China Report

Hello everyone-

We just got back from our trip to China and had a great time. We wanted to write an update to tell everyone about the trip, and since it’s 6 am on Sunday morning, and I haven’t been able to sleep for the last 3 hours from jet lag, I figured now was a good time to write up everything that happened.

We left early Monday afternoon, June 9. We got to the airport a few hours early, and had a picnic lunch on the floor of the terminal, looking out the windows at all the planes sitting at their gates. Hart loved being there, watching the planes take off and land.

This also happened to be Hainan Airline’s inaugural flight for this Seattle-Beijing non-stop route. When we got to our gate, we found a lively party waiting to greet the incoming flight from Beijing. There was a Chinese musical group playing, drinks being served, and a contingency of reporters and airline executives running around. It was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise to be part of the festivities.

The flight itself was rough. It sat at the gate for 90 minutes before being cleared for take-off, and then during the course of the flight Hart got more and more tired, but wouldn't go to sleep. Halfway into the flight, he got maybe an hour of sleep in, but he was basically awake for the remaining 6 hours after that. To make matters worse, he wasn't at all content to have Daddy hold him, but always had to be with Mommy. So, we had a fussy baby for most of the flight. We were wondering if this was all that smart to be bringing a 15-month old for a 2 week-trip through China. There were several dark hours of self-doubt on the flight over.

We arrived in Beijing at 5 pm Tuesday, having lost a day in the journey. We hopped in a cab, checked into our hotel, got showers, and went to bed early.

Look ma! No carseat!
There are no carseat laws in China, so Hart didn't sit in one the whole time we were there. After a week of trying to restrain him with our hands whenever we go anywhere, we've developed a new appreciation for them.




On Wednesday, June 10, we hit the sights in the city center there in Beijing. We went to Qianmen and Tiananmen Square, toured the Forbidden City, and then finished the day by climbing to the top of Jingshan Park, which afforded some great views of the city in all directions.





There were a lot of people in these areas, many of whom were Chinese tourists, and we quickly learned that whenever we stopped to do anything (ie. check a map, drink some water, take a picture, etc), within a matter of moments we'd be surrounded by a group of at least 10-20 other people who wanted to get an up-close view of the cute foreign baby. I had forgotten about this novelty with foreigners that many Chinese tourists had. When I was in China last in 2002, it was not uncommon for strangers to stop me and ask to take a picture with me; and many times, they would just snap photos of me from a distance, as though I (as a foreigner) was a part of the attraction myself. Well, having a baby with us at all of these places intensified that attention 10 times over. It was basically constant wherever we went. Hart loved it and really hammed it up much of the time.

Thursday we went to the Summer Palace, which is where the emperors spent their leisure time, some 15 or so miles northwest of the city center. It is basically a collection of dozens of temples and pagodas lining the hills surrounding a large lake. It was a pretty place, and we had a great time touring the grounds (though there were many stairs, which meant carrying Hart in the stroller up and down many times more than we would've liked). Over the vacation, we got accustomed to carrying him up and down stairs as though his stroller were a sedan chair and we were the peasants carrying around our little emperor.

Friday we took the two-hour trip out to see the great wall at Mutianyu. We took a chairlift ride up to it, then walked along the wall for a good half mile or so until we ran into an old, unrestored section of the wall. The areas of the wall that you can walk on are all restored and maintained, but we arrived at a section that has not been, and it was quite a sight.

The battlements protecting you from falling off the side of the wall were mostly crumbling, and there was basically a forest growing up out of the top of it. Looking at it you wouldn't even recognize it as part of the wall, as it appears to be as much a forest as anything else around it, except for the fact that this section of the forest is raised some 30 feet or so off the ground. Being up there, walking on the wall, and exploring was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We took a toboggan ride down, which made for a fun ending to the day.

Saturday we went to the dirt market, which is a large flea market selling absolutely anything and everything that you might want to buy in China. That was fun. Afterwards we went and ate at a Uighur restaurant. Uighurs are a minority people that live in Xinjiang, which is in the far northwest of China. The food was amazingly good. Afterwards we went to the tailor--I got some suits and shirts made, and Rebecca got a winter coat. Before wrapping up the evening, Rebecca wanted to stop and see a Chinese grocery store, so we hit the Wu-Mart on the corner. We've never seen so many different varieties of eggs for sale.

