The Search for Pandas

My free day in Xi'an started today at 7am.  Linh and I got up early to get some breakfast and set out around 9:30 towards the south gate of the city.  There's this giant brick wall that surrounds Xi'an due to the fact that it used to be the main capital of China and still is for a few of the provinces around here.  We climbed up the stairs to the top of the wall (seems counter-productive, doesn't it?) and rented a couple bikes for 2 hours and had a blast just cruising around the city!  You could see the roofs of most buildings, including a few people taking baths on their roof, and enjoy the traditional Chinese music playing from the speakers around the wall.  I was happy as can be as I pedaled my way across the uneven wall, lost in my own thoughts, trying not to think about how sore my bottom was going to be from the small bike and large bumps in the path, not knowing the date, the time (although I should, 'cause the bikes have to be back by noon...), or what I have to do tomorrow even.  It was exhilarating, to say the least!  Really a cool experience!
At least that was until the last leg of the trip where my body decided it didn't want to go on because it was hungry, tired, thirsty, pretty badly burnt, and everything was uphill by that point.  But I finished, dangit!  And it felt so good!  Chocolate ice cream (I think it was chocolate...) was my reward.
After crashing back in the room for a while, I realized the one thing I really wanted to see in China were the giant pandas.  A nice gentleman at our hotel informed me earlier in the week they were going to be at the 2011 World Horticulture Expo.  I HAD to find the pandas... How can you go to their motherland and not see them?!
So I left Linh asleep on the bed and set out to catch the #4 bus..... which never came.  Back at the hotel, I was explaining my situation and they informed me to go on a different day because today was already over.  It was only 3:30!  The receptionist explained in broken English, what I believe were the hours of the Expo (10am-5pm) and that to go on a different day would be the best idea.  I said, "No, I leave tomorrow morning and I really want to see the pandas!"  A bellhop overheard me, went outside and came in with a very confused looking man.  The bellhop pretty much hooked me up with a personal driver (who spoke absolutely no English) and said it would take at least 1 hour to get there, so if I wanted to go now and have him also take me back, it would cost 300 yuan.  Well, at the time that sounded like a really good idea so I paid the man and we were off!
We made it as far as the signs told us to go... and then got lost.  All the "Expo ->" signs pointed in the same direction, but by the time we got to the "SITE" there was no site!  It was just a massive intersection where all signs pointed towards the center!  Somehow we went out through the exit and found parking back by the entrance again, which we missed for the second time, and ended up walking half a mile towards the intersection again.  My driver (I don't know his name!) did go up to a food stand, though, and buy a bottle of cold water for me, which was incredibly kind!
After being pointed in a seemingly shady direction, we found the security gate that is the entrance to everything in China!   A very nice man was trying to talk to me the whole time in English, which was greatly appreciated, but by this time all I wanted to do was find a ticket to the Expo and get in before they closed the panda exhibit.  It's 4:45pm and my driver and I were frantically trying to find the ticket booth and this guy just will not stop following me wherever I go.
"Where you from?"
"United States."
"Uh, sorry... I don't know."
"America?"
"Oh, Kobe Bryant!!  I love!"
"That's great...." (Still looking for the ticket booth.)
"San Francisco?"
"No, Kansas City."  (Losing my patience with this guy.)
"No way!!  I love Mariah Carey!"
"What?  What does that have to do with-  ...nevermind.  That's wonderful.  Look, I'm trying to find tickets..."
