BEIJING CHINA!

 

We have lived in Asia for almost 4 years. Can you believe it? Since we got here, Beijing has been on my list of must-see, must-do, gotta-get-there places. But because of the expensive visas, the long flight, the pollution and a million other excuses it always got back burner-ed with more alluring (read: tropical) places filling our time. 

But this spring break we finally made it! We took a trip to Beijing, China! 

It was cold. 

It was dirty.

And it was crowded.

But it was also SO fascinating and SO interesting.  

The East is so different from the West in every little detail. 

The big sites were incredible. It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China. Very impressive. 

But my absolute favorites were the unexpected back alleys, the markets, the doorways, the bikes, the traffic, the old people, the bundled up babies and the Chinglish. Oh, the Chinglish was so great.

 

Here's a back alley we slipped through to get from one tourist destination to another. Dave is in the red backpack. Most of the bikes and motorcycles had these huge mittens attached to the handlebars for the cold weather. 

 

All the Chinese babies we saw wore "split pants." No need to change diapers. They would just go when they needed to. "That is China style" our guide said. Noah and Gage thought they were hilarious. 

 

More from the alleyway.

 

Selling roasted chestnuts and yogurt. 

 

 

  

happy corn on the cob

 

sweet potatoes    

bikes everywhere for everything

 

 

 

A snack market. The huge dried tomatoes looked awesome.   

 

We stayed in the Chaoyang area which was close to the business district. It was very modern and very big. Can you believe 22 million people live in Beijing?

 

 

The pollution and the traffic were crazy.  The sky was kind of blue one day we were there and everyone was so excited. We were told that for the Olympics, Beijing ordered 2 million cars off the road and closed or relocated over 300 factories until they could comply with international clean air standards for the athletes. No one mentioned if it all came back or not.

 

pedicabs

 

This billboard had Dave and I laughing for a long long time.   

 

Besides the main sites we also hit some markets and some shows. The markets are pure chaos. I'm sure that's why I never get many pictures at those types of places. A total shame because it is so much fun. 

Noah and Gage learned the drill. Don't ever act like you like something. If you see something you want, whisper it to Dad. If someone hands you something say 'no thank you'. If someone grabs you, scream! Survival skills, I tell you. They each had a certain amount of money they could spend on the trip and you should have seen their faces when we saw off brand Ninjago legos at the Toy Market! 

They bargained hard and were so happy with their spoils.

Another day Gage perfected the art of walking away during a negotiation and got his nunchucks down to 10 yuan from 85 yuan. 

  

And they loved the Kung Fu show at the Red Theater. Wish we could say the same for the Acrobat show.

Overall the boys did awesome in China. A week before our trip Noah wrote in his journal,

"I'm a little bit exited because I'm going to Beijing, China tomorow. I've learned mandarin in school so it will be easy to talk to people there!"

We went to McDonalds one day for lunch. Nothing was in English and everyone was speaking Chinese. Noah really wanted a plain hamburger with only ketchup and pickles like usual, but I told him I didn't know how to say that so we would just have to pick off everything he didn't want. Instead, he whips out his mandarin phrase book from his backpack and looks up "no onion" and "no mustard please" and totally orders it himself in Chinese.


Other things we learned in China:

Singapore squat toilets are waaaay different than China squat toilets.
If you feel like hocking a big logi really loud, go for it. Farmer blows? totally acceptable.
Need to get to the front of the line? Just push and shove, no problem.
Feel like wearing barrettes that look like cat ears? me too! Or a minnie mouse dress? A big white furry coat with a bear head? You will totally fit in.
Or feel like dancing along to the music? Twirling in circles with a scarf? Let's do it!

People watching was so fascinating!


And Sibby?

The sweet thing was just along for the ride...

BEIJING: Tiananmen Sq

Tiananmen Square. This is a big public square. Famous for many reasons. 

We went on a hazy hazy day. 

The square is surrounded by museums

monuments to revolution heros

and Mao's Mausoleum. We didn't stand in line for hours to see his embalmed self, but we could have. My parents saw Lenin and that is enough for me. 

No taking pictures of the soldiers! 

This is the gate which leads to the Forbidden City. This is where Chairman Mao stood to declare the new Republic of China back in 1949 and then he hung his huge portrait. 

I find China's history so so fascinating: 

The Peking Man, Genghis Khan, Marco Polo, dynasties, dynasties, dynasties, Ming Dynasty, Empress Cixi, Qing Dynasty, Warlords, Mao and his insane Cultural Revolution and now modern China. 

 

The red slogan says "Long Live the People's Republic of China." 

It was so interesting to see Ancient China right next to Modern China. And to see Communism mixed in with Capitalism. I kept thinking "China doesn't seem that different...everything is normal..." and then it was like something would hit me on the side of my face as a reminder - the one child policy, the powdered milk crisis, the random bag checks, carry your id card at all times, the different versions of history presented. In Beijing they call it the "Tiananmen incident" the rest of the world calls it the "Tiananmen massacre." We couldn't access facebook or certain pages of wikipedia because of the great firewall of China. Things like that.  

But then again at the end of the day everyone we met was just trying to have a good job and provide for their families. Get some sleep with a new baby in the house or save up for the new iphone. People are people,

"even in China," says Dave.

BEIJING: Summer Palace

This place would be so neat to visit in the summer. It was a summer retreat for the emperor just outside of Beijing. There's a huge lake and gorgeous buildings built in the hills. It was built in the 1100s and changed from one emperor to the next until Empress Cixi made it her own. The stories about Empress Cixi are nuts! She was one powerful lady. The Dragon Lady. One of China's most powerful women. 

500 year old trees are tagged with red tags. 

There were lots of gorgeous buildings to see with thrones, jewelry collections, furniture, art work, remnants of the imperial dynasties. 

This is our guide, Ashley giving us the history, telling us stories of the powerful Dragon Lady and explaining the significance of every little detail. The Seventeen-arch Bridge with its marble lions. The Marble Boat. The Long Corridor with its gorgeous paintings. The Garden of Virtue and Harmony. The Hall of Happiness and Longevity.

It was a super crowded day. 

Loved the advertising on this rickshaw outside the front gate. 

The boys did great as long as we took time to stop and play. They made friends with some kids with a boomerang and could have been here all day. 

At the base of the Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha on top of Longevity Hill.

We also had frequent snack stops. Cup of noodles anyone? Or a hot dog? 

Or, "hey Mom, take a picture of my fist!" 

"Ok." 

Sybil loves her shoulder rides from Gage. 

and Daddy. 

Everyone was very excited when we stopped by the costume shop. So of course we had to go in, dress up the kids like little Emperors and take their picture. 

Empress Sibby. The boys thought this was hilarious and started calling her Empress Sibby from here on. Build me a palace! Dig me a lake! I want a marble boat!