i love BJ

i strongly regret not bringing my laptop to beijing, because now i am stuck jamming 4.5 days of intense touring into ONE blog post! here i go.

DAY 1.5
"one and a half," because we boarded the overnight fast-train in shanghai at 9:30 pm wednesday, and arrived in beijing at 7:30 am thursday. alliance treated us to the finest accommodations, soft-sleeper beds with only 4 people to a cubby hole. the rooms are air conditioned and comfortable!

after the initial running from room to room and screaming like giddy little kids, we all slept soundly from about midnight to 6:30. at the station in beijing, we were greeted by our guide for the weekend, tom zhang! such a patient guy, very funny at times. i certainly do not have the talents to herd 20+ college students around china's capital. he took us to our hotel, the soluxe courtyard, for breakfast straightaway. the hotel was amazing- it is comprised of old-beijing "hutong" alleyways with rooms tucked in the different courtyards. we were falling asleep in our rice porridge, but thankfully the next activity was a walking tour of the surrounding area: houhai lake (smack in the middle of the city, surrounded by bars and cafes) and the hutong community (we had lunch in this family's house!). you can see tom, our guide, and michelle, our director.

after lunch, we boarded the bus to the summer palace, about one hour outside the city. everybody promptly plugged in their ipods and passed out... dad would be proud. the palace was insanely hot and crowded. i will try to revisit in the fall, because i think we were all slightly beyond appreciation! there's a beautiful lake and many pavilions, but this picture about sums up our experience:

everyone was happy to return home and finally shower. for dinner, i split off with a few people to dine on "ghost street," famous for restaurants with raging hot roast fish 麻辣烤鱼. having natives to order dinner is potentially one of my favorite parts about being here!

DAY 2
in the morning we went to the UNAIDS office to hear michelle's friend humphrey wou speak about his AIDS relief work in china. his talk was very informative of the history of AIDS in china, but even more amazing were his mission, ideas, and positivity. we really owe michelle for treating us to such a genuine encounter with an american-chinese who is instigating change here.

for lunch, we tried the famous huoguo 火锅, or hot pot! a very fun and communal experience where everyone throws bits of raw meat, tofu, veggies and fish into a roiling pot of broth to cook and then eat. in the afternoon, the temple of heaven did not disappoint. since the mid 15th century, the chinese emperors came to 天坛 to perform rituals... it's easy to imagine huge processions and ceremonies as you walk from the temple to the sacrificial mound. there's me, sacrificing mark for the prosperity of the people!

last stop of the day was 牛街, beijing's central mosque. it didn't resemble a middle eastern mosque at all! but they do a wonderful job of recording the history of muslims in beijing. and they gave us sweet parachute pants so we could visit appropriately dressed. for dinner, we feasted on peking duck! no words will do, but hopefully the picture conveys the chaos.

DAY 3
万里长城。。。the great wall! my favorite part of our beijing visit. large doses of cardiovascular exertion, ancient history, fresh air, and romantic cloud cover. i have no pictures actually scaling the stairs to the wall, and i couldn't tell you exactly how many flights would be equivalent. but i can climb the 13 stories to my apartment without rest, and i rested at least 3 times on the way up to the wall! we visited at mutianyu, a ming-era section of the wall. here i am with my climbing partner, stefly, one of the chinese roommates that came along to beijing.

we traversed about 5 watchtowers before taking the cable car back down (yes, i got lazy, i regret it!). i give michelle and john major props for walking to the farthest tower AND coming back down on foot. the base of the wall is particularly fun for haggling, here's my $2 "i climbed the great wall" tshirt which is already falling apart, john with his panda hat and "i heart beijing" tshirt, and yiyi with her panda pack.

after lunch, we visited the ming tombs and spirit way, where 13 ming emperors are buried outside beijing. dinner was a fiasco- wangfujin street food market! fried dumplings, candied pineapple, soft tofu in sugar syrup, grilled lamb, fried green bean garlic pancakes, to name a few... you can see stefly persuading isabelle and i to eat some fried scorpions!

DAY 4
if you are still reading, you've made it to the last day! wahoo. this morning we visited the forbidden city. i am 不好意思 to report my disappointment. i would never want to live there! it's huge, somber, everything looks the same, and there is no greenery (because it's modeled after heaven, and you can't plant trees in the sky? questionable). of course it's extremely interesting to visit, because you can feel the weight and the history. but in terms of real estate, i would much rather make my home at the ottoman palace in istanbul... ahhh overlooking the mediterranean and eating baklava! here is the group:

we ate lunch in the 798 art district, out in the direction of the airport. i will post a picture of the area, an industrial complex converted into a maze of art galleries. however, i will not lie and say i visited any of the galleries... the girls all feasted on french crepes and then got back on the bus! ha.

here's the last photo: john and i on the plane back to shanghai. my first experience with chinese domestic air travel. i found it hilarious that the chinese airline did not enforce any of the standard safety precautions, i.e. turn of electronics, stow tray tables for landing, stuff bags under seats. the landing was reeeeal sketchy, but here i am, safe and sound!

the most important thing that i take away from this whirlwind weekend? 我爱北京。i love beijing! i was starting to feel nostalgic for shanghai, but now i cannot wait to be studying at BLCU during the fall. the ancient history, slower pace, pride in culture, and low-level sprawl all suit me... more than shanghai's skyscrapers and frenetic lifestyle. plus, tour guide tom has promised to go for drinks with me when i return!