"Oh, you looking for tickets?  I have tickets!"
"..............................WHAT?"
He leads me over to his group of friends who are obviously scalpers, but sell me the ticket at face value, so it's fine by me.  He then leads me over to the entrance, still saying, "I am friend from America!"  I'm pretty sure he was still shouting it over and over again as I was entering the park.
Upon scanning my ticket, the ladies at the entrance were kind enough to at least smile at me as I tried to explain that I want to find the panda exhibit before the park closed in 10 minutes.   After a few seconds of confused faces, I got out my handy-dandy Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrase Book and pointed to a picture of the panda bear on the second page.  "Panda?  I want to see the pandas."
Get this: The lady I was talking to just laughed and walked away after taking my book out of my hands.  She goes up to another lady and before I know it, she's openly mocking me, pointing to the book and mimicking my tone of voice, saying, "Pan-da!  Pan-da!"  Definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto.  How rude!
Another lady was nice enough to give me a map in only Chinese (but hey it works!).  She pointed to a little black and white graphic of a bear.  The entrance was on one side of the map.  The panda exhibit was on the other....  Crap.
She pointed down a certain road, I smiled and thanked her (and took my book back from the other lady), and I RAN.  I was darned if I was going to pay 300 yuan for a personal driver and another 100 yuan to get into the Expo and not get to see the pandas!  About 5 'til 5pm, I was over halfway there but knew I wouldn't make it in time.  I stopped by a volunteer who just happened to figure out what I was saying by the phrases in my book.  That thing comes in handy, man!  (....And the lady at the gate laughed.... geez.)  I found out that the park doesn't actually close until 8pm!  SWEET JESUS, there is hope in the world!!  Needless to say, I walked the rest of the way.
I got all the way to the bottom of the map where the little panda graphic was calling my name and found people standing in a line for nondescript "Animals."  Figuring I've got nothing to lose, I got in it.  Hoping it was to the right animal, I found myself facing a long and winding path of families and strollers all waiting to see the "animals" just like me.  About 1/2 way through the line, I found a sign that I interpreted to say "Sorry for your wait, but the animals are closing at 6pm whether you get to see them or not."  It's 5:35 and this line was not moving much.
But to my surprise, 15 minutes later I was in!  And the first animal exhibit: PANDA BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!  Finally, I was there!  ...And the display was empty.  Next one, also empty.  I kept telling myself, "It's okay... I've made it this far.... They've got to be here somewhere, right?"
Then, out of what seemed like nowhere, one appeared from its domain outside!  And she was HUGE.  And fluffy!!!  And soooo cute!  She was just lying there on the concrete floor, licking her paw and I could almost touch her.  Her fur was waving in the wind and looked so soft, I was just amazed at her immense size and weight.  I went outside to see the other 3.  There was another adult lying in the sun, legs sprawled out on either side, watching all the people go by.  Right as I got there, though, it looked right at me and smiled.  Now, I know that they always look like their smiling, but I was there and she was smiling at me, dangit!  There were also two cubs playing upside down on their wooden structure, sunbathing and patting at each other.  After taking 22 pictures and 3 videos of 4 pandas, I was done and left the Expo.  There were tons of other plants and structures and animals to see, but I knew my driver was waiting out in the heat and I didn't want to be long.  I got him a cold bottle of water on the way out, too.

