The Beijing Tea Party
Well where did I leave off..oh yeah, no pictures..well still none...
Merle spent the morning ordering a custom made dress....Eric came with us and thank the gods for that as there was some serious negotiating and talking about what was and wasn't wanted and finally the price....
Then off to Beijing to mail some stuff back to Canada....I wanted her to see how it was done and to see how complex and yet how easy it can be.....we sent some golf clubs to her son and along with the bag and with a lot of stuff plugged into the pockets...all they did was custom make a box around the bag....duct tape it...and bind it and then we had to have it weighed (that is how they charge for the shipping) and fill out forms and then pay for it.....2 sets of clubs for about RMB 600 less than 100 dollars....not bad....may go into business...yeah right....
Today we went to Beijing for part of a 3 day tour.....we saw the hutongs which mean narrow streets and they were...we had to ride in the two seat pedicabs....cars can actually get around but are restricted..buses well I think that would be stretching it.....we met at the Starbuck at the Chine Trade World...we were supposed to be at the China Hotel but couldn't quite get our directions...so "they" were a little late....actually the hutongs got their name from the Mongolians who didn't see any water and that was because the water came from wells....our tour guide was quite informative. We had a tour for about 50 minutes....told us about the sills and the status of a person all from the front door....also about some history....the Mongolians....I think that meant Ghengis Khan, are not too well liked.....
Then went to see the Panda Bears...saw 5 of em and they reminded me of old men sitting in the sun reading the newspaper....
Then went to a silk making place...and it still is hand made silk and it take upwards of 1 and 1/2 years to make a 6 by 10 rug with the very dense fibres....they employ about 3000 people to work and are the number 1 factory in Beijing...the fella took us through all the processes and then showed us the finished products....we also saw some silk embroidery...most expensive was 8000 US dollars....and was a real work of art....in fact some of the rugs are considered that and are passed on from generations as such.....
Had dinner at an actual family house and had the normal fare of their food...it was Chinese food......hahahaha....some pork some eggs with rice....some garlic...some thin sliced beef and some dumplings with a doughnut shaped bread with carrot and beef inside...quite tasty....we had a walk around the quadrangle....the place where families stayed..with a brief explanation of who stayed where and why and also some talk about heating etc.....
And now the tea thing.....we stopped at a tea house....we were shown 5 types of teas and had a pleasant converstaion with the lady there as we were sipping our tea..it must have had a hypnotic effect because both Merle and I got sucked in to buying the "good" tea ...the stuff that will haelp with your arthritis and the one for lowering blood pressure....what a sales pictch ...plus 3 cups with pictures that are affected by the heat of the water plus a bonus tea ( I think they felt bad that they had us suckied in sooooo good) plus a peababy...which you will have to see to believe.....all for the low low price of 910 RMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....I bought a set of golf clubs (Pings and a bag) for 830 RMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, we had many laughs over that one as I compared tea with just about everything in China.....live and learn.....we sure kept the economy of the PR China going today......
Lastly, we went to see the Acrobats....and they were worth the 180RMB that we paid to see them....the costumes alone were worth the price of admission...all sorts of gymnastics that you see on TV except that this is real and you can see the tension etched on their faces and can appreciate ther strength and deterity of the athletes....I was really impressed...as a former pe instructor to see some of the moves....I know how hard it was to get some people to do a decent log roll or forward roll and to see them perform at all levels and in quick and rapid succession was truly amazing.....
Had an average bus ride home..packed as usual..but they have actually cut the bus prices to encourage more people to use them.....seems to be working as the bus was full....not the second bus that we transferred to but that was only to Tuanli....have been told that they will be not allowing traffic into Beijing for the Olympics and that the factories may be shutting down to deal with the pollution....and I guess they just do it..
The next day....a trip to the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Chinese Medicine tour?, Temple of Heaven, and the Beijing opera.
You know after a couple, you get "templed out". The Forbidden Cityy was constructed by the peasants= slaves....and they never got to experience the opulence of it.....some inspiring artwork and architecture here....and as I remarked several times, all for one guy and his cronies.....as another fellow from Indonesia put it, " it's nice to be king".....he had his own bedroom the size of most people's houses and had many people waiting on him, hand and foot....places for people to visit him...place for him pray...to visit officials....to listen to music...to write....to do just about anything he wanted....you can see why there may have been wars to get rid of one..and then another just gets into place...
