Hello, everyone! I was back in Hong Kong for a grand total of 3 days after my return from the fabulous city of Xi’an, during which time I moved into a new dormitory. While I may be back in Shaw College (not something anyone is happy about due to the remote location), there are some nice advantages to my new dormitory. Unlike Student Hostel II—last summer’s abode—Kuo Mou Hall has nice kitchens. In addition, it’s right across the street from the bus stop. Last but not least, unlike the Adam Schall Residence where I lived during the school year, there is an elevator. I’m well-set enough for these last 2 months before returning home.
Speaking of which (no offense to my fellow Westerners), I’m not ready to leave! I thought I would feel conflicted, as in feeling happy about going home, but also sad about leaving Hong Kong. Actually, though, I’m just feeling sad about leaving Hong Kong. But before anyone feels unloved, let me explain. You see, I do miss my friends in the USA, but I’ve grown accustomed to missing them. Now, I’ve got another whole set of friends to miss! I’ve said all along, “Well, I’m coming back in August 2012, no big deal.” However, it doesn’t feel that way. Einstein hit the nail on the head when he came up with relativity. One year’s time is short when it’s behind you and long when it’s ahead of you. Case in point: this past year feels like it’s gone by like a Japanese bullet train, but I feel like the people I’ve met I’ve known for years. Next year seems like an eternity, but I know it’ll go by like no time. Going into International Business essentially means that, from now on, I’ll be living in 2 worlds. I’ve decided, though, that China—specifically Northern and/or Western China—is the place I need to be, at least for the first few years of my career. It’s like someone’s got me with a fishhook, and has started reeling me in. And, no, this is not a sudden impulsive development after a 2 week trip to Xi’an. This is something that’s been welling up for a good 6-7 months. In a way, it actually feels like I’m living in 3 worlds: USA, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. If that sounds intimidating or unhappy, don’t worry about me. It just means I can be on a plane going any of those 3 places, and feel like I’m going home.
As the title reveals, I did get on yet another plane going to Mainland China recently. My destination this time was “The Big One:” Beijing. For anyone feeling just a tad bit out of the loop, Beijing is the capital city of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and has been for around 600 years. Usually, it’s the number one city for tourists coming to China. There’s a saying that goes: “Go to Xi’an for history, go to Shanghai for money, and go to Beijing for culture.” Well, I’ve scratched the first 2 off my list (though return visits are quite likely), and finally it seemed like time to get my Chinese culture on in the Northern Capital (hint: bei means “north” and jing means “capital”). So how do you explain a city? Wikipedia does a good job, as always: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing. Mine will be the more scenic route, so to speak, since I’m explaining mostly in pictures.
Our very first destination was the Forbidden City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_city). This place was huge, as in 7,800,000 square feet. It didn’t look that large from the outside but, well, looks can be deceiving.
Here is the first return of that photo-bombing tacky tourist who seems to follow me around everywhere. Silly gwailo, right? As you probably can’t see that well, I’m wearing my CUHK Chinese Language Centre T-shirt in an attempt to get people to speak Chinese to me. Turns out there was no need since most people don’t speak English anyway. Hooray…?
Once inside, we first visited the Imperial Garden, where the inhabitants of the Forbidden City liked to relax.
Next, we walked down the main corridor of the living quarters. When it was used as a palace, the Forbidden City always had tens of thousands of people living within its walls. Think about this: the population of the emperor’s concubines exceeds the population of the entire town of Cheraw, SC by almost 40%. There were 8,000 of them for any given emperor. Add children, priests, servants, scholars, and government officials, and you can see that the Forbidden City really was a city. The living areas were painted red for good luck and fortune:
We then came to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where the emperor met with his officials. Together they reformulated the laws, and made economic/political decisions.
Here, you can see the emperor’s throne. You can tell it’s his because of the yellow color, which is reserved for his use alone. Also notice the ball hanging from the ceiling. Originally, the throne sat directly under this ball. Superstition had it that, if a false emperor sat on the throne, the ball would fall down and crush his head. Later on, someone really did usurp the empire for a while, and had the throne moved away from the hanging ball.
