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October 30, 2005

Having done most of our packing Saturday night we had a leisurely Sunday morning and decided to take a walk to the fabric shops. We had passed them on the way to church and I thought it was a short distance so we started out. Sure enough they were only 3-4 blocks away. We walked in and discovered that this entire large building was filled with little booths, maybe 15’x15’, each specializing in a particular kind of fabric and each with its own proprietor. There must have been 200-300 booths in this building. We have discovered that this is a common way of merchandising in China. There is a building next to this hotel that is several stories high and each level is dedicated to a particular class of merchandise. The ground floor had cosmetics and jewelry including booths to get your nails “redone”. Before leaving for the airport I called my colleague, Xu, (pronounced She-a) because I had been unable to send her some computer files by email. When she came to pick them up we missed each other and it took an extra 20 minutes to get together. No problem we still had plenty of time to get to the airport. We were checked in an hour before flight time and ate sandwiches Darleen had made for us. We crossed the suspension bridge over the Quiantang river and passed through a country side where nicely decorated “homes” 2-4 stories high were surrounded by lush vegetable gardens. When we lifted off ground the smog was so dense we soon lost sight of the ground and it was only the last hour of the 2 hour flight that we were able to see the ground. The air here in Beijing is much cleaner and we were told that is because Shanghai is the largest city in China and is heavy industry. We had a little difficulty connecting with our guide at the airport and for a time began to wonder if we had been “taken.” But all is well now.

Beijing appears to be a much cleaner city than Hangzhou and there are more wooded areas. Trees are still green but winter is in the air. Our hotel is only about half a mile from Tian’anmem square. We have a beautiful and spacious room on the 5th floor with an elegant dining room just down the hall from us. The dining room is on the bottom floor of a 6-7 story atrium surrounded by the hotel with a skylight above. We enjoyed a very nice dinner there this evening.

October 31, 2005

This has been a full and very pleasant day. The weather was excellent but our room is cool 67 degrees. I complained about it this morning but they said the air conditioner only brought in outside air and offered to move us. We decided to stay and just bundle up when in the room. We spent all morning visiting Tian’anmen square and the Forbidden City. They say that a million people can gather there at one time. It has an obelisk in the center celebrating the 1911 revolution ­ the people’s heroes. To the east is a history museum and to the west the “Great Hall of the People” ­ somewhat equivalent to our congress. At the south end is a memorial and burial site of Mao Zedong. Then at the north end is a flagpole where the flag with great ceremony is raised and lowered each day at sunrise and sunset. Many people gather to observe. Honor guards stand guard over the site throughout the day. Across the boulevard to the north is the entrance to the Forbidden City, The palace of the emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties ­ 1306 to 1911. It is huge. One goes through one gate after another. Each gate opens onto a large courtyard with an imposing building at the other side through which the next gate passes. Each of the buildings has beautifully tiled roofs with turned up eaves at each of the corners. On each turned up eave is a row of mythical animals positioned to ward off evil spirits odd numbers for the emperors buildings and even numbers for the women’s buildings. Three palace names are Supreme Harmony, Middle Harmony and Preserving Harmony. This arises out of the ying and yang philosophy in which the opposing forces are kept in balance. The palace of supreme harmony is where the emperor held grand ceremonies ­ high court. Surrounding the buildings are many large (6' to 7’ high and 5' to 6’ in diameter) brass incense burners. Statutes of lions and dragons are in abundance.

We visited the Summer Place in the afternoon. Built in 1750 by Qian Long to honor his mother’s 60th birthday. The “Hill of Longevity” was created by moving earth from a large region that became a large lake. The complex is note worthy for a 730 meter long “hall way” with a couple thousand pictures painted on ceiling and cross beams. There was much more but I am not able to describe it just now. The day ended with a visit to a pearl store where they harvest cultured pearls from fresh water muscles. Tomorrow it is the Great Wall

We have begun to get acquainted with our guide, Ken. He is single but has a girl friend and hopes to get married in the next year or so. He knows a great deal about the places we are visiting and their history but his ability with English is somewhat limiting. We have learned from him some of today’s ways with regard to weddings and funerals. A few weddings take place in churches but most are in restaurants and hotels where a meal with relatives and friends is a central feature. The story of how the couple came together is also important. Cremation is the way the dead are prepared for burial. Family and friends gather to remember usually wearing white or at least a white arm band. Friends bring money to the bereaved.