Tidbits

The weather in Beijing has turned grey, colder and rainy. More of what I expected and I think more of what is normal. The last few days we have trimmed our schedule and taken it a bit easier. Both Elle and Liam had dark circles under their eyes and Justin remarked that I had us on the "Amazing Race". It was definitely time to slow down. Luckily, we really love our Beijing home. Our apartment is modern and beautiful and within the building there is a children's playroom, a gorgeous indoor pool, and they offer a very nice morning breakfast. We've played games and watched movies and rested. And still we've managed to get out a few hours a day and see some sites.

Yesterday, for lunch, our guides took us to an Indian restaurant that was pretty good, and then because it was raining we decided to visit the Beijing Zoo to see the Giant Panda's and then call it a day. I am not a big fan of zoo's in general, unless they are very well done for the animal's sake, and the Beijing Zoo is notoriously just about the most dismal zoo you can imagine. I had no desire to see the sad animals living in squalid conditions, so we made a beeline for the panda's. There were two panda areas, the original facility and the new one that the government built for the Olympics. The original facility was first and the although the panda's were adorable, the conditions made me very sad. They looked depressed and both panda's, at times, sat by the gated doors and just stared outside-- almost like "let me out, please."

We moved on to the newer facility and it was much bigger and nicer, but still it was not up to US standards by any means. It was raining outside and the water was leaking into their enclosure. Most of the space was very bare, but the panda's here did seem a bit happier. The panda's are adorable and Liam especially was enamoured of them. We stayed for about 30 minutes and then promptly left the zoo and returned home. Hosting the Olympics in 2008 changed the face of this city and many of the sites benefited greatly, I'm not so sure the zoo did.

The day before we visited the Ming Tombs, against every word of advice we've been given by fellow travellers and guide books. Alex, our guide, though insisted that the Ming Tombs was a MUST see. And so, we allowed ourselves to be driven to the Ming Tombs. The Ming Tombs are the best preserved Imperial tombs in China, and 13 emperors are buried there. Only one tomb has been excavated, and that is the one we visited. In retrospect, it absolutely could've been skipped. Perhaps a serious Chinese history buff would be interested in the empty burial chambers, but for us although impressive in their size, it just seemed like a large empty basement. The museum was a bit more interesting, we got to see a few of the artifacts that were exhumed, but many of them were reproductions as much was destroyed during the cultural revolution.

On the way up we stopped at another section of The Great Wall. We decided not to climb though, as it was very cold and this part of the wall had not been restored and was a bit dangerous to ascend. It did offer a great reminder though that The Great Wall is not one wall, it is many walls all over the country and they are not all connected. This section was built in a circle and it is possible to hike off in one direction and circle back to the starting point. Apparently it sits just south of another wall and offered a second wall of protection.

Some of the more interesting parts of our last few days have been our conversations with Alex and Liu Pei and our general observations of life in Beijing and China, in general.

I asked Alex if the one child policy was helping to slow China's population growth and she said, yes, absolutely. She then went on to tell me about how it is still creating such a problem for girl babies, especially in the countryside. Girls are often abandoned anywhere and everywhere or are victims of infanticide. I asked if many Chinese couples find out the sex and choose abortion if the sonogram shows a female. She said, yes, and as such, the government has made it illegal for dr's to tell couples the babies sex before birth. However, corruption here is rampant and Alex says if the dr is offered a "little red envelope" the sex will be disclosed. Often abortion, which is legal, is the result. Liu Pei has a 3 year old daughter and he tells us that in the cities having a girl is not quite as devastating as it is in the country, so instances of abortion, abandonment or infanticide are much less. However, Alex says that her father is still angry that he had 2 girls. (as a minority Manchurian, they were "allowed" to have 2 children)

On the drive to Ming Tombs we passed a partially constructed and abandoned "Disney World". It seems that several years back a group of businessmen decided that they would build a copycat DisneyWorld and make a lot of money. You can clearly see Cinderella's castle and the Epcot globe amongst other recognizable Disney constructions. When Disney caught wind of this, they shut down the construction and now this half built copycat park stands empty on the outskirts of Beijing.

I asked Alex about something I read regarding toilet training children in China. I read that parents put their children in pants with a split down the crotch seam and that children are allowed/encouraged to do their business anywhere they would like, at any time. Alex said, yes, yes, very normal. She once saw a child defecate right in the middle of the Forbidden City. In front of the Temple of Harmony, she said. And the remains, remained.

