The Most Snow in Beijing in Over 50 Years

Sleepover at the Beijing Airport!
Stuck for two and a half days at the Beijing Airport.... the food was delicious and the company was great! We said we wished we could stay longer and enjoy more Chinese food, but we didn't mean it literally!

Sunday January 3rd, we packed up early, had tea with Alice, and made our way to the Airport. To our surprise, the night before it had snowed a few inches, which in fact, was the most snow Beijing has had in over fifty years. We made it to the airport after having several difficulties on the subway. Basically, the doors were frozen shut when we arrived at the airport and someone had to pry them open with a hammer! It was quite an unique experience!

Stuck on the subway. Laura and I listening to Bob Marley's song "Don't worry about a thing" while the subway went back and forth on the tracks.

Jenni with her angry eyes trying to focus on the basketball game on the TV instead of getting frustrated.



Man sweeping the snow with a broom! There weren't any snow plows in Beijing.

After arriving at the airport, we found out that all the flights going out of Beijing Airport were canceled for the day. It was hard trying to figure out what to do next, especially, with the language barrier. We were told to go to many different lines and every time we reached the people at the counter, they would direct us to another line. Actually, throughout all of this wandering around aimlessly, we made a number of friends whom we kept connecting with sharing new information. In a really special way, that is the beauty of having difficulties like this, because strangers can come together, lend a hand, offer kind words, and work things out. :-) That was kind of fun!

"Are you serious!?!"

Finally, after getting a ticket for an early flight, we ate a scrumptious dinner~ I love Chinese food~ and made our camp in a "less crowded" area near the bathrooms. It was quite hilarious, but at least we were more comfortable. Many people would literally pause mid step to stare at at such strange, western girls sprawled out on the floor. Ha! Children would wander our direction to get a better look. It made a lot of people laugh! If only we had a video camera set up! We felt as if we were living there like Tom Hanks in the movie, "The Terminal."



Making the most of waiting in line by cracking jokes and jamming to music.



Our setup on the airport floor next to the women's bathroom.
To keep ourselves occupied, we started reading the book, "Precious" out loud together (thank you, Kristin for sending it to me!). It was perfect to share and talk about as a group. I love the way it's written and it's a great story. We all were emotional together and it made our situation of being stuck in a foreign country, much more bearable. Precious Jones, you are very precious.



Poor Laura! That isn't face lotion, it's face wash!

On the morning of Monday January 4th, planes started to go out again, yet, China Southern didn't have a plane available for us. This was the day we were all supposed to be back in South Korea teaching! Yikes! People were outraged at the situation. The China Southern boarding crew was surrounded by people who were telling them off left and right! Everything was in uproar! People had work obligations, family emergencies, one man's wife was going to have surgery that day ... it was awful! I even felt bad for the China Southern workers, because they were at the bottom of the chain and had no idea what was going on yet they were taking all the beating! Thankfully, we found an English speaker who could translate. It was sad, because there were other non-English speaking foreigners who were at a loss at what was going on and had no one to translate. This situation ended up on the news! Whew... even our bosses in South Korea saw what was happening. I think I heard it was broadcast over in the US, as well.







In the end, we were given a hotel room for the night and thankfully, a flight directly to Seoul the morning of January 5th. After a four hour bus trip, we were back at our home base in Gwangju. Our bosses were happy we were back and our heads were still whirling from the exhilarating and totally worthwhile trip!

Chinese Dumplings and Cartoons!

"Yummy!!!"

Chinese dumplings are especially important around the Lunar New Year. Chinese people have been making Chinese dumplings on New Year's day for the past 500-600 years in the hopes of having good fortune for the upcoming year. Alice generously invited us over for an evening to share this special Chinese tradition with us.



Alice explaining what ingredients we can use for dumplings. Basically, you can use anything for the stuffing! Ingredients can include beef, chicken, pork, egg, potato, a variety of vegetables, kimchi, cheese.... whatever you like.

