January 2012: Five Days in Beijing

On January 7th, we left for a 14 day adventure in Beijing, Shanghai, San Franciscio and Napa Valley.  This post details our time in Beijing.

1.7.11 Vagabond Inn Executive - Burlingame
We had a 12:30 pm flight on southwest to San Francisco. With all the transfers, the journey took us about 9 hours – luckily we had exit row seats for the majority of the flight. Once we go to San Fran, we headed to the Vagabond Inn Executive in Burlingame. It turned out to be a great hotel: clean rooms, nice linens and a great local restaurant right next door.  The Elephant Bar specializes in Global cuisine so Glenn and I had lettuce wraps, a wedge salad, spring rolls and Ahi tuna. I also tried the French Pear Martini: vodka, St Germaine, and sparkling wine. It was a lovely mix of sweet and bubbles. We headed to bed early to prep for a long day of flying. For this trip, we booked a 10 day Beijing and Shanghai trip including flights from SFO and hotels from Smartours.

1.8.11 – The Long Journey to Beijing

We hit the airport around 10:15 am. The Smartours documents said to check in at least 3 and a half hours before the flight, but failed to mention that the counter doesn’t open until three and a half hours  before the flight so we met all our tourmates in line. We got aisle seats. I sat in front of Glenn and next to a woman and her sister. They were travelling with the woman’s three kids and husband – such a nice family. The flight went well despite the fact Air China’s planes are basically falling apart and we had to deplane on the tarmac in the rain. Immigration and Customs were quick and simple. We met our guide outside baggage claim and headed to the hotel. Our guide was smart and used the time on the bus for our orientation. We had thirty-four people who had flown in from SFO and another group coming in from NYC. The guide also handed out our room keys which was great. This tour had all the city tours as a la carte options which we did not take.

We arrived at the Radisson Blu-Beijing. The lobby was great with a bar, nice restaurant and buffet in addition to a health club and swimming pool. Our room had two twin beds that were a little too firm but not as stiff as other beds we have endured in China. Having a flight that arrived at night was nice so we didn’t feel guilty going right to sleep.

1.9.11 Beijing Zoo, Beijing Aquarium, and the Summer Palace

Around 8 am we headed down to the hotel’s super buffet – a nice mix of western and Chinese breakfast offerings. Glenn and I were both happy to fill up on wonton soup before we headed out into the cold toward the Beijing Zoo. The subway was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel and as easy to navigate as we remembered. The zoo was pretty depressing. The Panda Houses were dreary and the barrenness of winter only amplified the feeling.  

One panda was miserable – flailing around trying to find a comfortable position, tearing off wood splinters and rubbing them on his head. The other animals did not fair much better. The lions and tigers were in small, empty cages. We decided not to see any more animals because it was just too sad. So we  beelined through the Zoo to the Beijing Aquarium. The aquarium is very nice. The first section is a recreation of a rainforest with ramps going up and down through vegetation and open fish tanks.

The rainforest section opens into a huge space with gift shops and two beautiful Beluga whales at the far end and smaller shallow ponds with fish and sea turtles along the side. The Beluga whale had this concave opening where it put its head in and blow bubbles.

The sea lion/dolphins area was interesting. It reminded me of the behind scenes areas at Shedd aquarium. You see all the tanks where the dolphins and sea lions are trained. There’s no “show” area.  Then we went into the Coral Reef area. This area was very interesting especially the jelly fish exhibit. The aquarium did a great job supplementing the tanks with pictures, lights and other interactive information.

Next stop: Summer Palace. The palaces at this location have been destroyed twice: once by British forces and once during the Boxer Rebellion so the buildings are only about 100 years old. This is where the Emperor or Empress would go during the summer when the Forbidden City got too hot. The benefit of the Palace’s young age is that a lot of the furniture is still in place in many of the halls. It is a beautiful location since a lake was dug to create a waterside retreat.  This digging process created a hill where the Emperor placed a temple. This property also features a traditional long corridor with intricate drawings.

