I can't begin to describe the ride from the airport to the Lake View Hotel. During our Holt orientation in Hong Kong we were told about the driving, but nothing Les, the Holt representative, could have told us would have prepared us for this (approx.) 30 minute roller-coaster ride! We started out on a flat, straight two lane highway with twice as many lanes of traffic going every which way - at high speeds! We were, at times, traveling at least 90mph! When the driver wanted to pass, oncoming traffic apparently wasn't a concern of his, but it did render a number of gasps from the rest of us. He'd pull out, honk, and travel on. Oncoming traffic would just get out of his way. When we entered Nanchang where the amount of traffic increased dramatically, he slowed down, but his "this is my road and I'll drive where and how I want to" methods continued. At one intersection, he hit a man on a bike who was immediately knocked off to the ground! The driver simply waited for him to get up, get his bike and get out of the way - then continued on! Unbelievable! We arrived at the Lake View around 4pm. We were already checked in by Holt, picked up our room keys, got a short briefing and were asked to go to our rooms and wait for our babies. There were sixteen families in our group so we were spread out on two floors (13 & 14). The babies started coming grouped by orphanage and the pandemonium began. There was no keeping us in our rooms! We filled the halls and wandered about sharing in the joy of each others new arrivals. It was a truly euphoric experience. As I look back, it almost seems as if it were a dream!
Carolyn was the first to hold Emma and all was going well until I attempted to hold her then the screams came. Carolyn and the orphanage worker took turns holding her and playing with her until she calmed down. Cherrios helped, but the magical solution was a box of raisins. She knew how to open the box and started plucking out raisins one at a time with her tiny fingers. With each one, she began to brighten up until she was smiling and giggling at us. We were floating on air as we watched and listened. From that point on, she wanted one of us within her sight all the time. It just got better and better as each day passed. While in the Hotel, she loved to go out into the hall and roll around on the floor and giggle. We had to keep a close eye on her, though. She's a busy, busy explorer and she managed to yank out one of the night lights along the wall!
On our second day, the only official event was getting Emma's Visa photo at a local photo shop. The rest of the day was spent at a local department store and at a "famous" (Cathy referred to most everything as "famous") Jiangxi porcelain shop. We were one of the last to get our photo taken so we spent most of our time entertaining Emma while we waited. In one of the adjacent studios, a Nanchang bride was having her wedding picture take. She was very beautiful and the session provided Emma with something new to watch and ponder. Finally, our turn came - we were in and out in a minute or two and Emma performed and posed wonderfully!
I wasn't sure what to expect at the department store. That's the term Cathy used and that's just what it was called - but what that meant in Nanchang, I wasn't sure. Conceptually, it wasn't much different that any department store here in the states - culturally, it was very different. There were several floors of merchandise organized into "departments" but a good bit more cluttered than what I am used to. It was like taking a trip back in time to the 50's. The items and even some of the brand names came from our western past - especially the women's cosmetics, "Lux" soap, for example. There was, however, a very big "Disney" presence - plenty of Micky Mouse backpacks. I found some Green Tea and some cookie treats for Emma. Carolyn found some really cute, very Chinese looking shoes for Emma. One pair was $3.00US and the other was $5.00US. Again, we were an attraction and got attention inside and outside the store. Next door to the department store we found a music store where we purchased some wonderful Chinese children's music on cassette.
We had read about Jiangxi Porcelain and the shop Cathy took us to was filled with beautiful pieces. We bought some bowls of various sizes that were, literally, paper thin. If you held them up to the light you could see through them. Some had "watermark" designs that were visible only when holding them up to a light source. The hand painted designs were so delicate and so beautiful - like nothing we'd ever seen before. Egg-shell porcelain, as it is called, is "as thin as a cicada's wing and as light as silk". When the Chinese speak of this kind of porcelain, they tell you: "Fear not only that wind will blow it away, but also worry that the sun will melt it into air." Each piece starts out as a raw porcelain biscuit. The thinning of the biscuits, usually to a thickness of 2 or 3 millimeters, is particularly difficult and essential to the process. Artisans roll the clay more than a hundred times to thin each one to its egg-shell thickness. Sometimes even a careless deep breath can ruin hours of painstaking effort. The final pieces are fired to a temperature of 2400° Fahrenheit. If the piece is the slightest bit too thin, it will shatter into pieces. These pieces will also shatter into bits if little hands find them so I held Emma close! She wasn't quite a "bull in a China shop", but left to her own devices she would have taken out a number of expensive pieces!
