2006 China Part II Xian & Beijing

If you wish to view YouTibe video segments of Xian, I have placed some here compliments of Librada Prudencio who was on this tour.

Taste of Xian http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDRVRn9qsp4&NR=1

Xian: Western Capital of China http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdx3fc820r0

Xian Muslim Section http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9lg7stNBM0

Xian was located in a mountain valley, a factor that contributed to the dryness of the region. Very little rain meant that farmers had to dig deep for water. It was because farmers were digging for water that they accidentally came across the terra cotta soldiers. Our plane made a soft landing at the historic city of Xian.

For 1,062 years beginning in the 11th century B.C., Xi'an was the capital of 13 dynasties including the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Eastern Han, Sui, and Tang. The continuous dynastic occupation kept the city beautiful and magnificent. More than two hundred and seventy palaces and temples were built during its heyday, such as the "Three Han Palaces" in the Han dynasty, namely Changle, Weiyang, Jianzhang Palaces, and numerous other palaces and watch towers. The most well known among these is the Tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang, with the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses. Emperor Qin Shihuang was the founder of the Qin or Ch’in dynasty from which China gets its name. Xian was once one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of almost 2,000,000.

Our bus carried us into the inner city surrounded by its famous walls. Our hotel, the West Capital International(on right), was strategically located on West Street, the main artery of the old city.
Uniformed bellhops greeted us at the hotel entrance and then transferred our luggage to our rooms. The exterior of the hotel had an ancient China motif. The lobby area was large and outfitted with comfortable chairs.

My room on the 10th floor was very large and trimmed with dark wood. The view from the picture window was a reminder that we were located in the inner city among tall buildings. A large comfortable lounge chair and Ottoman by the window was put to good use by this happy traveler.

The hotel lobby had a wall with an interesting large mural that depicted Xian as the capital of the Middle Kingdom and one of the world’s biggest and richest cities.The map-like illustration showed the geographical beginning of China’s fabled Silk Road. Note the red line on the map tothe right that shows the trade route. I zoomed in with my camcordertracing the Silk Road from Xian to the Muslim countries of the Near East. Many of the Muslims traders intermarried with the Chinese.

Interestingly enough, our first walking tour took us from our hotel to the nearby Islamic Street. We entered the Old Muslim area, the residential district for today’s nearly 60,000 Muslim people.

High on our agenda was the Great Mosque, the best-known Islamic Mosque in Xi'an City. It was built in 742, the first year of Tian Bao of the Tang Emperor Xuanzong, and was restored in each of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The distribution of pavilions, halls, towers and platforms in the mosque is compact and exquisite, blending the traditional architectural styles of Islam and Han.

It is one of the four largest mosques in China.

We started our tour at the Wooden Archway (right).

In the nearby building the Muslim faithful could ritually wash their feet.

We followed our guide and his uplifted purple umbrella to the Five Room Hall and then to the Minaret (on right). Here loud speakers periodically announced the times for prayers. I would guess they would wake the dead.

From here we walked to the Three Connected Gates and into the courtyard of the Worship Hall.

How different was all this architecture from the mosques of Spain, Turkey, Morocco and others I have seen. Another deviation from the traditional mosques was the prohibition of us infidels from entering the building, even without shoes. I did zoom into the sacred hall, which was void of any worshippers (probably a casualty of the Great Cultural Revolution). A stern bearded Muslim stood guard to see that the Worship Hall was not violated. However, our guide did say he thought that the relations between the Muslims and Chinese in Xian were very cordial.

Darkness was setting in. After we wiggled through the shop-lined Islamic Street with its beseeching vendors (I weakened to the temptation to purchase earrings here), we reached the Islamic entrance by the Drum Tower again. Now that the tower was set off by lights it looked somewhat different, a little more intriguing; so a little more video. The Drum Tower was built in the 13th year of Hongwu period (1380 AD).

 There used to be a huge alarm drum on the tower, which was used to indicate time slots in cooperation with the huge bell on the nearby Bell Tower. The Drum Tower's total height is 33 meters, in a rectangular shape with tiers of upturned eaves and a gold-tiled roof. The Drum Toweris very solidly built so that it could withstand more than ten earthquakes in over 500 years without a single crack appearing on it.

Next was the famous Bell Tower (to the right). The whole tower is a wooden structure with mortise and tenon-jointed without a single iron nail. The three layers of eaves are covered with blue glazed tiles; the beams and columns of the upper and lower rooms are decorated with color paintings. The top part of the tower is 5 meter high with a gold-tiled roof, making the tower look magnificently beautiful. The Bell Tower is often used as a symbol of the city.

To the right was our evening restaurant stop (embellished with bright Oriental style lights) where we had our included dinner. This evening we were to be treated to the dumpling specialties for which Xian was famous.

Our Chinese guide Diana (right) enjoyed the meal along with the rest of us.

The dumpling, unlike our dumpling at home, is a version of Ravioli with different ingredients like chicken, seafood, vegetables, even bamboo, walnuts or various kinds of meats. Usually the shape of the dumpling indicated the contents. The chicken with the red beak was chicken, very HOT chicken. Of the eighteen varieties, I tried them all, even the spicy ones.

Towards the end of the meal, the waitress placed a round stove like container on our table to makeboiling hot soup. Flames leaped out of the sides of this heating device. Two attractive young ladies in colorful costumes played traditional Chinese music for us as we ate. As we walked back to our hotel we passed the lit up Drum Tower again and I couldn’t resist a retake video.





DAY 7. Monday, Nov.13 Xian & The Terra Cotta Army

Included breakfast buffet at our hotel:

Our not-so-rushed 9 am departure took us down West Street and out through the North Gate of the Walled City heading for the long anticipated excursion of China’s greatest archaeological attraction, the Qin Mausoleum.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried in a 154-foot high earthen mound, now visible out the bus window to the right. Over the years erosion had caused it to diminishin size, but it is still very discernable. The tomb had been covered with earth and planted with grass to make the tumulus resemble a hill. Historical records suggest that after completion of the tomb all those who had worked on the structure were entombed alive so that no one could reveal its secrets. The unfortunate court maids who had been in the funeral procession were also buried alive, presumably to assist him in the afterlife.

