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| Outside our Room at the Yide Guesthouse |
We spent last Sunday morning at the Panjiayuan Market also known as the “Dirt Market“, one of the largest markets here in Beijing. The place had row after row of vendors selling all kinds of Chinese trinkets. Thehaggling was intense, but Frank is very good at it, and we had a great time shopping and dickering. (Note to our kids: We guess you know what this means -- get ready for a “Chinese Christmas this year!” LOL) Next, we visited the Lama Temple, the most significant Buddhist temple outside of Tibet with an impressive 18-meter Buddha carved from a single piece of wood (supposedly).
On Monday, we toured the Temple of Heaven which was one of our favorite sights. The huge park is filled with fabulous pagodas and people playing games, picnicking, and just having a good time. The Round Altar was especially cool -- a huge 3-tiered marble extravaganza used by the emperor to worship the heavens.
That afternoon we hired a moto-cab and driver to show us thru the “hutongs” of Beijing. The word “hutong” (pronounced - “hoo-tong”) means “the lanes” in Chinese, and the hutongs here are comprised of the old family blue-collar neighborhoods, many of which are being torn down to generate a new and modern Beijing. Beijing was probably all hutongs at one time, but little by little these old places are being replaced bymodern housing and commercial buildings.
Actually, our hotel is located in the Dongsitao Hutong, so we are veryfamiliar with the street life there. The hutongs can appear to be a bit rough around the edges; some of the homes, businesses, and alleyways are quite trashy, while others are old but well kept. It is an experience to walk into the hutongs, because they are almost too narrow for vehicular traffic (which does not stop traffic from trying to get thru). Lots of pedestrians, rickshaws, and moto-bikes fight for alley space all day long. The pedestrian, from what we’ve seen, better watch out for traffic; the cars and other vehicles do not give the pedestrians any courtesies. You’ll be run down if you’re not careful, and these vehicles can sneak up on you before you know it. Just crossing a main street in Beijing is an art; you need to be quick and lucky, otherwise you‘re gonna be roadkill.
Speaking of traffic, Beijing drivers seem to have a set of driving rules that rival few we’ve seen. The drivers we’ve ridden with, cut other drivers off routinely, muscle their way into impossibly tight traffic jam situations (if it seems too tight, they just reach out and fold their side mirrors in against the vehicle), make crazy impulsive left-hand turns right in front of oncoming vehicles, tailgate at just inches from the vehicle ahead of them, make continuous right turns on red lights (no stops), make turns and just skim past startled pedestrians; traffic signals and road signage in general seem to be optionally obeyed. One of our drivers, when faced with a potentially lengthy traffic jam, just calmly went to the right, up the curb onto the sidewalk amidst many surprised pedestrians, passed the traffic obstruction, then re-entered the road and went on his merry way. Having lived all our lives under American driving standards, it’s a bit of a chore just riding in the back of these vehicles, watching the chaos. We haven’t seen any accidents yet, nor are there many dings or dents in the cars on the roads, but it would be illogical to conclude that accidents don’t happen - often!!
We ate dinner at a Hot Pot restaurant where the restaurant allows you to cook up your own pot of meat and mystery vegetables. No one spoke any English so we just pointed at the pictures, and they brought us plates of goodies to drop into the pot of boiling broth. We had no idea what we were doing but the food was great, and the staff were really nice as they tried to help us - despite the language deficiencies. Our favorite hotel desk girl, Angela, had written a note for us saying that we wanted half spicy and half mild. This note got us a clever metal pot with a curved divider in the center that worked perfectly for us with red spicy broth on one side for dipping, and clear mild broth on the other.
On Tuesday, we said goodbye to our wonderful Double Happiness hotel and hopped a train out of town. Anne, aka “Metro Girl,” loved the way the trains operate here. At the station, each train has its own waiting room prior to boarding. You show your ticket before entering the room (so you can be assured that you are in the right place). A big board in the waiting room instructs you to wait and later tells you which platform your train has arrived on. The waiting room doors open up to a main corridor that leads you to your platform and your train. When you think about it, it is perfectly organized with no crazed running around like we sometimes have to do in Europe. The train was very modern and our 1st class seats were quite comfortable with roomy luggage space overhead. In less than 4 hours, we arrived at Taiyuan where a van driver met us to take us to our next destination, Pingyao.