On October 31st, we rode to the local police station to pick up Emma's Chinese Visa and Chinese Passport, the documents that would let her leave Nanchang and eventually China. From there, Cathy took us to a small village similar, but better off as she told us, than the ones our babies came from. It was a real experience. The homes were all interconnected with a maze of small walkways and streets. We had the opportunity to meet many of the families. We showed off our babies as they showed off theirs - all smiles and so grateful that were adopting some of China's children. We even got to go on a small tour through one of the homes. All the homes were stacked brick construction with dirt or stone floors and walkways. The home we visited was mostly one large room (about 16' x 20') with a few chairs, a table and a tub lined with scraps of fabric that made up their child's bed. In one corner was a coal burning stove. There were two other rooms used as bedrooms, both off the main room. There were a few colorful wall hangings but that was about it. Very simple. No running water, no electricity. The family was delightful and seemed so proud to be showing us their home. It was a very heart-warming experience!
Just before visiting the village, we toured the home and temple of the 15th century painter, Zhu Da, better known as Badashanren. I believe it is called the Temple of the Blue Clouds. The actual date of this Taoist temple is somewhere between 321 and 641 AD. It houses the actual museum which contains the works of Badashanren ("Man of Eight Great Mountains") and his pupils. He lived from about 1626 until about 1705. His work, which departs radically from the painters of his time, has had a lasting influence on modern Chinese artists. He disapproved of the Qing dynasty, which ruled from 1644, and in 1661 retreated to this temple for a period of 26 years. The three main halls are dedicated to the god of war Guandi, the Taoist saint Lu Dongbin and the legendary dragon slayer Xu-Dun. In his work, all the animals have very fierce looking eyes, symbolizing his anger over the change in government and all the plants and trees bare dying leaves symbolizing the "death" of the Ming Dynasty.
For our lunch break, Cathy took us to an ethnic (Dong Minority) restaurant for a HUGE lunch. The food was out of this world! All of the waiters and waitresses were dressed in their elaborate traditional costumes. At one point, during our meal, they broke out into song and began feeding us! I scrambled to get my camcorder rolling and was able to get a fair amount of it on tape. The music was as wonderful and as beautiful as the Dong people were.
By November 1st we had finished all of our adoption processing and had one more Nanchang sight to see, the Tengwang Tower. It was built in 659 and rises high above the bank of the Ganjiang River. It was built by the governor of Hongzhou (present day Nanchang), Li Yuanming known as Tengwang, younger brother of the Emperor Li Shiming of the Tang Dynasty. It is one of the three famous tower's south of the Yangtse River. The tower's fame came from the famous Poet Wang Bo who wrote many poems during the Tang Dynasty. The tower was rebuilt and repaired a total of 28 times! The last time was in 1983. It covers a floor space of 5,600 square meters, is 45 meters high and has five stories. But it appears to be only three stories from outside. While inside, on the top floor we were treated to a performance of traditional Chinese music and dance.
Overall, Nanchang was quite a city. Cathy estimated the population at about 4 million - a medium to small town by Chinese standards. There was little sign of western influence and practically no one spoke English. While in town all signs, menus, etc., were in Chinese. Always, we were quite an attraction. Everywhere we went we were circled by passers-by who spoke Chinese to us as if we knew what they were saying. All smiles, finally they'd give us a big "thumbs-up" indicating their joy that we were adopting one of their children and taking them to America. When they did speak English, it was simply, "lucky baby". We shook our heads to confirm and replied, "lucky us"! One man even pointed back and forth between Carolyn and I and said, "Win Win", meaning he felt we were all equally "lucky". I just can't adequately describe how wonderful this made us feel. We truly loved these people and are so grateful to them for their kindness. We felt as if we had become a member of their family and that's just how they treated us.
On November 2nd we left Nanchang. Leaving, however, was more than just another plane ride. We were quite aware that we were taking Emma away from the home she had know since her birth. Carolyn and I both had a tear in our eye as the plane lifted off the runway and headed to Guangzhou. Emma, on the other hand, was busy moving the magazines in the seat pocket in front of me to the seat pocket in front of Carolyn and almost immediately filled her diaper with her last remnants of Nanchang. So much for emotional moments...
