Beijing, China

Joe and I left Daegu for China at 11:20pm. We touched down in China at 1:10am. Once we were off the plane we had to go to a machine to get our fingerprints checked. I thought for sure these would be checked several times throughout the immigration process but the machine just printed out a slip that said OK. I was very surprised by how relaxed the security was, especially after all the difficulties that it had taken to get the visa for China. Our fingerprints were never checked again and everyone seemed pretty relaxed. For most countries, they ask you to declare goods, state whether you have any objects of interest or large sums of money but China just asked what flight you came in on, and when you were going to leave. I was very surprised by how relaxed it seemed. Once we made it through immigration, we were greeted by a driver. We exchanged money and then headed to our hotel. We arrived at our hotel at 3:00am.

Day 1: Tian'anmen Square, Fobidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace

We began the day very early. We were picked up at 6:50am by our driver. We were the second pair of tourists on the van and then proceeded to pick up several more groups of tourists from a variety of hotels. There was a couple from Portugal, a mother and son duo from Germany, a couple from Australia, two guys from Mexico and lastly, a woman from Egypt. It took quite a while to gather the smorgasbord of people.

Tian'anmen Square: This is the largest square in the world. It has many famous statues and many famous pictures have been taken of this square. We did not actually walk on the square but rather viewed it from across the street. However, the square is more famously known for the massacre that took place there on June 4, 1989. I heard rumors that the Chinese government has tried to keep this information secret from its civilians. I do not know if this is true or not, but I do know that our Chinese tour guide never mentioned the protests or the massacre that happened on the fourth of July in 1989. A very quick Google search can confirm that this massacre happened but the Chinese government is very strict about what information can be seen while inside mainland China. I could not access Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media platform that I am used to.

Forbidden City: The Forbidden City was amazing! If you are visiting Beijing, it is a must see. The Forbidden City will be 600 years old in 2020. There are about 8,000 of these ancient buildings once you are inside. There were so many large gates to walk through, I actually lost track. At the time, the more you move into the city, the higher ranking you had to be. There were several areas only the emperor himself was allowed to be. Some areas were reserved only for the Emperor's concubines and some were reserved for the Emperor's highest ranking officials. The Emperor had a multitude of thrones (each with a different purpose) and many special rooms as well. My favorite part was that there was a special walkway reserved only for the Emperor. In his time, he was the only person allowed to walk down this beautiful stretch of marble. This sidewalk was located precisely in the center of Beijing (at that time). Likewise, the Emperor was the only person allowed to walk through the center gate and go over the center bridges. Everyone else would have to use walkways and bridges that were to either side of the Emperor. Another thing I really enjoyed were all of the animal carvings. Along every gate there would be animal carvings along the roof. This would signify the ranking level that was allowed to enter. Less than 3 animals meant that it was open to the public, more than 3 meant you had to be a high ranking official, and 7 carvings meant that it was reserved for the Emperor only. The seven carvings was the most at the Forbidden City but we would soon discover that there is a way for there to be more than seven later in the day. The last area of the Forbidden City that we visited was the imperial gardens. Within these gardens there were trees over 600 years old that were still standing and growing.

Eastern Medicine: After the Forbidden City we went to experience Eastern medicine. Here, people believe in balance. The Chinese used to believe (some still do today) that it is bad to drink cold drinks. They believe that cold drinks disrupt your internal balance. Therefore, you should only drink warm drinks like coffee or tea. They explained a little bit about acupuncture and some of the benefits. While we were learning about Eastern medicine, they brought out warm, orange colored water for us to soak our feet in. The water supposedly contained a lot of natural minerals inside that made the water orange and were supposed to be good for our health. After 15 minutes of soaking, some trained professionals gave us a foot massage. I don't know that I bought into everything they were saying about balance and acupuncture, but it was a stellar foot massage. Afterwards, me feet felt amazing! The doctor checked several peoples health condition by feeling the pulse from your wrist. Supposedly, a good doctor can tell your health just be feeling your pulse. I believe it was a scam!

