The morning had been fun but long and almost grueling since there was so much to see. The walk felt long. Being sick didn’t help. But if you’re going to be sick, you might as well be seeing one of the most amazing complexes of buildings from the ancient world.
I’ve come to really like my guide, Alice. She’s very unassuming, laughs a lot, knows her stuff inside out, and just really pleasant company. The whole experience of having a personal guide is like buying a friend for a few days who knows the best parts of the location you’re going to. Obviously, it’s not as good as having a real friend like that but it might be the next best way to travel, at least for where I’m at. Alice really enjoys showing her country to people from other countries. I feel we quickly adjusted to each other’s English accents. At first, we asked each other to repeat many things but after less than one day, I didn’t need to hear things said more than once on most occasions. She has a 3 year old daughter and commutes 2 hours each way to get to the hotel so she has very long days. Her mother takes her child to and from child care when needed, such as days like when she’s with me.
I’ve had a string of amazing drivers and my Beijing driver is one of the best. He moves quickly through traffic and adjusts his routes on the fly to account for traffic problems ahead. While he moves in and out of traffic, I have always felt safe. He knows what he’s doing.
After the Forbidden City, we drove to the Summer Palace and had lunch before entering the grounds. I wanted food but I wasn’t sure it wanted me. Alice suggested soup since she realized I wasn’t feeling well. That immediately clicked as a very good idea. She started listing types of soup and in the middle of her list I told her to stop because she hit the jackpot, the absolute perfect food. If I gave you a minute to think about it you could figure it out but everyone hates playing the game of guessing someone else’s thought (even though most people enjoy it when they are the one who knows the secret). As a hint, my Jewish grandmother probably would have approved.
Chicken soup with dumplings, the absolute perfect meal to have in China for someone with stomach problems. Ate most of it except the veges.
Sign above urinal says “A step up closer helps keep it cleaner.” Strange information but useful. Do the girls on the right have any idea how adorable they look?
Stone of Longevity near the east entrance to the Summer Palace. The east entrance is considered the most important since that’s where the sun rises. I should object, since I’m a night person.
Son of a dragon. I imagine when it was born the mother had some explaining to do.
The Phoenix represents the female and the Dragon the male. Typically, the Dragon is put in the center because the Emperor is more important than the Empress. However, in the case below, Empress Cicxi (1861-1907) was the one in power and she made sure that the Phoenix was put in the center.
I really enjoyed the next encounter. The man below used water on the large writing implement to draw people’s names for them. He asked me where I was from and he wrote the Chinese characters for “American Man.” He then got my name and put that below. He had a great smile and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. He seemed to really enjoy having his picture taken with me. He didn’t ask for money but I gave him a few dollars, which was well worth it for the entertainment value.
Writing my name in Chinese using a water pen (left), “American Man” on the top row, my name on the bottom row (right)
He grabbed my hand and seemed very eager to have our picture taken
Two sides of a fan the man had decorated with a poem
The Summer Palace was a massive park and filled with people out for a stroll and sitting at benches. The views were magnificent.
Magnificent sights at the Summer Palace
Not a magnificent sight. Hard for us to adjust to using this. If there had been a tiny chance Margaret would ever come with me to China in the future, when I told her about this, all hope was gone.
People hanging out at the Summer Palace
People marching to protest Americans invading China. (Actually just some Chinese tour groups)
The Bronze Ox below was made in the 1700’s to control floods. The 80 word poem on its back was supposedly written by the Emperor Qianlong.
The “Bronze Ox” was supposed to control floods. Even if it didn’t work, it’s certainly more beautiful than obnoxious humans.
I loved the bridge below. The number 9 keeps coming up as the most perfect earthly number compared to the perfect heavenly 10. They built this bridge in 1750 and wanted to honor the number 9 but they wanted symmetry of the arches. The middle one would be the biggest and most important one. If they only had 9 arches, the 5th one would be in the middle and would be the most important one. They made 17 arches so the 9th one would be in the middle. It has over 500 lions carved in stone on the posts, each one in a different pose. It was really stunning.
Beautiful 17 arch bridge with the lucky #9 in the center and the biggest one
Some of the over 500 stone lions on the 17-arch bridge
One of the over 500 lions up close. Each one is different.
There are 4 “strange animals” according to a sign at the site that are at the ends of the bridge “strong and powerful, they are outstanding examples of Qing Dynasty stone carving skills.”
2 of the 4 strange animals guarding the 17-arch bridge
Women practicing their dance steps at the Summer Palace
If I lived in Beijing, I would definitely come to the Summer Palace on a weekend just to enjoy the peaceful views and to people watch. Our last stop of the day was a tea demonstration. The woman went through 5 types of teas and showed me how to hold the cups and how to prepare each of them. This was fun even though I knew the inevitable sales pitch was coming soon. I was so tired by then that I gave in and bought maybe the worst of the 5 but it will be interesting to try at home. Hopefully, I can find the directions, which I saw a while ago but can’t find now.
Fruit tea (left), ceramic boy peeing to indicate that the water is hot enough — I’m not kidding (right)
Fruit tea, when it’s used the fruit can be eaten
I bought 8 of these nuts to make tea, this is 1/2 of one
After I got back, I was too tired to do much but at about 11:30 I thought I didn’t have enough bottled water so I went for a walk around to find some. The store at the hotel was closed. There was no hotel info booklet so I didn’t know when it closed. I walked a couple of blocks and found a fast food place. After gesturing a while, they figured out what I wanted from their little English. They did not sell water but had lots of Coca-Cola and other soft drinks, which I haven’t consumed for years (except at the Taj Mahal). Sugared fizzy water with lots of chemicals added makes no sense to me, especially since it just makes me thirstier when I’m done. Even the no cal stuff is supposed to be really bad for you. If I’m going to have junk calories, I’d rather have a beer or chips. My favorite drink is that cocktail of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, sometimes fizzed, sometimes on the rocks.
I went back to the hotel and the woman at the desk told me I went the wrong way, about 1 block the other way was a 7-11, which are all over the world. I went there and noticed the only bottled water they had was Evian for 11 RMB (about $1.65) while Coke was right next to it in a much larger bottle for 3 RMB (45 cents). A young guy latched on to me and acted as my translator and I got a few other items. Nice guy.
My highlights of the day were singing The East is Red in Tiananmen Square, the 9×9 grid in the Summer Palace, the man writing my name in water, and the 500 lions on the 17 arches bridge.
Will being at home seem boring? Right now, it’s after midnight the next day after I climbed the Great Wall of China. Tomorrow will be another full day, then writing up the Great Wall experience from today.
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