China Diary Part 1

Day 1  April 16-17

We left Toronto on time at 3 pm to begin the 13 hour flight to Beijing.  We watched some movies and slept on the way so the journey passed quite easily.

When we arrived we had to take a train to the baggage pickup.  Eventually our cases arrived and we met our guide Velma outside.  Our luggage went on one bus, and we took another.  Unfortunately we arrived in rush hour, so the traffic was very slow, but we arrived at our hotel just after 7pm.  Beijing time is 12 hours ahead of Toronto.  We had booked a small group tour, which could have had up to 25 people, but we were pleased that there were only 13 in our party.

Our rooms were very clean and well equipped, and we had time for a quick change before dinner.  The food was tasty, but mostly unidentifiable.  It was put out on a lazy Susan and we helped ourselves.  There were a couple of meat dishes and many vegetables - beans, tofu, lotus root in batter, pumpkin and something like watercress.  We were quite tired, so we headed straight to bed after dinner.

Day 2  April 18, Beijing

We didn’t sleep too well, but were up bright and early for breakfast , which had a good selection of Western food as well as Chinese dishes.  We met Velma at 9:30 and set off in the van for the Temple of Heaven.  We walked through the complex and saw the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest built in 1420, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Round Altar where the Emperor sacrificed to the Gods.  The number nine was only allowed to be used by the Emperor, and this number is repeated many times in the area.  The doors have 81 nails (like studs) in a 9x9pattern, and the Round altar has a ring of nine stones around it, the eighteen around them, then 27 and right up to 81. This whole area was restored before the Olympics.    

From there we went to lunch, then in the afternoon visited Tiananmen Square, which is far larger than we expected.  The Mausoleum of Chairman Mao, is in the square, as is the Monument to the People’s Heroes.  Mao proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China from the Ming Dynasty Gate on October 1, 1949.  

The Forbidden City was our next stop.  This area was completed in 1420, and is also known as the Palace Museum.  There are five bridges crossing the Golden Water at the entrance to the complex.  It was the exclusive domain of the Emperors and the court until the abdication in 1912.  It was opened to the public in 1949.  There are 9,999.5 rooms in the complex - we didn’t find out what constitutes a half room!  

By the time we went for dinner we had walked more than 8 Km and up and down many steps.  After dinner we went to the Beijing Opera - an interesting experience but not one that I would be in a hurry to repeat!  The costumes were fascinating and the combination of martial arts and dance was surprising, but the singing was a discordant assault on the ears.

Day 3  April 19, The Great Wall

We set off bright and early for the Great Wall, Badalang.  The day was quite overcast and as the two hour drive continued it began to rain.  It was quite wet when we arrived at the wall, but that hadn't deterred the hundreds of visitors there.  We had expected that most of the people there would be tourists, but the ones we saw were mostly Chinese.  We walked up quite a steep section and had to be careful because it was very slippery underfoot.  The rain eventually  stopped and we had a better view of the structure and the surrounding scenery.   

After lunch the sun came out and we had a pleasant afternoon visiting the Ming Tombs.  After dinner we went back to the hotel and had an early night.

Day 4  April 20, Beijing

We began with a visit to the Summer Palace Gardens.  The weather was fine and I think it had brought most of the population to the gardens.  It was a mass of humanity, strolling, photographing, boating on the lake and admiring the scenery.  Many families were in evidence, and we commented that with so many babies and young children, we heard no crying or whining, and no uncontrolled children running around.

We walked in the gardens, admired the statuary and enjoyed the peonies which were in full bloom.  This palace was rebuilt in the early 20th Century after it was destroyed in a war.  It is very colourful particularly the Long Corridor which was built so the Empress could walk by the lake protected from the elements.  There are paintings on the ceiling all the way along and they must be constantly refreshed because most of them looked quite new.  

Our first stop after lunch was at the Olympic Park where we saw the Bird’s Nest, Water Cube and various other facilities.  We had ample time to walk around and take photos, and observe more Chinese families at leisure.  They were strolling around the grounds, shopping at the souvenir stalls and buying street food.  

It was a real contrast to go from there to the Hutongs - the old section of the city, where we took a rickshaw ride around the narrow streets.  Cars were using the same streets and we had several encounters with several cars trying to turn onto the same street at the same time while the group of rickshaws were there too.  No one was prepared to give way, and there was plenty of horn blowing and shouting.  Somehow it was resolved and we went on our way to visit a courtyard compound.  A young woman explained that her family owned the four houses from 1950, when her grandfather bought them.  He was an artist and had become quite wealthy, but when the cultural revolution happened three of the houses were taken from them and other families moved in.  They were left with the one house which was 500 years old.  After the revolution the other houses were returned to the family, but her grandfather died soon after. 

Dinner that night was at a very nice restaurant where we had Peking duck, then we were off to our hotel and another early night after a busy day.

Day 5, April 21  Xi’an

We were up early for breakfast. and boarded our flight to Xi’an.  the flight took about an hour and a half and we were very surprised to be served lunch.  We flew with East China Airlines and the plane seemed almost new. We arrived in Xi’an and were greeted by our new guide, Lei.  We drove through light rain to our hotel, the Days Hotel and Suites. 

We had an hour to relax, then met Lei to visit the walls which circled the old city and are eight miles long.  We entered through one of the four gates, which led to a courtyard which was intended as a trap.  Enemies would be allowed to enter, then the entrance and exit would be closed, trapping the enemy in the courtyard.  Archers could then fire on them from the walls above.  

Since it was still raining, we didn’t stay long on the walls, just walked around for twenty minutes, then went to see the Moslem Street.  Moslems have been in Xi’an for centuries, and originally inter married with the Chinese.  They kept their faith, and now the community numbers in the thousands.  The Moslem Street has little shops, mostly selling food, much of it prepared out on the street.  We enjoyed strolling around watching the different activities and enjoying the colour and sounds. 

We headed to the Han Dynasty Centre where we enjoyed a dumpling banquet in a dinner theatre.  The different dumplings kept appearing, some formed into interesting shapes.  My favourite were the mouse and the monkey face.  After eating dinner we watched a very colourful show of music and dancing from the Han era.  

We were back at the hotel by 9:30, quite tired after another busy day.

Day 6. April 22 Xi’an Terracotta Warriors

Another early start!  We met in the lobby at 8:30, after a good breakfast in very civilized surroundings.   Our first stop was to see the leaning pagoda - an ancient structure that was affected by subsidence, but has now been stabilized.  It is a monastery which avoided destruction during the cultural revolution, although the monks were dispersed and only returned when the revolution was over.  We then went to the Shaanixi Museum.  It was quite crowded but we saw many interesting exhibits, some dating from several centuries BC. 

After lunch we drove to the museum to see the Terracotta Warriors.  We were amazed to see how many soldiers and horses were arrayed in Pit 1.  Lei, our guide explained how the site was discovered by farmers digging a well.  I didn’t realize that the soldiers had been smashed when the roof collapsed over the centuries and the army as it stands at present has been reconstructed painstakingly.  This work is still continuing and we saw people working on it.  We saw the most complete figure which was recovered intact except for a crack in one foot.  The detail was amazing - finger nails, eyebrows and a moustache could be seen, as well as the pattern on the soles of his shoes.   

We were back in the hotel by 7:30, but we have to pack for an early start tomorrow.  We are meeting at 5:30 am to go to the airport for our flight to Chongqing to take the Yangtze River cruise.