Chengdu

Chengdu Panda Center

We arrive at the volunteering guest house. They take us to the outskirts of Chengdu to a panda center. Once there, they let us walk around to watch the pandas. The panda cubs are born in the summer. Pandas can weigh from six grams to 146 grams. If a mother panda gives birth to twins, she will only choose the healthiest twin, and she will let the other twin die. When I heard about this, I felt very disappointed. This the only aspect of a panda’s life that I do not like. Thankfully, this panda center takes the other twin and raises it in the panda breeding center!

Three weeks after the panda is born, it will begin to grow fur that has the same patches as its mother. After six to eight weeks, the cub will begin to open its eyes, and its teeth will begin to grow. Soon, the cub will slowly begin to walk. When I saw pictures of this phase of the panda’s life, I instantly was filled with a desire to pick up the panda and hug it! They didn’t know how to walk, so they would just lie on the ground eating!

After half a year, the cubs are still dependent on their mothers, but they are learning how to find food and water as well as how to climb trees.

Pandas like twenty-seven different types of bamboo. They consume twenty-five percent of their body weight. They eat from twenty to forty pounds of bamboo per day! They spend ten to sixteen hours of their days just eating! So basically, pandas eat to have the energy to digest their food, and eat again. This center began with only six pandas, and now they take care of 146 pandas. They are beginning to release some pandas back into the wild.

My Personal Experience With the Pandas

Pandas are like little children dressed up. They sit, eat, walk, and sleep like children.

We are volunteering with the pandas for one week. When we arrive at the center, we are told that we will be working in the breeding center, where the pregnant pandas stay. First, we are divided into three groups, two people in each. I am with my dad. Then, we are assigned to a master, a person that takes care of the pandas by feeding, cleaning, and observing them. Our master teaches us how to act around a panda, how to feed it, and how to clean its room and yard. Now it is our turn!

First, we lock the panda in its yard. Then, we go into its room, and with our hands, we pick up all the long bamboo and put it into a pile outside. Then, with a broom, we clean up the shorter bamboo pieces and bamboo shoots and put them in the pile with the larger bamboo. Next, we clean up the panda's poop and put it in a bin because it will be given to the farmers so they can use it for compost in their farms. Then, we throw water on the floor and walls and clean them. Finally, we put more bamboo into the panda’s room, but before we do that, we had to hit the bamboo against the floor to crack the tip so the panda can eat it easier. Then, we let the panda in and go clean outside.

Cleaning outside is more difficult than cleaning inside. First of all, the panda poop is hidden in the grass and plants. So, we have to go hunting under plants and rocks! Then, the pandas eats more bamboo when it is outside. It chews up the bamboo and leaves the leftovers blended in with the grass. Normally, when my dad and I clean outside, we break up the tasks; I find the bamboo, and my dad cleans the poop. The next day we switch. Also, as we are cleaning, the panda watches us through the little window to make sure we are doing a good job cleaning his backyard! It is kind of intimidating! One time, we were cleaning a panda’s backyard, and she sat right at the window and watched us the entire time. When I began to clean up her poop, she began to pace back and forth!

After cleaning up the pandas’ rooms and backyards, it is time to make their food and then feed them. The pandas eat panda cake which is made from rice powder, soy powder, and corn powder mixed with water. They also eat carrots, bamboo, and bamboo shoots. We learned how to make the panda cake, and then we fed it to them. After giving the pandas the cake, I tried some of it. It tastes a little bit grainy! After feeding time we let them sleep and play and then fed them again later. As they slept and played, I would sit outside their cage watching them. They act exactly like little children, playful and clumsy, but they love to sleep and eat! After their second feeding time, we would go back to the volunteering center looking forward to the next day.

On our last day with the pandas, I made sure all their rooms and backyards were very clean, and I gave them some extra panda cake since they love it! I wished I could have hugged them goodbye, but I did say it! Even though all we did there was clean up poop and feed them, I felt honored to be able to help the symbol of China! This was an experience I will never forget!

Jiuzhaigou

We arrived in 九寨沟 (Jiǔ zhài gōu), which means nine village valley. The airport we landed in is 3,200 meters above sea level. The government cut off the top of the mountain to build the airport, so the Chinese government moves mountains! The population is mainly made up of Tibetan farmers. They grow bamboo shoots, barley, sweet potatoes, and green beans. The second largest ethnicity is Hang, third Han Chinese, fourth Hue, and fifth Chinese Muslims. Originally, 九寨沟 was part of Tibet, but now it is part of China. When Tibet became a part of China, the government made the children have at least nine years of education. Since this territory originally belonged to Tibet, the Chinese government placed a tracking device in our car and a camera in the front. As we drove down from the airport, we saw little villages with prayer flags crisscrossing the land.

