Cheng De & More

The highlight of my last week was most certainly our visit to Cheng De. Cheng De is a small mountain city that served as the massive summer home for several emperors in the Qing dynasty. While the sights were fun to see, Cheng De also offered me a very unusual and authentic Chinese experience as well.

Our journey to Cheng De began with a nearly five hour bus ride out of Beijing on Friday afternoon, with our arrival taking place some time around 6 p.m. Our first night in Cheng De was largely uneventful, save a group journey to a local KTV (karaoke bar) that was quite fun.

The next morning we were woken bright and early (maybe a bit too early) for our tour of the summer palace. The palace grounds themselves were quite beautiful, featuring several old pagodas and buildings, as well as boasting a massive lake with many different islands that we could visit.

After touring the grounds for a while we rented a private boat for our group (about 20 kids) and toured some of the various islands on the grounds. The boat ride was quite fun and the islands themselves were beautiful. Everyone enjoyed climbing the rocks on the different islands and exploring their various towers and pagodas.We spent the afternoon visiting "Sledge Hammer Peak" - a very tall and oddly shaped rock that has become famous in Cheng De. The peak is very difficult to reach and requires a nearly 20 minute chair lift ride. The ride itself was enjoyable, however, and featured some scenic shots of the peak itself.
Once we made it up to the top of the peak it was quite scary. With no surprise to me, the Chinese tourist attraction lacked almost any safety measures, you could easily walk right up to (and over if you wanted) the edge and peer down, even right at the base of the "sledge hammer" itself.

The one safety measure the peak did have was this delightful sign. After spotting that I felt much safer. We decided to venture all the way to the narrow base of the sledge hammer itself because our guide, Susan, told us that if you touch the stone you will live for 130 years. I don't know about that, but I figured I would give it a try. Worst case - I still got some great pictures from up on top of the cliff.

After a long day of sightseeing the night still held some adventure for us. To make a long, and somewhat unfortunate, story short - I highly advise everyone reading this to NOT get a "milk bath" under any circumstances - especially if your friends tell you to.

Other than that, one of my friends actually had to go to the hospital that night to receive treatment for a mild infection, nothing serious but the journey to the Chinese hospital was a bit scary as well. Luckily I think I made it out of Cheng De A-OK!

A few other highlights from the rest of this week - on Monday night of this week Ben and I visited a local "English Coffee Shop" where the owner will give free food to anyone who teaches English lessons. Needless to say, Ben and I seized the opportunity and taught a class (with a few other Americans who Ben had met before) about American popular music. We spent an hour or so instructing a classroom full of Chinese people how to say things like "Justin Timberlake," "Alan Jackson," and "Dave Matthews."

After giving the lessons Ben and I sat down to sip on our free coffee and chat with some of the students from the class. Remember - these "students" were really just every day people and most of them were much older than I. One thing that I found to be most interesting - when we were discussing various topics with one of the older Chinese gentleman he somehow produced his business card and handed it to me and Ben. One look at the card and I was blown away - this man had a Ph.D. in Oncology and was a teacher at the Beijing University Medical school. It was truly amazing to think that I, a humble college student, was teaching someone so intelligent and who taught at the very school that I was studying Chinese!

A final anecdote - We discovered another delicious pizza restaurant in Beijing that just recently opened. Named "Pyro Pizza" the restaurant serves delicious pizza with traditional western toppings and sides, and has several local Chinese beers on tap. While eating dinner at Pyro on Wednesday night we actually ran into a friend of mine named Kevin Curley who I had known in the High School debate community. He too was studying Chinese in Beijing for the summer and we had a great time exchanging stories and information about Beijing.

That's all for now! My time in Beijing is really winding down. Only a little over 2 weeks left before I come home! I can't believe the time is flying by so quickly.

Oh - one final note. While many of you know that I used to play a bit of golf now and then, I recently acquired a full set of Callaway X20 Clubs, Irons, Woods, and a putter for about 700 Yuan (less than $100 U.S.). Think that's a steal? Check out the real prices - the irons alone cost about $900 U.S. when they are new. I think I might try to hit up the golf course a little more often now. (Watch out for these in the mail Mom and Dad)

Over a month....

