Trekking Tian'an'men Square

     Tian'a'nmen (天安门) Square literally translates to "Gate of Heavenly Peace."
天Tian=Sky or Heaven
安An=Safe or Peace
门Men=Door or Gate.
     Thus, Tian'an'men means Gate of Heavenly Peace!

     Tian'an'men Square is literally a square that encircles (er, boxes in) the Forbidden City. And this was to be our first stop in China.  Considering that this is the largest urban square in the world (and could hold one million people shoulder-to-shoulder), Tian'an'men was not terribly crowded during our trek.  Later on in the day, in the Forbidden City, would we experience dense crowds.
 

      Call it what you may, but I have this obsession about Asian couples. I find them to be extremely adorable, so it was my goal to spot out as many Chinese couples as possible and to take photos. This was the first couple I found. Cute, right! ^-^

 

 

 

     As we walked toward the main gate, we paralleled an outside street. To my utter amazement, I saw a "Public Toilets" building.  Throughout the journey in China, I would occasionally find "public toilet" buildings. Usually, one could just walk into hotels and use the facilities without asking. (It was actually quite common to do so!)

 

 

     The officers, workers, police, and so forth, left a strong impression on me.  Every time I saw them, their posture would be outstandingly perfect, their emotions void, and often times their eyes unwandering.  I can only imagine the great deal of self-control that would be required in order to perfect this. 

 

      A part of Tian'an'men Square that we did not visit was The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (also known as Mao's Tomb). On average, there is a line that lasts two hours before entering the tomb.  The tomb holds the body of Mao on display.  All cameras and video cameras are strictly prohibited inside the tomb, and will be taken away. 

 

     As I had mentioned in my previous blog post, China is very proud that the 2008 Olympics were held in Beijing.  This pride can be found in all sorts of places: on billboards, on water bottles, on the back of bus seats, on complimentary hotel items, et cetera.

 

     You can also notice that many women will carry umbrellas although it is not raining.  The image of a 'beautiful' girl in China is one that is pale, thin, and small. Umbrellas are carried on sunny days to protect a girl's skin from easily tanning under the harsh sunlight.

 

 

     Soon we stood outside the main gate of Tian'an'men Square, and a professional photographer took a group photo of our delegation. You could buy the photo along with a book about Beijing and it would later be delivered to our hotel.  That was the first purchase I made.

     While the cameraman collected the orders, a Chinese man approached Phoebe and asked her a question.  Phoebe then turned to me and asked my name.  "Stephanie, you have just made a Chinese friend and he would like to take a photo with you."

     The high school I attend has a Chinese program, and a few teachers and principals had traveled to China before. One thing that one of my teachers had vividly recalled was how Chinese loved to take photos with foreigners. This was especially true if the foreigner was a beautiful, blond, blue-eyed woman. 

     So the idea wasn't too far-fetched for me to understand, but at the same time I was shocked and honoured that I was being asked for a photograph.

 

 

 

 

     The main gate includes a portrait of former Chairman Mao.  The portrait is exchanged annually with a new portrait.  Phoebe had commented that the "Mao was younger this year than he was last year!" The portrait aged him to be in the forties but last year the portrait depicted Mao to be in his sixties.  Interesting!



A Vacant Beijing

     Upon flying to Beijing, the airport was surrounded by thunderstorms. To my disappointment, we circled around the city multiple times. A few passengers had their window shutters open, and I craned my neck for my first look into China. All I could see were dark clouds and distant flashes of lightning. We received several updates, but they were all the same: delay, delay, delay. It was already past 11PM Beijing time.
     Slowly the clouds cleared up just barely enough to see shadows of buildings and the lights shining off of them. And then....... We were landing.
     We landed so quickly that I did not have time to register my emotions. I was officially on Chinese soil!
     As soon as we exited the plane, our delegation leaders instructed us to stow away our cameras and to not take photos while in Immigration. Something about their tone made me keep my camera hidden until we left the airport completely.
     After a short ride up an escalator, we came up into a huge expanse. I was utterly shocked by how clean and polished the airport was. The floors literally shined. If you've heard the expression "clean as a whistle," that would describe what I saw. It was truly the epitome of perfection.

     The Olympics were held in Beijing in 2008, and China spent much on the cleaning of the city of Beijing. Four years later, it is still evident. I cannot imagine a cleaner airport.