I asked her, "do you want children?" And she replied, no, "Chinese babies are ugly". In general, we get the feeling that although she clearly loves Beijing, she longs for Western things. She only likes western babies, because they are cute (her words), she doesn't like Chinese music, she likes Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, she loves McDonalds and KFC (hugely popular here), and she's insatiably curious about American courting rituals.

For example, one day she asked, "In American, does the girl chase the boy or does the boy chase the girl?". The next day it was "So yesterday, I asked who chased who in America, and I was thinking, Justin did you chase Brandi?" The next day it was, "So I was thinking, when you chase Brandi, did you chase her hard?" And the next day it was "So, another thing, when you chase her really hard, did you call her a lot?" And on and on it goes. It's amusing and tiring and a bit sad at the same time.

She asked us if it's true that in America we tell our spouses that we love them often. I said "yes", every day. She and Liu Pei were shocked. It is almost never said here. She said they show love, but never talk about love. They never, ever tell their children that they love them. Elle quietly said, "I don't want to live in China."

Another reason she wouldn't want to live in China, the homework and schoolwork inflicted upon children is just as intensive as we've always heard.. It is not uncommon for children 12 and older to be in school from 8am until 10pm every day. And then have homework on top of that! Even elementary children are in school until at least 4 and then have homework. There are so many people and spots at University are so limited that parents and teachers are ruthless in pushing kids academically.

I have noted that many of the playgrounds in China are not full of play equipment like we have in the US. They have mini-replicas of treadmills, stairclimbers, rowing machines and other exercise equipment. It's very strange to see!

One thing is for sure though, Beijing is a city on the move. Alongside the restored historical monuments are newly built 6 lane highways and interesting modern architecture. Business is booming everywhere, Beijing is on the cutting edge on many fronts and it seems a pretty good place to live these days. A reflection of this are the housing prices, apartment prices have more than doubled in the past 5 years, and many workers can not find affordable housing. Many speak of a housing bubble here in China. We learned from Liu Pei and Alex though, that lending practices are much stricter here than in the US. For example, one must put 40% down in order to buy a house. The government clearly hopes that these practices will help shield them from a catastrophe similar to the one in the US.

Sunday

Sunday

We set out this morning for Chaundixia, an old and well preserved Chinese city, free of most modern influences. It is said to be a gorgeous town in a gorgeous locale. I was anxious to see more of China. Unfortunately, Beijing traffic/construction interfered. It’s a 2 hour drive in good conditions, but after spending an hour to go just a few miles, we aborted our mission and returned to the old beautiful part of town to do some wandering. It was a good decision. We had a great time wandering in and out of shops and just observing Beijing life. We sampled some yummy street candy, fruit on sticks that had hard sugar caramelized on the outside. And we came across a guy that had trained his bird to pick up coins and deposit them in piggy banks. Elle giggled hysterically as she tossed coins to the bird.

We then headed to an early dinner for world famous Peking Duck. We asked our guides to join us and they were thrilled to do so. Peking Duck is the most special dish in Beijing, and our guides directed us to an excellent restaurant. Peking Duck was the Imperial Dish back in the day, and as such, only the Emperor could eat it. Now, anyone can indulge, and according to Justin, indulge is the right word. He and Alex and Liu Pei stuffed themselves with duck and proclaimed it’s excellence often. We also ordered five fresh and incredibly tasty vegetable dishes that were shared. Even Elle and Liam tried the duck, and both seemed to like it.

Upon returning to our hotel/apartment, I asked Alex to come in and translate for me. Our apartment was quite cold the night before and we couldn't figure out how to get the heat to work. After much Chinese discussion, she turned to me and said “Aha, there is no heat anymore. March 15, all of public Beijing buildings turn off the heat until Fall.” So, even though it is 35 degrees outside, there is no heat because of this arbitrary date. Every year the heat goes off until Fall. They very graciously brought us extra quilts.

So tomorrow we have to take a taxi to just outside city limits to meet Liu Pei because it’s Monday, and he can’t drive his car in the city on Mondays. To help with traffic issues, Beijing has designated one day of each week that you cannot drive your car within city limits. On Mondays, it’s cars that have a license plate ending in 2 or 7. Alex and Liu Pei said it does help quite a bit.