Our real objective was to see the 6,400 life-sized terra cotta warriors, archers, and infantrymen, together with their horses and chariots, sometimes listed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. In 1974, the three large pits of terra-cotta figures were found about 1 mile east of the mausoleum. UNESCO now classifies these three pits as a heritage. An impressive entrance to the complex was well decorated with flowers and shrubs. Just inside we could view a large-scale model of the entire Qin Mausoleum. The tomb site or burial mound is immediately in front of us in the exhibit. The 3 pits are located eastward of the mound.

The No. 1 pit, which we visited first (on right), contains a rectangular formation of chariots and army troops; no doubt all of us were stunned by the enormous size and the vivid expressions of the warriors. Our guide explained that the individual faces varied because they were sculpted one at a time and by a number of artists. The varying physical features of minority nationalities from the far reaches of the empire reflected the number of conscripts that made up theFirst Emperor’s army. The life-sized terra-cotta warriors were fashioned, according to historical records, after real soldiers.

Each figure was individually modeled. Head, arms and bodies were modeled separately and then joined with strips of clay. The bodies are hollow and made up of coiled earth and attached to solid legs. Additional pieces such as ears, beard and armor were modeled separately and attached. The whole figure was then fired in a pottery oven. The warriors and horses were originally painted with bright colors, but changed when oxidized by exposure to air. Here, lined up in military fashion the soldiers silently stood guard of the emperor's mausoleum for more than 2,000 years. A sign marked where farmers seeking water first discovered the soldiers.

The earthen rows between the formations of soldiers are where the wooden chariots were situated. Since the chariots had decomposed, this area was left un-excavated. The Emperor believed the mountains served as a natural defense to the west and any invasion would likely come from the eastern plains, therefore all of the soldiers face eastward (except for a single ring on the outer fringe) toward a large sealed doorway.

The soldiers appear to have been holding weapons, but they are missing because when enemy forces had overtaken the site they took the useful bronze weapons before setting fire to the place.

We next visited the No. 3 pit, excavated in 1977, which was designed to symbolize a command headquarters. Pit number 3 has 68 figures that appear to be high ranking officers. This assessment was made because the men are dressed in more elaborate costumes than the infantrymen in vault number 1. Our guide said that the figures are facing each other as if debating battle strategy.

We visited Pit No. 2 last. Discovered in 1976, it holds a winding formation of chariots, army troops and cavalries. Most of these are in the state of crushed and covered-up rubble because the huge wooden timbers of the ceiling collapsed during earthquakes over the years. Photo lower right. The soldiers in Pit No. 1 had remained relatively intact and amendable to be pieced together because the huge ceiling timbers were burned away when enemy forces had tried to burn the terra-cotta figures. The intruders failed to burn the soldiers because the clay had already been fire-heated in a kiln. Much more could be salvaged in Pit 1 than here in Pit 2. The few soldiers on exhibit here at Pit No 2 include archers, a high-ranking officer, a cavalryman and his horse. The vast majority of the pit remains un-excavated because of earthquakes and will unlikely be excavated in the future. I videoed an area that exhibits petrified timber covering up the remains.

Our last stop at this site was the Bronze Chariots Museum that had on display two bronze chariots each drawn by four small horses. This major find was discovered in 1980 on the western side of the mausoleum. Chariots were considered vehicles that could assist the emperor in the afterlife.

For lunch we stopped a quaint Chinese restaurant for an included meal. Naturally we started off with beer poured from a large bottle. What made this stopespecially pleasing was it included a noodle-making demonstration with a lot of great moves by the chef and the quality thin noodles he produced.

In the afternoon we visited a funded Grand Circle Foundation project – Shao Ping Dian Primary school. GCT deducts $10 from each booked tour for special projects, thereby enabling the foundation to grant $7,500 for computers to this poorer country school. The younger children were waiting excitedly for us at the entrance gate.

They clapped their hands and gave us “high fives” as we passed by them. Some of the older children lined up in two teams on the playground to demonstrate a tugging match with a long thick rope. A few of our Grand Circle people joined in to help the losing side. We then went inside to visit a classroom where the children treated us to music. They closed by singing a spirited rendition of “The Sound of Music.”

Some Grand Circle people chose to take an optional $70 Tang Dynasty Cultural Show in the evening. I did not go along because my alarm clock didn’t wake me, even though it must have tried mightily. The mattress on the bed in my room was rather firm, unlike my memory foam model at home, but obviously I had no trouble sleeping.






DAY 8, Tuesday, Nov. 14 Xian

Another big breakfast to walk off today! Our morning began with a trip to a lacquerware factory. In the parking lot there was a large wall on which a muralwas painted. The artist did a pretty good job depicted the history and process of lacquerware. A friendly company guide came out to greet us and to introduce us to the process. Once inside the shop we watched ladies carefully hand paint articles to be lacquered.

Diana gave us time to shop in the showroom (to help the local economy), but I could hear the voice of my wife: “Do not buy anything that takes up room. Our house has no more room for anything!” Of course, she was right – we have accumulated a lot of stuff over the years.I satisfied myself by taking a close up video of a mother of pearl panel from the Ming Dynasty before returning to the parked bus. My marriage had been saved.

The next activity was really great – walking the Great Walls of Xian. The town itself is famous for its old citywalls, measuring more than 8 miles in circumference. The wall reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty. Today much of the existing wall dates to the 14th century or to the Ming Dynasty. We climbed up the wall (steps) at the original surviving tower of the south wall, Yongning Gate (map). The Japanese never occupied Xian in World War II, but when they bombedthe city this tower survived. The embrasured watchtower overlooking the city gate was constructed in a way that any enemy who had breached the gate could be picked off by archers overlooking the enclosure (illustration). From the top of the wall I taped the traffic below going through the south exit of the wall, and then I scanned the walking surface on top of the wall to the next tower.

Below the wall was a moat in a garden-like setting. I asked a Chinese guard near by to take a video of me with the South Tower in the background. He complied.

While waiting for our group to reassemble below the wall, I saw some people wearing uniforms getting into a minibus. Earlier I had seen them from the top of the wall doing military drills. I walked over to the van and asked if they were part of the military, but none of them spoke English. I asked Diana and she dutifully went over and found out they were actors working on a movie.

