Beijing

Day 9- June 17th
Traveled to Beijing, the current capital of China. We experienced the madness of the crowded subways, which I have become accustomed to with my time in New York. It was quite a hoot to see my Mom's expression as we were squished into all corners of the car. Unfortunately, some pickpockets seized their chance to take advantage of foreigners. Melanie's phone was stolen, and money was snatched from my Dad's pants. Luckily they did not grab his credit cards or passport! At least we were able to have some relaxing Chinese massages at a fancy spa; and that night we went for a Western meal at Organic Fresh, a much welcomed change from our consistent Chinese cuisine.

Day 10- June 18th
Our first stop of the day was Tiananmen Square. Sean had explained to us that the Chinese government really brainwashes the citizens with their Internet bans and the history they chose to teach. I'm not so naive as to believe they are the only country to conveniently twist the truth, but to deny that a massively tragic event occurred is something entirely different! As I previously explained about my personal Internet search of the tragedy, I was fascinated to hear how the people of China feel about their oppressive government regulating their knowledge of their own history and straight up prohibiting discussion or remembrance of the event. So, having Charlene with us, Sean asked her what this square means to her and why she thinks so many foreigners come to see it. She responded that it is a very ancient and historically prominent part of their city. Built as the gate to the Forbidden City in 1417 during the Ming dynasty, it was used to announce in big celebration to the common people who had become Emperor. She also spoke of the importance of the Monument to the People's Heroes, the largest monument in China's history. It was erected at the center of the square in 1952, to represent the development of Chinese modern history; Chairman Mao's 'The People's Heroes are Immortal' can be found engraved on the monument. Charlene believed a large pull to the square was for the Memorial of Mao. When my brother calmly explained that we know this square for the massacre of unarmed citizens, protesting various government flaws: calling for freedom of press and speech, and demanding government accountability for the corrupted economy and control of industries to be relinquished to the workers. He told her the entire thing was broad casted by foreign media correspondents,  reporting via telephone when  the satellite transmissions of CNN and CBS were cut by the Chinese government. The rest of the world knew of the horrors transpiring as military tanks rolled in and assault rifles were used against the unarmed protesters, the death toll is still a mystery to this day. She had no idea what he was talking about....

 One of the most famous pictures of defiance, this unknown man stands against the tanks the day after the massacre.

We shuffled with the long line of people to peek inside the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. I'm not convinced this is actually his body. I believe it's a wax figure and his face was orange and lit up like a radioactive light bulb! We remained quiet in respect for the hundreds who visit to pay respects and honor him with flowers, but the whole thing was creepy to me.

Next, we walked across the square towards the Forbidden City, completed in 1420 after 12 years of construction. As you approach Tiananmen Gate, you can't help but stare at, surprise surprise, a massive portrait of Mao. Interestingly,  it has fallen victim to various vandalism incidents, including during the demonstrations of 1989 when three protesters attacked Mao's picture with paint-filled eggs. One of them, Yu Dongyue, a former Chinese journalist, was imprisoned for 17 years!!!

We walked thru the Meridian Gate to the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Emperors of China had several wives, but only one Empress and she would use the left arch as her entrance, as it was deemed the most beautiful. Inside we explored the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the biggest hall in the Forbidden City and said to be the largest surviving wooden structure in China. I really enjoyed taking pictures of the fascinating animal sculptures, like the "dragon-turtle", positioned around the hall.

We stopped to admire the imperial Dragon Throne so named because in Chinese culture, the Emperor is the incarnation of a dragon.

     

 Then, we ventured in to Kun Ning Gong, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Built in 1420, it was used as the Empress' bedchamber during the Ming Dynasty. It was later rebuilt in 1655 and used for wedding ceremonies and nuptial rooms for the Emperor and Empress.



  I was obsessed with the doorways, the beautiful yellow and green colored beams atop the red buildings with different mythical beasts guarding the roofs.



The next hall was the Hall of Prolonging Happiness which was actually destroyed by a fire in 1845.  It used to be the residence for the concubines. The three story, white marble and black iron building we were looking at was built in 1909,  sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace, but officially named the Water Hall.

