Olympic Water Cube

Our final full day in Beijing started out by attending the FINA Diving World Cup in the Olympic Water Cube which is the Olympic venue for swimming and diving. We watched the quaterfinals of the men's 3 meter springboard competition. In China, it's called the Good Luck Competition, a pre-Olympic competition to check out the building facilities. It was quite impressive. The Water Cube is located next to the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium and the rest of the Olympic Mall area. You can see from the photos how smoggy it is today - the worst day we have had for smog. The characters were outside too for the Chinese people - this was Nini that we stood next to. Inside, a Canadian won the preliminaries today with China finishing 2nd and 3rd and the 2 US divers 5th and 6th. It was a beautiful building and exciting for our first time ever in an Olympic venue. Even for a quaterfinal, it was packed!

Then we went to a local restaurant (remember this is all less than a mile from Billy's apartment, work and our hotel). Billy likes lamb chaun'r (or skewers), and this restaurant specialized in them. The picture is he and Jingyi eating them. they were excellent! Then we went shopping in a local supermarket (not quite Byerly's!) to buy the spices so Meg could buy the spices to try them at home. Then we visited Billy's company offices on the 10th floor of a local building and have included a picture of him at his desk. We then returned to the hotel and tried a practice packing run. So far it all fits, so we'll see what happens! On our way back to the hotel, we saw our first car accident. With all of the people, bikes and right turns, we hadn't seen an accident until today.

Billy and Jingyi joined us at Grandma's Kitchen, a very Americanized restaurant. I had french toast and scrambled eggs and Meg had a BLT. It was the most American food we have had on the trip. We had to say good bye to Jingyi tonight and hope we see her in America. She and her mother were wonderful hosts for us and have been very nice to Billy. He stays there on weekends to keep them company and it helps him pass his time as well. We catch a plane at 9AM tomorrow morning to Tokyo, then on to Detroit and home after an incredible trip. We gain back the day we lost coming over - we leave Beijing at 9:05AM Friday morning and arrive home at 4PM Friday afternoon! What an incredible trip! Billy was the perfect host and he is well acclimated in China. He will be moving in two weeks to a new apartment - farther from work but closer to Jingyi. It's an amazing country whose economy is growing at a 12% rate and they have a huge trade surplus, so the growth potential is enormous and Billy hopes to take advantage of the opportunities.

Shopping

Today was shopping day. We went to the Silk and Clothing Mart. Imagine a smaller building of 4 floors with several hundred mini shops about 8 feet by 6 feet of everything you can imagine. A photo is attached of the mini store. As you walk thru the narrow hallways, you are poked and tugged with "Hey Mister, you want to buy jeans? T-shirts? sweaters? It was really annoying except you could really make some good buys! I think we left a few merchants unhappy with our "walk away" tactics; we did make some really good buys!! After lunch, we traveled to a pearl market and found some other gifts.

This evening, Jingyi and her Mom hosted us at their home for a huge dinner. We rode the Beijing subway for 40 minutes to get to their home. Jingyi's Mom is a great cook and we had a number of items. The photos are of all of us together and working on folding dumplings that we had. Billy and Jingyi also sang us a song they had learned. She has a beautiful voice. One picture is Jingyi and her Mom holding the stamps we brought them from the US post office. They gave us several gifts as well. They are very giving and it was a special evening. Meg is wearing her new jacket in the pictures. Tomorrow is our last day! Today was the warmest day we have had - about 51 degrees.

Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace

Tuesday was sightseeing day. After being picked up at 7AM (ugh!), we stopped at 3 other hotels to pick up people from Mexico, Australia and Wisconsin. We began another day in Tian'anmen Square, then walked across the street to the Forbidden City. This is an amazing area that housed the Emperors of years past. It was completed in 1420 and is the most magnificent architectural complex in China. There were 24 emperors that ruled from here for nearly 500 years. It was the exclusive domain of the imperial court and dignitaries until the 1920's and was opened to the public in 1949, the year Mao came to power. There is a lot of renovation going now on with the Olympics just 5 months away. We then traveled to the Temple of Heaven, which was completed during the Ming Dynasty and is one of the largest temple complexes in China. The architecture and symbolism is amazing and the emperors would make sacrifices and pray to heaven for good harvests. The circular temple represents the whole world and the blue color signifies the blue sky.
After the Temple of Heaven, we went to a pearl market to see how pearls are found in clams. They opend up a clam and at least 25 little pearls were found. We never would have guessed that many pearls were in there. We then went to lunch and another tea demonstration. The tour ended up at The Summer Palace that was a half hour from the Forbidden City. This is where the Emperors would visit to escape the confines of the Forbidden City. It has a beautiful lake and miles of walking paths. They would boat down a river to the Summer Palace and it's a beautiful retreat - almost reminded us of what Lake Minnetonka might have looked like at the turn of the century around Lafayette or Wayzata Bay.
The mother and son from Milwaukee were very interesting. Remember the name Gerard Taylor. He is 22 years old, graduated from Syracuse and is playing the lead (Simba) in the Disney production of the The Lion King in Hong Kong. He has been there 5 months and has a month to go in the production. Then he is heading to LA to search his dream of acting. We'll be watching!