Grand Circle had a special lunch reservation for us at a place called the Revolving Palace. From the 20th floor of this high tower we had a commanding view of the city below while we ate. Naturally, we had beer to start off with. Our fare also included Won Ton soup. I fished out the solid substance and ate whatever it was, while leaving the peppery liquid for the dishwasher. We had a nice variety of food to choose from the buffet and I made myself a hefty lunch. Dinner was on our own this evening, but I chose to limit myself to healthy snacks that I had packed for such a situation. I slept well (as usual) on my firm mattress.

DAY 9, Wednesday, Nov. 15 Xian/Beijing

We put our luggage outside our rooms before breakfast so the porters could arrange its transport to the Xian airport. It was comforting to know that some one else would load it onto the bus.

We had the morning assigned for touring the Small or Little Wild Goose Pagoda. One of the oldest pagodas in China, this delicately tiered pagoda is housed in the Jianfu Temple. To be on the safe side, I taped the structure from both the front and back. Originally 15 stories high, the pagoda was damaged in the earthquakes in 1487,1555 and 1557. During one of the earthquakes a large crack appeared in the structure and the top two stories fell to the ground. They were not replaced when the pagoda was restored. As for the large crack, we were presented with a"theory" from the guide that one quake madeth the crack and that another putteth it back together.

Although there were no religious people or monks here (possibly a fallout carry-over from the Cultural Revolution), there were many clerks in the shops set up in the complex.

One friendly calligrapher kindly printed (or drew) our names for us in Chinese. At an art shop that featured mostly paintings of farm life, we were told that Mao had encouraged the country people to not only farm but to paint as well. This, we were told, greatly contributed to Chinese art production. The paintings were nice, but I found non-rural art more to my liking – and taped two paintings I thought attractive.

The grounds were peaceful. At the far end of a park like setting was a large “magic” bell that could be rung for 15 yen. William Born took a hold of the large beam of wood that was to be used as a battering ram and rang up six days of good luck. Our weather in both Shanghai and Xian had been the shirtsleeve variety. But, today we had light rain and we expected colder weather up north in Beijing. Perhaps Born planned on the six bongs that reverberated through the misty rain to influence the weather. Instead of cold weather in Beijing, we had six days with the highs around an unusual 60 degrees.

There were a number of interesting statues on the grounds. I thought this one could be called “Moving On.”








All of our assignments for Xian accomplished, we headed for the airport terminal. Diana, as usual, arranged all the ticketing and baggage details to perfection, and made sure everyone knew of a last minute gate change. We were off to Beijing and no one was left behind. We flew from the dry northwestern plateau of Xian to the urban tumble of China’s modern capital, Beijing.

YouTube video clips of Beijing that was put together by Librada Prudencio may be accessed as follows:

Beijing Zoo Pandas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpV7N7jNq6A 2:18
Stars of Kung Fu Beijing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfuQmaGYgbw 1:10
An Evening at Beijing Opera http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDRdA8x-Xz8 1:39
Wild Ride To Hutong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPExfO2PF_Y 1:16
CiXi's Summer Place http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrE7lt11GCs 3:02
Walk the Ming Tombs and the Avenue of Animals to the Sacred Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFNAvS3YE30 4:04
Beijing The Northern Capital (GCT Group Photo) http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=omofCJcGwVA 3:41
The Great Wall of China at Badaling Hills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loNYDqLSsMY

The cradle of Chinese civilization Beijing has a long history. King Wu was the first to declare Beijing the capital city in 1057 B.C. Established in 1045 B.C.; Beijing is an ancient cultural city, serving for 800 years as the capital of the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Beijing was also known as Peking by the Western world before 1949. In the early nineteen twenties, Beijing became the cradle of China's new democratic revolution. The May Fourth Movement against imperialism and feudalism began in 1919. On October 1st, 1949, Chairman Mao announced to the world the founding of the People's Republic of China.

We arrived at the Beijing International Airport and were bused to our accommodations. This was not the Beijing A nnette and I visited in 1992. The airport was now something to be called international. They had sitting toilets instead of pits – and Happy Paper was provided. Actually, everything was modern, efficiently planned, attractive, and signs were often printed in English as well as Chinese. They were getting ready for Olympics 2008.





The highways were crammed with late model automobiles instead of bicycles and little yellow cabs. Before we saw so many bumpy roads and unfinished projects. The area where our hotel is located is no longer farmland but a forest of high rise apartments, office buildings and hotels, China is not only catching up with the world, but is on the verge of surpassing the West.

Our hotel was the First Class Tianhong Plaza Hotel where we were to spend our last five delightful nights in China. The lobby area and lounge was spacious. Everyday we were supplied with an “English speaking” newspaper. Our TV programming included CNN, BBC and Chinese Channel 9 where English was used.

We finished off the day with a traditional Chinese dinner in the hotel this evening at the 2nd floor restaurant. We started off with beer and white wine. The specialty was Peking duck. Carvers performed for us at two different sites so we could observe their skills as they sliced up four ducks. We had fish as well. The Chinese Moslem (no pork) influence was largely responsible for the introduction of beef, lamb and duck into the northern repertoire. The Northern or Pekinese’s cooking makes extensive use of vegetables (particularly the famous northern white cabbage). Henry and Ken seemed to enjoy the meal.

DAY 10, Thursday, Nov. 16 Beijing/TiananmenSquare & Forbidden City & Beijing Opera Tour

It would seem impossible to improve on the breakfasts that we had at the last two hotels, but this hotel was the best of all if they had to be rated. I especially appreciated the wide variety of fruit that was offered every morning

Our goal today was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

As our bus drove along in the traffic with all of those late model cars, one has to wonder how so many can afford them. Even if one obtained permission to buy one (via a lottery) it would cost $5000 fora license fee. Then one must pay the sticker price. Still, the streets are jammed with expensive cars. We asked our guide how Beijing would handle the Olympic 2008 traffic surge when normal traffic is already at the congestion point? The answer given was that the government would simply issue a decree that all even number plates may be on the road only one day and odd numbers the next. This would cut the traffic 50%. Then government use cars could be restricted to alternate side roads and that would cut the traffic another 30%.