Day 1: 黄龙 National Park
Today, we will go to the 黄 (yellow; huang)龙(dragon; long) National Park. We walk on a long pathway. From a bird's eye view, the path looks like a dragon. The park is 9,600 square meters large, and it begins at 3,230 meters above sea level. Right now, the ponds aren't very full of water. Their peak season is in June-November. There are so many Chinese tourists all around us; 40,000 people visit this park a day! We only saw a couple of foreigners! Next to the walkway, there are huge ponds with clear aqua water. The ponds form levels with complex calcium formation all around. These are the largest collection of ponds in the world! The ponds form when the snow from the mountain melts. The borders separating the ponds are created when leaves fall from the trees and mix with the calcium over time. The minerals on the pond bottoms create the bright aqua-green color.

3,280 meters above sea level
We see a wall of calcium formation that is a waterfall in the peak season. Next to the waterfall, we see a cave also made of calcium. This cave was said to be a house of the immortal gods.

3,305 meters above sea level
First, we see a pond 1,300 meters long and 40-122 meters wide (122 meters at the widest part of the pond and 40 meters at the thinnest part of the pond). There isn't any water in this pond. As we are learning about the pond, a Chinese man jumped down into the pond and took a picture. The police came and told him not to do it again. Once the police left, he jumped back down and took another picture. Therefore, the police came back and told him, more aggressively this time, not to do it again! At this point, we decided it was time to continue up to see other ponds!

3,320 meters above sea level
First, we see a cluster of ponds in an area of 20 square kilometers. There are 330 little ponds in this cluster. They all have trees, rocks, flowers, and grass growing in them. In the center of each pond, there is a majestic Bonsai tree growing. Some of these ponds do have water. They are very impressive with the aqua water and the rich greenery!

3,400 meters above sea level
Here we also see a cluster of ponds 3,600 square meters large. This cluster has 180 ponds. These ponds are like a mirror, but if you look at them from a different angle the image is crystal clear. In the center of a big pond, there is a wooden platform. We climb up the platform and have a scenic view of the whole park with the snow-capped mountain on the horizon, the shadow of the clouds reflected on the ponds, and the moss forests.

3,415 meters above sea level
Next, we have another cluster of ponds that are 6,480 square meters large. There are more than 400 ponds in this cluster! The ponds are aqua green, crystal clear blue, and vibrant yellow. All around the ponds, there are Azaleas, which are called Suoluo (梭罗) in Chinese. They blossom from April to May.
3,450 meters above sea level
Here we see the second largest cluster of ponds, with a total of 658 ponds. There is vegetation growing along the banks of the ponds. The ponds are all different colors: golden yellow, jade green, rose red, and fresh orange.

Top-Bottom
Finally, we see the largest cluster of ponds with 693 ponds. We admire their vibrant colors and  begin our descent. On the way down we walk down a path with long green moss hanging down over our heads. This park has been truly amazing, and I can't wait for what tomorrow will bring!

Jiuzhaigou National Park

We go to Jiuzhaigou National Park. The whole park is 720 square kilometers. The park was opened in 1984. We walk into the park and get on a bus to drive to the top of the park. The line to board the bus is very crowded, but we got on the bus after many elbows in our faces! There are over 500 buses in use in the park. We get on the bus, and it took us all the way to the top. We get off the bus at the top, and  begin to walk down the park.
The first point we stop at is the Arrow Bamboo Lake. This lake is ten meters deep and 2,600 meters above sea level. Arrow Bamboo grows all around the lake, hence the name. The water is very transparent, and when there is no wind, you can see your own reflection. The lake has a green tint, which comes from the algae that covers the lake bottom. Also, on the lake bottom there are trees. They had fallen down from the forest surrounding the lake and stayed on the bottom of the lake.
Next, we went to the Panda Lake. In Chinese it is called 熊猫湖 (xiong mao hu), which means Panda Lake. The reason for this lake's name is because a panda used to come and drink at this lake, but he doesn't anymore because there are too many people. The other reason for this name is because in the winter, when the lake is frozen, the frozen algae and calcium on the bottom form a shape that resembles a Panda's back. In the forest surrounding this lake lives the golden snub-nosed monkey. These monkeys are very rare to find, so they are under special protection. The lake is twenty-four meters deep. Also, above the lake there is a waterfall. This waterfall is dried out in the dry season.
Second, we go to the Five Flower Lake or the Peacock Lake. In Chinese, it is called 五花湖 (wu hua hu), which means Five Flower Lake, or 孔雀h湖 (kong que hu), which means Peacock Lake. If you look at the lake from a bird's eye view, the lake resembles a peacock! The lake has a rich blue color that comes from the copper on the lake’s bottom. There are trees under the water that were cut down before this area became a park, and these trees make intricate patterns.