The property is massive. Every corner holds another path and another set of buildings in various states of repair. Glenn continued his potato chip tasting from around the world with some chicken flavored snacks. China lost this round to Turkey. At the end of the long corridor was a “marble” boat.

The Empress had used funds earmarked for modernizing the Navy to commission a boat of wood painted to look like marble. Nice to know other countries struggle with good financial decisions. We backtracked to the subway station and searched for lunch. Near the subway station was a collection of fast food restaurants: KFC, Subway, Dairy Queen, MCDonalds and Starbucks. Luckily we were able to find a local fast food chain: Xian-Bu. It was hot pots!! The staff was slightly panicked when we walked in, but then someone remembered they had an English menu so we could more easily order. We picked hot and sour soup for the broth, the prime beef as our meat and a vegetable platter. I also got dumplings and Glenn got noodles.

It was SO GOOD! The perfect lunch for such a cold and windy day.  Rejuvenated by the great meal, we set out for Saniltun – the bar district near Workers’ Stadium. We stopped off at The Den for old times’ sake. We hit bar street.  The street hosts a two huge high end shopping malls with all the major brands: Uniqlo, Columbia, Nike, Lucky,etc. We were there a little too early for the nightclubs – though we did try one out for some Singapore Slings. We tried to go to Jazz Ya, but it was packed and we were ignored at the bar. We looked around for a couple other places and decided to call it a night. I was so tired from all the walking that I fell on the bed fully clothed – I may actually been asleep prior to hitting the bed.

1.11.12 Lama Temple, HouHai Lake, Hutong Tour and Wangfuijing Night Market

After a great breakfast conversation with Russell and Joan from Salt Lake City, we headed out for Lama Temple. This is the temple we could not find last time and it took us a while this time. It is an incredibly ornate Tibetian temple which supposedly symbolizes China’s tolerance of other religions. The site houses several halls with large Buddha statutes – the largest an impressive 55 foot tall Buddha. The smell of incense fills the space as followers lit it to honor Buddha.

Leaving the Temple, we decided to follow one of the guide book walking tours through the Hutong neighborhoods. The good was that we got to see a lot of different neighborhoods – a street filled with commerce, an old neighborhood with traditional Chinese homes and the trendy area around Hui Lake. The downside is that the hutongs are very difficult to navigate. We loved the area around Hui Lake – we could really tell that it is quite a hot spot at night and in warmer weather. We set out to find No Name restaurant – a recommendation from our guide book. It only took us one wrong turn. We were a little nervous because we were the only people in the whole restaurant, but they let us upstairs to a beautiful sun room overlooking the hutong roofs. We ordered crispy spring rolls and lemongrass roasted fish.

Both were excellent. After warming up over such a great lunch – we headed out to find Passby Bar – one of our favorite stops from last time. We found the location, but it had been torn down. We found a passable cappuccino nearby. We trekked back to the subway to head to Wangfuijing night market to grab our favorite snacks – the beef sandwiches and fried dumplings.  After eating, I needed to warm up so we popped into one of the restaurants behind the night market. They had this huge book with pictures of the menu items with Chinese and English descriptions. We ordered the most delicious duck stew – it was the perfect mix of onions, celery and other flavors that were foreign to us. It was so good.

We also had the hot and sour soup. It was just okay but went a long way to warming us up. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, shared some overpriced beers and called it a night.

1.12.12 Jingshan Park, A Failed Visit to the Water Cube and An Afternoon at the Hotel

Today we headed out for Jingshan Park – just north of the Forbidden City. This park had been on my list since our last trip. It has a hill made from the dirt excavated building the moat around the Forbidden City. I was hoping for groups of locals practicing tai chi and other morning exercises. We paid our 50 cents and walked into a harmonica band performing with dancers.

AWESOME! We trekked up to the Pavilion on the top of the hill and were rewarded with an amazing view of Forbidden City. The haze prevented any good pictures but all the guide books were right – this view is incredible.

