Today was our last day in Beijing before leaving by bus to Shijiazhuang. We ended our stay with a trip to Tian'anmen Square. The square is bordered by four major buildings-the National Museum of China, Mao's Tomb, the People's Assembly Hall and the entrance to the Forbidden City (where the emporers used to live). There were literally tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world in the square. Our guide told us that hundreds of visitors come each day to stand in line to go into Mao's tomb to see his body. She said that for the Chinese people coming to the square to see the tomb and visit the Forbidden City is of great importance and would be a great vacation for many people. As expected the square has many guards and is closely monitored by cameras.
We then entered the Forbidden City. There are seven bridges leading into the Forbidden City. One for the emporer, two for the royal family, two for the high ranking officials and two which were added when the buildings were opened to the public in 1925. The Forbidden City covers 72 hectares of land and has 8703 rooms inside. It took 40 years and 2 million workers to build the city. There are many buildings within the city walls which all have significant meaning. In addition, much of the architecture also has significant meanings. The intricacies of the designs on the buildings is amazing. But what was most stunning for all of us was to see the thousands of visitors who come in to see the Forbidden City everyday. It is difficult to describe the massive crowds. Unfortunately, narrow areas such as the gardens were difficult to enjoy and view due to the number of people. Again, the guide shared that the Forbidden City has a great deal of meaning to the Chinese people and also to nearby countries which is why there are so many visitors each day.
Following these two tours, we left by bus for Shijiazhuang which is a four hour journey. We stopped at a rest area along the way which was similar to a truck stop in the US. There were bathrooms (yes, squat toilets again), a small restaurant and a convenience store with snacks. Upon arriving at our hotel, we quickly changed to go to a welcome dinner hosted by Mr. Hou, the Director of the Hebei Provincial Education Department. Our dinner took place at a well known restaurant known for its excellent peking duck. Meetings of this nature are very important in China. In the Chinese culture, school administrators are considered high ranking members of society so there are many formalities that are observed. One of the most important formalities is the exchanging of business cards. This exchange serves as the beginning of a friendship or partnership. The cards are exchanged standing face to face and each person presenting their cards with their index fingers holding the corners with the name facing the other person (so they can read the name when given the card). I noticed after exchanging the cards, that the deputy director sitting at our table laid the cards out near the edge of the table in the order that we were sitting so he could refer to us by name. Once again, we were served a superb meal with many courses. (The Wisconsin administrators have a hard time walking away from the table with so much food left. We are always asking what will be done with it as we have been raised not to waste food.) |