All I really wanted was to climb the Great Wall, see the Terra Cotta Warriors, and pet a Giant Panda.  While I didn't get to pet him, I did get to at least see them up close and that is good enough for me!  I went back out to the entrance where my driver was waiting and was immediately bombarded with vendors trying to sell me keychains with the little red mascot of the Expo on them for 10 kuai (slang for "yuan").  On the way in, I heard one person yelling 1 kuai, so I went to find him, but my driver pulled me away!  He then turned around and was holding two giant plush dolls that resembled the little red mascot with a flower on his head.  He pointed to me and then to the plush doll and then to me again, saying something in Mandarin.  I said I didn't understand and he shoved the plush doll into my arms, symbolizing it was a gift from him to me.  Now, inside the Expo they were selling for no less than 68 yuan!  I didn't know what to do except thank him profusely and hope he understood!  We found the car and drove home where he opened the doors for me and I thanked him again with 100 kuai.  He refused at first, because there's no tipping in China, but he was spectacular during the whole thing.  He made sure I found everything and didn't just drop me off and say, "see ya" as he drove away!
500 yuan, 3 hours, 22 panda pictures, and a sore bottom later... I am a happy camper.
Look for uploaded panda pics on Facebook! :)

The "Furnace of China"

Xi'an is known for being the oldest capital in China, for the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum, and for its temperature.  Let's pretend you're in Florida and you happen to want ice cream because it's rather warm outside.  Well, what happens?  You go to the store, pay for ice cream, and then eat it.  That doesn't happen here.  You can still go to the store and pay for it... but instead of eating it, you're more likely to be licking it off the ground before you even get your cash back from the cashier.  Or, if you're like me and you realize the nastiness of eating things off the same ground that people hack up loogies on daily (which is the most disgusting noise when you're trying to eat) and you get your ice cream in a cup, you're more likely to be drinking your ice cream and slurping up every bit of it because it's at least still a little cool.  Ice cream is a big deal here.  Baskin-Robbins knew that.  They're very popular here.
But besides the heat, it's rather pleasant here!  The people still drive like maniacs, but at least it's more controlled than that of Shanghai, Beijing, and especially Chongqing.  And everyone's nicer.  It feels more like home here.  I would actually consider living here.
The first thing we did when we arrived was look around.  We are lucky enough to have a hotel that's right in the center of the city and next to all the major shopping areas.  Not just any shopping area - Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Emporio Armani are all right next door.  The shopping mall down the street has the largest McDonald's I've ever seen and Subway is in the same district as Nike and Adidas.  And the mall... well can you just say AWESOME?  The only bad part: everything is for size Chinese.  Tall people, such as average-sized Americans, can wear an extra large if you can find it.
Yesterday we went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.  It was really amazing!  The history behind everything is a little unreal and not at all what I was expecting: There was a king who found a beautiful woman and made her his concubine.  Well, apparently she was already pregnant with a businessman's son before arriving at his place, had the kid, and the kid lived at the palace.  Well, the king didn't have any kids of his own so when the king died when the boy was around the age of 13, he was next in line for the throne because they didn't really have anyone else.  The boy was allowed to rule upon reaching the age of 22 and immediately conquered the 6 surrounding territories, made a common currency, and united the entirety of China by calling himself Emperor.
Well, this Emperor only ruled for 14 years (until his sudden death during a tour of his country) and in that time he not only united China, but also built the Great Wall!  His tomb was held secret and took over 40 years to complete even after his death, but he was placed inside with over 8,000 known figures made of terra cotta clay (each modeled after an individual person!) with thousands of bronze weapons to act as his personal army in the after-life.  Some short time later, the tomb was raided by farmers who took the weapons and broke the warriors and burned down the building, not to be seen again for another 2,000 years...  Until a farmer was digging a well and happened to pull out a random clay head!
The roof of his personal tomb was inlaid with pearls to represent the heavens and the floor with bricks in a map of the Chinese kingdom.  Also, there's a river of mercury that flows somewhere down the middle of it with treasures all around that everyone in their right mind is too scared to take due to the still active and very poisonous mercury that's EVERYWHERE.

But in the meantime, we toured the 3 known pits of the warriors and the restoration factory of where they take the broken pieces to be fixed or molded into a new shape to resemble the one that was broken.  They know there's more pits out there... we just haven't found them yet and already this is the largest tomb in the world!  It's twice as large as the great pyramid of Egypt and when President Bill Clinton visited the tomb, he claimed it to be the 8th Wonder of the World.  He also visited the farmer who found it and asked for his autograph.  The farmer didn't know how to write, so he left him his thumbprint.  The farmer is now literate and signs his name every day for those who visit and pay for him to sign his book inside the Terra Cotta Museum.  President Clinton also said, "If you go to China and you don't see the Terra Cotta Soldiers, then you can not claim you have been to China.  It's like going to Egypt and not seeing the pyramids.  You can not claim to have truly been to Egypt."
The faces on these men are outrageously detailed, too.  They used to be very vibrantly colored, but as they bring up the pieces out of the dirt and into the air, the color fades within 2 days.  The Chinese are not taking anymore out of the tomb until they have the technology to preserve the color.  There is only one that has retained its color.  It's also the only one that still remains in 1 piece!  It's the kneeling archer and the most precious piece they own.
The history in this country is simply outstanding...  At least now I can truly claim to have been to China!

Sad Dumplings...

