Getting to China - 9 April 2009
Well, I seem to have more and more problems when I travel and this was no expection. Our BA flight was nice enough (lots of great movies and surprisingly good food) but took off almost an hour late and my veggie meal had not been ordered - however, they had a spare meal. Phew. Then when we landed my sister's luggage arrived immediately, but mine didn't. Considering that we both checked in at the same time, it does make the mind boggle as to how such things can ever happen! Anyway, thankfully there was a girl on standby to help and she was able to radio the luggage room and check if they had a spare luggage in a container and they soon sent it up. But we wasted yet more time (having already landed 30 mins late). So, as I kind of feared, by the time we got out, our guide was nowhere in sight. I walked back and forth across the hall, looking at every board, no 'Macle' names. Slight panic. Nathalie wanted to grab a cab, I urged not to as we had no idea how far the hotel was and it could have ruined us... (it turned out it was 1h15mins away !) besides, we had already paid for the service. We asked if they could make an announcement, no such thing were possible. We had no choice but to buy an expensive phone card (my mobile wouldn't work) just to make one phone call to the guide's mobile (thankfully we had an emergency number) and he said he was on the wrong floor and would come straight up.
Then, once we got to our hotel, the room wasn't ready and we had to wait a further 15 mins. But at least they gave us complimentary soft drinks. In a way, this made me realise that if we had landed on time and found our guide straight away, we would have gained nothing as we would have just waited in the hotel hall for over an hour instead. So maybe God worked in mysterious ways ! :) We eventually checked in at 9am and by then we were starting to feel quite tired as we had not slept at all on the plane due to the incredible choice of movies that we wanted to watch.
We agreed with our guide that we should try and sleep at least 90 mins before heading for the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. He said he'd come back and pick us up later. It was going to cost us 80 pounds for the day + 30 pounds (all for both) in entrance tickets but we didn't have much choice. It was the only way we could see everything in one afternoon as the Summer Palace was about 1h15 away from the Forbidden City. Considering that some people here only earn 20 pounds per month, I guess our guide must have been very happy!
The Forbidden City was actually just 10 mins walk from our hotel (as the name suggests - as we stayed at the Days Inn Forbidden City hotel!) and we passed Tianemen Square on the way there.
I must say that I had forgotten how HUGE a complex it is: 900m x 800m (72 hectares). The last emperor himself used to ride around from one area to another (bicycles were introduced to China by Westerners, as were pianos and all of this had been taught to him).
Since 2002 (when I was last there) the Forbidden City's main houses had been renovated to beautiful standards, all the gold had been put back on the designs, fresh coats of paint on the walls and they had opened some new areas too, namely a beautiful garden full of blossoms. However, because of the enormity of the task the renovation works will continue till 2020. Some sections were still closed. Our guide suggested we watch 'The Last Emperor' as it was filmed here and was a pretty good picture of how life was, back then. The main downside is that it was a LOT busier than when I last visited though, with hundreds of people going through the gates - 80% of which were Chinese, though we also heard a lot of French spoken too.
The emperor had 3,000 concubines and some women he'd only sleep with once in 20 years. The last emperor got to the throne in 1911 and it is said that he used to look at pigeons with envy as they could fly over the city walls whereas he remained trapped inside. Concubines were selected for their beauty and intelligence, they had to be very gifted at some artistic skills too. He had a governor who would ride all across the country to select women for him. Some would end up cooks, maids, or others would share his bed. Some had a choice to refuse the governor's offer but it could be seen as a honour for the family. They were several ranks (up to 10) I seem to recall, and if you were lucky and climbed the ladder you could one day hope to become the empress. Quite a few bore him children. It seemed like a very weird, secluded world... one that we just cannot imagine. Lots of enuchs worked there too, of course.
They had also opened up a new section on various artifacts that used to belong to the royal family - vases, clocks, culteries, etc. none of which I'd seen before.
We spent a good 90 mins walking around and even had a quick lunch inside too as they had a new small cafe. It all helped save time.
