Beijing Used to Be Peking

How do I love thee, Beijing? Let me count the ways: I love your food, your beautiful parks and green expanses, I love your smiling faces, your funny tasting popsicles, I love your tranquility and gentleness, your pride, I love your shiny subway, your kindness, I love your old temples and rose gardens....

I could go on and on. Beijing is a historic city that transcends time. A walk through Tianamen Square and see you the bold, stoic buildings of Communism on one end and the magnificent, ancient Forbidden City on the other. We wait with the long line of Chinese people in the rain to see Chairman Mao resting in his crystal coffin. The locals lay roses at a marble statue of him in the entrance, paying their respects. I take a moment to admire the People's Monument, a grandiose sculpture, standing out in the middle of it all. I think of the Time magazine cover of the young man in 70's that rose up against the army in this square. It's such a large place.

We take a walk across the street to the Forbidden City, crossing through the massive doors, over the mote, to the temples with names like "Eternal Happiness," "Tranquility," and "Hall of Contentment." I start naming the smaller buildings after movies (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Temple of Doom). We go up and down stairs weaving through the massive city/palace losing our way. All the while I keep looking for the Starbucks (it's closed). But the Forbidden City isn't even the best thing to see, in my opinion. I liked walking the Temple of Heaven and the massive lakes/gardens of the Summer Palace. The Temple of Heaven is filled with locals doing Tai Chi, swing dancing, playing music, picnicking....its such a wonderful place to just sit and watch or to jump up and join in (which I HAD to do). The Summer Palace is filled with bridges and peach trees and lily pads...I love every second we are here.
Now, what you all have been waiting for...drum roll please.....THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! It's even cooler than I thought would be. Our driver takes us to the Mutianyu portion of the great wall where you can ride a tram up to the top instead of walking. But we're young, eh? We can walk. Exhausted at the top, we realize maybe we should have saved our energy. But first I order a beer. Feeling refreshed, we literally scale, rock climb, and in some cases hang on for dear life as we walk the entire stretch of the wall to the unrestored section ( no sides, trees growing in the middle----don't go near that edge). Looking to one side is China, and to the other the old Mongolian side. For all that work, there is not a moment of disappointment. I wonder what the Mongolians thought when approaching this monster, or how tiring it must have been to walk up to your post in armor on this thing. I think about the millions of lives that were lost building it, buried in it, and now, here I am, standing on it and them. In the moments that we take a rest, we are quiet, not really knowing how to express the feelings this place can bring up in you. We (I) decide we cannot possible walk down. My legs are shaking uncontrollably, I'm hot and cold with sweat, and now it has started raining a bit. But there is an alternative to riding down in a tram. You can, at your own risk, fly down the thing in a one man luge. The haphazard metal track winds from the great wall down to where you started. Trust me, this thing would never pass an OSHA standard. Obviously, we chose to risk our life. We have to wait for the rain to stop, then we say a prayer that the brakes will work and GO! No sides, big drops, fast, and exciting I luge my way to the bottom. What a ride! All I can think is, I love Beijing!