Lama Buddha Temple

The Lama Buddha Temple was converted from a private imperial garden by the Qing emperor when he moved to the Forbidden city in 1744. The temple, which consists of four progressively larger buildings containing statues of various Buddhas, facilitates the practice of Lamanism, which is a combination of legacy Tibetan religion and Buddhism.

The emperor built this temple as a show of goodwill to all the peoples of The Middle Kingdom and in an effort to bring together Tibetans, Manchurians, and other ethnic groups with the majority Han. All of the signs conspicuously include four languages to reinforce this point.

There were a lot of Chinese people at the temple burning incense and kneeling before the various Buddhas in hopes that their dreams and wishes will come true. We also saw a teaching center where monks come to study.

Back Lakes Hutong

After lunch on Sunday we visited the Hutong in the back lakes area of Beijing. Hutong means 'alley'. Ancient Beijing was a maze of alleys, some as narrow as 3 or 4 feet, and very small homes built around courtyards. In some places in the center of Beijing the Hutong and courtyard homes still exist today, passing from generation to generation or in some cases trading hands for very large sums.

We took a short rickshaw ride (Monica and Heidi pictured above), and then walked deeper into the Hutong for a home visit (picture of doorway, and kids in the courtyard) with a local guide. According to our guide ("Vivian"), the family we visited, which included a mother, father, a teenage son, and a grandmother, would be considered middle class. We didn't interact with the family much, but were able to walk through the house and Vivian answered our questions about their life in the home.

They had a television, a computer, and a well-appointed kitchen. The furnishings were sparse and largely antique. Prized possessions included a painting and calligraphy scrolls done by the family's previous generations, a one hundred year old clock from the US, some trophies won in pigeon racing, and photographs of relatives traveling.

The family had a dog, several really unique looking cats (in cages during our visit), and two crickets in small cages. Vivian told us that Beijingers have a habit of keeping crickets, originally as a way to carry the sounds of summer into the quiet, sparse winter.

Beijing Zoo

Sunday morning we visited the Beijing Zoo, home to no fewer than 8 giant pandas. We got to see them eating, sleeping, and scratching themselves in several different very well appointed habitats. There was plenty of crowding, but it was all in the respectful Chinese way and we all got plenty of good looks at these wondrous creatures.

The rest of the zoo was decent, highlights including the 'lesser panda' (like a big, chubby furry fox), some huge wolves, and the ghost-like golden monkeys. We were also entertained by the little monkeys' antics at feeding time.

Driving Home From The Great Wall

Monica and Grant clearly have a high degree of confidence in the driving prowess of the mysterious Mr. I. We learned that is name is in fact Mr. Ai, which means Mr. Love. A fitting name for our happy, friendly driver!

Beijing Kung Fu Show

Friday night we went to 'The Legend of Kung Fu', a live performance of the story of a young boy who enters the temple very young, following his path through personal struggle to achieve enlightenment and martial arts mastery. The sets and costumes were visually stunning, the storyline entertaining, the choreography elaborate, and the feats of Kung Fu impressive.

A Lesson in the Summer Palace

Pictured above, Tony teaching our kids about the legend of the Monkey King. I thought this pack of other kids were also listening attentively to the story, until Tony said the word "watermelon" and they all repeated it, looked at each other and giggled. Evidently that was the only word they had understood.

The Great Wall

Saturday we traveled to The Great Wall of China, specifically near the village of Mutianyu. This was one of the days we were all most looking forward to, and in my opinion it did not disappoint.

Construction of The Great Wall was started over 2,700 years ago, and it was expanded over several dynasties as the Middle Kingdom expanded and new threats arose, notably from the Mongolians to the north. In total, it spans around 6,000 miles. The section we visited was constructed around 600 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty. It is evidently original, yet very well preserved. It is extremely hilly, falling and rising between watchtowers strategically located on peaks.

We walked from watchtower 6 to watchtower 16, passing through the towers along the way. It was hot, muggy, and quite steep at points, which made for some slow going at times. The wall is constructed of large black bricks held together with lighter colored mortar. We walked along the top, often up or down steep slopes or shallow stone stairs. Peering out through arrow holes and over the 4-foot walls on either side, we could see watchtowers, adjacent sections of the wall, and the mountainous, overgrown terrain. There are narrow passageways inside of each tower, and some include narrow stone stairways up to the rooftop.

It was very foggy on this day, so we were not afforded views of the wall snaking into the distance, that you see in pictures and post cards. Nevertheless, the sheer size, historical significance, impressive construction, and incredible terrain made this visit an absolute thrill.

