Signs

I got up at 7:00 this morning and went downstairs for breakfast with Nina, and we met Grace down in the breakfast room. She had had a good time hiking the Great Wall yesterday and was planning to walk to the Temple of Heaven today. That's a really long walk from the hostel, so we suggested that she rent a bike or take a taxi today.

After breakfast, Nina and I shared a taxi to the airport. Her flight was an hour before mine, so I had plenty of time to roam around the airport. I love to walk around airports and look at the monitors at each gate to see where the planes are going. On my way to my gate, I passed this monitor:In case it's too small to read, the destination is Pyongyang. I realized that that's one city I've never seen on an airport monitor before, and I hope I see the day when I can pass a similar monitor and not think that it's an unusual sight.

On the topic of unusual signs, here are a few of my favorites from China.

On the bathroom door of the hostel: City of Beijing is short of water. Please treasure the water and don't forget close the faucet in the toilet after use. By the way, We do not suggest you drink the water in the toilet. (Ummm . . . no, neither do I.)At Tianamen Square: Construction on the spot. No admission. Thank you. (I'm glad they get right on it.)At the Lama Temple: Fire-fighting equipment is strictly prohibited to be diverted.At the Great Wall:All that belong to the nation belong to the world civilization is the most important. (And there we have it.) Be civilized visitor, set up the ecosystem together! (We're really keen on civilization at the Great Wall.)Appreciate the Great Wall lovely view, do not forget the fire is heartless!Speaking cellphone is strictly prohibited when thunderstorm.
Heart cerebral disease sufferer ascend the Great Wall to please watch for.At the Ming tombs: No Scribbling. No Climbing. (So if you're going to deface the tombs, at least stay in the lines.)In Beijing, the amuseful/happy customer easy meal restaurant.The wet towel on the airplane on my way back to Korea: This refreshing towel also has a sterilizing effect. (I hope not.)Now I'm back in Korea, but I have a long list of things to see on a return trip to Beijing someday!

Beijing, Day Five

I slept in until 7 Am today and then stayed in bed and read for an hour. I had picked up Hiroshima by John Hersey in the airport in Seoul, and even though it seemed like a strange selection at the time, it has been an interesting and educational read. After being on the go early the past three mornings, it was nice to be lazy. I went downstairs to the hostel's cafe for breakfast and debated in my head whether or not I was too sore to spend another day on a bicycle and if I should give motorized vehicles a try. I decided on the bicycle, despite my very sore left knee and hip. Fortunately for me, my same hot pink single-speed rental bicycle was available, and off I went down the hutong alley. I rode south to a street that has several antique shops, though whether or not what they're selling was really made all that long ago is anyone's guess.

The antique storesI found some quirky and fun gifts for my family and then wandered the alleys through a residential area. Despite Beijing's facade of skyscrapers, ornate palaces and temples, and manic Olympic construction, it's more than evident in Beijing's hutongs that many people live a hardscrabble life--one and two room cinder block houses, mostly lacking electricity, plumbing, and some even doors. Wealthier families, by Beijing standards, live in apartment buildings with electricity and water. In the hutongs there are rank-smelling public squat-style toilets in the neighborhoods. Small, meager businesses--a barber, a cobbler, a take-out restaurant, a bicycle repair shop, a fruit shop, a tiny grocery store--were scattered here and there. Most of the shops were so small that the proprietor stood inside and the customer stood outside, and business was transacted through the door or window. Clothes were hung out to dry in the windows and doorways. Grandmothers dutifully and dotingly chased after toddlers--mostly boys--wearing split-crotch pants and no diapers. When duty calls, they either squat where they are, sometimes on a piece of newspaper hastily supplied by Grandma, or are rushed to one of the public toilets. When you consider how many diapers a toddler in the U.S. goes through--and the associated cost and environmental impact--the diaper-free crotchless pants actually make sense.

Some snapshots from the hutong alleysI spent the entire morning and part of the early afternoon at the antique street and surrounding hutong and then got on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle and made my third attempt to visit Mao's mausoleum. By then it was late enough that the lunch time that was posted yesterday was over, and I was sure the third time would be a charm. However, it seems that Mr. Mao likes to begin his weekends early as the mausoleum is closed after 11 AM on Fridays. I guess he'll just have to wait until my next trip to Beijing. I don't think he'll be traveling to Korea anytime soon.