Well... as of last Thursday I have been officially living in China for one month. Wow, the time has passed by so quickly, I feel like I just got here! Before delving into my blog entry any further I thought I would included a picture of my room to show everyone how awesome my living conditions are - this is a picture of my own private room, which is then connected to a private suite/living room that includes a TV and a private bathroom.

I spent most of my week busily studying my Hanyu and Koyu homework (Written Chinese, Spoken Chinese) but I have certainly been enjoying Beijing to the fullest. Other than occasional afternoon games of ping pong with Kyle, Ben, and whatever locals happen to be at Bei Da's massive (and free) outdoor ping pong "park," we visited several new and exciting restraunts and shops, and even a few places that reminded us of home (did you know Pizza Huts in Beijing are high quality sit-down restaurants?). Check out this shot of Ben and Kyle (respectively) hanging out in our room.

I will provide a quick recap of a few exciting things that I've done over the last week or so. Last Thursday night we watched the Beijing Acrobatics show and, while I forgot my camera (sorry mom), it was still quite impressive. I must say on the whole I think that Shanghai definitely out-performs Beijing, but the Beijing act featured several unique feats that I did not see at the Shanghai show - including a different type of plate twirling, two people standing head-to-head (one balancing their entire body with their head on another person's head), and twelve people on one bicycle.

After the acrobatics show we visited Ho Hai for dinner. Ho Hai is a massive collection of bars and restaurants situated around a beautiful and rather large lake. Overall there are easily at least a hundred or more restaurants in the area. Most of them (including the one we ate at) featured comfortable and plush outdoor couches and tables where we could sit and watch the glimmering lights of small Chinese boats milling about the lake all evening. The atmosphere was fantastic. As per the recommendation of my friend Jackie who studied in Beijing last summer, I want to visit Ho Hai at sunset to see how truly gorgeous it can be.

Friday night we found a delicious western-style restaurant off of the western gate of Bei Da called the "Kro's Nest." Serving up killer pizza and mouth watering Philly cheese steaks, the Kro's nest also offers free poker chips to anyone who eats there. Needless to say, we spent a good portion of the evening engaged in a cut throat game of poker, with me being the ultimate victor.

Saturday was a very busy day! We left campus at 8am to venture to the Great Wall (this would be my second visit). After a bumpy and noisy bus ride we finally arrived at the Mutanyu section of the wall, which was the same place I had visited before. However, my experience was very different. For starters, we hiked up to the wall itself through a forest side trail, which was a much more intense experience than the quick gondola ride up I had previously taken. On the way, however, we stumbled upon a gorgeous mountain pagoda with a beautiful view.Not only did this new path take us to an entirely different section of the wall, but I also hiked much farther along the wall than I had on my previous visit. In fact, I even climbed up what my friends and I affectionately titled the "stairway to heaven" all the way to the end of the Mutanyu section of the wall. Here is a shot of me staring up to the top of the stairway, though it is shrouded in the thick mist that once again thwarted my attempts to take some quality pictures of the great wall.

After nearly 20 minutes of intense climbing up an increasingly steep staircase we finally reached the top - drenched in sweat we posed for our ultimate victory picture with our Chinese friend Jared.
After venturing home and recovering from our day long adventure we spent the evening at Lush, one of our favorite restaurant/bars in Beijing - I didn't take my camera out with me that night but I did manage to snap a picture of Kyle and myself at Lush when we ate there for lunch today. Lush has spectacular pitas, grilled flat breads, and breakfast foods - not to mention chili fries (Ben's personal favorite is the ranch dressing). Along with Lush, which is located in the Wu Dao Ko section of Beijing a mere 5 minute taxi ride from campus, some of our other favorite hot spots is a delicious coffee shop with a great atmosphere named Sculpting in Time, where Kyle and I spent a majority of last Sunday studying for our tests this week.

