Tien An Men Square
March 26, Wed.
Day 4
We started today at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Institute (TCM), where they explained the pros and cons of both western medicine and TCM. This was followed by taking everyone's pulse and prescribing their natural medicines for cures- at least one of our people spent $1000 on these cures/preventions.......
Next we were off to Tien An Men Square and the Forbidden City- home of 24 emperors and 9,999 rooms (one less than heaven).
From here we visited the Hutong area where we ate in a local family's home and they taught us to make dumplings. We toured this area by rickshaw and saw how the locals lived- small, not as clean, communal toilets.........
We were then off to the government Pearl Market, which was, of course, another place to by their beautiful wares.
The Summer Palace was our next stop with its Kunming Lake, Long Corridor and 17 Arch Bridge. The lake was man made and brings flowing water in from the south- all for the emperor's comfort during the summer. 
For dinner we had their famous Peking Duck. It was sliced at the table and served in small rice tortillas, like Mu Shu Pork. The duck was highly glazed and very fatty, which it is know for.
It was another long day, but we knew that going in.
from my sister Judy-
Wednesday, March 26 After another delicious breakfast, we boarded the bus at 7:30 AM and drove to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Institute where we heard a doctor talk about ancient herbal medicines that many Chinese use. After his talk, several other doctors and their interpreters came in to feel our pulses, look at our tongues, and tell us what they felt was wrong with us, physically. The interpreters then related to us which herbs the doctor thought we should use. A brief bus ride took us to Tien An Men Square which is the largest open square in the whole world and which can hold up to one million people. Many westerners are familiar with the square because of a famous demonstration and stand-off that occurred there many years ago. At one side of the square stood a large building which contained the remains of Mao Tse Tung in a crystal coffin. All Chinese are now cremated upon death, but Mao was not cremated because he was so famous and so loved. On the other side of Tien An Men Square is the Forbidden City and we entered the complex through the South Gate. The Forbidden City is a huge, walled complex which housed many of the Chinese emperors and their families. There are 9,999 rooms in the city and there are large areas of meeting rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and a variety of bridges and walkways. The buildings were intricately painted and there were golden statues on the orange-tiled roofs. Alan, our guide, walked us through about 20% of the complex and related information about the emperors' daily lives, family relationships, meetings with local dignitaries, and the status of the 3,000 concubines, and the eunuchs. After visiting the gardens, we exited through the North Gate and then walked around the surrounding moat area. A short bus ride took us to the Hutong area, which is a suburban neighborhood for the average Chinese family. Our Hutong guide, Angela, talked about the history of the area before taking us for lunch at a local home. We passed through narrow alleys that were lined with small, government-supported houses that lacked sanitation and (what we would consider) basic amenities. We were welcomed into a small courtyard and then ushered into a small, three-room home which had a table set up in each room (one being the bedroom). The mother, father and guide served us traditional foods that the mother had prepared. After lunch, we had the opportunity to make dumplings with the mother. She taught us how to shape and pinch the dumplings into a small semi-circle. We left through the courtyard which contained plants and several birds in cages. The mynah bird was able to say "ni hao" to us, which means hello. Angela led us to the community's common bathroom, on the corner, since the homes do not have bathroom facilities. Most bathrooms consist of floor drains, with few western-style toilets. The better bathrooms are labeled with up to four or five stars. This one would probably have been labeled a two star! We climbed into fourteen, two-person rickshaws that were pulled by men on bicycles. Each rickshaw had a red canopy over your head and the driver put a blanket over your lap. Our long string of rickshaws must have looked like a parade as we wound our way through the narrow alleys. The "parade" route was lined with tiny living quarters surrounding common courtyards, stores and food stalls, and bathroom facilities. The living conditions would have been considered meager, at best. It was very interesting, but sad to see. Our next stop was to a Pearl Market where Belinda, our guide, demonstrated how fresh-water pearls are cultivated. She opened a large, fresh-water oyster and found approximately twenty small pearls inside. She then showed us the white, pink, black, and gold pearl necklaces that they make at the factory. Paul volunteered me to be a model. Beautiful necklaces ~ but quite pricey! We bought a set of black pearls and several bracelets for the girls. Unfortunately, the pearls were not of the top quality that Belinda had shown us. The pearls that we bought were harvested from oysters that live in Kunming Lake. Our next stop was at the Summer Palace which contains Kunming Lake. This lake was man-made because a former emperor had seen the beautiful Western Lake in southern China and forced his workers to create an identical lake by his summer palace. Although the lake is only several feet deep, it is quite expansive and was all dug out by hand. The dirt from the lake was moved to create an artificial mountain called Longevity Hill. We walked along the Long Corridor, with its painted gallery, and had a lovely view of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. It's not hard to understand why the peasants were so disgruntled when you see the extravagant opulence that surrounded the emperor. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by a local restaurant where we had a Peking Duck dinner. A lazy-susan, in the middle of the large, round table, had a large variety of traditional Chinese dishes, including Peking duck. Our waitress demonstrated how to construct the dish by putting the rice tortilla on your dish, laying on pieces of the duck, smearing on some thick soy sauce, and then topping it with slivered onions. You fold up the little package of food and enjoy. After the meal, we drove back to the hotel and were thankful for an early bedtime.
