The change in climate from the hot season in Thailand to winter in Beijing was the first, and biggest, shock to us; we left Bangkok sweating (even at 5am its hot) and arrived to nearly freezing conditions in Beijing (it snowed while we were at the Summer Palace). Luckily, we had borrowed coats from Margo’s aunt and cousin and I had brought some zyrtec with me to battle the hives. Our first few days in China were spent exploring Beijing. We saw the Qianmen District, the Great Wall, the Olympic sites, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Lama Temple, and the Temple of Heaven in 4 days.
At the Forbidden City...
Our next stop, on a bullet train, was Tianjin, where Yin in studying to become a Chinese teacher in Thailand. We were there for two and half days, which was longer than needed. We probably wouldn’t have stopped there at all, but Yin had class. We just hung around and slept or explored while she was in school. The most Tianjin had to offer was a walking-street filled with little souvenir shops.
Xi’an was the third city we visited, and our favorite. We took an overnight train from Beijing on the top bunk (of three). There were six beds to a “cabin” and not even enough room to sit up. Good thing I’m not claustrophobic. The first day in Xi’an Margz & I spent our day walking around. From the map we got at our hostel, it looked like the free history museum we wanted to make it to, was about a 20 minute walked. Well, it turned out to be more like an hour and 20 minutes. China, from what I’ve seen, does a better job translating into English than Thailand, but there was still a general lack of information for us at the museum without a tour guide. All the relics had the name/date/dynasty, but most did not explain the purpose or importance, so we feasted on any English writing we could find.
That night we all went to see a famous fountain/music show at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It reminded me of the Olympic fountain in Atlanta that my volleyball team and I spent so much time playing in last year at Nationals and had a small water show every hour.
The second day in Xi’an was the second (only to the Great Wall) most looked forward to part of the trip…the Terra Cotta Warriors. We booked a tour the day before. We waited and waited in the morning, where we thought we were supposed to wait, only to find out that the tour left without us. They had to come back to get us. The first stop on the tour was called a “museum,” but was more like a gift-shop attached to a factory that made Terra Cotta replicas. The second stop was Emperor Qin’s tomb and underground palace/mausoleum. He started building it when he first became Emperor at age 15, and it took 37 years to complete. The real tomb has never been opened, but apparently they found the original plans and were able to recreate it. The finale, the Terra Cotta Warriors, was what we were waiting all day to see. There are 3 pits that have been excavated. Pit 1, the biggest and best, has the infantrymen and charioteers.
After going through all 3 pits, Margo & I went back to Pit 1 for some more time. Pit 2 was mostly unexcavated or re-buried to help preserved the soldiers. Pit 3 was the smallest, and is thought to be the command-center of the terra-cotta army. The soldiers were first discovered by locals in 1974 whom were drilling a well, found pieces of pottery, and decided to investigate. About 7,000 soldiers have been uncovered so far, and there is thought to be over 10,000. Emperor Qin was one hell of a dude. Not only did he build a secret underground palace and an entire life-size terra cotta army, but he was also the first to unite 7 kingdoms that had been warring for over 500 years and create a national currency.
After tons of traffic on the way home, we got back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff, and something to eat for me (I was on the verge of tears I was so hungry), we tried to hail a taxi, but no cabs would take us due to the traffic. With no other options and a train to catch, we each took a motorbike taxi. Our drivers zipped through traffic, ignored traffic rules, cut through parking lots, and all was fun and games until Apple was no longer in site. We got to the train station and tried circling around to find her. As it got closer and closer to our train, we were starting to panic when she finally showed up. Since Apple looks Chinese, people constantly speak to her in Chinese and think she’s rude when she doesn’t respond. Her English isn’t that strong so she had no real way of communicating with anyone without Yin, Margo, or I…so she must have been completely frustrated and flustered during the 20 minutes she was lost.
Back in Beijing we made our way out of the city to a Buddhist retreat in the mountains. Luang P, our monk guide, took us to a temple in the mountain where we experienced a short meditation lesson. That night we drank tea with some of the employees at the retreat and the 5-year-old monk-in-training. Later on, we went back to the temple at the top of the mountain to meet with Luang P’s mentor, a famous monk in China. They invited me to become a nun there for a month. I think it would have been an awesome experience to stay, but unfortunately, I had a plane leaving China 2 days later, so I responded with “next time.” We learned some of the differences between Thai and Chinese Buddhism.
Thai Buddhists:
-cannot touch females
-must always sit above commoners
-eat only 2 meals a day before noon
-can’t touch money
-nuns are inferior to nuns
Chinese Buddhists:
-are vegetarians
-can’t eat onions and 4 other foods we didn’t learn
-nuns and monks are equals
-interact with commoners more freely
The next day we climbed to the highest pagoda on the mountain behind the retreat. The flowers on the trees were in perfect bloom, but unfortunately the only thing in bloom at the time.
We headed back to Beijing for another night in the Qianmen District. On our last (half) day, Margo & I went to the Art Museum after discovering that the National History Museum is closed for renovation until 2010.
Arriving on time for the plane was even more stressful than running to the gate on the way to China. We were supposed to meet Yin and Apple at the hotel at 3:30. They didn’t show up until 4:20…so we ran to the subway (at rush hour) to get to the airport shuttle and got to the check-in counter an hour and a half before take-off. Thankfully, we made it and got back to Thailand safely.
Here are a few general observations we made about Chinese culture:
-Chinese people spit anywhere and everywhere; they have to have “no spitting” signs in places like the airport and museums
-Chinese food (at least northern Chinese food) is one of 2 flavors: salty or sweet
-Chinese people have an interesting way of reducing the cost of diapers…little kids have slits in their pants so they can pee (and apparently poop, although I didn’t witness this one) anywhere…on the street or sidewalk, in the park, etc.
-China is so crowded that you can’t get anywhere without pushing and shoving
-The concept of lines is not well known in China
-When people speak in Chinese, it always seems like they are yelling
-Motorbikes and buses are electric/hybrid
-Recycling and garbage cans are everywhere (recycling doesn’t really exist in Thailand)
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