1/9/12 Erik: Terra Cotta Warriors

Last night we safely arrived in Xian (also spelled Xi’an), which when translated means peace in the west. After a relaxing low-key night, we had our only full day in the city. We started off the morning by having a rather American breakfast which included pancakes and hash browns, the group loaded up on the bus and made the journey to the base of the mountains in order to see the well-known Terra Cotta warriors. The terra cotta warriors are considered to be the 8^th wonder of the world.  Imagine how much time it would take to build one statue with such fine detail that the clothing, armor and facial features are easily distinguishable. Now imagine the time it would take to build two entire football fields worth of terra cotta statues with those same characteristics. It isn’t easy to comprehend how so many statues from the Qin Dynasty (200 B.C.) have lasted so many years and survived plundering and pillaging. 

After seeing the magnificent warriors, the group got to visit a beautiful Buddhist temple.  This temple has a tower which has been standing for roughly 1,300 years and the main 13 floor tower has survived several earthquakes. Instead of having a normal square foundation like many if not all modern buildings have, the tower has a half-spherical foundation. This type of foundation caused the tower to mimic the Leaning Tower of Pisa until it was recently fixed. 

Next, we got to visit the city wall which surrounds all of Xian. After the strenuous climbs of the Great Wall of China the Xian city wall was a cake walk. There were plenty of photo opportunities the group created. One was rather easy because the city wall is so long the walkway on top of the wall appears to disappear in the distance with the fog and smog. 

Finally, we finished the night with a Chinese Dance Show with dinner served prior to the show. Dinner was a real treat because we were given a 10 course dumpling meal. Even though it almost felt like binge eating, the dumpling meal was certainly one of the best we’ve had while on the trip. The dance show alternated between lively music and smooth interpretive dance with some gentle comedy thrown in. 

Unfortunately, after just arriving in the historic city of Xian, it is almost time for the group to pack up and leave. Without a doubt, we’ve made the most of our time in this historic city. 

 More photos:

A “planking” warrior!

The ancient wall of Xian

Over 10 courses of different dumplings for dinner before the show!

-Erik Bryz-Gornia

1/8/12 Kelsey & Tara: Temple of Heaven Park

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Wow!

Today we went to the Temple of Heaven park.  It was a cold morning, but there were a plethora of people outside participating in various activities.  They were playing music, dancing, and working on their fitness.  Some of the fellow community members taught us the art of Tai-chi.  The slow movements did not appear to be very difficult, but were in fact fairly strenuous.  The majority of the community members that were practicing Tai-chi were older.  They were surprisingly fit for their age.  Elderly people in the U.S.A. do not tend to be as active as they are in China, as seen thus far.  This was also very different from the U.S.A., because people work out in gyms, instead of public spaces.  

As we walked through the park, there were many other people working out on various exercise equipment.  At first, it appeared the people were working out on playground equipment.  After closer inspection, the equipment was actually very affective.  The community members were of all ages, and unlike in the States, they do not have to pay a membership fee.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and they were able to socialize with the other community members.  

Our group getting led by local Tai Chi experts

The Temple of Heaven

We walked over to the Temple of Heaven, which was used for the Emperor.  The Emperor went there to pray for the well-being of the community and their harvest.  To do this, they sacrificed animals in pots, but the women were forbidden from watching the ceremony.  While the Emperor was there, he refrained from eating, drinking and having sex.  The buildings were made from all wood, and were constructed without any nails.  The temple was built from the inter-locking of the wood.  This was very impressive, because the building was very large and detailed.  The building was still in good condition, because the paint was still brightly colored.  

We then drove to the airport and picked up some KFC on the way.  The food was different than other KFCs in States.  We flew to Xi’an (former capital of China) and experienced a different type of meal at a local restaurant.  The meal was still Chinese, but different from what we had in Beijing.  

We’re excited to see what this new city has to offer! 

- Kelsey and Tara

Exercising in the park

Robbie gets some pointers

Exercising in the park

Tai Chi group #1

Tai Chi group #2

1/7/12 Bonnie & Aron: Summer Palace

Our group at the Summer Palace in Beijing

It was a chilly, snowy day.  Nevertheless, we (actually, just Aaron) ate nearly a pound of bacon mixed with friend noodles at the continental breakfast buffet offered by our Beijing four-star hotel.  The food would be necessary to sustain our chilled bodies later that morning.