One of our numbers asked about the North Catholic Cathedral she saw with a large cross on the steeple. Our guide Bill said he saw it, too. He mentioned that the cathedral is still in use as a church and it managed to miraculously survive the Cultural Revolution. This structure survived the Boxer’s Rebellion, too, when it was unsuccessfully besieged. Guide Bill said that in China today there is freedom of religion. However, he did not go into detail about government restrictions on political involvement or connections with Rome on Catholic clergy appointments. From my understanding of the WELS Lutheran “Friends of China”program, the Chinese government has been relatively lenient to them. WELS also has a seminary in Hong Kong that trains future Chinese pastors and its future looks promising.

Located at the center of Beijing City is Tiananmen Square, the world’s largest public square. At the north end of the Square is Tiananmen Tower. Initially built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D.- 1644 A.D.), the Square was the front door of the Forbidden City. The most important  use of it in the past was to declare in a big ceremony to the common people who became the emperor and who became the empress. Until 1911 when the last feudal kingdom was over, no one could enter the Tower except for the royal family and aristocrats. Behind the tower was a fortification built for archers to defend the Tower.

On the opposite end of the Square was The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen), which remains a rostrum from which Communist leaders appear to crowds gathered below. It is a viewing stand for military parades, with its huge portrait of Mao hanging from the balcony. This portrait was defaced in 1989 when pro-democracy workers pelted it with paint filled eggs.

In the middle of the Square and to our right was the granite Monument to the People's Heroes. Built in 1952, it is the largest monument in China's history. '”The People's Heroes are Immortal” written by Chairman Mao is engraved on the monument. Eight unusually large relief sculptures show to the people the development of Chinese modern history. Two rows of white marble railings enclose the monument, simple and beautiful.

West of the Square (behind the People’s Heroes Monument) is the Great Hall of the People. This
building, erected in 1959, is the site of the China National People's Congress meetings and provides an impressive site for other political and diplomatic activities. Twelve marble posts are in front of the Hall, which has three parts--the Central Hall, the Great Auditorium and a Banqueting Hall. The floor of the Central Hall is paved with marble and crystal lamps hang from the ceiling. The Great Auditorium behind the Central Hall seats 10,000. The Banqueting Hall is a huge hall with 5,000 seats.

We did not view Mao’s embalmed body, which lies in a crystal coffin at the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall on the south side of the square. The lengthy line meant too much time would be required for this morbid activity. I passed on this the last time I was here, even without the line. The Chairman’s coffin is lowered each night into a subterranean freezer. Why not keep him there?

A uniformed guard stood at attention in front of the Heroes Monument. Small groups of soldiers paraded around the square as if only to make their presence known. It seemed like all uniformed individuals, whether military or doormen at the hotels, had coats that were a few sizes too big and had long sleeves that reached below their hands. I thought of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

We were given free time to explore on our own with a designated meeting time for a group photo under the flag pole in front of the Heavenly Gate.The Five Star Red Flag is the Chinese national flag and flies high in the sky above the Square. We met as planned and while we were waiting for the photographer, local Chinese on vacation looked us over (from head to toe) Bill and Diana had said this would be the case since we appeared strange to those who lived outside the city. Henry, who was African American and very much the extrovert, garnered the most attention and a number of Chinese tourists were asking to have their picture taken with him. Henry hammed it up. The group photographer finally lined all of us up and took a group photo with the Heavenly Gate as the backdrop. Bill, the businessman he was, took orders for the photos, which were to be picked up later as part of a tour book package.

We were now prepared to enter the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate, the southern gate, which is the entrance proper to the Forbidden City. This gate was reserved for the sole use of the emperor, with drums and bells sounding his passage as he approached.

Through this gate we approach a huge paved courtyard with five marble bridges straddling a central strip of water. Right. In traditional Chinese thought, the world was conceived of as square. A city, especially a capital, was supposed to be square, a geometric reflection of the cosmic order. Forbidden City is also known as the Palace Museum. It is the largest and most well preserved imperial residence in China today.

The Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420 under Ming Emperor Yongle, and served as the imperial palace for the Ming and Qing dynasties. Ming Emperor Zhudi was the first emperor to live there. I had spent considerable time here during my last visit so little comment here.

The word "forbidden" is quite literal, as the imperial palace was heavily guarded and off-limits to ordinary people. As the residence for emperors and their families, most of the walls of the imperial palace were painted red and roofs were covered with yellow glazed tiles. The red and yellow combination forms a strong color contrast, representing the absolute authority, supremacy, and richness of feudal emperors.




In 1987, UNESCO also listed the Forbidden City in the World Heritage List. It is the largest palace in the world. The palace was built primarily of wood, so fire was a constant hazard, and it regularly burned down. The Manchu (from Manchuria) put the palace to the torch in the 17th century. The Japanese ransacked it as did the Kuommintand (Chinese nationalists who fled to Taiwan in 1949). The buildings we see today were built during and after the 18th century. I taped the exterior of the Hall of the Preservation of Harmony where the emperor oversaw civil service examinations. From here we moved on to Gate of Terrestrial Tranquility where a local artist sketched Fred’s face on a small plate. He charged only $5US so other CCT members lined up to give him business.

Then to the connecting Imperial Gardens, also called the Yu Yuan Garden (right). Here the center of attraction was the beautiful Pavilion of Imperial Peace with date trees in the foreground. A little further on was a gnarled 600-year-old cypress tree.

Mission accomplished, we boarded our bus and headed for a fantastic Chinese restaurant. The waitress started us off with glasses of beer served from a large bottle. The food was very good and much of it was recognizable. This restaurant was a favorite of the (little guy) reformer Deng Xiaoping and a large picture of him is prominently displayed at the entrance of the restaurant.

The big event of the evening was the Beijing Opera. Before the performance began we enjoyed a backstage look at the make-up and costuming process that adds such colorful dimension to the artistry of the performers.

Colors used in the face painting provide important clues to the audience about the characters.