I didn’t appreciate how large the Forbidden City was since when we visited we stayed in the central portion. On the way back down, we came across the site of the last Ming Emperor’s suicide. The highlight of the trip was watching women practice a routine with a paddle and a ball. A man came up and invited me to join so I did.

 It took a while to get the hang of it, but when I did, he was just as excited as I was. After the park, we armed up with a pot of black tea and headed to the Olympic Village. We were acting on ads we saw that the Water Cube was converted to a water park. We were both ready for some warm swimming. We needed towels so we bought a couple US$18 towels at the Water Cube gift shop. We had trouble finding the ticket office. A man followed us trying to sell us tickets even though we kept saying NO! NO! NO! We finally made it to an open ticket window only to find out they do not take credit cards. We did not have the cash for the almost US$80 in entrance fees plus the locker rental fees. We were really disappointed and super annoyed by the man who would not stop following us. We tried to think of a way to get the cash, but decided to head back to the hotel to regroup.

For lunch, we stopped at a restaurant directly across from the subway stop near our hotel. IT had a huge book menu with pictures. We got a “fish cake” – so delicious.  The fish seemed to be marinated in teriyaki – so tender.

The absolute best thing we ate on our entire trip – and it cost US$1.45. We also had a “pizza” which was more like a quesadilla with garlic and scallions, lychee shrimp, and sesame balls plus 2 Yinyang beers – all for the bargain price of US $15.50. Such an awesome lunch. Back at the hotel, I got a bare bones 90 minute massage for about US$90. I definitely overpaid, but I needed it  because all the walking and cold was really beginning to wear me down. After the massage, Glenn and I decided to just rest at the hotel. I did not want to go back out into the cold. Glenn went exploring the local supermarket and KFC.  The potato chip tasting continued.

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Yes, I really did just put another picture of potato chips on the blog.

Cucumber – Terrible, Cheese and Lobster – Even Worse, and Italian Red Meat Sauce – Bad.  WE watched a couple shows on the iPad and went to bed early.   I always feel silly when I stay in like that. Here we are – lucky enough to be in Beijing China and I am in the hotel eating KFC and watching tv on the iPad. However, this is vacation and the stress of the cold, not speaking the language, and all the navigation can get to me sometimes and I just need to recharge. 

**On the Water Cube Water Park – When we got back to the hotel, we looked up the reviews online and they were terrible! We decided that the travel gods intervened and saved us US$100 and a lot of exasperation.

1.13.12 Beijing Police Museum, Maison Boulud, The Great Magician, Mesh and One Thousand and One Nights

Last day in Beijing. We headed down to the area south of Tiananmen Square.  I wanted to go the Beijing Police Museum.

It took us a couple turns to find it – but once again Glenn’s sense of direction was spot on. It was so interesting plus admission was less than a dollar. Win. Win. It started with the creation of the Public Safety Bureau when Mao found the New Republic of China. The most interesting sign referred to the cultural revolution as a grim and terrible time – even though it was one of Mao’s biggest initiatives. Several displays outlined the fate of dissidents who were discovered and put to death. Being in a now modern Beijing- it is so easy to forget that just 70 years ago it was still a feudal society. And just 40 years ago Mao ruled supreme. The second floor was crime investigation. The displays told the story of a particular crime with crime scene photos, detective notes and other evidence collected during the investigation. One display even had the actual bag that the body was stuffed into! Shocking! Another had the heroin that was confiscated. I often forget when we go other countries that they have very different laws and rights. This museum definitely reminded me. The third floor contained displays giving an overview of all the duties of the police. This is very different that the US. Licenses, registrations, census functions, traffic, transit and overall public safety are all under the national policy/public safety division. They showed an example of the traffic cameras that surveyed more of the local building entrances and public sidewalks than our traffic cams. Also – our experience was that the Chinese were very serious about safety. Most subway stations have security checks where bags go through an x-ray machine. All major sites – Olympic Park, Tiananmen Square have metal detectors and X-ray machines to get in. We saw a bomb detonation device on standby in a subway station. The third floor also contained a memorial to the officers who had died and been named “revolutionary martyr”. Given the population, the number seemed small. The memorial was very nice because each person honored had a picture, bio, how they died in a large leather binder. The fourth floor was the largest collection of guns UI have ever seen. Hundreds of different guns from machine guns to sniper rifles to pen guns to the tiniest gun I have ever seen. Overall, I really enjoyed the museum. I was impressed with the size and information plus most of the signs were translated into English.