I got back on my bicycle and rode past Tianamen Square again to Wangfujing Street to buy some souvenirs for friends and family. Then I rode my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle past St. Joseph's Church and paused to watch the skate-boarders for a while.I returned to the hostel in the early evening, took a shower, and went for one last walk up and down the alley that my hostel is on. I went back to the hostel and ran into Grace, who had just returned from a Great Wall hike. She and Nina and I compared the things we bought. It was interesting to see the unique things that they each picked up. At 10:30 PM, as I was packing my bag for the morning, I remembered one person I still needed a souvenir for. Fortunately a few of the shops near the hostel were still open, and I was able to pick something up. Now I'm back at the hostel and have finished packing, sad to be leaving Beijing in the morning.

Beijing, Day Four

The rain last night cleared the sky of Beijing's pervasive air pollution, making this morning truly pleasant. I left the hostel at 5:30 this morning. I told the person working at the desk last night that I wanted to rent a bicycle early in the morning. I was hoping that I could arrange everything the night before so it would be ready for me to ride in the morning, but they told me the person working at the desk would take care of it for me in the morning. I went out to the front desk a little before 5:30. Everything was dark, and no one was there. After calling "hello" a few times, a very sleepy hostel staff member appeared from the common room where she had been sleeping. She sleepily got me squared away, and I set off on a hot pink rental bicycle down one of Beijing's narrow alleys. As I pedaled, I felt that the gears were set too low, but when I went to change them, I hit the bell instead. That's the first time that I noticed that most of Beijing's myriad bicycles are single speed. I continued down the alleys on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle in the early morning darkness, since along with gears, it was also lacking a headlight.

I rode to the area around Tianamen Square. The flag raising would start at 6:06 AM, and I got there at about 6:00. I had read that you can't take a bicycle on the square, but I didn't know where I could leave it, so it took me a little bit of searching and scrambling to find a place a couple blocks away. Then I had to run to join the throngs of flag-waving tourists and track-suit-uniform-clad students. I was directly across the street from Tianamen Square when the Chinese national anthem starting blaring over the loudspeaker, and the flag started to go up. I had a clear view of the flag and the Gate of Heavenly Peace, thanks to being at least a full head taller than the majority of other people assembled for the event. I was too far away, however, to fully appreciate the honor guards' perfectly timed paces as they emerged from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. I'm not too disappointed. I've seen enough military ceremonies in my life to get the idea, and it was exciting to me just to be among the Chinese crowds for this event. By 6:07 AM, the Chinese flag was flying high over Tianamen Square.When I was satisfied that the flag was sufficiently raised, I got back on my bike and rode south through decrepit hutongs to the Temple of Heaven park. I arrived just as the park was opening at 6:30 and parked my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle alongside those of the Chinese grandmas and grandpas who were beginning their day with badminton, ballroom dancing, and tai chi in the park. The temple grounds themselves didn't open until 8:30, but I was more than content to spend a couple hours just walking around and watching people do what they do in the early morning in Beijing. Unlike all the tourist things I had done, this was an authentic Beijing experience.At 8:30 AM, I tried to walk onto the temple grounds, but the woman at the gate told me it was closed "for the Olympics." I could hear a lot of activity inside--announcements, music, people moving about. It all sounded pretty official. I wondered if maybe they were practicing something for the Olympics. Since I couldn't go inside, I walked around to the back of the temple and over to another part of the temple ground. At 9:30 AM, I went to the back gate of the part that was closed and peeked between the doors. The little part of the sign that I could see said, "Final Leg. Torch Run." Too cool, I thought. Then the door opened, and a police office looked at me. I thought maybe I had done something wrong, even though there was nothing indicating that the doors were off limits.

