10/11 Temple of Heaven, Olympic Village, and Crazy Drivers!

October 11th

Today we woke up early because Leon made us!!! The time is an exact 12 hours different from EST and we have been going nonstop since we arrived so I was a tired even after a night's sleep.

Mr. Shi picked us up and took us for a "normal Chinese breakfast" (wutong soup - pork noodle dumpling soup, youtiao - doughnut like sticks, and baozi - pork filled yeast balls). We weren't allowed to have a drink with breakfast - Leon said that normally Chinese people don't drink anything during breakfast.

Then went to Mr. Shi's apartment to order plane tickets from Xi'an to Chengdu which ended up being a little bit of a hassle but the task was accomplished.

Then Mr. Shi drove us to the Temple of Heaven. Tickets were 35 RMB each (~$6). This place was awe inspiring. We saw the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, a beautiful rose garden, the Imperial Vault of Heaven (this was inside an echo wall - Leon stood on one side and I stood on the other side of a very spacious place and we could hear each other just by talking in a normal voice) and finally the Circular Mound Alter. We probably walked 5 miles at this place!! The Chinese love using large space for these grand places! It was also Mr. Shi's first time to the Temple of Heaven. Here is a temple selfie!

Ticket to Temple of Heaven

Let's talk about driving in Beijing! They drive without any situation awareness - I like to call it organized chaos. You don't see many accidents but the number of close calls is infinite. There is lots of horn honking, lane switching, unclear rights of way. Cars win, bikes and pedestrians lose? Parking on sidewalk is acceptable. Plus we got to experience a crazy traffic jam!

We left the Temple of Heaven and went to lunch at a Chinese fast food place. We all got different dishes and shared - mushrooms, eggplant, curried chicken, pork, and more pork. It came with rice and Napa cabbage plus a coke.

Then headed to Olympic Village. It was very neat to walk around and see all the places that were on television. We saw the torch, the birds nest, the water cube, and the pagoda. There was a soccer game being held at birds nest (Brazil v Argentina) so they turned the lights on which tends to only happen for special occasions. We tried to find a souvenir shop and couldn't!

After the crazy traffic jam, we went back to grandmother's house for another authentic Beijing dinner. This time it was zhajia noodles with pork, beef, cabbage, cucumbers and tons of other foods. It was good but a little salty. We are definitely having a unique experience. We aren't really experiencing downtown Beijing but suburban Beijing and what locals do.

After dinner, we dropped off my parents at the hotel and headed to the grocery store. What an experience! I saw Lays potato chips, bought some Oreos, picked out some breads for lunch tomorrow, and took tons of pictures with my camera. Here are some photos.

Lays Potato Chips like Italian Red Meat Flavor and Texas Grill BBQ Flavor 

Chicken Feet

Dragonfruit

Pigs Feet

Chicken for Sale

Fish for sale

Yippie something normal!

The pollution is finally starting to clear. There was a great wind that blew it away. We can actually see building in the distance and can breathe without wearing a mask.


Tomorrow is the Summer Palace and then a family dinner at a nice restaurant. At some point we are hoping to check out a Wal-Mart for a Chinese American fusion experience.

Practicing my Chinese pronunciation is enjoyable for no one! So far this trip has been berbang (local dialectic for great/wonderful) - I think!