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The first thing I noticed was the 2008 Olympics ads and paraphernalia already blanketing all the billboards and stores in the airport. And for the record, none of us at the office can actually figure out what the hell the mascot is. To my naked eye it's some sort of panda-dragon who has been exposed to Beijing pollution for too many decades - but there is that cynicism again! (oops) We were picked up by one of the hotel’s Mercedes and driven the hour to the Grand Hyatt Beijing. Typical of the big Asian cities, and particularly mainland China, the hotel was ostentatious, festooned with too many chandeliers, filled with people from all over the world, and offering the musical styling of a Pilipino lounge singer (very common).
On our first full day we had arranged for a driver and tour guide to take us to the Great Wall. I also had a few stops on my agenda – which I didn’t think would be met with any resistance – but I was wrong on that count.
The woman who picked us up seemed pleasant on arrival; she knew her general history and seemed eager to please. Our first stop was one a few tourtisty detours that I discovered was the typical Beijing tour guides hustle. If you ever want to feel taken advantage of and cheep, just hire a guide in Beijing and don;t set your own agenda. At the jade “factory”we stopped at we were led past a few artisans working the jade before being led into a huge room full of souvenirs to purchase. It was flooded with older western couples who had rolled up in big tour buses that can be spotted all over China. I was slightly horrified. Out of principal I didn’t purchase anything and we quickly left. From that point on, I had to be a bit more directive with our schedule.
Our next stop was the Great Wall at Badaling – but not before we were offered a quick stop at a silk “factory”. The whole thing was such a transparent racket – I did unfortunately allow it to spoil my day a bit. Badaling was pretty amazing, even though tit is the simplest way to see the great wall and we were there on a pretty polluted day (I’m hoping some of the haze was the sand that apparently comes from the Northern Gobi Desert). The stairs on the great wall are treacherous and it’s amazing to think about this massive structure being built as early as the 5th century (a little fact I learned - because the great wall images we're familiar with as westerners was built during the Ming dynasty in the 16th century and used as a defense against the Manchu’s). This was a first blush experience and I can’t wait to go back to and explore a bit more. Zack was far more adventurous than me and actually climbed the ridiculously steep steps to the top of the area we were in. Kudos to him, maybe next time for me……. I'm so timid it's annoying......
The Great Wall is truly amazing. I think this picture of me below will go down as a favorite! The picture to the left with all the locks is an old local custom. Newleyweds will come and place a lock here.... There are thousands of them - it's a cool visual.
We requested to stop for lunch next -- but not at the tourist bus place! Our guide told us she knew a teahouse and while I said okay, once we arrived it was obvious we had been led to another tourist trap - and one without much charm. We painted on some smiles and actually enjoyed ourselves!
Then I forced a stop at the “Birdcage” and saw an early preview of what an architectural spectacle the 2008 Olympics is going to be. It is truly an unbelievable structure - my pictures do NOT do it justice – so look it up on-line. The other building that will be very impressive is the swimming center! The amount of money that is being pured into this constrcution is unbelievable!
This would be Zack feigning interest at the "Teahouse" our guide took us to.
You can see the polution - but you can also see the sheere size of this new lympic Stadium. The Birdcage is an amazing building - I can't wait to see it completed!
My favorite part of Beijing however is 798. It is an amazing enclave of modern Chinese Artists who house their works in a converted Eastern German electronics factory that was originally built in 1950. From paintings to sculpture to installation and performance art, I could get lost for hours wandering between the old brick structures and narrow alleys. I had to practically commandeer the car to get us there -- the guide was so opposed - she even asked "why would you want to go there? Basically, she would make no kick-back money for her company by taking us there!
After wandering through galleries for a few hours, we stopped in for a real lunch at a café filled with books and magazines from all over the world, exposed brick walls, and an ambience similar to what I’m guessing you would have found in Greenwich Village in the 1960’s. The vibe is cool, the art angry, and the area's popularity growing. It will be interesting to see what happens as more people figure out this little block of hip exists.
Based on all of my typical stereotypes of "repressed" China, a place like 798 was the last thing I expected to see while visiting Beijing.
That night one of my co-workers from the China office had given me the name of a street that is lined with bars geared towards ex-pats; Sanlitun. It’s in the embassy zone in between the 2nd and 3rd ring of the city. What is this ring thing you ask? It took me a bit of time, but the Forbidden City is the core and the streets are essentially built in rings around it – as an indicator as how close you are to the center I’m guessing. But if you ask anyone direction; for instance, where is the Olympic stadium located – they’ll start with what ring it is on; i.e. the 5th.
As always it was a hilarious night – cover bands playing western music, bazaar auctions selling Chinese scrolls and some great people watching.
I'm not at all sure what entertainment value this girl thought she was offering; but in between singing songs, she looked like a wax statue up there. Below you can see the impressive neon Budweiser sgn - it has the great wall on it! Aaahh American capitalism brings another cultural moment.
After the press event, during which Zack went to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square – I’ll have to do that next time, the China team took us to a Peking Duck restaurant. As always they played “test the westerner” and ordered us some “different” foods. Now I am not particularly squeamish and will eat generally anything once; but that night they did me in. I will not go into to much detail, but if you are ever offered Picked Duck’s feet, just say no. Essentially you are eating cartilage – the feel and taste of it stayed with me for days. After dinner we went next store and got a 90 minute foot massage. Zack was amazed that such a huge building and so many staff members were solely there at midnight on a Tuesday to provided foot massages. Welcome to being a westerner on a business trip in China I said.
On our way back to the airport after the two quick days, I stared directly at the sun. It was orange from pollution.
