I’m back at the hotel after a nice dinner at Annie’s, an Italian restaurant here in the heart of Chinese Food land. Having had Chinese food for dinner and lunch and knowing I’d have it Monday night I chose to take a break from it, much to Kelly’s amusement. It did give me a chance to get a look at the city as I rode in the taxi, which was nice.
Today’s tour was the highlight. I was to meet the driver in the hotel lobby at 8:10 this morning. I expected to see a crowd there, too, but I was the only one touring at my hotel. The driver whisked me off to the Grand Hyatt Beijing, where I met up with the rest of the group. We departed for Tiannamen Square around 9 AM.
There were 12 of us in the tour group. I was a bit surprised to find I was the only American. With me were three Canadian girls from Toronto, one Brit expat now living in Hong Kong, a Kenyan man, and two couples each from Spain, England, and an undetermined Eurporean country, perhaps Germany. We piled into the tour bus and made the quick trip over to Tiannmen Square from the Hyatt.
It was the first of the year’s sessions of the People’s Congress and our tour guide, John, said we may not be able to walk through the square as a result, since it neighbors the Congress building. Aside from a handful of soldiers and a few extra policemen the square looked open for business. I snapped a few pictures of the surrounding buildings but there is little way of capturing the expanse of the square from one camera on the ground. It truly is huge. Over a million people can stand in the square at once.
It felt surreal standing in the same square where the democracy protests took place in 1989. While it seemed at the time that the protests were a failure, you could never tell it from the look of China. The phenomenal growth of the past decade has made China a place Mao would never recognize. Capitalism is absolutely the name of the game here. I was reminded that Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control ten years ago. At the time I reasoned that Hong Kong would change China before China changed Hong Kong. It looks like I was correct.
We walked over to the Forbidden City, where the portrait of Mao hangs over the Meridian Gate entrance. It remains the only picture of Mao I’ve seen in China, with the exception of the Chinese currency, the yuan. With so much to see on our tour, we typically had only time to take pictures of each destination. Our tour of the Forbidden city, with its over 9,000 rooms, was mainly limited to those buildings on the path from the entrance to the exit.
We were presented with the first of many fake buildings in the Forbidden City. China is racing to prepare the city for next year’s Olympic games. Thus, construction projects are everywhere. Most of the historic sites are also being renovated, such as the Emperor’s home. This huge building was under scaffolding and tarps painted like the front of the building. I joked that this picture looked just like the picture in the tour guide. It was a recurring theme during each of our site visits.
In the middle of the Forbidden City the drizzle turned into a light rain. I regretted not stopping at the stand near the entrance to pick up a complimentary umbrella. It would be a while before I got another chance to get an umbrella. The walk through the rain limited my will to wander and I spent some time just looking for a roof to stand under.
Near the exit of the Forbidden City we stopped in a gift shop for some hot tea and a break. The gifts were outrageously expensive, so I opted for a cheap umbrella and a free cup of tea. It gave me a chance to meet the other tourists.
The Kenyan gentleman kept steering himself over to me and finally introduced himself as Linus N. Ruuju, a tour guide director from Nairobi. He was eagar to find tourists interested in a Kenyan safari and talked it up repeatedly. He fingered me as being an “agressive businessman” and soon pitched partnering with him. “If you can find me a group of clients, Mark,” he whispered, “I will set you up for free.” I nodded politely and wondered how legit he was. I decided he was genuine, though. If you’re ready to tour Kenya, give Linus a call at Sierra Tours And Safaris and tell him I sent ya.
As we were about to leave the gift shop, another large group arrived and promptly all began smoking. Italians, I guessed. As the shop filled with clouds of smoke, the Canadians and I were really appreciating the realtive lack of smoking in North America.
Off we went to the Temple of Heaven, today’s only destination without a “fake” building. We saw the temples the Emperor had built and ascended up their slippery marble steps. The crowds were not nearly as large as at the Forbidden City, which was a welcome change, though there were a few large groups. I recognized an older Vietnamese tour group as one we had seen at the Forbidden City. They seemed to stare at me a bit longer than others, and not always a kind look. I didn’t get that vibe from any of the Chinese I’ve met here.
We departed the Temple of Heaven bound for lunch. Few things are as surreal as driving through China in a bus with fogged-up windows. Trying to make sense of what I saw through the rain and the window was a challenge. While most of my fellow tourists snoozed, I happened to look up in time to see a sight I completely did not expect: a Beijing Home Depot. In my short time here I have not seen one single-family home, so this seems like an unlikely place for the hardware superstore. I wish I’d had a chance to go inside but the bus kept rolling.
Yet another sign of American influence was the multitude of Starbucks cups I saw being carried around the Forbidden City. I knew one was there but aside from the cups I never saw sign of it. Say what you will about the ubiquitous Starbucks, its good to have good coffee in a country saturated with green tea.
Lunch was at a place across town. Our large group didn’t fit at the first table we got so we got a larger room upstairs. Dinner was served on a lazy Susan and was quickly devoured by our walk-weary tourists. We spent the remaining time getting to know one another before our tour guide reappeared. We then visited the “washrooms,” which were not at all up to Western standards. Some ladies decided to skip it.
After lunch we stopped into the pearl store next door, run by the PRC government, where we watched as an oyster was harvested for pearls. We were then whisked upstairs to a glittering showroom where young, bored saleswomen stood over cases of overpriced pearl jewelry. I happened upon some interesting books near the waiting area: paperback biographies of Western leaders like George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Colin Powell, and (inexplicably) Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. From thumbing through the Bush and Clinton biographies I was impressed at how balanced – even friendly – they seemed to be. As others spotted the books it began a political discussion where we all compared notes about our governments. It was a highlight of my day.
As we were now wet and cold from the walking, we looked forward to the Summer Palace, if summer in name only. Yet another fake building began the tour, but it did get interesting. The Long Corridor was indeed long – a half-mile of covered walkway near the shore of a large and picturesque lake. It showed it was good to be king ( or emperor/empress).
We mostly snoozed on the bus ride back. I was hoping to take a group picture at the tour’s end but it ended a bit abruptly for me. I squinted thorugh the fogged window to see my hotel facing me: the driver was dropping me off before everyone else! I regretfully picked up my things and bade everyone farewell. Perhaps I’ll see them at the start of tomorrow’s trip to the Great Wall.
I came back to the hotel and took a 90 minute nap before heading out to dinner. I ate at Annie’s and returned through the beginning snow. It shows no sign of stopping so tomorrow’s trip to the Wall could be quite interesting. I’m told the Wall is a tough climb when its clear and dry. In the snow it will likely be damn well impossible. Even so, how many chances do I get to see this amazing architecture? I’ve come this far, I’ll brave whatever I need to.
Look for more tomorrow. Now, bed.