shop 'til you drop

The agenda for our most recent excursion day was the following: Antiques Market, Temple of Heaven, Pearl Market, and an acrobatic show.

Beijing was still in the throes of an unbearable heat wave, and Saturday was no exception.

Our first stop was the Antiques Market, one of the best known markets in Beijing. Shop owners will claim everything from the porcelain and jade to books and records is "antique," but most of it is just a bunch of old crap. The salespeople will start out with exorbitant prices, and, if you're persistent, you may be able to get them down to a reasonable price. My only purchase: a set of beautiful, matted black and white photos. I am quite smitten with them. They'll be a nice reminder of the beauty of everyday life here.
The antique market was supposed to be a three-hour excursion, but the heat was utterly oppressive that day. We didn't last more than 45 minutes before we headed to the nearest McDonald's--only to find the rest of our program there as well. We spent a good two hours playing cards, hanging out, and trying various items on the menu.

After the excursion to McDonald's, we set off for the Temple of Heaven. The grounds are comprised of a series of temples where emperors would perform ceremonies, praying to the heavens for a good harvest. The Imperial Vault of Heaven is pictured left.

The Temple of Heaven grounds were rife with tourists, especially a large group of young kids. Like us, they were doing a summer program at Tsinghua University, but they didn't care that we were their classmates so much as that we were American. They had a blast posing for pictures with us and practicing their English.

The Temple of Heaven is full of symbolism; there are lots of earth and heaven motifs used in the architecture of the structures and the grounds themselves. The north end of the grounds is surrounded by a semi-circular wall, representing heaven and the south end by a rectangular wall, representing earth.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (pictured right), which is built on three levels of marble stone, is where the emperor would pray for a good harvest. The structure atop the three tiers of marble is made completely of wood and was constructed without any nails.

A quick break in the shade and then it was off to our third destination of the day: the Pearl Market. As Gu Laoshi told us, it's essentially the same as the Silk Market except the pearls are real and the silk is fake. You can get t-shirts, purses, or electronics, but I chose to focus my attention solely on pearls. I couldn't believe how reasonably priced real pearls were. I fell in love these aqua colored potato pearls and was able to have a necklace made for less than $20 US.

Our last stop of the day was a show by the National Acrobats of China. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. There were no elaborate sets or props, just the occasional hoop or pole. I was shocked by how young all the performers were and was all the more nervous watching children getting tossed around like little rag dolls. It was a stunning performance and a true testament to the discipline of these young girls and boys.

Another exhausting but nonetheless important day of sightseeing. Just one more Saturday trip left! Home in eight days!