Our next stop, just 10 mins drive away was the Temple of Heaven complex. It was from the Ming dynasty and the most beautiful temple is mainly blue, to reflect the colour of the skies. It was not the original version though as the Temple had been struck by lighting 3 times and was first rebuilt from memory. It had burnt completely as it's made of timber, so is extremely vulnerable to fires. There were many sacrifices made to the God of Heaven in the complex (but it was a different God from the Christian God who rules the universe). Their God of Heaven was only in charge of a few (key) things like rain and thunder, but other lesser Gods were in charge of other matters. The sacrifices had 18 steps and different temples were used for different Gods -- I think (don't quote me!).
The Temple of Heaven was also even more beautiful than I remembered because it had been totally renovated in 2006-2007. We saw photos when it was surrounded by scaffolding... Good job we didn't visit then. In fact, most key buildings in Beijing were being renovated in 2006-2007 then because of the forthcoming Olympics when they wanted everything to look perfect for tourists. So, unknown to me, it looks like I timed my 'come back' pretty neatly! :)
There was a nice park nearby where many people were dancing or playing cards together. You could really sense a strong sense of community among the elderly in particular (the only ones who had time to spare!). They'd first meet to practice tai chi together at around 6am and then spend the rest of the day together. People looked so cheerful and happy, it was quite inspiriting actually. It beats any British Day Centre any time! (and I've visited quite a few of them in my line of work as quite a few of my blind clients to there for distraction and companionship). But here it was like they had found a whole different dimension to growing old graciously and still found lots and lots of activities to enjoy.
There was a nice smell of pine trees in the air and pretty blossoms everywhere. Our favourite was a pink small tree that I'd never seen anywhere else but looked just spectacular. I took lots of photos but none seem to do it justice. It just stopped you in your tracks kind of blossom. We felt we had really picked up the most colourful month of all. It was awesome.
But the smog in Beijing is such that it looks misty everywhere... with grey overtones and just NO blue skies at all. In fact, pollution is such a problem here that they have this system whereby you cannot drive your car on certain days of the week going by what car number plate you have. For instance, if your plate ends up with a 1, you cannot drive on Mondays in January, on Tuesdays in Feb, on Wed in March, etc. if it ends in 2, you cannot drive on Tuesdays in Jan, on Wed in Feb, etc. etc. It's quite clever but not really working... it seems. I believe our guide said they will soon abolish this system anyway. We could actually feel the grit at the back of our throat and seemed to be constantly dehydrated as the air was so thick. We both felt that 2 days and 1 night was more than enough, due to the pollution level.
Our next stop was the Summer Palace and it was very crowded too. This is where the emperor used to spend his summers when the heat in Beijing was just too unbearable due to the pollution. We first climbed up a hill to see a Tibet temple close-up and enjoy a view of the man-made lake, but because of the smog, saw very little! We then took a stroll by the lake, to enjoy the hundreds of paintings on the longest outdoor corridor in the world and when we came out of the park, at about 5.30pm, we were seriously peckish so headed for the McDonald next door. I know that you will most likely frown upon this but I was quite happy with a fish burger ! Nathalie wasn't even hungry at all. All the travelling seems to have supressed our appetite. GOOD.
We then went back to our hotel and tried to find a call box to call our parents as the phone card we'd bought at the airport was only valid for Beijing so it was a case of 'use it or lose it'. Our guide said that you cannot transfer phone cards from cities to cities -- I'd never seen this anywhere else! It was SO frustrating though we had already got quite a lot to say ! :)
We then tried to sleep but mattresses in China are rock hard and it proved very difficult as a result. We kept waking up throughout the night as we were so uncomfortable. You just couldn't find a decent position where you wouldn't be sore after 15 mins. We had even asked for 2 extra quilts to sleep ON, and the receptionist laughed and said all foreigners find beds too hard in Chinia. But even with that, it was still way too hard... especially for poor Nathalie who has a bad back and can easily end up crippled with a neck-ache. I think we slept 4 hours but only because you get to the point of sheer exhaustion when your brain switches off, regardless of how uncomfortable your body is...
The next day was going to be our Great Wall experience.... China's top landmark.
