Against All Advice

Going in With Eyes Open

October first, in China, is National Day. For the holiday, the government grants most people in the country some time off work. Schools are off for about seven days, and most businesses shut down for at least a day or two. This happens three times per year in China--October, February, and May. Anyone in China will tell you that, if you can help it, you shouldn't travel during these holiday times off. This is when a large chunk of the actual population of China travels, if not as tourists, then at least back to their family homes. But I'm working here now, so that's one of my only breaks as well. If I wanted to travel, it would have to be then.

One of the big National Day things to do is to go to Beijing to watch the flag go up in Tiananmen Square at sunrise. I didn't go see that. However, I did go to Tiananmen Sqaure the day before National Day, National Day, and the day after National Day. Originally, I thought Beijing would just be a quick layover on my way to a different city, and then I thought the time I DID spend in Beijing would be primarily with a Chinese friend of mine, but things didn't work out that way. Instead my western friend and I ended up spending four or five days on our own there. Just her, me, and several million Chinese people with cameras.

Change of Plans

We got to Beijing, and I was feeling good. I've been to Beijing a number of times before, so it was nice to step out of the train station and see the Paragon Hotel, where I stayed once, and know that in the Henderson Center, a shopping complex connected to the hotel, there was an ATM machine that would accept my foreign card. I called my friend to see where he wanted us to meet him. He told me to give the taxi driver the phone, which I did. The taxi drove off, and I sat back, confident that we'd soon be in good hands. The taxi ended up driving much farther than I expected. It was maybe 30 or 40 minutes before we stopped in front of a large supermarket and told we were at our destination. We were far from the middle of the city, in an area I'd certainly never been to before. We paid the driver and started looking for my friend. We saw him in short order and he took us to check into the hotel right next to the supermarket. It turned out he worked in the same building.

It was soon after that that we found out my friend, who told me he'd have at least three days off for the holiday, not only wasn't getting any time off, but was about to go out of town. We had a late lunch with him, caught up on old times, and he ran off. So my friend and I were left looking at each other, wondering what we should do now. Luckily for us, there is no shortage of things to do in Beijing.

Forbidden

Our first day in Beijing, we decided to start with the most obvious place to visit. We caught a bus to the middle of the city and headed for Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The Square itself, which always strikes me with its size, was filled with people walking and sitting and eating and talking and flying kites and playing with toys and staring at each other. Recently, some Olympic mascots were put up there, and the most crowded part of the area was around the mascots. We joined in by taking pictures and gaping at the big panda and fire creature and water creature etc. You may not know what I'm talking about yet, but just wait till 2008. You'll see them then.

We crossed the street to the Forbidden City and wondered how far we could go in it without paying. I think we went in the free, sidedoor, because we never did get to any point where we had to pay. We were approached by several young people asking if we wanted to "go to an art show," which we'd been warned was a scam. I had my picture taken by a tourist or two. It's strange how, in some places in China, I feel like I'm part of the attraction. I'm not saying it bothers me-- it can be fun and flattering to people ask to have a picture taken with you. But it's also disconcerting at times.

So we walked around this side part of the Forbidden City, where none of the most impressive features are. I love the big gates they have there, though. Those were impressive. I've read more Chinese history since the last time I was there, so I found myself thinking about people hundreds of years ago, processing through the gates, and the ceremony that would have been involved. The Forbidden City, I think, is a place best appreciated when you know more about it. It's beautiful, regardless, but so are lots of other places in China. You need to know how few people ever saw it up until recent history to know why this place stands out as an attraction in China.

Hard-Bargaining

The next stop was Silk Street, as it's now called. The last time I was there, it was all outdoors, down an alley. Now it's in a four-or-five story building. The general atmosphere remains, though. This place wasn't full of Chinese tourists like The Forbidden City had been. Instead, it was full of Westerners. I saw more white faces there than anywhere else in Beijing. I also heard more languages than I could identify. Silk Street is a shoppers paradise. It sells about anything you might want, and reasonably priced, if you're willing to work for a cheaper price. You can get cheap jade, pearls, and fake namebrand products that look like the real thing. It's useful to price things before going in, knowing how cheap one can get things. If you don't, you'll pay 300 yuan for a pearl necklace that could cost 50 yuan.

That night, I was looking at a coat I thought was kind of nice. I need a winter coat, so I asked how much it cost. The woman told me it cost 480 or something. Oh man no, I said. That's why too expensive. And so the bargaining began. I started around 50 yuan. I soon realized I didn't like the coat enough to actually want to buy it, but I was caught in the middle of the process. I gave 150 as a lowest price, and the woman said 160. I said no deal and walked away. She called after me, saying fine, 150. I said I still wasn't interested, as I'd changed my mind. She ran after me, grabbed my arm, pulled me back, and lowered the price again. I said no, seriously. I'm not bargaining, I just don't want it. She kept calling after me, trying to talk me into it. The last price I heard her call to me before I escaped was 100 yuan. Good to know, I thought. If I'd really wanted it, I would have overpaid.

