Day 9 - Tuesday March 2, 2004

After breakfast, I headed down the street to the grocery store. It was in the underground mall of a classy complex of buildings. The mall stretched forever, and I could walk it for blocks. This was at 8:15 am, and I found that the store was closed and shuttered. I pantomimed with a guard at the information booth, and found (by pointing to my watch and the store) that it did not open until 9. We would be on the road by then. I hiked back (a 10 minute walk), and we borrowed some diapers from Nina and Claude. They were quite generous with anything we might need.

We hopped on the bus for the trip to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Quite awesome, especially with its recent history. We walked the square, passing Mao's Mausoleum, the Monument to the People's Heroes, Museum of the Revolution, Museum of Chinese History, and The Great Hall of the People (Home To the National People's Congress). It was lucky that we went this day, because we saw that, over the next few days, parts were roped off as the limos began arriving for the current People's Congress. A large part was closed during the Congress, which began before we departed from China.

We collected more well-wishers, and we ambled towards the far end of the square. Here we found the actual Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, or the entrance to the Forbidden City. We gathered together and Cherry gave us an introduction to the Forbidden City. Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong in Chinese, was the Imperial Palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 buildings.

We headed on in through the crowded tunnel, and the first courtyard of the complex opened up for us. We wandered about, following our noses, and saw magnificent architecture, many buildings with rooms of ancient art and artifacts, stone and bronze carvings, and wide plazas. The emperor's private gardens were quite ornate. Featured were huge natural stone statues surrounded by trees with the first blossoms of spring.

[Note - Place mouse pointer over thumbnail at left for artifact details, click to see large sized image]

We tried to keep up with the group, and it helped to see Ralph and Randy's heads above the crowds. However, we soon lost the group. Bob said that he thought that they were well ahead, so we forged on. Soon we found ourselves out the far gate, looking for Cherry and our bus. Nowhere in sight. We could not get back in, because Cherry had our tickets. As we wandered about, looking lost, a middle aged Chinese gentleman approached us. We were wary (from previous experience). We chatted, then explained that we had lost our guide. He asked if she carried a cell phone, and if we had the number (she did, Andy had). He offered to call her on his cell phone, no charge. We talked to her, and it turned out that she was about one hour behind us! We could have spent a lot more time exploring the different buildings. The gentleman with the phone wouldn't take anything for the call. He later gave us his card - he was a tour guide who spoke very good English, and told us that if we came back to China (or knew anyone who is coming), that he was available. Very low key and polite (not like some that we met who were quite pushy and insistent).

The wind was quite cold, so we headed for the shelter of the washroom. There was a nice entrance room, with hanging plastic strips to keep in the warmth. Inside were a little gift shop, a couch and chairs, and two women attendants. They took to Zhen immediately, and played with her, while Andy and I took turns standing by the exit of the City waiting for Cherry. Bob showed up after about 20 minutes, and we waited together. Cherry and the group arrived after about ¾ of an hour, and we all headed for the bus (which was parked on a side street -we never would have found it).

After a nice lunch out and a tour of a carpet factory and gift shop (Andy bought some Jade for Zhen), we headed back to the hotel. On the way, Samantha decided to entertain us on the bus, and she commandeered the microphone. After a lot of comments on the trip, she spent some time giving us each nicknames (I was "Grampa").

While Andy and Zhen had a late afternoon nap, I went down the street to the grocery store, hoping it would still be open. It was. Before I bought, I explored a bit. The area of the underground mall beyond the store that was walled off this morning was now open. As I started walking, I noticed that most of the stores carried luxury items, mostly geared towards women. High fashion clothing, jewellery, furs, watches, boots and shoes, accessories, travel goods, and specialty foods all had separate stores. Shoppers were extremely well dressed. I walked for about 15 minutes, and saw no end to the mall. After I returned and bought supplies, I walked in the other direction down the mall, towards the hotel. As I took the escalator up to the street, I could again see the mall with its rows of luxury stores stretching as far as the eye could see. What a burgeoning commercial city (and lots of wealth around)!

One of the specialty shops that I stopped in was for Chinese tea. I had brought the name with me of the kind of tea that is produced in Jiangsu province, near where Zhen comes from. When I found it, the tea cost a fortune - $16 CDN for a little 50 gram box! Decided not to get it, but found some nice gift boxes containing 4 different kinds of tea in the grocery store.

We decided to have an "alternate" supper on our own, and headed for McDonald's. It looked like any North American outlet, same signs, Ronald McDonald in evidence, same burgers etc. Andy noticed a lineup inside - it was a line to apply for jobs at McDonalds - and each person was forking over a fee for applying!! We took pictures of the counter and the lineup, and all of a sudden, there was screeching and waving from behind the counter. A very stern looking matron descended upon us, and wildly gestured us to leave. If we hadn't moved out promptly, I am sure she would have moved us out herself. We headed for KFC, and had some fried chicken and fries.

A cool walk down the glass, steel, and neon main street brought us back to our hotel for the end of another great day. Zhen was tired, but ate a lot, lunging at the spoon and shouting out with glee. She had a bath, and loves splashing in the water. As I put her down to sleep, Andy was off to the business center to upload pictures.

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