As an interesting side-note, women were typically not allowed into this area since it involved heavy decision-making related to state affairs. However, there is a famous figure in Chinese history called the “Dragon Lady." She was, quite literally, the power behind the throne for three emperors, including her husband (she was promoted from concubine to empress after she gave birth to the emperor’s first son), her son, and her nephew. She unofficially ruled China for 48 years, and became somewhat of a living legend. Rumors had it that she hid behind the throne and whispered into the emperors’ ears. What’s even more amusing is her zodiac sign. You see, Chinese parents usually try not to have children born in the Year of the Ox or in the Year of the Sheep. Ox Year children are supposedly super-diligent, but are so obsessed with hard work that they work themselves too hard, and put lots of stress on themselves. Sheep Year children are supposed to be complete pushovers because they’re people-pleasers. All they do is give and give, but never take a thing. They’re supposedly very meek and gentle. Chinese parents don’t want their children born in the ox year so that they won’t put lot of pressure on themselves, and they don’t want their children born in the sheep year so that they won’t be bullied around. Well, the Dragon Lady was born in the Year of the Sheep! (And so was I.)
Just outside the living quarters and the Hall of Mental Cultivation is the courtyard. The courtyard of the Forbidden City is actually the largest courtyard in the entire world. Here’s a fun panoramic:
Here, you may notice the brick path going down the middle of the courtyard, and ending in the middle archway of the large red gate. This path is the North/South Axis of Beijing, and the orientation of the entire city is built around it. Only the emperor was allowed to walk on this path. As for the archways in the red gate, the middle one is for the emperor alone. The one just to the right of the middle was for the royal family, while the one to the left of the middle was for high-ranking officials. Low-ranking officials used the two archways on the far right and far left:
Just on the other side of the Forbidden City is Tian’anmen Gate (not Tian’anmen Square—that’s across the street). In Chinese, it means the Gate of Heavenly Peace:
Me, the super-tourist, outside Tian’anmen Gate, with the iconic picture of Chairman Mao:
This is the Chinese Parliament Building, which houses over 10,000 representatives from the 22 provinces of China:
Our next stop was a traditional Chinese medicine shop. Traditional Chinese Medicine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine) is alive and well all over East and Southeast Asia, and has gained somewhat of a following in several Western countries. However, the philosophy is a little complex, which is why I recommend you to read the article provided above. For people already familiar with Yin and Yang, it’s a little easier, and hopefully y’all remember my discussion about Yin and Yang during our visit to Fung Ying Seen Koon Temple in Hong Kong. However, you also need to know a little bit about the 5 Phases Theory. Essentially, there are 5 elemental forces in the universe, and these are associated with various attributes and natural phenomena. The phases include wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. A balance of these creates homeostasis within each person’s body (as well as a balance of Yin and Yang). If one of these is out of whack, it affects different parts of your body, which will be evident to the Chinese Medicine Doctor by examining your face, eyes, tongue, pulse, and fingernails. Maybe this chart will help:
Maybe not, though. What was more interesting was that each of us got to have an appointment with the Chinese Medicine Doctor. He immediately decided that I had an enormous deficiency of Yang energy. Apparently, my Earth element is out of whack as well. Oh dear. Translated into English, that means I have a serious lack of testosterone and should be tested for anemia. He prescribed some herbal medicine for me, but I looked at the chemical content and decided that eating more broccoli and chocolate would do the trick. Thank you, GSSM. The interior of the shop:
After a rather disappointing lunch (we had a vegetarian family from India and had to make accommodations), we loaded up in the bus to go to the Temple of Heaven (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_heaven). Just like every other park in China, elderly people love going there to practice Tai-Chi, dance, play mahjong, and listen to Chinese opera music…very loudly. But, you know, that’s one of my favorite things about China. I’m going to miss watching the giant crowds of old ladies dancing to Mandarin pop songs from the 1980s at 7:00am every day, as well as the old men wearing traditional clothing and doing martial arts in slow motion. For those who were curious, this is the secret to why so many Chinese people aren’t fat. They get up every morning and do about 30 minutes of group exercise. So much for ancient Chinese secrets, huh?
