J-E-LL-O

Hi everyone! I'm sorry there has been such a long interruption in the China posts. I've been having a bit of tummy trouble the past couple weeks which culminated in two trips to the doctor's office and a stint with IV fluids on Monday evening. With the help of the awesome medicine phenergan (and my awesome husband who bought lots of pre-packaged jello "because nothing is too good for his wife" and also made some from "scratch" ; )), I am steadily working my way back to the land of solid culinary delights. I look forward to catching up on the China posts and sharing some of our newer adventures with you!

Leaps and Bounds

When it came to planning our trip to China, we received much recommendation about what to do and what to avoid during our visit – watch out for “art students” and people trying to “practice English”, only use certain taxis, don’t drink or brush your teeth with the water, know that standing in line and personal space are not understood concepts, haggle relentlessly. However, perhaps the best advice was “go see the Chinese acrobats.”

On our first evening in Beijing, Matt and I took a taxi through the illuminated colossal skyscrapers and construction projects of downtown Beijing to the colorfully lit Chaoyang Theater for an evening of amazing physical and theatrical showmanship. With the glee of children at a circus, we watched open-mouthed and wide-eyed as the acrobatic troupe performed stunt after challenging stunt with grace, precision and accuracy.

And Chinese acrobatics is far from being just entertaining – it is a performance art steeped in culture and tradition that began over two millenia ago during the Han Dynasty that features “feats of strength and daring performed cleverly.” The acrobatic techniques are handed down from master to apprentice over many years of rigorous training in balance, strength and flexibility. The performances feature the skill of the acrobats working together as well as with props from daily life (plates, rope, chairs) and traditional Chinese handicrafts (vases, fans, kites). The result is a show that is both lyrical in its composition and coordination with traditional music and costuming and athletic in the sheer physicality and endurance of its performers.

These pictures don’t quite capture the experience because they lack the fluidity of movement, but I hope (in my first ever blog video), that you are able to get a taste for what we saw.

One of Matt favorites - the two acrobats standing on planks were rolling on the pins underneath while balancing various objects and people.

This segment was a "phoenix dance" that began with each acrobat on their own bike swirling around the stage. I was captivated.

Yonghe Lamasery

The Yonghe Lamasery, also known as the Lama Temple, was built during the Qing Dynasty to house court eunuchs. After serving several functions, including time as an imperial residence, it was converted into a monastery to house Tibetan monks in the early 1700s. Saved from the Cultural Revolution, it opened to the public in 1981 and remains one of the most prominent Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. In addition to boasting a remarkable mixture of Han Chinese and Tibetan architecture, glazed tile roofs, and Buddhist art and sculpture, the temple also houses the ritual urn used to determine reincarnations of the Dalai Lama.

Our visit to the temple was interesting and remains somewhat difficult to explain. I have visited sacred religious sites, both Western and Eastern, both with and without active worship taking place. This experience was different, and in some ways only pleasant in the way that it got both Matt and I thinking and talking about what made us ill at ease. Had I hit the limit of my cultural comfort zone? Had I viewed a religion so different from my own, witnessing activities that went directly against its tenets, and become uncomfortable? I don’t really put too much stock in either of these reasons, because I’ve had experiences that have pushed the boundaries of both much further.

I imagined a Buddhist temple to be a peaceful place with a calming energy, but the atmosphere was intense almost to the point of being frenzied. Incense billowed in thick, choking clouds, incense sellers patrolled at the front of each building, worshippers rushed from altar to altar. An elderly woman, struggling to keep up with her family, fell down a flight of stairs and thankfully, Matt caught her before her head hit the hard stone. She was most grateful and smiled in appreciation to cross the language barrier, her family nodded at us before pausing briefly to gather her and continue on. The only calm feeling came from the monks, who rather than being ominpresent, were scattered infrequently throughout the many buildings. Their silence was in great contrast to the fervor of the visitors.

I did however enjoy the beautiful colors of the buildings and the sun glinting off the gold and the yellow glazed tile roofs. There was an amazing set of shi-shi dogs (the Chinese equivalent to shisa) on either side of the entrance to the main hall, and the interiors of each building contained elaborate (sometimes eerie) and opulent statues of the many Buddhas and bodhisattva. Initially, we had rented audio guides, but the sheer mass of information at the first spot led us to turn to the well-marked signage in both Chinese and English

Our Home on Wangfujing Dajie

The Crowne Plaza Beijing served as a comfortable home base during our visit to China. When we arrived from Peking Airport after a long day of flights and layovers, the pillowy down comforter, plush white robes and terry slippers were a welcome sight. I squealed at the size of the bathroom, and although I never got a chance to soak in the terrific tub, I partook of the luxurious lotions and loofah from the toiletries basket. From our window we could enjoy an atrium view into the hotel lobby where I made a "Santa sighting" in one of the glass elevators (see previous post). Though much of our time was spent out and about seeing the city and surrounding area, we spent pleasurable time in the hotel plotting our daily itineraries, sampling Cantonese cuisine, and reading and partaking of Chinese tea service in the atrium lobby. The experience Matt and I both enjoyed most at the hotel was closing each evening with a recap of the days events over wine and a cigar at the champagne and cigar bar. Over the next few days, I will be revisiting our trip again for you and sharing some of the images we captured along the way - stay tuned for stories and pictures that will hopefully give you a peek into Beijing and Chinese culture.

Coming Soon

I'll be posting pictures from our trip to Beijing over the weekend and throughout next week!!