Third, we go to the Pearl Shoal Waterfall. This waterfall is 270 meters wide and twenty-one meters high. The waterfall is 2450 meters of elevation. The waterfall is mostly frozen in the winter, but in the summer, the water flows into a river. Droplets of water fly in the air reflecting light, and it makes them look like pearls. These water pearls slide down the waterfall bouncing over the rocks. There are trees and bushes growing on the rocks and a snow-capped mountain in the distance. Fresh green moss covers the rocks. A famous TV show called 孙悟空 (suen wu kong), meaning Monkey King, was filmed at this waterfall.

Fourth, we go to the Long Lake. This lake is 4300 meters long and on average, forty-four meters deep. The lake is 3100 meters of elevation. It is completely frozen in winter!

Fifth, we go to the Colorful Pond. The water in this pond comes from the Long Lake underground. The water is a bright green/blue color. The green color comes from the algae, and the blue comes from the copper. When the pond is full, it is 100 meters long, sixty meters wide, and ten meters deep.

Sixth, we go to the Nourilang Waterfall. In Tibetan, “"Nourilang” means grand and huge. The waterfall is 320 meters wide and 24.5 meters high. The entire waterfall is frozen in the winter. In the winter, the ice is blue due to the copper underneath the surface.

Seventh, we go to the Rhinoceros Lake, which is the second largest lake in the park. It is 2000 meters long and sixteen meters deep. This lake does not freeze in the winter. In the morning, you can see a beautiful reflection on the lake water of the mountains and the sky. The Tibetan Lamas came here to teach Buddhism. They rode on a white Rhinoceros that took them to this lake to drink water when the Lama did not feel well. After drinking the lake water, the Lama felt better, so he put a prayer wheel next to the lake as an offering to the lake gods that healed him.

Eighth, we go to the Tiger Lake. During autumn, the leaves on the trees surrounding the lake turn orange and red, and the leaves fall on the lake and create a pattern that looks like a tiger’s back.

Finally, we go to Shuzhen Waterfall. This waterfall is eleven meters high and sixty-two meters wide. Next to the waterfall, we see a Tibetan Mastiff. A Tibetan Mastiff is HUGE dog that looks like a wolf and is used by Tibetan farmers to guard their farm animals and crops. Our guide, who is a Tibetan farmer and owns a Mastiff, told us that they can break iron chains!

Jiuzhaigou has been one of the highlights of our trip, and I have loved meeting the kind Tibetan people and enjoying the picturesque Tibetan landscape.

Shangri-La

Shangri-La in Tibetan means beautiful and peaceful place. Originally this place was not known as Shangri-La. Only until James Hilton, the author of Lost Horizon, came here did it become known as Shangri-La. Hilton uncovered this place’s beauty and peace. He called it a place where the people live forever, and suffering doesn’t exist. I felt the same way. On the drive to Shangri-La I saw the countryside where the Tibetan farmers live in harmony with nature. They give offerings to the spirits that protect each plant and flower. When they die, their ashes are thrown into the river, and then evaporated into the sky. Then, they come down as rain, are absorbed into the soil, and grow into a tree as part of nature. In other words, they live forever!

First, we go to the Songzanlin Monastery. We can see the golden dome of the monastery touching the sky from our hotel. This monastery is two times as old as America! It is the largest monastery in the Yunnan province. As we walk around the monastery, we go past villagers and monks doing pilgrimages around the monastery. I hear the clicking of the 108 prayer beads and the voices of the monks chanting Om Mani Padme Hum. The 108 beads represent the 108 bones of Buddha after he was cremated. Om means the mind of Buddha, Mani means the compassion of Buddha, Padme means the wisdom of Buddha, Hum means invisibility of Buddha; all together it means “the path to enlightenment.”

Xi'an (History and Personal Experience)

We gathered our bags and got off the train in Xi'an, 西安. In Chinese, 西安 means Western Peace. Outside the train station, we are greeted by our volunteering coordinator, David. He takes us to the place we will be staying for the next two weeks. We are staying with a host family who are muslims. The mom is the Director of the kindergarten school we will be teaching at, and the dad works for the government, in the Department of Education. They told us to call them both Teacher Ma. They have one son named Gary, who is studying economics in college. Once at the apartment, David told us about our volunteering program. After a quick orientation, David left, and we went to get a good night's sleep.

Today is mother’s day, so we decided to take Teacher Ma and my mom out for lunch. We went to Muslim Street and tried many delicious snacks. Then, we went to have lunch. For lunch we had fried tofu, fish, noodles, bread soup, and 中国的可口可乐. 中国的= Chinese 可口可乐= Coca Cola. Chinese Coca Cola is a sweet plum juice that looks very much like Coca Cola. I loved it! Then, we went back to the apartment.

