The Great Hall of the People from Tian'anmen Square
A little patrol, near Tian'anmen Gate
Tyson beside a side building at the Temple of Heaven
Tyson beside a side building at the Temple of Heaven
Sara doing a little post dinner workout, all that fat in rice you know.
A friendly game of table tennis
Greetings all,
Well today was an packed full day of adventure. This morning we both could not sleep past 5:00 am due to the huge time difference between here and home. We were also awaken by what we think was the Chinese national anthem that is used for the flag ceremony at Tian'anmen square that happens every day at dawn and dusk. So we decided to get up and go and see what Beijing was like in the early morning. It was, well it was pretty calm, still relatively busy but nothing compared to what we saw at 9:00 am at Tian'anmen square. At 7:30 am it was good, got good pictures and it was nice to walk around, then we decided to find some breakfast and got back there around 9:00 and the place was a zoo!!!!!
As most of you will know Tian'anmen square is the worlds biggest central square. It was pretty massive. We did not make it to the Forbidden palace yet or the museum we will save that for another day.
The temple of heaven was pretty nice, not as nice as we would have liked but it was a nice walk in the 30 plus weather.. haha.. i think we got a little sun burned. (I guess i should apologize when i saw "we" i mean me... and maybe Tyson but i shouldn't speak for the both of us). Anyways by far the best thing of the day was when we were coming home from dinner (mmm rice!!) we stopped by this what I thought was a playground, so we went in because i wanted to play.. but what we found out was that it was a public free exercise facility. It was amazing.. it had elliptical , bikes, and chest press that were made from metal.. it was super cool and free.. i think that is why the Chinese are so skinny, because they have installed such a great system of free exercise in the middle of the city.. I think i might bring this idea home to Canada. It was super cool, and Tyson just made a good point, it would be hard to do this in minus 20 weather.. .. but it was still really neat..
Well that is all i have to say for now, things are going good, still tired from the jet leg but getting a little better. Tomorrow we are off to do the "secret wall tour" (I know matt your saying , "tour"! haha.. but its the part of the wall that is not restored and is suppose to be way better then going to the normal restored part). Anyways wish us luck.
What I noticed today about Beijing:
1) Roasted Duck does not look that bad.. I might even try it before I leave..
2) Rickshaw drivers try to rip you off
3) Little chinese kids are cute!
4) The place is surprisingly clean.. like really the streets are so clean!
Thats all for now.
Lates,
Sara:)
Now for Tyson's view of the day's events. It was really nice and relaxed first thing in the morning. It was funny at that time to see walkways tapped off for one way foot traffic only, but it made much more sense later. Tian'anmen square while impressive was smaller than I had thought it would be. The great hall of the people was more impressive on the outside than the inside. Everyone in a tour group wears the same colored hats and follow the leader with some distinctive flag that they carry. Also if you want to see a 60 year old chinese woman run, go into the underground cross walks when the police decide to clear out the street vendors. While very crowded, things move in a very orderly fashion, and a line up that stretches over half a block you'll move through and a brisk stroll. The heavenly temple was interesting, and well put together for not using any nails. The painting and architecture was well done, but not as impressive as Buddist temples. Near the end of the temple I started to feel the effect of overheating, so dinner was a nice stop. Fried beef and rice with a large coke. My dad would love the area of town we are in, Dazhalan Lu street, is one of the last remaining areas of the city that is still full of narrow streets and back alleys, with small independent shops everywhere. Great place to get lost. It is sad that everywhere we look these old subdivisions are being torn down brick by brick to make way for modern high rises. The city is nice to walk around with friendly people who seem very uninterested in my curiosity. Only a few more days in Beijing and we already have more things that we want to do than we have days for, but that's okay either we'll have to return, or something.
Tyson
As most of you will know Tian'anmen square is the worlds biggest central square. It was pretty massive. We did not make it to the Forbidden palace yet or the museum we will save that for another day.
The temple of heaven was pretty nice, not as nice as we would have liked but it was a nice walk in the 30 plus weather.. haha.. i think we got a little sun burned. (I guess i should apologize when i saw "we" i mean me... and maybe Tyson but i shouldn't speak for the both of us). Anyways by far the best thing of the day was when we were coming home from dinner (mmm rice!!) we stopped by this what I thought was a playground, so we went in because i wanted to play.. but what we found out was that it was a public free exercise facility. It was amazing.. it had elliptical , bikes, and chest press that were made from metal.. it was super cool and free.. i think that is why the Chinese are so skinny, because they have installed such a great system of free exercise in the middle of the city.. I think i might bring this idea home to Canada. It was super cool, and Tyson just made a good point, it would be hard to do this in minus 20 weather.. .. but it was still really neat..
Well that is all i have to say for now, things are going good, still tired from the jet leg but getting a little better. Tomorrow we are off to do the "secret wall tour" (I know matt your saying , "tour"! haha.. but its the part of the wall that is not restored and is suppose to be way better then going to the normal restored part). Anyways wish us luck.
What I noticed today about Beijing:
1) Roasted Duck does not look that bad.. I might even try it before I leave..
2) Rickshaw drivers try to rip you off
3) Little chinese kids are cute!
4) The place is surprisingly clean.. like really the streets are so clean!
Thats all for now.
Lates,
Sara:)
Now for Tyson's view of the day's events. It was really nice and relaxed first thing in the morning. It was funny at that time to see walkways tapped off for one way foot traffic only, but it made much more sense later. Tian'anmen square while impressive was smaller than I had thought it would be. The great hall of the people was more impressive on the outside than the inside. Everyone in a tour group wears the same colored hats and follow the leader with some distinctive flag that they carry. Also if you want to see a 60 year old chinese woman run, go into the underground cross walks when the police decide to clear out the street vendors. While very crowded, things move in a very orderly fashion, and a line up that stretches over half a block you'll move through and a brisk stroll. The heavenly temple was interesting, and well put together for not using any nails. The painting and architecture was well done, but not as impressive as Buddist temples. Near the end of the temple I started to feel the effect of overheating, so dinner was a nice stop. Fried beef and rice with a large coke. My dad would love the area of town we are in, Dazhalan Lu street, is one of the last remaining areas of the city that is still full of narrow streets and back alleys, with small independent shops everywhere. Great place to get lost. It is sad that everywhere we look these old subdivisions are being torn down brick by brick to make way for modern high rises. The city is nice to walk around with friendly people who seem very uninterested in my curiosity. Only a few more days in Beijing and we already have more things that we want to do than we have days for, but that's okay either we'll have to return, or something.
Tyson
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