Day 2, Saturday, April 17 (Beijing)
Today Beijing was still overcast and a bone-chilling, damp cold slapped at all parts exposed to the elements. We rose early and went downstairs to breakfast at a feast of a buffet that offered American and Chinese breakfasts. It included my favorite bok choy, steamed buns with bean paste inside, fruit (including lychi nuts), congee, dumplings, etc. We had a wide variety to choose from. The Chinese hotels, I think, serve the best breakfasts in the world. I remember even in the home in which we stayed one night two years previously, we were served a varied and delicious breakfast with at least 6 different dishes, including several vegetables.
Jing Shan Park
We had risen early in order to go to Jing Shan Park right behind the Forbidden Palace. We wanted to be there with the locals when we began learning the Eight Pieces of Silk Brocade Qigong. Since it was Saturday, families as well as retired people, all bundled up in winter coats and gloves, filled the huge park which is the largest in China. We walked along an extremely wide flat stone pathway that was flanked by green spaces decorated with rocks. No one stood or played on the grass as it was forbidden. Chris told us that it was too much to keep up the grass with people walking on it, so there is a permanent keep-off-the-grass rule in all Chinese parks.
As we walked down the path that was at least 40 feet wide, we were fascinated by the variety of activities in which people were engaged. Some played Tai Chi Ball with slow sweeping side-to-side movements as they batted a ball with ribbons back and forth in an elliptical pattern.
Taiji Ball in Jing Shan Park, Beijing
We stopped by the wall of a building. There, beside a group of people who were practicing Tai Chi and in front of two large red hanging lanterns on the side of a red and yellow building, Shawn led us in some exercises and began our instruction on the 1200-year-old Eight Pieces of Silk Brocade form of Qigong. It is based on a poem. The practice of Qigong has been recorded for over 2300 years and probably is a tradition that is well over 5000 years old.
Several Chinese joined us. Others took pictures of the strange Westerners practicing an ancient Chinese art.
Several Chinese joined us to practice Qigong.
During the course of an hour, we acquired quite an audience and more participants. To Linda and I who teach Tai Chi in the US, it was one of the high points of the trip!
Afterwards, we continued walking through the park. We heard various instruments playing music, both Oriental and Western with a variety of instruments. Down a small ravine, a small crowd of people surrounded others who danced in the center. Most wore Western garb, but a majority of the dancers were dressed in the traditional dress of their ethnic group. All wore coats. We stopped to watch for a few minutes.
When some of the watching crowd spied us, they asked us to join them and played “Jingle Bells” and other well-known Western tunes. When we hesitated, some came to take our arms and pushed and pulled us to the center of the circle where we proceeded to dance, each one of us with a local. Donna was the favorite as she is young, agile, and beautiful.
Dancing with the locals in Jing Shan Park
We danced with them, linking arms and kicking legs, and twirling until we became slightly dizzy. Some bystanders joined in, smiling and obviously enjoying themselves with the strange Westerners who had come to stroll and exercise in their park on a Saturday morning instead of seeing the usual tourist sites. Their friends in the crowd snapped pictures. We were reluctant to leave, and might still be there dancing if Yinong hadn’t tactfully extracted us.
The Forbidden City
After enjoying Jing Shan Park, we climbed over 200 stairs (China = Stairs) to a pavilion that overlooked the Forbidden City, so named because it was forbidden to ordinary folk like us many years ago. The view was lovely through the mist, giving the famous buildings a surreal feel.
View of Forbidden City from Jing Shan Park
We descended the 200 steps and went to visit the Forbidden City. The entire complex extends over 300 acres in the middle of a city of over 18 million people! Of course it hadn’t changed in the two years since I had been there, but, being a few weeks into April, it was more crowded. Most of the tourists were from Asia—bunches of Japanese and Koreans. But, there were tour groups from everywhere. Jan even heard Hebrew.