Today is our first day of teaching. When we arrive at the school, we are greeted by the director and the English teacher. We got there just in time to see the raising of the flag ceremony. Then, we introduced ourselves to the kindergartners and then went inside to talk to the English teacher. She showed us the textbook she used to teach. She brought us into one of the classes, so we could see how the students were being taught. Then, we discussed our lesson plans for the rest of the week. Next, we had lunch at the school. The lunch was delicious, and I am glad that we will be having our meals at the school. Then, the children had a nap time for two hours. They unstacked their beds, took out their blankets and stuffed animals, and went to sleep. Two hours later, the girls would form a line, and the teacher would do each girl’s hair!  My dad and I called the hairstyle “sprigster” because it was a sprig at the top of their heads! It was very adorable to watch. Then, we gave the teachers a lesson on how to teach their students the phonetics. Then, we had dinner and left the school. That was a wonderful first day, and I couldn’t wait until tomorrow!

For the rest of the two weeks, we arrived at the school, greeted the parents, had breakfast, and then taught two classes. In the class, we began with the phonetic song. Then, we reviewed vocabulary that the head teacher had given us. Finally, we sang many songs. After the two classes, we had lunch, and the students took a nap for two hours while Max and I did our homework. Then, we taught two more classes and had dinner. Next, we said goodbye to the children and their parents. Then, we went back to the apartment.

On the weekend between our two weeks of teaching, we visited the Terracotta Warriors in the outskirts of 西安. The name in Chinese is 兵马俑 (bīng mǎ yǒng) which means soldier, horse, and terracotta. The warriors were discovered in 1974 by a local farmer. Now the warrior receive six million visitors per year. Before 1974, the local people would bury their dead here. Originally, there used to be 8,000 warriors, but now there are only 2,000. Also the warriors used to be colorful, but after being exposed the open air, they lost their color.

The first emperor of China, who reigned in the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C, built these warriors to protect his tomb. This first emperor also created China’s writing and money. Out of all the 500 emperors in China, this emperor had the largest tomb. His mausoleum is 56 km2, and his tomb is in the center. Around the tomb, there are the warriors, clay horses, clay acrobats, jade armor, bronze animals and chariots, and dead concubines who were buried alive! He started building his mausoleum when he was thirteen. It took forty years to build, so it wasn’t completed in his lifetime. He unified China when he wears thirty-nine, and he died when he was fifty. His son completed his tomb. 720,000 workers were used to build his mausoleum. 西安 was the capital of China at the time, so he built his mausoleum as close to the capital as possible. His tomb is inside a mountain. There is a river flowing down the mountain with jade residing in the river. There also is gold near the mountain. Therefore, the emperor said that the mountain was his head, the river was his feet, the jade was his hand, and the gold was his other hand. This symbolized 风水 (Feng Shui), which is the unity of the Earth.

Pit 1:

There are three pits to hold the warriors. The first pit was discovered by the farmer. When they were first discovered, most of the warriors were in pieces. This is because the emperor had built wooden walls around the warriors, so since wood rots, the walls fell on the warriors and crushed them. There are 6,000 warriors in the first pit. Before, all the warriors held bronze weapons, but those were stolen during the years. The soldiers face East to protect the tomb, so they have their back to the tomb and are facing the enemy. The floor is made of bricks. Every warrior is different, but they all have long hair and mustaches because at the time it was illegal for men to cut their hair short. The warriors are very tall: 1.8 meters or 6 feet.

All the soldiers are infantry, and soldiers on the outer ranks form a wall to protect their fellow soldiers inside. The warriors’ armor are made of leather. The emperor rewarded warriors who fought well, and he took care of the dead warriors’ families. He was the first emperor to do that. The soldiers bodies are hollow, but their legs are solid clay. In the pit with the warriors, there are also graves of farmers. They did not know what these warriors were; they thought they were devils, so they left them alone. Only ⅓ of all the warriors are shown to the public out of a total of 8,000.

Fun True Story:

One Japanese man really loved the Terracotta Warriors. He wanted to be just like them. So, one early morning he snuck inside the first pit and dressed himself up to look exactly like one of the warriors. He climbed into the pit and stood there among the warriors. Soon the tourists started to come. Suddenly, one of the tourists screamed saying that one of the soldiers had blinked! The guards climbed into the pit and examined every warrior. Since the Japanese man couldn’t prevent himself from blinking, the guards were able to tell him apart. They dragged him away since he stayed in the same position and refused to move. Soon, the government made it illegal to do what he had done. Here is the video of what happened:

Pit 2:

In this pit, the warriors are face to face. They don’t hold any weapons-- only the ceremonial flag. This pit is the headquarters for the army. At the front, there are four horses pulling a wooden chariot that had rotted. The swords were still very sharp because the emperor discovered chrome plating technology. I am amazed at how advanced the Chinese were 2,000 years ago!

