China 2015 Installment #1: Beijing

After a fantastic trip to China last October with Myths and Mountains, we decided to return to see more of this fascinating country. Our visas were still valid, and very affordable non-stop flights from Boston to Beijing made it irresistable. This trip would start off with some of the popular tourist destinations: Beijing, Xi'an (home of the terra cotta warriors), a Yangtze River cruise through the Three Gorges area, and Chengdu (famous for giant pandas). Then we would cap off the trip with a return visit to Guizhou, to visit our dear friend Wang Jun and his family. We would do some sightseeing in the area, as well as attend a courtship festival of the Miao ethnic minority. I will post the trip in installments based on city.

Here is Installment #1:Beijing.

Our direct flight to Beijing from Boston was delayed by 4 hours, since the plane had been late arriving due to mechanical problems. The Hainan Airlines 787 Dreamliner has very comfortable economy seats. We watched the film "Lost in Translation", which would often come to mind fondly during the course of the trip.

Waiting for us at the airport was our familiar driver from our last trip to Beijing. He greeted us and handed me his cell phone, to talk to our guide. It turned out to be the lovely Karen, who had accompanied us to the airport at the end of our last trip. We liked her very much, and we were excited that she would be showing us around tomorrow. Instead of arriving in the early evening, we finally arrived at the lovely Red Wall Garden Hotel​ at around midnight. We got settled into our comfortable room and got a good night's sleep after our thirteen and a half hour flight.

Arriving at the Lama Temple

Karen and Craig at the Lama Temple

The next morning we enjoyed the hotel breakfast, and then Karen and the driver picked us up at 9 o'clock. Our streak of gorgeous weather in Beijing remained unbroken, as we had warm sun, blue skies, and clear air. It was the perfect day to explore parts of the city that we had missed last time. We went to the Yonghegong Lama Temple. It was built in 1694 as the residence of Prince Yong of the Qing Dynasty. In 1744, it was converted into a Tibetan Buddhist temple. There are many halls which contain shrines and magnificent Buddha statues. People congregate in plazas in front of each hall to pray and light incense. Monks study in the halls in the early morning and late evening, after the temple closes to the public.

Incense pot at the Lama Temple

Buddhist pilgrims pray and light incense at the Lama Temple

The most awe-inspiring sight here was an 18 meter tall statue of Maitreya carved from a single piece of white sandalwood (in total it is 26 meters tall, as there are 8 meters underground for stability). The tree was cut from Tibet in the mid 18th century. It took 3 years to transport it to Beijing, and then it took an additional 3 years to carve. It was beautiful. Photos were not allowed inside, and although many other people took them anyway, it is important for us to respect the rules. Perhaps not having a photographic image of something so humbling is actually fitting, as Buddhists believe in non-attachment and the impermanence of the material world.

Craig at the Lama Temple

 After a thoroughly enjoyable visit to the Lama Temple, we went to Beihai Park. It is the earliest and best preserved imperial garden in the world, having been established in 1166 A.D. It is 690,000 square meters, including 390,000 square meters which comprise Taiye Lake. Flowers were blooming everywhere, and many families were enjoying strolling along the walkways or taking pedal boat rides on the lake. We crossed a bridge to Jade Flower Island, and climbed up to the White Pagoda, a 40-meter tall stupa built in honor of the 5th Dalai Lama's visit in 1651.

The White Pagoda on Jade Flower Island, Beihai Park

Karen and Steph at Beihai Park

Beihai Park

After a nice dumpling lunch, we visited the Beijing Shi Cha Hai Sports School. No photos were allowed inside. Since this is where many of China's elite athletes train, we suppose that this is a matter of national security. Karen said that tourists generally don't visit here, and it was her first time. It was a very nice campus with many buildings and gardens. The gymnasiums were very modern. We first went into the badminton gym. Boys and girls were playing. They had so much power behind their serves and volleys. It was really impressive to watch them practice.

The school takes mostly local Beijing students, as well as some students from other parts of China, and a small number of foreign students. Students must qualify to be accepted. They pay tuition until they get to a level where they win competitions, and at that point the government will give them scholarships and stipends. The youngest students are only 5 years old. They study academics in the mornings and athletics in the afternoons.