That night, we had overnight train tickets to Xi'an. We got to the train station an hour early to realize that we were at the wrong train station. We had a mad rush getting across town to the correct station, and we arrived 20 minutes ahead of departure--just enough time to get onto the train and get situated before leaving. Good thing the security check-ins aren't nearly as comprehensive as trying to fly in America. Hart did surprisingly well on the sleeper train; he fell asleep quickly and didn't wake until 7 am, 90 minutes before pulling into Xi'an. Rebecca and I, in the meantime, snuggled into a berth barely large enough for one, as Hart was on the other. Any time either of us moved during the night, it woke the other, but we love snuggling, so we were in our element.


After checking into our hotel and giving Hart a morning nap, we set out for the Terracotta Warriors. This was a pretty amazing place, and the facilities that house the excavation pits are equally impressive. It was quite a sight to see all of the warriors, and watching some of the excavation as it is carried on now.






Monday we got a later start than we wanted, so we hired a car and driver for the day and went hiking up Hua Shan, about 2 hours outside Xi'an. Hua Shan is one of the five holy mountains according to Chinese tradition, and after spending the day there, we can see why. This mountain seems to rise up out of nowhere and has sheer cliffs every which way.


Unfortunately, the weather was fairly cloudy up top, only allowing brief glimpses of the scenery, but what we did see was quite amazing. We rode a gondola up to the north peak (one peak for each of the 4 directions), but accessing the other three peaks is basically a long series of stairs after stairs after stairs. I didn't realize how intense it was going to be, and we only had time to make it to the West Peak (no time to hit either the East or South Peaks). One of the cool things we did was get a golden lock with our family name (in Chinese) inscribed on the back of it, and we locked it on the chain at the west peak. This is a custom for those hiking Hua Shan, as it locks the good fortune that comes from hiking the mountain to your family, then you throw the key over the edge. In spite of the intensity of the climb and the uncooperative weather, it was still a memorable day and we had a wonderful time hiking around up there.






Tuesday we spent the day hanging around in the city of Xi'an itself. We started going to the big goose pagoda, which was built in the 8th century to house sacred Buddhist relics and artifacts. The grounds were beautiful, and we bought some kites out in front of the park for Hart to fly. We then went to the Muslim Quarter of the city (this was the terminus of the silk road), saw the great Mosque, and walked along the city walls (the oldest city walls still standing in China from what I'm aware). That night, we got back on the sleeper train, heading back to Beijing. Fortunately for us, there was nobody in the top bunks of our cabin this time, so we had space to spread out.

Our final three days in Beijing were mostly shopping days. Wednesday we had lunch on the snack street in Wangfujing, where we ate grilled scorpions on a skewer (Rebecca ate two of them), and had fried squid and tripe. This was a really adventurous day for us. We went shopping in the silk street market in the afternoon, and ate Tibetan food for dinner.

Thursday was our last full day. We spent the morning at the Temple of Heaven, which was very fun. There were people everywhere doing so many different activities--some were singing in groups, some learning to play a Chinese flute, many groups of people learning to dance, people playing cards and dominoes, the list goes on and on. It was really a fun day, and quite a way to get a sense of the local flavor. In the afternoon, we went shopping at the nearby pearl market and had Beijing roast duck for dinner.

Friday, we went to the cultural relics district to do some last-minute shopping before checking out of our hotel. Rebecca also got a haircut from a Chinese stylist, and had her hair dry-washed, which was a totally new experience. We headed to the airport Friday afternoon, and before we knew it we were back on the plane heading home. The plane ride back was awesome. We had a whole row to ourselves (8 seats total), and we blew up a little air mattress for Hart to sleep on. He slept for 6 hours, it was great. We arrived back in Seattle, safe and sound on Friday afternoon.

All in all, the trip was fantastic. Rebecca learned some Chinese, and ate some adventurous foods. I loved being there, speaking the language, and spending 2 weeks with my two favorite people. Hart was just a joy to have along and really enhanced our entire trip.

We love you guys.