Well, I seem to have more and more problems when I travel and this was no expection. Our BA flight was nice enough (lots of great movies and surprisingly good food) but took off almost an hour late and my veggie meal had not been ordered - however, they had a spare meal. Phew. Then when we landed my sister's luggage arrived immediately, but mine didn't. Considering that we both checked in at the same time, it does make the mind boggle as to how such things can ever happen! Anyway, thankfully there was a girl on standby to help and she was able to radio the luggage room and check if they had a spare luggage in a container and they soon sent it up. But we wasted yet more time (having already landed 30 mins late). So, as I kind of feared, by the time we got out, our guide was nowhere in sight. I walked back and forth across the hall, looking at every board, no 'Macle' names. Slight panic. Nathalie wanted to grab a cab, I urged not to as we had no idea how far the hotel was and it could have ruined us... (it turned out it was 1h15mins away !) besides, we had already paid for the service. We asked if they could make an announcement, no such thing were possible. We had no choice but to buy an expensive phone card (my mobile wouldn't work) just to make one phone call to the guide's mobile (thankfully we had an emergency number) and he said he was on the wrong floor and would come straight up.
Then, once we got to our hotel, the room wasn't ready and we had to wait a further 15 mins. But at least they gave us complimentary soft drinks. In a way, this made me realise that if we had landed on time and found our guide straight away, we would have gained nothing as we would have just waited in the hotel hall for over an hour instead. So maybe God worked in mysterious ways ! :) We eventually checked in at 9am and by then we were starting to feel quite tired as we had not slept at all on the plane due to the incredible choice of movies that we wanted to watch.
We agreed with our guide that we should try and sleep at least 90 mins before heading for the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. He said he'd come back and pick us up later. It was going to cost us 80 pounds for the day + 30 pounds (all for both) in entrance tickets but we didn't have much choice. It was the only way we could see everything in one afternoon as the Summer Palace was about 1h15 away from the Forbidden City. Considering that some people here only earn 20 pounds per month, I guess our guide must have been very happy!
The Forbidden City was actually just 10 mins walk from our hotel (as the name suggests - as we stayed at the Days Inn Forbidden City hotel!) and we passed Tianemen Square on the way there.
I must say that I had forgotten how HUGE a complex it is: 900m x 800m (72 hectares). The last emperor himself used to ride around from one area to another (bicycles were introduced to China by Westerners, as were pianos and all of this had been taught to him).
Since 2002 (when I was last there) the Forbidden City's main houses had been renovated to beautiful standards, all the gold had been put back on the designs, fresh coats of paint on the walls and they had opened some new areas too, namely a beautiful garden full of blossoms. However, because of the enormity of the task the renovation works will continue till 2020. Some sections were still closed. Our guide suggested we watch 'The Last Emperor' as it was filmed here and was a pretty good picture of how life was, back then. The main downside is that it was a LOT busier than when I last visited though, with hundreds of people going through the gates - 80% of which were Chinese, though we also heard a lot of French spoken too.
The emperor had 3,000 concubines and some women he'd only sleep with once in 20 years. The last emperor got to the throne in 1911 and it is said that he used to look at pigeons with envy as they could fly over the city walls whereas he remained trapped inside. Concubines were selected for their beauty and intelligence, they had to be very gifted at some artistic skills too. He had a governor who would ride all across the country to select women for him. Some would end up cooks, maids, or others would share his bed. Some had a choice to refuse the governor's offer but it could be seen as a honour for the family. They were several ranks (up to 10) I seem to recall, and if you were lucky and climbed the ladder you could one day hope to become the empress. Quite a few bore him children. It seemed like a very weird, secluded world... one that we just cannot imagine. Lots of enuchs worked there too, of course.
They had also opened up a new section on various artifacts that used to belong to the royal family - vases, clocks, culteries, etc. none of which I'd seen before.
We spent a good 90 mins walking around and even had a quick lunch inside too as they had a new small cafe. It all helped save time.
