Beijing Vacation

I finally got a day off work. I have a three day weekend, It is national Tomb Sweeping day. The decision was made in China to have less week long holidays and to have more three day weekends, more or less on the western model.

I first thought of going to Wuhan and then to the Three Gorges; but I was not sure of the weather. So, I decided to go and spend a few days in Beijing instead. I have only been to Beijing the one time, when I arrived in China. I am often asked if I had been here and I always had to say no.

I do have to say that I came prepared to not like it. Making the arrangements was easy. I wrote to the hostel and told them what days I would be in Beijing and they confirmed room availability. He Zhi Qing then went and got me train tickets. I wanted a sleeper that would leave after school on Thursday and a "D" train to return on Sunday. Surprisingly, that is exactly what she got for me. She even got me a bottom bunk, as I requested.

She was not able to come with me as she is preparing for a retest of the TEM 4. It is shocking to Chinese when we travel alone, as I have said, they are uncomfortable doing things alone. I find it interesting that they see the words, "alone, " and, "lonely," as being synonymous.

I packed and wandered down to get a cab to the train station. Interestingly enough, the cab drive had no trouble understanding my instructions, in Chinese, and we went right to the train station.

You may have heard that there were some localized problems in China recently. I have little else to say on the at issue at this time; however, I saw that it has brought a change to even our small city. The first class waiting room now has a luggage scanner. There was a bit of a row in the waiting room that had the rail police involved; but, it was resolved before my train arrived.

The car was unusually loud and stayed that way most of the trip. However, I did eventually get to sleep. There wasn't much else to note until the next morning, after breakfast. I met some Americans, one was from Arizona, the other was from South Dakota. They were both living in Zhengzhou and were also visiting Beijing for a short vacation. We chatted until it was time to get our bags and prepare to leave the train.

I quickly found a cab and had no trouble getting to my hostel. I am a bit disappointed that this hostel lacks wi-fi. I later rented a bicycle and rode over to Tian'anmen square. I was surprised by the lack of street shops and vendors. It looks like L.A. during the ugly, modern, period of the seventies. there were not many people walking. I am staying in the Hutong district; which is a bit... colorful... but it really is hidden off the main areas and only accessible through narrow, and unmarked, alleys.

I returned to my hostel to find that, while I was gone, He Zhi Qing had cleaned my flat and chatted with Debra for a while on skype. I am also been keeping in touch with people in China by SMS messaging them. SMS is a lot more common here than it is in the states. I was using it as an opportunity to practice my Chinese as I was sending them messages in Chinese; however, to reply, they still need to send the messages in English. I can read very little Chinese; but, as I use it more, when sending messages, my ability to read it improves.

Having scouted the previous day, I was ready for my trip to Tian'anmen square. Getting there was a short walk of about three or four kilometers. To cross the major streets that are near the square there are several pedestrian subways.

At the square the first thing that is noticeable if the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao. It is a huge structure that, really, looks nothing like a mausoleum. on one side is the great hall of the people, there are no tours of this building. On the other side is a building that I was told I could lock up my camera and bag in. no cameras or bags are allowed in Chairman Mao's mausoleum. at the far end of the square is another pedestrian tunnel that leads to the entrance to the imperial city. The imperial city is also known as the forbidden city.

I did not go here first. Instead I went to the ancestral records area. This is a seldom visited section of the forbidden city and is not part of the forbidden city ticket. The ticket itself is very reasonable, at 2RMB. The buildings are part of the imperial city and are in areal photos of the city. The structures are very similar to what one would find in the, more crowded, main part of the imperial city. I recommend this side park to any person looking for the Forbidden City experience without the crowds.

From that quiet park I went to the part of the forbidden city that most visitors see. The first thing experienced, after walking through the large passage tunnels that are visible from Tian'anmen square, is a large plaza filled with people, vendors, ticket scalpers, and plain old hustlers of all forms. At the other end there are ticket booths to enter the main part of the complex.

After purchasing the tickets I also spent 40RMB on an audio guide The guide relies on small transponders throughout the park and frequently got lost (thought I was somewhere that I was not) and required frequent pressing of the buttons I was told to leave alone. An example this was while I was leaving the Louvre exhibit, the guide thought I was leaving the entire Forbidden City complex, instructed me on how to return it and retrieve my deposit, and shut itself off.

These little balls are embedded in the pavement all over the place, I never got a good answer as to what their purpose was.

The Louvre exhibit was one of the first things that I visited. A number of Napoleonic works were on loan and being displayed in the main gatehouse. These were not at all Chinese; but, interesting all the same.