We learned the art of dumpling making at a local Chongqing restaurant!  You pat the dough in flour, flatten it out, and roll it into a thin circle with a rolling pin.  Then fill it with the meat or veggies and squish the edges together to close it up.  Sounds easy, right?  Well, let's just say that somewhere between filling it up and squishing it together, I had issues.  Some others had problems with the rolling part and their dumplings turned out too doughy and thick after being boiled, but not I.  I had problems with the squishing.  Since I wasn't terrible at the rolling part, I decided to take that strength and transfer it into the squishing part by rolling the edges together, then just pressing really hard to make it stick.  And it worked!!  Didn't look very appetizing, but it worked!  The professional ones in the soup they brought out later tasted better, too...  But we won't tell anyone that.
After that, though, the students of CTBU hosted a party for us!  They called it "English Corner" and put on performances that included dancing, singing, various talent shows, and games.  And everyone was really, really good!  There was a girl who loved to sing Lady Gaga, so we gave her the name "Gaga!"   And yes, you have to shout it every time you see her.
One of the games we played was to run around in a circle until someone called out a number.  The goal was to stop and hug that number of people and whomever was not in a group hug was out.  That one was not my strong-suit.  I excelled at the one where you had to pick up ping pong balls with chopsticks out of one box and run over to your partner to drop it in their box before time runs out.  I tied for first place with 9 out of 10 balls in one minute!
In a show of thanks, the guys of our program (there's 11 of them and only 5 girls) decided to do a dance routine they made up earlier that day and then teach the popular moves to the students.  These included "Stanky Leg," "The Bernie," "The Macarena," and "Soulja Boy."  The Chinese students were kind enough to show us part of their culture and sure enough we showed them ours, as sad as it is...  But they loved it!  Especially Soulja Boy.  A few girls did nothing but that the whole time!
It was a grand 'ol time between all of us and definitely brought us closer.  Even with my illness and a mosquito bite the size of my face, this night DEFINITELY made the entire trip worth it!

Forest Chongqing, Livable Chongqing

We arrived at the Chongqing airport last night to the excited waves of students of the Chongqing Technical and Business University.  We were previously each paired up with a "buddy" who will show us around in exchange for practicing their English skills.  One of the students from our program, Tim, is really tall.  Come to find out, his buddy, Elva, is short - even for a Chinese girl.  Upon seeing him, her reaction was priceless.  She immediately cried out sadly, "Oh, Tim.... You're so tall!!!!!!"  It was a perfect way to start the trip.
The students are all so welcoming and excited to see us.  They put us up in the international dorms in which we are 2 to a room, but have a separate bedroom with a common dining and showering room.  Everything is brand new - the desk, the computer chair, the internet cords, the bedding, the microwave, and the fridge!  We get our own private balcony complete with iron bars on top to hang out wet laundry that's closed off with sliding glass doors and a green blackout curtain.  It's incredibly nice!  Elva's already given me a Chinese name as well:  Fan Bingbing.  She claims it's the name of a famous Chinese actress...  I had to look it up just to be sure.
The only thing is the bathroom...  It's an all-in-one type of room.  Let's just say if you're in the middle of a shower and decide you have to use the toilet, it's less than a foot away!  Actually, it might be easier to take a shower if you were on the toilet, honestly.  But it's really okay.  I was wondering for the longest time why there was no place to put toilet paper in the bathroom and just recently found out that it's because you're not allowed to flush the paper or you'll clog up the system.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  Luckily our bathroom is okay... so far.
The city of Chongqing is made up of 31.4 million people - a population to rival that of the entire nation of Canada.  Four years ago, it was already bigger than that of Peru and Iraq.  31.4 MILLION people.  And they live on a mountain.  They seem to be constantly renovating and upgrading the city.  Immediately upon driving around the outskirts from the airport, it's noticeable just how much better the style of living is here.  They have a motto - Healthy Chongqing, Smooth Chongqing, Safe Chongqing, Green Chongqing, Forest Chongqing, Livable Chongqing.  In response to the water and air situation in China, this Yangtze River city has decided to go green.  As in... plant TONS of trees.  They weren't kidding when they said, "Forest Chongqing."  Beijing has the issue of having too many cars for the current air quality, so they implemented the solution of not being able to drive your car during a certain day of the week (depending on the last number of your license plate).  Chongqing has instead decided to raise the air quality by planting trees.  They already live on a mountain.... they raised the number of trees from a lot to INTENSE.  And it works!
The campus of CTBU is located in a jungle!  The air quality is the best we've experienced yet and the greenery is superb.  It doesn't feel like a campus, but more like a retreat.  They have bridges over vast lakes and small stone pathways through tall trees to get to class.  How cool is that?!  But it's quite a trek... everything seems to be uphill and nothing is located close to anything else.
The students are very fashionable - much more than that of anyone not in the fashion industry in the States.  But then again, with no tax I would be too!  Did I mention that?  Yeah, there's no tax in China.  Anywhere.
Today was a campus tour and city tour.  Unfortunately I had to miss the city tour due to the difficulty my body is having at handling the different foods, but tomorrow should be a better day.  Oh, and we have dumpling-making this week!!