"Ticket," he said. I showed him my general admission tickets to the temple. "Okay, come in," he said. I couldn't believe it but sure didn't ask any questions. When I got inside, I could see the whole sign, which read "2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games Law Enforcement Torch Run. Beijing Welcome and Relay Launch Ceremony." Not exactly what I thought it was when I was peering through the doors, but it was cool nonetheless. There were many performers and a small army band and lots of decorations. When the ceremony was over and they started cleaning up, I realized that I was the only tourist there. For about 10 minutes after they had finished cleaning up but before they opened the gates to the general public, I was the only person at the temple. It felt so strange to be in the middle of this huge city, at an important cultural site and popular tourist attraction and have the place to myself. When the crowds finally came pouring in, I had already seen everything and was on my way out, feeling pretty pleased with my morning.I wandered back through the park, pausing to watch ballroom dancing, kite flying, badminton, tai chi, sword dancing, fan dancing. At one part of the park, no less than 50 people were gathered around and clapping their hands to a steady beat and chanting in call-and-response style. I wonder what they were saying. From another part of the park, I heard a squeaking/screeching sound and followed it. There were about 30 people clustered in groups of 2 or 3, playing traditional stringed instruments and singing. They weren't trying to outdo each other but their close proximity to one another created this great collage of cluttered sound--interesting but not something I wanted to listen to for very long.

I made my way out of the park, retrieved my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle, and pedaled on to the Hongqiao Market. When I was in the Philippines a few years ago, I brought back strings of freshwater pearls for family and friends, and they were a big hit, so I wanted to do the same again. The whole 3rd and 4th floors of the market are pearl stores, with the less expensive freshwater pearls on the 3rd floor and the more expensive Tahitian salt water pearls on the 4th floor. As I wandered around the 3rd floor, people shouted at me continuously, "Lady, come here. Lady, look at this." If I even glanced to the side, the salespeople shouted and held things up to show me.

One store caught my eye, not because of anything there--for all practical purposes, it was exactly like all the other stores--but because the woman behind the counter very politely asked me, "Friend, are you buying pearls?" No pressure, no yelling, just a simple question.

I'm really bad at bargaining, but I gave it a try as it's the way things are done in China. I believe she gave me a fair price, though I have to admit that I really don't know what a string of freshwater pearls should cost. Since I bought several strands, she had to call her friend at another stall to come help her restring them and tie knots and clasps. While they were working, we had a pleasant conversation, and they gave me a few insights into their lives. The one saleswoman looked to be about my age and told me she's from northeast China, near North Korea. The other is from southern China and is 19 years old. She came to Beijing on her own when she was 16 years old to earn money. Both only finished middle school. They work 10 hours everyday, though they said they occasionally get a day off, and they get some time off for Chinese New Year, when they both return to their hometowns to visit family. The older of the two said her birthday is this week and she'll take her friends out for dinner. The younger saleswoman told me she likes working better than school. They had lots of questions about the United States--what's the weather like, what are schools like, when do people get married, how long is the work day. They gave me a little insight into Chinese life, and I hope I gave them a little insight into American life.

I left the market and hopped back on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle and pedaled my way north past Tianamen Square. It made me giggle to be mixed in with the cars, buses, and bicycles passing such a significant place. I had hoped to pay a visit to Mr. Mao today, but the mausoleum was closed for lunch when I was in that area. I rode my bicycle on to Wangfujing Street--a mostly pedestrianized tourist shopping area--and spent an hour browsing the shops. Then I got back on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle and rode to an area of the city that was supposed to have a gallery that displayed North Korean propaganda. I rode all around the area, up and down the street it was supposed to be on, but I couldn't find it. Either the name was in Chinese or it had moved or closed since the publication of my guidebook. After a thorough search, I gave up and joined the chaos of Beijing's rush hour traffic to return to the hostel. I took a shower and then joined Grace, a Canadian guest at the hostel, for a kung-fu show. Very impressive but after being on the go since 5:30 AM and bicycling all day, I was sore and sleepy and even drifted off a few times.

After the show, I returned to the hostel, met my new roommates--Nina from Holland and Roberto from Italy--and went out for dinner. I'm very tired and sore from the past four busy, active days. I had planned to visit the Summer Palace and Beihai Park tomorrow, but I think that's farther than I want to go and more walking than I want to do, so I think I'll try to sleep in in the morning and have a relatively quiet shopping day tomorrow.