Chris took me to the same 4 Star Happy Room (WC) we had visited the last trip as I wanted a better picture for my talk on “Chinese Homes, Schools, and Happy Rooms.” After all, how often does one find officially rated bathrooms? From the previous visit to the Forbidden Palace, I remember it had not been clean, did not offer toilet paper, and all were Asian toilets, BUT, and this may be why the four stars, it had a large, working radiator that went almost the length of a wall! I did want to use the facilities, but it was too crowded with a long line. Chris thought that I was “cracked” to want a picture of a bathroom.
Pam, Yinong, and Jane in the Forbidden City
Chris (filled in by Yinong) told us of the history, the tragedies, and the drama of the place. It was used up until the 1910’s when the Qing Dynasty collapsed! The flowering bushes and trees were in full bloom despite the almost freezing temperatures. Everyone was bundled up, including the three intrepid visitors below. The cold was damp and penetrating.
Tiananmen Square
From the Forbidden City, we walked to Tiananmen Square through security guards, putting our backpacks and purses through a machine. Some were inspected by hand by the guards. It wasn’t too crowded at all. I noticed that there were more soldiers than the last time. Perhaps because it was Saturday, I also noticed that there were more Chinese families with young children who all held little Chinese flags with the five stars on them. Each star represents a different facet of the population of China.
Chris told us that each year the government hangs a newly painted picture of Chairman Mao on the wall. It is certainly huge. Tiananmen Square is always impressive in size. I kept imagining thousands of people practicing Tai Chi there early in the mornings…
Hutong District, Beijing
Exiting through the metal barricades that surrounded Tiananmen Square, we boarded our bus and rode to the Hutong District which has remained unchanged for hundreds and hundreds of years. All the buildings in the District are no more than two stories and all are painted gray. This day, a gray mist surrounded the gray buildings and street. The Hutong District used to be inhabited by Mongolians during the last dynasty. Now, since it has become fashionable to live there, more wealthy people are moving in. Unless a minority family has lived there for generations, they may have to move from their homes.
As a side note, I need to point out here that I was told that there are 56 minority groups in China. The Han People make up about 90% of the population.
First, we went to a delicious lunch. As on our previous trip, I think they are feeding us to death, but what a way to go! The restaurant was quaint, but then the Hutong District is very old. They put us in an upstairs room (reserved for foreigners or wealthier clientele) that contained the usual large, round table, but this time, there was no lazy Susan.
The most interesting dish and most excellent as well was beef in a lotus wrap. Most of the meal, though, was vegetarian. They also served my favorite baby Bok Choy and Chinese celery. We have two vegetarians with us (one a vegan), so when Chris ordered the meal, he took that into consideration. There always was a tofu dish or two. This time it consisted of cold, thin, ribbed tofu strands in a vinegar sauce—really different but with a delightful flavor and new texture that we all found pleasing. In this dish, I could actually taste the soy. The delicious, delicate-tasting soup with rice noodles was served steaming in a metal bowl with a cylindrical metal heater (candle or something inside) to keep it warm. The room, of course, was not heated, and dishes tended to get cold rather quickly.
After lunch, we took ride around the Hutong District in a red rickshaw, an interesting way to travel. Our enthusiastic, hardworking driver lacked a few teeth, but smiled a lot and, after every stop, grinned from ear to ear and gave us the victory sign when he saw us come back to his rickshaw. Each time, he gently and solicitously covered us against the cold air with a slightly worn blanket.
One of our Hutong tour rickshaw drivers
Unfortunately for our poor driver, the chain on his bike broke, and he had to run, dragging the bike and us to the next stop which was quite a ways ahead. He had to keep up with the group. I was worried about him as he was puffing a lot and asked him if he was OK. He seemed surprised that I’d ask, especially in Mandarin but told me he was fine.
At one point (but to no avail) he tried to fix the chain and got grease all over his hands. I gave him a Kleenex and Jan a paper towel she had found in the pocket of my brown jacket (borrowed for the trip). He seemed touched. He fixed the chain at the next stop. Nice man.
