Beijing
Forbidden City Great Wall Summer Palace Beijing
The Forbidden City
This is the entrance gate into the Forbidden City, which is in the very center of Beijing.
There are other gates that are in concentric rings around the city center.
Mao Zhedong. From my experience, people seemed to love him.
In the old days, these large urns were water reservoirs in case of fire.
This is the only photo I have of Tiananmen Square (of the 1989 student protests) which is to the left. The crane is being used for each of these potted plants being arranged for the National Holiday, October 1st. This is one of the few times that I saw things being done with automation as opposed to man power. From my short experience in China, it seemed more common to have manual labor and the power of numbers do work.
I met a very nice couple of teachers in Tienamen who wanted to practice their English. They taught me about drinking tea and it had some great flavors...jasmin and a tea made with dried fruit...those were my favorites. If anyone would like to try, come over for tea:)
My host and dear friend, Tarreg, in his hotel. The Marriott's across Asia have been his home since graduation and getting to hang out in China and S. Korea with him was a fantastic opportunity. Pretty much, since we graduated, he has been working in Asia and in San Jose, so i have been living vicariously through him.
The Great Wall - Badaling
The Lonely Planet-China guide was my bible for getting buses to the Great Wall and for just about everything I needed. I went to the Great Wall at Badaling, although there are many points at which it is accessible. This one is very touristy and I would like to see Simatai if I go again because it has many old sections that have not been remade like Badaling. It is fantastic though, right? It stretches up and down these steep hills and is truly a great wonder.
Does it look steep? Yeah, it was. And supposedly this segment of the Great Wall has a relatively mild incline.
Stretching on and on.
I know the foot shot might be odd at first, but the fun might sneak up on you.
This bear attraction is in Badaling and really made me sad. Especially in comparison to these bears.
Tarreg visited the Beijing Zoo and said it was a grim situation for the animals that live on concrete slabs with nothing else. Lonely Planet seconded it saying, if zoos are prisons, then the Beijing Zoo is death row.
Dinner with the Tarreg and his colleagues, Joe and Jay, was all that dining should be. Many new dishes, great company, and a glass that was never empty. I grew to appreciate later the great skill that Jay had in ordering dishes and must say that those were some of the best meals that I had. Thanks guys!!
The Summer Palace
Thanks to Fiona's recommendation, I made a priority of visiting the Summer Palace. The weather that day and the whole week in Beijing was great. Just a bit chilly and clear skies :)
Inside, he is playing an instrument like a violin, which makes a nice sound. like in the Kung fu movies.
I was infatuated with these ornaments on the corners of the roofs. In the Forbidden City, the number of ornaments (in this picture, 6) indicated the exclusiveness of the building.
These two pictures are of different sides of the Palace symmetric around the main Pagoda.
In the distance you can see Beijing. The skyline is really spread out.
The Summer Palace Pagoda.
Beijing
This photo is awesome. I really had a great time with the different flavors and foods in China. For instance, some silk worm and grasshoppers and sea horses, and don't forget the Goat Cock (yeah, really...below).
8 yuan was about $1.
Just off of Wangfujing Danje, I explored some of the hutongs (neighborhoods that used to dominate Beijing).
Taxis, pedicabs, bikers...bikes are a great way to get around and have good access on roads...and why shouldnt they, here they dominated the roads in Beijing until the 1950s. I took a lot of taxis because it was easy and i didnt need to enjoy my bus experience more than once. The Beijing subway was very handy though.
Yao Ming. No, not really.
The Marriott. Thanks to Tarreg, we lived big in Beijing. There is no other way to go :)
Life was rough in Beijing.