November 17 -Beijing
A day to myself. I decided to go to see the Summer Palace, one of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Beijing. I went outside to flag down a taxi, but apparently, I was standing in the wrong place because a man came along on a bicycle, heaved a great sigh and put down his bicycle and moved me to a better location. He seemed friendly but exasperated…and moved me along about 10 feet, while shouting “NO STOP YELLOW”. Eventually, through a lot of sign language and confused looks I think that I understood that taxis can’t stop where there is a yellow line. Or something like that.
Along came the nicest taxi driver that I have had in Beijng. He had a marvelous comb over – swirled and sprayed to glossy perfection. He chatted the entire way to the Summer Palace, although since his English was limited to two phrases, “Summer Palace” and “OK”, I actually had no idea what he was talking about. He pointed to many different thing and kept smiling and talking. I think he may have been pointing out attractions, because he definitely pointed to the zoo and swung his hand in front of his face like an elephant’s trunk. This was all accompanied by the radio playing Viennese waltzes, very loudly. We chatted and smiled at each other, and sailed across the city.
When we arrived at the Summer Palace, the fare was 43 CNY. I didn’t have the right change so I gave him a 50 CNY note. This started a huge negotiation as he tried to give me back 10. I declined, and wanted him to keep the 50. He took out a piece of paper and showed me that 50-43=7 so he owed me some change. Then he took out his wallet to show me that he didn’t have the right change. I wanted to give him a tip for being so pleasant. Finally, I just kept repeating the Chinese words for thank you and for OK and got out. Considering that 7 CNY is about $1.40 Canadian, I was quite happy to tip him just for being pleasant.
It was a spectacular day to be at the Summer Palace. About 0 and clear and brilliant sunshine. The wind was blowing, which I have come to appreciate here because of the improvement in air quality. There were very few tourists there, perhaps because the tourist season ends at the end of October. There was already ice on the carp ponds and at the edges of the lake. The palace was built so that the Emperor and Empress would have somewhere nice to go when the weather got too hot. About 75% of it is lake, with pathways and pavilions built all around it. There is even covered corridor designed to catch the breeze but keep the Empress out of the sun. Clearly it was a very nice life if you were rich or royalty, but probably pretty brutal if you weren’t. Much of it was burned in 1860 by the Anglo-French Allied Forces, but was rebuilt by 1886 in time for the Empress Cixi’s birthday. She paid for the reconstruction by diverting funds from the navy because she needed some entertainment.
I’ve been here before, but in the summer time. This time I was determined to climb up the Tower of the Fragrance of Buddha. According to the description, it is only 41 metres high, so it didn’t seem too daunting. Then it turned out that the 41 metres doesn’t start at the bottom…that is just the tower part after you climb up about 200 steps to the bottom. Fortunately, it wasn’t too crowded and I laboured my way up and up and up. It was interesting to watch everyone else climb up as well. Many of the older people just walked up, and it seemed that the younger adults struggled more. Perhaps it reflects the difference that a lifetime of walking and biking everywhere has made.
The view from the top was worth it. Because the day was clear, you could see right across Beijing to the mountains, something I’ve never been able to see before because of the smog. I was proud of myself for climbing up, but then I had to climb down. The Empress Cixi didn’t have to climb…she was carried. The climb down was actually a bit scary. The stairs are really steep and without an handrail. 150 years of people climbing up and down have worn them into irregular shapes, and they weren’t that even to begin with. I could only imagine tripping and rolling to the bottom.
There is also a three-storey theatre built to entertain the Empress with Chinese opera. She sat on a couch in a pavilion directly in front of the stage. Around the sides are little rooms where her invited guests were able too sit to enjoy the show. The stage has underground water and many secret stairs so that the shows could be amazing. The Empress seems to have been easily bored, and this whole theatre was built for her entertainment. When you see her couch compared to the wooden chairs offered to guests, it’s clear that in her mind there was only one important person in the audience. Some of the guest areas are so tucked around to the side that people sitting there would be barely able to even see the stage…but who would you complain to?
Strangely, today I had a great cup of coffee. I stopped in a little tourist shop to get warm, and the lady offered me coffee. It naturally came with cream (or more likely whitener) and sugar but it was hot and actually tasted like coffee. It also cost $5 but it was worth it to get warm.