Shanghai in a Nutshell

The Bund, translated in German, means the River.  However, in English, it roughly translates to: AWESOME!!! They illuminate the city along the river at night with so many colors and a light show on the side of the taller skyscrapers across the way that I could watch for hours.  On the French side of the river, all the buildings have a yellow glow to them that make them look antiqued, vivid, and vintage.  It is quite the sight to see.
My roommate, Linh, and I walked along the river for a couple of hours just talking about everything and nothing - differences between cultures (she's Vietnamese, I'm American, we're in China...), her love of yogurt, my love of green tea.  It was so relaxing and slow-moving and romantic that I wished I had my boyfriend here to share it with.  In the daytime, the city of Shanghai is dull in color and everything kind of looks the same.  People try to run over you in order to get ahead quickly and everyone seems to be yelling at someone or in a hurry to get to their next destination.  So when we got to the Bund, it really surprised me at how different it is at night.
And they love to smoke here.  Everywhere.  Inside the lobby at the hotels, inside the clubs and bars, outside next to the gas station - you name it!  Smoking is a huge deal.  Someone told me it is a sign of prestige, like Starbucks.  It doesn't matter what you're doing, but just the fact that you are inside of a Starbucks means something to them.
As far as a comparison to Beijing, the collectivism here is not quite as strong as it is in the capital.  People are more concerned with their self-being and less with others (as is evident in the way the scooters TRY to run you over... I swear, they travel in packs!).  But the beauty of the city is evident in the way they try to preserve the historic monuments while merging with the western world.  It seems to be stuck, and not sure where to go next, but one thing is certain - they know how to do landscaping!
The streets next to the Bund are lined with planters filled with colorful flowers and even the common streets have trees that follow the road to your next destination.  Even though it seems to be a concrete jungle, they made sure to incorporate some greenery in with the bikes, scooters, cars, and houses.  It is especially apparent in the Yu Yuan Garden.
It takes a little while to find it, though.  My fellow classmates wanted to go on a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city which highlighted all the popular areas.  We bought our tickets the previous day and when it came time to get on the open-top bus the next morning.... it started to rain.  So needless to say, we didn't see much.  And also by this time, the food differences were starting to set in with some of us so we weren't feeling 100% there as a group.  Everyone just wanted to go home because everything we really wanted to see was either too much money or not worth it (We could pay 120 yuan to go to the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and see the city from one of the tallest buildings, but on an extremely cloudy day... we wouldn't see anything).
So I set off on my own, determined to find something of interest in the city, with my sights set on the garden.  After walking around for a bit in some undetermined part of town, I found what looked like to be a touristy area - a good sign!  Following the red lanterns and brown wooden buildings, I found a street market similar to that of the Silk Market but filled with shot glasses, postcards, oriental-style clothing, people offering to take your picture, and a sign pointing towards the Yu Yuan Garden!
But, after buying some postcards from the only people who spoke broken English (and who just smiled and nodded whenever I asked where the garden was) and walking in what seemed like a never ending circle of signs all pointing in different directions, I got frustrated at the thought of possibly never being able to find it.  Surrounded by unfamiliar buildings, no one that speaks English, and the ever-growing thought of "how do I even get out of here?" my fears were mounting like that of a small child who got separated from their mother inside the grocery store.  Instead of overwhelming myself, I decided to sit down on the street curb out of the rain, outside of a China POST.  People, as they walked by, just stopped and stared at me - wondering, I'm sure, why a foreigner is sitting on the side of their street.  Granted, by this time I'm used to people staring at me whether it's because of my height or weight or strange clothing items, but at this moment it was really starting to get to me...  So in an effort to ignore all the looks, I filled out some of my postcards, labeled and mailed them with international stamps, and set off again with new hopes to find the garden one more time.