     I was shocked at how empty the airport was. Yes, it was past midnight, but the ginormous airport seemed....vacant. It was an area to be packed, and it seemed as if only workers and the passengers from our plane were the only ones present.

     Soon we were met by our delegation manager, a native to Beijing, Phoebe. She was young with a short haircut and a bright smile.

     She first led us through the airport and we took a short pause at the restrooms. I did not have to go and Phoebe and Chuck were talking. (Chuck was my delegation leader). She asked him if any of the students knew Chinese and he said yeah, that I did. He called me over and then Phoebe and I spoke in Chinese. She only asked what my name was, and I replied with my Chinese name (Xu Meng An 许梦安). She said "Great" and that was it. The students from the restrooms returned and we continued on through the airport. I felt pleased; she had understood my Chinese. I always have a doubt within myself that I am not good enough, and I was assured at that moment that I had done at least something right.

     The way out of the Beijing airport was long and confusing. If I had to navigate my own way out, I would have been easily lost.

     At last we were outside, and there awaited our luggage van and bus. I breathed in the cool midnight air. It was unfamiliar, but not strange; it was an interesting taste. 

     The ride to our hotel was relatively short: only forty minutes. The bus (along with every bus thereafter) had a microphone that our tour guides would use to tell us about history and culture and such. This night, however, Phoebe gave us some general rules and told us about tomorrow's (er, technically today's) agenda.

     Phoebe also gave a special introduction to our driver in Beijing: The second best driver in China. That is, the best driver is always in jail or the hospital for his crazy driving. ;)

     We then had the remainder of the bus ride to ourselves. I looked out the window at the quiet Beijing street life. I was surprised by how similar Chinese trees were to the ones we have here in North Carolina. Beijing also had fascinating road systems!  There were multiple levels of roads, all on top of one another. It was as if they were bridges that criss-crossed one another. (An ingenious way to keep down traffic!) As we neared our hotel, many shops with neon lights broadcasted their stores in both Chinese and English! One store in particular caught many people's attention. It read "Sex Store" underneath the Chinese characters. I was shocked at it's openness. I had thought something of the sort would not be so explicitly advertised (especially in China). 

     At long last, we arrived to our hotel.  And again, the atmosphere felt vacant. I had thought that Beijing would be more active, even at night. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to believe that maybe it would be Shanghai that would be more of the busy-night city I had imagined.

      We received our room keys and roommates (two people per room, except for one group of three girls) and made our way to the rooms.  After settling in, I asked my roommate to go with me downstairs to talk to our leaders (we had a buddy system). When we were downstairs, I told Phoebe about there not being any vegetarian meals available on the plane. She said she would make sure the restaurants would cover our needs.

     A lot of stress dispersed after then. I ended the day by writing about my first experiences in Beijing. In just a few hours we would arise to go to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and a culinary school. I quickly fell asleep.

Our delegation leaders from left to right:

Mr. Kipkee

Mrs. Stevenson

Phoebe

Kristin

Chuck

Last flight

     The plane ride from Chicago to Beijing was to be a twelve hour flight. I loved flying, so this was to be no problem. Except for one little problem: Our delegation had not ordered vegetarian meals for the four vegetarians in our group...
     At first I was a little panicky; I had only eaten a small fruit salad in the Chicago airport, as I had expected full meals and snacks on the plane ride. It took a while, but some vegetarian options were made available and we carried forth.
     The plane ride itself was awkward: I was situated inside a middle section, and I made frequent rises to stretch my legs.
     To fight off the possibility of jet-lag, I kept myself awake through the flight, only taking short naps here and there.
     The problem? I was wearing my hoodie, had it zipped up to my chin, the hood pulled over my head, curled up into a blanket, and I was shivering the entire ride. See, I am the type of person who is cold beneath 85F (29C). And the plane was considerably chilly.
     In general, it was a very uncomfortable ride for me. Now that I am looking back, I realize it was a miserable twelve hours for me. I just wanted to be in China--immediately.
     But it all wasn't too terrible: one event permeated my mind. (Yes, this is another bathroom story). There were only four restrooms available for the economy class, which meant there was always at least one person would be standing outside, waiting.
     During one of the times I stood outside the restroom, a middle-aged Chinese man stood behind me. (The bathrooms were not gender specific). Soon, a college-aged American boy also stood with us. Due to the lack of space, we were clustered into this awkward group, and not a line.
     The guy had asked about why I was going and what group I was with (our burgundy People to People polo's and khaki pants allowed us to notably stick out).  He and I talked for a few minutes, while we waited.
      Finally, the restroom opened up and I went forth, finished my business, and came back out.  As I left, I noticed that the Chinese man motioned for the boy to go first. The boy declined, saying "But you were here first." Again, the man nodded for the boy to go first. Another decline. This time the man guided the boy forward, gently pushing his back, toward the restroom. With a loud sigh, the boy said "Okay, okay!" and went into the restroom.
     I smiled and nodded at the man before returning to my seat. The image stayed with me throughout the plane ride.

