A few days back, our TTC group had the opportunity to take in a few of many sights that Beijing has to offer. We had a very long day, hopping on the bus at half past seven and making it back to our accomodation around 10pm. The first stop on the list was Tiananmen Square, which is famous here in China and abroad for a few different reasons. First off, the square is absolutely massive, measuring around 440,00 square meters and is home to the Chairman Mao Museum and is also the gateway to the Forbidden city. Many Chinese visit the Chairman Mao museum to pay their respects to Mao, who founded the People's Republic of China and ruled with an iron fist (his story is very interesting and I would encourage you to google him..it will make you thankful for being Canadian). Mao's body is displayed in the museum in a glass coffin which is quite the sight to see. Another reason why Tiananmen Square is so marvellous is that it is considered to be the gateway to the Forbidden City. The reason for this is that the Chinese very deeply believe in the concept of Feng Shui which states that buildings facing North and South are to have good fortune. Tiananmen translates to English as Gate of Heavenly Peace. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this concept of peace here in the square because it was also home to a large scale massacre due to protest back in the 80s (another interesting thing to google if you want to feel grateful about where you come from). Nonetheless it was an absolutely gorgeous place to visit.
Next stop was the Summer Palace...what a wonder! I didn't know what to expect from the Summer Palace and man, was I shocked by the size and beauty of it! I will post pictures of it soon, pictures that of course don't do it justice! The Summer Palace was used by emperors in the summer months because it was a lot cooler in temperature than the forbidden city. We walked up to a set of large doors and stepped through the gate and into a little treasure of Beijing. The first courtyard that we visited was pretty exquisite. It contained the bronze Qilin statue and some temples. After exploring around this area, we walked on further and came upon the most beautiful lake with temples and buildings all around it! There was also a hill off in the distance with a large temple on top. Words and pictures cannot really describe how marvellous it all was..this was pretty much when I had my aha moment and realized I was in China. This motivated us to keep venturing around and we walked along the lake side, past many beautiful buildings and tons of Chinese tourists to the section of the Summer Palace known as the long corridor. This corridor follows along the lake and is the worlds longest corridor that contains 14,000 paintings. We continued around the area walking past temples, bridges, paintings, buildings with meticulously crafted woodwork and sadly onto the exit. What a wondrous place, even thinking back on what I saw there, it honestly just feels like a dream.
Next on the agenda was a quick stop in the San Li Tun area, which contains a market quite similar to the silk market. Once again, we were able to practice my bartering skills, which I must say have improved a bit but I could still get a lot better. We also ventured off to an English bookstore and library which made many of us feel at home. We wondered around the sadly limited book selection and grabbed some books to satisfy everyone's bookworm cravings.
After enjoying some time at the market, it was back on the bus we went to enjoy a Peking Duck dinner! I have never had duck before and I must say I am spoiled to have my first experience of eating it in Beijing. For those of you who may not know much about this local Beijing dish, it is basically a thin pancake like bread and you spread out pieces of roast duck, duck skin, cucumber, and hoison sauce. Soooo delicious!! After diner, we continued on to Beijing ACrobatic World where we sat in awe of a Chinese acrobatic show. The show featured a ballet duet where the ballerina was on point..on top of her partners head and shoulders! There was also a chair balancing act, a really neat bicycle act, and the most nerve wrenching of all, the motor cycle act which featured about 7 motorcyclists all riding around in a very small circular cage.
It was such an amazing and fun day and I think it is one that I will keep in my memory bank for years to come! It was a great way to get out and explore the city and enjoy the day with new friends!
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