Which brings me to another thing I’ve noticed. I often hear or read that China is one of the biggest polluters in the world and that it is horribly polluted. Both of these things are true. What is also true though is that they ARE taking steps to help curb this. I see many more recycling initiatives here than I do in the US and there are many policies like the one above that are at least movements in the right direction. Maybe it’s not enough, but I am surprised at how much is being done.

How could I have forgotten the freshly severed tail in Hong Kong! That was another classic moment on our trip. Having just arrived in Hong Kong tired and hungry, we got bowls of noodles for dinner. While cleaning up I picked up what I thought was a noodle off the floor. Once in hand, however, I could tell it was most certainly not a noodle. I shivered in disgust as I looked it over and showed it to Justin. It looked to us like some animal had just lost its tail and it had been an oddly clean cut. What animal it belonged to remained a mystery to us.

Yesterday we trekked to the Temple of Heaven. The Temple was built in 1421 by the same Emperor that built the Forbidden City, ambitious man he was. The Temple was only used 3 times a year and only by the Emperor. He marched there from the FC to pray for a good harvest. There was much ritual surrounding this event and the processions were taken very seriously. A bad harvest was reason enough to dethrone an emperor.

Frankly, after seeing the FC, the Great Wall and the Summer Palace we were a little historied out and the Temple, although extremely impressive in its own right, failed to match the majesty of the previous destinations.

We needed a break from ancient architecture, so lucky for us a crazy Chinese market was just across the street. Alex warned us that we should pay no more than 20% of the quoted price. She set us loose and we were to meet up in an hour. What an hour it was! We all walked away with what are most likely counterfeit goodies, but good deals nonetheless. Ugg’s, True Religion jeans, Ferragamo, Calvin Klein, etc. Sure enough, if we remained strong and convincing in our willingness to walk away, we got away with an 80% “discount”. Truth be told, their first prices seemed like bargains to us. Even Elle got in on the action, she walked up to a watch counter, pointed at a Barbie watch, and asked the lady “How much?” The lady responded and Elle said loudly “too much” and walked away. She was just being silly and it was hysterically funny. One hour was more than enough as the sellers are very aggressive, often blocking your path, grabbing your arm and forcing their goods on you. We were ready to go.

Alex took us to a Thai restaurant for lunch, the best Thai I’ve ever had. In general, I do not like Thai or Chinese food. But apparently, I just do not like American Thai and American Chinese food, because our meals here have been delicious.

The last part of our day was a visit to a hutong. Hutong are typical Beijing narrow alleyway living quarters of 20% of the population. There used to be over 2000 hutong neighborhoods in Beijing and now there are only about 200. Many have been razed to make way for highways and highrises. The remaining hutong are now protected by the government, but the way of life in the hutong is disappearing as young people move to highrises for modern comforts. Alex arranged for a tour of the hutong by rickshaw, and surprised us by telling us that she herself grew up in a hutong. The rickshaw tour was fun, but we weren’t able to see a lot as most of the homes are in courtyards behind walls. Occasionally the doors were opened and we could see inside, it reminded us of Fiji quite a bit. The children played in the alleyways, often with not much more than a pile of dirt and makeshift shovels.

Alex had also arranged for us to meet a local hutong family, go inside their home and to learn Chinese calligraphy from the matriarch. The word hutong likely derived from a word meaning “well”. The houses were clustered near wells so the water could be shared by neighbors. Even today the dwellings do not have modern plumbing. All families go to public restrooms/showers that are arranged throughout the neighborhoods. The lady we visited said that at night they use a pot for urine and empty it in the morning. And in the winter, they go to her son’s apartment building to shower because it is too cold in the hutong. Her home was very spartan, but clean and obviously her family took pride in it. We were a little wary of the tea she served, however. Elle loved the caged bird that sat in the entry and said “Ni Hao” and several other Chinese words. She also loved the big bowl of candy placed in front of her, until Alex started reading the flavors to her, butter, beef or rice hard candies.

The calligraphy lesson was awesome. We each got specially lined paper, a paintbrush and ink. She guided us through writing Chinese numbers and then taught us to write China and USA. She also taught Elle to write her own name. We all had great fun.

Another full, fun and exhausting day.

That's it! We're Moving!

Lest any of you feel a bit jealous of our travels, I will tell you a little about our more unsavory happenings. Finally, we have been done in by one of them.

In Fiji, we managed extreme heat, human hungry bugs, mice flying out of garbage cans, and extremely slim food pickings.

In New Zealand, everything was pretty good actually;)

In Palm Cove, our pool was green and slimy. And we couldn't use the beach, that was not so nice.