In the side rooms of the entrance plazas to the Forbidden City were other displays featuring the arms and amour of the guards of the forbidden city. Photography was forbidden in these areas and they were watching and barking at people who ignored the rules. As a result I only have a few pictures of these exhibits. (Here I have a minor complaint about the Fiji S5/7/9 series. they have an auto focus assist lamp that is there to assist the auto focus function. It works well; but, it is a visible lamp. This has gotten me yelled at several times, and chased out of a temple once.)

Much of the forbidden city is under renovation; so, I can not comment extensively about these buildings. These buildings include the XXX building, the largest building in the Forbidden City complex.

After entering the inner court yard I was getting a bit tired, it was well after noon by this point. I stopped and took a short nap, only to be awaken by another napper roping his water bottle. I then decided to purchase lunch at one of the overpriced establishments in the complex. There were non any of these so the, typical, Chinese vendor effect was not noticeably, there were just enough of them to be useful.

It just struck me as wasteful to spend the money to enter the complex and then not enjoy it because I had neglected to bring my own water and lunch. I would tell anyone else considering visiting this World Heritage Site (worked that in to attract the search engines; see, I am learning) that they should bring a couple of bottles of water for each person and something to eat. It really is that big. The meal was not really overpriced, having just eaten a meal at the hostel (now, by Chinese standards, those meals are overpriced); but, I ordered beef curry and it really failed to set me on fire.

From there I visited many of the smaller, side, palaces. These were all interesting and worth the visit. I then went through the garden at the north end of the complex, which is also an exit for those who are too tired to continue. And, after having an ice cream (there is a reason that I can walk for 6 hours and loose very little weight), I went to the palaces on the other side of the complex.

Many of these were closed. However, one that was very interesting; both, because it was different than all the others and because it was unfinished for several reasons, was the palace that featured western buildings. unlike the traditional buildings, these were built in a typically western style. as such they were able to house many different programs and displays. they provide the research center for clay pottery preservation and on display are some very valuable, and interesting, examples of Chinese pottery.

From here I was working on my exit and saw several court yards from the other side. I returned the audio guide and there was no notice of my having used the "do not touch" buttons. It then worked my way past the crowd and the tea house scamers. I don't know if I described this scam in any detail in the past; so, here it is. Do understand that my knowledge of this scam is secondhand; however, the stories are plentiful enough to believe it is real (I do sometimes worry that I have brushed off a genuine student, or person trying to be polite; but, this is a "better safe than sorry" decision that I have made [sometimes it is better to miss an opportunity than to invite catastrophe]).

A young Chinese woman will introduce herself and try to make friends quickly. She will then direct the unsuspecting foreigner to a tea house (one of the reasons that I am, generally, leery of tea houses) and proceed to order some unreasonably priced tea. Then, when it is time to pay, they conveniently disappear. They later take a cut from the owner. And, pay note, do not pay with your credit or ATM card. There are plenty of stories of accounts being cleaned out.

The Art scam is a bit more straightforward and I hesitate to call it a scam. It is just a high pressure sales tactic. A person claiming to be an art student will ask you to come and look "just look" at the exhibition from their school or whatever. Then once you are there looking, the high pressure sales attic starts. Like I say, not really a scam, just something to be aware of if you are asked to "look" at a persons art

... Back to the story... From there I walked back and visited several music stores to see what a better violin should cost. I ha some trouble seeing much significant difference between the 4500RMB and the 12,000RMB violins. However, I did see a difference between the ones I was looking at and the one I am currently using.

I made the decision to wait until I have the violin teacher with me before making any purchase. I just wanted to look and see what a increase in quality should buy me. I will also note that the 4500RMB violin dropped to 3500 before I made it out of the shop, there was an indication that the shop owner was willing to go lower.

I then returned to the hostel and finished reading the book that Debra sent to me with a request that I read it. It is titled -MAJOR CHICKLIT WARNING- Sweetness in the Belly. It was a good story and included a lot of detail that I would expect in a book, about contrasting cultures, written by a woman with a PhD in Anthropology.

The next morning (today) I went for a short walk and then took a cab to the train station. Again, having no trouble telling the cab driver where to go. The traffic in Beijing is sane. I noticed lane control , the use of turn signals, waiting for traffic lights, and many other things that are not seen in most of China. I even saw two people get traffic tickets (they were, probably, unimportant people).

The train station was clean and modern and the announcements could be understood. Not only were they in English; but also, they did not sound like "wa waaa wa waaa wa." This was a pleasant change. The D train is more crowded than usual (I am typing this on the train) and it was only when I tried to recline my seat and take a nap that I discovered that I am on the "running and screaming children" car. Now that I am awake they have quieted down.