 There was quite a lot of rain that was coming down so we popped into one of the shops and did a quick photo shoot while we were waiting for the storm to pass. I think we look prim and proper!










For dinner that night we ate at a Hot Pot Restaurant, an Asian style melting pot. There was even a noodle show, where the man roped the noodle like a lasso around Melanie's head! I tried lotus roots and bamboo shoots! I love trying delicious new cuisine from different cultures!








Day 11- June 19th
Today was our journey to the Great Wall of China, built during the Ming Dynasty in 1404. We played Settlers of Catan during the car ride there, which was good because we were stuck in traffic and then our driver got lost, making it about a five hour long drive! In the end, I believe the ultimate "Lord of Catan" was Emperor SMT (Shannon, Mary, Tim)!

When we finally arrived, we used the cable car to ride up to the wall, which provided glorious mountainous views and the land far below us. I was astounded by how vast the wall actually is! I peered as far as I could and was still able to see the structure, hundreds of miles away on the other mountains.

I would like to return to see where the wall abruptly ends at the coast, I think having the two contrasting sights in my memory would be wicked awesome! The Doherty family had a blast climbing structures, racing each other, and taking several photo shoots along the wall.

Dinner was in our hotel's restaurant for a traditional Beijing style dinner. Everyone (except Mom and me of course) wanted to try Peking duck, a delicacy CNN ranked in the top 5 meals of the world. Dad was so in love with the duck that he vowed he would attempt to recreate the meal when we return home! I enjoyed the papaya cakes and vegetable dim sum (dumplings), nommmm! :D

Day 12- June 20th
Our second to last stop in Beijing was the 2008 Olympic Stadium. From a distance, we saw the IBM building built to look like a dragon, the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium (which can fit 100,000 people!),  and the "Water Cube" Aquatics Center.

We then bopped over to a fake market, because we can't leave China without attempting to haggle prices in one of their thriving operations.  I couldn't believe it; I had totally been expecting Sean to lead us to some sketchy, underground scene, where a haggard man thrusts stolen purses at us and yells vulgar Chinese thru his rotten teeth. But we actually went inside a legit mall! It was several floors with vendors for every possible want or need. And you barter for EVERYTHING! I got a nice ring for $5 and a Christmas ornament for $15, only with the help of Charlene and Sean because I am an absolute sucker and the pressure to get a good deal stresses me out! We all met back up in front of a froyo stand, who knew that was popular here too!?!

Xi'an

Day 7- June 15th

We hopped on a flight to Xi’an today. I have seen the difference in the service of American airlines versus International airlines. The nice steward on this Asian airline felt so bad that there were no vegetarian options for meals that he returned with an apple. I was very surprised, after the snippy reaction from the American lady on my original flight over to China. I have certainly learned my lesson to call ahead for a special meal, but at least this man was not willing to let me go hungry, and for only an hour long flight! I’ve noticed that every foreign airline provides some sort of snack, no matter how long the flight, most likely to compete with the train business. But American airlines have certainly become stingier with their expenses; remember when they would give you peanuts!? No more peanuts for us! I even remember Frontier giving freshly baked cookies! *Sigh* Those were the good days…

Xi’an was the start of the Silk Road, the transport passage of silk, spices, etc by camel and horse for the markets. We began our exploration with an eight and a half mile bike ride along the entire city wall. The wall is over 1,500 years old! It was really cool to bike along such an ancient structure, quite an amazing feat that it has survived this long and to be in such great condition! 

We also stopped to watch some dancers rehearsing their number in the middle of the square, I suppose they will be performing for a big festival soon. I like the different style of their cultural dancing, it looks like movements from the martial arts, but with grace and beauty.

We were pretty exhausted after our afternoon exercise so we all headed to bed, excited for more Xi’an adventures in the morning! 