In Sydney, our apartment was cockroach infested. Never seen more in my life. AND the apartment sat on top of the loudest bar on all of Bondi Beach. All night long...

In Hong Kong, our whole apartment was the size of many of your kitchens, and the amazing views were obsured by the most hazardous air quality conditions ever recorded.

But in Beijing, we've caved. We had to move. Our nice little apartment become a toxic hazard every night as thousands of Chinese returned to their apartments. The sewage stench that seeped into our little home left us with stinging eyes and chronic gag reflexes. We had all the drains covered and towels blocking the bottom of the bathroom door. And still the stench filled our apartment. It was so bad that Justin was refusing to even enter the bathroom unless his entire head was wrapped up, and I jokingly considered using a diaper one night to avoid entering. We debated moving for 3 nights and finally after we noticed the smell was also coming from the kitchen drain we cried Mercy! This could not be safe for any of us, not to mention how incredibly disgusting the whole scenario was.

We packed up all 11 bags and are now sitting very cozily in a much, much nicer and larger serviced hotel. Wishing we would have done so days ago.

Liu Pei was very gracious about it, refunding our money and still being a wonderful guide.

Summer Palace

Today, we had another busy day planned and unfortunately we started the day off exhausted. We were to visit the Summer Palace, the old Summer Palace, the Botanical Gardens and the Reclining Buddha. By 3pm we had only visited the Summer Palace and had lunch and all four of us were ready to go home and relax. We are going to re-visit this schedule of ours tonight because with two kids in tow we are just not able to get around very quickly.

The Summer Palace is where all of the residents of the Forbidden City would relocate for the summer months. Apparently, the FC was very hot and the Summer Palace was built around a man-made lake (Kunming) that although just 9 miles from the FC was much cooler. Everything we have seen in Beijing is grand and gorgeous and awe-inspiring and the Summer Palace was no exception. I thought the FC was enormous and was surprised to learn that the Summer Palace was actually 4 times larger! My only regret is that I would love to see it in the summer when everything is in bloom and it's possible to get out onto the lake. We took our time and wandered in and out of courtyards and archetypal Chinese gardens, and everywhere the shimmering lake was in view.

I've attached some pictures of the longest painted corridor in the world. It was restored for the Olympics and it's restoration is spectacular. You could spend all day looking just at the pictures painted on the corridor ceiling.

On the way out Elle was thrilled to discover a place where we could all dress as Emperors and Empresses. She loved it and it was good for a laugh all the way around!

Elle was tired of eating rice so we had lunch at a Papa John's, and actually the pizza was quite good. I do not understand the Asian fondness for corn on pizza, however. Over lunch Alex and I traded tidbits about our differing cultures. I asked her about something I read in my guidebook. I had read that many Beijing parents are so busy that they send their toddlers to boarding school and only pick them up for weekends. I found this unbelievable, but she said it is quite true. In fact, she herself was sent to boarding school starting at age 3. She remembers crying all the time. She said the practice is not as common today as it was years ago, but still it is not uncommon.

Later, I asked her what Liu Pei was doing while we were eating, and she said probably talking to his concubine. Justin and I laughed out loud at her joke, but she wasn't joking. She was quite serious. She told us that most Chinese men have concubines still, mistresses that they support fully. The wives pretend not to know because divorce is still too hard to get in China and there is a stigma carried by those who do divorce and they often can not remarry.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall

We woke up to blue skies, unheard of, even Alex said we were very lucky to see it, but it was cold, bitterly cold. We all bundled up the best we could and after a slow start (must stop at Starbucks) we drove towards the wall. The closest section of the wall to Beijing is Badaling, but it is usually mobbed by tourists, so we chose a less visited site, slightly further afield, Mutianyu. We drove through countryside (passed a few camels) and into the mountains to reach the base of the mountain and the cable car that would take us to the top. No matter how many times you have seen pictures of the wall, seeing it in person leaves you awestruck. The wall is so high up on the mountain and snakes up and down and twists and turns and goes on and on. It would be astounding if it was built today, it's mind boggling to think that parts of it were built over 1000 years ago. We passed most the vendors hawking their trinkets, only stopping to buy gloves and for Elle to ride a camel. The things she has done on this trip...

Once at the top you can walk in either direction for at least a mile and we did walk quite far, Elle love running ahead of us. We posed for many pictures and again Alex narrated for us. I would love to visit again maybe when it's warmer and when it's greener and spend even more time walking the wall. In the summer, people hike for days and camp out in the towers.

