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 The
trip to Beijing, China, was incredible! We have hours of video and tons of
pictures that attempt to capture the experience, but I fear really falls
short of being there. Here is a brief overview:
 13
million people live in Beijing. Everywhere is crowded. At night people
gather just out anywhere to "hang." We saw the stairs to a
pedestrian overpass, under which people had placed a sofa and were sitting
at 10pm. Mind you, this was nowhere near housing. People even congregated
on the medians of boulevards!
 There
were more private autos than we expected to see. The drivers are maniacal,
ignoring traffic lights, plowing through pedestrians, and challenging
bicyclists. Every road is gridlocked at rush hour, and even at 10pm there
is still massive congestion.
We were there when the
Olympic Committee chose China as the host for the 2008 Olympics. The city
had worked hard to win this honor, and the citizens responded with great
joy at the announcement. It was 10:30pm when the news broke, and a
spontaneous gathering of hundreds of thousands (literally) took place at
Tianamen Square. It was like a very orderly New Year's Eve. Gregg,
Candace, Mary and Linda joined the celebration there.
We were able to enjoy
the results of the "toilet revolution" currently underway in
Beijing. Not only is the city attempting to improve the hygiene of public
facilities; it is also installing Western style toilets in most places as
well. Using the facilities was a study in cultural differences at the most
basic level.
 Large
parts of the city are being torn down to accommodate new high-rise
construction and road widening. Much of this work is done by hand, using
shovels and wheelbarrows. The new construction is Western in appearance,
not the gray, expressionless buildings we expected to see.
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The zoo is immense and also contains a "Blue Zoo", the aquarium.
Our guide was very surprised that we were interested in anything other
than the Pandas. Didn't get to see the Komodo Dragons, we just didn't have
enough stamina in the 100 degree heat.
 People
in Beijing love to shop…there is every kind of shop
imaginable…from street stalls…to huatongs…to department stores. All
of them are always crowded. All of them expect you to negotiate the
prices. The department stores are gigantic multi-story malls with big neon
signs. Inside, the basements are usually devoted to groceries; the other
floors often duplicate each others offerings.
 Although
it is not given much play in guide books and our tour guide was AMAZED
that we were interested, the Ethnic Minorities Cultural Park is a must
see.  Again,
the park is very large with lots of walking. Each of the 56 minorities of
China is represented in a living museum manner: an actual, real-life sized
house/village; natively-dressed "actors"; folk arts, foods, and
cultures. Quite enlightening, and even more fun since "Nina"
(our guide) had never been there herself!
The
Great Wall is O.K. and a nice ride into the country, but I bet it would be
even better if we had gone to one of the more remote viewing sites. The
stairs are very steep and uneven, with no hand-rails, and there is lots of
jostling…not good for those of us afraid of heights to begin with!
 Summer
Palace is very beautiful, and typical of what we expected of Oriental
gardens. It was also very crowded. Less crowded and equally pretty was
Purple Bamboo Park, which houses a collection of diverse bamboo plantings
from all around the country.
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