More sights seen on the walk from the flag-raising ceremony back to the hotel.
After breakfast at the hotel, everyone got ready to board the bus.
John, their guide for the day once again, provided information as the group traveled.
First stop was the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would attend annual prayer ceremonies to appeal to heaven for good harvests. Construction took place in the early 1400s. These flower arrangements were actually outside the gates.
From inside the gates.
Manjit, Paul, Gagan, Hassan, and Isaac (the "Suits") at the Temple of Heaven.
This circular building, that always looks to me like it has a big belt buckle, is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
After exploring the Temple of Heaven, the group had shopping time at Pearl Market. On the left, Hassan haggling. Isaac brought me back a pair of river pearls from here.
Lunch at Beijing Traditional Noodles.
Following their meal, everyone hopped back on the bus to head to Tiananmen Square.
Cohort 15 at Tiananmen Square.
Tiananmen means the Gate of Heavenly Peace and is this red structure behind everyone separating the square from the Forbidden City.
Isaac's impression of the Forbidden City was that it was mind-bogglingly huge. Construction began in 1406 and required millions of workers. It was the home of 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was, as it sounds, a whole city within itself. Isaac felt that they walked forever through giant courtyards, buildings, more courtyards, and never came to the end, though they were walking quickly and tiring everyone out. They had to go so quickly that he felt he was not learning much about it, just trying to take things in by sight.
The kids loved the story Isaac told about the throne room on the right below. Above the throne, on the ceiling, there hangs a giant, black pearl. If someone tried to usurp the throne and sat in the emperor's chair, the pearl would fall from the ceiling, landing on the head of the usurper, killing him. One emperor, perhaps feeling he'd come to power unscrupulously, had the throne pushed backwards, so that, just in case the pearl did fall, he would survive!
Everyone was exhausted after the Forbidden City. It was a ton of walking and it was still only the second full day they'd been in China, so jetlag was definitely an issue.
But there was no rest for the weary because next up was shopping at the Silk Alley Market. The group of Isaac's closest school friends stuck together and everyone had a lot of fun haggling and shopping. Hassan, who is probably Isaac's closest friend from the program and with whom he carpooled to class every Saturday, loves nice clothes and accessories and had quite an opinion about the quality of the goods available. The group was quite interested in the Louis Vuitton knockoffs and bought a large number of items, except Isaac. It worked out, though, that everything was bought together and the final deal included a "free" LV wallet that they gave to Isaac for me.
There aren't photos of this, but many of the men had custom suits made in Beijing. A woman came to the hotel to take measurements and let the guys choose fabrics from her samples. She came back the next day with semi-finished suits that they tried on for final measurements/adjustments. Then the woman came back the next day with their finished suits! Isaac loves his; the first suit he's had that fits him perfectly. It's a dark grey pair of pants and jacket.
Dinner that evening was at Jin Ding Xuan.
After dinner, the Chaoyang Acrobat Show.
Saturday, October 15th was another packed day in Beijing for Isaac and his MBA cohort. They visited the Temple of Heaven and Pearl Market, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, shopped at the Silk Alley Market, and watched the Chaoyang Acrobat Show that night.
The morning started early for Isaac with a flag-raising ceremony that he turned out to be the only one from his class attending. Because of the air pollution, he couldn't actually see the flag without looking through the zoomed-in screens of those around him.
More sights seen on the walk from the flag-raising ceremony back to the hotel.
After breakfast at the hotel, everyone got ready to board the bus.
John, their guide for the day once again, provided information as the group traveled.
First stop was the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would attend annual prayer ceremonies to appeal to heaven for good harvests. Construction took place in the early 1400s. These flower arrangements were actually outside the gates.
From inside the gates.
Manjit, Paul, Gagan, Hassan, and Isaac (the "Suits") at the Temple of Heaven.
This circular building, that always looks to me like it has a big belt buckle, is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
After exploring the Temple of Heaven, the group had shopping time at Pearl Market. On the left, Hassan haggling. Isaac brought me back a pair of river pearls from here.
Lunch at Beijing Traditional Noodles.
Following their meal, everyone hopped back on the bus to head to Tiananmen Square.
Cohort 15 at Tiananmen Square.
Tiananmen means the Gate of Heavenly Peace and is this red structure behind everyone separating the square from the Forbidden City.
Isaac's impression of the Forbidden City was that it was mind-bogglingly huge. Construction began in 1406 and required millions of workers. It was the home of 24 emperors from the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was, as it sounds, a whole city within itself. Isaac felt that they walked forever through giant courtyards, buildings, more courtyards, and never came to the end, though they were walking quickly and tiring everyone out. They had to go so quickly that he felt he was not learning much about it, just trying to take things in by sight.
The kids loved the story Isaac told about the throne room on the right below. Above the throne, on the ceiling, there hangs a giant, black pearl. If someone tried to usurp the throne and sat in the emperor's chair, the pearl would fall from the ceiling, landing on the head of the usurper, killing him. One emperor, perhaps feeling he'd come to power unscrupulously, had the throne pushed backwards, so that, just in case the pearl did fall, he would survive!
Everyone was exhausted after the Forbidden City. It was a ton of walking and it was still only the second full day they'd been in China, so jetlag was definitely an issue.
But there was no rest for the weary because next up was shopping at the Silk Alley Market. The group of Isaac's closest school friends stuck together and everyone had a lot of fun haggling and shopping. Hassan, who is probably Isaac's closest friend from the program and with whom he carpooled to class every Saturday, loves nice clothes and accessories and had quite an opinion about the quality of the goods available. The group was quite interested in the Louis Vuitton knockoffs and bought a large number of items, except Isaac. It worked out, though, that everything was bought together and the final deal included a "free" LV wallet that they gave to Isaac for me.
There aren't photos of this, but many of the men had custom suits made in Beijing. A woman came to the hotel to take measurements and let the guys choose fabrics from her samples. She came back the next day with semi-finished suits that they tried on for final measurements/adjustments. Then the woman came back the next day with their finished suits! Isaac loves his; the first suit he's had that fits him perfectly. It's a dark grey pair of pants and jacket.
Dinner that evening was at Jin Ding Xuan.
Then walking back to the hotel through the streets of Beijing.
It was another full day in Beijing that left everyone anxious for sleep that night.
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