After the museum, we headed to Maison Boulud – an outpost of Chef Daniel Boulud. It is located in a collection of old government buildings that have been transformed into high end shops and restaurants. The restaurant was one of the most beautiful restaurants I have ever seen.

We ordered the prix fix lunch menu. I had mackerel, butterfish and the chocolate dessert. Glenn had foie gras terrine, DB burger stuffed with short ribs, and the pear dessert. The food was excellent as was the service. They provided two complimentary rounds of canapes: cheese puffs, goat cheese in a parmesan crisp, a fish ball and a quiche-like square. Then our menu began arriving.  .
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The foie grab terrine was light and creamy

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The mackerel had just enough acid and fennel to cut the richness of the fish.

The butterfish was cooked well with good flavor.

The DB burger was genius – staffing a burger with delicious short ribs was just awesome.

The chocolate dessert was a nice standard chocolate mousse. Glenn’s dessert was hard to figure out.  Our best guess was that the pears had been soaked in a ginger liqueur with flavored meringue and whipped cream. They finished the meal with warm lemon shortbread cookies and little treats. It was a such a great meal.

After lunch, we headed back to Sanlitun to go see a movie. We hit the luxury shopping mall just hours after there had been a near riot over the iPhone 4s at the Apple Store. We picked the movie with the closest time: The Great Magician.

The woman selling the tickets mentioned twice that the movie did not have English subtitles. We were able to follow along for the most part except for one key plot point and one scene that made no sense at all. After the movie, we found a very nice bar Mesh in the lobby of The Opposite House Hotel. It had a great 2 for 1 happy hour so we had some Moscow Mules and pizza. We headed back toward the subway but just had to stop at the oldest Middle Eastern restaurant in Beijing – One Thousand and One Nights for some hummus, falafel and delicious lamb meatballs. Overall – a fantastic day!

On the 14th - we headed to Shanghai - look for our next post highlighting those adventures!

Day 4 – Beijing – A Foodie Adventure aka WE ATE SCORPIONS!

Today was a magnificent day. We got a chance to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast since we were on our own. Our hotel has a buffet with both western and Chinese foods. Glenn and I both tend to get the Chinese foods so breakfast is filled with dumpling soup, fried vegetables, fried rice, fruit, steamed buns, and sometimes a little cheese. It’s a great spread. After breakfast we headed up to the Dong Cheng district – home of the Hutongs. Hutongs are historic alleyways that the Chinese government has decided to preserve and develop to make into a tourist attraction. We were on a quest to find a restaurant we read about. All we knew was that it was down an alleyway near the Nanluoguxian alleyway and we would walk 150 yards into the alleyway and see a red lantern. When you see the red lantern, turn left and then you will the restaurant. We found the first alleyway – Nanluoguziang pretty easily. It is a bustling area filled with shops, bars and restaurants. We found some great souvenirs and had a lot of fun walking around. I can’t tell you how many alleys we went down in search of a red lantern! We reached the end of the alley – no restaurants - so we headed to the left and went down a couple alleys that way. No luck. We headed to the right and one the 3rd alley we struck gold. It only took an hour and a half of looking.