When the curtains were pulled, the orchestra was center stage with two-stringed fiddles, a mouth organ, a moon guitar with four strings, a lute, drums, bells, castanets and wooden percussion instruments. The Chinese opera is an ancient theatrical art, and the opera troupes in Beijing set the national standard for this highest expression of Chinese culture. This is not like the Western opera, full of arias and centered around singing. It’s a beautiful and delicate blend of grand opera, ballet, song, drama, and comedy that spans the entire history of China, its folklore, mythology, literature, and culture. The actors half speak and half sing in a very high-pitched voice. To help us understand the words, the text was presented on two screens, one on each side of the stage. We sat in the 2nd row and could observe the intriguing facial expressions. I often zoomed in the faces with my camcorder. I loved the show!

Today had been really an action packed and pleasant day and I slept well.

DAY 11, Friday, Nov. 17  Beijing/Kong Fu School & Bona Jade Factory

Fortified with the usual excellent breakfast, we started off to a Kong Fu School. En route we passed by the innovative “Bird Nest” stadium that will be central to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Actually, the entire landscape for quite a stretch along the highway was under construction in preparation for the Olympic games. China is pulling out all the stops for the big event.

When we arrived at the Kong Fu School we saw the Grand Circle Foundation logo indicating its support for this project to preserve Chinese culture. Here we were to meet some of China's Next Generation practicing an art that goes back 2,000 years when a monk from India came to northern China and instructed emaciated monks a series of exercises to strengthen the body and condition the mind. The exercises developed over time into movements of a system of self-defense to protect the temple from local bandits. However, the primary goal was to be in harmony with the universe and to channel one’s life force energy.

The curtains opened to dancing and raging dragons (two men constituting each dragon). We even learned some new moves during a demonstration laced with chorography. Men broke wooden poles on bare backs and broke up bricks with a thrust of the hand. Twirling exercises looked quite difficult. After the young men finished the staged program, they intermingled with our members and posed for photos. A young tyke who was being initiated into the world of kong fu gave an added sideshow.

From here we visited the Bo Na Chinese Jade Carving Factory where we learned from a presenter information about the varying hardness quality of jade and of various coloring found in jade. We were introduced to a master jade carver who talked about his trade. Following the discussion we made our way to the workshop to watch craftmen filing down rough jade to size. On display were large pieces of jade with sketches drawn on them to aid the carvers. The last stop was the showroom where we had a chance to look over the finished product offered for sale. We returned to the hotel for lunch on our own. The doorman and the bellhop, dressed in over-sized uniforms, greeted us at the hotel entrance.

After lunch, we took “rickshaws” to Beijing’s ancient narrow hutongs, seeing old houses and learning about the daily life of ordinary Beijing citizens.

Hutongs are ancient city alleys or lanes. In the past, several thousand lanes, alleys, and quadrangles formed residential areas for ordinary people living in the capital. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many hutongs were built 1206-1911, during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the prime of these dynasties, the emperors, in order to establish their absolute power, planned the city and arranged the residential areas.

About half the population of Beijing lives in hutongs, which comprise one-third of the sprawling city's total area. Hutongs take their names from the groups who live within, for instance, the Bowstring Makers' Lane, or if populated by a single family, their surname. Unfortunately, encroaching urban development now threatens hutongs. Those who live here prefer to stay among their friends and familiar lifestyle.

We split up into smaller groups to visit with local families and enjoy a tea break. Our particular group met with a 72 year old lady who had lived in her dwelling here for 52 years. The small courtyard, which also served as a kitchen area, had numerous birdcages filled with noisy birds. The inside of the home was quite small, but adequate for the lady and her husband. A circular table had been set up for us to enjoy cookies and to visit. The lady’s mother had owned this very house, along with a private business, when the Communist government of Mao appropriated the property in 1950.

I asked her, via interpreter Diana, if her mother was bitter about having the property confiscated. The lady said no, that Mao was for the people of China, quite in contrast to Chiang Kai-shek who fought his own people during World War II instead of the Japanese.

After our visit, we went back to our previous rickshaw (#38) and driver. Our driver pedaled us along the scenic lakefront for the conclusion of our Discovery event. The entiregroup, reassembled, was led through an archway leading to a kindergarten complex.

The energetic children were anxious to meet us. The most notable change I saw in the classroom setting compared to my 1992 visit to a school, was the more relaxed setting and less structure. Some have strong criticism for the younger one-child generation as being spoiled or pampered by their parents – becoming “little emperors.” Of course, we were not in China long enough to make such an assessment. We sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to the children in English and the children reciprocated by singing the same song in Chinese.

DAY 12, Saturday, Nov. 18 Beijing/Great Wall, Ming Tombs & Sacred Way

After the usual breakfast of fruit (seven varieties), orange juice, bacon and eggs, toast, cheese and
tomatoes, breakfast pastries and coffee, I was ready for the daily schedule of adventures. We departed at 8 am for the Cloisonne workshop. This beautiful enamel artwork predates the Ming Dynasty. Cloisonne is known for colorful glazes and patterns.

The first stage of its creation begins by making rough casts of vases, dishes, jars, and boxes with red copper. with copper wire, and welded onto the roughcasts.

The resulting designs are inlaid with enamel and glazes, and then put in a cloisonné oven to cure. Note the glow from the hot oven. The nearly finished pieces are then polished several times to bring out their characteristic brightness and luster.

Since this was to be a hands-on Discovery moment, we were led to a room lined with tables -- furnished with copper roughcasts and paint – waiting for us to fill in the appropriate colors.

An employee walked around judging our workmanship and awarding the winners for their skillful productions. Of course, we finished our tour in the showroom – with credit cards in hand. The finished products were beautiful, but I had already stocked up on my last visit to Beijing.

Yet, a beautiful figure of a rooster caught my eye – knowing I was born in the year of the Rooster (according to the Chinese horoscope). People born in that year, like myself, tend to be “independent, outspoken, enthusiastic, strong-willed, popular, carefree adventurer and dedicated.” I did not purchase the rooster.

Our bus continued through the suburbs to the Badaling Hills. Then, continued on to the fabled Great Wall of China. We visited the best preserved and most imposing section of the wall is at Badaling, 50 miles north of Beijing and over 2,625 feet above sea level. Grand Circlers posed for a group photo herewith the Great Wall in the background.