Pit 3:

This is the best preserved pit. There are different sections of the military in this pit. There are archers, chariots, cavalry, and infantry. In the future, when they are able to preserve the color of the warriors, those warriors will go in this pit. In an exhibition next to the pit, there is an archer. This is the only piece that was found intact, and it still has some color. We saw some other exhibitions of a middle-ranking officer, a general three meters tall, cavalry, and standing archer. Finally, we saw an exhibition of a chariot procession. The first chariot is made of bronze, and its purpose is to protect the second chariot. The second chariot is made of jade, and it holds the emperor. This chariot has six horses pulling it.

Then, we left the Terracotta Warriors. They were very impressive to see, and I have loved learning about them. We drove back to 西安 and began our second week of teaching. The second week was amazing just like the first! All the children were so enthusiastic to learn.The teachers were so open and willing, and we had so much fun! On our last day, we said goodbye to the teachers and parents and left the school. The next day, we said goodbye to the family and boarded our flight to Jiuzhaigou!

Pingyao

We rode to Pingyao by train. Once off the train, we stopped to have some Baozi which are big fluffy dumplings. Then, we drove to the Chang mansion. This mansion has 1,000 rooms, and it covers an area of 120,000 sq meters. It was built 200 years ago in the 16th century. This family made money by trading silk and tea with Russia. The peak of their wealth was during the 8th and 9th generations. In the 1950s, the Chang family scattered all over the world, and now, in the 28th generation, there are 3,000 descendants left. At the entrance of the mansion, there are two flagpoles to honor the 42 officials that were from the Chang family.

First, we visit the family shrine. This family practiced Confucianism, so they greatly honored their ancestors. Therefore, in the center, there is a statue of the first Chang man who was a farmer. Opposite the statue, there is a stage for opera performances, and on all of the columns there are intricate wood carving designs. Next, we visited the Apricot Garden. This garden was built during the Qing dynasty in the 1800s.  The reason this garden is an apricot garden is because Confucius only preached in apricot gardens. There was a wall that we passed to enter the garden. On the wall, there is a symbol of Ying and Yang. This symbol comes from Daoism, which is a religion that explains how the universe functions. Around the Ying and Yang, there are many sticks that symbolize the changes in the universe. While we were walking in the garden, we enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful scenery. We reach a small lake with rocks all around and a little wooden temple on the far side. There were many weeping willows all around the lake. We cross over a little bridge to reach the Crops Watching Tower.

The purpose of this tower was for the Chang family to be able to watch their crops being planted and harvested. There are two staircases leading up to the entrance. From the top of the tower we could see many trees, ponds with blooming lily blossoms, and beautiful flowers. We could also see many buildings. Our guide told us there are 50 buildings on this Chang family estate. Next, we go to the family school. The parents want their children to be very well educated, so they hire teachers to come there and teach their children.

Then, we go to the female living quarters. The top floor is for girls ages thirteen to fifteen. These girls stay in one room beginning from the age of thirteen and learn how to be a wife, and then at fifteen they get married. The bottom floor is for the girls’ servants. Next, we go the patriarch and matriarch living quarters. On the outside of the building, there are engravings of traditional Chinese characters in a blue color, and on the columns, there is poem of praise to the matriarch and patriarch. Inside the building, there are three rooms: on the right is the bedroom, in the center is the living room, and on the left is the study room. Finally, we leave the Chang family house and go to check in at our hotel.

Beijing (History and Personal Experience)

During this post, you will see many pictures of our adventures in Beijing, but in these pictures you will see something that is not usual for Beijing: blue skies. We should thank the One Belt One Road forum that was to take place the day after we left. The One Belt One Road forum is a gathering of Asian countries along the Silk Road. They meet together to discuss the improvement of the trade along the road.The Chinese government shut  down all the factories around Beijing a week before the forum was to take place, in order to improve the air quality. Thankfully, the plan worked out perfectly, and we had blue skies throughout our stay in Beijing. The government wanted to show off even more to the visiting officials, so they planted beautiful flower displays all over the city. It seems as though we were also VIP officials.

Day 1:

Today is our first day exploring Beijing. First, we head to the Summer Palace. Each day the Summer Palace receives 50,000 visitors! The Summer Palace was built by Qian Long in 1750. Qian Long is said to be China’s best emperor. He ruled during the Qing Dynasty for 60 years. By the time the Qing Dynasty ended in 1924, Qian Long had built five gardens and three man-made hills. The Summer Palace was destroyed in 1850 during the Anglo-French war and then rebuilt again later. In 1927 it was opened up to the public and became a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The full name of the Summer Palace is the Chinese Summer Palace. In Chinese it is 颐和园 (yi re yuan) which means “garden, harmony, and cultivate.” As we climb the steps to enter the palace, we see a dragon engraved on the middle of the steps. The dragon represents the Emperor and a phoenix represents the Empress. On either side of the gate there are two lions. A female and a male; Ying and Yang.