The next day, November 3rd, we started Emma's processing. First to the public medical clinic where Emma got her medical exam and three immunizations. She was an absolute angel as we made our way through an enormous crowd of people. Barbara and Eva somehow managed to get us to the front of all the lines so the waiting wasn't as bad as it seemed it would be. Emma breezed through her exams but, like all the children there, she wasn't too happy about the shots. I waited outside with the camcorder and watched as Carolyn carried her out screaming. We felt so bad for her. It took a few minutes to calm her down, but soon she was okay with the world again and we walked back to the hotel. This was our first outing in Guangzhou and our first opportunity to see this part of the city. The White Swan is actually on a small island (Shamian Island) which contains many of the buildings from the first European settlements just before the turn of the century. During the Opium Wars it was defended by city leaders because of it's strategic position, but in 1861 was conceded to England and France. Consulates were quickly erected along with villas, banks, churches and even a sailing club. The Chinese weren't allowed on the island without special permission. It's only been since 1949 that Shamian Island has once again been under Chinese administration. It really reminded us of Savannah in our home state of Georgia. Old buildings close together with narrow, tree lined streets. Along the way, we passed people in the center park area that divided the street doing their morning Tai Chi exercises and school children laughing and running about. The weather was beautiful and again, everyone we passed either looked, stopped us or gave us a "thumbs-up". It was probably one of the most pleasant walks I've ever taken.
After we returned to the hotel and had some lunch, we headed back out to see more and do even more shopping. We had been told in advance about the "Shop On the Stairs" so we headed there first. It was just one of many shops that lined the street just outside the hotel. It was truly, a shop on the stairs. Barely enough room for one person to meander through. For such a small space it was amazing to see how much merchandise lined the two walls. It was here that we ordered most of our "chops". These are found everywhere in China and are used to imprint one's name, or seal, onto things written, drawn or painted. From there we walked and visited just about every shop we passed. Down one side street, the first one past the Shop on the Stairs, we found a great antique shop called the China Treasure Gallery run by Zhang Hsiao Shen, an extremely friendly and informative man who spoke very good English. In his shop were items and paintings that dated back to the Ming Dynasty. He had a story about every item we asked about. Some of it was very expensive, in some cases several thousand US dollars. We stuck to things that were less than 100 years old and affordable. It was here that we were told that there was one woman in China who manufactured all of the very common, silk covered boxes that almost everything came packaged in. Seeing these boxes everywhere, I found it hard to believe, but that's what we were told.
We found our way the Qing Ping Market that spanned several blocks on both sides of the street. Here, I assume, is where people did their grocery shopping. There were dozens of vegetable stands and various meat stands where the animals were butchered on-site. We saw pigs, goats, foul, fish, eels, snakes, frogs, crickets and even a few dogs - not something for the weak, western stomach. I had to "preview" each section for Carolyn because of her phobia about snakes. Down one block, after my "all-clear" Carolyn started her walk just as a man hacked a huge bullfrog in half with a large meat cleaver! Emma rode contentedly in her "Hike-n-Roll" on Carolyn's back just taking it all in, not seeming to mind a bit. We left the market and walked and walked and walked. The sidewalks in Guangzhou were always crowded with people walking in both directions and both sides of the street were lined with shops. I once heard that big the difference between men and women is that men can actually walk past a shoe store. I bet we visited every shoe store we encountered. The effort wasn't lost, however. Carolyn found a red, very Chinese pair of shoes for Emma with white bunnies on the toes. She wore them out of the store and looked so cute in them. When she saw the bunnies, she called them "mai-mai". We love it when she does that! Within minutes we were on our way - at least until the next shoe store! The streets were constantly crowded with cars and hoards of bicycles, which were, by far, the most popular method of transportation. Children, men, women, workers, delivery people and even some women neatly dressed in skirts and dresses peddled their way down the street. It was amazing to me to see what the Chinese bike-riders could carry on their two-wheeled bikes. Unbelievable as it was, we saw a man carrying a complete, full-sized dining room table, upside-down, with six chairs stacked on top strapped to the back of his two-wheeled bike easily cruising his way through the hectic traffic.
The next day, we walked to the US Consulate to do the paperwork and sit through the interviews necessary to get Emma's US Immigrant Visa which would allow her to enter the United States. This went very smooth. Our group was in and out within an hour. All we had to do is verify some information on our mountain of INS forms, answer a question or two and that was it. The consulate official that we sat with mentioned that adoptive parents going through Holt were easy to process since their paperwork was always in order and well organized. We were thankful for that and spent less than 5 minutes at her desk. Good thing, because Emma was getting tired of all these visits and she'd much rather have been outside with the wind in her face.