Day 8- June 16th

The next morning we drove to the Terra-cotta Warriors, (Terra-cotta means baked Earth).  They were made in 210bce (before Christ) and weren’t discovered until 1974 by farmers! Over 600 pits have been found so far containing 8000 soldiers, 670 horses, 130 chariots, and they are still in the process of digging them up. While he was alive, the First Emperor instructed he was to be buried between the Great Mountain and the yellow river, with his army to protect him in his afterlife. Historians believe that it took 727,000 laborers to make the army and that the Emperor had them buried alive to keep the project sacred when he died. This certainly explains why there was no record of the statues until they were discovered! Among the soldiers, there were two Royal chariots found; the first was the police car to lead the escort, and the second was the “air-conditioned” chariot for the Emperor. 

The Emperor’s chariot was made of bronze to look like a turtle’s shell, symbolizing longevity. The windows were designed so he could see out while he was in the chariot, but no one could see inside. The horses’ reins alternated between silver and gold.

The pits were organized in a strategic battle assembly; the police cart and Emperor at the head, followed by the archers, the Calvary, the footmen, and finally, the chariots. The pits were covered with a wooden roof, and sealed once all the soldiers were placed in their appropriate pit. But, several of the pits were destroyed in the years following; from an enemy ordering it to be set on fire and abolished (which was thankfully not entirely successful), to the destruction from natural occurrences of the ground sinking and the roofs collapsing. 

Only one soldier statue was found completely intact, the details in his shoe and the red pigment on his suit of armor were astounding to look at. The museum keeps him in a glass case, of course, so everyone can admire the work of art. 

There are three pits open to the public: the first had the roofs still covering the interior, the second was where the high ranking officials were found and where animal sacrifices were performed, and the third was the largest pit with hundreds of statues and scientists busy working on unearthing and repairing even more.

It was interesting getting to see the statues close up and see the various details the craftsmen used so that no two soldiers looked alike.  This was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far because I loved learning about the Terra-cotta warriors in history class and I was so excited to see them for myself! Another UNESCO World Heritage Site to check off from my BucketList! :D

After the museum, we popped in to a jewelry store where our guide’s friends told us how to spot a fake Jade product:

-It should be hard, not easy to break

-You can rub real pieces together and it will not smell burnt or sound scratchy

-You should be able to see flowers and shapes when light is shown thru it

Later that night we headed to tour the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, a quaint little Buddhist temple. I enjoyed walking the peaceful grounds and listening to the chants from the local Buddhist monks. 

There was a lot of beautiful statues and gardens to admire. 

 

 

We were one of the last to leave the area, and headed to a park where Sean knew there was to be a water and lights show, similar to the one at the Bellagio. They played Chinese cultural music as well as other fun catchy tunes and lovely lyrical music. It was pretty funny that the Doherty’s were there to see the water show, but the Chinese wanted to see the Dohertys. I was asked to take pictures with several people, and a few wanted to try out their English with me. I really think I should take my mom’s advice and start charging for my time! 

HAHA ;)

Also, I tried Asian pear which has a pear taste but an apple’s crunch and consistency. Ya, not a fan! But I did like it steamed! 

Some cultural differences that we’ve come to expect here:

-Spitting everywhere 

-Not yielding to pedestrians, or driving lines, or really any good driving techniques and procedures!

-When hosting a dinner; the host usually doesn't eat much, just attends to needs of visitors. It's rude to leave if your host hasn't stood up to go or "dismissed" you

-Squatting everywhere, in the toilets or for relaxation 

-Kids peeing and pooping on street 

-Toilet paper and yes, even soap, are not always provided so always take toilet paper and handsanitizer with you when braving the bathrooms, you Queen of the Squatters, you!

Nanjing

Day 5- June 13th
The Dohertys enjoyed a yummy "American" breakfast of eggs, potatoes, and French Toast while listening to Sean's presentation for his food safety app. It was so cool to see him in his element, and to have witnessed his progress from the original app concept this now developed and approved iPhone app! I'm a proud sista!!! 

Following his meeting, we all headed to the train station to journey on to Nanjing, where my brother used to live. 
Nanjing, originally named Nanking, used to be capital of China until the Japanese WW2 massacre, resulting in the capital change to Beijing. We drove thru the Nanjing wall, which is the largest "city" wall in China. 