 Next we went to watch ping pong. The age range in this gym went from the very youngest (around 5) to teenagers. After a brief warm up of running, jumping, and arm exercises, they started to play...wow!! Even the little kids were amazing. They were so in the zone. Their focus was so intense. They stood close to the table and volleyed back and forth, and then after a while they stepped further away from the table and continued. They had multiple balls in reserve in their hands so that if one went awry, they just served another one without missing a beat. It was mesmerizing.

Next we went into the boxing gym. There were 2 rings. Nobody was fighting. There were only older boys in this gym. Most of them were jumping rope (sometimes getting two jumps in for each swing of the rope). They punched large and small bags.

Next was Tae Kwon Do, which we watched through windows overlooking the gym from a hallway. They were warming up, and then donned shin guards and arm guards and sparred - sometimes boys against girls. Most of these students were older as well. One boy kept kicking a girl in the face. It looked harsh, and Karen couldn't help giggling nervously.

Beijing Shi Cha Hai Sports School bus 

Next we went to a larger gym where three separate sports were training simultaneously. A group of young children practiced Chinese Kung Fu, doing roundhouse kicks, etc. Despite the discipline required at the school, these were still little kids, and occasionally needed to be directed to stay on task by their coaches.

In the center of the gym, gymnasts (all girls except for one boy, mostly teenagers but a couple of younger girls) practiced. They got into wheel pose and then traveled the whole width of the gym without breaking the pose. Wow! As beginner yoga students, this blew our minds. Then they stepped across the gym, high kicking their legs up to touch their ears. They went back and forth doing this.

At the far end of the gym, a couple of teen girls were doing tai chi with sabers. They were very graceful and the movements were elegant. As we walked through the campus, we saw students playing at outdoor tennis courts, and running laps on a track. The Chinese flag hung in all gyms. It was a very special experience to see this and we are sure that these are future Chinese Olympians for sure!

Women hand-stretching silk batting as filling for comforters 

We visited a silk factory and learned about the production of silk thread and silk batting. Cocoons which contain a single silkworm can yield a mile of silk thread each. This thread can be extracted and wound by machine. Cocoons which contain 2 silkworms can yield silk batting, which must be hand-stretched.

After an enjoyable dinner, we went to see the Beijing Opera at the Liyuan Theatre. It is an art form that dates back to 1790. We found our table. in the front center of the VIP section. We had complimentary tea poured by a guy with a large watering can style teapot with a flourish, along with snacks. An actor sat on the stage doing his makeup at a mirror box, and then a man helped him to get dressed in his opulent costume. We were allowed to photograph this preparation, though there is no photography allowed during the actual show. Once he was all dressed, he bowed to the audience and then walked offstage.

Beijing Opera actor sits on stage to apply his make up

Beijing Opera actor is dressed for a skit called Battling the Armored Vehicles

Karen had explained that there are a number of different skits that the opera performs, usually two or three per night. You never know what you will get. The band was visible barely offstage to our right. On either side of the stage was a screen which contained subtitles in both Chinese and English. Karen had explained that the singing style is old-fashioned and difficult even for Chinese speakers to understand.

The first story was called Autumn River. It had just two characters: a nun named Chen Miaochang and a boatman. It was a very simple story without much complex choreography. The nun hired the elderly boatman to follow her scholar boyfriend Pan Bizheng's boat down the river. There were flutes and stringed instruments played with a bow. The music was also used as sound effects, as they walked or pantomimed being on an unsteady boat. The nun sang in a very shrill voice. The boatman teased her and tried to make her nervous with various delays. He flirted with her and when they finally caught the scholar's boat, the scene abruptly ended.

Our table at the Beijing Opera at the Liyuan Theatre

The second story was called Battling the Armored Vehicles. Military leaders in elaborate robes with flags on the back and platform shoes did high kicks like the gymnast girls. There was very little dialog. General Gao Biao's army fought General Wu Shu's army. There were elaborately choreographed fight scenes with acrobatics on the battlefield. The costumes looked really cool as they spun and twisted and fought with swords and staffs. General Gao pantomimed being on a horse, and jumped and landed (hard) in the splits around 5 times in a row. The skit ended with the dramatic death of General Gao.

We enjoyed the opera very much. We went back to the hotel and got a short night's sleep before our early morning flight to Xi'an. Karen had arranged a breakfast-to-go from the hotel since we were leaving before they began serving breakfast.

We said goodbye to Karen and wished her happy and safe travels for her upcoming trip to the United States, where she would be learning to guide Chinese tourists across the country.

Saying goodbye to our dear Karen at the airport