Tonight, Billy's boss at IMD Marketing Douglas Wang took us out to dinner at a famous and popular Beijing restaurant called Quanjude that specialized in Peking Duck. Because it is near the Olympic village, we were told the restaurant will be frequented by famous people during the Olympics. It was an incredible dinner with the duck being carved at our table. Believe it or not, the ducks are registered and we received a certificate of verification from the restaurant. In other words, as Meg said, our duck had a number. Shown in the picture in front of the kitchen area where the food is cooked are Douglas, myself, Meg, Billy, Jingyi and Carmen who works in Billy's office as well. The restaurant happened to be right across the street from our hotel, and it was really a treat for all of us.

Tian'anmen Square

Today we visited historic Tian'anmen Square in the center of Beijing, the largest square in the world. We had a personal guide who spoke English and was very informative. The square is amazing - imagining the 1989 incident where the students were killed by tanks in protest for a jailed comrade was historic. The entrance to the Forbiden City (which we visit tomorrow) has the mural of Chairman Mao hanging that is re-painted every year for he is considered the greatest leader of the common people. There is also the Chinese National Museum, The Great Hall of the People as well as Mao's mausoleum; unfortunately, it was closed on Mondays! At the center of the square is the Monument to the People's Heroes. Since it is winter, there were not that many people there but it was still incredible.
The guide asked us if we wanted to see a Chinese hospital while we had some extra time. It ended up being a TCM - traditional Chinese medicine clinic - and this might have been one of the highlights of the trip. We thought we were just going for a short tour. Suddenly a doctor came in and explained for 10 minutes about the concept of herbal healing and medicines and asked us if we would like a health analysis by a doctor. The deal is an older doctor "with grey hair are the wisest". So we said why not? The studies in the university to be an herbal doctor is 8 years to begin with and then experience is next. That's why the older doctors are the wisest. Of course, then in walks a doctor who was maybe in his 60's. He took Meg's wrists and, by feeling her pulse, looking at her tongue and eyes, could tell her blood circulation was poor, she gets tired easily and doesn't sleep well. As he spoke in Chinese, a nurse sat next to him interpreting the analysis. Meg was amazed. Of course, I was next! He took my wrists, looked into my eyes and my tongue and determined that I had high blood pressure, high chloresterol and sometimes sore joints. We kept the prescription recommendations he made - remember this was a herbal hospital/pharmacy (the oldest in China - 330 years old). When we asked the prices he recommended, it added up to over $400 for a month's supply (and you could re-order by e-mail). As we got up to leave, he gave us the final analysis. He told Meg she should work out more and take herbs to help increase her circulation. Then he nodded towards me and just shook his head. It was a classic moment and Meg could not stop laughing. My interepretation was I had one month to live so enjoy my trip to Beijing and if I didn't take his advice I could kiss my life goodbye. It seemed like a great scam, but who knows. We can always go back before we leave and load up on the herbs.
Next stop was a Hutong - it happened to be the same one where we ate at the Hutong Pizza. Remember, a Hutong is a house set up in a courtyard that was built in Beijing over 500 years ago. There are Hutongs all over Beijing. It is also a word for the neighborhood/alleys of housing. No one knows how many Hutongs there are. Some are as narrow as only one person could walk. We were taken on a rickshaw ride thru the alleys and visited an actual house with its owner family who had been there for 80 years. We saw the kitchen, the coal bricks used for heating and cooking and the sleeping rooms. We were then taken to The Bell Tower and Drum Tower overlooking the Hutong neighborhood and then to another tower where we were given a demonstration of drinking tea. Tonight we visited the Beijing Opera at the Laoshe Tea House although it was not a typical opera. It was more single acts including a singing opera, two men doing bird calls, a musician, Kung Fu acrobats and a guy who balanced bowls on his head. It was very entertaining and a real treat.

