Final Days in China

The last four days in Beijing have been surprisingly full of sight seeing and high-production shows. Distances being a big as they were, walking took up most of our time. It was a nice way to see parts of the city tucked away from the more popular streets. Sounds and sights of construction are everywhere - not just renovation like we've seen before, but also reconstruction projects. The wide streets and sidewalks I mentioned in previous posts were made possible by wide scale demolition of older districts - districts that are now, I imagine due to increasing tourism and the fast approaching Olympics, being totally rebuilt to resemble the old style markets.We learned where the beefy Chinese models that we saw in Tienanmen Square hang out: Acrobatics and Kung Fu theatres. The young men and women flipping around the stage in tights were some of the most coordinated individuals I've ever seen, and they were built like tanks. Spectacular shows and incredible stunts. Nicole was seriously concerned for the safety and well being of the performers and several times gasped in shock with her hand over her mouth. We were both surprised at the high tech production value of the show - the stunts were accompanied by thumping techno music and flashy lights display. Great show. I was really looking forward to the Kung Fu show - not sure if I'm going to be able forgive myself for failing to fit the Shaolin Temple into our travel plans...really wanted to get my ass kicked by a Shaolin Monk - but it was a bit of a disappointment after seeing the acrobatics. There were some impressive moves, but it was relatively slow. The crowd was most excited by two of the monks who couldn't have been more than five or six years old. The crowd exploded into teenage squeals of excitement every time they were on stage.
On Saturday we visited the Summer Palace - noted as one of the most classical gardens in the world. As the name suggests, it's was used by the imperial family as a retreat from life inside the Forbidden City. Three quarters of the 726 acre park is water - a man made lake. Originally constructed in 12th century, it was expanded several times and, due to attacks in the late 19th century. The palace was more of a park than anything else and several families were having picnics among the trees and flowers. Just walking around the lakes and wandering through the gardens was a really pleasant way to spend an afternoon. There was also a lot of great buildings and a small collection of artifacts; mostly from the Qing and Ming dynasties.Today we took a stroll over to The Temple of Heaven. Built in 1420, it's actually bigger than the Forbidden City since, according to Travel China Guide, the Emperors, known as Sons of Heaven, dared not build their own dwelling bigger than a dwelling for heaven. The layout of the complex is full of complimentary circles and square - a common religious theme we've seen throughout Asia that represents the contrast between belief in a square Earth and round Heaven. As with the Summer Palace, it was obvious that many of the visitors were simply taking a break from the bustle of the big city. Music was everywhere - small groups of five or six playing traditional Chinese instruments for crowds or just practising. Cypress trees were everywhere - some reportedly planted more than 500 years ago - as well as hundreds of pink and purple blossoming flowers. Another beautiful Spring day in a beautiful park. It was a nice way to end our stay in Beijing.

This morning we were able to purchase tickets for the train to Ulan-Batar tomorrow. The crowd waiting for tickets was an interesting mix of Russians, Chinese, and Mongolians. We're looking forward to our first leg of the Trans-Mongolian Railway...a solid 29 hours. Hopefully no snoring. By the way, the pictures in this post are all from the internet because one of our memory cards was stolen. Fortunately we've most of the pictures backed up on DVD, but we lost a few.