After the consulate visit we were off for, yes... more shopping. I could feel the straps of my carry-on bag already bearing down on my weary shoulder. But, then again, how many times does one get to visit China? We found our way to the "big" department store, bearing the same name as the county Emma came from, Nanfeng. It was five floors of typical department store - sort of. There were lots of items specific to China, but was organized very much like any major department store in the US. Plenty of people on the floor to help - if you spoke Chinese, preferably Cantonese. The main difference was how you purchased something. When I found an item we wanted, I'd get a sales person to write up a three-part receipt. These always seemed to be of tissue-paper quality and small. I'd take the receipt to a cash-register station, pay for the item - Chinese currency only, and get one copy of the receipt back. Finally, I'd take the receipt back to the sales person who'd bag the item and give it to me - a very different system that what we are used to in the US. We left the department store and walked and shopped some more. Later, we all met for dinner at the Guangzhou Hard Rock Cafe. Inside, it looked like any other Hard Rock restaurant - even a similar, mostly western menu. Emma ate a good meal then hit the floor, wandering about and listening to the live pop band. She also found time to chase one of her Chinese friends, Lu Lei (soon to be Grace) around the dance floor. Before we left, we bought our Hard Rock "One-sie" T-shirt for Emma and a hat for me.
The next two days we were pretty much on our own with the exception of a short visit to the Consulate to pick up Emma's Visa. This took just a few minutes but started my period of stress and worry. The packet was sealed with official stamps by the US Consulate with the front page exposed and stapled to the remainder of the packet. We were told that it had to remain sealed and in tact until we reached our port of entry in the US (Detroit for us) where we were told we'd hand it over to a US Immigration & Naturalization official. If it somehow got opened or the cover page became detached while in transit, we would've been sent back to Guangzhou to repeat our processing to get a new one. At several points while departing China it had to be given to Chinese officials so they could see the cover sheet. I trembled each time I had to hand it over. While it was in my possession I guarded it with my life!
We did more walking and more shopping during the remainder of our stay. The weather couldn't have been better. A day earlier we had discovered a restaurant nicknamed, "The Tree" (a large tree had grown through the building at the entrance.) It was a little place with tables outside on the sidewalk. It was just a short walk from the hotel, down the street from the "Shop on the Stairs". The food was the best Chinese food I've ever tasted. On our first visit we sat with Barbara and her Chinese assistant, Miriam from Holt. Miriam ordered for us. It was so good we had her write it down in Chinese so we would be sure to get the same dishes again when we returned for more. We had, a wonderful Chinese vegetable that no one could translate into English other than "Chinese vegetable". Emma loved it and ate it by the bowl full. We had them chop up several portions for her. Also, we had a "sweet-and-sour" chicken that was like no other sweet-and-sour dish I've ever had. It wasn't so gooey and orange and tasted great. Along with it was pork in an oyster sour sauce and Chinese egg plant hot-pot in a salty fish sauce. Here are the names as they are written in Chinese:
We picked up Emma's Visa late on November 5th. Most of the Nanfeng group was leaving on the 6th and the remainder on the 7th. Our departure to Beijing was scheduled for 6:45pm on the 6th. On the evening of the 5th we got the group together at the White Swan for the famous "sofa picture". At about 5pm we gathered at the "brass bird cage" in front of the Song Bird Restaurant on the 2nd floor. What a sight! Sixteen families all trying to get their new babies happy, excited and smiling for the cameras. Fortunately, Barbara, a veteran sofa event director, was there to assist. There were whimpers from just a few and only one persistent resister, Morgan, but we pulled it off and got some great photographs and videos that we will all enjoy for years to come. The next morning several of the families had early departures. We went down and said our good-byes along with promises to keep in touch so we can all watch the progress of the children in the "Jiangxi 10" group. We walked around Guangzhou for the last time and returned to the room to finish up our last minute packing. We left for the airport around 4:30pm and rode there with Barbara who walked us through the process of a domestic departure. All went well and we were in the air again, this time headed for Beijing.
We got up early and were at breakfast by 8am. We had the "western" breakfast buffet while we listened to a pianist play what sounded like Chinese renditions of Christmas songs. We weren't sure, but it sounded nice. This was the first time during our trip to China that we saw such a large proportion of westerners (other than our group). The restaurant was almost entirely westerners, a mixture of Americans and Europeans. If it weren't for the waitresses you wouldn't know you had left the US. By now Emma had settled on hard-boiled eggs as her favorite breakfast food and they were available everyday. This along with a bowl of grits or oatmeal (of the instant variety brought by us from home) or a bowl of congee and an banana and she was all set.