Our next stop, just 10 mins drive away was the Temple of Heaven complex. It was from the Ming dynasty and the most beautiful temple is mainly blue, to reflect the colour of the skies. It was not the original version though as the Temple had been struck by lighting 3 times and was first rebuilt from memory. It had burnt completely as it's made of timber, so is extremely vulnerable to fires. There were many sacrifices made to the God of Heaven in the complex (but it was a different God from the Christian God who rules the universe). Their God of Heaven was only in charge of a few (key) things like rain and thunder, but other lesser Gods were in charge of other matters. The sacrifices had 18 steps and different temples were used for different Gods -- I think (don't quote me!).
The Temple of Heaven was also even more beautiful than I remembered because it had been totally renovated in 2006-2007. We saw photos when it was surrounded by scaffolding... Good job we didn't visit then. In fact, most key buildings in Beijing were being renovated in 2006-2007 then because of the forthcoming Olympics when they wanted everything to look perfect for tourists. So, unknown to me, it looks like I timed my 'come back' pretty neatly! :)
There was a nice park nearby where many people were dancing or playing cards together. You could really sense a strong sense of community among the elderly in particular (the only ones who had time to spare!). They'd first meet to practice tai chi together at around 6am and then spend the rest of the day together. People looked so cheerful and happy, it was quite inspiriting actually. It beats any British Day Centre any time! (and I've visited quite a few of them in my line of work as quite a few of my blind clients to there for distraction and companionship). But here it was like they had found a whole different dimension to growing old graciously and still found lots and lots of activities to enjoy.
There was a nice smell of pine trees in the air and pretty blossoms everywhere. Our favourite was a pink small tree that I'd never seen anywhere else but looked just spectacular. I took lots of photos but none seem to do it justice. It just stopped you in your tracks kind of blossom. We felt we had really picked up the most colourful month of all. It was awesome.
But the smog in Beijing is such that it looks misty everywhere... with grey overtones and just NO blue skies at all. In fact, pollution is such a problem here that they have this system whereby you cannot drive your car on certain days of the week going by what car number plate you have. For instance, if your plate ends up with a 1, you cannot drive on Mondays in January, on Tuesdays in Feb, on Wed in March, etc. if it ends in 2, you cannot drive on Tuesdays in Jan, on Wed in Feb, etc. etc. It's quite clever but not really working... it seems. I believe our guide said they will soon abolish this system anyway. We could actually feel the grit at the back of our throat and seemed to be constantly dehydrated as the air was so thick. We both felt that 2 days and 1 night was more than enough, due to the pollution level.
Our next stop was the Summer Palace and it was very crowded too. This is where the emperor used to spend his summers when the heat in Beijing was just too unbearable due to the pollution. We first climbed up a hill to see a Tibet temple close-up and enjoy a view of the man-made lake, but because of the smog, saw very little! We then took a stroll by the lake, to enjoy the hundreds of paintings on the longest outdoor corridor in the world and when we came out of the park, at about 5.30pm, we were seriously peckish so headed for the McDonald next door. I know that you will most likely frown upon this but I was quite happy with a fish burger ! Nathalie wasn't even hungry at all. All the travelling seems to have supressed our appetite. GOOD.
We then went back to our hotel and tried to find a call box to call our parents as the phone card we'd bought at the airport was only valid for Beijing so it was a case of 'use it or lose it'. Our guide said that you cannot transfer phone cards from cities to cities -- I'd never seen this anywhere else! It was SO frustrating though we had already got quite a lot to say ! :)
We then tried to sleep but mattresses in China are rock hard and it proved very difficult as a result. We kept waking up throughout the night as we were so uncomfortable. You just couldn't find a decent position where you wouldn't be sore after 15 mins. We had even asked for 2 extra quilts to sleep ON, and the receptionist laughed and said all foreigners find beds too hard in Chinia. But even with that, it was still way too hard... especially for poor Nathalie who has a bad back and can easily end up crippled with a neck-ache. I think we slept 4 hours but only because you get to the point of sheer exhaustion when your brain switches off, regardless of how uncomfortable your body is...
The next day was going to be our Great Wall experience.... China's top landmark.
posted by Sylvie at 10:37 AM
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