Monday- A Visit to a Historical Hutong Neighborhood, Taking in The Temple of Heaven, and Boosting the Economy!

Today, we got off the bus with rickshas waiting to carry us throughout the residential area, the Hutong.  Passing through the narrow streets, we got to see Beijing from a different point of view.  Cars were parked over the sidewalk and guarded by the traffic cones.  Many bikes were parked with tarps laid over them to protect from the wind.  The experience was calming and exhilarating at the same time.

We got off at the public park.  Unlike the park back at home, this one wasn't designed just from small children with its swing sets and seesaws designed to carry the weight of a toddler.  This was a park with the sole purpose of exercise.  Different devices were placed throughout the park, each with its own purpose.  One was designed for an individual to exercise their legs, while another exercised the arms.  During our time there, we got to play on these devices, as well as play several intense matches of pingpong and hacky sack.  That wasn't the only the difference.  The park was dominated not by young children looking for adventure, rather middle aged, if not senior, adults.  These were the people we encountered and played our games with.  Overall, there was a overwhelming feeling of community at the public park.  Everyone was playing with each other and willingly included us in their games and exercise. (Marielle)

Part of our Hutong tour included having lunch at the home of a local family. According to our guide, David, families could apply for a special permit to host visitors in their home for a meal. This is in part to ensure that the family complies with certain hygiene standards. To get to the home, we walked down an alleyway barely five feet wide. The home of the Zhao family is at the end of this alley. Their home is very unlike what any of us are used to. The entire house consists of a tiny bathroom/ laundry room, a kitchen that fits one person at a time, a courtyard the size of about two closets, a small guest room, and a slightly larger room which served as master bedroom, living room, and guest dining room. It was a strange sight to see two tables and several stools arranged next to the host family's bed and closet. Also, to get from one area to the next you passed through the open-air courtyard. Very different from what we are used to indeed.

The hosts cooked us up a feast of dumplings, drumsticks, sautéed vegetables and pork, and dumplings, all served with white rice. It was amazing to see what flavors came out of the tiny kitchen! After lunch, the students go participate in a lesson in making dumplings. Mrs. Zhao and her daughter-in-law prepared the dough and filling, and the students each took turns shaping and filling little dumplings. After preparing the dumplings, we took a leisurely stroll back to our bus and headed to our next destination. (Mr. Martin)

After lunch, we went to the Temple of Heaven, which is a symbol of Chinese tourism. It is also  the location that the Emperor would pray at in hopes of receiving gifts from the gods, such as good weather, good seasons for crops, and health for family members of the common people. It was so beautiful, and I could not stop taking pictures!!!! I found it so interesting that there were 28 columns in total that were supporting the building. However, this was not a random number, as it was very symbolic. The first 12 represents the 12 months in each year. The next 12 represents the hours in a day. Using the old system of measuring time, there were only 12 hours in every day, which is only half as much as nowadays. The last 4 columns representing the 4 different seasons in every year. There were also three different layers to the building, representing Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Another area that we visited was the Echo Wall, which was really cool! If you stand at the first stone and clap, you can hear the echo once. If you stand at the second stone and clap, you can hear the echo twice, and so on. It was quite crowded, so we were unable to hear the echo, but if it were completely quiet, then it would work. It was so much fun to test it out, even if it did not work. This trip was so much fun! 

- Yumi :)

Questions Answered!

I, Caitlin Wu, will be answering questions asked from Ms. Shang's Chinese classes. The first question asks, "How often did you wear a mask?". Prior to the trip, we were warned that the air quality in Beijing during our time of arrival would be very unhealthy. So during baggage claim, we all received masks in order to solve that issue. With our first step outside and into Beijing, the majority of us were wearing these masks. After realizing that the air quality was not as bad as we had anticipated, all of us took off our masks and for the rest of the trip, none of us have been wearing them (including those of us with severe asthma). The second question asks, "Is the language barrier a problem in Beijing?". Our group is mainly comprised of Chinese students / fluent Chinese speakers (with some not having any prior experience with Chinese). And a lot of the people in China, especially people selling items on the street or in bargaining markets, are pretty familiar with English. Because of their experience and ours with the other's language, the language barrier does not present a huge problem for me in Beijing because it doesn't really exist. I'm pretty fluent in Chinese -- I went to Chinese school for a couple of years and both my parents speak Chinese in our household. Because of my experience and the experience the people I communicate with have, the language barrier is not an issue. For others who are not incredibly familiar with Chinese, it is still not that present because of the amount of English the other person knows. The miscommunication can simply be solved by hand gestures or social cues. So far, the experiences the group has had with living conditions and communication have been positive, and I am excited for the days to come! 

- Caitlin