This past weekend brought us to two of Beijing’s most famous tourist attractions—The Forbidden City, and the Silk Market. The former, a reminder of a vast and ancient empire, the latter, a slap in the face by the modern empire that is consumerism. Both sites made for an excellent weekend, giving us a better sense of Chinese history and culture.
The first thing that must be said about the Forbidden City is that it’s big. Really big. If you ever thought that Versailles was a needlessly large palace, think again. The Forbidden City goes on and on, massive gate after massive gate, plaza after plaza, you get the idea. The more you walk, the more the various buildings blur in your mind. This is where the emperor signed important documents. This is where he watched military exercises. This is where he chose his concubines. This is where he sat and picked his nose. There seemed to be a place for just about everything. And to really help you remember each and every pavilion, the names were quite original, for example, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. There was just so much harmony in the Forbidden City!
After our trek through the grand estate, we headed for Jing Shan Park, known for its large hill that provides excellent views of Beijing. There was far less harmony here on this day as we watched a fight break out at the top of the hill and for another reason which I will get to soon. The park sits on the north side of the Forbidden City, and the large hill at the center is actually a product of the huge palace’s construction. When the protective moat was built around the palace walls, the excavated dirt was piled high in order to protect against any threats from the north. The five minute hike up the stone steps to the top was not too strenuous, but this was quite a big deal for Nebromaha, as it was his first “mountain” climb. We picked what at first appeared to be about the worst day for this activity because the infamous smog of Beijing was out in full force, completely covering the city. Visibility was low, but this did not detract from some amazing views of the city from above.
Tired from the morning, we decided to relax at the top for a while to enjoy the views. Observing the grey sky, it’s hard to tell whether you’re looking at simply storm clouds or clouds of toxic dust particles that will probably one day give you cancer. Well, on this particular day at the top of Jing Shan Hill, we were seeing both. This became clear as the lightening show began. This was incredible, and definitely worth the thirty cent admission to the park. And then the wind and rain came. (It was one of those new cutting edge 4-D viewing experiences.) Most were able to take refuge under the pavilion, but I, along with one of my fellow students who will be known as Steve for his fine Steve Irwin impressions, didn’t quite make it. With the sideways pelting rain, we figured we could hide behind the stone steps leading up to the pavilion. Unfortunately, the rain took us anyways. This had both its pros and cons. On one hand, it cooled us down. I was actually shivering, and decided that this will likely be the only time I will ever be genuinely cold in Beijing. But remember those clouds of toxic dust particles I was talking about? Well all those pollutants were now all over my skin, saturating my clothes, skin, and hair. And how did I know this? Because the apparent size of Beijing had just increased drastically as you could now see for miles. The smog was completely gone, having been washed away by the storm. This was excellent, as it made for some incredible views as the storm front moved on. I’d say it was even worth the pollutant soaked clothes! Overall, it was an excellent day!
Now to the Silk Market. The Silk Market is every girl’s dream: four floors of knock-offs. Ralph Lauren, North Face, Nike, Lacoste, Gucci, you name it, and you can find it at the Silk Market. According to my Beijing tour book, which has so far done me well, the Silk Market is the third greatest tourist attraction in the city following the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. While at the Forbidden City you might struggle to note the differences between each building, at the Silk Market there’s no distinguishing between the twenty different stalls all selling the same shirts, jeans, or purses. And then there are the sales people in their matching red vests. “Hey, pretty lady, you want silk scarf?!” “You, American girl, you need purse?!” Needless to say, I dropped some cash. But don’t worry, this is China, and China is cheap! (To give you an idea, I spent about 20 cents on breakfast this morning.) The Silk Market, being the immense tourist trap that it is, didn’t provide quite such excellent deals, but I put on the bartering game face and got to work. There’s definitely room for improvement in my game, but I’d say my parents taught me pretty well back in the day at the Cairo bazaar. My favorite strategy is the act serious, hear the price, chuckle, walk away, listen to the number plummet, turn around and buy.
It was definitely a jam packed weekend, and we’re looking forward to more adventures! I already ate chicken skin and pigs ear this week, on a Monday no less. So if this trend continues, I think it will be a pretty good week.
Betty
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