The Great Wall

We spent the morning with Billy and Jingyi today at Billy's church - BICF or Beijing International Christian Fellowship. Many of Billy's friends both socially and spiritually are members of the church. We met 3 of his best friends including Sam Weatherford whose younger brother is the quarterback for the Florida State football team and will be a good pro in two years when he is drafted. The service was done in English with a Chinese interpreter. After the service, we grabbed lunch nearby on Lucky Street (!) at an Italian restaurant. I had the largest calzone I have ever seen! We were then met by a driver that Jingyi's Mom had arranged for us to drive us to the Great Wall at the Badaling entrance. It is the most touristy entrance but amazing.
We have now scene one of the great wonders of the world. There are 21 towers at the north entrance, with the 9th tower being the summit. It is 888 meters high which we think is about 2800 feet in elevation. It took us over an hour and a half to get there with several stops, but, as you can see from the pictures, it was a breathtaking sight. Our working out for the past 12 weeks definitely paid off! We were determined to get to the top! The top of the wall and tower that you can see over the left of Jingyi's shoulder is tower 9 that we reached! We then rode a gondola down so we didn't have to stay overnight! You can't avoid the beggars even at the Great Wall. The Badaling entrance is approximately 50 miles from Beijing in the mountains. We had a perfect day of weather for the drive, and again, it is truly an amazing spectacle to see and experience. We finished up with Billy at dinner tonight at a restaurant near the hotel and his apartment. The picture is Billy eating rabbit's foot - it was actually really good!

Shanghai

Our final day in Shanghai was spent shopping - alone! Billy and Jingyi went their way and Meg and I returned to The Bund and its surrounding area. We walked along the riverfront, then returned to "Old Town" and the alleys to shop. We did very well without Billy, finding the "negotiating game" fun. I have the "shake my head and walk away" move down really well and we were able to make some good buys.
Shanghai is amazing. The city just oozes history and many different cultures are blended everywhere. The dialect is different so Billy and even Jingyi had some problems understanding the natives. We really took a leap of faith today on our own, but remembered where we had been on Thursday, so it was very exciting to walk the streets and return to the hotel in a cab on our own. We basically handed the taxi driver the business card of the hotel and he took us right there. The photos today are some memories of Shanghai including the street by our hotel with its shops and the back up at stop lights of cars and bikes. We also returned to the park and watched a coach with some kids learning their crossovers on rollerblades! We did tire of the beggars and the "Hello, want some rolexes?" We heard a new one today - "Can I watch your bag for you?" Yeh right! We returned to Beijing tonight - we had arrived at the Shanghai airport way too early after being told it was an hour cab ride (actually 20 minutes). Hainan Airlines is my kind of airline - they let us basically switch flights at no cost and walk right on a plane and we returned two hours early! I saw the attendants line up at the end of the cabin and, as they said we were landing in 15 minutes, they bowed together as a group to thank us. It was cool.

Shanghai - WuZhen

Here is a picture of Meg going to the breakfast building. It reminded us of a turn of the century home with huge rooms. It's next door to our hotel and adds to the charm. The other photo is taken on The Bund, which is Shanghai's famous boulevard along the Huangpu River. It is a beautiful boulevard with beggars and people everywhere and it's only winter! Fortunately the lines have all been minimal because it is off season. Across the river is the tower where we shot the high pictures - the Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the landmark on the waterfront with its park and adjacent aquarium. That is also where we found the river boat ride for Y2 (.20c). The Old Town alley shopping in yesterday's photo was amazing. You could buy ANYTHING in the 3 blocks of alleys. Each storefront was maybe 8 feet wide and specialized in some product. Imagine the Palm Desert street fair in an alley and you might have an idea. You can cross under the Huangpu river between each side in an underground gondola type ride with this cheesy laser show making you feel like Disney World. There is always music blaring wherever you go, and all we could think of was "It's a Small World" at Disney World! There are always people shouting too, for tours, newspapers, fake rolexes and everything. This morning we are catching a tour bus to Wuzhen. Most of the TV news here still is dealing with the southern China blizzard from two weeks ago. Apparently the infrastructure of electricity and construction was really affected in the country, but the areas we have traveled have been fine. It apparently never snows much in the south. It must have been 45 degrees in Shangahi yesterday which was balmy! The 3rd photo here was taken in the Yu Gardens and shows the architectural style there and in China. It is the heart of Shanghai and is a beautiful park giving a good idea of life in the mid 1800's. It is also near the Zig Zag road that was so crowded yesterday - you feel like you are in a hockey game with the shoving and elbowing. One thing Chinsese people are not is patient! Meg of course slows down because she will not be pushed!