The next day, I was shopping for a necklace on a different floor and, strangely, met the same woman. She recognized me and I recognized her. She smiled at me and seemed amused and good humored about the bargaining the night before. I wanted to buy one of her necklaces and this time, she made bargaining really easy. I probably overpaid, but I didn't mind this time.

Dreams of Summer

The next major stop was at the Summer Palace. We found a bus that went there and crowded aboard. The bus was pretty crowded, but my friend and I both managed to snag seats before too long. And thank goodness, because the ride ended up taking well over an hour, thanks to traffic and being caught behind a broken-down bus for far too long.

It was my second trip to the Summer Palace. The first trip was in January, when the grounds were frozen, quiet, and deserted. This was quite the contrast. There were people everywhere. The actual palace at the Summer Palace is located on a big hill, so approaching it means going up a lot of stairs and some rocky areas. Past the palace, you go down the same big hill to get to the water. It always makes me wonder about the Emperess, when she lived there. I have a hard time believing she ever did that climbing herself. I wonder if she was carried around when she wanted to go down to the water. But maybe I'm wrong and she was kind of into hiking.

Another friend had told us about one part of the Summer Palace that he'd found especially peaceful, so we were out to find that. Going around the lake on the right side, you see a pond with lots of lily pads or lotus blossoms or something. It was the least crowded part of the palace, from what we could tell. It was quiet and smelled like pine trees instead of masses of people. We sat for a minute, enjoying the peace and quiet. I thought about the Chinese classic book "The Dream of Red Mansions," and Chinese garden layouts. It's crazy to think how intentional everything is, and it makes me wish I knew more about it.

On the way back from the Summer Palace, we waited in a short line for the bus to come pick us up. We were excited because the line was quite short. At least we'd get seats right away, we said to each other. But the bus, instead of pulling up where it was supposed to, pulled into a parking lot well behind us. We watched helplessly as a large crowd of people ran for it. By the time we got there, people were already standing in the aisles. This time, it never emptied enough for us to get seats. On the ride, I watched a mother drill her son in English, had the same boy fall asleep leaning against me, we heard a guy hitting successfully on a girl in Chinese ("...so, can I have your number then? Thanks!"), and we saw a guy get caught in the bus door then cuss out the bus driver for a few minutes.

Walking the City

On our last day in the city, we wanted to take it easy. We had a new hotel in the middle of the city, so we left it, walked around the shopping hutongs close to the Square, had a cheap leisurely meal, then made our way to the middle of the Square. We brought our iPods, books, and journals. For about two hours, we sat in the shade, doing our own things. Occasionally, someone would come casually stand next to me, then I'd see a camera flash and the person would run away. Children tried to work up the courage to come see what we were reading. I watched little kids toddle around and thought about my own nephew and neice, wondering how much older they'll seem when I see home again. Some people bought some magnetic stone-like things that, when you toss them in the air, click like crickets.

We decided to walk from there to Lotus Lane to write some more and have some supper. I didn't know exactly where Lotus Lane was, but that it was basically behind and to the left of The Forbidden City on a map. We walked down quiet, suburban-feeling streets where there weren't any tourists. One wrong turn we met had us at a hospital for the PLA, where we obviously shouldn't have been. The walk was long, and we were worried we weren't going in the right direction. Finally, we got to an area where there were lots of tour busses and Chinese people in matching hats. We tried to ask how to get to Lotus Lane, but I didn't know how to say it in Chinese. We tried showing someone the map, as I knew it was on the water, but the man we asked insisted we were in some part of the city we knew was far away from where we were. Luckily, by the time we started asking directions, we were basically there.

Lotus Lane is the English name for a street along a little lake that is all hip clubs and restaurants. There are willow trees and boats shaped like swans. At night, little twinkley lights turn on and everything is really pretty. The Western food there is pretty good, but I wasn't a big fan of the Chinese food I ordered. Then again, I'm mostly a fan of cheap, hole-in-the-wall Chinese food. We sat, looking at the water, talking about music, and eating in peace till it got dark. After dark, we decided to get a quick drink. We walked further up the road to a section that was all bars, crowded full of people. We were tempted by one playing American dance music, but ended up instead at one on the corner of a street with seating on the roof. It was us, a few French people, and a mangy cat up there. The drinks were great, and our last night in Beijing was over.