Less than a minute later, I was there.  I was sure I took that turn before, but apparently I had not seen the small crack in the wall that was the entrance to the most famous garden in all of China.  But it was well worth it.  The garden - for lack of a better word - is beautiful.  From the Dragon Wall to the flower exhibition, I could stay there all day.  The rain made it all the better as well.  It relaxes one as you hear it hit the small ponds and lakes filled with koi and the smells of the flowers and bamboo were brought out in the mist.  The birds and butterflies were nestled deep in the bonsai trees and chirped their little hearts out when you passed them to let you know they were watching you.  Simply spectacular.
Now getting back home was another story...
I managed to find a McDonalds for dinner and the bus stop that will take me home the super long way, but with the daylight fading quickly, I thought, "why not take a chance" and I paid a guy to pedal me back to the hotel.  That's right: PEDAL.  And it was the scariest time of my life.  I was sitting on a straw mat on the back of some sort of motorized scooter/bike/camel/cart thing that didn't even start at first but was at least covered from the rain.  I showed him a map of where my hotel was located, he said "okay!" and we were off!  ...In the wrong direction.
I'm sitting backwards on the cart, so I can't see where he's going, but I can see where we've been and all the little arrows on the street were definitely pointed in the WRONG direction of how we were traveling.  He was going into oncoming traffic!!  All the cars were passing us, honking profusely, and all I could do was hold on to the two little side bars for my dear life, praying that I wouldn't die.  My feet were slipping off the almost nonexistent foot rail and that's about the time I realized that the straw mat I was seated on was not tied down, either.  If I let go, I was sure I would fall out the back!  Then we stopped.  And he got out.  And started to yell at me!  Now I don't know what he's saying, but I show him the map of the hotel again and he takes it and runs off.  Another little carriage pulls up next to us and they have a heated discussion pointing at the map and pointing at the road before he gets back in the cart.  And we're off again!  This time faster than before with many more twists and turns, but at least he's on the right side of the road.  A few minutes later, I was in the familiar territory of my barred-up window, bamboo fire escape hotel.  He starts yelling, "30 yuan!" and I almost had a fit!  That ride was SO not worth 30 yuan!  I'm pretty sure I just barely escaped with my life, but I paid the guy ('cause I'm still alive) and went inside, plopped down on my plywood-straight bed, and promptly fell asleep.

If Beijing is Jack, Shanghai is the Beanstalk

I thought Beijing was big.  Obviously I had not been to Shanghai.  And while the population difference is not altogether that large of a gap (Beijing: 19 million, Shanghai: 23 million - as of 2010), the amount of people on the streets is incomparable to that of Beijing.  Shanghai is more compact, more western-oriented, and yet... more French?  Many of the buildings have a parisian-like architecture to them that might be in part due to the Shanghai French Concession back before 1946.  Either way, the one thing that struck me about Shanghai much more than it did in Beijing was its HEIGHT!  I have yet to find a building that is 3 stories or less.
This is what I expected China to be like - stuck halfway between old-school traditional pagodas and its western counterpart.  The amount of skyscrapers are insane.  It's easy to get lost here, not because of the streets or the amount of people or the scooters that will run you over if you don't move, but because you can't see where you're going.  The buildings are so tall in order to accommodate the vast amount of people that they had to re-organize the city (according to the Urban Planning Museum) and hence: The Bund.
Definitely a one-of-a-kind place that no other city can rival in terms of originality in building structure, that's for sure.  The outside of the buildings are so beat down and worn out that you would never dream of setting foot inside to live there, much less even think about robbing the place.  But the insides are extremely well-done!  Tonight is Japanese food (sushi......!) followed by the exploration of the city at night.  This is going to be epic.

