Next day was Tiananmen Square. It was PACKED even more than the usual Chinese crowds because it was National Day October 1, the 49th anniversary of China’s Communist government. Lots of people, soldiers and police. The crowd felt very strange because it also felt very safe and usually crowds and safety don’t go together. In the 8 months I’ve been here I haven’t encountered a city or gathering where I haven’t felt safe.
Since Margie and I were frantically taking pictures (that we promised to share) of everything from storm drain covers to roof tops, Linda, Laura, and Jan were able to ease back on their camera usage until they got to Suzhou.
Side Note: Margie took enough pictures at the Great Wall to qualify for the “Mimi-SOH-Award” (SOH – stands for Sydney Opera House) – Somebody please present her with the award!
Next stop was the Forbidden City, The main building was covered for renovation for the 2008 Olympics but that didn’t bother the girls much cause they just kept saying “I can’t believe we are in China”! After the Forbidden city we did a vegetable and flea market walk thru. Here I was able to purchase another tea container because I had left mine in Xiasha. I have become addicted to the Chinese Tea as much as Margie and Jan needed their morning coffee. After tea we went for our Hutong visit and meal. Hutong are traditional styled homes that have been preserved. Different generations of a family would live in a small compound that surrounded a small courtyard. We were taken there by rickshaw and fed lunch by the home’s husband and wife. Here we learned that if you finish one of the items placed on the lazy susan, it does NOT tell the host or hostess that it was great. It tells the host and hostess that they didn’t give you enough. So here DO NOT eat everything on the plates cause you will never finish.
Got back to the hotel and walked around the corner for our Beijing Duck dinner which is a big deal here. But before the duck they stuffed you with all sorts of other good things to eat. After dinner Laura, Margie and I walked to the Internet café and registered with our passports (everyone in the huge internet room had to register with their national ID card). We let everyone know that we were alive and well and I completed my registration for an online PBS class.