Beijing, Day Three

Today was a little disappointing, but I suppose if my holiday only has one disappointing day, that's not so bad. I signed up for a tour to another section of the Great Wall. I had read that this section is really touristy and not exactly recommended because of the scores of people. I already saw the Great Wall yesterday, but this tour, advertised by my hostel, also included the Ming tombs, a jade factory and a Chinese medicine practitioner. I was really interested in visiting the Ming tombs and thought the jade factory would be interesting since I like rocks. As for the Chinese medicine practitioner, I figured it couldn't hurt.

I had also read that some "tours" in China are essentially schemes to get tourists to buy things from certain (overpriced) stores, and the tour guide gets a cut. I didn't think I had to worry about ending up on one of those since this tour was organized through my hostel, but it turns out that I was wrong. The hostel itself doesn't run the tour but makes reservations with a separate company for hostel guests. The day-long "tour" was really several shopping opportunities with brief stops at the Great Wall and Ming tombs. We didn't go to the Chinese medicine practitioner, but we went to a silk factory instead. Even lunch was at a restaurant at the back of a huge "Government Friendship Store" displaying signs which simultaneously boasted and warned "Reasonable prices. No bargaining."

I was told that the tour group would meet in the hostel lobby at 6:30 AM, so I was ready bright and early . . . and I was the only one. I asked at the front desk and was told that the bus was running late. That still didn't explain the complete absence of other people, but the guy behind the desk looked tired from working the night shift and was struggling to communicate in English, so I decided I'd just wait, and my question about probably be answered soon enough.

At 6:45 AM, a taxi pulled up to the hostel, and a guy got out and told me we'd catch the tour bus down the street. "Am I the only one?" I asked.

"No, we'll pick up others at the other hotels."

We walked down the alley, and at 7:00, the bus came. We spent the next two hours driving from one hotel to another and then back to the first hotel, picking people up. At 9:30, we were finally on our way and spent the next hour in stop-and-go rush hour traffic until we arrived at the jade factory. By the time we arrived, I had been on the go for three hours, making a bathroom break my top priority when I finally got off the bus. I didn't realize that the jade factory tour would be so short that when I came out of the bathroom, my group would be finished and in the show room already. I missed the whole thing, so I walked through it on my own and tried to figure out for myself what was going on. I saw part of another tour (in Chinese) and by watching could figure out that they were talking about how to distinguish real jade from other stones, glass, and plastic and what makes a good-quality jade. Then I worked my way into the show room.

When I decided to come to China, one of the things I wanted as a souvenir for myself was a good quality jade bracelet. I tried one on that I really liked, but the price was way too high. I was able to bargain it down by 40%, but I still think I paid too much for it. I really like it, though. It will always be a good reminder of my trip and this time in my life and will be something nice to pass on to someone someday. It's a solid bangle in a relatively uniform shade of medium green. They say the color will become darker and richer with age. Jade is very hard and strong, so it's pretty much impossible to scratch or break. They say if it ever does break, then it has protected its wearer from something bad. It's worn on the left arm because that's closest to your heart, and the bumping of the bracelet against your wrist is supposed to be good for your energy. I don't know if it's true, but I always enjoy a legend. It's good incentive to keep exercising. If my hand and wrist get any bigger, I won't be able to get it on and off. I was hoping to buy something for my mom and sister, too, but by the time I was done bargaining, I had to get back on the bus.

We went to the Badaling section of the Great wall. It's one of the only sections that has been restored for tourists. Unlike the section I hiked on yesterday, there were no crumbling rocks here. There were lots of (Western) tourists, and it wasn't very pleasant. This section of the wall is a staircase up the mountain, and it was a line of people the first half of the way up. After that, most people turned around and went back down.

