May 2008

Tuesday we went to visit a supplier of Polaroids in Ningbo – a 3 hour bus ride away. We left very early and saw a lot of interesting country-side on the way. The supplier manufactured display technologies – tvs and monitors. We got to see the assembly lines and visit with their management. Afterwards they treated us to a buffet and then we returned back. After the long drive, we laid low. We found some cheap drinks at the nearby supermarket – 50 cent beers and $1.50 bicardi breezes. Then we went downtown to a French district for dinner.

Monday class began. We had a quick lecture in the morning and then had a tour of the city. We visited a park with lots of interesting shops (the buildings were gorgeous). It’s tough to commit to buying anything when we have yet to get to the cheaper spots of the city. Then we went to the Bund to see the river and the view of Pudong (the financial district across the river. There are many very tall buildings with 80+ floors). We then had the opportunity to stay downtown as our welcome dinner was canceled due to a 3 day mourning period for the victims of the earthquake. In fact, at 2:28 on Monday there was a 3 minute moment of silence. Very interesting to be here for this tragic event. We then wandered the city and found a random restaurant and had a great meal – fish, the best shrimp ever, and some great vegetables (for instance, spicy beans like Fusion!).

Sunday we decided we needed to see Olympic Park since the Olympics will be in Beijing in less than 3 months (8-8-08). We took the subway (very cheap transportation – roughly 30 cents) and walked around the park. It’s very closed off as construction is still very heavy in the area. It’s amazing how much is yet to be completed and it starts in roughly 80 days! We were able to get pretty good views of the Bird Cage and the aquatic center – two of the more heavily visible stadiums. At least now when it’s on TV we can say we were there!

Afterwards, we caught out flight to Shanghai – fairly uneventful, but the trip there was interesting. Since we had 3 people and the cars are so small, we asked for a minibus. The hotel arranged it, but the guy spoke no English. He would try to talk to us in Mandarin, we'd reply in English. He'd try again, we'd try again. Suddenly we start to drive and get a bit nervous since he obviously doesn't know where we want to go. Suddenly he hands his cell phone to Christine, she reluctantly says hello only to find a woman who speaks English on the phone. She translated and we were on our way feeling a bit better about getting to the airport. We get on the road and suddenly we're off the interstate and on some side streets. Apparently, he was running out of gas so we had to stop in the middle of our trip - think that's the first time any of us have ever seen a taxi stop to get gas in the middle of a trip! Anyways, after lots of laughing at each other (he at us, us at him), we got there safe and sound.

Overall, Beijing was great. We did have problems getting taxis to drive us places. We’re unsure if it was us (Americans) or our destination. They seemed to stop, but once we showed them where we wanted to go (our method of communication is pointing to business cards we get from our hotels), they deny us. We walked many, many miles during our time in Beijing. I have blisters in the oddest places! We quickly learned the subway – very easy, and got in a lot of walking!

On Saturday we decided on a tour of Ming Tombs (burial of 13 emperors once the capital was moved to Beijing) and the Great Wall. We got picked up from the hotel and were off to Ming Tombs. It was interesting to see and learn about the history. Afterwards, we were brought to a jade factory – this stop was missing from the tour information, but as you can imagine they spent about 30 minutes trying to sell us jade goods. Afterwards we went for lunch in an old theatre and somehow ended up at a medical museum where we were taken into a room and the door was shut. Then we were told about Chinese medicine and many “famous” doctors came in to do an exam. A bit too weird for us so we booked it out of there ASAP.

Somewhat frustrating to have 2 random stops on our tour, but then we were off to the Wall. We got there around 1 and only had 2 hours to tour the wall. We were convinced to take this “trolley” as we were told it was too far to hike to the top (you needed to get to the top to be considered a “real hero”). So we fell for the trick hook line and sinker and paid the extra money for the trolley. We later found out that those who walked actually got there faster as the “trolley” line was so long. We were herded like cattle through the gates and up the mountain. It was more like a really crappy amusement park ride than a trolley.

Once we got on the wall, it was incredibly crowded. The views and wall itself are amazing, but there were people everywhere. I didn’t realize how mountainous it was near the wall, but it’s very steep with great views. I think I got some good pictures – hopefully I’ll be able to clean up the sky a bit once I get back and can edit the pictures. We made it to the top and became real heroes. Afterwards, we returned to Beijing and ventured out for some Peking Duck. It reminded me a lot of regular duck like back home, but not quite as gamey. Overall, a good meal.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the prices of food so far. In Beijing, most meals (with beer) were $7-8. A large beer (probably 30 ounces?) is about $1.50 in some restaurants. Even the duck, a more expensive meal was only $12 each. A bottle of pop or at a super market is around 75 cents.

Friday morning we met at Forbidden City after walking through Tiananmen Square. The smog was amazing – completely covering the sky and making visibility incredibly poor. In the square, there seemed to be little reason for pictures as everything just appears white. Forbidden City was very beautiful and very large. We walked from one end to the other and it just kept going and going. The garden was one of my favorite spots, but the Chinese architecture was also beautiful. For those unfamiliar, Forbidden City is where the emperor and empress lived.

After getting through Forbidden City, we entered a park with a temple on a very high hill. It provided great views of Forbidden City and the rest of Beijing. Unfortunately, the smog was so horrible we weren’t able to see far – plus it made for a tough walk up the many small stairs.

Next we attempted to go to Summer Palace, but couldn’t get a taxi to take us. We got many aggressive offers from rickshaw drivers, but it was quite far. At one point, we had 4 rickshaws swarming around us. They just don’t give up! Eventually, we abandoned our plan and settled on Temple of Heaven, where the Emperors went to worship the heavens. Again, we saw much Chinese architecture.

In the evening, we went to a Chinese Acrobat show. It was pretty interesting what they could do. Afterwards, we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant.