Nov 17

Past and Present…

Beijing has been so interesting! We are seeing all of the construction and preparation for the 2008 Olympics making Beijing new and polished amongst the awesome rich history.

Today we went to Tianamen Square (which is just HUGE). The 1989 events are a taboo topic here and the average Beijing resident would only know what we would tell them. After recently reading “Red China Blues” Tianamen Square evokes strong emotions for me. More interesting, really was the south side of the square where the very old Manchurian City gates used to be. The structures on either side of what used to be the gates is all that remains as the gates are long gone. Very beautiful! Chris and I walked down to this area and were repeatedly approached by students trying out their English on us. Very funny. They just wanted to talk to us so that they could practice. Then, they invited us to the art exhibition across the street.

Next, we toured the Forbidden City, which was where the Emperor lived and worked during the dynasties prior to 1911. Many of the buildings in the Forbidden City are under renovation. There is a big effort to polish up! This area is HUGE and the buildings are just beautiful. We were able to look in the windows of many rooms in the Emperor’s quarters. The rooms look cold and stiff to us. I also got my first China toilet experience here… somehow I avoided that on the last trip.

From there we went to lunch - Chinese food that was thankfully ordered by our guide, Jill (who is great). The food was good and the service was typical China sloooowwww.

From there we went on to our Hutong tour, which was the highlight of the day. Manchurians lived in groups close to water. The word Hutong used to be a Manchiran word meaning to live close to water. When the Manchurians came to Beijing, they lived in groups down narrows alleys with a common small courtyard. These areas are now known as Hutongs. Long ago, a family would occupy one Hutong, living together around a small courtyard that was shared by the extended family. Now, there are only a few Hutong areas left that are being preserved by the government because of their historical importance. Many of these Hutongs are now occupied by people renting them from the government for a very low rate. Several families in the Hutong area host tourists in their homes to show people how they live. So, we were able to tour the Hutong area and met a lady who had lived there for 48 years! She is a 75 year old retired nurse who raised her family in the Hutong. Her whole residence is about the size of Darby’s bedroom. It is basically a studio apartment; however, it has no bathroom. There is only a public bathroom down the street. This lady is Catholic and had 3 children (before the one-child policy). It was very interesting to hear about her life and see how she lived. She had a huge flat screen TV and a microwave, but heated her house with coal briquettes that boiled water into the radiator! We really enjoyed this tour and realized how much we take for granted. Lastly, everyone should say a prayer for the skinny little rickshaw driver that had to peddle us around the Hutongs. His legs must be killing him!

Tomorrow, we will see the Great Wall and do some souvenir shopping. We have met some really great people here and are touring with 6 other families (19 people in all). It will be great to see everyone again in Guangzhou after we all have our children!

More soon,

Sonja



Well, after a day of stops and starts, we are finally in Beijing! We arrived at the airport in Sacramento in plenty of time for our flight and got on the plane, buckled up and the pilot immediately announced that there was a “ground stop” in San Francisco and that the flight was delayed for at least one hour. Not good news when there is only one flight to Beijing every day! In the nick of time, the flight re-boarded and left. We had a fantastic sprint to the gate in San Francisco and BARELY made our Beijing flight!

The flight was long and fairly sleepless for both of us (I think I got a few 20 minute naps). It is 3:10am California time right now, and 7:10pm in Beijing. We are very tired and ready to go to bed! Tomorrow we tour Beijing. We have met up with Steve, Mary and their 3 year old Jenna. I had met Mary on line - so it is nice to put a face with the name! We will be here in Beijing with them and we think 5 other families for the next few days before we all part ways to the individual provinces.

Beijing has California traffic (or maybe worse) and is very smoggy. The city is bustling with activity and teeming with history. We are really looking forward to tomorrow!

Sonja