After breakfast, we boarded our motorcoach en route to the Summer Palace.  The Summer Palace began its life in 1750, known as the Garden of Clear Ripples, also Reign Year 15 of Emperor Qianlong.  A sprawling landscaped park on the edge of the city, the Summer Palace was a seasonal imperial retreat.  In essence, it’s similar to Minnesotans traveling to their lake homes during the summer!  Interestingly, it was the favorite of Empress Cixi, also known as the Dragon Lady.  Dragon Lady, however, would have traveled by a covered sedan chair and human power as opposed to our modern coach.

The Summer Palace - Kumming Lake

We had no idea what we were in for, but soon arrived on the bank of a beautiful man-made lake, Kumming Lake.  Nestled across the lake was a 60-meter (200 feet) hill, known as Longevity Hill.  The snow was lightly falling, the air was crisp, and there was a sense of electricity floating through the bus.  In the Summer Palace, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures.  As we disembarked the bacon and noodles really began to pay off.  Our bodies soon began to rely on their high nutritional content.

The Summer Palace - Longevity Hill in the background

Jason, our Beijing guide, and “Big Aaron”

We spent the next two hours examining the many sites the Summer Palace had to offer.  As we were outside the entire time, Bonnie and Big Aaron were in hot pursuit of Xiang Piao Piao.  Xiang Piao Piao is a wonderful concoction that comes in various flavors, such as coffee, latte, hot chocolate, milk tea, etc.  We had success and were soon enjoying the tour once again.  Unfortunately, Big Aaron lost his hat and gloves and nearly froze his ears.  As luck would have it, he was able to purchase a red stocking hat for approximately $5.  Strangely, there was an applied patch on the hat that said “Perfect Attendance”…not sure what that was about it, but it did the trick!

After our visit to the Summer Palace, we traveled back into the city center and had lunch at a local restaurant where we met a Future Farmer of America (FFA) from Waseca.  This high school student was representing Minnesota, along with other state officers from the United States, on a trip to China to explore the country, culture, and agriculture.  It was fun to cross paths with some Americans, as we have rarely seen other Americans, or other racial or ethnic groups.  

Tea Ceremony

Anyway, at the conclusion of our lunch we traveled to a local Tea House where we were treated to a demonstration of the traditional tea making process.  We were all invited into a room with a large rectangular table.  As we all took a seat around the perimeter of the table, a young Chinese woman began to demonstrate the art of tea making.  She made several different teas and we were able to taste test each one.  It was a fun experience for our students and ourselves.  Nearly all of us bought tea or tea cups/pots on our way out so that we could bring this practice back to America!

Bonnie and Aron

Attaining a good buzz from the Tea House, our next stop was the Yashaw Market, located in the Embassy District of Beijing.  The Yashaw Market has four floors of clothing, bags, shoes, and sportswear, plus some jewelry, nail salons, and a bunch of tailors on the top floor.  Although there are several markets within to shop in Beijing, Yashaw is claimed to possess the least possessive vendors.  Prior to disembarking the bus, Little Aaron offered us valuable information regarding how one successfully negotiates with the vendors inside…basically, that you never pay more than 25% of the original asking price.  Flying high we left our seats, feverishly walked into the market and went to work developing our negotiating “chops”.  The students really took it to them that day (note the shimmering outfits that some girls bartered for!), and we left with feelings of pride, success, and 7 more pounds of stuff to add to our already bulging bags.

Heather’s 21st birthday - outfits from the market

We had worked up quite an appetite by late afternoon.  So far the only food we have had was traditional Chinese.  Don’t get me wrong; it’s fantastic.  But eating noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner wears on a person.  We needed a break…some good old American food!  The students were thrilled to learn that we were eating at the Hard Rock Café that night!  We all enjoyed a meal of our own choice that evening, yet the highlight of this experience was not the bacon cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, or plates of nachos devoured by the young Americans.  No, the highlight was listening to the house band cover Ray Charles’ What a Wonderful World.  It was strange to see a Chinese national with a sleeve of tattoos crawling up his arm singing this tune.  It almost reminded me of home; almost.

