Beijing, China - Day 2

Voices, voices everywhere and not an ounce of sense! Day two in the sweltering ocean of Chinese tourists started with a visit to the Temple of Heaven: home of Echo Wall, Circular Mound, and the Hall of Abstinence (double yay!). Although located in the center of Beijing, the temple was an incredibly peaceful place. Freshly caught live musicians set up in an archway and had gathered a small crowd of singers; older couples practiced tango; and a hybrid sport of hacky sack and badminton was all the rage. Once more I was bewitched by the sheer size of the buildings and courtyards, and how easily the Chinese interacted with them.

After wandering about the Temple of Heaven, we set off for Silk Street - a famous hagglers' market. Silk Street was once a huge collection of outdoor stalls but the city of Beijing, recognizing its popularity, constructed a building to house them all. Every surface is heavy with merchandise: clothing ranges from winter coats to traditional Chinese garb, statues stare blankly ahead in tiny armies of jade and bronze, fans flutter, and jewelry glistens. I think you could find anything in the 8 floors of Silk Street. The atmosphere was chaotic, too! Vendors called from every side, "Nice girl! Pretty girl! I want to sell to you!" Sometimes they'd even pull at me; 2 small women dragged me into their stall with surprising force! "You buy tie for boyfriend! No boyfriend? I think you lie - you have 2, 3 boyfriend! You buy tie now!"

All my life I have been tickled by the idea of haggling, but pretty sure I wouldn't be up to it. In my head it was a fairly intimidating affair - but, in reality, it was so much fun! Dorothy says I'm a natural! I haggled for 4 items: a fan, 2 shirts, and a dress. My crowning achievement was talking a woman down from 380 yuan to 50! (Yuan to Dollars is roughly 7:1) That little piece of theatre involved me walking about 20 meters away and her chasing me; my leaving knocked 10 yuan off the top:-) I think haggling ended up being so exhilarating because it's a giant game. No matter what I pay, I'm getting ripped off. I know this. The vendor always wins in reality, but it's a surface victory for me. And, boy, do these women know how to ham it up!

We gloated over our purchases and ate dumplings at our hosts' home before heading off to the Beijing Opera House to see a piano recital. Andrea and I wore the dresses we had just bought and so arrived with a bit more grace than we would have otherwise...sweat-soaked tank tops just don't scream class! I was happy we did dress up, though, because the Beijing Opera House is a marvel! The building sits over a lake, looking like a giant teardrop forever poised on breaking. The main entrance is subterranean, so I was confused to see skylights. Looking up, I saw that the windows were covered with running water from the lake; the marble floors writhed beneath that rippling light. As we entered the main hall, I was struck by the vaulting wood-paneled ceilings, so far above that the wood appeared soft. Escalators and stairways crawled up the walls on either side of me. People scurried up and down them looking no more than bugs in the massive space. The walls were glass and through them I could see that the marble floor was level with the calm lake. It reinforced the idea of a teardrop: if the tear should break then it all would flow back to the water and the instant of art and beauty would be lost. It all seemed so delicately balanced to me, a statement about the fleeting life of art and beauty. Oh, and the piano concert was nice, too.
After the recital, Andrea and I walked to the Night Market: a bustling, winding street lit by large, red lanterns and full of heavily-laden stalls. We perused for awhile before buying corn on a stick. It was cooked but unbuttered, and so dry it tasted like popcorn. The vendors here seemed to feel that everything was made more edible by being on a stick...we even saw starfish-on-a-stick. Nummy! As we left the market, a girl stopped us and asked to take our picture because she thought we were beautiful. We were surprised but posed for the picture and she disappeared before we could get our bearings. It's unusual and highly flattering to be considered exotic! Plus, how often is a woman told she's beautiful without any sort of expectation of creepy intonation placed on the comment? Not too often!

It was a lovely day, all in all, ending in a fantasy market where people thought we were beautiful. I love China!