Beijing !

Beijing 9/13/07
Our guide, Angela, is going to pick us up at 8am. We have a 7 am wake so that should work out. Lela is up and full of beans at 5am, so we are up too, but rather beanless. Room is a mess. The weather outside is in the mood for thunderstorms, Lela counts between lightening flashes. Jamie and Lela go down for breakfast while I shower and tidy up. The buffet breakfast is a nice international selection ranging from curries, baked beans, salad and cold cuts, beer (and a couple guys drinking it) to omelets, congee, fried noodles and fresh fruit, not to mention a groaning bread board. Lela is on her second omelet and fried noodles. I go with the more conservative waffle, bacon and yogurt. We spot our guide waiting in the lobby. We’re still not ready. She announces a change of plans, instead of the Great Wall, because of the weather, we will go to Tianenman Square and the Forbidden City. I grab about 350 Yuan ($45 US) for the day since our lunch and admissions are all paid for.
We drive down Changdua Avenue where our hotel is located, the Jianguo Garden. (We haven’t seen the garden yet – or the promised swimming pool for that matter.) The Avenue bisects the City from the Square. We park on a side street, pile Lela into her stroller and walk along the side of the square. We’re used to the scale of NYC, but the immensity of open space provokes a different kind of awe. Tour groups swarm about following their flag or umbrella bearing queen bees. Umbrellas as a signal may be problematic today – everyone has one. It has cooled off overnight, and though still almost 100% humidity, not uncomfortable – unless you are wearing a plastic raincoat that condenses on the inside. Angela points out various buildings and monuments. We arrive at the first gate of the Forbidden City, with a giant poster of Mao over the door. Door is a feeble word for the 20 foot high arched tunnels protected by massive knob studded red doors with 8” high thresholds to keep out the evil spirits.
In the outer square are souvenir booths, and a military detail barracks (complete with astro turf basketball court.) and many buildings swathed in scaffolding, under renovation for the Olympics – less than a year to go now. The stucco walls are painted a rusty ox blood red and the roofs are built up of yellow tiles.
Angela buys our tickets (60yuan, but Lela is free) and we head into another massive tunnel through another weighty structure into the second courtyard. We walk along the perimeter wall, which gives a misleading impression of narrowness. The walls contain pavilions or rostrums as Angela calls the. Several have displays of military costumes and gear. Lela is still in her stroller, which gets a lot of looks, or perhaps it’s the combination of us, her and the stroller – we haven’t seen another one yet. Jamie and I horse her up and down steep flights of marble stairs where no ramps exist. It has a fitting historic resonance – sedan bearers for our little empress Angela calls us. There are ramps of brick, carefully built so the upper edge of each brick protrudes above its upper cousin, creating a lip and providing traction – and making a wild clickety clack rumble when a stroller is whizzing over.
I am snapping away, and then sprinting to catch up. Luckily I have Jamie - I would never see Angela, but I can always find him in a crowd. I am intrigued by the textures and decorations. Many of the painted beams have been renewed in brilliant blues, golds, and reds – writhing dragons, chrysanthemum clouds and other mythical beasts. The pagoda eaves of each building have a string of creatures staring down over the courtyard and the roof beams are finished with a yellow dragon tile. This courtyard has it’s original stone blocks – and a group of a dozen hand weeders, swathed in pastel rain ponchos, crouched in a row working their way toward the center.
Through another wall/door/tunnel and we enter the living quarters. Here the spaces are much more intimate and it’s very maze like. Lela is fascinated by the description of the six Chinese cardinal directions; front, back, left, right, up, down, and how the resonance between the number six and word for deer, the symbol of the Empress, create the concept of a safe place. She somehow merges it with the thousands of dragon representations and starts a monologue on dragons, directions and safety that amuses a large touring group. I have managed to fill a 1 gig memory card already. Wanna see my slide show?
We exit the rear of the complex and our driver picks us up. we are taken to a restaurant for lunch. They have not gotten the idea of vegetarian yet. I get a pork with zucchini and peanut dish and a pepper beef with onions, both delicious, but I can only eat a bit of each. Jamie and Lela get noodle soup only with a discussion, and two plates of steamed vegetables. We will have to talk to Angela. After we get ice cream bars at a corner shop before climbing back in the van. we drive out to where the Olympic stadiums are being constructed. One is an amorphous flowing bulge, bound to shape by a cat’s cradle of steel ribbons. People are stopping their cars on the highway to be photographed in front of it. Then on to a tourist trappe, a tea ceremony demonstration. We do enjoy the demonstration of 5 different teas (except Lela) Then the pressure is on to buy. We do buy some flower ball tea. They are hand tied balls that “flower” into beautiful shapes when hot water is added. We almost wipe out our cash.
To be Continued.....