As our time at the Hard Rock ended, the souvenirs purchased, and the kids corralled on the bus once again, we traveled to a local Chinese theatre for yet another cultural experience.  This experience, however, is unique to Beijing: Peking Opera.  According to Jason, our guide, it’s very “cultural” and we would sure love it!  Exhausted by this point in the day, we dragged ourselves off the bus and limped into the theatre.  Finding our seats, we noticed that we comprised approximately 1/3 of the audience.  Giving the low attendance not another thought, we waited for the show to begin.  It took a few minutes for the giggling to subside once the show began.  None of us had expected the male lead, dressed as a Chinese woman from antiquity, to be singing and speaking in strangled falsetto.  For the next hour and a half, we were “treated” to four separate acts.  Each act was unrelated to the next; rather, each act was an ancient Chinese folk story reenacted, transporting the audience into the days and times of various dynasties.   To follow along, it was imperative that you read the English sub-titles located on the side of the theatre.  So, with one eye on the sub-titles and the other on the actors, we diligently worked to comprehend the stories.  There were a lot of bobbing heads in the theatre that night.  Perhaps we should have taken in the Peking Opera immediately following the Tea House?

Another amazing day filled with memories to last a lifetime.  Our bus ride back to the hotel included the singing of “Happy Birthday” to Heather (21^st) in Peking Opera falsetto…not a bad way to end the night!  

Bonnie & Aaron

More photos:

Summer Palace

The Long Corridor (longest corridor in the world) at the Summer Palace

Marble Boat at the Summer Palace

1/6/12 TJ and Jennifer: Great Wall of China

Getting ready to hike the Great Wall of China

Amazing, jaw-dropping, astonishing, break taking, challenging, scenic, once in a lifetime, top of the world, reaching for the sky, accomplishment, tired, exhausting, incredible, fuzzy, eye opening, impressive, rocky, intensive, profound, life changing, awe inspiring, majestic, beautiful, artistic, bitchy.

These are some adjectives that many of our group members expressed during our trip to the Great Wall of China.  As with many of the other wonders this world has to offer, the Great Wall is one that cannot be easily described.  To say that we walked the wall doesn’t really describe what happened but instead it should be described as surviving the wall!  Beforehand many of us thought that we would be casually strolling atop a well-paved expanse of wall, but instead, we were laboriously rock climbing up hundreds of steps and towers.  The height and steepness of the steps made it seem as though we were climbing a ladder instead of climbing a set of stairs.

In many places we were walking more on the ruins of what was once meticulously placed stones that through the ages have worn away to pebbles.  I know that many of us felt as though our life was potentially on the line because of how slim the steps were with literally nothing to stop us from falling to our doom.  With approximately 5 miles of a true up and down climb, we were all very pleased with how much we had accomplished.  

The descent from the wall left every one of us with very shaky legs but with the feeling of pure joy from seeing one of the coolest and most beautiful wonders of the world.  To say the least the adjectives listed above give us a very true and interesting view of what those of us on this trip felt about our time surviving the wall and braving this great adventure together.

Surprisingly the adjectives above describe the other thing we did today which was going to see an acrobatic show.  Afterward we talked with our guide, “little” Aaron, and he told us that the people in the show were generally around 15-18 years old,  making all of us wonder what we’ve accomplished in our lives thus far…

There were many strangely impressive stunts that as Americans we were rather surprised that they did.  Those stunts included balanced cup flipping, jar juggling with feet, diablos, and kicker straw hat juggling.  In every one of these stunts the acrobats would be jumping up on each others shoulders and still be able to keep doing the tricks.

Peking Duck for dinner! 

Seriously, the coolest part of the show however, involved motorcycles (yes, the plural version) inside a giant metal cage ball.  We got to see 4 people ride in every direction honking the horns like crazy.  Little Aaron told us that the most they normally do is 5 but the world record is a total of 8!