To the right was a large sign with the message 2008 OLYMPICS: ONE WORLD ONE DREAM.

The video has Fred in the back row next to Henry. I inserted a picture of a dragon here to indicate that we were hungry after walking the Great Wall. I managed to find sufficient sustenance from my full plate. After eating,we headed eastward for our next destination; but we were not through with the Great Wall yet. From our bus windows, we could see the meandering wall snake across the mountainous countryside.

Construction of the Great Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, began during the Warring States Period (403-221 BC) with sections built in scattered areas to protect various provinces from northern tribes.

It was only following China’s unification under the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (221-206 BC) that some 300,000 men were put to work connecting the segments into one rampart of brick, stone, and earth nearly 4,000 miles long. Legend has it that among the building materials used was the bodies of dead workers.

The top of the wall can permit five horses to be ridden abreast. There are arched doors at the inner side of the wall with very little distance between each two doors. The arched doors lead us to the top of the wall by stone stairs. Badaling was the earliest section to be open to thetourists among all the parts of the whole Great Wall. 130 million tourists from China and abroad have visited Badaling; 370 foreign leaders (including Richard Nixon) visiteed.

The insides the Wall are made of mud and stone block. On the top floor of the highest places, signal fire platforms were set to send warning signals in the ancient China. Burning wolves’ dung generated smoke signals. One fire with one smoke means the enemy is about 100 men, two fires with two smoke means 500 men, and three fires with three smoke means more than 1,000 men.

The wall snakes along such a winding path because Chinese mythology maintains that demons and evil spirits can only travel in a straight line, and the undulating wall effectively keeps them out.

Our bus driver took us to the peaceful valley that the Ming emperors chose as their burial ground. Nearby were tombs housing the remains of 13 emperors andinnumerable treasures. These 13 imperial tombs were built from 1409 to 1644, and are spread over nearly 25 square miles. The Ming Dynasty lasted from 1368 to 1644. The tombs are located about 31 miles north of Beijing.

Chang Ling is the most famous and this site was the one chosen for a walking tour. It is not only the largest but is the best preserved.

We entered the grounds of the sacred area through three large doorways set into a vast gate, called the Gate of the Eminent Favors. At the end of the courtyard stood the Hall of the Eminent Favors, a twin roofed building on a three-tiered white marble terrace with balustrades all around. This building is very similar to the one I videoed in the Forbidden City.

As I returned to the Gate of the Eminent Favors, a young woman was being photographed wearing a traditional gown of the Ming Dynasty. Before boarding the bus I taped a guide marker that depicted the layout of the complex. At the very top of the marker is an indication of the actual burial site.

When Annette and I were here in 1992, we did a lot of climbing and walking in the cellar like atmosphere of the tomb chamber of the Ding Ling site (different location).

We passed through a great marble gateway (see marker map) more than four centuries old, and onto Sacred Way,with Stone Honor Guards, the Avenue of the Animals lined with massive stone statues of kneeling and standing elephants, lions, camels, and fanciful beasts.

At the end of the Avenue of Animals was the Lingxing Gate with a massive turtle under a huge pillar. The animal is facing the direction of the tombs ahead as if showing the way.

Today had been a walking day and we all were ready for a well-deserved night of sleep.

















DAY 13. Sunday, Nov. 19 Panda Bears & Summer Palace

9 am departure to visit the Pandas, China’s most famous native animal, at the Beijing Zoo. Panda Bears are on the endangered species list. Their habitat, extremely limited diet and poor reproductive and infant survival combine to extremely threaten their survival.The Giant Panda is white and black. An adult can grow to 3 1/2 to five feet and weigh up to 350 pounds.

In the wild, adult female pandas give birth once a year and usually produce two cubs in the litter. A newborn cub will weigh around 5 ounces is all white and blind at birth. The black spots develop after about a month. A cub will begin to eat bamboo at about six months and be fully weaned after nine months. At the end of the first year they are about 70 to 80 pounds. The cubs will stay with their mother for about 1 1/2 years. A Panda reaches maturity at five to seven years and live in the wild for about 25 years.

While we generally refer to pandas as "bears" there is much discussion around whether they are bears, raccoons or their own species. Giant Panda Bears do not hibernate during the winter. Pandas are only found in a relatively small area in Asia. Ancient Chinese history and writings abound with mention of the Panda. Emperors kept them because their hides were highly valued and they were believed to be able to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters.

In 1972, the Chinese government gave two Giant Pandas (a male and a female) to the U.S. They were given as a gesture of friendship for then President Richard M. Nixon opening U.S. relations with China. The giant Pandas were placed in the Washington zoo.

Reproductive rates of Pandas are low, with low fertility rates for both the male and female. Less than 10 percent of male pandas can copulate in a natural state and only 24 percent of the females can reproduce. Life expectancy is only around 25 years (the record is 36 years). To make matters more difficult, the breeding period lasts a mere 24 - 48 hours. Major efforts are underway by both the Chinese and the U.S. to develop successful artificial insemination of captive pandas to increase their numbers. Hopes for the Panda Bears' long-term survival probably depend on the success of these programs.

We started our visit with the indoor section. Panda bears we saw in the zoo looked timid and gentle, but we were told that looks are deceiving. They are not vegetarians and their diet includes meat. I included a picture that shows protective features. Pandas have long sharp claws and strong canine teeth. It is not uncommon for the feeders to get hurt and have to receive rabies vaccinations.

A drunk once climbed into the Panda enclosure saw a cuddly creature sitting there and decided to give him a hug. The drunk was rescued but it took time for the nasty wounds to heal.

When the caretakers clean out the resting places, or exhibition areas, they let the pandas out to the playground. I found this one big fellow on the playground gym set taking a snooze. When his caretaker called him he immediately responded and ambled over to grated door of the building. Because he was closely attached to the man, the panda permitted him to pet his nose and to push bamboo shoots and leaves out to him. The Panda then sat down and contently enjoyed his snack while a group of tourists intently watched behind the retaining wall. A smaller panda in another outside pen had also just been supplied with bamboo and seemed to be enjoying himself.