I know I said this in my last post but I will try to get more pictures and more updates! Don't fret if I don't manage to however, I am learning between twenty and forty new Chinese words a day and trying to experience as much of Beijing as I can!

R.I.P. Starbucks

I will post a more lengthy update about the last week tomorrow, but I'm amazed it's already been a week since my last update! My time here in Beijing is flying by. I just wanted to make a quick post to point out that I was one of the last customers ever at the Starbucks in the Forbidden City - it closed yesterday for good. Check out what CNN Money had to say about it.

Here's one last picture of me, clutching my beloved Starbucks, at the Forbidden City.

Finally...

I'm finally making another post! I know it's been a long time since I have posted but now I am finally settling into life in Beijing and I have a little bit of free time as well. Quite a few exciting things have happened since the last time I updated.

So far I've been living on my own in Beijing for over a week and I have taken a full week of classes at Beijing University (in Chinese we call it Bei Da). I have to say - life here at Beijing University is much different from my experience traveling around China. However, that's not to say I'm not having a great time!

For starters, the language barrier is much more prevalent now that I no longer constantly attend "tourist" locations and have a translating guide with me at all times. When shopping, ordering food, or even taking a taxi English is not usually an option. Luckily my friends and I have gotten great at point at the menu and, with our limited Chinese skills, we can usually piece together a decent order.

My dorm is awesome as well. I am living with two fellow Richmond kids named Ben and Kyle and the accommodations themselves are pleasant. We have our own private bathroom, air conditioned rooms, and access to a vast array of on and off campus restaurants. Classes are going well so far, but one thing that makes them very interesting is the fact that the teachers speak almost no English, and even those that do speak it refuse to use it when talking to the students.

Other than my living situation, life in Beijing has been really fun so far. In order to save time and not write a massive entry I will break the last week into 3 main events.

Last Thursday our whole group took a group trip to the Temple of Heaven and the Hong Qiao market. The Temple of Heaven was actually quite different from last time I visited it. Since it was raining last time we only saw the temple grounds for about twenty or thirty minutes. This time, however, I was able to see an entirely different entrance to the temple and visit several different locations on the temple grounds that I hadn't seen before. It was also great to see the temple on a sunny day without rain obscuring my view. The only downside to the sunny day was the withering heat - check out this picture of me and my friends Rebbecca, Ben, and Kyle.

Once we arrived at Hong Qiao the crack bargaining team of myself, Ben, and Kyle went to work frustrating merchants left and right. Our powers combined we have negotiated some ridiculous bargains at various marketplaces throughout Beijing (including the Beijing Silk Market this past Sunday). After hours of haggling with various Chinese vendors we have learned some of the finer points of getting the best deal and discovered the best prices for various items (Polo Shirts for 25 quai - that's about $3.20, North Face Jackets for 100 Quai). I have to say, I have a great time just haggling with these various shops. We would go to various shops and bargain for stuff we didn't even want just to see how ridiculous of a price we could get it for.

The second thing I wanted to write home about (har har) was the Fourth of July. It was truly strange to experience July 4th in a foreign country. The weirdest part about the entire day was that it almost passed without notice. Around about 10 P.M. Ben, Kyle, and I decided to head out on the town to try and find someone that was celebrating our great nation's birthday. Entirely by accident, actually, we stumbled upon a massive outdoor "International Beer Town" (garden), and within a few minutes of our arrival a few Americans jumped up and began singing the national anthem, prompting many others to join in. We spent the rest of our night celebrating and singing with the other American's at the garden - it was a great time.
Lastly, on Saturday morning I visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City (again). I didn't take as many pictures this time but I did enjoy the Starbucks (maybe even more). My other favorite part of the visit was being harassed by the various merchants peddling hats, books, and other trinkets throughout the day. With my new bargaining skills the merchants usually ended up far more frustrated and annoyed than me! That's all for now, I don't want to write an essay. I will try to keep my updates more frequent and less lengthy, so until next time Zai Jian!