To conclude activities for the day we went out to a fantastic restaurant and continued to discover just how delicious the food in China can be.  Today we saw two great feats produced by mankind – one new and one very old – and each and every one of us experience the sort of magic that such an old and rich culture can provide.  We look forward to the many more adventures to come on our Olympic Quest.






- TJ and Jennifer

More photos:

Dylan & Erik posing on the Great Wall

Here’s Ali with her personal escort. These women hiked most of the Wall with us and held our hands when the climb got tough or held our jackets when we overheated. In exchange, they hoped you would buy a book or T-shirt from them when we finished.

1/5/12 Dylan and Erik: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City

Tiananmen Square with the Forbidden City behind

Here we are on day four!  Today was our second full day here in Beijing and it has been amazing so far!  Today we all went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  We were all super excited to see all of the ancient architecture found in Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City which is where 20 emperors lived during China’s dynasties.  We arrived at Tiananmen Square fairly early this morning and it was definitely one of those awe-inspiring moments seeing the ancient Chinese buildings which we have all seen on TV and in magazines.  We got off the bus and once again we were greeted by several locals trying to sell us random stuff.  This happens every time we go outside but we are all getting used to it now.  The Forbidden City was beautiful.  Having Little Aaron and Jason (our tour guides) there to tell us about the rich history of the Forbidden City as we were walking through it made it even better; we got a better understanding and appreciation for city’s unique history.  Little Aaron told us that the Forbidden City has only been open to the public since the 1980’s and only one third of the city is actually open to the public.  The size of the city must just be absolutely massive because the one third that we toured was huge!  It was a very amazing experience that none of us will forget. 

The Forbidden City 

Lunch today was also a very unique experience.  Our group went to a Kung Fu master’s house in the Hutong area (very traditional area near the Forbidden City) for a home cooked meal.  We learned that he went to the same school and had the same Kung Fu teacher as Jet Lee, the famous Kung Fu master and actor.  We felt very welcomed into their home and felt very honored.  One of the sons that lived there gave us a Kung Fu demonstration after lunch and even taught us a few Kung Fu moves and stances.  Lunch was awesome to say the least.  

Lunch at the Kung Fu master’s house

To cap off our day we went to a Kung Fu theatrical show!  The show was full of performers doing countless flips, breaking wood over their heads, and also breaking solid chunks of metal over their heads.  Their performances showed us that the art of Kung Fu is very powerful and allows them to have deep concentration; “mind over matter” would be an appropriate way to describe it.  Today was an amazing second day here in Beijing!  We all are excited to see what Beijing has for us next!


Dylan and Erik

More photos:

Tiananmen Square

The entrance to the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City

Trying the exercise equipment in the Hutong area of Beijing 

Dylan learns a Kung Fu move from the Master

First Full Day in china

This is Ali and Caitlin! Hi! Our first day is China (Beijing) was very eventful! We got to tour two of the Olympic Venues- The Birds Nest and the Water Cube. The Birds Nest was where the opening ceremony, soccer game, and the track and field events occurred. Today the Bird’s Nest has been turned into a winter wonderland playground for families; you can go tubing and go through the winter obstacle course.  At the Bird’s Nest Dr. Banks was very prepared for the winter weather…wearing a t-shirt! Let’s just say he was a little cold. The Water Cube was where the Swimming and Diving competitions were held; this is where Michael Phelps won his eight gold medals. Today it is open to the public for use and also has a recent addition of a waterpark, which can easily be compared to a waterpark at Wisconsin Dells.  For lunch we went to a traditional Chinese restaurant that fed the Olympians during the Beijing Games.  The restaurant served a number of Chinese dishes in a family-style setting, which included a “lazy Susan” in the middle of the table. Once we got back to the hotel we ventured down a few blocks to a market to buy food! The market was three floors and jammed packed offering some interesting things such as lobster flavored Lays Potato Chips. We even got to see Dr. Banks get yelled at for not weighing his grapefruit! Later on that night we went to a local Chinese restaurant that specializes in the traditional dish of Peking duck.  At this lovely restaurant we were offered wine, beer, soda, and FIRE WATER!  Let’s just say when in China do as the Chinese do!