Calm Spirit/Ying Yu Jade China Trip 2005

Seeing the Sights In Beijing

Walking will be your number one activity when you visit China, and it's a great way to get over jet lag from the long flight. Our flight from Orlando to San Francisco was 5 1/2 hours, and the four hour layover turned into almost eight hours because our plane broke down and we waited for another one to arrive from Germany. That made the 12 1/2 hour flight to Beijing seem endless. We chose to fly United instead of Northwest because the arrival time in Beijing was in the afternoon, rather than Northwest's evening arrival. We arrived to our hotel, the Peninsula Palace in the Wangfujing area late in the evening, feeling completely turned around in time.

This was the first trip that my husband, Tom, was able to go with me, so we took advantage of Pacific Delights flexible vacation package, which included two days of sighteeing in Beijing. Our group was small, only three others in the group, and local guide, Tom Li. The general "sights" are immense, so there's always something new and interesting to see.

July is peak vacation season for the Chinese people, also, as most schools dismiss in late June. Our first stop was Tiananmen Square, in the heart of Beijing, and it was extremely packed with people early in the morning. The flag raising ceremony is at 0700 and it's already very crowded at that time. And it was hot, hot, hot, with temperatures in the high 90's. We were lucky that it was a hazy day, although photos didn't turn out very good with the haze, which is really a high level of pollution. Officially, the government calls it "fog" because they want good publicity ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Notice the the "line" of people in this photo. This is the first time that I have been in China to see "queuing" being practiced. "Push and shove" has been the practice for years, so I guess the government is getting the citizens ready learn the "foreign" practice of getting in line and waiting your turn. It's a start, but in most places it still doesn't work! This line is to visit Mao's Tomb.

You will notice in the photos that most Chinese people dress more formal and fashionable that we Westerners. In fact, they wonder why we Americans, who they perceive as being so rich as to be able to afford to visit China and stay in high priced hotels, can dress as bad as we do. Beijing city women dress very well, and there are high end designer stores throughout Beijing.

Students often dress in some sort of uniform for their tours, as these students on the right. And they love to stop and practice their English. While most Chinese disagree with American politics, they do like American people.

Due to a misunderstanding, our train tickets to Dandong had not been purchased, and I was told that all seating classes were completely sold out. It was July 8 and we thought we were leaving July 10. Since the main purpose of our trip was to visit with my supplier in Dandong, this information was extremely distressful. However, from past experience in China, I have learned that if something can go wrong, it probably will, but with persistence and finding the right connections, things may turn out alright. And if they don't, try to make the best of whatever happens.

We met up with my friend Charles Li, a traditional Chinese doctor and Gongfu master, who recently opened a school and tea house. I decided not to take my notebook computer with me so I could travel as light as possible, and would use the public internet cafes. The "Red Firewall" is stronger in the hotel business centers than in the internet cafes, and we found one 15 minute walking distance. The Red Firewall made it difficult to connect with my hotmail, and some pages on my web sites were forbidden also, including the Chinese Orphans, Herbs and Tea, and Health Instruments, but not the bracelets and other jade items. It also wouldn't allow me to go to the National Hurricane web site to monitor the progress of the hurricane storming into Florida. I finally had to phone home to get information about that. America is not the center of the universe when you travel internationally! And even CNN in the hotels is modified by the government.

NEXT: Great Wall, Sacred Way and More in Beijing

Ying Yu Jade
Calm Spirit Web Site
Contact: Email yingyujade@yingyujade.com