To visit this particular spot on the wall we rode a chair lift (think skiing) up from the visitors center/chotchkie bazaar. We were then rewarded with a fun ride down on a wheeled bobsled run. It was out of place for sure, but fun and not as cheesy as it sounds.

Dragon Boats at Summer Palace

We enjoyed a boat ride, during which I sat next to a cute little boy who was very interested in my name, my favorite food, and what time it was (practicing his English).

The Summer Palace

Friday afternoon we visited the summer palace. This 716-acre expanse of pavilions, bridges, gardens, and walkways centered around a giant man-made lake was built in the 1700s as an imperial get-away. The walkway in which Monica is pictured above is reportedly the world's longest at over a mile. The structure includes 800 paintings, mostly of historical Chinese events and legends. With the lake and the walkway, it reminded me of a 1700s version of the Nike campus in Beaverton.

We enjoyed walking around the grounds, a short boat ride across the lake, and making lots of new friends who wanted to take pictures and practice their English.

Ben's New Family

This couple we met at The Summer Palace was so friendly that we agreed to let them adopt Ben. I think he will be happy.

Lots of New Friends

Heidi and Ben continue to be of much interest, frequently being asked or simply just pulled into pictures, mostly with children. While most people on the streets of Shanghai and Beijing dont look twice at us (with the exception of young girls looking at Heidi), when we are at the bigger tourist attractions Ben and Heidi seem to get a lot more attention.

Tony told us that a lot of Chinese people travel from all over China to visit Tianen Men Square, The Forbidden City and The Summer Garden, sometimes fulfilling a lifetime dream in doing so. Hailing from the far reaches of China, some of these people have not seen many foreigners. Ben and Heidi have been gracious in helping them bring back a souvenir and it is fun to think about how many family vacation albums will include pictures of our kids alongside the other attractions.

The Forbidden City

Here we are about to enter The Forbidden City. I guess they decided to forbidding people from entering when someone figured out how to climb over the short metal fence (note the people behind us to the left).

Seriously, this was a very impressive site and will undoubtedly be one of the sightseeing highlights of our trip to Asian. The city was built in the mid-1400s (Ming Dynasty) and only opened to the public in the 1920s when the last emperor was made to leave (he had been dethroned a decade earlier. Before that time, only the royal family, the emperor's 800 or so concubines and 1,500 eunichs were allowed in. The history, architecture, and sheer age of the place were captivating. We walked on stone bricks and staircases that are almost 3 times as old as our country!

Much of the city is available to view, including the opportunity to peer through glass windows or open doorways into the emperor's throne rooms, private studies, and bedrooms. We were fascinated to learn from Tony about the symbolism and the history, in particular the dealings of Empress Dowager Cixi and the last emperor, Puyi.

Chairman Mao and me

At the very sight of his 1949 announcement of the formation of The People's Republic of China.

Tianan Men Square

Our first stop on Friday was Tianan Men Square, the site of many major political events and important to China's more recent history in particular. This is the site of the May Fourth protest, an early catalyst for success of te communist movement, the place where Mao declared the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1959, and of course the location of the infamous 1989 student uprising.

Although there were thousands of Chinese tourists (with a few foreigners mixed in) in the square on this day, it was not crowded at all. That is, of course, unless you wanted to stand in the two hour queue to see The Chairman's preserved body. This is the largest public square in the world, the size of 90 football fields.

Goodness on a Stick

A new Beijing friend eating something we wouldn't dare.

High Speed Train

Correction from an earlier post: the train was rail, not maglev. It was fast and smooth nonetheless!

Beijing Arrival

Our fast, smooth, and comfortable ride on the high speed Shanghai-to-Bejing ended at the South Beijing station, where we were met by our Beijing guide, Tony, and our diver, the mysterious 'Mr. I'. Tony is a young and energetic native Beijinger with a great knowledge of the Beijing history, people, and culture. Looks like we got lucky again.

Tony told us to 'chilax' (really) in our hotel and then to head a short way down Jin Yu Hu Tong to the 'snack carts'. Here we found a long line of stands selling everything you can imagine eating on a stick, and much you can't. Pictured above are several kinds of scorpions, silk worm larvae, and other unidentifiable insects. We also saw kabobs made from whole baby pigeons (three to a stick,) massive black spiders, snakes, and all kinds of whole squid. Despite my big talk back in the hotel room, none of us tried anything exotic. We stuck to fried beef and lobster wontons and roasted corn. I'm pretty sure Ben is not going to eat anything but Cliff Bars for a few days after seeing these various impaled creatures and in particular smelling the boiled crab.