The female is holding a baby, and the male is holding the world. Once we enter through the gate we take a look at the map of the palace. The Kunming Lake (which we will visit after) takes up half of the property.

Once in the courtyard past the main entrance, we see many old trees, rocks will interesting formations, and statute of different animals. The Emperor believed that the animal statue could distinguish the bad officials from the good. At the end of the courtyard there is the emperor’s sitting place. This building is not his throne room; it is only for relaxing. There are three statues in front of the relaxing room. The center statue is of a crane, which represents long life, and the other two are of a phoenix. Since we are not allowed inside the relaxing room, we look through the windows. The first thing that we see is the sitting place. It is covered with cushions and silk sheets. Behind the sitting place, there is a mirror. Written on the mirror, there are 144 Chinese characters for long life. Each character looks different because 144 officials wrote on the mirror, and they come from different places, so they have different writing styles.

As we walk behind the relaxing building, we see many flowers along the path. Our guide tells us they are Peony flowers, the national flower of China.

We walk along a corridor to reach the lake. The corridor is 728 meters long built by the son of Empress Dowager as a birthday gift. The 7 in 728 meters represent July, and the 28 represents the 28th day, which means that Empress Dowager’s birthday is on July 28. The lake is a man-made lake. It was dug by one million workers! It is a copy of the West Lake in Hangzhou. The emperor wanted to use the lake to train his navy, but he could only do it during summer because the whole lake(!) freezes in winter! Close to banks of the lake, there is a huge marble boat. The emperor used the boat to relax, eat, and talk with officials. He wanted the country to be stable just like the boat. The water represents the people, the boat represents the government, and the boat driver represents the emperor. Therefore, the people have all the power: the water can overturn the boat or the water can carry the boat.

Next, we went to Empress Dowager’s living quarters. Empress Dowager or the Dragon Lady wasn’t supposed to be the empress. In the late Qing Dynasty, the Dragon Lady was chosen as a concubine for the king. Soon, she had risen to the position of the #2 concubine. When she gave birth to a boy, she was only second to the emperor’s wife. When the emperor passed away, the Dragon Lady’s son became king. The Dragon Lady poisoned the deceased emperor’s wife so she could take over. Technically, Empress Dowager was ruling the country. When her son died, she adopted another son, so she could stay in power. She put her adopted son in house arrest in 1808 for 10 years because he wanted to rule the country. She killed anyone who wanted to reform the country. She ruled for 50 years and died in 1908, and one day later, her adopted son also died.

In Empress Dowager’s living quarter there are five rooms.

The courtyard represents the earth, the family room represents fire, the boys room represents wood, the girls room represents gold, and the matriarch and patriarch’s room represents water. Empress Dowager believed that if the five elements were incorporated in her life, then life would be good. There were four chambers in Empress Dowager’s room: a make-up room, the study room, a room for artifact collection (clothes, silks…), and a bedroom. Empress Dowager always had a big feast for every meal. She would have 48 cold dishes and 128 hot dishes. Of course, she would not even get close to finishing these dishes. One of her meals could feed a family of 10 people for one year! Then, we left the Summer Palace to go to the Hutong Neighborhood.

To get to the Hutong Neighborhood, we rode in a Tuk Tuk!

In Chinese, Hutong means water well. The first inhabitants of the Hutong Neighbourhood were Mongolians. When one family settled down, they would dig a well next to their house. Then, as other families began to arrive, they built their houses around the well. That is why the Hutong Neighbourhoods are one long alley. There used to be more than 5,000 Hutongs in Beijing, but after the Cultural Revolution, there are now only 1,000. There are no toilets or showers in each house, so people use community bathrooms.

We stopped at the Wang family’s house to learn calligraphy. There is a courtyard in the center. Plants, flowers, and trees are growing all around. Red lanterns are hanging on the trees, as a symbol of prosperity. There are little rooms surrounding the courtyard like the family room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, and shops. We went into one of the rooms to learn calligraphy. We learned how to hold the brush, how much ink to use, the stroke order of the characters, when to make the lines thin or thick, and where to place the characters on the page. (Add video of teacher doing calligraphy) We also learned our chinese names. My name is 惠心 pronounced hùi xīn which means wisdom from the heart, since my name (Sophia) in Latin means wisdom. My brother’s name is 阳阳 pronounced yàng yàng which means great, since his name (Max) in Latin means the greatest. Then, we said goodbye to the family and headed back to our hotel.

