Day 10

7.1.09

Today we headed to Tiananmen Square first thing in the morning! There were hundreds, maybe thousands of people lined up to see Mao Zedong’s tomb. Though his body is not located there, many still pay homage to his supposed burial site. People couldn’t bring anything at all into the mausoleum though- not even an umbrella! So there were things lying about near the lines being watched by relatives and friends. Meanwhile, we looked around at the giant monument to Mao, the lines of people, and across the busy lanes of traffic to the Forbidden City and Forbidden Palace. Our group was not only tourists, but also tourist attractions. Many Chinese were taking our pictures, either being direct and asking or from far away, trying to make it look like they were photographing a flag or something. Afterwards, we went to the Urban Planning Exposition across the street. There was a room where the entire floor was a map of the city of Beijing- very cool. The middle was a model, with mini buildings and skyscrapers complete with a mini lights show.. For lunch we took a ‘pedicab’, kind of like a rickshaw you’d see in India, but attached to a bike, not pulled purely by manpower. We were taken on a tour of a local ‘hutong’- a large and complicated neighborhood- one of many that used to fill Beijing until many were destroyed. Now the government has implemented laws making it illegal to replace these ‘hutongs’ with giant buildings and apartment complexes, which is a lot of what Beijing is. After the tour, we ate lunch at the home of a local who cooked for tour groups almost every day. Following lunch, we watched a cricket show in the same home we ate lunch in.. Some people were expecting a cricket fight- something that is actually illegal in China. For the final event of the day, we were taken to an art town, full of museums and exhibitions. No one was really looking for it, but I do believe we were all pleasantly surprised. It was called ‘798’, and showcased many emerging or established artists in Beijing. I think one of the funniest works our group saw was at the very end- a naked angel man hanging off the building (a plaster representation, of course). Today was a very full day!