Our optional tour also included the Summer Palace (Yih eyuan), the former summer retreat for the imperial family during the late Qing Dynasty and now China’s largest and best preserved royal garden. The royal court used to stay here during the summer to escape the heat of Beijing.

Our group encountered a large bronze lion that guarded the East Palace Gate.

This Gate is the major entrance to the Summer Palace with two side doors for royal family members and court officials, and three grand doors in the middle exclusively for the Emperor, Empress and queen mothers. Entering the East Palace Gate means walking into the administrative area of the Emperors and facing a large stone mythical animal with horns.

The Hall of Benevolence and Longevity is the first architectural complex that visitors see. It was built in 1750, burned down in 1860by the Anglo-French allied forces, and was reconstructed in 1888.

From here we walked to the scenic water front. Together with the Longevity Hill, Kunming Lake forms the key landscape features of the Summer Palace gardens. With an area of 2.2 square kilometers, Kunming Lake covers approximately three quarters of the Summer Palace grounds.It is fairly shallow with an average depth of only 1.5 meter. In the year 1990 and 1991, the Beijing Municipal Government undertook the first dredging of the lake in 240 years. A total of 652,600 cubic meters of sludge were removed in the work. 205 Japanese bombs dropped during the Sino-Japanese War were also found. The Dragon Lady was guaranteed successful fishing here because eunuchs
swam under the water with nets to guide the fish.

At the top of Longevity Hill stands the Duobao Glazed Pagoda. When the Dragon Lady visited the Pagoda, she did not climb up the hill but rather was carried in a sedan by her servants. It wasn’t that she couldn’t walk,but because she choose not to climb. At an age of 69, Dowager Cixi was in sufficiently good physical shape that when providing a tour of the Summer Palace to Katherine Carl, who related that Dowager Cixi walked “with as much ease and lightness as I did, and I had on comfortable European shoes, while she wears the six-inch-high Manchu sole in the middle of her foot, and must really walk as if on stilts."

During our free time, I ventured over to the smaller island (or little peninsula) in the foreground that was connected by a passenger bridge.

In the distance can be seen the Seventeen Arch Bridge which looks like a rainbow arching over the water. The bridge was patterned after the Marco Polo Bridge and was built to give access to Nanhu Island. Nanhu is the largest island ay the Summer Palace. When EmperorQianlong (1711-1799) enlarged Kunming Lake, he ordered workers to save the temples and buildings but to excavate the earth; thus creating Nanhu Island.

Poems were written on the walkway with a dauber and watery mixture. Diane and Bill joined in with the locals, using Chinese script.

The poems being written were about good relations between United States and China– that they should last forever, as long as the mountains and the rivers exist. Tibetans would call that nice dauba doing.

The next shot is of a very important building, The Hall of Joyful Longevity. Unfortunately, this video segment is very brief. The Hall of Yoyful Longevity, was the major construction of the residential area, was built in 1887 for the pleasure of Empress Dowager Ci Xi (or “The Dragon Lady”) in summers.

She had 48 attendants in the hall, and a retinue of over a thousand in the Summer Palace. The name "Leshou" came from the Analects of Confucius (551-479 B.C.): "persons with wisdom are joyous, with benevolence longevous", indicating that its occupants were wise and merciful. Inside is the throne room. On both sides of the throne were two porcelain plates for holding fruits and setting off sweet smell, in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Four big copper incense burners functioned to adjust the air in the room with fragrance. While having dim sum and tea, Cixi could also appreciate the tablecalled "fish table", beset glass face and framed with rosewood. Within the table, there were stencil-carved small pavilions and sceneries. The inner chamber in the east was the bedroom of Cixi, the western one the dressing room, and the back one the place where maidservants waited for their orders.

From here we stepped into the Long Gallery an interesting structure, as it measures over 2,300 feet long and offers paintings depicting Chinese legend, history, and natural settings. Beginning from the Yaoyue (Inviting-Moon) Gate and ending with Shizhang Pavilion, the Long Gallery ingeniously links Longevity Hill with Kunming Lake. Seven hundred twenty-eight meters (796.2 yards) in length, it is the longest gallery in Chinese gardens. In 1990 it was rated as the top long gallery in the world. Two hundred seventy-three rooms with various paintings attract visitors into a fantastic land. Among them, they are studded with four octagonal pavilions on the joint between a higher place and a lower one, each symbolizing a season.

Long Gallery was constructed along the natural terrain of Longevity Hill and the turns of Kunming Lake, offering a picturesque view with each step. In 1755 when Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) built the gallery, he ordered artists to go to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province to sketch the scenery there. Upon their return they painted 546 paintings of West Lake landscapes in the Long Gallery. The themes taken from historical figures, landscapes, flowers and birds can be seen as a miniature representation of the breadth of Chinese art.



The Empress Dowager, or the Dragon Lady, loved to stroll along this passage way. She smoked Chinese water pipes as well as European cigarettes through a cigarette holder. The openness of the passageway no doubt helped the non-smoking servants from breathing secondhand smoke. So much of the Summer Palace is associated with the Dragon Lady, she is worth knowing better.

The Empress Dowager was born in 1835 as the daughter of a minor Mandarin. Her education was basically self-taught. She entered the palace at the Forbidden City in 1852 as a concubine of the 5th rank. After giving birth to a son she became “Imperial Concubine.” In 1861 when the Emperor died, she became regent because the Emperor’s son was only five years old. She staged a coup d’etat and seized political power. Since she lacked knowledge about the world beyond China she resisted modernization. Her rule lasted more than 50 years. On her 60th birthday in 1895 she renovated the summer Palace. For this Dowager Cixi re-allocated the astronomical sum of thirty million units of silver, which had been earmarked for the construction of ten new warships, to pay for the refinement of Summer Palace. The Chinese Navy had recently lost most of its modern warships in the 1894 First Sino-Japanese War, and urgently needed the money to rebuild a high-tech fleet. However, instead of using the money to safeguard China's military security, Dowager Cixi instead chose to use the money for her own pleasure.

