We met with Qing once again and headed to Jingshan Park--a beautiful spot behind the rear wall of the Forbidden City. We climbed Coal Hill (an artificial mountain created to fulfill the need for a mountain behind an imperial palace) to get an amazing view of the entire City. We then descended to enter via the South Gate (no queue) and made our way through the many courtyards and saw numerous areas where royals, their wives, concubines, eunuchs, soldiers, servants lived--many of whom never left the premises. We were regaled with stories of domination, rivalry, violence, bloodshed and finally, many details about the lives of concubines (chosen between the ages of 13-17, though we all agreed that the picture in the on-site museum of candidates showed them to be barely 10, on average)...it continued to be about 100º and there were thousands of visitors, mostly Chinese, pushing their way through the site. But we made it and no one was lost from our little group. Kaydi asked Qing how to say "excuse me" in Chinese, and Qing told her that there is no such phrase in the language!
We next ventured via subway to the hutong area where Qing's family lives for a wonderful hotpot lunch--half the pot savory and half spicy...we cooked beef and lamb and yam and shrimp and mushrooms and tofu skins and greens...all to our hearts' (stomachs') delight. However, Julia seems to be less and less eager to eat creatures--especially after encountering many raw whole shrimp on a large plate. She commented that she didn't really mind eating seafood/chicken if it didn't resemble the original animal. Perhaps she'll soon become a vegetarian...all bets aren't in yet.
Kaydi asked Qing if she could see her dog (NieNie, a chihuahua) and she said yes...we were all invited to see their home in the hutong. It was modest certainly, but homey and private within a shared courtyard area. She proudly showed us their wedding album and a recent set of photos of her parents in a wedding-like album as well. We heard stories about her family and saw Vongshen's huge Matchbox car collection.
Afterwards they took us to the famous Pearl Market, a multiple storied building and we bought (after much haggling once more) items necessary and pretty. We tried to follow the rule Qing suggested we use of offering only 10% of the asking price, but found that not entirely successful...perhaps it would have merely required more time, but I found myself not fully up to the task. After all, the few dollars difference mean more to people here than to us. However, we still averaged about 25 - 33% of the asking price, which wasn't bad at all...
We swam, refreshed ourselves, decided against napping, and went out for pizza at Nanyanlu Street, a hutong a la SOHO. Many more upscale places to eat, drink and shop. Our energy was not as great as we'd hoped, and it was a brief-ish visit, but fun...especially to be able to eat something other than Chinese food (and it's only been a few days). Julia really enjoyed the stylish, funky, elegant shops and things to be seen there.
OK, off to bed!!!
What a good time you're having. Hooking up with Qing was a great move. How wonderful to get a quick peek into their lives.
Posted by: Colleenobb | July 06, 2010 at 12:04 PM
Really enjoying your postings. A few small requests, please. 1) can you try to add a photo if you can? 2) can you add the date and time of each place visited. 3) please ask Kaydi if she can add a sentence of what she liked best and/or least?
Love - Gary, Marcy & Esther
Posted by: Gary Zembow | July 07, 2010 at 12:30 AM
Conditions for using the internet at our apartment hotel haven't been optimal (plus, until today it was over 100º and we've been very tired from all the running around). While there is a cable connection in our room, we can't hook up to it...instead, I've had to go to the basement area (gym, pool, dining area) just to get WiFi. It's been a pain most days. There have been a few other technical and other problems as well. Nothing major, but enough to prevent what GZ is asking for. Tomorrow, when we travel to Chengdu, I'll catch up with pic postings and others will also do some writing. Not to worry...
Posted by: China Homeland Trip | July 07, 2010 at 09:53 AM
Hi Michele - this is so great, I almost feel like I can see everything through your words and photos. can wait for the next post. Fran
Posted by: Fstarkman | July 08, 2010 at 07:26 AM