The restaurant, Dali Courtyard Restaurant was amazing. It’s a set menu. The chef goes to the market in the morning, picks what he likes and then cooks it. We had 7 courses: mint with tofu skin, dried mushroom salad, stir fry mushroom, whole baked fish, shrimp with asparagus, mixed greens, and chicken wings. It was SO good. Glenn’s favorite was the tofu skin and mint salad. My favorite was the baked fish. All that food plus two cocktails each totaled a stunningly low US$50.
After that great lunch, we grabbed a taxi and headed to Dragonfly spa near the Forbidden City. It is a beautiful spa. I got an hour long Oriental Foot massage for US$20 and Glenn got an hour long massage for US$35. It was awesome! Glenn said it was the best massage he had ever had. After our massages, we headed to Emperor Hotel. This was the hotel we were looking for on Friday and the bar was closed to a private party. Well, this time it was open. It was so nice. Definitely a chic hotel. The view was great. The lychee martini was fantastic.

It was so luxurious! After drinks, we headed to meet our tour guide for our night market tour. The meeting point was outside a bookstore so we browsed a little and bought some more souvenirs. Jenny our tour guide met us. She was really nice. She led us to the food stalls.

It was so much fun. While we were walking, a young boy came up and struck up a conversation. At first, I thought it was another scam, but then he started asking all kinds of questions like What is your job? What is your favorite place in Beijing? Our tour guide went over to talk to his father. It turns out he was in Beijing from Southern China near the Canton region for an English competition. His father had brought him to the night market area with the hope of finding some foreigners to practice his English. Once we found this out, we chatted with him some more then wished him luck. His English was very good. Back on the tour, we tried a ton of street food: squid balls, vegetarian spring rolls made with corn wrappers, pancakes with purple rice, spring rolls made from tofu skin, pan fried dumplings, lamb skewers, banana fried dough, Chinese hamburger and scorpions – yes scorpions! Glenn and I both tried them.

They just taste like something fried. The scorpion was Glenn’s favorite street food. My favorite was the purple rice pancake. The tour cost US$100. It was definitely way overpriced. We had booked this tour before we left and we only had our optional tours from our tour package for comparison. Now that we’ve been here, we have learned you could have hired a personal guide for two whole days for that amount. Live, learn. We are definitely glad we had a guide though because the night market was huge, crowded and tons of food options so it was good to have someone steering.

Glenn and I both are so glad we came in the winter. The weather has been cold, but not terrible. The cost savings is significant. The biggest advantage is the lack of crowds. Tonight at the night market, I would say it was relatively crowded. However, our guide said that it was not crowded at all. In the warmer months, it is so crowded that you just move with the crowd and there are people on all sides touching you. Glad we avoided that. Tonight we say goodbye to Beijing. We just finally got the hang of the city, the metro and could find our way around easily. We head to Xi’an tomorrow for a trip to see the terra cotta soldiers and some dumplings!

Day 3 Beijing – Jade Exhibition Center, Ming Tombs, Vase Factory, Great Wall

Day 3 was a full day tour with the group. We first stopped at a Jade exhibition center and learned all about the different types of jade. I, of course, made some purchases. I have gotten quite the reputation as a shopper on this trip. While I was shopping, Glenn told everyone the story of our dinner last night. So now we have the reputation of most adventurous as well! After shopping, we headed to Ming Tombs. This is an area where the 13 emperors from the Ming dynasty are buried. The tombs are quite large because when the Emperor died, his concubines would also commit suicide so they could be buried with him. We didn’t get to see the actual tombs, just the gates and the stone statutes lining the walkway in between. Then it was off to lunch and more shopping. We went to a place that made copper pots and vases. It was interesting to learn the process from molding the copper, to creating designs with wire, to filling in the designs with enamel and then polishing. After lunch, it was finally time for the main event – the Great Wall. Driving through the hills, we were able to catch glimpses here and there. Then we got there and headed up the wall. Climbing on the wall up to the Towers is very steep. It was quite an exhausting experience! We climbed to the first tower, almost got flattened by the wind, and then headed back down for a celebratory beer.



We had about a 90 minute bus ride back. Because I was so tired, we decided to just do fast food across the street for dinner. It was pretty funny because we walked in and the staff looked scared for us because nothing was in English. We just pointed to some pictures on the wall and ended up with a pretty good meal. We headed to the Chinese bakery next door for dessert and the hotel bar for a night cap. Sunday is a free day so I can’t wait to see what kind of adventure we will have.