We left at 9am and headed for our first look at Beijing. We were now used to the crazy traffic and crowded streets. There were more bicycles here than there were in Hong Kong, Nanchang or Guangzhou, but the people were just as inventive in their use of them. One woman, on her three-wheeled bicycle, was carrying a large metal drum with a fire blazing away inside of it - for what purpose, we didn't have a clue. We were sure it must have been something important! Through all the traffic, bicycles and pedestrians, we found our way to Tian'anmen Square (or Squire as Donna called it). This place was awesome! Donna told us that it was the largest square in the world and it looked like it. Yards and yards of concrete surrounded by powerful symbols of China's Communist government. We entered the square on the side of The Great Hall of the People. This is an impressive structure where the National People's Congress assembles for deliberations on state affairs. Built in 10 months in 1959 on the western side of the Tian'anmen Square, it has a total floor space of more than 171,800 square meters containing some 300 meeting halls, lounges and office rooms. One section has 30 halls, one for each province, autonomous region and city in China. The largest hall is the Great Hall with a seating capacity of 10,052. On the north side of the square is the Gate of Heavenly Peace which was completed in 1417. It is the entrance to the Imperial Palace and the Forbidden City. A portrait of Chairman Mao hangs over the portal with the slogan "Long live the unity of the people of the world." It was from this gate that Chairman Mao proclaimed the People's Republic on October 1st, 1949. On the east side of the square is a massive column embellished building containing two huge wings. The left wing is the Museum of Chinese History. It was built in 1959 and occupies an area of about 8000 square meters. Within it are 9000 exhibits that illustrate the Chinese Marxist historiography of the various stages of development of the Chinese culture. The right wing houses the Museum of Chinese Revolution. It is a two-story structure. Each floor covers about 4000 meters and contains exhibits that illustrate the most important stages of the Chinese revolution from 1919 through the development of the Communist Party in China. To the south is Chairman Mao's Mausoleum. It occupies an area of 20,000 square meters and is supported by 44 huge granite columns. In the entrance hall stands a statue of Chairman Mao. In the central hall lies the body of Mao in a crystal sarcophagus. On the back wall is the inscription that reads, "eternal praise be to chairman Mao, our great leader and master."
From Tian'anmen Square we headed for the Forbidden City. It is China's largest and most significant attraction. It's origins date back to the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Between 1406 and 1420, Emperor Yongle of the Ming dynasty had it enlarged to its present day size. The palace within the city was the residence of 24 Ming and Qing emperors. Ordinary mortals were forbidden to enter the palace. The remainder of the city is a maze of gates and buildings. We entered the city through Meridian Gate, also known as the Five-Phoenix-Gate. This is where each emperor would announce the New Year and from where he would decide the fate of prisoners brought to him by his army's generals. From there we walked through the Gate of Supreme Harmony. On each side are two huge bronze lions. A male to the right and a female to the left as you face the gate. Each are holding something down with their left paw. The male, a bronze ball, the female a small lion cub. This is the only thing that distinguishes the male lion from the female. Passing through it you enter an enormous inner courtyard where some 20,000 people would assemble for great ceremonies. The next three halls we passed through all stood on three-tiered marble terraces, each surrounded by a marble balustrade. Each entrance had a long, carved marble ramp that rose from the ground to the top of the third tier on which the emperor would be carried. The middle hall was reserved exclusively for the emperor and had the most elaborate ramp. It's a 250 ton, single slab of marble that was carved in place some 200 miles away. It was transported by digging 50 meter trenches, one a year, that would be flooded in the winter so the slab could be slid across the ice.
For much of the imperial period, the Inner Court of the palace was the home of over 6000 members of the royal household, around half of them, eunuchs. The castrated male was introduced into the imperial court as a means of ensuring the authenticity of the emperor's offspring and as a radical solution to the problem of nepotism. In daily contact with the royals, they often rose to considerable power, but this was bought at the expense of the dreadfully low standing outside the confines of the court. Confucianism held that disfiguration of the body impaired the soul, and eunuchs were buried apart from their ancestors in special graveyards outside the city. In hope that they would still be buried "whole", they kept and carried their testicles in bags hung around their belts. They were usually recruited from the poorest of families - attracted by the rare chance of amassing wealth other than by birth. Scarcely less numerous were the concubines, whose status varied from wives and consorts to basic whores. They would be delivered to the emperor's bedchamber, wrapped in yellow cloth with bound feet and carried by one of the eunuchs.