We learned that the tricky part of making Chinese dumplings is knowing how to fold the dough so that the stuffing does not fall out during the boiling process. Also, it is important to, as Alice stated, "Make it stand up and look pretty!" Many of our earlier attempts were quite pitiful with the wrong curvature. "They are sleeping," was what Alice would say to our flat dumplings. It was quite exciting when we finally managed to get our dumplings to stand.



Slicing the dough into several pieces. Next, we rolled each piece into small circles.

A standing one amongst the sleepers!

Alice's husband helping us stuff the dumplings.

Laura, Linsey, and I having a blast. Making Chinese dumplings is so much fun!

Laura getting some advice on the folding technique.

A prize Dumpling Chef!

He was so adorable with his fun facial expressions and hand gestures. Alice spoke English very well, but her husband comically expressed to us how English makes him fall asleep! ha ha. He was really fun. I wish I knew Chinese to talk to him more!

The boiling process.

When we came to visit, Shi Shi would sit on her little stool on the corner and think up the most creative cartoons of her cat to give us. They were awesome and so amusing! Her cat, lucky, was the main character in all of them and would often interact with the 'cool cat' and the unlucky cat who was in love with her, but always got the rough end of the deal. Shi Shi gave us about five different cartoons involving everything from electric fences, dynamited roses, costumes, and many other creative things.

Shi Shi excitedly sharing her newest cartoon.

Chinese Chopsticks!

Not metal like the ones we have become accustomed to in South Korea.

Here is a recipe that's simular to the instructions Alice gave us, keeping in mind that the ingredients for the filling can vary.

Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)

(makes about 50 dumplings)

Filling:

*1 lb. ground pork (or beef)

*6 T. sesame oil

*2 t. sugar

*0.75 t. salt

*0.25 t. pepper

*0.25 lb. cabbage

*1 t. salt

*0.25 lb. chopped green onions

Skin:*3 c. flour

*0.75 c. cold water

*0.5 c. flour (to prevent sticking during kneading)

soy sauce:

water

vinegar (white or rice)

garlic (fresh, chopped fine, or powdered)

ginger (fresh, chopped fine, or powdered)

small bowl with water for dipping

1. Filling: Mix ground pork, oil, sugar, chop cabbage, salt and pepper until fine. Let sit for 10 minutes; then squeeze out the excess water.

2. Skin: In a bowl, add water to the flour and knead into smooth dough; let it stand for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into a long baton-like roll and cut it into 50 pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll each piece to a thin circle.

3. Combine: Place 1 portion of filling in the center of a dough circle. Fold the circle in half and moisten the edges with water. Use index finger and thumb to bring the sides together. The smooth edge will conform to the decreased length of the pleated edge. Pinch the pleats together then pinch to seal. Place the dumpling on a floured tray and repeat this with the remaining dumplings.

4. Boil: Boil 10 cups of water and add dumplings; gently stir to prevent dumplings from sticking together. Bring to a boil; turn the heat to low and cook for three minutes. When serving, use vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, hot bean paste, etc. as dipping sauces.

5. Serving: Serve the dumplings hot (if you cook them in bamboo baskets you may wish to serve them from it directly at the table) with bowls of soy sauce mixed with red wine vinegar.

The famous cat, Lucky, and her adoring admirer, Laura.

Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square was another really interesting place to visit in Beijing. This plaza, which was built in 1651, is the largest city square in the world. The Tiananmen's gate was first built in 1417, but was damaged during wars. Tiananmen's literal translation in English is "Gate of Heavenly Peace." Jenni and I really enjoyed wandering through the plaza early one morning. The plaza is so large and beautiful with it's bright red flags, significant buildings, and buzzing people. Another great place to people watch.







