Sideways Perspectives and Other Observances: China Part I: Arrival and Beijing

-July 6, 2006-
Note to readers: John & I are back at last
And though the trip is in the past
I'm blogging retroactively
And so our trip you'll get to see...

**May 19, 2006 - May 28, 2006**

Beijing is definitely just one of those cities that draws you in, takes a piece of your travelling spirit, and refuses to let go. It's not the most beautiful city in the world, definitely doesn't rank among the friendliest, completely bombs the clean test, and yet, there is something so captivating about the city that makes me want to move there -- at least for short periods of time. Maybe it's the fact that there are so many cultural relics and ancient buildings, interspersed with modern architechture. Whatever it is, it got me.

The first thing I noticed in Beijing was how huge everything was. It was amazing and frustrating: it was impossible to take pictures of anything, because nothing would fit in the too small viewfinder of my camera. Tiananmen Square, which I had previously thought of as "just being a town square" was the size of an entire city block, the walking across of which took huge amounts of time. It didn't help that in our side trip to Beijing, I had left my comfy shoes back in Tianjin, opting instead to break in my new trendy-and-not-necessarily-so-practical shoes (a huge mistake), leaving my feet sorely sore.

Anyways, the big downer to Beijing was that because of the upcoming 2008 Olympics, a lot of the attractions (like the main building in the Forbidden City) were under construction, and therefore not seeable. That was a disappointment, and yet will serve as an excuse to see everything again when I get to go back. It was a bit of a kick in the face though, because I recall the day when Toronto lost the 2008 Olympic bid to Beijing. I remember being pissed (Beijing, that's so stupid!), and so this was like salt in a recently scabbed over wound. I mean, if Toronto had gotten the Olympics, like I had wanted, things would have been good. And Beijing wouldn't have been renovating. And my trip would have bit that much better. Take that, Sarah. Take that, Toronto. Oh well.

A major favourite of mine was Tiananmen Gate. I not much of a commie, so I'm really not sure what it was about a big red gate that touched me so. Maybe it's the idea of sweeping political change that (though it may have become misguided much later) left a nation totally different than before. Or maybe it's just because the gate was so damn big.

So like I said about construction...that kinda sucked. I was all excited upon entering the Forbidden City (almost giddy, in fact) because I really wanted to see the main building, which is in all the movies...unfortunately, when I walked through the gate, I ended up seeing this instead (damn construction). But the rest of the city was awesome...

Damn...that's hilarious. One of my first views of China is a picture of the Forbidden City, inside the Forbidden City. Oh China...

I guess something really needs to be said about the Great Wall too. We visited the Great Wall on our second day in China, so I guess it was one of those things that was just over really fast. I was worried about it being overshadowed by everything else that I would do later on in the trip, but you know, the structure is just really remarkable. First, it's STEEP. You don't realize just how steep it is from pictures until you climb it yourself. It was a workout, definitely, but well worth it. The views were amazing, and it was just incredible to see how this huge wall twisted and wound over mountains. Plus, I had the added adventure of getting to pee in a bag on the Great Wall of China. How many people can say that? There's no plumbing on the wall because it's on mountains...but I really needed to go. We found a public washroom, paid the fee to get in, opened the door to the stall...and had a mini freakout when I saw that the "toilet" was just a garbage bin with a blue plastic bag. Did my business, and left. Anyways. Picture time.

Like I said already, Beijing had a tonne of stuff to see. I feel bad going into all of it, because there's really just that much, and this post would be hugely way too long. But I have to give a special shout out to my favourite location, the Heavenly Altar, which, even though it was way smaller than anything else we visited. I'm not sure what it was that I liked so much...maybe the hugely bright colours...maybe the height and architechture and beauty...or maybe the fact that I got to take a picture with a real live monk...

So...all in all, Beijing was super awesome...will try to live/work there in the future, if it can be arranged. Not sure how it did it, but while Toronto may have my body, Beijing currently has my heart.

A few more pictures to round it out...

Suzhou Street at the Summer Palace...constructed in the Emperor's summer palace to look like some famous street down south.

The ruins of the Old Summer Palace. Ruined when allied French and British forces invaded China in the 1860s to loot, rob, pillage, and burn down much of China. Sad facts that you rarely hear about in the west.