Everything is Under Control - Beijing Adventures

10/13 - 10/14/2016 Beijing, China

Mascot of JD.com, a cousin of Jet.com in the China Market

For some reason I was dreading this trip.  Unaccustomed to having no adventure streak present or excitement beyond getting to catch up on the latest films on the plane ride over, this was a puzzling circumstance.  I had brought far too many books and far too few plans of outings to sneak in between days at work.  Fortunately the universe put another explorer in my path to right the universe.  Angel is not only a top notch work partner, but also full of boundless energy hidden behind a coy smile and easy laugh.  We got off work on a Thursday evening and were dropped at the silk market, intending to walk home from there.  

The best thing I saw at work all day.  LIVE crabs, individually tied.  How do I know they are alive, one of our security assoicates picked one up to show me.  The amount of non-verbal communication I must have expressed about my lack of interest in touching crabs was quite clear.  So creepy....and how in the heck do they tie them up?

The market was fun, but shortlived.  Bartering, while fun, is exhausting for all parties involved.  Little did I know I had over 10 miles of walking ahead and city waiting that looked much different at night.  Beijing, covered in smog by day and busy travelers, was full of lights and chaos and interest after nightfall.  

Traditional Theatre

Topiary with nice glutes!

If this doesn't make you want to eat your fruits and vegetables, I don't know what would?!

We made it to Tianammen Square by nightfall and found it closed, but empty and solemn, even under the glare of glowing decorations from the last week's national holiday.  Of even more interest and intrigue was the Forbidden City.  With extensive lighting and less crowds, it did indeed look forbidden.  Mao's portrait hung centrally, guarded by soldiers who looked not much older than boys and lions guarding the gates with a smile or a snarl.  It was glorious and Chinese to the hilt.  

Tianammen Square

Confession: I've thought these were dragons for years....they are lions....I just told this one a joke, that is why he is laughing so hard. 

We continued on and with a conspiratory look, Angel says, "I want to show you something else. We must call a car."  They have a version of Uber in China.  It is efficient and clean and fantastic.  We arrived at the Olympic Park and every venue was awash in a rainbow of color.  It was certainly as impressive as the opening games ceremony, which I stand by was the best I've ever seen.  

The Bird's Nest

The Cube - Where Michael Phelps cleaned up on the medal count.

Finally exhausted and heading back to the hotel, Angel popped up with another plan.  "We should hire a car and go to the Great Wall in the morning."  Knowing our flight was at 1300 and the Great Wall was quite far, I was fairly skeptical.  With a gleam, she made phone call and minutes later and lots of Chinese discussion past, we had an Audi sedan scheduled to pick us up at 6:30, head to the Great Wall and then take us on to the airport.  I figured this adventure wasn't going to happen and had just let it go.  Here came Angel with the drive to figure out a solution and take us on an adventure I had wanted to go on since college.  

We arrived at the Wall quite early.  Smoke cloaked the hills and tourists were few.  Angel procured bus tickets, wall tickets and finally cable car tickets.  I am forever grateful for her willingness to expedite and figure things out with her language.  We walked up a hill to the bus and were carried further up hill by the bus.  Disembarking, we walked up one more hill to the cable car.  The cable car took us 4 minutes seemingly straight up before we were finally there.  Stepping out and laying eyes on it, I felt the a chemical dump into my system that I hadn't felt in so long.  The thrill of being near the ancient, near a great mystery of the east filled me with an excitement that runs close with love and freedom.  I wanted to run down the ramparts and look in every room and hole.  Patience prevaled and we strolled along the wall, alone and together, taking in the great structure that was shrouded in fog and mystery.  

Inside the watchtowers along the wall. 

The steps behind me needed to be run.  With Angel's encouragement below and two handsome American's at the top, I made it in 4 minutes.  Whoop Whoop!

The adventurer in arms - Angel.  She is truely a blessing of the highest degree.  

This is often how my adventures go, I am full throttle enjoying the drop off the cliff (in this case literaly), while my companions make faces like this.  :)  

A few closing thoughts:

Spending time with someone that can speak English and has the experience of living in both China and US has made me aware of things.  She frequently mentioned, "Everything is Under Control."  It truly is in China.  One party government, laws about the number of children you can have, no access to firearms, they tell you when you can drive your car and have some of the most intense and present security I've ever seen.  I've learned more about non-lethal crowd control in the last few days than I imagined was possible.  I'll give you a great example of how society is molded.  We are standing at a stoplight in an area where all streets have been shut down to vehicular traffic.  The crossing light is red, there are no cars, no people, just darkness.  I start to cross and we cannot.  Why?  Because the light is red.  It is the law.  That was the most startling example of social control I've ever seen in my life.  I'm not judging it, but it was astounding.  

I'd encourage people that visit to figure out chopsticks.  Don't be weak or lazy.  Sure you may be a little hungry when you go to a restaurant that only serves noodles and they keep escaping, but you won't starve.  Watch your counterparts or strangers, there are ways.  

A lot can be accomplished with sign language, smiles and a willingness to communicate in non-traditional ways.  As before, don't be lazy or arrogant.  I find that people genuinely want to help, want to communicate.  It is possible to solve even the most complex queries with a little patience.  

Lastly, and wholly aimed at Americans.  We are being taught to fear and hate people different than us.  Of course it may not be our parents, communities or friends with this perspective, but the media, some  parts of the government and all kinds of other sources are wanting us to believe that anyone not like us it to be feared.  I'm sitting in a park today watching families fly kites, eat snacks and love and play just like we do.  They may live under a different regime, have different cultural inclinations and have very different palletes, but please don't ever forget that behind every government, every world crisis there are families just like yours with struggles, hopes, dreams and joys that are no different.  We really are all just humans at the core.