At one point we asked a young guy to take a picture of us with my camera. It was funny because, afterwards, he asked if we could take a picture with him while his friend used his camera. Then his friend wanted a picture with us as well. After that, another group came over and wanted pictures with us. All of a sudden, we were stuck taking picture after picture with friendly strangers! They were all really cool people, but the whole situation was quite odd. Random people asking us to take pictures with them happened many times. Everyone was just so friendly and excited about meeting westerners.





More Pictures with Alice.... she is so great!


Alice and Shi Shi at the Pekking Duck Restaurant



Small figures on Alice's tea table. A few were Chinese zodiac figures: Ox= prosperity, dependable, hardworking; Pig= never go hungry, bountiful; Sheep/goat: Creative. Alice pours a little tea on these figures for luck. There was also a figure of a foot with a spider on it, which meant something like; if you feel the sensations of enjoyment around you, you will find contentment and happiness. They were really neat.


Chinese tea frog. Alice pours tea on this wooden frog for luck before giving us tea. The frog has three legs, a coin in it's mouth, and colors of the world on its back.


Ceramic cups and tea sets, from Alice's shop, were a variety of beautiful designs and colors.

Shi Shi thinking up her next cartoon story of her cat, Lucky, and her cat friends. Alice's husband, playing for us in the background. They are such a wonderful family.

Shi Shi's turtle.

Lama Temple, Pankiayuan Market, and Silk Market

Entrance to the Harmony Lama Temple
(otherwise known as Yonghe Lamasery or Palace of Peace)

On Saturday January 2nd, 2010, Jenni and I made our way over to the Lama Temple located in the northeast area of Beijing. The Lama temple began being built in 1694 and became the residence of Yongzheng Emperor. When he died in 1735, the temple became the residence for many Tibetan Buddhist Monks. This beautiful palace is one of the most important and largest Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries in the world. It's blend of Tibetan and Han Chinese styles of art truly makes the temple unique.

The artwork inside and out was gorgeous and there were well-crafted statues of Buddha everywhere. My favorite Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, was located in the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses. This phenomenal 18m (59 feet) Buddha was carved from a single piece of White Sandalwood. The colors were brilliant and their were long pieces of bright silk flowing from its fingertips. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside this building.


We weren't allowed to take pictures in the building, but I found this picture off the internet. This is the Maitreya Buddha we saw! Isn't it beautiful and ginormous!

Since it was off tourist season Jenni and I were able to wander throughout the temple without a huge crowd. It was so neat being able to observe the peaceful temple in the early morning hours. The weather brought us snow, which made the temple even more enchanting. There were many other foreigners, but that didn't stop people from worshipping. Monks were seen casually walking around amongst the visitors. Many people brought their own incense and were burning them and bowing before Buddhas inside several buildings. It was such a neat place!
It was neat because, Jenni and I participated a bit during worship bowing and burning our own incense.


Lanterns outside one of the several stores selling incense outside of the Lama Temple


Visitors worshipping


One of the many Buddhas. He looks so happy!


Before entering on of the temple halls, worshippers burned incense and bowed several times.


Those Pandas are EVERYWHERE! (Just outside the Lama Temple)


A monk quietly observing the visitors





Banging of the bell


Spinning for good fortune!

After the Lama temple, Laura, Jenni, Linsey, and I made our way over to the Panjiayuan or Dirt (cheap) Market. You could find nearly everything at this outdoor market! It was amazing! I was told to bargain before buying anything, otherwise, you might get jipped! I heard that the price is sometimes ten times higher than what the item is truly worth!

Well....

To start with, I have never bargained before this trip and I quickly found out why! I don't like getting into confrontations with people and if they show any emotion I crumble! On the other hand, Jenni flourished and truly enjoyed playfully disputing with some of the sellers and they seemed to enjoy her as well. It is such a psychological game! A few things I learned along the way when it comes to bargaining are:

1) Never tell the price you are willing to pay even when they ask so that you can get an idea of what the item is really worth.