Day 4
We started today at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Institute (TCM), where they explained the pros and cons of both western medicine and TCM. This was followed by taking everyone's pulse and prescribing their natural medicines for cures- at least one of our people spent $1000 on these cures/preventions.......
Next we were off to Tien An Men Square and the Forbidden City- home of 24 emperors and 9,999 rooms (one less than heaven).
From here we visited the Hutong area where we ate in a local family's home and they taught us to make dumplings. We toured this area by rickshaw and saw how the locals lived- small, not as clean, communal toilets.........
We were then off to the government Pearl Market, which was, of course, another place to by their beautiful wares.
The Summer Palace was our next stop with its Kunming Lake, Long Corridor and 17 Arch Bridge. The lake was man made and brings flowing water in from the south- all for the emperor's comfort during the summer. For dinner we had their famous Peking Duck. It was sliced at the table and served in small rice tortillas, like Mu Shu Pork. The duck was highly glazed and very fatty, which it is know for.It was another long day, but we knew that going in.
from my sister Judy-
Wednesday, March 26 After another delicious breakfast, we boarded the bus at 7:30 AM and drove to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Institute where we heard a doctor talk about ancient herbal medicines that many Chinese use. After his talk, several other doctors and their interpreters came in to feel our pulses, look at our tongues, and tell us what they felt was wrong with us, physically. The interpreters then related to us which herbs the doctor thought we should use. A brief bus ride took us to Tien An Men Square which is the largest open square in the whole world and which can hold up to one million people. Many westerners are familiar with the square because of a famous demonstration and stand-off that occurred there many years ago. At one side of the square stood a large building which contained the remains of Mao Tse Tung in a crystal coffin. All Chinese are now cremated upon death, but Mao was not cremated because he was so famous and so loved. On the other side of Tien An Men Square is the Forbidden City and we entered the complex through the South Gate. The Forbidden City is a huge, walled complex which housed many of the Chinese emperors and their families. There are 9,999 rooms in the city and there are large areas of meeting rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and a variety of bridges and walkways. The buildings were intricately painted and there were golden statues on the orange-tiled roofs. Alan, our guide, walked us through about 20% of the complex and related information about the emperors' daily lives, family relationships, meetings with local dignitaries, and the status of the 3,000 concubines, and the eunuchs. After visiting the gardens, we exited through the North Gate and then walked around the surrounding moat area. A short bus ride took us to the Hutong area, which is a suburban neighborhood for the average Chinese family. Our Hutong guide, Angela, talked about the history of the area before taking us for lunch at a local home. We passed through narrow alleys that were lined with small, government-supported houses that lacked sanitation and (what we would consider) basic amenities. We were welcomed into a small courtyard and then ushered into a small, three-room home which had a table set up in each room (one being the bedroom). The mother, father and guide served us traditional foods that the mother had prepared. After lunch, we had the opportunity to make dumplings with the mother. She taught us how to shape and pinch the dumplings into a small semi-circle. We left through the courtyard which contained plants and several birds in cages. The mynah bird was able to say "ni hao" to us, which means hello. Angela led us to the community's common bathroom, on the corner, since the homes do not have bathroom facilities. Most bathrooms consist of floor drains, with few western-style toilets. The better bathrooms are labeled with up to four or five stars. This one would probably have been labeled a two star! We climbed into fourteen, two-person rickshaws that were pulled by men on bicycles. Each rickshaw had a red canopy over your head and the driver put a blanket over your lap. Our long string of rickshaws must have looked like a parade as we wound our way through the narrow alleys. The "parade" route was lined with tiny living quarters surrounding common courtyards, stores and food stalls, and bathroom facilities. The living conditions would have been considered meager, at best. It was very interesting, but sad to see. Our next stop was to a Pearl Market where Belinda, our guide, demonstrated how fresh-water pearls are cultivated. She opened a large, fresh-water oyster and found approximately twenty small pearls inside. She then showed us the white, pink, black, and gold pearl necklaces that they make at the factory. Paul volunteered me to be a model. Beautiful necklaces ~ but quite pricey! We bought a set of black pearls and several bracelets for the girls. Unfortunately, the pearls were not of the top quality that Belinda had shown us. The pearls that we bought were harvested from oysters that live in Kunming Lake. Our next stop was at the Summer Palace which contains Kunming Lake. This lake was man-made because a former emperor had seen the beautiful Western Lake in southern China and forced his workers to create an identical lake by his summer palace. Although the lake is only several feet deep, it is quite expansive and was all dug out by hand. The dirt from the lake was moved to create an artificial mountain called Longevity Hill. We walked along the Long Corridor, with its painted gallery, and had a lovely view of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. It's not hard to understand why the peasants were so disgruntled when you see the extravagant opulence that surrounded the emperor. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by a local restaurant where we had a Peking Duck dinner. A lazy-susan, in the middle of the large, round table, had a large variety of traditional Chinese dishes, including Peking duck. Our waitress demonstrated how to construct the dish by putting the rice tortilla on your dish, laying on pieces of the duck, smearing on some thick soy sauce, and then topping it with slivered onions. You fold up the little package of food and enjoy. After the meal, we drove back to the hotel and were thankful for an early bedtime.
posted by Mark and Carol- "On the road again" @ 3:36 AM
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