2019 SCLA China trip, Day 2

Friday, July 12 - This was the first of our days of sightseeing, and we packed it in.  We first stopped at a hole-in-the-wall breakfast place where folks ordered some combination of bite-sized steamed pork buns, hard boiled tea eggs, and some sort of fritter-like thing, all served to us in clear plastic bags.  Quick stop at a convenience store to stock up on bottled waters for a day of serious walking. We were thankful to see the Forbidden City, Zhongshan Park, Tiananmen Square, and the National Museum of China. A few highlights from these:

Forbidden City - The sunscreen went on early and generously.  We came across the first of many Chinese people very eager to take pictures with Americans.  Abby Raasch seemed to garner special attention given her height and long blonde hair. 

Above: the two Abbys in fairly typical poses with a fan.

Zhongshan Park - Trees with identification tags (wisteria and pinus bungeana among the most beautiful and memorable; bamboo that looked strangely artificial but with beautiful carvings of Chinese characters); children's play areas with no children whatsoever (the first of many)

Tiananmen Square - so large, so flat, so many people! We attempted to arrive early, but the heat was already oppressive by midmorning.  Even with a 0% forecast of precipitation, there were umbrellas galore. Caleb sported a Cabela’s hat after some prodding.  From the street vendor, Emily ordered cucumber flavored Pringles that lived up to their advertising.

National Museum of China - Huge structure with massive marble stairs in the center, but all visitors were shown the side entrance!  A few notables: lots of tributes to the working people of China; veneration of the elderly time and again. I asked the students their favorite sites of the museum.  While I accidentally deleted the list I started on my phone, a few as I recall:  

• Nicole - frozen cheesecake
• Jack and Zoe - poetic license to call these their favorites, but the bizarre African carvings, we’ll leave it at that
• Abby R - imagery of Asian countries in looping movie form; venue allowing one to take a load off didn’t hurt, and may have contributed to watching 2-3 “reruns”
• Ms. Lehmann - larger than life statues of famous influencers of Chinese culture
• Caleb - Terra Cotta Warriors 

From there we hit the market.  And many gifts for family and friends back home were purchased. Some of the more interesting observances:

• Vastly different prices depending on the store; Caleb concluded he got the better end of the stick
• For 50 yuan (~$7.50), farm-raised oysters guaranteed to have 20 pearls; cracked open while you watch.
• Bubble tea is really just hydrated tapioca crystals
• Haggling is alive and well in China, some shops far more than others
• I purchased local fruit from a corner market, which their grocer prepared for consumption; I insisted on the students trying the assortment, including dragonfruit, bayberries (Yang Mei), wax apples, and rambutan (at least that's what google tells me)...and then forgot to take a picture of the array. 

The double-decker bus ride back to a stop near the hotel was a relief after a long day of walking.

We then walked to dinner at a Xinjiang (western China) restaurant, a recommendation and favorite cuisine of Ms. Lehmann’s. Delicious! At our table we enjoyed 15 skewers of lamb kabobs, 10 chicken kabobs, 2 skewers of roasted garlic, steamed broccoli, cabbage, etc. See photos of remains.

Abby R had a bit too much chicken, sun, or both.

Then karaoke.  Lots of great memories, and some of them even recorded. We had a private room so the general public was not subjected to our foibles.  Top billing of the evening was Abby Kom singing Popular...in perfect pitch, no less...to Jack D. An bystander would surely conclude that that had to have been rehearsed. Ms. Lehmann and I concluded that that was an evening of cheap, and for the most part wholesome (looking at you, Caleb), entertainment.