I am dead tired, and might pass out midway through this post. My legs are killing me, I'm cramping so bad I'm limping. However, I had a pretty good day, and am starting to get a little adjusted to the rhythms of the city. I still have those moments, when I don't know exactly where I am, where I get frustrated and depressed. It's impossible to get around in this city, when a block can be half a mile long, and it's not readily apparent where exactly the buses go. I wonder, however, whether I would feel this way if I was in an American city. Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. Hard to say. Here's my route for today:
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I got a little bit more sleep today, which was worth it, although it did give me a late start. I was sure I had the transportation system all figured out, now that I had a handy dandy Beijing map. Of course, what ended up happening is that I got out at the stop for the Summer Palace and wandered around for like a half hour. The real problem with getting around in this city is the signage. There are practically no signs midway through the street, meaning you sometimes have to walk to the end of a very long block to get your bearings, and even then, the signs are hard to see. I don't understand why they don't hang tourist friendly signs around routes to popular sites; there's no reason not to. I finally caved and called for a cab, overcoming my fear of the cabs left from my first night here. This actually went alright this time, and to my shame, I found that the park was just a long, but doable walk away, if only I knew where exactly to go.
The Summer Palace absolutely deserves to be on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It's simply magnificent. Lovely gardens of pine and willow, beautiful pagodas and old stone bridges, all at a breathtaking scale. A giant hill with a temple with an incredible view, and also, a marble boat. The story behind the marble boat is that the Empress Dowager Cixi, one of the worst, most negligent rulers ever to hold absolute power over a people, embezzled the money intended to build the Chinese Navy and used it instead to renovate the palace. Then, as some sort of sick joke, she built a marble boat. Once again proving that being truly wealthy means you can buy stuff that just makes no damn sense.
I've noticed that describing sites here, I've tended not to mention my mental engagement and have relied on cliche. Part of it is because I'm just not as well versed in the Chinese artistic tradition, but part of it, I realized today, is because this art is intended to empty the mind, not fill it. The Chinese design their gardens to seem like they happened naturally, natural looking parks, villages that you come upon in the woods. If it works, it does seem almost natural, and you have nothing to say but that it's totally gorgeous.
I enjoyed the Summer Palace also because it was less crowded than the other sites, maybe because of its size, but hopefully also because the Chinese New Year is winding down, and so the tour groups are finally abating. I mostly just walked around Kunming lake, in a big, exhausting circle. Unfortunately, my camera battery died near the beginning, so while I have some pictures, I don't have a lot of pictures and none of the Confucius Temple or getting Peking Duck, which is a shame. Kunming Lake was frozen over, and despite numerous signs warning people to stay off the ice, the Chinese, as I could have predicted, happily tramped over the frozen lake, some people walking all the way across. I bet it's just breathtaking in the spring; I regret not coming in the spring, but I had no choice, and in any case, I don't miss too much with China's pine centered gardens.
I had my first picture request today, in the Summer Palace. I was climbing down the stairs from the Buddhist shrine with a family, and an older relative, on a whim, had me pose with the kid (There are many little Chinese children btw, and they're freakin' adorable. The Chinese are often very doting with their children). I didn't mind, and I wished them well. Have to say, it's an ego boost, even if it's not much of a compliment to be asked for a picture just because you're a foreigner. Still, with an ego as big as mine, you take what you can get.
I spent most of the day at the Summer Palace, and then headed back. I was planning to go to the Marco Polo Bridge today, but then decided, all the way across the city and with only two hours to get there, it was just a bridge too far (har har har). I'll likely see it my last day here. I decided instead to visit the Confucius Temple and Imperial College, near the Lama Temple. The street outside of the temple is a protected and "restored" area, probably in response to criticism for the Chinese government's disregard for architectural history. It's actually really lovely, however. The temple was very nice also, very quiet, and filled with massive stone tablets dedicated to Confucius by the emperor. The Imperial College is right next door, and has probably the nicest imperial throne I've seen here. Looking at the Imperial Confucian education system is like looking at a strange alternate universe, and as a university student, I found it really fascinating. It might seem odd, but it's really no more odd than the Aristotelean acadamies of the middle ages, or heck, even our system, what with the robes and tenure and sabbatical. I've always found the Imperial examination system fascinating, being a product of a meritocratic testing system as well. What's more, the Imperial College museum is recent, and the captions don't possess the casual negligence of, say, the Forbidden City. They instead serve to further a couple of very specific government discourses (a united China, Communism as progress). So that was pretty interesting to see as well.
I made another bold swipe at the Chinese train system today, this time heading to Beijing West Station, where I was guaranteed that there was a foreigner office. The train station and the brutal walk there made me damn miserable, again, but I talked briefly with a very nice old man, a Russian Professor, who was learning English. I also achieved success this time, and got an early morning ticket to Chengde.
From there, I headed to Wangfujing, determined to get Peking Duck at the place recommended by the guide book. The subway opened up into a massive shopping center in Wangfujing, which was pretty jarring, since I wasn't expecting it, and since it contrasted sharply with, say, the Confucius temple. It also was the cause of some miserable wandering and limping again, though I was dead set on getting duck today. I'm glad I saw it though, the over-the-top Chinese concept of capitalism is both familiar and just damn insane. I particularly enjoyed the "BMW Lifestyle" store.
This restaurant was a five story monster, and I had to wait twenty minutes to get seated by the no nonsense staff, who had little patience for me. The Chinese mobbed this place: think Grimaldi's, or more accurately, Joe's in Miami Beach. Once again, I felt guilty and silly for ordering half a duck (the smallest portion) for just myself. Then I did the math and found that my massive extravagance came to...about 18 dollars. So you know, not a huge deal. Besides, half a duck is not actually that much, I found out. And this duck...hot damn. This was the stuff. The spectacle (they carve it off the bone at the table) was great, and the duck, juicy on the inside, crisp on the outside, was just too good. There's also something to be said for poking at a weird shaped piece of duck meat and figuring out that, yep, that's the head. I ate as much of the head even as I could, since I only had ritz crackers to eat today.
BTW, interesting Beijing food fact. For whatever reason, though Beijing does have coffee, they only have expresso. Whenever I've tried to order American coffee, or plain black coffee, they give me an Americano, which is probably the biggest insult to the US there is. I really just have to switch to tea.
So that was my day. I'm waking up eaaaarly tomorrow (4:30 AM) to try and squeeze Chengde into a day; also, to have my first encounter with the Chinese railway system. Hopefully, my leg will uncramp by then. When I get to Kunming, I think I'll just sit for a looong while. Till tomorrow!
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