As in normal fashion, I went traveling this summer. My best travel buddy and I have been wanting to get some "big" trips in, so we decided that if we were going to do China, we were going to do it big! We booked a trip with Intrepid Travel (fabulous company, by the way) and then added some days on either end of their itinerary. So, our nearly month long adventure in China began...in Beijing.
As Beijing is a monstrous city (11.5 million folks as of 2000), we obviously couldn't see all the sights. Actually, due to the crazy smog...we actually couldn't see all the sights! Anyway, our first big attraction was Tiananmen Square where we got this great shot of the Forbidden City. The square is actually named for the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which is the gate to the City in the picture below. Even though it's the 3rd largest square in the world, it was actually, just a square...in the middle of town. Much like the square in any small town America...well, almost.
Here's The Monument to the People's Heroes with Chairman Mao's mausoleum in the background. He can be viewed here, so why not start a world tour viewing all the bodies of notable communist leaders?! Hey, that might be fun...and by fun, I mean weird.
Next stop...The Forbidden City. Construction began in 1402 and was complete in 1420. It was home to 24 emperors, and forbidden for commoners until the 20th century. In 1925, it officially became a museum.
The grounds were beautiful and honestly I didn't imagine that they the compound would be so massive. The one movie filmed here, The Last Emperor (fabulous film by the way) didn't capture the magnitude of the palace and its grounds.
I thought that the place was packed, but I'm sure this was a slow day to the Chinese. Can you imagine living here with your family. Inside walls and gates...what would you do for fun? And, would it be bustling with other folks who worked for the emperor? Or would it be empty?
As with most things, I really appreciated the detail that went into each and every crevice. I mean, this place is almost 600 years old. The craftsmanship is magnificent and the colors are so vivid!
There were literally hundreds of halls, so it was difficult to remember them all. But, this one was one of the first, and it's the Hall of Preserved Harmony.
This is the largest stone carving within the palace walls. It was carved in 1701 and is almost 17 meters long. The artisans had to haul it here in the winter on an ice road in order to ensure its journey was safe.
Here's the entire piece. It was on an incline, so it was difficult to capture the intricacies.
The center of yet another beautiful hall. There were hundreds of buildings and each hall has a purpose.
The figures on the building below were only allowed on imperial rooftops. They are arranged in parade formation with the dragon always last, representing the authority of the state. The first figure is almost always a man riding a phoenix. It is said that the higher number of figures in the procession indicated a person of high power resided there.
The time and care taken to carve such beautiful details impresses me. This is just one part of a door that was over 10 feet tall.
Our next stop was Summer Palace. It was located in a completely different part of the city, so we had to train there and hope that we could follow the crowds to the correct place. Luckily, we are experienced travelers!
This is the Grand Theater at the Summer Palace, which is considered the best preserved and largest in China. There are three stories and under the floors are a deep well and pond. The well was used to amplify noises and dialogue and the pond was used to spray water out of dragons' mouths. I thought that was pretty advanced for the time period!
It's just not a proper trip without Mark and I playing dress up...especially with hats. All of the little kiddos were wandering the grounds with these headbands. We had to capture the magic too. These are common head pieces worn by concubines.
Baoyun Pavillion at the Summer Palace.
This place was massive. There were buildings everywhere and the lake stretched on for miles. It seemed that around each corner an expanse opened and I was amazed all over again.
After a quick bite to eat, we headed around the lake and up the hill toward The Hall of Dispelling Clouds. Here I am at the bottom. Oh, and I should mention here that this was the hottest summer on record in China for quite a number of years. I almost melted!
We got to the top...and survived. Here's Mark pretending to fall. Ha!
The projected number of visitors for the day was 58,000. That seems like a lot of people to me...but just a drop in the bucket for China.
This is St. Joseph's Cathedral in Beijing, which was right on the corner near our hotel. It was built in 1655 and is the 2nd oldest in the city. It was gorgeous each and every night. And, my favorite part was each night when the locals came out to dance here. There would be swing dancing, line dancing, ballroom dancing. It made me happy just to watch.
This one's a little out of order, but it shows the lake at the Summer Palace. Can you imagine swimming in there with God knows what?! Heck no!
Here's a closer view of the rooftop procession.
This made me smile.
This Buddha is in the Guinness Book of World Records because it's carved from a single piece of Sandlewood and it's over 18 meters tall. Let's just say it was really difficult to get a photo!
And now for the fun stuff that you've all been waiting for...now, you know that I'm kind of adventurous when it comes to food. Who would have thought?! But, I really didn't want to get sick here and then spend a month being miserable. So, I took it easy. Mostly, I just looked. These were the cutest dumplings that I've ever seen. And, I totally wished I could have eaten them, but I didn't want to risk the pork allergy.
Then we started to get weird...crustaceans, bugs, and all types of other fun stuff!
Bring on the sea creatures!
Oh, and the baby ducks!
Needless to say I didn't try the balls, which are most literally, balls. Oh, and that spiral thing in the middle...yep, you guessed it!!! Eeewwww!
Now, this is more of what I've been looking for...
So, I tried a tarantula...it was fried, so there was no taste, just crunch. I'd try it again too!
And, of course you can't leave Beijing without trying the Peking Duck. Our guide said that in order to get the true and local duck, you have to order hours if not days in advance. So, he did...and, it was amazing! The duck skin was especially good. And at the end of the feast, he said that it was an honor to eat the duck brains. No one else would volunteer, so I did! No regrets here.
And, just to end on a silly note...Beijing was interesting...much like these ghetto 2Pac statues at the mall!
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