While in the Forbidden City Emma rode peacefully on Carolyn's back in her Hike-n-Roll taking in everything. There were plenty of places to shop for little souvenirs along the way and Donna was a wonderful guide, providing us with a wealth of information and history about the city. We encountered a number of school groups on field trips all with smiling, happy and colorfully dressed children who loved having their pictures taken. With all the visitors roaming about, it was hard to fathom all that had taken place in the city in the centuries before our visit. There was so much to see and so much to take in, that it seemed as if the city were speaking directly to us. From the vast, open courtyards to the unique architectural details to the intricately and richly decorated chambers - it was a place we will never forget! Hopefully, Emma, in some way, will remember her visit to this ancient place of Chinese history.
After exiting the Forbidden City, back through Meridian Gate, we headed for lunch. Donna took us to an incredible Chinese restaurant where we were treated to more great Chinese food! After lunch, we stopped off at a popular Beijing Art Museum. On display, and for sale, were a number of original art works by well-known Chinese artists, some dating back a few hundred years. We fell in love with the work of a few of the artists, and naturally they were the most expensive pieces. Carolyn's favorite was about $2000 US. Needless to say, we had to pass it, and the others up. They also had a huge display of "ink stones" and brushes, both used in Chinese Calligraphy. Some of the stones were size of large table-tops and weighed a few hundred pounds. There were some very large brushes to go along with them, some so large, I don't know how they could be used! When we were leaving the building, we were turned around near the front entrance and told we'd have to exit from the rear of the building. Donna, our guide, told us there must be a visiting dignitary. The usual practice, in such cases and for security purposes, is to clear the building so the dignitaries have the entire place to themselves. We exited from the rear and snaked our way back to the front of the building through some alley ways. When we got to the front of the building we saw several military vehicles and a number of soldiers, all standing at attention, holding up their automatic weapons, guarding the entrance. Even Donna was surprised! She felt the visitors must be real important to warrant such a display. I wanted to take a picture, but didn't want to attract any attention. Donna told me later, that it would have been quite all right to take photographs... Oh well!
Next, we headed for the Summer Palace. It was first named the Garden of Clear Ripples, which was burned down by the allied forces of Great Britain and France in 1860. Reconstruction started 25 years later and was completed in 1895, and the name was changed to Yiheyuan (Garden of Good Health and Harmony.) The total area is 290 hectares. We entered through the East Gate, the main entrance to the Summer Palace. The opening through which we walked was for the exclusive use of the emperor and empress. The two side openings were for the princes and court officials. Eunuchs and soldiers used side gates to the south and north. The name plaque, Yiheyuan in front of the gate, was written by emperor Guang Xu. The single marble slab in front of the gate bears a carving in relief of two dragons playing with a pearl, a symbol of imperial authority. The most impressive building, I thought, was the Grand Opera Tower in the Dehe Garden. It is the largest of its kind in China today. It is 21 meters high and has three floors. An opening is in the ceiling of the first floor, in which a winch could lower performers and props down onto the first floor. Performers could appear on the three floors at the same time. Another incredible site was the Long Gallery, a 900-meter-long corridor which runs from a moon gate in the east to Shizhang Pavilion in the west. All of the 273 sections are decorated with more than 8,000 paintings of landscapes, flowers and human figures. It is the longest and most famous corridor in the world. It is said that no pair of lovers can walk through the corridor without emerging betrothed.
After leaving the Summer Palace, Donna asked is if we'd like to visit a real Chinese doctor. We jumped at the chance. We arrived at Beixin Qiao, Chinese Traditional Medicine Center. We were given a short tour and were presented with a brief history of the clinic. It dates back to the time of the last Emperor. The grandfather of the head physician was the last Emperor's personal doc. He is still alive - 104 years old! Both of us were examined by separate doctors. All they did was feel our pulse, look in our mouth and diagnose. I was told that I had poor circulation. This, the doctor told me, would cause degeneration of my joints and, in combination with stress, cause circulatory and cardiac problems, and... phlegm. He was right on with the joint problems. My back has been bothering me for some time now and I have seen several doctors about it - all telling me nothing short of surgery would correct what they felt the problem was - although, I have been seeing a chiropractor and have found it to be somewhat helpful. At any rate, he prescribed two Chinese herbal remedies, both seeds of some sort. One, fifteen seeds, twice a day and the other, 5 seeds, twice a day. We'll see... Carolyn's diagnosis was different, of course, but she came away with a Chinese remedy as well.