On the way to the wall and back we peppered Alex with questions about modern China and the chinese people. She told us so many interesting things. I told her about being blocked from my blog and FB (she doesn't even know what that is), and asked her how she felt about the censorship, and how most Chinese feel about it. She said, "it's ok, no problem". She's not worried about it one bit and doesn't think most people feel oppressed. She likened the censorship to the Great Wall. She said even then The Wall kept bad guys out and protected the Chinese people, and today censorship does the same thing. Hmmmm. She has no desire to learn more than what the government gives her, and feels strongly that this government is the only way to rule a country of 1.3 billion people. I suppose if I spoke freely to an intellectual I may get another answer, but I do think she represents much of the population. She's quite happy with the way things are in China.

We asked about the one child policy and it is still strongly enforced, unless you are a minority. The Han population makes up over 90% of the population and they can only have one child. If you have an additional you will be fined 200,000 yuan (about $30,000US).

It has become a status symbol for wealthier couples, to have more than one child. Alex is Manchurian, a minority, and so she comes from a family of 2 girls, and she herself could have more than one child.

There are 30 million more men than women in China, of marrying age, and so one would think that Alex would have her choice of nice Chinese men. But no, she has an American boyfriend. A very seedy sounding American boyfriend. She met him online, at a site called something like ChineseWomanfinder.com, or something to that effect. He made many "friends" and then moved to China and started hosting "parties". All the ladies would come, many he flew in from other Chinese cities. And then he would seek a love match.

It all sounds very sketchy, and I feel very happy that Alex doesn't seem to like him all that much.

We spoke about the healthcare bill that just, apparently, passed in the US. I was very surprised to learn that they do not have national healthcare in China. I asked, what happens if you get very sick and can not pay? She said, "go home to die".

China is very unique, a communist-capitalist society. I won't pretend to understand the system very much, other than to know that it's unique and fascinating. Maybe I will have Justin write more about this topic sometime.

The Chinese people in general really like the US and Americans. In fact, their word for the US in Chinese means "Pretty Country". They like us to visit their country and aspire to visit ours.

We arrived back in Beijing and were so hungry but had just a short break before our evening plans. Alex called in take-out for us, specifying very clearly for me how to not cook my vegetables.We had the most deliciously Chinese food, tons of food, for $7US!!

After a short rest at home, Liu Pei and Alex returned to pick us up and take us to the theatre for an acrobatics show. These shows are very popular in China and are similar to Cirque Du Soleil, but smaller productions. Liu Pei drove us to the front door, Alex hopped out and secured ourtickets for us, she took us by the hand to help us buy snacks and led us into the theater to our seats. Then she disappeared, only to magically re-appear at our seats the moment the show ended. I could really get used to this! We had front row, center seats arranged by our guides, and the show was great! Elle and even Liam loved it. She stunts were just like the Cirque, but a little less polished. Very cool.

We returned home to rest up for another full day tomorrow.

Beijing

Beijing

We are definitely in China now! I can not blog or use Facebook (both blocked by the government, amongst other things) and the only news we get is Censored. I am only able to post this with the assistance of friend (thank you Cindy) to who I am emailing the posts and pics, and she in turn is uploading them to blogger.

Despite this, we really like Beijing! Of course, the air is horribly polluted, but today we actually saw blue sky for the first time in well over a week. When we arrived the remnants of the sandstorm were still in the air. As soon as we stepped off the airplane I could feel the grit in my throat and my eyes and nose stung badly. That lasted for another day or so. It was awful and we felt bad for Elle and Liam. Exposing them to this pollution felt tantamount to child endangerment. Luckily, the sand has cleared and now we just have the normal pollution to contend with. Seeing blue sky today was incredible as apparently that doesn't happen often here.

Our immediate impression of Beijing (excepting the air quality) was positive. The airport, built for the 2008 Olympics, is enormous and gorgeous and sparking clean. Never have I seen such glistening floors in any public place. We moved through the airport quickly and efficiently, and at the exit stood the two most important people in all of Beijing (to us). Our guides, Liu Pei and Alex. Yes, we have guides in Beijing and thank god! We could not be doing this without them, and if we tried the results would not be good.

