We awoke early to be at breakfast by 7, which was down the street at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Breakfast was, of course, an egg, a white rice roll, and some veggies.
Then we boarded the bus and headed for the Great Wall of China. When we arrived, most of us had to use the bathroom. That was an experience in itself, because there were so many women in line for the squatters that we were all pressed up against each other; also, the Chinese women have no sense of common courtesy and simply push through the lines to get ahead. We Americans weren’t going to take that so we formed The Great Wall of Americans so that no one would steal our places in line. China is breaking all my personal rules of common courtesy, because you are required to be pushy and rude if you are to get anything or anywhere in life. It’s probably a habit the Chinese women took up as a way to “get ahead” in a male-dominated society. The thing is, and I may have mentioned this before, but most (not all) Chinese men are very polite and step back to allow females to pass; like once at school, a group of male students allowed Mizzy and I to go ahead of them in the cafeteria line, which was a refreshing gesture of chivalry.
Returning to the group, we were informed that we needed to pay an extra 60 yuan to take the “sliding car” to the Wall, which was a mini roller coaster that went straight up the mountain. Otherwise, it would have been a killer walk to the top.
Arriving at the top, I stepped onto the Great Wall and surveyed my surroundings: circling me was a lush mountain range with jagged peaks and thick fog blanketing the valleys; it was the ideal Chinese landscape, straight out of the movies or National Geographic, or even my dreams. The Wall snaked over the peaks of the mountains, with towers at the highest points. In the distance, I could see the silhouette of a tower in the fog, mysterious and beautiful.
In truth, I was speechless. I mean, literally speechless. There were no words to describe how I felt at that moment, and how I still feel just remembering the experience. I even shed tears of excitement and disbelief—disbelief that I was really there, standing on the Great Wall of China. I have always wanted to see it in person—it’s on my Bucket List.
Oh, if only you could be there. The view of the Wall snaking down the lush mountains and the towers peeking out of the mist was, and is, one of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring sights I have ever seen—hands down. Pictures are an insult to the real magnificence of the Wall; you just have to be there to really understand what I’m talking about.
We walked up and down the Wall, taking pictures, getting our pictures taken with random Chinese strangers (because we’re American and they love us), owling on the Wall (a new trend), climbing uneven stairs and near vertical ramps (I wondered how the Chinese soldiers got around so quickly to warn each other of danger), relishing the freezing, crisp mountain breeze, and basking in the grandeur of our surroundings. I could have spent all day on the Wall, but our guides had allotted us only two hours.
We descended the mountain on the sliding car, which was a lot of fun.
Next stop was the Olympic Park in downtown Beijing. Although we didn’t go inside anything, we saw the Crow’s Nest and the Cube and the Torch from the 2008 Summer Olympics. Those buildings have some crazy architecture to them. Walking around the park reminded me of attending the Olympics in Salt Lake City.
We then had lunch, which was ordinary Chinese food but in a much nicer setting than our last restaurants. They offered us water, but it was boiling hot—to kill the bacteria. I filled my water bottle with it and waited for it to cool.
Next was the Summer Palace, the Emperor’s summer retreat. It was so large and confusing and the group got separated, so we just wandered around aimlessly. The Palace gardens are beautiful and mysterious, with strange plants and trees with twisted trunks. My favorite part of the gardens was this glassy pond in the middle of a courtyard, surrounded by traditional Chinese walkways and buildings. A lily pad forest grew freely on the sides, with gorgeous lilies the size of my head sprouting from the water. An oriental bridge allowed passage over the still waters filled with bright orange fish, and museums and shops lined the outskirts of the courtyard.
The scene was absolutely stunning.
Kelli, Maren and I continued to wander, hoping to make our way to the Palace itself, but we never achieved that goal. We found a door with an admission fee, but that was all we could understand. We assumed that was the gate toward the Palace, but we didn’t want to pay the fee to find out. Instead, we eventually found ourselves on the banks of Kunming Lake, where paddle boats drifted out for a better view of the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the grandest hall of the Summer Palace. It’s style is similar to a pagoda, or a tiered octagonal structure-ish. Look it up, or look at my pictures on Facebook. The Tower is a very awe-inspiring sight, and very beautiful with the lake beneath its gaze.
Exhausted from walking around all day, we settled down on a small island with a great view of the Palace. An old Chinese man played a flute-like instrument with a beautiful typical-Chinese sound. Three teenage Chinese girls came up to us and asked for a picture with us and chatted with us for a bit. They had relatively clear, good English skills and told us they wanted to be friends with us. They were total sweethearts.
I had thought the Summer Palace was like a single castle, but after looking at a map, I realized that the palace spans over miles surrounding the lake, with halls and corridors and gardens dotting the landscape. The Tower of Buddhist Incense was a good distance from the main gate, and would have taken more time than we had to get there, plus a fee we weren’t willing to spend. What we were able to see was gorgeous, and I was satisfied.
Our next stop was Dr. Tea’s tea house. We sat around a rectangular table and watched while a Chinese-speaking waitress, garbed in traditional dress, explained to us various Chinese teas, while another English-speaking native translated. We were served in small China tea cups; although I don’t drink tea and was prepared to reject the tea, Scott explained to me that the first few teas were herbal and therefore were okay for me, a Mormon, to drink. I turned down the black tea, however. I didn’t really like the tastes of any of them. It was a unique experience, though.
Finally, we were allotted some down time back at the hotel. I watched a few minutes of the 9/11 memorial services at Ground Zero, though it was in Mandarin. Then Scott, Kailey, Kaylee and I cleaned up to go to a Chinese Acrobatic show downtown. Everyone else wanted to go to the pearl market to shop, but I figured that I’d have time to shop anywhere else in China, but how many opportunities would I have to see a live Chinese acrobatic show? In Beijing, China, nonetheless.
And let me just tell you, I did NOT make a mistake. For 100 RMB (about 15 USD), I attended one of the most incredible shows of my entire life. The costumes were incredibly beautiful with brilliant colors, sequins, feathers, silk, in crazy, mystical patterns; think traditional Chinese with an Alice in Wonderland twist. One act was contortionists, another was shirtless men hopping down pyramids on one arm; in one act, a guy flipped through a hoop that was near 16 feet in the air, without any sort of trampoline; in another act, they fit 10 girls on a single bike and rode it around in circles. The last act was a motorcyclist defying gravity while he rode inside a huge metal ball, and another cyclist joined him, and then another, and another, until there were five motorcyclists in the metal ball, revolving around the inside. My heart stopped a few times as I feared for their lives, since there was hardly enough room to fit all of them. If one had made even the slightest mistake and gone off course even a tiny bit, it would have turned gnarly.
I didn’t breathe until they were all safely on stage again.
I was, and still am, in awe at the feats those acrobats performed that night. It was truly unbelievable, and I am so glad I decided to go see it.
Afterward, we ate at KFC, because it was across the street. Kailey is Polynesian, so we had her hail a taxi while we stood a ways off, because she looks slightly Asian. It’s sad, but Asians really are racist here; or at least the taxi drivers dislike picking up foreigners because we usually don’t speak Mandarin, and it causes confusion. (Remember my second day in Weihai, when Maren and I got lost? Point proven.)
However, the hotel had given us cards with the hotel’s address on it, which helped us get home with little problem.
It was an exhausting but productive and unbelievably awesome day.
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