The Forbidden City

I’m in China, in Beijing. This, as with Cuba, has always seemed one of the impossible, fantasy destinations. And now I’m here.

Tiananmen Square

It didn’t really hit me, how exciting this was, until I was standing directly under Mao Tse-Tung’s picture, hanging on the entrance gate to the Forbidden City. Then all the books I’d read, the images I remember, suddenly accumulated in a meeting place in my brain, and that’s when I truly realized, “I’m actually here.”

Today, the first stop was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I can’t even begin to start typing all the new knowledge I’ve acquired about China today. May (my tour guide) has jammed my brain full of information, and still it keeps coming.

Tinanmen Square is impressive in it’s hugeness and the concept behind it’s layout. The square, the Forbidden City, and even the Ming Tombs, some 36 miles away are all laid out in a straight line the Beijingers call the “Meridian Line.” Everything else is basically measured in reference to these main meridian points.

Tiananmen Square is one of the largest (if not the largest) city squares in the world. Today was particularly impressive, as it was the end of the National People’s Congress, a meeting of the officials from around the country. Because of the meeting, security was really stepped up in the area, making it an impressive visual. Across from the People’s Hall there’s a huge sign (sponsored by Omega Watches) is a giant billboard counting down the days and minutes until the start of the Olympics.

The city is definitely caught up in Olympic Fever, and everywhere you go you can signs, promotions and general reminders that the Olympics are coming. Many buildings and structures are being newly built or refurbished just in tie to open for 2008.

The Forbidden City

After Tianananmen Square, we entered the Forbidden City. So cool. What I learned is that Mao Tse-Tsung never entered the Forbidden City. He was the first leader to declare China a People’s Republic, and among the establishment to help do away with the Feudal System (and the Emperor system.) He wanted nothing to do with the Feudal System, didn’t want the old ideas tainting the new way of life, so did not ever visit the Emperor’s residence.

Of course, at the Forbidden City, I was most interested in the way of life of a concubine. Even made May take me to see their quarters. (Pictured here is May with another colleague from Pacific Delight Tours. Working very hard at their jobs.) I could talk for hours alone about the things I learned about their lifestyle. But by the end of the tour, I realized, I really wanted the life of Empress Dowager Cixi, an infamous “ruler” here in China, who is generally known as “The Voice Behind the Throne.”

Her life is legendary, and among some of her exploits, she would enjoy 120 courses for her meal. The cost of one of her meals alone could have employed 5,000 people for one day.

By the way, no problems with the toilets in China. Most of them have at least one Western Style seat. And, some of them are even highly rated.

The Summer Palace

Our next stop was the Summer Palace, where the Emporer’s family would spend the summer months. Here, is where I really wanted to become Empress Dowager, as I certainly could see myself living here.

Despite the general sadness of the place, this is where Empress Cixi would keep her nephew the Emperor under constant house arrest (we saw his living quarters, which she would lock up every night) it was a gorgeous location with a lovely view of lake Kunming.

After spending time coveting the Summer Palace, we stopped at a pearl shop, where we got to look at pearls that were actually grown in Lake Kunming. This was some of the Empress’ favorite type of jewelry, so naturally I had to own some too. (So much for not spending money in China.) I’m now several strands of pearls closer to becoming Empress Dowager.

Chinese Acrobats

So wearing my fancy new pearls, I then had the opportunity to catch the world famous Chinese Acrobats in action. This picture shows my favorite act, the lions, each of which was made up of two guys doing acrobatics in complete unison. Here you see four of them balancing on the ball.

At night, I enjoyed dinner in a delightful restaurant called Merry Lin. My favorite dish was a dried bean curd in a sweetened soy sauce with mushrooms and a type of lily flower. Yummy. Here the wait staff would congregate near me, practice saying a sentence in English to each other, and then come over as a group to say the sentence. So cute.

By the way, I’ve learned in China that I’m a big fan of their local beer, known as YanJing Beer. It’s a flavorful beer, maybe like a Sam Adams back home.

And tonight, finally, finally I got my in-room massage. While I thought the hotel massage prices were pretty good, May arranged an outside woman to come in for just $20 for a 90-minute massage. A combination of reflexology, oil, and pressure, with 45-minutes dedicated just to my tired feet.

Tomorrow it’s off to the great wall, and the Ming Tombs.