Modernized China was established by Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of The Republic of China. This means China was transformed from an empire to a more westernized government before the WW2 attack when, under Mao Zedong's rule, it became a communist country. Here in the 21st century, the age of technology, China enforces censorship of the media, ie. books, movies, and the Internet.

There are the "Three T's you don't talk about in China"

-Taiwan

-Tibet

-Tinananmen Square, which is ironically named after Tiananmen Gate, "Gate of Heavenly Peace", separating the square and the Forbidden City.

Sean showed me Greatfire.org, which lists the sites currently blocked by the "Great Firewall of China", a pretty clever name, tee hee. Sites are blocked when they do not adhere to the restrictions on content set by the Chinese government. The list includes Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Amazon, Blogspot (which I'm using right now!), and the NY Times. Interestingly enough, they also block keywords when using a search engine. They block 1989 (the year of the Tinananmen Square massacre), Tank Man (the unknown protestor who stood in front of a column of Army tanks the morning after the massacre), the year 1989, all combinations of the numbers 6 and 4 (June 4th, day of the massacre), and any other connections that would lead to the discovery of this tragic event. The citizens that were killed that day had gathered to protest China's unfair and unchecked censorship of the media venues, a problem that is obviously still present. 

For lunch, I had plum juice (which tastes like sweet iced tea), mushroom soup, red beans and sticky rice, sweet soup, steamed pear (which was my favorite and apparently good for the throat if you are sick), noodles, tofu and vegetables, spring rolls (the best I've ever had!), shrimp dumplings, potato noodle, and some sort of vegetable, only available in China, that has purple juice inside. Sean's previous co-worker joined us for this lunch and she said this vegetable is believed to benefit woman by replacing the iron needed in our blood.

Dinner later that night was with Andy (Sean's boss for baby clothing store), his wife, and Andy Jr. We gave Andy Jr. a fire truck because he loves to play with cars, and he gave me kisses :) He was so cute :D 

The meal was enormous again, complete with the spinning wheel at the center of the table for everyone to share the food.  The egg and vegetable noodles and the salmon were my favorites from this meal.

Everyone enjoyed laughing as Ivan ate too much soy sauce with wasabi and tried to learn the Chinese names for food with his Spanish accent. 
We completed our night with a boat ride around the Confucius temple. 

Though I appreciate the hospitality of the Chinese, they would not stop giving us food!!! Every friend of Sean's that we met insisted on us trying various new cuisines with them, and to be frank, I'm getting fat! LOL. Tonight Andy and his wife bought us sugar glazed cherries to munch on while we walked, they were speared on sticks like shish kebabs and each cherry had at least 3 seeds to accidentally bite into :/ Whoops! They also gave us stinky tofu which everyone despised!!!!! Never again, thank you!


Day 6- June 14th

We ate breakfast at hotel, where I tried green tea cakes and bandor bread, which is basically French toast. Then we headed off to explore Nanjing! The first stop was to look at tallest building in city. It used to be the 7th tallest building in the world but has been  knocked down the list with the new developments in Dubai. Another of Sean's old co-workers from the school joined us on our adventure, and she taught us a lot! She explained to me that when two characters are broken up by an apostrophe, they are spoken separately; so Xi'an sounds like "She" "Ong".

Drivers in China honk for no real reason but then when something crazy happens, like our taxi driver taking up all the lanes to turn around in the middle of the street, everyone waits patiently!! Pretty backwards to me!!! 

Our next stop was the Ming tomb, built over 800 years ago for Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming Dynasty. The Stone Elephant Road, a 615-meter long road, leads to the tomb. There are six types of stone animals along the road to indicate the glamour and sanctity of the tomb, as well as guard the Emperor from evil spirits. 

The Animals the Guard the Sacred Way: 

-Xiezhi, a unicorn with eyes of a bear, also named Renfashou, is a legendary animal standing for justice. It can identify the evil person in two man fight by hitting him with horn. The Xiezhi is placed in front of the tomb to show uprightness.

-Lion, called "King of all beasts" for its unborn agility and ferocity over other animals. It is honored in Buddhism as a holy beast protecting Buddhist doctrines. Stone lions are placed in front of the imperial tomb to demonstrate the Emperor's unparalleled dignity and power.

