Day 3

  On our third day, we all woke up and went to breakfast, which was the same multitude of plates and trays loaded with Chinese food and some more recognizable American ones. We left the hotel at 9:30 to go to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world. On the way there we passed the giant silver egg-shaped dome of the National Performing Arts Center, a shiny new millennium building that contrasted sharply with the ancient imperial capital across the street. A police blockade prevented our crossing the street, which Ms. Smith was upset about so she decided to confront the police officer (actually, she just asked for directions). We ended up going underground to the other side of the road where we entered the large line to go in to the Forbidden City. Finally, when we emerged from the other side of a 12 lane road, we were awestruck at the size of the square, as well as the grandeur of the Great Hall of the People, where the National People's Congress is held every year and is now in session. We now had no problem seeing why the government was so worried about the 1989 protest movement and the sheer number of people it attracted.

   We shuffled through yet another police checkpoint and came to the bridges that crossed the moat, where hundreds of other people were also trying to press their way in. As we stood under the giant portrait of Mao taking pictures, Eric was asked to take a picture with a random Chinese woman, something we soon became accustomed to. When we entered the complex, which involved passing through a massive tunnel, Margaret was soon approached by a woman asking for another picture. In the first areas, just after entering and passing the amazing Meridian Gate, where the emperor surveyed his troops annually, and admiring the sheer size of the architecture, we all gathered to get our tickets and enter the actual palace. We decided to split into groups to tour the sprawling grounds; Hayley and Margaret; Eric, Zeena, Grant and Eric; and the chaperones with Helen. The juniors, as it turned out, were always close. We followed the main central axis of the city down to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, then on to the Hall of Middle Harmony, and finally the Hall of Preserving Harmony, where the emperor met foreign dignitaries and received reports, lived, and met with private advisors, respectively. After that, we entered the gardens, which were full of ancient trees and small pagodas, where the emperor would sit tranquilly and compose poetry. We then began to explore in earnest the six smaller palaces in the west wing, where the concubines resided and where the young emperors were educated. While we were waiting for the chaperones to rejoin us at the end of our tour, Zeena, Eric, Margaret and Hayley tried to see if they still remembered the Jai Ho dance from spirit week, which Eric wanted to perform in the center of the square.

   We went through the final gate, having wandered over much more than the 1000 meters from south to north of the walled complex, noting Coal Hill high above, which we would view on a different day. We walked beside the moat, noting the difficulty any invaders must have faced when presented with a massive wall and several ornate arrow towers. After lunch we went to the White Cloud Daoist Temple. The experience was very spiritual and peaceful but the hunt was on for the three monkeys that would give good luck if someone touched them all, but we only found two. As we worked our way through the courtyards, around incense burners, and into dark halls, we saw many people burning incense and bowing silently and kneeling before the images of many deities. Then we all stopped to listen intently to a Daoist ceremony, where the head monk, surrounded with fluttering colored ribbons and flanked by lesser monks and believers, was reciting an incantation. We stayed for about an hour and then headed to the Beijing Capital Museum. Along the way, we were worried that the museum would be closed when we got there, as we had left the temple a bit late and the traffic was at least Atlanta-bad, if not worse. We were driving along until the driver suddenly pulled over and Simon jumped out of the car with absolutely no explanation and the driver just drove away. All the students were extremely confused and worried, while the teachers were entirely calm, trusting Simon to have a plan. When the driver did a U-turn to pick Simon up, we learned that he had gone ahead to see if the museum was closed, which it was to our disappointment. We negotiated traffic for about an hour until we finally arrived back at the hotel to get ready for dinner. Ms. Smith, Mrs. Sibley, and Mrs. Rabon opted out, as the day had been long and arduous. We first went to a Kung Fu performance, which to paraphrase Mr. Gannon, had absolutely no redeeming quality whatsoever; we joined other people from our hotel, namely some Canadians from Singapore and a British couple from Ipswich, who turned out to be a pretty lively bunch and whom we saw at breakfast every morning. Finally, after a late night McDonald’s run, the exhausted group stumbled back to the hotel to be ready for another day in our China adventure.


Location:Beijing, China