The Place of Heaven was a place for him to pray...for good harvest, for rain and for good crops...and make sacrifices....6 or 8 oxen , I forget....but gigantic structures....all for ONE guy....must have been tough.....and they had alll sorts of symbolisms and traditions and meanings from all the different scholars and prophets and buddhas and monks and on and on and on....as zI said you can't keep up....This was also a peaceful place where he came to be relaxed and sit and contemplate.....not the rest of the world as it is now...however, you are not allowed to walk on the grass..so you have to stay on the sidewalks....I guess with this many people the grass would not last long...even in winter we had a lot of tourists with us....it is said, that if it rains in Tiananmen square on May Day that the sidewalk will not get wet because there are so many people there.
The Summer Palace is a little ways away from Beijing. It is a man-made lake and mountain, made for....you guessed it.....the Emperor ....and in a way that repminded him of his summer place he couldn't visit because he lived too far away...so he built his own....again...oodles of room and space and only for his royal majesty....was made for him because it would get hot in Beijing so he needed a place to cool off....I hate to say it but it was unbelievable...the size,, detail, decor. colour, buildings, rituals, etc....
Ended the night aat the Beijing opera.....we saw two small plays and some of the gymnastics needed to perform at this level...the choreagraphy needed to get the play done was impressive...
the costumes were very colourful and bright.....much like what you expect....a tight bus ride to Tongzhou and then a quick taxi ride home after some bargaining and we arrived at about 10:30
Up at seven to ride the taxi with Eric to the China World Hotel lobby for the next day....a trip to a real jade producing facility where we saw all the different types and colours of it...and they tried real hard to sell some to us....not working.....then we went to the Ming tombs...which was quite a setting and very impressive I might add, with information about the emperors and how they were buried and what they were dressed in and the costumes they wore and what they took with them and some info about their deaths and again.....massive structures for the monarchy.....while the peasants starved.....
Next to a place where they made copper vases with all the intricate work on the outside so that it seemed like it was those enamel ones...the intricate work (all hand done) was tedious and repetitive..I watched a guy for about 5 minutes working with tweezers doing the gluing and arranging....I could hardly imagine doing that all day but it seemed like that was what they did.....then we went upstairs for lunch...a typical Chinese one but they gave us a fork and spoon...I asked for chopsticks...that way I could eat more.....we went downstairs to view what they ahd to sell and I came across a life size statue of a horse with a price tag of RMB 2,678,000 and that is the most expensive thing I think I have ever seen on display that you could actually touch. They had all sorts of vases water carrying devices and trinkets that you could buy.....I did not....One interesting thing at many of these places....they have way more staff than I thin needs to be...but IF this is a state run business I guess it doesnt't matter...for instance at the Vase place, I bet there were at least 50 people waiting on you to try to sell you stuff.....and that was not uncommon....same as the jade place and the silk place we visited in the pm.....
Our group for this day consisted of two young lads from Glasgow Scotland, a couple from India, a professor from Arizona, a lady from Utah and another young guy who had just finished university in Miami and needed a vacation. We had a good chat over lunch.....
Went to the Great Wall at Badaling and here is what the leader told his people...and a good markenting strategy heh,...."you are not a hero until you have walked on the Great Wall"...well we were all heroes that day...the young Scot and I made it up to the highest point in about 20 minutes and then took our time getting back...all sorts of sellers on the way up and back....took a couple more pictures of the wall....There were lots of people there and I guess in the summer, you can hardly move for people...nice time to see the wall, I guess.
Went to a Silk producing factory again but saw a different aspect of the business....silk bedding and another huge shopping area...with many employees....your mind gets a little tired after a full day of info...almost bought a silk jacket but then thought better of it and walked away.
Took in a couple of bars that night 1001 Arabian Nights where we saw the Belly dancing and Browns, the bar voted best in Beijing in 2006...had a couple of drinks and got home again at about 10:30 that night.....
Slept in the next day and went and picked up Merle's custome made dress and I got a clock radio and came back early just to rest for the weekend..BUT it is Chinese new year's eve and there have been fireworks going off all day and for that matter all night it seems for the last couple of days...they call it "playing fireworks"....and so here I sit in the afternoon trying to catch up on my blog and trying to get some stuff done that has been left undone for days now....I will sign off and post this and work on those pictures....
Take Care.....
