portion of the Sacred Road. This is the path that the emperors would take after they died and were being taken to the burial grounds and also the path the sitting emperors would go to perform memorial rituals for the ancestors once a year. The path is lined with stone statues of animals, mystical beasts and officials who serve the emperor in his afterlife. We only walked one portion of it but it was so beautiful and peaceful. We all said what an amazing walk.
One thing I think is interesting is that the emperors wives who do not have children with him will be killed when he dies and so they can be with him after he is dead. I think his first wife will also be killed when he dies. Many people die when the emperor dies and so he can have them with him after he is dead.
Here is James on some of the steps at the Great Wall. This wall was not built for wimps some steps come up to his knees or thighs!!
I couldn't help but get a picture of some of the soldiers walking through Tian'anmen Square. It is the largest public square in the world and could hold a sit down dinner for 100,000 people. This is where the big government buildings are and where the officals meet. This is where Mao's mausoleum is. The line to see his body was crazy winding around the equivalent of a city block? No one has any bags, cameras and people are close together in line and are paying attention. The guard told us it is only about an hour wait, but you must obey the rules. There is seriously tight security in Tian'anmen Square with security cameras everywhere. Undercover police and then the official soldiers. They are not going to tolerate any mishaps on their official headquarters. I talked with my tour guide about the 1989 killing of 30,000 students here and she said that is was real with the tanks, etc... but it is a secret to most chinese. I was glad that she was so honest because I know most chinese were taught that the students attacked first and that it wasn't as bad as the foreigners said it was - but that's not true. That's the power of controlling the press, TV, news and heck we can't even get utube over here because of a controversial showing of a monk in Tibet being beat up by a guard and so the government won't let anyone access utube (and all the free Tibet propaganda). Even the foreigners - which we get cable and a lot of other things the locals can't.
Sophia (tour guide) told me about how these students were from one of the most prestigious universities in the area and how they were plowed down with tanks and everything. It is amazing to me how Mao is revered as a God. Outside the outer entrance of the Forbidden City and right across the street from Tian'anmen Square is a HUGE picture of Mao. It will probably always be there to remember all that he did for the people. I asked her about the cultural revolution (when he killed every artist, doctor, educator or educated person) and she said that he made just one mistake and that was it. My jaw about dropped to the floor because that is one serious mistake. But I know one way they have always controlled the people is through brainwashing and I think she was really taught that is was just one mistake and everyone can have one mistake. Truly unbelievable to me. You have to experience it to believe it. You can regularly see around here statues, pictures and memorabilia of Mao. Heck the money has his big kisser all over it complete with his big mole. He was the people's people! Crazy but slightly understandable because he was raised like an ordinary chinese person and was such an agricultural man. He helped them to eat more and so for that they will forever see him as a hero. Wow.
I couldn't help but get a picture of the squatters. This is the main bathroom for many of the people who live in the Hutongs and this is a typical toilet in China. Most grocery stores and any public bathroom is holes like this. I think that squatting is a very natural position for many countries. It really threw me at first and of course you bring your own toilet paper. It is so funny how in the grocery stores there are isles dedicated to carry pack tissues and if a child of mine has a runny nose everyone has a tissue to whip out for them. I have finally learned a trick that I should look for a handicapped sign and then go in their (even if there is no door) because that is where a regular toilet is. Going to the bathroom in China is seriously an experience that a women does not want to miss. I debated from day one talking about this, but it must be addressed because it still surprises me sometimes. If I am in a very public place then there will be no handicapped toilet option and to wait in line for a "hole" is crazy. Instead of waiting at the end of the isle for one to open up people line up outside the door and just cram in there. There is no etiquette as to who got their first and if you are not looking then you have lost your turn. That's actually how most things are like elevators, or lines for anything. I have taught my children to just jump in - we will have to relearn some real etiquette lessons when we leave here. Digressing back to the bathroom...sometimes we are crammed body to body waiting for your stall to open. People hitting into each other and smashed body to body (because China definitely has a lot of bodies) instead of having the line go out the door further!! At the end of the day you don't even want to go because it is stinky, dirty and the garbage can is full. Enough said.
In this picture you can see how small the partition is and I looked over and saw this teenage girl texting her friend while my big white bum was way too obvious. We have a lot more personal space and privacy in all areas of our lives in the states.
