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.