Temple of Heaven: This was a super cool stop! The Temple of Heaven was built for the father of the Emperor. This father is a legend and not the Emperor's actual father. Okay, maybe he was real a super long time ago but now he is more like a myth. The temple itself is thought to be a connection to the heavens. Back in their time, the temple was the tallest building in all of Beijing. It was so tall that everyone could see it from anywhere in Beijing. There is an extremely long walkway that led to the temple. This walkway was roofed and was meant to protect the sacrifices from rain, snow, and other weather. They sacrificed a variety of animals for the Emperor's father. At the temple, there were 3 different levels with 9 steps each. 9 is the most important number in all of China. 9 represents something spiritual or holy. The whole complex is circular because the Chinese believe that the heavens are circular in shape whereas Earth, as we know it, is square in shape.

Summer Palace: The last stop of our tour was at the Summer Palace. This was basically the Emperor's summer hangout spot. It was absolutely massive. There were tons of buildings all along this huge lake. We didn't even get to see a quarter of the palaces. We could barely make out large towers and buildings off in the distance. It was a very peaceful area. There were lots of pedal boats out on the lake and old buildings, statues, and carvings everywhere. It was quite easy to get turned around and lost as you weaved and wound through all the different buildings and archways.

Day 2: Great Wall, Ming Tombs and a Tea Ceremony

We were picked up at 6:45am from a new driver. When we jumped in the van, there were two English guys already seated. I only know that they were English because I asked if they were British based on their accent. This pompous guy quickly responded, "No, I am English and there is a difference." I decided not to ask what the difference was even though I was now immensely curious. I later asked a British coworker and he said the guy was probably just a prick. There is a difference because the UK is four different countries combined into one country but essentially, British and English are the same. I'm still a bit confused on the subject, but anyway, I could already tell this guy was a bit too proper for my taste (sorry to all of the English blokes reading this). Anyway, we continued to pick up other tourists. We picked up several people once again. This time there was a guy from Spain with his Chinese girlfriend, one couple that seemed European to me but I never actually asked, and another proper lady from the UK. Overall, I enjoyed this group more than our friends from the first tour.

The Great Wall: We began the day by heading to the Great Wall. Holy smokes, I was excited for this one! The Great Wall was about an hour drive out from Beijing. We visited the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Once we arrived, we took a cable car up to the top of the Great Wall. We only did this for time purposes. If I had it my way, we would have been there the whole day and I would have hiked up from the bottom. Once we arrived at the top we were instructed that going left led to the best view and going right was the more leisurely way to go. Since we didn't do the hike, we opted to go left for the view! You would not believe the amount of stairs that were there. The wall is constantly going up and down and there are stairs the whole way. While the climb did not seem to be too far, as you kept going the stairs were burning holes in your legs and it kept getting tougher and tougher to climb up. One section in particular had a very steep incline and then at the end, the incline went nearly vertical. It felt similar to climbing up a ladder. Finally, I reached the top. Here I made a new friend! My new friend was named Ang and she quickly congratulated me and gave me a free souvenir! We chatted a bit while I waited for my buddy Joe to finish his ascent. Eventually, Ang convinced me to let her carve ur names into our new souvenirs along with the date. In all of my travels, Ang has been one of the nicest people I have met yet.

Ming Tombs: This is the burial site of thirteen emperors from the Ming dynasty. Only one has ever been opened and now the public can go as well. I was itching to see this! The tomb itself is round so that the Emperor can go to the heavens easier. The pathway leading up to the tomb is square to symbolize the Earth. We had to go about 27 meters down to witness the burial site. There were a few thrones that were pretty cool. The Emperor's casket was a pretty simple red box. I was very disappointed. After viewing the tomb, we went to an artifacts museum to view things the Emperor was buried with. All in all, this was nothing overly special. The Emperor's casket was literally a big red box. The throne down there was ornate but not more so than any other throne we had seen. The things the Emperor was buried with were mostly silks and some ornate pots. If you are only in Beijing a few days, this is something that can definitely be taken out of the itinerary unless it is something you are particularly interested in.

Tea Ceremony: After the tombs, we made our way to a traditional tea ceremony where we learned how to make traditional Chinese tea. We tried several kinds of teas including a Jasmine tea and a tea made from fruits. I actually enjoyed the tea a lot and the warmth of the liquid filled my body and quenched my thirst. My favorite part of the tea ceremony was the PP Boy. The PP Boy is a little carving of a boy. When you pour cold water on his head, nothing happens. However, when you pour hot water on the boys head he "pees" everywhere. This little guy gave me a good chuckle!

Tomorrow we would take a train all the way to Xi'an. This was about 5 or 6 hours on a train.