On the Way to the Forbidden City

Even though it started out quite innocently, our visit to Beijing turned out to be quite an adventure. The first part (portrayed here) lulled us into a false sense of security. We docked at Tianjin and we were to be met by Lotus yarns (with a bus full of Cashmere) and then taken into Beijing for touring and lots of yarn shopping.

We were very excited and were trying to get out together to expedite getting onto the bus.

Chris, one of the fun members of our group, has already blogged much of this in a much more beautiful fashion, but I will persist in posting my inferior photos and hope that my narrative will make it worth your while. We lined the halls and stairways to the exit.

Eventually we made it through the ship's and then Chinese security.

The buses for excursions were lined up and we were awaited by the Lotus Yarn people complete with welcoming sign.

The weather was cool, but the welcome warm and this completely made up for the outdoor temperature!

We gathered at the meeting place and then headed to the bus.

The excitement was palpable as we entered the bus which was piled high with more than 200 pounds of yarn!

It was a yarn frenzy for the first part of our drive and by the time I got around to looking out the window, we were halfway to Beijing.  I don't know if it was the balls of cashmere flying through the air or people scrabbling onto piles of Bamyak and vowing they had not yet begun to fight, but we actually attracted a lot of attention on the road.

We were even photographed by a bus full of Chinese tourists. It was almost a draw with neither side getting more photos than the other. (Unfortunately I was still preoccupied with yarn and did not manage to get a photo, so our side probably lost in the end!)

In the countryside there were a lot of fields with little sheds or houses.

The trees were called "Scholar trees" by the Chinese. We were told they are poplars, although the internet says they are members of the pea family, chosen because they leaf early and shed their leaves late thus offering lots of shade.

There was new construction everywhere.

The old stood near the new.

Eventually we got a chance to stop and take a break. This was the moment I dreaded! 

Chinese toilets!

They turned out not to be any worse than non-western Japanese style toilets (except that the paper has to be put in the basket near the fixture, because the plumbing is not strong enough to handle the additional paper.

After reloading onto the bus we found ourselves in Beijing in no time.

When we got to the city, we discovered ...

Beijing is a huge, modern city complete with tall buildings and traffic jams.

There were plenty of more historic looking buildings too and our guides introduced us to several important landmarks as we traveled towards our goal.

The architecture reassured us that we were indeed in China.

We passed by Tiananmen Square ...

There we got a peek at Chairman Mao's mausoleum.

The mausoleum is the flat roofed building with the yellow brown roof.

The people around us seemed so industrious.

I'm not sure which version of this shot I like better.

As we approached our next stop, the souvenir salespeople started to appear.  This woman was selling a very cute little panda hat. (I later found a woman wearing one, so stay tuned for a picture of it in use.)

After parking we walked around the neighborhood toward the "Forbidden City."

Ironically we passed by the hotel that I had booked for my later stay in Beijing. At the time I photographed it simply because it looked like an interesting building.

I loved the vibrant colors. Japan has always seemed to me to be an olivey moss and orange color, but China is definitely red and jade green.

There were so many remnants of the elegant days of the 30s. The hand-carved entrances, the deco style buildings, the ornate screens were all there but interspersed among concrete buildings and shanties.

This neighborhood had a distinct flavor that is hard to describe in words, but comes across beautifully in the photos.

Some people still adhered to the old ways thus avoiding adding to the considerable air pollution.

We slowly made our way around the walls and finally found ourselves in front of the entrance to the "Forbidden City," the former residence of the Emperor.

Little did we know what adventures lay ahead!