Li

We lucked out again with our guide in Shanghai, Li. He is around 30 years old, originally from the province directly north of Shanghai, and moved to Shanghai 8 years ago after university.

We appreciated his attentiveness, his sense of humor (not easy in a second language!), and his strong sense of pride in his country and countrymen. We enjoyed very much the information he shared regarding Chinese culture and traditions. He also seems to have a particular interest in health and the difference between eastern and western medicine, which made for some very good conversation. We will miss him.

Leaving Shanghai

As I write this, we are traveling at over 200 miles per hour on a high speed maglev train from Shanghai to Beijing. The incredibly cute baby pictured above is seated with her mother in the row in front of us. We will travel almost the distance from Portland to Los Angeles in about 4 1/2 hours.

Last night at dinner we each shared our favorite memories of Shanghai. Topping everyone's list was the Yu Garden, Jade Temple, and the Shanghai Acrobat show. Grant and Monica also really enjoyed the Watertown, and the glass floor 900 feet up in the TV Tower was another big hit.

We have enjoyed our time in Shanghai, and are looking forward to what we expect will be a look at a very different part of China during our next stop, Beijing.

Night Out on Nankin Lu

Last Night in Shanghai

On Wednesday afternoon, we headed to the Shanghai Science Museum. This is an impressive, interactive collection geared toward educating children about science and nature. It was filled with students in brightly colored matching shirts, apparently on organized school tours. I will say that the bug exhibit suffered some neglect as school girl after school girl lined up to have their picture taken with Heidi. Maybe they should create a Heidi Exhibit!

After a refreshing swim in the hotel pool we headed out for dinner. Our intention was to get off the beaten path, so we asked Li for a recommendation on a place where the locals would dine. We rode the subway over to the west side and walked a mile perpendicular to Nanjing Lu, which afforded us a closer view of the streets and people of Shanghai. When we arrived on the prescribed street corner, we had to guess which restaurant was our destination. As later confirmed by Li, we guessed right.

Although the menu included pictures, ordering was somewhat of an adventure due to both the selection and the translation. The restaurant's offering included roasted pig tails, ducks feet, duck blood soup, sliced snake head and, my favorite, squirrel weever. Thanks to Monica's courageous willingness to attempt communication, and with a little help from our server, we ended up with a tasty selection.

For me, this dinner was a highlight as the 5 of us joked around about our situational incompetence and went through our ritual of everyone naming their two favorite memories from Shanghai.

Lost in Translation

The kids are enjoying learning some new English words via the translation on signage and t-shirts. We definitely appreciate the effort to translate signs and we recognize that most Chinese people's English is much better than our Chinese.

Boat Tour Down the Huangpu

Chinese 'Tea Ceremony'

After touring the Yu Garden we entered a nearby tea house for what was essentially a tea tasting and demonstration. The kids enjoyed watching the various forms of tea preparation, including the 'Romeo and Juliet' flowering tea. They particularly liked the ginseng oolong and we purchased some to bring home.

After the tea ceremony we returned to the square and moved along a line of stalls in which artisans were selling their handcrafted wares. Heidi, Ben, and Monica all found something they wanted and our negotiating skills recieved a little more practice.

Old Shanghai / New Shanghai

View from the tea house adjacent Yu Yuan Garden.

Beautiful Yu Yuan Harden

On Wednesday morning we visited the beautiful Yu garden, which provided a glimpse of Old Shanghai. This garden spans a couple of acres, and includes a dozen or so structures, multiple water features, and numerous paths and bridges. It was built by a government official as a private garden around 400 years ago. Construction took over 28 years.

Li talked us through the history and symbolism, which was fascinating. We all enjoyed meandering over the paths and bridges and pausing to look at interesting rock formations and, of course, the Koi fish.

The picture above shows that even in a tranquil, 400-year-old sanctuary you are never far from the modern world in this city of 5,000 sky scrapers.

Jin Mao Tower

We had drinks on the 87th floor at Cloud 9.

Hot Pot Short Ribs at Xianqianfang

Arrived at our table in full boil.

A Fun Night Out

With the kids back at the hotel enjoying room service, and the two of us emboldened by our successful navigation of the subway, we headed for a stroll on the neon-illuminated Nanjing Lu (pictured above). This bustling pedestrian lane is lined with branded, high end stores and filled with strolling shoppers, inexplicable flash mob aerobics classes, and hawkers selling 'watch-bag-shoe'.

