Wangfujing
They call it Beijing's Time Square. It's a high end shopping district with centuries' old history, But the comparison is a bitter unfair. The lights aren't as bright or the crowds quite as lively. But Beijing has got something on the Big Apple: nasty snacks!
Wanfujing has a couple of side alleys where the traditional and the downright weird are served up to hungry and adventurous shoppers. The streets are crawling with people nibbling starfish nubs, choking down rancid, stinky tofu, and slurping squid tentacles like vermicelli. We had just haggled the daylights out of a couple of panda bear hats and were feeling a bit light-headed, so we decided to recharge with some live-fried scorpion skewers. It wouldn't be so bad if the legs and stingers didn't hook onto your lips and tongue! Ask Patty...
Shaolin Kungfu
It was a typical early morning for the group--typical 8am, not 6am (that was the day before). We stopped by the local corner grocery store to pick up some drinks and snacks and then headed south on Chenxiu boulevard towards Ritan Park. We passed the main soccer and concert venue in town, the famed Worker's Stadium, and a string of karaoke bars and clubs we've been known to frequent. Finally around 9am, we reached the north gate of the park.
I looked around for a tall muscular man, as I assumed our master kungfu instructor would be. The students huddled behind me like a pack of penguins braving the cold. A small figure in a crisp winter coat came into view just within the gate. He smiled big and motioned to me. Master Zhao was barely over 5 feet, but from his quick step and smooth gait it was clear he was an athlete of uncommon ability. We chatted for a bit as he led the group to a piece of pavement deep in the heart of the park, next to some makeshift badminton courts. We stripped a couple of layers and then fell into line. For the next hour, he worked us hard: a strenuous warm-up, basic hand-traps, and a lengthy, choreographed shadow fight. When it was all over, we were smiling while our legs buckled from a prolonged horse stance. We hugged, took some pictures, and hobbled back north to recharge with a traditional Beijing lunch.
Great Wall
The Great Wall as it stands today was built mostly during the Ming and Qing dynasties as a way of keeping the bothersome northern barbarians, Manchu, and Mongols out. After hiking a good stretch of it for a day, we understand why those people were trying to break through to the south: it's DANG! cold up there!
The wall is deceptively difficult for a hike. It's a hike, not a walk. It winds up and down the peaks and nadirs of mountain valleys creating slopes that often forced us to our knees. Creeping down on your bum is sometimes preferable to staring down a staircase that seems to recede into itself. It was a challenge for everyone, and after a few miles of huffing and puffing, and braving bitter Siberian winds, we carved our name into the stone, did a little jig, and got out of there!
Centre's Student-Powered Chinese Culture Blog
