A Hundred Million Miracles

We woke up at 6:30 and were really jet lagged. The hotel had a large breakfast buffet with Chinese and Western foods. In addition to the omelet station there were traditional breakfast meats and French toast or pancakes as well as juices, yoghurt and breads. The Chinese foods were won ton soup and several other soups, tofu, vegetables, noodles, relishes and steamed buns. A popular dish is rice congee which looks like thin oatmeal and hot soy milk which is eaten with bean curd. Lots of choices.

After breakfast we boarded the bus and headed to Tianamen Square, the largest public area in the world. We saw very large buildings all around the open space which included a museum, railway station and public works, Inside the square is the tomb of Mao Tse Tung and there was a very long line waiting to enter and see his body in a crystal coffin. Chinese are encouraged to travel and we saw so many tour groups. Beautiful floral displays were everywhere and there was a large monument to the people in the center of the square. In one area were two huge electronic screens with displays of young girls doing acrobatics.

We used an underground passage to cross the street to the Forbidden City which was home to Ming emperors and their successors. You enter through a gate house with a huge portrait of Mao and go through courtyards and meeting houses until you get to the main official buildings. In the back are the living quarters for the empresses and concubines and it is a myriad of courtyards. We were able to look into furnished apartments and see what it must have been like to live inside the palace grounds. At the back were beautiful gardens decorated with porous rocks and ponds. Outside the back gate we fought our way through the crowds to the bus and off to lunch.

We drove out of the city center to a pearl jewelry store with a restaurant on the top floor. Lunch was many Chinese dishes served on a clear glass lazy susan that was almost as big as the table. You help yourself to whatever you like and there were about 10 dishes plus soup. Tea and cut up watermelon completed the meal. Afterwards we went downstairs to shop and then on to our next stop, the Summer Palace.

High above the city this serene property was beautiful and a delight to walk around. There is a large lake with paddle boats and dragon boats and several bridges leading to small islands. The main attraction is the palace and to reach it you walk through a raised wooden walkway decorated with paintings on the ceiling. Such a great way to spend an afternoon and imagine the grandeur that existed here. At the end you can see the palace and we did not go in and not sure if it is open to the public.

By this time we were all tired and anxious to get back to the hotel and rest. We stopped along the way to see the Olympic site and saw the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube buildings from the road. Got back and ran upstairs to freshen up before going to the Peking Opera. Jeff opted to sleep and missed a great production. The opera is done at several locations and we went to a large theatre in a hotel. The show was 1½ hours and quite enjoyable with sparse sets and beautiful costumes. There were four scenes including a love declaration, acrobatics, clown comedy and a fire eater. The heroine sang in a tiny falsetto and took teeny baby steps. The clowns were security guards with red noses. It was different than anything I’d seen in theater and short and sweet. Much better and different from the Kabuki I saw in Japan. Believe it or not, I saw a man wearing a Sarel shirt and spoke to him. He was Canadian and had just returned from volunteering. Great!