April 3, 2012
In the morning, we took a bus ride to Tian'men Square (the heart of Beijing) and the Forbidden City. Tianamen Square is the largest public square in the world. On the north side of the square is Tianamen Gate where Mao Zedong, chariman of the Communist Party, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China. Behind this gate is the Forbidden City, know as the Imperial Palace. The Forbidden city was home to 24 emperors from the time of its creation through history. The entire city consists of 8,706 rooms which an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people lived in. This place was off-limits to Chinese ordinary people
After lunch, we went to a silk making factory and then to Guan'ai Migrant school in Shunyi. This is on the outskirts of Beijing and was started by Shi Qinghua four years ago. Students are neither orphans nor having parents that committed crimes, they are ineligible for government subsidiaries. They receive unfavorable treatment in society due to their family background. This school helps them to be able to find a basic job by the time they reach 17 or 18. A few kids actually were able to make it to the major league of playing baseball in China. We received a tour of the building and then were able to hangout with them. They started a game of basketball and played some tug-of-war.
We drove back into Beijing for a trishaw ride through the Hutong area which is a narrow network of lanes created by closely built homes. The houses and courtyards are hidden away because they are boxed together. They are closed off with wooden gates that have carved characters to bring good fortune to the house owners. We had dinner at a local mans home.
After dinner, he showed us how to make dumplings (Jiaozi). Dumplings are the most important food in the Chinese New Year. The shape is similar to gold or silver which symbolized wealth. Sometimes they hide coins in them so that the person who finds the coin is likely to have good fortune in the New Year. On our way to the bus, we walked by the restaurant that Joe Bidden ate at a year ago, it is now very famous.
Tianamen Square.
Walking through Tianamen Gate.
The Forbidden City - It was pretty cold as you can see I started adding layers of clothing!!
The Forbidden City - Basically you keep walking through huge squares like this until you get to the end!
The Migrant School.
The Migrant School.
The Migrant School.
Tug-of-War.
Dinner at the local house.
The courtyard outside of the room we ate in.
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