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First of all- I wish everyone a very happy New Years, and I hope that collectively our next ten years will be more productive (and hopefully less destructive than the past) and bring everyone good luck and fortune. Also I would like to remind the reader that this is the year of the Tiger (John's animal year) which is a terribly Chinese animal and therefore good luck, though not as good as the year of the Pig, which is the best of all. Nothing brings money like a pig in your house.
As I mentioned many times, John and I headed North this Christmas to the center of the world, at least in China- which is the Middle Kingdom, and the only real country after all. (The word for China in Chinese is "Zhong Guo" which means literally "Middle Kingdom") Since Beijing is the only real Chinese city we've visited in China other than Shanghai, John and I spent a great deal of time comparing the two cities, and this is what we decided.
1. Beijing is god-forsaken cold, while Shanghai is just sort of cold.
2. In Beijing the air is mostly coal dust, car exuast, etc. while in Shanghai it is at least 55% oxygen.
3. Beijing feels more oppressive than Shanghai.
4. Beijing has lots of fun tourist stuff to do, while Shanghai has none at all.
5. Beijing is flatter and poorer, but has more personality.
6. The metro system in Beijing is cheaper, and more convenient, though way more crowded.
7. People in Beijing are nicer, but not that nice.
The first few days we were there, we weren't even really in China at all. My mom generously gave us her Hilton points to let us stay at the Beijing Hilton for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and it was pure bliss. We probably left the hotel for a grand total of 2 hours the whole time, preferring instead to swim in the heated pool, sip free coffee in the top floor lounge, and watch Christmas movies on TV. Though we did slip out Christmas morning to attend mass at a nearby cathedral, which was packed with Chinese people and way more fun and heartwarming than I would have imagined. On Christmas Day we went to a lunch at the hotel- with a live jazz band, rooms and rooms of really expensive gourmet food, free champagne and cocktails, and a chocolate fountain. I missed my family terribly, of course, this being my first Christmas away from home.. but our stay at the Hilton was an acceptable alternative. =)
After we checked out of the Hilton, and into our hostel dorm room directly across the street from the Hilton (alas, $4 a bed dorm rooms is truly where we belong) we were feeling ready to start seriously sightseeing. First we visited the great Helmsmen himself, Mao Zedong. Dear old Mao rests in a giant marble masoleum in the center of Tiananmen Square. Getting into Tiananmen is a feat in itself, as every entrance is manned by a whole team of soldiers, cops and security guards who make the Chinese people go through metal detectors and bag checks, though curiously the white people are just allowed through. The square itself is immense, (the biggest in the world?) and filled with Chinese tour groups snapping pictures, white people snapping pictures, about 30 police vans that drive around stopping random people and opening their bags, and an unfathomable amount of plainclothes undercover cops. After that, seeing Mao involves waiting in another line, going through another security point (no bags, no cameras) and then filing past stands to buy flowers to lay in a box in the entrance, not even near Mao, and various other sentimental items. I only got to see Mao for about 15 seconds, but I was surprised at how old he looked. Also how creepy the whole thing was- especially since they had a very unflattering orange florescent light shining on his face. Directly after leaving the room with Mao in it, the line forces you into a Mao Souvenier Shop where you can buy everything Mao. I almost felt a little sorry for him, but mostly I was in awe at the supreme irony of it all.
After Mao we saw the Forbidden City- and maybe it's because I don't know that much about ancient Chinese history, or maybe it's because it was about 10 degrees outside, but I was not so terribly impressed. The Forbidden City is really big, and some buildings are really nice looking, and others are really run down looking, and everything is coated with a centimeter inch thick layer of pollution.
We went to a Tibetan temple, which was lovely- but just as cold. I liked the enormous sandelwood buddha, and watching the Chinese people pray and light incense. I like Buddhist temples, they are so much more interesting to visit than cathedrals.. I think because they are so interactive with people actually praying and worshiping, bells ringing and incense burning and gongs gonging.. while cathedrals feel like dusty old museums.
The second to last day we visited the Great Wall- though at the single most touristic sight in all of China. I didn't mind though, it may have been slightly rebuilt (or more than slightly) and packed with tourists, but it was still astonishing and beautiful. I liked the way it snaked around over the strange raw mountains. I didn't like the wind, which blew so hard I actually fell over 3 times! I kept thinking about how terrible it would be to climb Mt. Everest, and how sorry I was for all those people that die up there in the horrible miserable cold. (I just read Into Thin Air, so that might also have something to do with it) Still, it is the Great Wall, and it is actually one world tourist sight that is 100% worth it. I had a great time, even if I couldn't feel my hands, or my face. After the Great Wall we went to the KFC, which is conveniently located down the street, for coffee and french fries. I tell you, I've never been so grateful in my life to see a KFC.
The last day for some reason was the coldest. I can't tell if it was because it was actually colder, or if my body was just giving up, but it was awful. All my fingers turned a fine shade of purple. We went to an old factory that had been converted into a bunch of art galleries and cafes... and it was amazing. Since I've been here, I haven't seen very much creativity out of China but the art in Beijing was provacative, interesting, really good, and very Chinese.. but in a wonderful way. I loved seeing the different ways that the artists interpreted modern China... it actually sort of changed my perception of China. It also made me homesick for Norman. The edgy, completely unpretentious artsy-but-real vibe felt exactly like visiting friends art exhibitions in Norman and Oklahoma City.
All in all, Beijing was a very lovely city to visit. I think it will live in John and I's memory for being the coldest place we've ever been, the most polluted place we've ever been, and the place where we came to really appreciate the wonder that is Kung Pao Chicken.
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