Only two other people from my group wanted to go to the top, so we walked together, and I enjoyed their company. Jimmy was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to Canada as a teenager in 1997. He was visiting Beijing with his father who was also on today's tour but gave up on the stairs about a third of the way up. Michael is from Poland and is back in Beijing after spending two weeks in Pyongyang visiting relatives who have been in North Korea for four years with the Polish embassy. Michael said that it was a weird two weeks and that his relatives are more than looking forward to returning to Poland this summer. Jimmy and Michael made for some fun company.

Here we are at the end of that section of the Great Wall. We asked an American tourist to take the photo for us--with each of our cameras. She joked, "Don't you all know each other?" I thought, "Umm . . . no, not really!"It took us an hour to climb up the wall and 15 minutes to come back down. I'm a little concerned that I may have some problems with my knees because on my last several trips that have involved hills or stairs, I've had significant pain when I was on my way down.

We were late returning to the bus, so everyone was waiting for us. I usually don't like to keep people waiting for me, but it didn't bother me so much today since we hadn't been given a realistic amount of time to enjoy the wall. I had read that at the base of the wall, it's possible to have your picture taken in a Mongolian warrior uniform, sitting on the back of a two-humped Bactrian camel. Despite my usual aversion to ultra-touristy things, I wanted to do this, but I looked around and couldn't find a camel. I was moderately disappointed about that.

Back on the bus, we were shuttled to the restaurant/Government Friendship Store for lunch that was pretty much like Chinese food in the U.S. The store was expensive. I didn't buy anything. I did compare the prices of jade bracelets, though, and it seems that the bracelets like mine cost about the same.

A portrait of Mao above a doorway at the "Government Friendship Store. Reasonable Prices. No Bargaining."Then it was back on the bus to the Ming tombs, which would have been very cool to visit if we hadn't been herded through so quickly. There were also hordes of tourists, mostly elderly Chinese and mostly wearing red baseball caps provided by their tour company. It made me feel like maybe I had started a trend or had a fan club or something. However, since it wasn't sunny or rainy, I didn't have much need for my own red hat and left it in my backpack for this part of the trip. It still warmed my heart to see that a gazillion elderly Chinese tourists understand that traveling is just so much better when you're wearing a red baseball cap.

At the Ming Tombs. Notice all the red hats.Our total tour of the Ming tombs lasted about 45 minutes. I really wanted to spend more time and take it all in, but we were herded back on the bus and shuttled to the silk factory for another whirlwind tour followed by a long time in the show room. There were beautiful things, but they were expensive, so I didn't buy anything.

At the silk factory:Then were back on the bus again, battling rush hour traffic on our way back to various hotels to drop people off. We were at a dead stop in traffic when I noticed that we were only a few blocks from my hostel, so I had the bus driver let me off, and I walked the rest of the way, glad to be able to go at my own pace for the first time today.

I returned to my room, took a shower, got something to eat, checked my email, and made my plans for tomorrow. Unfortunately it's raining now. My plan was to rent a bike, go to Tianamen Square at sunrise to see them raise the flag, go to the Temple of Heaven, go shopping at the pearl market, and explore some of the city by bike before returning to the hostel for the Kung-fu show. I'll have to see how the weather is in the morning.

Beijing, Day Two

I slept really well last night. I didn't even hear my roommates return to the room or notice them turn out the light. I woke up early this morning and met the bus for the Great Wall hike. I had a window seat, but the cold medicine I took this morning knocked me out, and I slept most of the way. I woke up a few times during the three-hour bus ride to see the change from city to suburbs to country and the land become more mountainous. The country villages we passed looked a little like the villages in North Korea--identical houses in straight rows with grey tile roofs. The Chinese villages seemed in better repair, though, and unlike the eerie silence in North Korea, there were definite signs of life and people about their daily business in the Chinese villages.

We arrived at the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall at about 10:30 AM, and the bus driver said he would meet us at the Simitai section 10 km further on by 2:30 PM. From there we were on our own. Since I generally walk fast, I ended up ahead of the rest of the people on my bus from the very beginning, which mean that for a few minutes, I was standing on the wall alone, with no one else in sight. I looked down and had a hard time believing that those were my feet on the Great Wall of China. TV documentaries and elementary school history books don't hold a candle to standing on the Great Wall with my own feet. It was a warm, hazy day, so visibility wasn't the best--pollution is bad here in China--but the Great Wall was visible along the mountain ridge all the way to the horizon. "Great" is no understatement. I started to walk, stopping several times along the way to take pictures and pinch myself that I was really there.