Tuesday:

Today we will visit the Great Wall of China. Our tour guide takes us to a part of the Great Wall that is not very crowded. The Great Wall was built in 700 B.C., and in 221 B.C. When all of China was unified, Qin Shi Huang standardized the Chinese character and ordered all the parts of the wall to be connected. Now, there were no more threats inside China-- only outside. The Great Wall starts in the Yellow River and stretches all the way to the Gobi Desert in northern Mongolia and southern China.

The wall is 6,000 km long. 20% (20 million people) of the population was involved in building the wall. The wall was built with bricks that were locally made. There was no cement, so the workers used sticky rice to glue the brick together.

As we were walking, our guide told us about the four inventions in ancient China: gunpowder, the compass, paper, and printing. The emperor built another wall a few miles ahead of the actual Great Wall. He did this to stop the Mongolians from riding horses. The emperor needed a lot of people to build the wall, so he sent soldiers to search for men ages 20-40. Many people died building the wall, so the other workers buried them in the wall. There is an ancient story about the Great Wall:

A man named Mr. Fang Xi Liang and a woman named Mrs. Meng Jiang were getting married when soldiers invaded their village and took all their men including the groom. Five years after her husband was taken, Mrs. Meng Jiang went to the Great Wall in order to find him. Her journey took one year, and when she finally arrived, she was told that her husband had died one day before she arrived. She cried for three days and three nights. Due to her crying, one kilometer of the Great Wall collapsed. The emperor was furious with her, and ordered that she be brought to him to be killed. When she arrived at the emperor’s court, he fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. When she refused, the emperor pleaded her and told her she could have anything she wanted if she agreed to marry him. Finally, she agreed to marry him only if he would hold a proper funeral for her husband. Once the funeral was held, she jumped into the ocean to join her husband instead of marrying the emperor.

We walked along the Great Wall for two hours, listening to stories and watching the view. When we came down from the Great Wall, we walked to the car and drove to the Olympic Park.

The Olympic Park is located in the center of Beijing. It was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics. We walked through the park, and entered the Bird’s Nest Stadium. There our guide told us the symbolism of the Chinese flag. The red represents the many people that died fighting for China’s independence. The largest of the four golden stars stands for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the four smaller stars represent the people (intellectuals, soldiers, farmers, and workers). Then, we left the Olympic Park, completing our second day in China!

Wednesday:

First, we go to the Temple of Harvest or Temple of Heaven. In Chinese the name is _________ which means prayer, harvest, and hall. This temple was built in __________.  It was used during the Ming and Quing dynasties. In 1530 and 1750 it was destroyed by lightning and was rebuilt. No cement or nails were used in its construction. In total there were 28 columns supporting the building, representing the 28 constellations. The four interior columns symbolized the four seasons, the 12 central columns represented the 12 months of the year, and the 12 outer columns symbolized the 12 hours in the day (back then, two hours were equal to one hour). The temple has three roofs, which means that it is the home of a heavenly body. Two roofs means that it is the home of an emperor, and one roof means that it is the home of a commoner. The ball on the top of the temple represents the North Star. Surrounding the temple,, there is an echo wall. When one person would speak into the wall, a person on the opposite side could hear them.

The emperor used this building every Chinese New Year which begins at the end of January and ends at the beginning of February. The emperor also came on the summer solstice and winter solstice. This temple was used during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The emperors would come three days before the ceremony began to purify themselves through fasting. Once the ceremony began, only the emperor was allowed inside the temple. To represent the heavens, the emperor had a tablet engraved with the writings of the gods. He would offer incense, silk, and dead animals to the tablet. There are three other temples close to this one: the temples of the moon, sun, and earth. Since the emperor always wanted to be the center of everything, he built the Forbidden City in the center of these four temples. This temple is the symbol of Beijing, and the Great Wall is the symbol of China.

We walked down a very long walkway to reach the platform which held the Heavenly Center Stone. The stone was located in the center of the platform. The marble slabs that were placed around the stone were placed in a certain order. Every row had nine times the number of marble slabs than the row before it. This is because the number nine is a number of power. Also, there were two levels of stairs that we climbed to reach the top. The first level was a square, and the second level was a circle. This represented Ying and Yang.

Next, we went to Tiananmen Square. In Chinese, the name means Gate of Heavenly Peace. The layout of the square is a copy of the Red Square in Moscow. It was first built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty, and it was shaped like a T. After the Ming dynasty collapsed, Tiananmen Square was used a s a trash collecting place. From south to north it is 700 meters long, and from east to west it is 450 meters long. If you tried to fit as many people as you could side by side in the square, how many people do you think could fit? One million people! Since Tiananmen Square is in the center of the city, it is surrounded by many important buildings. On its left is the Great Hall of the People which was built in 1958, the auditorium (reception center) which holds 9,000 people, and the banquet chamber which can fit 5,000 people. On its right is the National Museum of China. It is 200,000 sq meters, and its area is the largest of any museum in the world! Behind the square is the memorial hall which holds Chairman Mao’s body in a crystal tomb. Every morning, the tomb is brought up from the ground for the tourists to see. Then, at night it is lifted back down.