Chicago Adventures!

     Bathroom Story! (Oh, I have Plenty of these for my China trip). So in the Chicago airport, their toilets had a plastic covering over the toilet and you had to wave your hand over a sensor for the plastic to swivel around. Which meant it would always stay clean!! I had never seen this before, so being the dork that I am, I took a photo. Haha!



     Nothing particularly exciting occurred in the Chicago airport. That is, we ate, window-shopped, met the other delegation from Raleigh, and waited for our plane to arrive.
     However, this was a taste of my first freedom. I have lived a very sheltered life, which meant sleepovers, parties, mall trips, et cetera were a no unless one of my parents were in attendance. So being allowed to traverse with other students without supervision was truly something special for me to experience. And I knew that over the next seventeen days I would face a freedom I never had before.

Gaining Wings

     Today was the day! I had had little sleep due to the rampant emotions within and I was terribly excited to arrive early at the airport. I would fly from Charlotte to Chicago, then from Chicago to Beijing. I had never flown before so mixed emotions boiled within my stomach. I have a slight claustrophobia and when it's activated, I can be a true mess. Yet, at the same time, I have been wanting to fly for such a long time! I've literally dreamt about flying and today was the day I would actually gain my wings.
     I was worried about security checks, and wondered whether my suitcase would be overweight or oversized but there were no tricks. Everything was a smooth ride.
     By the time final goodbyes were said, I was bouncing on my heels by the mixture of excitement and nerves. Would flying make me sick? Would the plane be too small? If I don't make it on the first flight, how will I survive a twelve hour flight from Chicago to Charlotte? Needless to say, my mind was racing. 
     I have always tended to be the shyer, more reserved person in life. (Until you put me in a leadership position or you break my shell). So I stayed quiet to myself, writing in my little eco-friendly journal while everyone socialized and took photos and such while waiting for our plane.
     All too soon, we boarded the plane to Chicago. The plane was dirty and quite small. There were two seats on the right and one seat on the left and a very narrow aisle. Thankfully, claustrophobia wasn't gripping me. I had taken some homeopathic leg-cramp prevention tablets before boarding and I believe it helped.
     I sat on an aisle seat with a girl who had been flying practically her entire life. She informed me on the planes procedures and comparing this plane to other ones she has flown in.
     When the plane finally took off, I had the largest grin on my face. It was quite embarrassing, actually. Utterly fascinated, I gazed out the window, watching land, vehicles, and buildings slowly diminish behind clouds.
     Now the clouds were truly "cotton candy." I found myself visualizing myself out there, jumping amidst the clouds, sleeping within them, et cetera. Call it what you may, but my imagination was thoroughly prodded with this new scene.
     And the entire time I gazed out the window, the phrase "Cotton clouds of lullaby" from Evanescence's Imaginary rebounded within my mind. So true, so very true.
     After a short nap, I realized to my discomfort that I had to use the restroom. I have terrible balance and we were on a PLANE. Sighing, I knew this would not end well(this is one of many restroom stories on this trip). And I rose, to walk to the back of the plane, gripping seats to keep my balance.
     Once I made it (without falling!) to the tiny little restroom cabinet, I realized two things: No light. And no toilet paper. I cracked the door open, hoping to find a light switch. If I had light, I am sure toilet paper would also show up. But to my dismay, there was no light switch. I closed the door, feeling incredibly awkward as I swayed to the plane's movements, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. And there was toilet paper, ironically in front of my face! I gritted me teeth and did my business--in the dark. In a sentence: Gravity is NOT your friend.

     Landing was not nearly as enthralling as taking off, but I was excited. We had landed in the Chicago airport and that was just one step away from China.

The Charlotte Delegation