Beijing Trip Part III (Forbidden City)

We had to make this Beijing trip as complete as we could. It didn't mater if it was only one weekend long, we had to see everything. Up, out and about we shot over to The Forbidden city by cab. We passed the drum towers where I imagined huge drums hanging instead of bells. Every time they would need to have a town meeting, someone would have to scale to the top of each tower an bang the drums, jumping, screaming and nearly deaf from the thunderous sound these men were responsible for calling the town to assemble in the square. And in my imagination the town meetings were held in the courtyard of the forbidden city. And that's where we were.
This is where the emperor had his throne; one of many. He would walk slowly from one building to the next to find the perfect thinking spot. Depending on the day, respite might be in the Hall of Infinite Peace, or the Hall of Eternal Strength. He slowly walked, many steps ahead of his entourage of servants and concubines. Each watched his deliberate steps, on the bridge over the Waters of Supreme courtesy, transfixed. The Emperor would stop; everyone would freeze. He looked up, and after a long pause, where breathing didn't even seem possible, he would comment about the sky, in it's Infinite Blueness of Order. Servants scrambled to jot down his words as perfectly and eloquently as the emperor had said them. Each wrist floating far above their scrolls making sure that each stroke was as perfect as the sky and the sound that left the emperor's throat on the rare occasions when he would take the time to release some words, more poems than prose, into the world.
We were were an ancient Chinese engineer would give his life to be in service of the royal family. We were within the walls of the Forbidden City.

Upon entering the main gates, the city truly is fit for a king

The throne in the Hall of Supreme Peace

The rain from yesterday had disappeared leaving the most beautiful sky.

The anachronism of modern cityscape beyond the ancient walls.

Like something out of a J. R. Tolken book , an Emperor's hobbit hole

The engineers infront of a very large door. I wonder what force is exhibeted on each hinge.

Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go, right?! Pissin' on a national landmark.

Dragon-head drains. Form and function

Ancient trees in the Royal Cocubine Garden

Chinese archetecture

Budah in the Hall of Treasures

Mini landscape from blood coral also in the Hall of Treasures

My favorite Chinese invention, the Equatorial Sundial. In this picture I'm facing north and it's almost 2pm.

We found the Hall of Chinese Replica Clothing and Props, where they dressed me as Emperor

Pat, as a distinguished looking Ancient businessman

They offered Lauren the dress of the Emperes, but she wanted to be a concubine!

The royal upstart servant-guard chalenged the emperor to a battle of KungFu

But eventually in the spririt of modern comunism, we decided to share the throne

At the end of the Forbidden City the gate opens to Tianamen Square, overlooked by a knoble looking MaoZeDong. Remeber, "bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han?"

Beijing Trip Part II (The Great Wall)

After the summer palace, the rain had died down a little. The sun was peaking out from behind grey clouds. We took a bus about an hour drive for lunch and then to the BaDaLing section of the great wall. It's one of the most restored sections of the wall and we were ready to climb.

Chairman Mao ZeDong, the Communist revelotionary leader of China, once said, "bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han." This loosely translates to, "if you don't climb the great wall, you are not a real man" Or not a "hero." I've heard multiple translations, but the saying was known by every Chinese person we met. We heard it more and more as we neared closer the base of the wall. People would come up to us and whisper it in our ears, and then run off. It was repeated like a mantra. bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han. bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han. We could resist the draw of the wall and the mountain it stood upon no more. We looked up from the bottom and then climbed the Great Wall.

At the bottom. It looks easy from here.

OK...I take it back. These angle of the stairs makes it much more difficult than initially suspected. We were sweating almost instantly.

Pat makes the great wall look like a fashion accessory.

Hiroshi gets artsy with his pictures of us.

We've come a long way, but we aren't up yet!

Where's Pat?

It looks even more beautiful near the top.

We are sweaty and a few of us threatened to quit half-way. But we're almost there! Let's take a picture break so we can sit for a moment.

Look how far we've come!

Exhausted and soaked, we've made it; everyone in for this picture! Get in, yosh!

Hiroshi frames that perfect shot.

This wall....its grrrrrrreat!

Lauren doing her world famous signature handstand on the wall.

When the top isn't good enough...get even higher.

On top of the world. We've climbed over 1,100 vertical feet from the base of the wall where we began.

Make sure to check out Part I of this Beijing trip and come back soon for Part III

Beijing Trip Part I (Summer Palace)

Hello again.
As always, it's been a while since the last post, but I'm sure this one won't disappoint. This was one of the best weekends I've ever had in China.
The Olympics had just ended not but a week ago and we decided that it would be one of the best times to make a trip out to Beijing. All of the trappings of the Olympics would still be up but we wouldn't have to deal with any of the madness of the huge crowds. Booked and excited we packed for our weekend in the capital city of China. Even though we were only doing this on a weekend between our working schedule, we intended to try to get everything in, no matter what. We scheduled a tour guide and bus, with the promise of experiencing both the Emperor's Summer Palace and Great Wall in one day! We flew right out of Shenzhen Airport, only 30mins from our work. The four of us, Pat, Hiroshi, Lauren, and myself climbed aboard an Air China Boeing 737 and made the 3 hr flight up to Beijing.

First stop, The Emperor's Summer Palace. Apparently leading all of China was a difficult thing. The Emperor would get tired of all that ruling on high and in the heat of the summer he would move his rule about an hour from the center of Beijing to someplace a little more soothing. This was the summer palace. We hired a tour guide. Cindy was her name and she was awesome. She told us some interesting stories about this place. One that sticks out in my mind is the story of the Dragon Lady. She started as a concubine to the Emperor. She gave birth to his only son. Then when that son was only about 10 years old, the Emperor died. The son became the emperor but it was clear that she was standing behind everything pulling the strings. The son was weak and died when he was nearly ready to take power back from his mother. Then with the only heir to the throne dead, Dragon lady appointed the son's young cousin to the throne. But he too was young. And she was able to extend her rule for many more years. She was a force to be reckoned with. There would be a flag lifted high above the Summer Palace anytime she took a nap. This warned people to be particularly quiet. No one wanted to endure the punishment for waking the Dragon Lady!

The Summer Palace is positioned on a lake for that cool breeze off the water. And I imagine much time and care was taken to remove some of the amazing stones that lined the courtyards of the palace after you enter.

A huge rock excavated from the KunMing lake the palace is built on.

Longevity Hill in the background.

One of the sleeping rooms in the many courtyards. Longevity hill pagoda in the upper right.

Just enough rain to make it magical. The tour guide kept telling us we were lucky as Beijing is one of the driest places in China. Rain is good luck!

A bed fit for a king. A small king.

Flora at the palace.

One of the famous dragon boats on KunMing Lake.

Through that door they have transformed this part of the palace into an art school.

Pagodas galore.

Do we have the same hair?!

Make sure to check back soon for the Beijing Trip Post part II!