After the modern city of Shanghai, we turned back the clock 1000 years in visiting the town of WuZhen, a small town not yet in any tour books; however, there is information on the internet. It is a city built around a canal system with ancient buildings and a boat fleet shown in the photo. The town is known for producing blue cloth made from a plant, and the picture of Meg shows the cloth hanging to dry. It actually takes 3 years to master throwing the cloth over the tall racks to help it dry! We took a tour bus for 2 hours and had to have Jingyi translate the tour guide's Chinsese. The small, main part of town was bustling with shops and has many rickshaws and bikes for transportation. WuZhen also had a Taoist temple that is one of the famous temples in southern China, but we couldn't go in to see it because the townsperson felt we were the "wrong religion". We ended up spending 3+ hours in WuZhen between lunch, tour and shopping and then stopped at a Buddhist temple and arrived in time to see what apparently was a funeral gathering of Monks and family with a burning pyre (photo). It was interesting to hear the chanting and drum beat. After spending 20 minutes there, we finished up at a tea factory where they make the chrysanthemum tea. After sampling a cup, we purchased two cans to bring home. The final photo was taken at dinner tonight and shows Billy and Jingyi enjoying frogs legs in the bowl. They both loved it - needless to say, although I tried a bite, Meg would not consider it! Tomorrow is our last day in Shanghai and we return to Beijing.

Here are some thoughts from our first week in China:

* the traffic and crowds are ridiculous

* I have sat in the front seat of the cab rides and have closed my eyes each time thinking we are going to hit a car, bike rider or person -the pedestrian traffic is almost as bad as the cars - there are taxis everywhere

* except for the long day in Xian, we have not paid more than $4 for a cab ride

* the street cleaners are everywhere in every city

* the smog is terrible - you never see a blue sky

* EVERYONE smokes here - in the restaurants, in bathrooms - we had forgotten what it is like to be in a smoke filled room!

* I have never seen as many toll booths as here - but the road system is amazing

* It's incredible being here

Shanghai

Shanghai is a very cosmopolitan city - 18 million people and very much like New York. The familiar waterfront is on the Huangpu River and features the 4th tallest building under construction as well as the Oriental Pearl Tower which I have included across the river as well as photos from the 90th floor overlooking Shanghai. Our hotel is located in the Hutong district of Shanghai (remember the Hutong Pizza parlor in Beijing). Hutong means residential so our hotel looks like a home rather than a modern hotel. It's kind of "eclectic" but not fancy. You walk across the way to a separate building for breakfast. They don't believe in heat here - it had to be 40 degrees in the building for breakfast!
We spent the morning and afternoon around the Bund or waterfront at the river. We rode a river ferry across to see the city from the river, then found a small park that was built by a rich family near the Bund. We also visited Yu Gardens and a nearby bazaar that was amazing - a maze of shops with thousands of people shopping and haggling. We found a Dairy Queen and had a blizzard - in 40 degrees here!
We returned to downtown Shanghai for dinner tonight and had an unusual experience at a restaurant recommended by the hotel. We sat down, then were told many things were not available onthe menu; however, the waiter tried to point out the most expensive items, thentold us there was a minimum Y100 required for each person ($12 which is alot in China). Both Jingyi and I flet that they were manipulating us as foreigners, so we got up and left. It was actually kind of disturbing. After spending a toal of Y188 ($25 total), we headed over to Nanjing Road, a famous street that is best described as the Nicolet Mall at two miles long combined with New York's Times Square. There were hordes of people. Also, what has become the most annoying thing, were the beggars of all kind - women, women with children, men, children. It's quite amazing - "want a rolex?" or "want some postcards?" among the most common requests.
Tomorrow we are going to WuZhen, a small town about two hours away by bus. We are returning to Shanghai rather than stay in WuZhen, and then will return to Beijing Saturday night.