Happy New Year
Merle spent the morning ordering a custom made dress....Eric came with us and thank the gods for that as there was some serious negotiating and talking about what was and wasn't wanted and finally the price....
Then off to Beijing to mail some stuff back to Canada....I wanted her to see how it was done and to see how complex and yet how easy it can be.....we sent some golf clubs to her son and along with the bag and with a lot of stuff plugged into the pockets...all they did was custom make a box around the bag....duct tape it...and bind it and then we had to have it weighed (that is how they charge for the shipping) and fill out forms and then pay for it.....2 sets of clubs for about RMB 600 less than 100 dollars....not bad....may go into business...yeah right....
Today we went to Beijing for part of a 3 day tour.....we saw the hutongs which mean narrow streets and they were...we had to ride in the two seat pedicabs....cars can actually get around but are restricted..buses well I think that would be stretching it.....we met at the Starbuck at the Chine Trade World...we were supposed to be at the China Hotel but couldn't quite get our directions...so "they" were a little late....actually the hutongs got their name from the Mongolians who didn't see any water and that was because the water came from wells....our tour guide was quite informative. We had a tour for about 50 minutes....told us about the sills and the status of a person all from the front door....also about some history....the Mongolians....I think that meant Ghengis Khan, are not too well liked.....
Then went to see the Panda Bears...saw 5 of em and they reminded me of old men sitting in the sun reading the newspaper....
Then went to a silk making place...and it still is hand made silk and it take upwards of 1 and 1/2 years to make a 6 by 10 rug with the very dense fibres....they employ about 3000 people to work and are the number 1 factory in Beijing...the fella took us through all the processes and then showed us the finished products....we also saw some silk embroidery...most expensive was 8000 US dollars....and was a real work of art....in fact some of the rugs are considered that and are passed on from generations as such.....
Had dinner at an actual family house and had the normal fare of their food...it was Chinese food......hahahaha....some pork some eggs with rice....some garlic...some thin sliced beef and some dumplings with a doughnut shaped bread with carrot and beef inside...quite tasty....we had a walk around the quadrangle....the place where families stayed..with a brief explanation of who stayed where and why and also some talk about heating etc.....
And now the tea thing.....we stopped at a tea house....we were shown 5 types of teas and had a pleasant converstaion with the lady there as we were sipping our tea..it must have had a hypnotic effect because both Merle and I got sucked in to buying the "good" tea ...the stuff that will haelp with your arthritis and the one for lowering blood pressure....what a sales pictch ...plus 3 cups with pictures that are affected by the heat of the water plus a bonus tea ( I think they felt bad that they had us suckied in sooooo good) plus a peababy...which you will have to see to believe.....all for the low low price of 910 RMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....I bought a set of golf clubs (Pings and a bag) for 830 RMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, we had many laughs over that one as I compared tea with just about everything in China.....live and learn.....we sure kept the economy of the PR China going today......
Lastly, we went to see the Acrobats....and they were worth the 180RMB that we paid to see them....the costumes alone were worth the price of admission...all sorts of gymnastics that you see on TV except that this is real and you can see the tension etched on their faces and can appreciate ther strength and deterity of the athletes....I was really impressed...as a former pe instructor to see some of the moves....I know how hard it was to get some people to do a decent log roll or forward roll and to see them perform at all levels and in quick and rapid succession was truly amazing.....
Had an average bus ride home..packed as usual..but they have actually cut the bus prices to encourage more people to use them.....seems to be working as the bus was full....not the second bus that we transferred to but that was only to Tuanli....have been told that they will be not allowing traffic into Beijing for the Olympics and that the factories may be shutting down to deal with the pollution....and I guess they just do it..
The next day....a trip to the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Chinese Medicine tour?, Temple of Heaven, and the Beijing opera.
You know after a couple, you get "templed out". The Forbidden Cityy was constructed by the peasants= slaves....and they never got to experience the opulence of it.....some inspiring artwork and architecture here....and as I remarked several times, all for one guy and his cronies.....as another fellow from Indonesia put it, " it's nice to be king".....he had his own bedroom the size of most people's houses and had many people waiting on him, hand and foot....places for people to visit him...place for him pray...to visit officials....to listen to music...to write....to do just about anything he wanted....you can see why there may have been wars to get rid of one..and then another just gets into place...
