As we landed the pilot said that everyone should stay seated as that was how they needed to "deal" with the Chinese quarrntine officials. You could almost hear the resigned sigh in his voice.
Anna and I were slightly nervous having heard about random quarentines by the Chinese government of tourists. I'm not sure of that is true, but it was enough to make us not want to sneeze or clear our throats too loudly in front of a quarrntine official.
As we've travelled on this trip we have run into several spots where officials were nervous around people with a fever. We had our temperature checked in the airport in Egypt as we walked, but the Chinese put the rest to shame. They won't even let you leave the plane if they think your temperature is too high.
When we got to the gate, two people wearing dust masks (which Anna says are useless becase the filters on those masks are not small enough to stop the flu virus from passing through) came on board and began taking everyone's temperature with a gun-like device they point at your forehead. They passed us without event, but stopped at a man sitting down the row from us. Apparently he was putting off too much heat and they checked and rechecked his temp. Eventually they used an oral mercury thermometer. After standing there for about ten minutes they cleared him and everyone was let off the plan. Perhaps the man just ate too much spicy food?
After we disembarked, we went through several checkpoints (one of which was a thermal camera, just to be sure), got our luggage and went to find a taxi. Aside from, or perhaps despite, the number of checkpoints, we were pleasantly surprised at the efficiency and speed with which we got out of the airport. I guess structured paranoia is still structured. We will be very happy when the flu hysteria is over, all over the world.
We took a taxi to our hotel and attempted to go to lunch. Here is where it gets interesting. We were already tired after having been up all night on the flight, and were a bit overwhelmed by being in such a completely foreign place. So when we went into one of the adjoining towers to find a restaurant, we didn't really have a basis for making a choice. There was a sign showing the different restaurants that was difficult to read, and a couple of hotel employees came over to try to help. I noticed that some numbers and symbols on one side stated the floor and section the restaurant was at. When I pointed this out to Anna, the hotel person thought I was pointing at that particular restaurant and rushed us up to it and sat us at a table. It turned out to be a seafood restaurant specializing in sea cucumber, shark fin, and abalone. (Okay, I think that is gross, immoral, and rubbery, respectively. -Anna, who will finish the blog.) Needless to say we had a hard time finding something to order. Eventually, I said "rice?" and that was apparently a cue to initiate a large set menu involving at least 20 separate food items. Most were unidentifiable, and very vinegar-y. We were closely observed by the staff, who hovered while we ate. This made it hard to avoid trying everything, and we were given forks after fumbling several items. We are really not that bad with chopsticks; you try picking up wet whole cherry tomatoes with wet laquered chopsticks and see how it goes.
It was an exhausting meal, but we eventually made it out. The next day we saw the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, and did some shopping at the pearl factory and silk factory. A factory isn`t really the same as in America, it just where people make things. In fact all the crafts we saw were hand-made in part or whole.
Above is a picture of the Forbidden City. The city was originally built for the emperor and attendants and the occasional delegate. It is an expansive compound across the street from Tiannamen (sp?) Square.
Rumor has it that rubbing bronze gives good luck. There's a lot of beliefs in China about how to get good luck, prosperity, long life, etc. We were taught that by setting a statue of cabbage facing out the window, the leaves will grab other people's money for you as they walk by. They also believe strongly in the pricipals of Feng Shui. Most on the emperor's tombs were organized according to the feng shui of the nearby mountains and rivers.
This is the Temple of Heaven. It contains ornate buildings similar to the Forbidden City.
A close up of the amazing woodwork and interior of the temple. All the ancient buildings that we saw were covered in images and symbols that represent power, longevity, and good luck. For example, the number 9 is representative of the emperor, red is for luck, and dragons mean power.
Above is the view from the Summer Palace.
This is the famous marble boat that was built at great expense. If I remember correctly, the extravagant spending that this boat symbolized led to political unrest among the people, who were very poor. These famous buildings and city monuments are still being regularly refurbished today, and look much as they would have originally. There have been so many famous dynasties in China, it is amazing to see the buildings and superstitions of history first hand. - Scott and Anna
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