The traditional view is that the Ci Xi Dowager Empress was a devious despot who maintained a death grip on what little power she had until that power faded out completely. Three years after her death, the Qing dynasty was itself overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. However, some authors, such as Sterling Seagrave in his biography The Dragon Lady maintain a far more positive view of the dowager, arguing that she has been unfairly maligned and when seen more closely, her actions were reasonable responses to the difficulties that China faced.

It is worth noting that while very few Chinese sources reflect Dowager Cixi positively, the reverse is true for Western sources. When considering Western sources one must bear in mind that Dowager Cixi's luxurious lifestyle, ineffective foreign policies, her conservative political views and her lack of concern on the well being of the Chinese people allowed Western powers to further their exploitation of China, gaining enormous profits at the expense of the Chinese people.

Pearl Buck, who was born in the United States of Presbyterian missionaries in 1892, was 3 months old when the family moved to China. Her perspective was unique. She was raised in China and learned the Chinese language and customs Pearl S. Buck's novel Imperial Womanchronicles the life of the Ci Xi Dowager Empress from the time of her selection as a concubine until near to her death. Cixi is portrayed as a stern, motivated woman who stands to the old ways of life and government and resists the changes brought by westerners. Cixi's actions on behalf of the two Emperors that she raised and her own actions are all accounted for and rationalized as being for the good of her people and her country.

The Dragon Lady died in 1908, at the age of 74. The Ci Xi Dowager Empress was interred amidst the Eastern Qing Tombs in the Ding Dong Ling tomb complex. Before she died, unsatisfied with her tomb, ordered its destruction and reconstruction in 1895. The new tomb was a lavish grandiose complex of temples, gates, and pavilions, covered with gold leaves, and with gold and gilded-bronze ornaments hanging from the beams and the eaves. In July 1928, Dowager Cixi's tomb was occupied by warlord and Kuomintang general Suen Dian Ying who methodically stripped the complex of its precious ornaments, then dynamited the entrance to the burial chamber, opened Dowager Cixi's coffin, threw her corpse (said to have been found intact) on the floor, and stole all the jewels contained in the coffin, as well as the massive pearl that had been placed in Dowager Cixi's mouth to protect her corpse from decomposing (in accordance with Chinese tradition). The large pearl on Dowager Cixi's crown was offered by Suen Dian Ying to Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-Shek and ended up as an ornament on the gala shoes of Chiang's wife, Madam Chiang Kai-Shek, the famous Song Mayling. A personal side note: I think Madame Chiang Kai-shek was kind of a Dragon Lady herself and lived a life style as if she were an Empress. Winston Churchill couldn’t stand her and for that reason tried to avoid her company.After 1949, the complex of Dowager Cixi's tomb was restored by the People's Republic of China, and it is still today one of the most impressive imperial tombs of China.

The fascinating Marble Boat before us, also lakeside pavilion. It was first erected in 1755 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The original pavilion was made from a base of large stone blocks that supported a wooden superstructure done in a traditional Chinesedesign. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, Anglo-French forces destroyed the pavilion. It was restored in 1893 on order of the Empress Dowager Cixi. In this restoration, a new two-story superstructure was designed which incorporated elements of European architecture.

Like its predecessor, the new superstructure is made out of wood but it was painted to look like marble. Imitation paddlewheels on each side of the pavilion make it appear like a paddle steamer. The pavilion has a sophisticated drainage system which channels rain water through four hollow pillars. The water is finally released into the lake through the mouths of four dragonheads. The Marble Boat is often seen as an ironic commentary due to the fact that the money used to restore the Summer Palace largely came from funds originally earmarkedfor building up a new imperial navy.

The controller of the Admiralty, the 1st Prince Chun, owed much of his social standing as well as his appointment to the Empress Dowager, who had adopted his oldest son to become the Guangxu Emperor. Because of this, he probably saw no other choice than to condone the embezzlement.

We exited with a nice view of one of the old bridges that gave access to the western end of the Summer Palace. We passed through the last gauntlet of vendors as we headed to the bus.

All good things must come to an end, but we ended on a very happy note. The GCT arranged a Farewell Party for us on the hotel 3rd Floor in the Western Restaurant. We started off with the tradition soup, this time a spicy chickpea variety.

Lee and Bill Born, who had dressed nicely for the occasion, sat across the table from me. Most of us ordered the delicious pan-seared Red Snapper and we topped off the meal with a delicious dessert.

Our lovely guide, Diana, closed the evening with a beautiful Chinese song. Translated to English, the song goes as follows:
Beyond the distant pavilion,  Beside the ancient road
Jade green and fragrant,  high grass joins the sky
Evening breeze sways  dripping willows,
Dying flute notes linger still  On the hill behind the hill,
the sun sets. To the ends of the earth
and corners of the seas Half our friends are scattered
With a scoop of thick wine, Let’s enjoy what joy remains
Tonight’s cold dreams shall be held at bay.

DAY 14, Monday, Nov. 20 Depart for home. 

The early bird departures had 4:30 am wake up calls. Efficient Diana negotiated with the hotel for a 5:20 am breakfast. The hotel staff had everything laid out for us, even the hot breakfast items. Diane boarded the bus with us and accompanied us to the airport. She treated us to a lovely song in Chinese as we rumbled along. We had the best guide that Grand Circle (or any tour company) could offer! Right to the end, ding, ding, ding excellent!

We left Beijing at 09:05 am for 3 hr 20 min Northwestern flight and arrived at Tokyo Narita, Japan at 01:25 pm. Our departure from Tokyo was listed at 03:00 pm on a 747, for a 10 hr 45 min (3 more movies) Northwestern flight and arrived in Minneapolis/St Paul, MN at 10:45 am on Mon Nov 20, 2006. Annette picked me up outside the customs area.

On the way home we stopped at Emma Krumbees for ham sandwiches (with Emma's home made bread) and beef barley soup. I could now make time zone changes on my genuine Rolex watch.

DAY 15, Tuesday, Nov. 21 Reflection:

Really Great Group of People! Really Great Trip

If anyone has any corrections or additional notes or digital photos that could be e-mailed, please send them along to me at fredwulff@newulmtet.net
They would be appreciated.
Thanks to everyone for being so friendly. That helped a lot. 再见 [zài jiàn] or 再会 [zài huì]


Fred