Important Fact:

Before the 2008 student massacre, the floor of the square was made of dirt, but after the massacre, the blood stayed in the ground which discouraged many people from visiting the square. Therefore, the Chinese government covered the entire square with granite blocks! The Chinese government prohibits anyone from talking about the 3 T’s (Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen). Therefore, our tour guide could not tell us much about the student massacre. Many students were protesting for more rights. They camped out in Tiananmen Square for a few nights. Finally, the government sent soldiers and tanks to send the students away. They ended up killing many of the protesters.

Fun Fact:

On October 1 (the national independence day) 30 million tourists visit Beijing! Chairman Mao founded the Chinese Communist Party on October 1, 1949, which is why this day is celebrated.

Forbidden City:

As we were entering the Forbidden City, there were two guards that stood in the sweltering sun in their full uniform for two hours! The Forbidden City was designed by the architect Lei Fa Da and built during the Ming dynasty. In total, 24 emperors lived here-- 14 from the Ming dynasty and 10 from the Qing dynasty. The first emperor of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Di, moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. The second emperor’s uncle wanted to be the emperor, so the uncle killed his nephew and took the throne. The last emperor killed his whole family when the Farmer’s Rebellion took place, and then he hung himself. In 1644, the Qing dynasty (Manchurians) took over the last dynasty (Han dynasty). Therefore, the last emperor (Puyi) of the Han dynasty fled the Forbidden City, and went to Manchuria, then to Japan, and then back to the Forbidden City to work as a gardener! The Forbidden City became a museum in 1925. I recommend a movie about the last emperor of China called The Last Emperor, which depicts this story.

Past the entrance gate, there is a huge garden with displays of rocks, ancient trees, and beautiful flowers. Along the sides, there used to be waiting lounges for the emperor’s officials. Near the exit of the garden, there are five gates. The central one is for the emperor and the empress, but she can only go through it on her wedding day. The side gates are for the ministers, and the outer gates are for the low-ranking officials. There are two towers on the sides of the gates: the drum tower and the bell tower. They are used on special occasions. We go through the center gate and enter the Forbidden City!

The Forbidden City is 960 meters by 750 meters. There are over 800 buildings in the Forbidden City. From a bird’s eye view, it looks like a rectangle. The moat surrounding the Forbidden City is 3,500 meters long, 52 meters wide, and 10 meters deep! The Forbidden City is divided into three parts: the political section, the garden, and the living quarters. First we go to the political section and see a huge building with a beautiful and colorful roof. This building is called the Central Building, where the emperor would stand to receive the military generals and present the new lunar calendar to the people. To get to the Central Building, there are five bridges. They work the same way the gates do; people with higher ranks go through the central one, and people with lower ranks go through the outer ones. The five bridges represent benevolence, fidelity, filial piety, rituals, and hard work. There are no trees in the whole Forbidden City because the emperor thought his enemies could use them as hiding places. Beneath the stone floor, the emperor had placed 14 layers of stone to prevent people from digging tunnels. On the far end of the courtyard, there were two huge pots of water. They held water that would be used to put out fires.

We cross the bridges and get to the Central Building. In the building, there is a throne made of sandal wood and gilded in gold. Next to the throne, there are two jars engraved with elephants that used to hold rice. The elephant represents peace and harmony, and the rice represents a good harvest. Next the the jars, there are two statues of a crane, which symbolizes the empress. There is also a statue of a Ho (a mythical Chinese animal that runs very fast), because the emperor wanted to be as strong as him. The floor of the building is made of bricks, but they are made to look like marble. Silk carpets with beautiful designs cover the whole floor. The four columns are gilded in gold. We exit the central building, and go to the next!

The next building is the emperor’s living chamber. In his bedroom, there are four beds. He sleeps in one, and in the other three beds he puts dummies because if his enemies came to kill him, they wouldn’t know which bed he was in! In the emperor’s closet, he had a box with the name of his successor on a piece on paper. When he died, the officials would open the box and declare the new emperor. All the emperor’s clothes are made from gold thread, and his toilet is a gold bucket.

Next, we went to the wedding chamber. In the chamber, there is a bed with a silk cover. On the silk cover, “double happiness” is written for the dragon (king) and the phoenix (queen) in chinese characters. Then, we went to the garden. The first thing we see are two trees connected to form a heart shape. Then, we walk around and visit four pavilions that represent the four seasons. Unfortunately, it was time for us to leave the Forbidden City and Beijing!! We said goodbye to our tour guide who told us so much about China and its culture. Then, we went back to the hotel and prepared to leave the next day to Pingyao!