The Great Wall, Again.

Its really, really long (over 3,000 miles), so I decided to check out another, more rustic, section of the Great Wall between Jinshanling and Simatai.

After getting lost trying to find the long distance bus station, Guillermo and I found a driver willing to drop us off at Jinshanling and then wait for us at Simatai (so we could hike between the two).


It was an absolutely gorgeous hike, and a completely different feel than Mutainyu. Very little restoration work has been completed on these two sections, so many of the towers and parts of the wall are crumbling or missing. As well, this is one of the portions of the wall that is farthest from Beijing so there are very few tourists -- even on a Saturday. And the views were amazing!

If you are planning a visit to Beijing and want to see the wall, I would definitely recommend this section -- just watch out for the folks who want to sell you postcards, water, and photo books of the wall. They are persistent and will just keep walking with you down the wall. Guillermo finally told one very dedicated saleswoman that "we want to be alone" (while putting his arm around me -- ha ha!) She giggled, but didn't leave until we bought some overpriced postcards.

Dancing Lessons

At night, many of the squares, plazas and other public spaces in Beijing turn into mini ballrooms where people gather to dance. I have run across a few of these on my evening walks and they are enthralling. Generally there is a small motorbike strapped down with speakers and audio equipment playing a range of ballroom-type music, though there are a few more modern pop-sounding songs here and there. The crowd is mostly a bit older, but there are a few younger couples here and there, and everyone seems to be having a great time.

Walking around Ho Hai after dinner the other night Peter, Jenny, Guillermo, Monica and I ran into one of these dancing events. After watching on the sidelines long enough, I decided it would be fun to try and was able to convince Monica to try with me. We must have looked lost (we were) because an older couple quickly cut in. Monica was swept away by an adorable gentleman, and I was suddenly whisked away by an equally adorable woman (whom I presume was his wife).



My dance partner and I did a pretty good job, though we were hindered on the twirling movements because of our difference in height. (I think the photo below highlights this well). She even pantomimed that the twirling was hard because I was so tall (gestured by reaching way up and over her head and pointing to mine).



Our one dance with the couple was lots of fun, and Monica and I decided that we couldn’t really top that, so we decided that was enough dancing for one evening and returned to our crew.

The Empress' Visit

Monica was able to finagle some time off for a short visit to Beijing, and I think she had a great time. The shopping alone was enough to keep her happy (not to mention the shopkeepers), but she was also greeted with smiles and curious stares nearly everywhere we went. I have to admit, I felt somewhat like a once-famous actress who has been D-listed. As you may recall, just a few short weeks ago, I had people asking to take photos with me in the street. Well, with Monica's arrival I am officially chopped liver. The combination of her darker skin (I guess they see plenty of white people after all) and her fancy hair (braided for the trip), made her the main attraction.

She posed for numerous photos with random strangers and answered questions on how long it took to braid her hair (6 hours for the curious), but perhaps my favorite incident occurred when we were wandering through an old, narrow hutong just south of the Forbidden City. A young girl came up and decided that she was going to escort Monica to the main street. So, she grabbed Monica's hand and began to lead her along the hutong -- all the while exclaiming how beautiful she was. I, on the other hand was left to fend for myself. Once we reached the main road, the girl kissed Monica on the shoulder a few times, again declared how beautiful she was, and left. [See photo below.]

I think Monica's only recurring complaint was that she thought she would be taller here. (Northern Chinese people are generally taller than the Cantonese Chinese immigrants in the States.)

Fall Has Arrived

It was subtle, but I have noticed a few changes which seem to signal the arrival of fall. First, the temperatures have dropped slightly -- and some nights are almost chilly enough for a long sleeve shirt. Almost. As well, while there are still plenty of vendors selling corn on the cob and melons in the street, new fares such as roasted chestnuts and piping hot sweet potatoes (baked directly on top of a large oil drum) have arrived. Of course, the final harbinger of fall is back-to-school time, and we happen to live next to an elementary school.

The other morning I heard quite a commotion as I got into the elevator (loud music, kids shouting, and a stern voice over an intercom). I leaned out of the window and saw the scene above. Perfect rows of school children completing their morning exercises. I guess this is reassurance that I shouldn't feel too bad as I stumble through my morning routine. I really am woefully behind.

The Great Wall

I've gotten word that I should post more pictures to the blog, so I'll share a few from my visit to The Great Wall.

I went to the wall with a group of the Chinese undergraduate students and one of their younger siblings -- a 16 year old girl with seemingly boundless energy, who I would later dub "monkey" (more on this in a moment).

Mutianyu, the section of the Great Wall we visited, is about 40 miles northeast of the city. This section apparently does not enjoy/suffer quite the same swarms of tourists that other, closer locations do, but Mutianyu still gets its fair share of tourists. In fact, one of the more notable visitors was President Clinton in 1998, which of course is prominently highlighted with large, fairly unflattering photos of him climbing into one of the cable cars that ferry people up to the wall. (It was the middle of June, he was pretty sweaty and wearing a dark shirt. I'll refrain from describing it in gory detail...)

We left the city early and arrived at the base of the mountain (the wall was built along the ridge of the mountain) around 10 a.m. Looking up towards the wall, I was ready to follow Old Bill's lead, and hop on a cable car, but my crew didn't seem too interested in that option.

So, up we trekked. And up. And up. Even once we made it onto the wall (whew!), there was still plenty of up and down -- as the wall follows the undulating mountain ridge. It was here that the younger sister showed us all up -- running up ahead and back again, over and over, gleefully reporting on the upcoming sights. The fact that she was born in the year of the monkey and loves bananas (relishing in the dried banana chips I brought) just cemented her nickname for me. [She's on the left in the picture above.]



It was a bit overcast on the day we visited but the views were still amazing (though, of course, my camera doesn't do them justice). Green rolling hills for miles and the wall snaking into the distance.

After a full day of walking (6 hours later), we took a cable car back DOWN the hill. Which seemed a bit backwards to me, but I didn't complain.

Exchange

Words I've taught my office mates:
alien
giggle/giggling
zoning
FAR/ floor area ratio
lobby
corridor
plum
Mormon
dinosaur
taco
popsicle
pastry
workaholic
pineapple
at-grade / surface

I often write these words down, at their request, and I looked back over the various scraps of paper today. Its fun to try and remember the conversations that spurred these words (alien = looking at my sister's ultrasound. A boy!) and how I went about using smaller words to explain their meaning ("small men from space" [pointing to sky]). Though I will admit I can not remember why we were talking about Mormons!

I also like the two basic themes present: food and planning. The basics.

The list of words I have learned in return is decidedly less interesting (right, left, 1 through 10, etc.), but this is obviously due to my lack of any Mandarin knowledge before arriving, and not their ability to teach.

Bowling!

I went bowling this afternoon with some of my department. It was a lot of fun and very entertaining. Bowling is apparently just becoming popular, and almost everyone had never been before. Thus, the concept of scoring or taking turns was largely out the window and it seemed more like a game of musical bowling -- with people giddily roaming between lanes at will, picking up balls and flinging them down the lanes. There was much laughing, dropping balls, hitting the pin sweeper with over-eager rolls, etc. Alas I did not bowl a turkey, but I did get a strike on my first roll!