Bye-Bye Beijing

We've been in Beijing for 6 days now and it has been quite the experience...
My first opportunity to interact with the Beijing community was with the vendors of: The Silk Market.  Now, while this has definitely been an "experience" it was quite the culture shock from the calm, daily life of Missouri.  Immediately you are overtaken with the sight of never-ending purses, shoes, shirts, and bags that hang from invisible walls stretching from floor to ceiling.  So many sizes, colors, shapes, models, and accessories that you almost miss the designer names that are glued onto the sides of them: Polo, Dolce&Gabbana, Puma, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Nike, Mulberry, and more.  Only after actually physically stepping into the area do you realize that your sense of sound is picking up the foreign voices yelling at you to "look around" and "see what you like."  Every stall has the exact same material, causing each and every vendor to have to make themselves stand out by grabbing onto your arm and shirt, saying they're not going to let go until you buy something from them because they'll give you a "real good deal, just for you."  They want you to like them ("You so smart and pretty, you have boyfriend?"), laugh with them ("If I thought you were a fool, I'd have given you this one!  See?!"), interact with them ("Which one you like?  I have many colors."), and, in going through all the efforts, buy from them.

My first purchase was a tie:
Vendor: "I give you tie for 600 yuan!"
Me:  "Oh, no!!!  (laughs)  Never mind, I'm good..."
V: "How much you want?"
M: "No... I don't want it that bad."
V: "Where you from?"
M: "Missouri...  United States of America?"
V: "Oh!  America!!  I like you....  I give you good deal.  Only 560 yuan!"

Eventually, I ended up paying somewhere around 25 yuan ($3.85) for the tie - which now I know was not too bad of a deal (others got one for less than 15!).  But watch out!  Haggling is quite addictive.  There were times when I didn't need to buy anything, I just wanted to bargain for something in general.  But if you ever try to step away, they grab you and never let go...

The Great Wall was quite a trek!  There's an easy route and a hard one... And unless you want to go rock climbing, take the easy one.  I wanted the hard one, the challenge, the one with less people on it.  And while I was all eager and ready to go in the beginning, about 1/3rd of the way to the top I started to seriously reconsider my mental state of mind.  The "walk" up the Great Wall was more like climbing up the side of skyscraper that had steps or rails to hold on to sometimes.  But by the time you get to the top, the view is INCREDIBLE.  You can see for miles around the hills and mountains and through the fog (and pollution) you can make out remnants of the towers on wall in the distance that serve as a reminder of how long and strong this stone structure really is.
The Forbidden City leaves a mark on you in a very similar fashion.  As soon as you enter the first gate, the Imperial Palace opens up onto a massive courtyard with a small river running through the middle and bridges carved of white stone.  The detail in every little brick and tile is underestimated and the history behind each room is beyond words.
Unfortunately, however, the Summer Palace did not leave the same impression on me.  But that might have been for many different reasons: it was about to rain, we didn't get to really see anything except the tourist-y places from far away, my shoes were killing me, etc.  It was very beautiful, but perhaps I shall visit again one day when I have a better appreciation for it.
As for the Temple of Heaven, I must say my reaction for this was quite different.  At first, I was excited to see it.  After learning about the meaning of this and the other temples surrounding it, it was wonderful to actually get to experience being there.  However, it was smaller than I imagined it to be and the sense of awe that I felt with the Great Wall and Forbidden City was not there.  I still took some pictures and walked around for a little bit with my roommate, Linh, but it wasn't until we got back to the main temple, about to head out, when we decided to stop.  It was a nice day.  The crowds were starting to thin out a bit.  So we thought, "why not just sit down and enjoy this for a moment?"  So we did.  And it was well worth it!  We sat on the main steps of the temple, watching the people go by, listening to the sound the wind makes as it moves past the big city in the distance, watching the birds land on the roofs of the archways beneath us and it was so peaceful.  I felt more connected to China in that one instance than all of my time in Beijing.  Besides, how often do you just chill at the Temple of Heaven?!
After meeting with the execs of Associated Press, Caterpillar, standing on the street corner with some "Ladies of the Night" offering "personal massages," and singing a bit of kareoke it was time to leave...  It was fun, but bye-bye Beijing.  Hello, Shanghai!