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Please Stand Firm (on the Escalator, In Line, and When Interacting with Salesmen): Our First Day in Beijing

 

August 4, 2015

By Rachel

 

Today we woke up excited to be in Beijing. It was weird to feel like a normal tourist in China. So far in China we have spent a lot of time in places that foreign tourists normally don’t go because we go wherever my dad speaks. Dalian, for example, is very fun, but it is not a tourist destination. Also, even when we were at tourist places, we always had our host or a graduate student showing us around.

 

Taylor felt sick when we woke up this morning. He decided that it would be best for him to stay in the hotel because he felt rotten (he threw up last night). He was very sad to miss seeing the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Temple of Heaven. Looking back on it, this was probably for the better because it was a very intense day and he would have been miserable all day. When traveling (especially in China), almost all enjoyment comes with a touch of misery.

 

My mom, Christian, Sarah Ann and I started by riding the subway to the Forbidden City (my dad was speaking at a university). We had to ride three different lines to get there and on one line it was so crowded that there was hardly room to stand anywhere. We were pressed against everyone else as the subway jolted around. I decided that if one person fell, it would be a domino effect. On the escalator to the subway, there was an annoyingly calm voice that repeatedly asked us “to stand firm while riding the escalator.” (What does that even mean?)

 

Once we got off the subway, we headed to the Forbidden City only to find that we had to go through a security check. Now that might not seem like a big deal, but if you saw the line, you would believe differently. Well, it wasn’t exactly a line; more like a giant mob of people all pressing toward the security gate. And no one had a problem with shoving. There were so many people all cramped into a tiny space. Everyone kept trying to move forward and there was no sense of personal space. At all. It was hot, everyone was sweaty, and it was very noisy. The line must be some sort of modern-day torture to test if people actually want to see the Forbidden City enough to endure it.

Our view in line at the security check

 

Once through the security check, things didn’t get too much better. There were still giant mobs of people moving toward the Forbidden City. Then, we couldn’t figure out how to get our tickets. Someone had bought us tickets in advance online, but finding where to pick those up was a nightmare. Everyone told us a different place to pick them up. We tried about four different places before we successfully found the tickets. Oh, and did I mention that it was super hot outside? Then there was another security check (no line-thank goodness) and we were in the Forbidden City.

 

I had never realized how large the Forbidden City is. It’s HUGE! There are many, many different buildings and paths through it. All the buildings are red and amazingly decorated. When I got there, I couldn’t believe that I was actually seeing the Forbidden City. This is the place emperors and all the other people involved in the royal court lived for 500 years. During that time, nobody could enter without permission – which is how it got its name. It’s the largest palace complex in the world.

 

Inside the Forbidden City

 

After touring the hot, crowded, and amazing Forbidden City for a while, we left and headed across the street to Tiananmen Square. It’s basically a giant concrete area with military personal standing at  various guard posts. There were also a couple government buildings around it and some memorial. buildings nearby, Mao’s body is displayed, but we weren’t sure where, so we didn’t visit it. I decided that it was enough to see Mao’s giant picture hanging on the gate in front of the Forbidden City.

 

Mao’s picture on the Gate of Heavenly Peace at Tiananmen Square

 

At Tiananmen Square there were also tons of people selling everything from rainbow umbrella hats to postcards. Christian decided he had to have an umbrella hat, so my mom tried to find someone to buy one from. As soon as my mom approached the guy, he called his friend over and they started throwing a bunch of numbers at us as my mom tried to bargain down the price. Sarah Ann decided she wanted one too, so we wanted two hats. But the salesmen kept trying to add more hats to sell more and to make it seem like they were giving us a better deal. At one point one man told my mom, “Two for 50” when we looked hesitant, his friend said “Three for 80”. Now, do the math - we weren’t actually being offered a better deal at all. We may be clueless tourists, but we are not that dumb. Finally we agreed on a price for the two hats. As we were walking away, one of the guys ran out to try to get me to buy one too, but I refused. I have learned not to be pressured into buying things. Later when a guy tried to sell me a fan I politely refused at first. But he kept holding out the fan saying “Fan, fan, fan”. I was fed up and hot and tired so I turned around and snapped “NO!” He looked a little startled, but then got the message that I did not want his fan and left me alone.

 

Our next stop for the day was the Temple of Heaven. Before we went in, we wanted to find a spot to sit down and rest. I thought I saw a playground for Christian a little ways off so we went over there. It was really an exercise place. There was a bunch of weird equipment for doing various exercises on. Then, there was a bunch of older people (almost all men) – some with their shirts off – exercising. One old man was doing flips on a bar. Another man was in dress shoes and dress pants and he was pulling himself totally vertical on a set of bars and then swinging himself forward as he also raised and lowered himself on the bars using his arms. He looked like he was training for the Olympics gymnastics. It was quite a sight.

 

A man in business clothes using the exercise equipment

After that interesting visit, we went into the Temple of Heaven. It’s where emperors used to go to pray for a good harvest. There also is an altar where animals would get sacrificed. The number nine is supposed to be lucky and symbolize heaven in ancient culture, so at the altar the number nine was everywhere. There were three levels and each had nine steps between them. There was a series of stone circles. The number of stones in each ring was a multiple of nine. According to our audio guide, the number nine was used in more than 500 different ways. But then the audio guide also said that the Temple of Heaven covered an area of 2 million square kilometers, so the accuracy could be questionable.

 

Inside the Temple of Heaven