Saturday, April 12, 2008
I was worried about how the day would progress since I had a poor night’s sleep. Little did I know that it would turn out to be one of the most memorable days of my life. The day began with a brief visit to an “antique market”. Like most things in Beijing, the area was huge. There was an enclosed building for really fine furniture; a huge covered area (it could have fit four football fields) without walls, which had permanent stalls for vendors; and an open area without any roof where vendors had their wares on blankets. This entire complex was surrounded by permanent shops, which sold “high end” artwork and antiques. It was an enjoyable shopping experience since the vendors were selling handicrafts from all over the Asia. The next stop was the famous Tiananmen Square, a “plaza” that can accommodate one million people. The square is famous for the student protests that took place in 1989 and where the Chinese military killed several student protesters. It was also the place where I remember seeing the vast military parades with thousands of soldiers with all kinds of military hardware, including missiles. As we walked along with our tour guide, Mr. Pong, he explained the history of the square, pointed out the main Communist government building, Chairman Mao’s mausoleum’s, and explained that the only military parades now happened on major anniversaries. Then, near the north end of the square our guide explained how he actually was one of the student protesters who slept in the square during the student protests in 1989. He went on the give a passionate account of the student attempts to loosen the grip of Communism at the time, with on student in particular blocking the movement of an army tank. Pong believed that the government did loosen its gripe as a result after the military kill several students. He also explained China’s view of Tibet and the Darfur situation in Sudan, and how he believes that the Western press distorts China’s position. It was an amazing lecture about the history of China and the perceptions of the west by Mr. Pong, in the middle of Tiananmen Square! Interestingly, Mr. Pong once worked for China’s Department of Education, once lived in the United States, and earned his doctorate at Baylor University in Texas. One of his children was even born in the United States. Following this seminar in Chinese history, we were given a tour of the Forbidden City, the formal residence of China’s Emperors. Then, in the early 1900’s, the last Emperor was overthrown and the area was opened up to the public. While I was so impressed with the Emperor’s Summer Palace, which we had seen a few days earlier, this “official” residence was overwhelming. The size of almost every courtyard, every gate that separated the various living spaces, and every building was “super-sized.” After the tour of the Forbidden City we had a tour of the very opposite extreme of Chinese living, an area called Hutong, located very close to the Forbidden City. The Hutong section of Beijing was once the housing area of upper-class people who worked for the Emperor or in his government. Then, somewhere around 1949, Chairman Mao, champion of the working class, opened this section of the city to the working people or lower class. Sadly, this area is now a very poor, rundown housing area, now filled with many of China’s migrant workers, who come from the rural areas to work in the many construction jobs around Beijing. We toured this old part of the city in bicycles, driven by paid drivers, and got a formal tour of one of the houses. Next, tired of Chinese food, our group next ate dinner at a Pizza Hut restaurant. (There are many McDonald restaurants, several Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, Starbucks, and even Subway fast-food restaurants in Beijing.) Before we returned to the hotel, we saw a performance of the National Chinese Acrobatic Troupe. It was some day.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
We left Beijing behind and began our bus trip at 8:30 AM. This morning was the sunniest morning yet, with just a touch of blue in the sky. Maybe the skies were clearer on this second day of the weekend because we were without the millions of cars commuting to work. Then, thirty minutes into the trip we came to a complete stop. All three lanes on the expressway were full. Drivers from all around us came out for a cigarette break. Fifteen drivers were smoking along the guardrail just outside my bus window. Interestingly, on the right side of our bus was a golf course! We were told that golf was an up-and-coming sport for the very wealthy. After about half an hour things cleared and we continued along. We passed farmland for hours upon end. Many of the fields were growing wheat, there were many orchards, and there were many areas with huge areas were trees had been planted, row after row after row. We arrived at our hotel after the eight hour trip in the city of Jinan, which has nine million people. We quickly changed into our best clothes for a lavish banquet with the leadership of the Shandong Provincial Education Department. Tomorrow we visit our new “Sister School.”
