Day 6 - Beijing and The Great Wall!

Several years ago, I had a business trip to China planned. Unfortunately, that trip got cancelled, but the draw kept hold of me. Of all the things to see and do in the country, walking on The Great Wall of China held such fascination for me. It is a combination of history and perseverance and strength. So it was fitting that I capped off our last day in the country with a visit to The Wall. 

The Great Wall more than met my expectations. We chose a tour location that was outside the city and less frequented by tourists. This particular location was actually in a ski area, so it was fitting that we took a ski lift to the top. From there, we climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed for two hours. It was so steep and long, that even our guide Wendy couldn't keep up. But we explored all the guard buildings and stairways for half a mile or so, until we were sweat-ee. I didn't want to leave. It was a perfect ending to a fabulous vacation.

Day 6 - Beijing and The Ming Tombs

Day 6 saw us driving outside the center city into a countryside that favored Northern California. The Ming Tombs is the resting place for 13 of the 16 Ming Emperors. There is a 4-mile approach to the tombs, part of which is 'guarded' by stone statues. It is quiet and peaceful, with views of the mountains in the distance, and the grounds surrounded by groves of fruit trees. When we parked to enter the tombs area, we were swarmed by local farmers selling gorgous fresh peaches bigger than my fist. I bought one and ate it straightaway as we made our way across the parking lot. With such luscious fruit, it made me wonder how they prepare and preserve it. I was longing for a peach pie, but our guide said they generally just dried the fruit instead of preparing it into dishes. Too bad.

Day 5 - Beijing and the Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is where the Emperors went to worship. Usually they went a couple of times a year to make sacrifices and pray;  more if current events warranted it. Interestingly, there is a long road to the main temple area. Along the way you pass a structure that is a dressing room, allowing the emperor to change into appropriate dress before he reached the temple. But it made us chuckle. 

Day 5 - cont Tian'an Men Square and Forbidden City

Scale. It is the most impressive feature of Beijing. And it is nowhere on better display than Tian'an Men Square and The Forbidden City in central Beijing. 

Tian'an Men Square was gussied up for the Olympic Games, with enormous and intricate topiarys lining the square. The boulevard between The Forbidden City and Tian'an Men Square was massive - perhaps 8 lanes of traffic - in the middle of the city.

The Forbidden City's mass of structures largely served to support this city within the city where 24 emperors ruled for more than 500 years.

As was the case with each of the historic sites we visited, we were blown away by how well these structures have been preserved. No one lives here anymore and no events are held here beyond visiting tourists, but it looks prepared to take on its historic role - up to and including the troops doing exercises in one of the courtyards.

Day 5 - Hutongs

Many Beijingers live in courtyard houses or hutongs. They are bordered by alleyways created by their courtyard walls. Many of these traditional homes have been destroyed over the years, but we were lucky that several hutong districts were within walking distance to our hotel. So after my traditional breakfast of congee, we went exploring the hutong district.

Day 4 - Bejing and The Summer Palace

On Day 4, we left the southern part of China, and headed north to Beijing. Our guide Wendy and driver Choo Foo met us at the airport. From there we headed to the Summer Palace. This was where the emperor and the royal family spent the long hot summers. This joint was HUGE, as were all of the great sites in Beijing, we were to learn. 

Day 3 - Shanghai Gardens 2 - Silk Museum

After the garden, we visited the Silk Museum, where they harvest the silk from silk worms to make comforters, clothing, purses, etc. They have all these items for sale (which, of course, we had to take advantage of. A couple of times.)

Each of the pieces of silk we are pulling on began as one cocoon inhabited by two silkworm twins. The workers are making comforters. Each comforter has multiple layers, so thousands of silk worms give their lives for each comforter.

Day 3 - Shanghai Gardens-1 Suzhou

Day 3 in Shanghai, we decided to employ a guide to take us outside the city to some of the famous private gardens.

Our guide and driver picked us up at our hotel and we set out for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Suzhou.

We got to experience Shanghai traffic like natives when a car accident ahead of us stopped traffic for half an hour. Men from cars all around us bounded from their vehicles and gathered together to smoke and discuss whether and how they could escape the traffic jam. To no avail. We were hemmed in and just had to wait it out.

Soon though, we made it to Suzhou and the Lion Grove Garden. Rocks are the main feature of this particular garden, one of the classical elements of Chinese gardens along with water and vegetation. 

All of the gardens we saw had separate areas for men and women - the men's area was sunnier and had more ornate furnishings. The women's area was darker and the furnishings were functional. 

Before the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese culture was extremely misogynistic. After they became the People's republic, roles were more equal, but we still experienced a lot of sex-based cultural expectations. For example, on our last day, we went for foot massages at the Chinese Medicine clinic. The doctor checked my pulse and kept asking me when I was going to have a baby. They talked about the husband being the stronger yin, and the wife being the weaker yang, and that our connection wouldn't be complete unless I had a kid. Some things don't change no matter how far you travel from home.

Day 2 - Shanghai Buddhist Temples

The next day, after a major Brunch extravaganza with April at our hotel, we checked out a couple of Buddhist temples.

Day 1 Cont - Shanghai Old Town

From the French Concession, we decided to visit Old Town. Old Town dates back to the 11th century, when the original walled city was formed. In the 19th and 20th centuries, this area served as a ghetto, even as rich westerners lived in luxury in the various concession areas.

On my list of things to do was eat street food. So I looked for and purchased street food in the Chenghuang Miao, the central area, full of vendors and food hawkers of all kinds, and lots of tourists, of course. This area most closely resembles a Chinese movie set, with crowded alleyway and low slung buildings with curved roofs.  This area is also home to the Yu Yuan (Jade Garden), one of the most popular tourist attractions in Shanghai.

The garden is classical Chinese featuring pools, walkways, bridges and rockeries, built in the 16th century by a high official in the imperial court. During the Chinese New Year, the garden becomes Shanghai's Rockerfeller Center Christmas tree, decorated with 10,000 lanterns. Yu Yuan was the first of many gardens we would see.

Day 1 - Shanghai French Concession

After a late night of downing Crown Royale, which we bought from the duty free store for Aprilita, we awoke early for our first day in Shanghai.

With my former college roommate April as our guide (April currently lives in Taiwan and visits Shanghai regularly on business), we headed out to the French Concession area of the city for our first excursion. The French Concession was an area of French settlement that was actually under the authority of the French government. There were also British and International concessions in this international city of commerce.

We walked through an outdoor market on the perimeter of the concession, where we found ham hocks, live chickens and a basket of eels. I got reprimanded for taking photos of the fascinating array.

Inside the perimeter, we zig-zagged inside the narrow alleys going in and out of small boutiques and art galleries. I bought a silk scarf from one of the boutiques (I wore it almost every day after), and we also bought a photograph from one of the galleries.

Later we had lunch at a restaurant along one of the winding alleys.