Saturday, November 13th - Tuesday, November 16th
With a population of over 17 million, I knew Beijing was a large city, but that didn't prepare me for the size and scale of China's "Northern Capital." Mao himself probably wouldn't recognize the place.
Beijing is a booming metropolis spread over a wide area. There is no "downtown." I didn't see Mao jackets, and I didn't even see many bicycles.
What I did see is a lot of new construction and a lot -- I repeat-- a lot of traffic. You don't go anywhere quickly in this town. And if you're getting in a taxi, it doesn't hurt to have someone write out your destination in Chinese. It also helps to have a guide...and we had the best in Tony and Sara.
The first morning we headed to the infamous Tian'anmen Square. It's the largest public square in the world and these days it also includes two of the world's largest video monitors. There were tourists everywhere you turned. Groups with red hats, with yellow hats, burberry hats, even Panda hats. In a space this large, those hats come in handy if you lose site of your group.
Straight ahead the familiar photo of Chairman Mao gazed down from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Beyond was the Forbidden City, home at one time to some 10,000 people. We passed through one gate after another entering courtyards with the most beautiful temples. Its apparently good luck to rube the gold nobs on the gates (9 is a lucky number, and each door had 9 across and down) as you pass, so I did my share.
Lunch that day was at a private home where we not only got a home cooked meal, but the opportunity to learn about the owner's daily life in Beijing . The family live in an area called Hutong, which is a charming old neighborhood of narrow lanes and picturesque houses. It was hard to believe a neighborhood like this exists amidst this cosmopolitan city.
To get there you had to take a pedicab--that a 3-wheeled bicycle. I shared my cab with ship guest speaker, Judith Mayotte. She's a former television producer turned refugee advocate. Talk about changing your life.
Next stop, The Great Wall. The day was really cold, but the sun was shining and even the wind cooperated. Best of all, there were few tourists. That's because we visited a section of the wall well over an hour from the city. It took 300,000 workers more than 10 years to complete construction and according to our guide, the wall is one of the world's larges cemeteries. Seems that the workers who died during construction were buried right there in the foundation. That's a comforting thought.
We rode a cable car to the tower. (when you have only 6 days, you have to take some shortcuts) and hiked the wall for an hour. Some SAS students did a trip that allowed them to sleep overnight on the Great Wall -- in the freezing cold . I'll save that for my next visit.
It was truly amazing to stand on the towers and look at the wall snaking across the top of the mountains. And it was surprising to experience the steepness of the wall, especially the stairs. Afterwards we took a toboggan--yes, a toboggan...back down. According to Mao, "You're not a hero till you've climbed the Great Wall." So I guess I can now add "hero" to my list of accomplishments.
Those are the highlights of an amazing visit. But our journey also included a trip to the Olympic village's "Bird Cage" stadium as well as a chance to experience the many Chinese arts. We saw acrobatics, the performance of ancient traditional music and dance and of course, Kung Fu.
The grace of all the performers was remarkable. especially in the expressiveness of their hands. My favorite was the dancers who twirled the long sleeves of their blouses as if they were streamers. I'm going to have to find a class for that in New York. Who says you can't see China in 6 days.
With a population of over 17 million, I knew Beijing was a large city, but that didn't prepare me for the size and scale of China's "Northern Capital." Mao himself probably wouldn't recognize the place.Beijing is a booming metropolis spread over a wide area. There is no "downtown." I didn't see Mao jackets, and I didn't even see many bicycles.
What I did see is a lot of new construction and a lot -- I repeat-- a lot of traffic. You don't go anywhere quickly in this town. And if you're getting in a taxi, it doesn't hurt to have someone write out your destination in Chinese. It also helps to have a guide...and we had the best in Tony and Sara.
The first morning we headed to the infamous Tian'anmen Square. It's the largest public square in the world and these days it also includes two of the world's largest video monitors. There were tourists everywhere you turned. Groups with red hats, with yellow hats, burberry hats, even Panda hats. In a space this large, those hats come in handy if you lose site of your group.
Straight ahead the familiar photo of Chairman Mao gazed down from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Beyond was the Forbidden City, home at one time to some 10,000 people. We passed through one gate after another entering courtyards with the most beautiful temples. Its apparently good luck to rube the gold nobs on the gates (9 is a lucky number, and each door had 9 across and down) as you pass, so I did my share.
Lunch that day was at a private home where we not only got a home cooked meal, but the opportunity to learn about the owner's daily life in Beijing . The family live in an area called Hutong, which is a charming old neighborhood of narrow lanes and picturesque houses. It was hard to believe a neighborhood like this exists amidst this cosmopolitan city.
To get there you had to take a pedicab--that a 3-wheeled bicycle. I shared my cab with ship guest speaker, Judith Mayotte. She's a former television producer turned refugee advocate. Talk about changing your life.
Next stop, The Great Wall. The day was really cold, but the sun was shining and even the wind cooperated. Best of all, there were few tourists. That's because we visited a section of the wall well over an hour from the city. It took 300,000 workers more than 10 years to complete construction and according to our guide, the wall is one of the world's larges cemeteries. Seems that the workers who died during construction were buried right there in the foundation. That's a comforting thought.
We rode a cable car to the tower. (when you have only 6 days, you have to take some shortcuts) and hiked the wall for an hour. Some SAS students did a trip that allowed them to sleep overnight on the Great Wall -- in the freezing cold . I'll save that for my next visit.
It was truly amazing to stand on the towers and look at the wall snaking across the top of the mountains. And it was surprising to experience the steepness of the wall, especially the stairs. Afterwards we took a toboggan--yes, a toboggan...back down. According to Mao, "You're not a hero till you've climbed the Great Wall." So I guess I can now add "hero" to my list of accomplishments.
Those are the highlights of an amazing visit. But our journey also included a trip to the Olympic village's "Bird Cage" stadium as well as a chance to experience the many Chinese arts. We saw acrobatics, the performance of ancient traditional music and dance and of course, Kung Fu.
The grace of all the performers was remarkable. especially in the expressiveness of their hands. My favorite was the dancers who twirled the long sleeves of their blouses as if they were streamers. I'm going to have to find a class for that in New York. Who says you can't see China in 6 days.
From Beijing we journeyed to Shanghai where we once again hooked up with the MV Explorer for our evening departure. Shanghai has got to be one of the most beautiful city skylines I've ever seen. These photos are a part of Shanghai known as Pudong. A few years ago this area was only a small fishing village. Its just one example of what's happening here in China. The world's center of gravity is definitely shifting.
FU LOO SHO (Long Life, Good Fortune, Good Health)
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