On Li's recommendation we went to dinner a few blocks off the main drag at a traditional Chinese restaurant called Xianjiangfan. The food was excellent and entertainment was provided in the form of a three-actor opera titled 'The King's Opear Walks in the Garden'. Although the drums were loud enough to interrupt conversation and the high pitched screeching was somewhat annoying, the costumes were magnificent and it was overall an entertaining backdrop for a great dinner.

After dinner we headed back to Pudong for a drink on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao tower at Cloud 9, reportedly the highest bar in the world. The route to the top involves three different elevator rides, and it was worth it. The views were spectacular and the drinks were tasty. After a few martinis we descended to the Jin Mao lobby to find a downpour and a very long taxi line. We were happy to walk the mile back to our hotel in the warm rain, watching brilliant bolts of lightning traverse the Shanghai skyline. We were soaked as we entered the Oriental Riverside lobby, and grateful for the fun night on the town.

Subway Adventure

After returning to the hotel, we successfully remedied the swim cap issue. This took visits to several stores and some skillful acting by Monica - think 'swimming' in a game of charades. I will note that Monica's Chinese is getting pretty good and lots of people understood her rendition of 'do you speak english?' At least well enough to shake their heads emphatically 'no'. We have discovered, of course, that many people do understand and speak some english and are just shy about using it, however will try some if you stick with it long enough. Their english is certainly better than my Chinese!

Monica and I then decided to head out for a night without the kids, thinking it would be a fun adventure to ride the subway to another part of the city for dinner. We were right.

Once we had successfully located the subway (thank you very little, iPhone gps...), we descended to find 400 or 500 people jockeying for position to get through a single entry turnstile. Of course, we assumed this was normal and were soon swept up in this mass of humanity. When we realized something must be wrong, we swam back upstream and ascended to street level to look for a cab, only to discover that it was now raining and all 23 million people in Shanghai were also looking to get into a cab.

The advice from the bellman at a nearby hotel was to head back down into the subway, and so we did. The fascinating thing to me was that, even with hundreds of people literally pressed chest to back, there was a notable skill differential that allowed most Chinese people to 'swim' right by us, without being overly aggressive or pushy. I was also very impressed with how calm everyone stayed, at least until that final moment right at the single turnstile.

We did eventually make it down to the platform, where we had to push and shove our way onto the second train that came. We made it to our destination and in fact had a very uneventful subway ride back later that night.

As it turns out, there was a problem with the trains and the single turnstile strategy was the subway authorities' way of preventing the platform from overloading, which made good sense. So the situation was not normal, and our first experience was a good confidence builder for future train rides on this trip.

A Crowd at Dongtai Market

Look closely and you will see a few too many Chairman Maos in this crowd.

Dongtai Lu

After the silk market we headed to Dongtai Lu, a small market of stands filled with antiques and curios. We saw a fascinating array of old watches, cameras, coins, porcelain figures, lanterns, an everything else you can imagine. Li's theory is that there are some actual antiques to be found (e.g. Ming Dynasty), however it is almost impossible to tell which are authentic, even for the experts.

We didn't buy much, but the experience did give us a chance to practice our haggling skills. Grant did a great job of negotiating the price of a coin he wanted down to half of the original offer, effectively using a combination smiles, scowls, and the skillful operation of a calculator.

Silk Factory Tour

On the way back from Zhu we stopped to tour a silk 'factory'. Although this was essentially a factory demonstration serving as a front for a silk show room, it was still fascinating to learn about the life cycle of the domestic silk worm an silk production. Silk worms are raised from eggs and kept in captivity until they form their silk cocoon, at which time 90% of them are 'baked' (killed with heat), extracted, and their silk is spun into thread using a mechanism that winds 9 silk strands into each thread. The other 10% are asked for their quota of 400 eggs each to keep the cycle going.

Our local factory guide made a compelling pitch, however we refrained from purchasing any silk blankets.

Boat Ride in Zhujiajaiaozhen

Shirt boat ride down the canal. Li is next to Heidi

Ancient Watertown

Tuesday morning we traveled 90 minutes from Pudong to Zhujiajiaozhen, a 1,700-year-old town on the banks of the massive Dianshanhu Lake. The town is filled filled with Venice-style canals, narrow lanes, small bridges and very old, connected buildings. We took a short boat ride down one of the canals and perused trinkets and interesting foods offered by local shop keepers. The highlight was a trip through the back alleys and small vegetable gardens where we saw more rural living conditions and got a small glimpse into people's lives outside of Shanghai.