The Place of Heaven was a place for him to pray...for good harvest, for rain and for good crops...and make sacrifices....6 or 8 oxen , I forget....but gigantic structures....all for ONE guy....must have been tough.....and they had alll sorts of symbolisms and traditions and meanings from all the different scholars and prophets and buddhas and monks and on and on and on....as zI said you can't keep up....This was also a peaceful place where he came to be relaxed and sit and contemplate.....not the rest of the world as it is now...however, you are not allowed to walk on the grass..so you have to stay on the sidewalks....I guess with this many people the grass would not last long...even in winter we had a lot of tourists with us....it is said, that if it rains in Tiananmen square on May Day that the sidewalk will not get wet because there are so many people there.
The Summer Palace is a little ways away from Beijing. It is a man-made lake and mountain, made for....you guessed it.....the Emperor ....and in a way that repminded him of his summer place he couldn't visit because he lived too far away...so he built his own....again...oodles of room and space and only for his royal majesty....was made for him because it would get hot in Beijing so he needed a place to cool off....I hate to say it but it was unbelievable...the size,, detail, decor. colour, buildings, rituals, etc....
Ended the night aat the Beijing opera.....we saw two small plays and some of the gymnastics needed to perform at this level...the choreagraphy needed to get the play done was impressive...
the costumes were very colourful and bright.....much like what you expect....a tight bus ride to Tongzhou and then a quick taxi ride home after some bargaining and we arrived at about 10:30
Up at seven to ride the taxi with Eric to the China World Hotel lobby for the next day....a trip to a real jade producing facility where we saw all the different types and colours of it...and they tried real hard to sell some to us....not working.....then we went to the Ming tombs...which was quite a setting and very impressive I might add, with information about the emperors and how they were buried and what they were dressed in and the costumes they wore and what they took with them and some info about their deaths and again.....massive structures for the monarchy.....while the peasants starved.....
Next to a place where they made copper vases with all the intricate work on the outside so that it seemed like it was those enamel ones...the intricate work (all hand done) was tedious and repetitive..I watched a guy for about 5 minutes working with tweezers doing the gluing and arranging....I could hardly imagine doing that all day but it seemed like that was what they did.....then we went upstairs for lunch...a typical Chinese one but they gave us a fork and spoon...I asked for chopsticks...that way I could eat more.....we went downstairs to view what they ahd to sell and I came across a life size statue of a horse with a price tag of RMB 2,678,000 and that is the most expensive thing I think I have ever seen on display that you could actually touch. They had all sorts of vases water carrying devices and trinkets that you could buy.....I did not....One interesting thing at many of these places....they have way more staff than I thin needs to be...but IF this is a state run business I guess it doesnt't matter...for instance at the Vase place, I bet there were at least 50 people waiting on you to try to sell you stuff.....and that was not uncommon....same as the jade place and the silk place we visited in the pm.....
Our group for this day consisted of two young lads from Glasgow Scotland, a couple from India, a professor from Arizona, a lady from Utah and another young guy who had just finished university in Miami and needed a vacation. We had a good chat over lunch.....
Went to the Great Wall at Badaling and here is what the leader told his people...and a good markenting strategy heh,...."you are not a hero until you have walked on the Great Wall"...well we were all heroes that day...the young Scot and I made it up to the highest point in about 20 minutes and then took our time getting back...all sorts of sellers on the way up and back....took a couple more pictures of the wall....There were lots of people there and I guess in the summer, you can hardly move for people...nice time to see the wall, I guess.
Went to a Silk producing factory again but saw a different aspect of the business....silk bedding and another huge shopping area...with many employees....your mind gets a little tired after a full day of info...almost bought a silk jacket but then thought better of it and walked away.
Took in a couple of bars that night 1001 Arabian Nights where we saw the Belly dancing and Browns, the bar voted best in Beijing in 2006...had a couple of drinks and got home again at about 10:30 that night.....
Slept in the next day and went and picked up Merle's custome made dress and I got a clock radio and came back early just to rest for the weekend..BUT it is Chinese new year's eve and there have been fireworks going off all day and for that matter all night it seems for the last couple of days...they call it "playing fireworks"....and so here I sit in the afternoon trying to catch up on my blog and trying to get some stuff done that has been left undone for days now....I will sign off and post this and work on those pictures....
Take Care.....
Happy New Year
posted by 12thhobo | 5:54 AM
1 Comments:
My god, don't you ever slow down?!!! Am looking forward to the pictures. Am also looking forward to you coming home!
Love Jan
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