Olylmpisized Beijing

After a day cruising the Yellow Sea, we docked at Tianjin, the closest port to Beijing. Four of us (Judy, Erica and us) had booked our own hotel in Beijing since the price for two of us to go on the two day trip with the ship was almost $900. We were able to get a ride on the ship’s buses, however, and truly enjoyed the Great Wall. Photos do not do it justice as it is so vast and beautiful. We walked up and down a large steep section with several hundred other people (actually it was not as crowded as we had feared since we caught it between rain storms – thanks be to God). Ronnie did not go all the way, but my hiking companion Erica, famous for our Marble Mountain climb, went up to the top of the section.

In Beijing, where the air cleaned up for the Olympics has remained relatively clear, our hotel was only a few blocks from Tiananmen Square. After a quick trip to the Silk Market (where we could have spent hours: Ronnie got her knock-off pocket book for a better price than in Shanghai), we had a sampler dinner in the hotel and walked to Tiananmen Square. Because it was the May Day holiday, the whole area was lit up like a Christmas tree (the trees literally did have Christmas lights in them. Another overwhelming experience, to see this historic square with chairman Mao’s huge picture lit up and the Forbidden City on one side and the Communist Party government buildings on the other. We were surrounded by people and vendors selling masks that lit up and yes, rickshaws, only motorized this time. Yes, we walked.

The next day we went early to the Forbidden City, and I don’t think I have ever seen so many people in one place as the square in front of the gates. I don’t know how our guide got us tickets, but we estimated that the line just to get tickets was several hours long. Yes, the city is quite something, but the experience was mitigated by the incredible crowds (again exaggerated because of the Labor Day holiday). At one part I went up to get a look into one of the buildings and I thought I was back on the Hong Kong subway. I did not enjoy being literally carried and pushed up to the doorway and then back out again. Ronnie bought a Chinese crown for a couple of dollars which she wore the rest of that day and on the next ship’s formal night.

One of our group, a lovely tutor named Katie, was tall and blond, and you would have thought she was a movie star. People constantly stopped her to have their photos taken with her. Ronnie also got some attention with her crown, but tall and blond is the thing to be. Our next stop was a day time visit to Tiananmen Square, but even though we could walk around more, it could not compare to our night time experience. Ronnie did have her photo taken with a number of beautiful Chinese children. On the way out we drove by the Bird’s Nest, the Olympic stadium which has become quite a tourist attraction. The night before there had been a concert there featuring Jackie Chan. Yeah, I didn’t know he could sing either, but I guess a lot of people paid dearly to hear him try (we heard later that a few of our group were able to get in to this sold out concert). We saw so little of Beijing, but what we saw only tantalized us to want to see more. Anyone going? We’re in!