We walked down the long corridor where they used to roll in the animal sacrifices. The Chinese performed a “Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony” involving animal sacrifices every year, up until the 1940s. The animals used included cows, pigs, and sheep because larger animals were more valueable.
Not long afterwards, we reached the top and saw the actual Temple of Heaven, where the emperor fasted for 3 days before performing the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony, in which he prayed for a good harvest, rain, etc.
Next, we went to the Summer Palace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Palace), which was my favorite destination of the day. In the summer, Beijing becomes quite hot, so the Forbidden City—which has always been the center of the city—is also stifling. So, the emperor had a separate palace built for his personal use in the summertime. It’s actually as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit cooler in the summer at the Summer Palace than at the Forbidden City.
What’s really beautiful is that the Summer Palace is actually a series of palaces built around a large lake. You can take dragon-boats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat) to and from the different palaces:
The Summer Palace was really amazing, as you can see. It’s no surprise that all 4 places I visited are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I’m starting to lose count of how many of those I’ve seen now. Still, each one is just as fantastic as the next. You can easily lose yourself in Chinese history. It is a good thing that I didn’t really lose myself, though, since I had simply the best dinner date lined up:
Not him…her:
As many of you know, one of my sweet and lovely roommates from CUHK lives in Beijing. Meet Menglu. Somehow I just realized that I lived with her and Tang Tang for 2 semesters, and they’ve never had photos featured in my blog before! It might be a little too late to snag Tang Tang for a photo-opp, but at least Menglu’s not camera shy. Actually, her name is the Chinese nickname for “Marilyn Monroe.” At her recommendation, we went to have dinner at her favorite hot-pot restaurant:
I and my fingers approve:
We headed out to the Wangfujing Street Market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangfujing) next for some culinary adventures, and stopped to take a little photo on the way:
Next stop, Wangfujing! Looks innocent enough, right?
Think again! For the squeamish, just skip this section. However, if you enjoy seeing all the weird things I eat in Asia, by all means, proceed. First up did not make it on my menu for the evening, though not for lack of enthusiasm. The silk worm pupae were just a tad too expensive for my taste. Also, it was impossible to buy just one to try:
Also a little too hefty for my wallet were the large black scorpions:
No worries, though. I bought the little scorpions quite cheap, and the cook gladly fried them up nice and crispy with a little salt. This is my “I’m smiling for the camera, but I’m not so sure about this” face:
Pondering:
Surprisingly tasty!
Specifically, scorpions taste a little like potato chips and are not juicy whatsoever. Juiciness while eating an insect might have made me call it quits.
Also for sale were some of the following goodies: snake meat, starfish, water beetles, and sheep penis:
The list goes on with centipedes, honeybee cocoons,
And more silkworms:
Let’s have a little deep-fried starfish:
Making it classy with chopsticks:
Menglu and I, as well as an English teacher from Florida who we randomly met at the night market, agreed that starfish bear a surprising resemblance to hard-shell tacos. The outside is crispy and resembles a corn tortilla. The inside is exactly like ground beef, although it’s somewhat bland. None of us cared for it particularly, but it wasn’t bad. In fact, we all thought it would be quite delicious with Tabasco sauce.
At Menglu’s suggestion, we went to buy some dessert. We made a very wise decision with candied fruit on a stick. Here, she’s also holding up the letters I found in our shared mailbox that she accidentally left in Hong Kong:
Chillin’ out Asian-style with my strawberry and kiwi happiness on a stick:
If deep-fried insects weren’t a strange enough sight, check this out. We saw a church!
It’s not that churches are that rare in China. It’s just not common to see one this large or beautiful. All in all, a lovely and relaxing day, despite the sleep deprivation.
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