Today, we had a planned schedule of going to the temple of heaven, a tea house presentation, rickshaw tour of an older community and shopping in the Beijing market. It was honestly one of the most tiring days we've had so far, because of the multitude of events and the amount of walking that occurred. I was personally exposed to a number of new experiences, which taught me more about chinese culture as a whole.
We started the day off with the Temple of Heaven. I had previously already been amazed with ancient chinese architecture, but just being at an historical temple furthered my excitement. I just thought to myself, how in the world could they build such a structure during the 1400s? My amazement was capped when we toured the entire site: took lots of pictures, visited each temple, understood more about the rituals for the Ming and Qing dynasties. In going to the Temple of Heaven, I began to understand further about the beliefs and tradition during that era. Near the end of the visit I bought a Chinese hacky-sack, which broke within the first half hour, but it was all for enjoyment anyhow so no harm done.
Shortly after, we went back on the tour bus and headed for the tea presentation. Along the way, we as a group saw a car crash in China. Everyone saw this and was so amazed that it was only till now that we had seen an accident on the road, despite China's aggressive driving. In my opinion, I thought that it was because the driving here had high traffic and much lower speeds that it was slow enough to allow cars to avoid hitting other cars. We eventually got to the tea presentation safely and they showed us the making of different teas and allowed us to sample. Although I didn't buy any tea afterwards, others bought a lot and it was exciting that we could experience the tea presentation given to us. I can say that now I understand more about tea and the very basic of each tea's history.
Once everyone bought their teas, we were on our way to the older community preserved by Beijing called Hutong. It served as a great contrast to the modernized society of Beijing we had been a part of. We had a home cooked meal at Hutong which served as a nice change from our usual restaurant meals. We climbed the Bell Tower shortly after our meal, as well as visiting a 300 old house within Hutong. The Bell Tower story of carrying the 63,000 kg bell to the top with a ramp was incredible, along with the residents of the 300 year old house and it's preservation. We took the rickshaw to go around the old community stores, the community for me felt very familiar with the places I walked around in China as a kid.
Finally, we went to the market. I actually didn't really enjoy that experience, simply because I was exhausted by that point and the bargaining was just too much. We had sellers there who would just try to overprice everything substantially and I really didn't want to bargain with them too much. I only bought an iPhone case and a few souvenirs, but I felt as if I was in a different position because I would definitely come back to China at some point, while others only have one chance to experience this form of shopping. Our team looked to have had an exhilarating time bargaining, so at least most of us had a great experience. By the time we were at hot pot I was so tired, it felt like a midnight snack rather than dinner. Everyone else seemed exhausted as well, so we quickly ate and went back to the hotel
Personally, my highlight was visiting the historical landmarks. I was able to understand more about the culture I was born into, so I'm really glad for the opportunity and I am definitely excited for the rest of the sightseeing.
George Wang
We started the day off with the Temple of Heaven. I had previously already been amazed with ancient chinese architecture, but just being at an historical temple furthered my excitement. I just thought to myself, how in the world could they build such a structure during the 1400s? My amazement was capped when we toured the entire site: took lots of pictures, visited each temple, understood more about the rituals for the Ming and Qing dynasties. In going to the Temple of Heaven, I began to understand further about the beliefs and tradition during that era. Near the end of the visit I bought a Chinese hacky-sack, which broke within the first half hour, but it was all for enjoyment anyhow so no harm done.
Shortly after, we went back on the tour bus and headed for the tea presentation. Along the way, we as a group saw a car crash in China. Everyone saw this and was so amazed that it was only till now that we had seen an accident on the road, despite China's aggressive driving. In my opinion, I thought that it was because the driving here had high traffic and much lower speeds that it was slow enough to allow cars to avoid hitting other cars. We eventually got to the tea presentation safely and they showed us the making of different teas and allowed us to sample. Although I didn't buy any tea afterwards, others bought a lot and it was exciting that we could experience the tea presentation given to us. I can say that now I understand more about tea and the very basic of each tea's history.
Once everyone bought their teas, we were on our way to the older community preserved by Beijing called Hutong. It served as a great contrast to the modernized society of Beijing we had been a part of. We had a home cooked meal at Hutong which served as a nice change from our usual restaurant meals. We climbed the Bell Tower shortly after our meal, as well as visiting a 300 old house within Hutong. The Bell Tower story of carrying the 63,000 kg bell to the top with a ramp was incredible, along with the residents of the 300 year old house and it's preservation. We took the rickshaw to go around the old community stores, the community for me felt very familiar with the places I walked around in China as a kid.
Finally, we went to the market. I actually didn't really enjoy that experience, simply because I was exhausted by that point and the bargaining was just too much. We had sellers there who would just try to overprice everything substantially and I really didn't want to bargain with them too much. I only bought an iPhone case and a few souvenirs, but I felt as if I was in a different position because I would definitely come back to China at some point, while others only have one chance to experience this form of shopping. Our team looked to have had an exhilarating time bargaining, so at least most of us had a great experience. By the time we were at hot pot I was so tired, it felt like a midnight snack rather than dinner. Everyone else seemed exhausted as well, so we quickly ate and went back to the hotel
Personally, my highlight was visiting the historical landmarks. I was able to understand more about the culture I was born into, so I'm really glad for the opportunity and I am definitely excited for the rest of the sightseeing.
George Wang