Day 2 – Beijing Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Chinese lunch, Pearl Exhibition Hall

The day started at Tiananmen Square. Security is very tight getting in. All bags must be X-rayed. The Square is considered the largest square in the world – holding over 1 million people – Chinese people as Sam our guide said. It really is quite a sight. The square is surrounded by Mao’s mausoleum, the Parliament building, the national museum, and the famous gate with Mao’s picture. In the center is a monument to all the people who died during the revolutions prior to communism.

Then we went to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was constructed during the Ming dynasty and then rebuilt during the Qing dynasty. We entered through the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Then the Meridian Gate. Then to the final gate to the outer court – the Gate of Supreme Harmony. This leads to the Hall of Supreme Harmony where the emperor would perform special ceremonies. The Forbidden City is called the Forbidden City because common people were not allowed to enter – even though a million of them worked for 50 years to construct it. The Gate has three openings – the largest for the emperor, the second largest for the Empress and high ranking officials, and the third for guards and lower ranking officials. Each gate has a foot high threshold running across the bottom to keep out the ghosts. Each gate also has 9 rows of 9 knobs for good luck. 9 was considered a sacred or lucky number because of the cultural belief in yin/yang. Yang is associated with heaven, men and odd numbers. So the largest odd number – 9 – had to be associated with the emperor.

After the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Hall of Middle Harmony. This is where the Emperor would practice the ceremonies. Then the Hall of Preserving Harmony where official banquets and final interviews for high ranking officials would take place. Then we passed through the Heavenly Purity Gate to the inner court and the Palace of Heavenly Purity – where the Emperor slept. Actually, the Emperor slept in a different room each night for security reasons and with 9,999 rooms – that could keep him busy for 27 years. During the Ming dynasty, the Emperor would have up to 3,000 concubines. The selection process to be a concubine was even more rigorous than America’s Next Top Model. 5,000 pretty girls from all the country would be narrowed down to 50 based on their looks, height, size of hands and toes, speaking voice, manners, personal inspection by the Old Maid, and then a one month personality try-out. The Empress was chosen by the Emperor’s mother and other high-ranking officials. The Empress had a dedicated Hall of Union for the celebration of her birthday. Her wedding ceremony and wedding bed were held in the Earthly Tranquility Palace. It is still preserved and looks amazing! Behind the inner court is the Imperial Garden and an amazing wall built of rocks. The rocks are held together by lime, water and sticky rice.

After the Forbidden City, we headed to lunch at a nearby Chinese place for lunch. Then to the Pearl Exhibition Hall. A lovely lady showed up how freshwater pearls are harvested. Pink and purple pearls are only available in China. They are very smart at the Center because they have a bar in the front so I shopped and Glenn tasted some Chinese brew. After the tour, we headed back to the hotel. Then off on another adventure…

We went looking for a bar we seen featured in a magazine article. The concierge had to track down the address, but he wrote it for us and off we went. It didn’t seem too far on the map. (Famous last words). We headed that way and encountered every scam China has to offer: the art student trying to get to go to the Art Gallery for a high pressure bait-and-switch art sale, the “English” student who wants to practice English at a high priced café, the motorbike driver who followed and harassed us for half a mile and then almost ran over Glenn to give us a “free” ride. We were quickly losing our patience, but found a nice shop owner who told us it was 500 more meters so we headed out. We actually found it – the Emperor Hotel, but the rooftop bar we were seeking was closed for another party.

Discouraged, we set out in search for a metro station to try to find a different restaurant we had read about. This search took us about a mile and a half, but we found it and headed out. We got out of the metro station and I was very cold and very tired so we tried to grab a cab at a nearby hotel. After waiting several minutes with no taxi in sight, my impatience won out over my cold, tired feet and we set out. Again, it didn’t look too far on the map. We walked for about a mile, and realized we had another mile to go. I lost it. All the taxis driving by were full so I decided a beer was just what the doctor ordered. We headed to the closest bar –Den Den Bar and Restaurant and walked into a little piece of Australia. Everyone in the bar was Australian! They were playing live Australian cricket and tennis. It was pretty funny. We rested there for 2 beers and then I was ready to hit the road again. About a mile later, we found it – Beijing Da Dong Roasted Duck Restaurant. We were SO excited. We went inside and got our number. They offered free tea, soda and wine to those waiting so we filled up our glasses and waited.

