Beibei Jinjing HuanHuan Yingying Nini

Beijing huan ying ni! Translated: Welcome to Beijing! Get used to seeing Fuwa around; they're the official mascots of the 2008 Olympics and they're everywhere in China. You can learn all about them at the official Olympic website. The rhyming two- syllable names are a traditional way of expressing affection for children and also used for naming China's pandas. My favorite is Huanhuan because, according to the website, he's the big brother, the child of fire, open, inviting, and he excels at ball games.Our first impression of Beijing was basically what we expected: grey, huge, cold, and rainy. Our mood wasn't helped much by our fitful night of sleep on the train, so we decided to take a break by sleeping the morning away. By the time we woke up and finished some lunch the rain had passed over and the day turned decidedly pleasant. It was nice enough that we were able to walk from our hostel to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Fortunately, our first impression turned out to be a bit unfair. The streets and sidewalks are wide and clean and the air is reasonably fresh - I'm sure the recent rain helped that enormously. After the short walk from our hostel we were welcomed into the palace by a giant picture of Mao, made small by the palace gates, hanging above the entrance. I know the panoramas are coming out crooked, but I think it gives a good idea of the size.Although we had seen pictures of the Forbidden City before, there was nothing that could have prepared us for the massive fortress. We were only able to spend a few hours there, but we easily could have spent days wandering through the endless corridors. We took several pictures, but none of them really seemed to capture the overwhelming size and complexity of the grounds. None of them caught the combination of immense size and intricate detail. Every time we tried to show detail all perspective was lost and vice verse. As an example, the staircase shown below is the same one in the background of the picture of me above. Emperors were carried over the dragons, a symbol of their celestial power. Only they were allowed to pass over the top. The ramp and stairs are a single stone carving weighing about 200 tonnes. It was moved using logs in the summer and by pouring water along the way until it froze. It's just one of the components and yet a perfect example of the incredible magnitude of the palace.We were pretty worn out after a couple hours of walking, but fortunately there's a Starbucks right in the middle of the Forbidden City. Phew, that was close. It had been almost an hour since we had seen another Starbucks, but we would've had to pay another entrance fee to get coffee at that one! Juiced up on some fresh mocha latte, we were able to delve back into the maze.Directly South of The Forbidden City lies Tiananmen Square. It is labeled as the heart Beijing and the political center of China. Both of us have early memories of news flashes interrupting Saturday morning cartoons during the student protests and it was another, of many on this trip, surreal experience to be at the epicenter of those events. Consistent with the rest of Beijing, the square is huge. At 880 by 500 meters, Tiananmen is the largest urban square in the world and can accommodate one million people. Several people took advantage of the gusty spring winds by flying elaborate kites while others gazed at Mao's maosoleum. Unfortunately the maosoleum is being refurbished until September so we couldn't see his preserved body. Darn it! Our favorite part of the square were the sculptures. I don't know what they feed Communists, but these are the burliest Chinese men and women I've ever seen! Bruce Lee is really put to shame by these folks.Today we got up early for a trip out to one of the more remote sections of the Great Wall. There are two sections of the wall that are much closer, but all reports we've read suggest that they are too crowded to really enjoy. We were excited to see the weather was absolutely beautiful. The previous days rain had washed away any signs of pollution and were relieved to know we would be hiking the ten kilometers during a wonderfully warm spring day. We had somewhat prepared ourselves for a bit of a let down after reading so many rave reviews, but the wall far and away surpassed our expectations. Our first surprise was the impressive scenery - the mountain views and a complete lack of civilation were enough to justify the hike itself. Additionaly, neither of us were expecting enough visibility to appreciate the size of the wall.Instead, we could see the wall trailing off as far as the eye could see both to the East and West. Perhaps the only dissapointing aspect of the wall was the obvious futility of the project. I don't think it takes a military genius to realize the wall wouldn't stop a serious attack. And, as far as we know, it never did. As a tourist attraction, though, it was wonderful! Parts of the wall were in poor shape and navigating the rubble made the hike both challenging and fun. We spent four hours climing the ruins and enjoying the views. Couldn't ask for a better day. Don't have too much planned for the next few days as we wait until we can buy a train ticket to Mongolia. We'll probably take a trip to the Summer Palace, see an acrobatics show, and, hopefully, see a kung fu exhibition.