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The SC delegation travels to Beijing

This morning we had a later breakfast at our hotel that featured the same food choices as yesterday. The President of the Tianjin University of Sport arrived at the hotel to see us off. Though this was a quick visit we all agreed that the University went to great lengths to make all of us feel at home. We were very impressed by their hospitality and enjoyed fostering our collaboration and friendship. After check out we once again loaded up the bus for our drive to Beijing. The drive was about 2 ½ hours. There was a lot of traffic on the way out of Tianjin which was the reason for the long travel time. PeterOur guide for the next few days is Peter. Peter is a very interesting man with a colorful personality. He has been studying English since middle school and is excellent. He gave us detailed information about Tianjin on the way out of town. We learned that up until about five years ago Tianjin was not so well developed and less well known. The city now is quite large; I believe he said it is the fifth largest city in China. Peter then gave us a brief introduction to Beijing. There are about 14 million documented residents in the city, though he said there are many more than that. He also mentioned that there are about 4-5 million “floating people” such as construction workers who travel into the city for work. He also let us know that Beijing is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.

Our original itinerary was to have the afternoon free today with a full day tour tomorrow. Peter felt it was best to split up the full day tour so that we would not be rushed. Tian’anmen SquareAs such, we went directly to our first stop – Tian’anmen Square. I was not totally familiar with the set up, so let me explain briefly. Tian’anmen square is a huge area located at the threshold of the Forbidden City. It is flanked by a museum and political buildings that are used for meetings of the Provincial representatives. The square itself is paved with large blocks.

It was very crowded today since it is Saturday. Peter carried a flag in the front of our group (which you see in the first picture) so that we could all stay close. We had a number of opportunities for pictures; Peter would walk a few hundred yards, give a brief introduction to sites of interest, then give us about five minutes to take pictures. group picturePeter also warned us that there would be a lot of people trying to sell us various pamphlets, watches, etc. He taught us a helpful phrase – phonetically pronounced “boo yau” – which means “no want”. He was right on the money with this warning; we were all able to try out the newest addition to our vocabulary on multiple occasions. We get a lot of stares here too, both since we are in a large group and since we are some of the few Westerners in the area.

We then headed to the entry of the Forbidden City. I must admit that I am not very strong with my history, so I apologize if my facts are remedial to you all. The Forbidden city was the home for the Emperor and his family and workers. Peter explained that it was called the Forbidden CityForbidden City since outsiders were not allowed in. He also mentioned that there were about 1,000 people who lived in this area. Furthermore, for those of you who have not been here, the word “City” is no joke! It is HUGE. There are 9,999 ½ rooms in the City. He explained that this was done because exceeding 10,000 was not permitted. We all got our tickets to enter and had our bags searched prior to entry. Walking in we noticed that all of the large buildings of importance are exactly lined by in the center, which is important for “feng shway” (I’m sure I butchered this one). The structures are unbelievable in detail and size. Even more impressive is that they were built in the 1480’s! There were several restorations under way.

ThroneThe total walk from start to finish was more than three kilometers. We stopped often to take pictures of huge stone carvings, statues, and the Emperor’s throne.

This was an absolutely amazing day of sight seeing. Thinking about what has happened here and much meaning this has is very humbling. After exiting the City we went to our hotel to check in. We are in a very nice hotel that has shopping in the lobby and is in a nice looking nationhood. The main roads in the city are very clean, though the smog is apparent on the skyline. Tomorrow we will head to the Great Wall, we are all really excited for this. We have created a special event that I look forward to sharing in the next entry – that’s right, a teaser for the next entry! Today was a lot of fun, a day we have all looked forward to since starting the trip. Have a great weekend, I look forward to writing again tomorrow.

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Page updated on: 05/31/2008 05/31/2008