A nice young lady struck up conversation while we were waiting. Mina was from Hong Kong and in town with her boss, Gabriel. They sell insurance for yachts, barges, big boats. We chatted while we waited. In Chinese, they announced the restaurant had a private room for four available. She went to check it out, checked with her boss and invited us to eat with them. We said absolutely as we had been having a great conversation. We didn’t get that room, but about 20 minutes later another one became available and we grabbed. They lead us up to this lovely private room with a round table.

Mena took charge of ordering. The food was amazing!!! We got a delicious beef stir fry dish. We ordered a very expensive clam – Welk clam I think they call it. In fact, they had to come and show Gabriel the clam because it was twice as big as the menu said so it would be twice as much (about US$120). The clam was amazing. It was delicately cut and melted in your mouth. Blindly tasting, you would have thought it was noodles. We got had braised sea cucumber that was just incredible. Sea Cucumber is very gelatinous as it is made mostly of collagen. They harvested, soak it, and then braise it slowly for three days. It melted in your mouth. They brought out the barbeque eel and it was just gorgeous. It had a crispy skin, delicate fresh taste and followed the theme of melting in your mouth. I wish I had photos to share, but it would have been very awkward to pull out the camera during dinner. When they bring out the duck, they bring it out whole and the chef carves it very carefully right there. The crispy skin and the delicate breast meat are put onto pancakes, dipped in hoisin sauce, and then you have little trays of radishes, cucumbers, onion to add to the pancake. They also have you dip the piece in sugar to bring out the natural flavors. It was delicious. To end the meal, they bring out a lovely fruit plate. It was such an amazing dining experience. The check arrived and we reached for our wallets, but Gabriel said dinner was on him. He hadn’t expensed anything all week and it was just a nice change to have a dinner not about work. We were floored. What an amazing gift. We left the restaurant a little dazed, found a taxi, explained to the taxi where our hotel was, and off we went. Still can’t believe it happened!!

Day One – Beijing – Temple of Heaven, Temple of Earth and an early night

Today we landed in Beijing at 5:40 am. The weather was overcast (due to smog) and the temperature was a manageable 28 degrees. We cleared immigration, got our bags and headed to meet our guide. Our group is 28 folks. It’s a good mix of older couples (60+) and younger couples. We got on the bus and headed to the hotel – Beijing International Hotel. Luckily, our rooms were ready so we were able to check in, have breakfast, shower and rest. The room and hotel are very nice. Day 1 was a free day so we got our game plan together and headed out to find the Temple of Heaven. After failing to find the metro station, we jumped into a cab. The cab driver didn’t speak English, but our hotel concierge had given us a map with both the Chinese characters and the English names of places, so we could just point. We learned the hard way that the cab drivers like to give tourists the “scenic” route as the fare is based on mileage. There is not one thing we can do about it because they don’t speak English and we don’t speak Chinese. The cab driver dropped us off at a hospital near the Temple of Heaven. I guess I pointed to the wrong dot. We headed through a local neighborhood and found the Temple. For US$28 – we gained entrance and each got an English audio-guide to the Park.

The Temple of Heaven literally means Altar of Heaven and this is where the Son of Heaven prayed for good harvests and sought divine intervention. Practically this means that people don’t pray here so no incense. It was originally constructed in the 1500s, destroyed and then rebuilt in the 1700s. The property covers 267 hectares and is used as a park. We came across lots of people practicing dance routines, tai chi, or just enjoying a brisk walk around the property. We saw the Bureau of Divine Music – where performers learned and practiced ceremonies and the huge Fasting Palace where the Emperor would conduct the ceremonial fasts. It is the most secure building in Beijing with a moat and several inner walls. Then it was over to the Circular Mound Altar. The three gates into the Circular Mound Altar are three different sizes. The largest size is reserved for the Gods. This round altar is three levels high with the stone of heaven in the middle of the third level. Each level is based on the number 9. Prime numbers are considered sacred and 9 is the largest odd number. So each level is 9 rows with 9 pillars.