2) Don't show a lot of interest in whatever it is you want to buy, otherwise, they WON'T let you walk away (a lady even yanked my arm!) or lower the price.

3) Walk away when you feel like the price is too high and they aren't working with you (most of the time the sellers dropped the price when I did that).

Well, I am no expert, I promise, but it was an interesting experience! I'm proud to say, I only left with a pretty pair of earrings! Wow!

After the Pankiayuan Market, we made our way over to Silk Street. The Silk Market is a shopping center with over 1,700 retail vendors. It is very famous, although a lot of things there are counterfeit and very low quality. Since we were in Beijing, we thought we would check it out! Now, I thought the Dirt Market was intimidating, little did I know what I was getting into! I just wanted to experience the market and didn't plan on buying anything, but most of the time, I was running away from vendors who were chasing me. They were telling me things like, "Lady, I got boots!", "Lady, wanna purse?!", "shoes, good price!", "You like that, Lady?". It was humerous for awhile!

If you express any interest, they would show you something inside their vendor area where they would corner you and you couldn't escape! Laura was told, "Lady, you need a doctor!" when she refused a price from a woman and Jenni was told, "You're crazy!" We were at one counter for awhile and a woman kept saying over and over, "You killing me! You killing me!" ha ha. Overall, there were a lot of overboard sales people, but we did manage to laugh and make friends with some of the workers. It was a great place to people watch; I caught myself laughing a lot! Laura, our beautician, did help me pick out some make-up. That was fun!

The Glorious Forbidden City

The Hall of Supreme Harmony where many important ceremonies were held, including, weddings and enthronements. It is by far the most important building in the Forbidden city, as well as, one of the largest wooden structures in China.

The Forbidden City ("Forbidden", meaning it was forbidden to enter or exit without the emperors permission) was another incredible and unforgettable experience. On Friday January 1st 2010, Jenni and I wandered throughout the city for most of the day and still weren't able to see everything! The Forbidden City consists of 980 buildings and covers 7,800,000 sq. feet. It was built from 1406 to 1420 by over a million workers and was the Chinese Imperial palace during the Ming Dynasty to the end of Quing Dynasty. There were over 24 emperors who lived in this Palace. The stories of historical events that we heard on our audio tour were so interesting! Honestly, I really enjoyed hearing the history about the concubines and common folk that came into the Palace through the Imperial garden along with the stories of the Emperors. The Emperors, for safety reason, could only stick to a small portion of the City, mostly the Inner Court. Overall, the Forbidden City's history is just as dynamic as the immaculate wood carvings on all the buildings; truly impressive and endless in its historical glory.



Such an adorable girl!



Symbolic animals up on the roof tops. The numbers of animals show how important each building was in the Forbidden city. This building was pretty significant.



There were several outstanding, colorful entrance ways and yellow was glazed over all the rooftops. Red and yellow were the most common colors used throughout the City. Yellow represents the color of the Emperor.



The beautiful craft work of the buildings and stone carvings were impressive.


Palace of Heavenly Purity


Gilded Lion in front of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity


SO ADORABLE!
Panda bear hats were such a huge hit! They were everywhere!


These guys were having fun flaunting cute head wear, especially the one on the left who is being more traditional girl's piece.




Guard outside the Palace. They all were so serious and still, you would of thought they were manikins! Jenni and I were trying to get them to smile, but it was nearly impossible!


Ahh... a wild Panda on the loose in the Forbidden City!

So beautiful!

The wood carvings on the buildings were so gorgeous with their intricate design and colors!

I believe this is the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Extremely important building; note the number of animal figures up in the corner of the roof. During the Ming Dynasty, it was the residence of the emperor. At night time, the emperor would rotate sleeping in different bedrooms for security measures. Later on, it became a banquet hall and had several other purposes.

Truly a memorable place

Jenni having a ball with our audio tour sets.

Loved all the dragons, or guardians, throughout the Palace.