While booking apartments in each city, I stumbled across this apartment in Beijing that came with a car service and guide. The reviews from previous travellers sold me on the spot. Our guides are worth their weight in gold. Lucky for us China is very cheap! Liu Pei drives us everywhere we want to go from morning to night, waiting for us in the car, or joining us if we ask him. Alex comes along with us to guide us, educate us on what we are seeing, translate for us and negotiate prices, because in Beijing almost everything is negotiable. And always, there is a foreigner price and a Chinese price. She gets us the Chinese price. Of course, Elle has charmed Alex and now we also have an extra set of hands with Elle. I love Liu Pei and Alex and want them to drive us around and handle everything for the rest of our whole trip, I don't have to think anymore! And even luckier for us, Liu Pei has a brand new apartment and we are the first to stay in it. We have a view of the Bird's Nest from our window. It's even more beautiful than it looked on TV.

Liu Pei asked me in advance what we wanted to see in Beijing, and he also suggested a few things that we wouldn't have known about. There is an incredible amount to see here, so I narrowed it down as much as I could, which admittedly wasn't much. A few days before our arrival I got our schedule by email and from the looks of it, I could tell we were going to be very, very busy. The first day we were to visit the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square, break for lunch and then visit the hutong for a rickshaw tour and calligraphy class. We were all so exhausted that we decided just to concentrate on the FC and TS. It's a good thing too, I could've spent hours more in the FC, it is a most spectacular and enormous place! We first climbed a hill for a birds eye view, and what an impressive site it was!

The Forbidden Palace was built over 500 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. It was the residence of the Emperor, as well as many servants, eunuchs and concubines. Eunuchs were castrated men who worked in the palace. Apparently many men volunteered for this position. Surgeons used to stand outside the gates and castrate the men. The castrated men then had to present their goods to the emperor in order to secure their spot in the palace. The emperors wanted to be sure that he was the only "man" in the palace. This was to ensure that only the emperors offspring would be conceived within the palace confines. And there were 100's of concubines for the emperor to choose from in the palace. Alex told us many titillating stories, and interesting tidbits, along with the requisite history. Walking through the FC without a guide would've been a travesty, because although it is beautiful to look at it becomes even more rich with knowledge. The Forbidden Palace has over 9000 rooms in it, we saw maybe 100, only about 30% are open to the public. Much of the palace was restored in preparation for the Olympics and you can see the difference quite clearly, it's fantastic to see it both ways. The last emperor left the palace in the 1920's and soon after it was opened to tourists.

We very nearly did not get past the first garden in the palace because Elle was accosted by Chinese tourists eager for their picture with a "princess". I am not exaggerating when I say that she posed for at least 50 photos by the time we left the FC. Even Justin and I got called in on the picture now and then. Two clearly drunk Chinese men actually paid for a professional photo of them with Justin and I in Tian'anmen Square. It is so surreal. I asked Alex why... and she told me that the Chinese really do not see many white/American people, especially children in real life. They adore/idealize us and especially blond/blue eyed children. Over and over they called Elle, the princess. Trust me, this is not good for her ego. I half expect her to start signing autographs. Even Liam got in on the action, at one point I was buying something for Elle and when I turned back around a Chinese woman had picked him up out of his stroller and was taking a picture with him.

The FC is adjacent to Tian'anmen Square and so we walked on. Contrary to what we tend to feel about Tian'anmen in the US, the square is a source of great pride in China. I can only compare it what we may feel for The Mall in Washington DC. It's a place where many wonderful celebrations and good deeds have happened, it's where their congress sits, where the national museum is and where Chairman Mao is buried. And the fact that a few Chinese students were massacred there is just an unfortunate sidenote. Really, this is how most Chinese feel about the square. So, it was interesting to see it with Alex, who showed it to
us with pride whereas if we saw it alone we would feel only anger and sadness most likely. The square is bounded by Chairman Mao's burial site, Congress, the National Museum and the Forbidden City. It's a very important place indeed. Elle posed for a few more pictures and we made our way to our awaiting car. We hopped in eagerly as we'd been walking for hours.

We drove through the beautiful old part of the city, just absolutely lovely, Justin even called it idyllic, to a fabulous vegetarian restaurant. Liu Pei and Alex joined us and we had a feast! What a great meal, and so thoughtful of them to bring us there without me even asking.

We returned home and Liu Pei gave us a copy of The Last Emperor to watch, wonderful to see after being in the FC today. If you haven't seen it, do when you can.

All in all, an absolutely perfect day to start off our stay in Beijing. Tomorrow, the Great Wall!