We took rickshaws through the Hutongs which are the old narrow paths with lots of courtyard homes where common people are living. They are like villages within megalopolis. We saw the old houses and learned about the daily life of ordinary Beijing citizens in the teeming maze of these alleyways. Historically the Hutongs had nothing but common toilets (as shown above), showers, no running water or electricity. Now it has changed and there are some with modern conveniences but there are still many with cole burning stoves for heat (major pollution problem!!!) and only generators for electricity. The country definitely cleaned up the hutongs before the Olympics. China did a lot to put their best foot forward. They really tried to get the signs so they made sense. (Some chinese translations are hilarious and I bought a funny book of them because you still see them today.) They painted the hutongs a uniform grey and really tried to clean up and cut out some obvious pollution problems. I felt like our tour was fun but definitely a set up. There were set homes and people that we saw and talked to. My mom put it well it's like in Russia - "they roll out the red carpet and expect you to stay on it!" But it was interesting to see the alleyways, laundry hanging out to dry and day to day rubble and living.
We stopped at a Cloisonne factory probably because they get some commission for bringing us here but wow was it amazing!! We got a tour of how the Cloisonne is made and then they take you to their store. The steps that are taken amaze me and I really got a great appreciation for the beautiful pieces that are made. So after they scetch on the vase or plate what picture they will create then they bend, glue and fire metal (like 5000 degrees Farinheit) to each line. Several coats of different color are added and then fired. They are heated, washed and tons of other things that I can't describe, but the workers will do the same step in the process day in and day out their whole lives. The washers have every other day off because their room is SO LOUD and it is hard on their hands. I was talking with the factory guide and these workers who work with such skill and labor make a couple hundred dollars a month and then they sell these creations for $100 (for an ornament) to $100,000 for a big vase or fish bowl. It is high way robbery. Hard life working in China.
Only the emperors had Cloisonne and I can see why!! It is beautiful and only made in China because they have the workers to do it. It takes a lot of man power, time, skill and work!! My cute parents bought me a real Cloisonne to remember the experience. It is beautiful with the two birds for ying and yang - feng shui and peonie flowers - the Chinese flowers.
Here is Ellie watching on of the workers add color to a plate that will become Cloisonne. She uses a sucker upper? of the sand and puts it in each little metal opening. She has all these colors to chose from and combine together.
The lady sold me the kite and I made the mistake of paying her before we decided what string she was including with the kite :) She tried to hand me a spool of thread, but my driver took it and threw it on the ground. It was very dramatic, and in the end we got a decent 200 yards or so of real kite string on a fishing reel. But I digress...
[aside: I had heard about the kids with the holes in their pants for taking care of business, but hadn't seen it before. This shows very clearly the diaper coming out of the slot that I hear in the summertime is not so obstructed, but is very convenient. Just had to share...]
We next came to a booth where they were selling bubble blowers. As anyone who has kids knows, this was a major event. Adam and Jack especially loved running around and popping bubbles with hands, sticks, sandwiches, etc. Rachel was taking photos of Jack in the bubbles and actually caught this photo of Adam in the background... Is he really trying to EAT the bubbles? This candid has made me rethink how much good the old "soap in the mouth when you use potty language" is doing for Adam. He seems to have developed a taste for the stuff...
We had a great time playing around with them and of course we drew quite a crowd of people around Grace and the stroller. The photo I included here is not a big crowd, but I love the guy holding up five fingers and the expression on his face. This is completely typical of just about every interaction we have with people when we're out in force. Wu ge. (means 5, as in five kids). Adam knows a few words/phrases in Chinese, and "wu ge xiao hai" (5 children) is definitely one. At one point in the afternoon, he just started chanting it out of the blue.
We truly had a blast driving the bike around the lake and the other areas of the park. People would look then point. At one point we had a young couple pass us in a three-seater and the guy gave us that "so long suckers" look, so I got my best pedalers on each of the four stations and we pedaled hard and caught up with them. As soon as they felt the heat of the chase, it was on. They pedaled fast, we pedaled fast and were giving them a run despite the hunk of metal we were pulling along with us, but then we lost a shoe and we had to drop out. Speaking of dropping out, that will do it for this installment, but stay tuned... we have more adventures to share... 