A few people from my bus caught up with me when I stopped for a break--a woman from Scotland on a year-long backpacking trip, a couple from Holland in China for three weeks, two friends from Sweden who came to Beijing on the Trans-Siberian Railway. I envied all of them a little but also remembered that my almost two years in Korea is my own adventure and that I'm more than happy with my life. Still, I enjoyed talking with all of them and listening to their stories about their travels. Sometimes I walked along with one or more of them, and sometimes I walked along alone, as I alternated between stopping to take pictures and walking briskly. It was just the right mix of pleasant company and solitude for me. There were other people along the way--very persistent souvenir and water peddlers who carry their merchandise in backpacks and tote bags and follow hikers along the way. I bought some postcards and an "I climbed the Great Wall" t-shirt. I also caught up with and passed a tour group who had started an hour earlier but were walking considerably slowly.

It was such a thrill to spend a day on the Great Wall. Parts of the wall were in pretty serious disrepair. It was even reduced to rubble in a couple places. I guess it's hard to maintain something that is 6,000+ kilometers long and on top of a mountain. There were little lizards along the way, and a lot of insects, including a contemplative-looking praying mantis and a centipede about the size of my finger.I made it back to the bus by 1:30 PM. Even though it was a moderately strenuous hike with a lot of stairs to go up and down and up again, I was surprised that it wasn't more difficult. I wasn't physically tired at the end, but my cold medicine was starting to wear off, leaving me with a headache and a very runny nose, so I wasn't and too disappointed to head off the wall and down the mountain and just sit until the rest of my group showed up. I went to a restaurant and ate some watermelon and apples and drank cucumber juice until it was time to go. I took some more cold medicine and slept most of the bus ride back to Beijing, waking up occasionally to look out the window and see the mountains gradually disappear and the countryside become suburbs become city.

I arrived back at the hostel at 6 PM, took a shower, and checked my email. Then I took a walk around my hostel's quirky neighborhood and got some dinner--stir-friend bacon, veggies, and rice cakes--too salty but okay. I walked back to the hostel, stopping at a small grocery store for some green apple flavored Miranda and some tissues. Between my runny nose and China's complete lack of toilet paper, my supplies were dangerously low. Now I'm back at the hostel, sitting on my top bunk, drinking my green apple flavored Miranda, and contemplating bed time, even though it's only 9:30. I'm tired and really feeling my cold--sore, swollen lymph nodes, runny nose, and all. It was another good day in China, so hard to believe that I'm actually here.

Agenda for tomorrow: visit another part of the Great Wall, the Ming tombs, a jade factory, and a Chinese medicine practitioner (maybe he can give me something for this cold).

Beijing, Day One

My plane arrived in Beijing at 8:00 last night. My hostel said someone would be waiting for me with a sign with my name on it, but when I walked out of customs, I saw lots of signs with lots of names but not mine. I looked around, waited for a while, looked around again, and then asked the people at tourist information to call the hostel for me. They said the driver was there looking for me and told me where to find him, but I suspect that he had been running late and just arrived, because when he handed in the parking ticket, the meter showed that he had been in the parking garage less than 20 minutes, and I had definitely been waiting longer than that. No harm, though. I found him, and before long, we were on our way to the hostel in downtown Beijing.

The most obvious difference I noticed between China and Korea is the language. I realized that even though Korea is a foreign country to me, I more or less have daily life there figured out. I know what to expect. In China, I don't. This is most obvious in the language. Unlike Korean, which I can read, frequently understand, and occasionally speak, Chinese is completely incomprehensible to me. Even my first couple hours in China revealed to me that Korea has become more familiar, more like home to me, than I realized. Being in such an unfamiliar setting in China made me remember those days when Korea was a stranger to me, too.

