Hit the Ground Running

Sunrise as seen from my hotel window this morning

Me in front of the Hall of Unity and Peace in the Forbidden City

I arrived in Beijing Friday morning at 5:30am, only to discover that my luggage had not done the same. Fortunately, finding cheap clothing is not a problem in Beijing, and there is a chance my bag will arrive sometime this weekend. I am not happy with United Airlines, but it is all a great adventure nonetheless.

Beijing's central business district is like Manhattan on steroids with a bad coffee buzz. More people, more cars, less room and less freedom. It is exciting, but I am still way out of my element.

Our host yesterday, Cindy, took us to the Forbidden City for an extensive and exhausting walking tour. The weather was very foggy all day, but after a bit under 6 hours' sleep on the flight, the muted grey light all day was a relief. The Forbidden City is the historical center of Beijing and the seat of government for the last epoch of dynastic rule in China, for 500 years up to the beginning of the 20th century. It is enormous, covering perhaps 200 acres and consisting of concentric walled and gated inner sanctums. Passing through each gate takes you farther and farther into the complex and deeper into the privileged realms of power of the emperors. At present the entire City is a museum, and puts the Louvre to shame in extent, if not significance. Particular highlights in our very abbreviated tour included the gallery of clocks and watches, a collection of hundreds (if not thousands) of timepieces from the 17th and 18th century both imported and Chinese. One of the emperors in the Qing ("Ching") dynasty was apparently a huge fan of elaborate clocks with minutely detailed mechanical novelty movements, and started a craze in the imperial court for ever more intricate and ingenious mechanisms. One remarkable example was a 6-foot tall piece that featured a little 4-5 inch tall scribe sitting at a table who actually writes Chinese characters on tiny slips of paper when the clock strikes. Another great example was a huge chest-sized clock of mahogany. At first we thought it was just a linen chest or something with a little clock built in. It turns out it is an entire mechanical orchestra in a box - with perhaps 20 or 30 different miniature and fully functional instruments from bells and strings to percussion and wind, all driven by a monstrously complex clockworks and cam system driven by a pegged and divotted cylinder that "programmed" the tune being played. I figure it is probably the earliest "clock radio".

Don't mess with these guys... [guards at the Forbidden City]

We also saw a gallery of "everyday utensils and implements". Apparently "everyday" meant something different to the emperor than you or me. The palace routinely used intricately detailed gold cutlery and the most remarkable bone china and carved cups and bowls.

My colleague Chuck closing the doors to the city (we actually did get kicked out at the end of the day, and were among the last to leave)

In 6 hours of nonstop walking and gawking we truly just scratched the surface of the Forbidden City. After that we headed for the silk market, a 5-story indoor bazaar with all manner of cheap knock-off name-brand and designer clothing, bedding, electronics - almost anything, really. The market is arranged in aisles of stalls, each about 10 feet by 10 feet. Each stall or cubicle specializes in a particular thing, men's jackets or ladies traditional dresses, kids clothing, shoes, etc. And in each stall are 1 or 2 salespeople who are extremely aggressive. The name of the game is bargaining and these people are pros. They will accost you verbally and physically as you walk along the aisles, asking you if you are looking for dress shirts, shoes, perhaps something for your girlfriend or wife. Given even the smallest inkling of interest, they will pull you in and give you the HARD sell. They put US used car salesmen to shame. They start you off with an outrageous price, perhaps full or even double the street price for the genuine article in the USA. Then you might spend 10 minutes haggling, knowing that the actual cost of the item is a few percent at most of that initial price. It is by no means an insult to counter their initial offer of 700 RMB (Chinese Yuen, local currency) or about US $90 for a silk tie with an offer of, say, 10 RMB (US $1.50). And more than likely the lower offer is far closer to the actual cost. I must admit the first tie I bought, I paid almost US $15 and in my own estimation, as well as Cindy's, got "fleeced". But the haggling alone was worth the difference! Now I know better. I think I'll go back this week for a hand made suit.

The silk market was an absolutely amazing example of full-bore, no holds barred capitalism at its best. These hard-working sellers have embraced the free market with wild abandon. I just wish all shopping could be this much fun! And bear in mind, this is still communist China (at least in name).

A more sobering dose of reality hit me when I came back to my room last night and tried to do some reading on the English Wikipedia. That site is blocked here in Beijing at least. Apparently the content is just too controversial. Fortunately through my corporate VPN I am still able to see everything, uncensored, but I need to remind myself while I'm here that I am definitely not in Kansas anymore!