After passing through the Circular Mound Altar, we went to the Imperial Vault of Heaven.

This vault holds the tablets from the ancestors of 8 dynasties. Wrapped around the Vault is the Echo Wall. You can whisper on one side and hear it on the other. I also stood at the third stone from the front of the Vault, clapped, and heard three echoes.

After the vault, we passed over a bridge to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. It is an amazing wooden structure that was built in 1420 without any nails. The beams are all interlocked for support. The colors and structure is just amazing. After the Hall of Prayer, we headed for the East Gate. To get there, we walked down the Long Corridor. This corridor was used to move ceremonial animals to the Divine Kitchen for ceremony preparation. Since the animals could get dusty or dirty, the Corridor is covered. Today, the corridor is an amazing collection of singers, dancers, and people playing a version of hacky sack. They come with their own karaoke machines and perform “Peking Opera”. They are not asking for money, just performing. The sides of the Corridor are also lined with people playing cards. It was really neat.

After the Temple of Heaven, we headed down to the Metro. The subway is incredibly easy to use – thanks in part to preparations for the 2008 Olympics. All the signs have the English translations, the overhead announcements are in English and there is a map that lights up so you can easily tell the current stop. Coming out of the subway, we got a little turned around and ended up at the Temple of Earth. Turns out it looks a lot like the Temple of Heaven. We headed back south to the Dongcheng neighborhood and found a local restaurant. We ordered smoked meat plate, dumplings, and hot plum drink. All were very good, but the dumplings were exceptional! I think we’ll be eating a lot of dumplings. After lunch, we headed off to explore the neighborhood. It’s well-known area because the Chinese government preserved the hutong- historic winding alleyways - that lead to homes with courtyards in the front or other Temples and parks. Some of the historic city gates still remain. We were looking for a bar we had read about, but finding a particular address is incredibly difficult. A woman walking by heard me say “where are we?” and quickly asked “where are you trying to go?” and pointed us in the right direction. That was so nice! I was very tired so we hailed cab, took the scenic route and headed back to the hotel. The plan was for me to take an hour nap and then we would head out to find a Beijing Duck restaurant we had read about. Unfortunately, the nap lasted 4 hours. So we chalked the day up to jet lag and went to sleep. It’s now 4:30 am Beijing time and I am up ready to go! Today we head to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We will definitely make it to the Duck restaurant.

Angie’s Reflections on Day one - I am really impressed with how clean the city is. I was very surprised by all the English in the subway and how easy it was to use. The city overall feels very gray. I am not sure if that is because of the pollution, the weather or the age of the city. I feel very confident moving around due the map we have, but I do get very nervous about things like jaywalking because I very afraid of Chinese jail. Overall, I am really excited and impressed with the trip so far and can’t wait until tomorrow.

Glenn’s reflections on day 1: Travelling around by cab, I was amazed by how many stores there are. In Florida, I am used to seeing a lot of store closings, but here there are so many stores of all types. A lot of small markets with various food snacks, a lot like what you would find in Oriental markets in US. Also clothing stores, electronics, etc. The subway was very easy to use and cheap (approximately .35 US). Now that we know where the major routes are, we’ll be using that during to venture around the city. Breakfast was included on Monday and it was not just American-style. While they did have the standard “staples” to please those needing American tastes, I really enjoyed the more local fare. Noodle bowls, dumplings and steamed buns – with all the accompaniments – including dried shrimp which is so tasty. They have a daily special of steamed buns also. Today was some kind of sweet lotus bean paste (I think) and another stuffed with spinach. Both were very good.