-Camel, showing the Emperor's national strength, symbolizing peace in the Western Regions, and suggesting vastness of the territory and prosperity of the nation.

-Elephant, symbol of simplicity and vastness. 

-Unicorn, an auspicious creature of ancient Chinese fantasy, it integrates the features of the tiger, lion, ox, and dragon. Legend states that it appears only in the region of a benevolent and wise emperor. No one had the unicorn before this emperor's tomb. 

-Horse, as the Emperor's mount, the horse is indispensable. The horse was also a part of the Emperor's honor guard during court ceremonies of the Ming Dynasty. With spirited eyes and a proud look, the stone horses seem to be flaunting the merits of their imperial owner before death. 

The Divine Road has 24 total animal guards, four of each kind, with two sitting then two standing. 

The entrance to the tomb has five arches; two for officers, one for house servants, one for horses, and the biggest in middle for the Emperor. On the way to tomb, Sean's friend pointed out  bricks with each bricklayers' name engraved in the stone. There were entire structures of bricks laid with sticky rice, land, stone, etc. Sticky rice! The resourcefulness of these ancient builders is astounding! We passed one temple where virgin sacrifices were held. Thank God we've evolved from that stage...

We also saw the beautiful blue tomb of Sun Yat-sen!

And as we were leaving we saw a ginormous pincher bug! Blah! Maybe it was the spirit of one of the Emperor's come for revenge!!

After touring the tombs, we journeyed on to the office of one of Sean's friends. He taught us a very thorough tea lesson while giving us intricately prepared tea. We delighted in cinnamon tea from a thousand year old mountain, brewed in purple clay pots that can only be found in the Jiangsu province, and served in beautiful, hand painted and burnt porcelain cups.  (As in, he has very expensive tea accessories and drinks only the very best tea of China.)

Lessons:
-If the purple clay pot is over 50 years old, it can only be found in an auction  
-Use spring water not tap water
-Clay absorbs taste so use different pots for different teas

-Loose tea leaves provide up to 7 pots of tea and can be left overnight and reused

-Clay pots have small air pockets to keep the tea fresh

-Allow the temperature of the water to fall below 100 degrees before adding the leaves in, otherwise it damages the tea leaves and you don't get the rich flavor 
-Don't drink the first batch; wash the leaves and pour, unless it is green tea, which you don't need to wash

-Don't steep for too long; pour the tea into a porcelain holder quickly or will become bitter

-Pour slowly to avoid the leaves coming out

-The color of good tea looks like whiskey

-You can keeps bags tea leaves in freezer

We also tried a red tea and then a green tea from the plains.  
- In the springtime, he first leaf of the tree is used 
- It is picked within the first 5 days for its baby leaf freshness, making it a rare and expensive tea 
-It must be drunk in a glass cup to see the color change and watch the leaves dance like needles

-Tea bags should be made with hot water over 100 degrees

-Green tea should be transparent and a light green, not yellow

How to spot a fake teapot:
~Handle, top and spout should all line up if hand made not machine

~Shape, looking at it, it should be perfect

~Belly needs to be 2/3 down from top, or shoulder high up from lid, you should be able to take a quick look and get the feeling that everything is proportioned right
~A good pot will be dry quickly when hot water is poured on top, because the clay will absorb the water. If it is a fake, the water will just sit on top. 

I started noticing as we strolled more and more streets, how odd it is to see families with only one kid. China has the family law of one kid per couple, or they have to pay for permission to have more than one. I can't imagine my life without my siblings, they were such a vital part of my childhood and very important to me. 

Dinner that night with Mr. Tea Man was an assortment of sautéed mushrooms and chopped garlic, best thing I've had yet! I also tried pat noodles with tomato, eggplant that looked like honey combs, and white rice wine- 42 percent!!!! Yikes!!! Now that's a drink with a kick!!!! Our dessert was decadent yogurt with honey. MMM :D 

We ended our night with some Karaoke in an amazing bar full of studio-like, private rooms! I would love to take some friends there for a night of singing and dancing! I had a blast singing songs with my family, the von Dohertys! :D