That evening we were treated to real "Peking Duck" for dinner. I can't recall the name of the restaurant, but it was very nice and the food was great. Emma liked the duck, and of course, her favorite "Chinese Vegetable". She was a hit with a Chinese couple sitting behind us and with a table of men from Malaysia adjacent to us -- they even asked us to pose for a picture. Following dinner we attended a Chinese acrobatic show in a small theater. The show starred several young performers, the most agile being a very young girl. Probable about 10 to 12 years old. It was amazing to see what she and the others could do with their bodies! It was like were at a live segment of "The Ed Sullivan Show", complete with twirling plates and unusual juggling acts! A recent quote from a Chinese newspaper describes it well;
Our second day in Beijing started out at the Ming Tombs. They are located at the southern slopes of Jundu Mountain on the northern outskirts of Beijing. The shapes of the buildings of all the tombs are almost the same. Among the thirteen tombs, Chang Ling, the tomb of Emperor Yong Le, built first, is the largest and the best preserved with a history of more than 500 years! We visited Ding Ling, the Tomb of Emperor Zhu Yi Jun of the Ming Dynasty. The Underground Palace of the tomb was revealed in May of 1957, one year after the excavation. It is made entirely of solid blocks of marble and granite containing five halls. In the central hall, there are three carved marble thrones. In the rear hall, there are three coffins - one for the emperor and two for his empresses. Some 3,000 articles unearthed are on display throughout the five halls. The Underground Palace has seven pairs of double doors made of white marble stone, each pair weighing an incredible 8 tons! They are amazingly easy to open or close.Following the Ming Tombs we stopped off at a fresh water pearl factory and a huge "Friendship Shop". Inside the pearl factory we saw how fresh water pearls are grown and harvested and learned how to judge their quality and how to tell the difference between fresh water and salt water pearls. At the "Friendship Shop" we were treated to short tour of a "cloisinet" factory. Cloisinet is a process used to decorate copper or brass that involves almost microscopic shavings of either material applied directly to the surface of an object made of the same material. It is applied to create intricate designs that are filled with bright colors (a secret formula), applied in stages with kiln firings between each layer. Finally, each item is polished to a smooth satin or glossy finish. We walked through the factory, then to the show room where there was more cloisinet than you could imagine. We found some items for gifts then headed to the restaurant within the Friendship shop. Again, the food was wonderful and we ate more than we should have. Emma was happy to see, and eat her favorite "Chinese Vegetable".
After lunch we loaded back up and headed for the Great Wall of China. The drive there was very nice. We were now an hour or so away from the city. The air was clearer and we were heading into the mountains. I took pictures and video footage along the way but was too intrigued with the landscape to pay attention to what I was doing. Needless to say, most of the photos are blurred and the videos leave much to be desired. As we neared the Great Wall, we could begin to see parts of it snaking its way along the ridges of the passing mountains and hills. We expected this to be the highlight of our Beijing visit and we weren't disappointed.
When we arrived at the Great Wall the sun was trying to make itself more visible through the thick haze. There were more people there than I had expected. Somehow, I guess I thought we'd be making a lone journey along the wall but this looked more like Gatlinburg, Tennessee or Helen, Georgia. Donna escorted us through all the ticket counters and gates to the entrance of the wall and suggested which way we should go. She bet us that we couldn't make it to the third tower to our right. It didn't look so far away, but we soon found out distance wasn't an obstacle along the wall, the inclines were. In any case, it was a bet, and I was now going to go at least as far as the third tower.
As we began our walk up, and along the wall, the incline wasn't too bad. With each step along the worn slabs of granite that made up the walkway, the same walkway that ancient soldiers patrolled watching for approaching Mongols, it seemed as we were walking back into time. What it must have been like for the thousands, perhaps millions of laborers that worked their entire lives building the Wall! It's impossible to imagine. The most common fact told about the Great Wall is that it is the only man-made object visible from the moon. Construction began in the 5th century BC and continued until the sixteenth century. It stretches some 6000km across China. The sections that survived and are still standing, if placed end to end, would span from New York to Los Angeles - and if the bricks were used to build a new wall 15 feet high and 3 feet thick, it would encircle the globe!