I was worried about how the day would progress since I had a poor night’s sleep. Little did I know that it would turn out to be one of the most memorable days of my life. The day began with a brief visit to an “antique market”. Like most things in Beijing, the area was huge. There was an enclosed building for really fine furniture; a huge covered area (it could have fit four football fields) without walls, which had permanent stalls for vendors; and an open area without any roof where vendors had their wares on blankets. This entire complex was surrounded by permanent shops, which sold “high end” artwork and antiques. It was an enjoyable shopping experience since the vendors were selling handicrafts from all over the Asia. The next stop was the famous Tiananmen Square, a “plaza” that can accommodate one million people. The square is famous for the student protests that took place in 1989 and where the Chinese military killed several student protesters. It was also the place where I remember seeing the vast military parades with thousands of soldiers with all kinds of military hardware, including missiles. As we walked along with our tour guide, Mr. Pong, he explained the history of the square, pointed out the main Communist government building, Chairman Mao’s mausoleum’s, and explained that the only military parades now happened on major anniversaries. Then, near the north end of the square our guide explained how he actually was one of the student protesters who slept in the square during the student protests in 1989. He went on the give a passionate account of the student attempts to loosen the grip of Communism at the time, with on student in particular blocking the movement of an army tank. Pong believed that the government did loosen its gripe as a result after the military kill several students. He also explained China’s view of Tibet and the Darfur situation in Sudan, and how he believes that the Western press distorts China’s position. It was an amazing lecture about the history of China and the perceptions of the west by Mr. Pong, in the middle of Tiananmen Square! Interestingly, Mr. Pong once worked for China’s Department of Education, once lived in the United States, and earned his doctorate at Baylor University in Texas. One of his children was even born in the United States. Following this seminar in Chinese history, we were given a tour of the Forbidden City, the formal residence of China’s Emperors. Then, in the early 1900’s, the last Emperor was overthrown and the area was opened up to the public. While I was so impressed with the Emperor’s Summer Palace, which we had seen a few days earlier, this “official” residence was overwhelming. The size of almost every courtyard, every gate that separated the various living spaces, and every building was “super-sized.” After the tour of the Forbidden City we had a tour of the very opposite extreme of Chinese living, an area called Hutong, located very close to the Forbidden City. The Hutong section of Beijing was once the housing area of upper-class people who worked for the Emperor or in his government. Then, somewhere around 1949, Chairman Mao, champion of the working class, opened this section of the city to the working people or lower class. Sadly, this area is now a very poor, rundown housing area, now filled with many of China’s migrant workers, who come from the rural areas to work in the many construction jobs around Beijing. We toured this old part of the city in bicycles, driven by paid drivers, and got a formal tour of one of the houses. Next, tired of Chinese food, our group next ate dinner at a Pizza Hut restaurant. (There are many McDonald restaurants, several Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, Starbucks, and even Subway fast-food restaurants in Beijing.) Before we returned to the hotel, we saw a performance of the National Chinese Acrobatic Troupe. It was some day.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
We left Beijing behind and began our bus trip at 8:30 AM. This morning was the sunniest morning yet, with just a touch of blue in the sky. Maybe the skies were clearer on this second day of the weekend because we were without the millions of cars commuting to work. Then, thirty minutes into the trip we came to a complete stop. All three lanes on the expressway were full. Drivers from all around us came out for a cigarette break. Fifteen drivers were smoking along the guardrail just outside my bus window. Interestingly, on the right side of our bus was a golf course! We were told that golf was an up-and-coming sport for the very wealthy. After about half an hour things cleared and we continued along. We passed farmland for hours upon end. Many of the fields were growing wheat, there were many orchards, and there were many areas with huge areas were trees had been planted, row after row after row. We arrived at our hotel after the eight hour trip in the city of Jinan, which has nine million people. We quickly changed into our best clothes for a lavish banquet with the leadership of the Shandong Provincial Education Department. Tomorrow we visit our new “Sister School.”
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