As the heat was nearing 100 degrees F, we decided to head back after dining in a small air conditioned restaurant. This place has definitely become primarily a tourist destination, however it was still worth the trip.

That Was Only One Day??!

We had a very ambitious first full day in the 97 degree Shanghai heat. After touring the temple we went to a jade store where Monica negotiated the price of a pair of jade earrings down from $170 to $30. We then headed to The Bund riverfront area. After a short stroll during which Monica and Heidi almost fainted (we tried to buy umbrellas to no avail), we ate a traditional Chinese lunch. There we were introduced to the virtues of eating shrimp with legs and shell still on, which we all now agree is preferable to peeling.

After lunch, we rode a weird little train under the Huangpu River and ascended the TV Tower. From over 1,000 feet up we got a great view of the city (see previous post). We then went to the Aquarium (one of Asia's best, according to the guide books). Highlight: watching massive sharks, sting rays, and sea turtles swim directly overhead. With a little time before dinner, we attempted to swim but ran into the swim cap rule, which kept us out of the hotel pool. Another ride on the psychadelic under-river train and a short van ride north and we were at dinner, where we got a chance to learn more from Li about Chinese traditions.

Then, the highlight of an already great day, The Shanghai Acrobat Show. Really, it defies description and you probably wouldn't believe me if I tried. I will say that at one point there were no fewer than 8 motorcycles going at full speed in a small metal sphere.

As we rolled back into the hotel drive at close to 10:00, having been on the go since 5:00 this morning, eye lids were at half mast all around. I was even more amazed when I realized we have basically been gone from Portland for only a weekend.

Ben at 900 Feet

From the top of the Shanghai TV Tower you can see sky scrapers in every direction virtually as far as the eye can see. Li informed us that there are over 5,000 'tall buildings' in Shanghai. A highlight of the trip was the observation deck with a glass floor. Pretty creepy!

Shanghai Jade Buddhist Temple

This morning we visited the Jade Buddhist Temple, so named because it contains a Buddha carved out of a single massive piece of white jade. When we asked Li how many people in China are Buddhist, he claimed very few, pointing out that being a true Buddhist would restrict one from marrying and consuming meat and would essentially require the life of a monk.

According to Li, 90% of Chinese people are atheist, however many visit Buddhist temples and in varying degrees follow Buddhist teachings. More educated Chinese people tend to better understand the Buddhist principles, while many in China simply look to Buddha to provide luck, favors, and good fortune. Those that are more aware of the teachings associate jade with many of the same principles, including intelligence, awareness of the world, and love of oneself as a path to peace and loving others.

We all enjoyed learning about the temple, and a fairly in-depth discussion about the teachings of Buddha. The ribbons pictured above are brought to the temple and tied for luck.

Heidi is the First One Up in Shanghai!

5 a.m. On the banks of the Huangpu.

Excellent Breakfast!

The hotel put out a wonderful spread of traditional Chinese fare (Din Sum, Bok Choy, Bean Curd Jelly), beautifully prepared Japanese food (sushi and seaweed), foods we are used to eating for breakfast (eggs, bacon), and other items that we like, but not necessarily for breakfast (chicken wings, brie). Everyone had a chance to be adventurous and at the same time get fueled up for the day.

Capitalism Alive and Well

Ate dinner last night in the biggest mall I've ever seen, the Shanghai Super Brand Mall. 8 stories high, goes for blocks, hundreds of shops and dozens of restaurants, from KFC to fine dining. I think this mall is 'western themed', which means that most of the stores have English names which in many cases are a slight alteration of an American brand. For example 'Men's Collection' in the exact font and color as 'Men's Warehouse'. We've seen this elsewhere, as in 'Donut King' with the font and colors of Dunkin Donuts and the crown/logo of burger king.

First Night in Shanghai

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> Our uneventful 12 hour flight from Vancouver, BC landed us in the beautiful, modern city of Shanghai. We were met at the airport by our guide Li, who told us that, at around 23 million people, Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world. He also said that, because Shanghai really only started to grow significantly around 200 years ago, it is one of China's newest large cities. Our whole country is barely more than 200 years old!
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> Our hotel is nice and is located in Pudong on the banks of the Huangpu River, just across from the bund. We are right near the famous and incredibly tall TV tower, pictured below.
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> We successfully navigated dinner at the Super Brand Mall and then back to the hotel to get some sleep. The goal tonight was to stay up until at least 6:30 and we accomplished that with just minor grumpiness all around. Except for brief naps on the plane, we were up for a full 24 hours. Looking forward to venturing out tomorrow.
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Cool Picture of Family on Scooter