The Chinese have walled their cities since the beginnings of known Chinese history. The Great Wall's origins lie in these fractured fortifications. In the third century BC, the emperor Qin Shi Huang joined and extended the sections to form one continuous defense against barbarians. Under subsequent dynasties, the Han, Wei, Qi and Sui, the Wall was maintained and, in response to shifting regional threats, grew and changed course. With the emergence of the Ming dynasty in the fourteenth century, the Wall's importance become a priority. Reconstruction and refortification began and continued for the next two hundred years. For much of its history, the Wall was hated. Qin Shi Huang's wall, particularly, was a symbol of brutal tyranny. It is said, that he wasted his country's wealth and worked thousands to death in building it. It is estimated that he mobilized over 1 million of his country's strongest to construct his Wall - many of which were criminals. In subsequent dynasties, however, even more workers were amassed. Beginning in the Sui dynasty, there weren't enough men left for the massive project so their widows were pressed into service. A well-known Song dynasty poem expresses the sentiments of the time:
The irony of the twenty foot high, twenty foot thick Wall with its some 25,000 battlements is that, for the most part, it didn't work! For centuries, successive invasions crossed its defenses. Genghis Khan is supposed to have merely bribed his way across. Because of its ineffectiveness, during the Qing dynasty the Wall fell into disrepair. Slowly the Wall crumbled away and became useful only as a source of building material for other structures. Today, however, it is big business.We visited the Badaling section, the most well-know and most well preserved section. Restoration began in 1957 when it opened to tourists. This is one of the few sections that was never directly attacked, but was taken by sweeping around from side to side. Here the wall is 18 feet wide and supports regular watch towers along the way dating back to the Ming dynasty. The Great Wall, by far, was our most incredible visit. For both Carolyn and I, it stirred deep feelings and fascinations. With Emma riding snugly on her back, Carolyn and I made our way along the steep paths and up the almost vertical, uneven steps to the third watch tower. Once there we could see the Wall as it continued to wind its way to the horizon and beyond in both directions. We couldn't travel one more step as we were both exhausted! Now all we had to do, was make our descent back down to our starting point. This was a bit tricky as the hand-rails were about 18 inches off the ground! I walked ahead waiting periodically for Carolyn and Emma to catch up. Along the way I picked up a piece of the wall I found on the path. When viewed from one side, it's an almost perfect profile of a hippo, Carolyn's favorite animal. When we finally made it back to the beginning, we visited some of the many souvenir shops and looked for Donna. By late afternoon we were on our way back to Beijing and our last night in China.
The flight was full and it was long - even though it was about three hours shorter than our flight from Minneapolis to Hong Kong. Neither of us got any sleep and other than a short cat-nap or two, Emma stayed awake along with us. There were a couple periods of discontent accompanied by loud screams and persistent crying. Not too much we could do other than endure it and we did. We arrived in Detroit on time, deplaned and headed to US Immigration. The wait wasn't too long and once it was our turn, we handed over Emma's papers and the tightly guarded Immigrant Visa. What a relief it was to turn that document over to it's rightful recipient! Emma's passport was stamped and we headed to our new departure gate to wait for the flight that would take us home to Atlanta. While we were waiting, we were surprised by a long-time friend of my mother's. She lives in the Detroit area and my mother had told her about our arrival. She came by to see Emma and shoot a few pictures to send to my parents. It was a nice surprise and the first familiar face we'd seen in three weeks!
The next leg, Detroit to Atlanta, seemed like a short hop compared to all the flying we'd done. Emma was fine the entire way - just one last diaper change on the floor in the rear of the plane. We knew we had a welcoming party waiting for us and hoped Emma would be alert, happy and awake. However, just as our wheels hit the ground, she fell asleep! Walking off the plane was strange. We had all been awake for days, it seemed and everything was moving in slow motion and in a fog. As we walked along the skyway, Emma woke up. I had my eye to the camcorder as we deplaned and entered the terminal. We heard shouts, screams and applause. What a homecoming! We sat on the floor in the terminal as everyone took their turn with Emma. She was amazing - awake, alert, full of laughs and smiles! She was passed from person to person, played with her new cousins, walked around and looked so content. We were walking on clouds. After a half-hour or so, we picked up our stuff, left to get our baggage, loaded it into the waiting cars and headed home! We truly loved our trip to China and hope to return some day - but, in the words of a well-known Dorothy,
Terry & Carolyn Kasper
Atlanta, GA
Copyright © 1998, Terrance F. Kasper, All Rights Reserved.