We arrived at the hostel, and I got checked in. I'm staying in a 5-person room. Last night I shared it with three German guys--David, Jörg, and Joachim--who live in Shanghai and are visiting Beijing. I had a great conversation with David but just met Jörg. Joachim didn't even return to the room until long after I had gone to bed. The whole co-ed dorm concept is requiring a little adjusting on my part.

After claiming my bed--top bunk--I decided to walk around the neighborhood that the hostel is in. It's located in one of Beijing's many hutongs--neighborhoods of small, cinder-block houses along a network of narrow alleys. This particular hutong is kind of funky, obviously catering to the Western backpackers staying at the hostel. It has a lot of cafes, restaurants, bars, and unique and slightly off-beat shops. Interesting character and not at all what I expected Beijing to be like. I walked around for about an hour, then returned to the hostel, chatted with David, and went to bed.

I slept in until 8:00 this morning. David, Jörg, and Joachim were still asleep. I got up and ate breakfast in the hostel's little cafe in the basement. Then I consulted a map and set off on foot to the Forbidden City. It wasn't yet 10 AM when I arrived, but it was really crowded. I decided to forgo the audio guide and just walked around. The palace was beautiful, but the interpretive signs were cryptic at best, so while I got some great photos and thoroughly enjoyed looking at everything, I didn't learn much. It was really crowded inside the Forbidden City--lots of tour groups speaking a great collection of languages . . . and lots of "art students" wanting to practice English and get tourists to visit small exhibits and buy things. I had been warned that those were often scams, so after being approached 10 times in my first hour there, I started pretending I didn't understand English. It wasn't difficult since I've had lots of experience not understanding what people say to me. It didn't keep them from approaching me, but it did keep them from following me in attempt to persuade me to change my mind when I walked away.

At the Forbidden City . . . From the Forbidden City, I headed south through the Gate of Heavenly Peace to Tianamen Square to soak in some Soviet-inspired architecture and pay a visit to Mr. Mao. Unfortunately, the mausoleum is closed on Mondays, so I might have to make a return trip. There's some controversy over whether the body is real or not. I've heard that they've had to reattach his ear a few times. Apparently he wished to be cremated. Why anyone would want to be mummified is beyond me.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace, with Mao's portrait hung in the center:Three photos stitched together to form a panorama of Tianamen Square, as seen from the Gate of Heavenly Peace:Countdown to the 2008 Summer Olympics--319 days, 7 hours, 37 minutes, 10 seconds--in front of one of the government buildings at the east end of Tianamen Square:Statue in front of Mao's mausoleum :Mao's mausoleum:EMH at Tianamen Square:From Tianamen Square I was hoping to catch the subway north to the Lama Temple, the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing, but it turns out that the subway line on my map is still under construction, so I walked, stopping along the way for a few bottles of water and something to eat. It was hot and smoggy today, and I'm coming down with something.

I passed this sign with the 2008 Summer Olympics mascots on the way. Yingying, the yellow one, is my favorite.The Lama Temple was beautiful. It was interesting to see the many differences between Tibetan Buddhism and Korean Buddhism. I stopped in the main hall for a while to listen to the monks in ornate robes chanting and smell the incense burning outside. After the crowded chaos of the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square, the peace of the temple was welcome indeed.

The Lama Temple . . .From the temple, I negotiated my way through hutong alleys back to the hostel. I walked about 10 miles today, and I was tired, but I had signed up for the hostel's excursion to an acrobat show, so I cleaned up, changed out of my sweaty clothes. David, Jörg, and Joachim have gone, and I now have three new roommates--Jysk from Denmark who came to Beijing on the Trans-Siberian Railway and a couple from France who don't speak to other people and only whisper to each other.

I caught the bus to the theater to see the Chinese National Acrobat Troupe. I was surprised that most of the performers were teenagers and children, some looking as young as 7 years old! They were incredible, but I had to wonder what kind of life those young performers have. The show was much different from the North Korean show I saw a few weeks ago. There were more flaws in the Chinese show--the North Koreans were more precise, thought that may be because of the very young age of the Chinese acrobats.

Now I'm back at the hostel, very tired but more than satisfied with my first whole day in China. Tomorrow I'm hiking the Great Wall. Well, not all of it.