Pingyao is possibly the best preserved ancient walled city in all of China with authentic homes from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Our hotel, the Yide Guesthouse is a good example set in incredible stone courtyards with gorgeous stone and wood carvings and lots of red lanterns hanging at each portal. Our room is authentic too with a “kang” for a bed. If you remember, we saw one of these box-of-bricks beds at Mr. and Mrs. Gao’s home outside of Beijing. These beds are heated thru a network of labyrinths internal to the block that make up the bed. Well, now we get to try it out ourselves.
The room is tiny with the giant stone block kang bed taking up most of the space. The bathroom is an all-in-one style with no separate shower area just a shower head sticking out of the wall. But Anne loves the ancient stone floor, the wooden double entrance door, and the red lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Actually, the bed is not bad – the 2-inch thick mattress makes it more comfortable than we expected. As Frank likes to say, “When you are this tired, even a bed of nails can feel good!”
A quick word about our netbook. This little computer has earned a permanent spot on our travels. Small, light and yet a real workhorse. So far both hotels and even our train had internet hook-ups so we can stay connected with everyone, write our trip reports, and work on the photos whenever we like. Regarding access to information, we have used Google here with no problems. However, Facebook is blocked and Anne was unable to access the Philadelphia Inquirer website, so most newspaper sites are probably inaccessible too.
The main streets of Pingyao reminded us of the boardwalk in Ocean City, N.J. -- tons of shops and restaurants with a fun atmosphere like at a carnival. The vendors were out in force, and Frank got to use his “mad” negotiating skills. One haggling session between Frank and a vendor was so intense, it drew a crowd of several Chinese onlookers. It was all good-natured fun with lots of laughter, lots of “Noooooooo” and plenty of oohs and aahs from the crowd as each “combatent” entered his next price offer on a calculator that they kept passing back and forth. I think the seller appreciated Frank as a worthy opponent -- the vendor really seemed to be enjoying himself, and so did Frank. They finally agreed on a price for the item. Both parties were satisfied and shook hands to seal the deal. By the way, no English was spoken during the whole haggling session; just lots of finger pointing, use of a calculator, and our limited Mandarin skills.
We decided to give our hardworking peds a break and get some foot massages. The massage started with a foot soak. The masseuse brought out wooden tubs lined with yellow plastic trash bags. They must have been filled with various herbs, but at first glance it looked like trash with maybe a worm or leech thrown in. Nothing appeared to be moving in there, so we cast fate to the wind and plunged our feet in.
What followed was a serious toe-by-toe workout. Anne’s male masseuse was particularly enthusiastic (or maybe sadistic). At times it hurt like hell, and she was gnawing on her fingernails. The masseuses just laughed at her and gestured that she should relax. But in the end, even Anne had to admit our feet felt totally refreshed. And, at about 1 yuan per minute (that’s about 14 cents per minute), an hour long massage only weighed in at a whopping $8.40. It was well worth it!!
We bought a Pingyao city ticket that allows us to visit all the sights including a walk on the city walls where we got a behind-the-scenes look into private courtyards from above Another highlight was the Rishengchang Financial Museum, home of the first draft bank in China. Anne, the former banker, loved seeing an old-time teller line – which looked a lot like the current ones except for the scales to weigh silver ingots and the abacuses to do the accounting. Best of all, were the special features of this bank like a kitchen and lodging for bank employees. We figured this is where the time-honored tradition of working bank employees 24/7 must have started! Right here in good ol’ China! The bank also had luxurious overnight accommodations for exclusive big money customers, offering extras like mahjong games, cigarettes, and even an opium pipe! These Chinese really know how to seal a deal.
We hired a moto-cab for a jaunt outside the walls of Pingyao to the Shuanglin Temple to see the renowned painted Buddha sculptures. Our favorite was the 26-armed Guanyin, the goddess of mercy. The ride in an open vehicle was uncomfortable because of the dust -- China is having the worst drought in 50 years, and dust storms can crop up at any time; and we happened to encounter one on the way to the temple.
We ended our day with a full body massage at our hotel. Our two masseuses were very professional and showed up wearing white lab coats looking like little doctors. An in a sense they were medical professionals because they sure fixed our aches and pains. And best of all, the price was just $15 each for one hour of bone-cracking bliss.
Tomorrow we leave Pingyao and fly to Xi’an to check out the Terracotta Warriors. This will be our first experience on a domestic Chinese Airline. Stay tuned for the trials and tribulations of flying Chinese aircraft.
Happy Spring! Hope all is well back in the states.
Zai Jian,
Frank and Anne
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