We stopped three times to see family courtyards. One woman introduced us to her 92-year-old father, her brother, and a cousin. The father was not pleased at the tourists even though the family was being paid to open their home to us. At one stop, we went inside for a demonstration on making dumplings. While that was interesting, it was being in an actual home that was the most exciting. One family courtyard had a healing garden in it with all kinds of herbs.
These were the first of many homes we were to visit on this trip, including one in Tibet! The homes were not cleaned up or changed in any way for us foreigners. One even had dishes in the sink. These were regular homes in which families were living their daily and earning a few coins by letting a few Westerners take a peek.
All the families had dogs. One older man proudly showed us his four obviously loved beauties. The courtyards looked quite poor and were cluttered with old-looking “stuff,” and all was open to the elements. Inside all the homes, the furnishings were simple, and while the interiors looked homey, they were only a little warmer than the courtyard.
Everyone had rosy cheeks from the cold. The entire extended family lives around the courtyard in which wash hangs to dry (freeze solid is more like it), little gardens grow vegetables and herbs, children play, and family meet. Chris told us that there were only a few family-owned courtyards left. Most of the other families had dispersed as children grew up and moved away.
After we bid zai jian to our driver and gave him a nice tip, we walked some more around the District, getting the flavor of it, steeping ourselves in the grayness of it. I snapped a picture of the Dong Fang Xin Cheng Opticians for my son Jesse who is an Optometrist.
Dinner and amazing visit with Yinong’s doctor friends
In the entire day, we must have walked at least five miles plus climbed at least 200 stairs, so an exhausted group returned to the Beijing Best Western to clean up a little before leaving for dinner. We had 20 minutes, barely enough time to get upstairs, pee, and back down again.
We walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Jiji did not come with us as she was not feeling well. Again, the food was terrific and varied. Chris joined us this time as translator as Yinong had to leave to visit some friends (whom we would meet later). Alice also is a Chinese American like Yinong. She talks to Chris and Yinong in Mandarin which she said was rusty. It didn’t sound rusty to me! It’s nice having two Chinese-born Americans in our group. Alice is quite a lady and tough. At 84, she kept up with all us “young” folk, 20 years her junior. She teaches Tai Chi and practices Tai Chi Swords as well as Qigong. This is the secret to her continued youth—longevity in the Springtime of her life.
As I mentioned, dinner was terrific. The green beans were ambrosia and permeated with many pieces of garlic. The mushroom dish, decorated with baby Bok Choy was “to die for” (Pam’s words).
After dinner, although thoroughly exhausted, most of us joined Yinong, Shawn, Yinong’s doctor friend and three of her friends in the small lounge area in the lobby of the hotel. The two women were well-known, rather famous doctors, both trained in traditional Chinese medicine as well as regular Western medicine. The two men and one of the doctors were Professors who, using Yi Ching, had developed a technology that changes the molecular structure of living and non-living matter.
They demonstrated on a glass of Chinese rice wine. First one of the men poured the alcohol into two glasses. He put one glass on the “mirror.” Jerlene was the only volunteer, so she tasted them both before and after the transformation. She told us that the difference was amazing in the “after” cup. She was wide-eyed! They gave the device to Shawn and Yinong. They gave Jerlene a bracelet made of the healing meteorite to Jerlene. We “felt” the bracelet and independently found that two of the beads were very charged with energy or qi. They told Jerlene to watch her liver spots as they would slowly disappear.
We talked, Yinong translating, until quite late. The conversation was about healing and alternative methods and way-out-there stuff that we all believed in. They were very surprised that a bunch of Westerners knew of and had experienced such things. They also were flabbergasted that four of us were Reiki Masters and two others were Reiki attuned, more than half the group. They were shocked that our minds were so open.
Yinong’s friend took Linda’s hand and pressed acupuncture points in her hand and legs the entire time we were there. Linda, exhausted, left a little earlier than the rest of us. The doctor instinctively had known that Linda had a problem. She slept well that night for a change! So did the rest of us, exhausted as we were from such a full day.
