Parks, Pagodas and Productions -March 7th, 2015

The calm no-alarm morning was just the beginning of a chaotic, crazy, but so-worth-it day. After breakfast, we went to the reception to ask them about things to do and scheduling. We told them that we just wanted to walk around today, so all they planned was the Golden Mask Dynasty Show at which started at 5:30. Before we left, the reception lady told us to be careful, because taxi drivers will try and get as much money out of you as possible, even if that means giving you fake money. She also warned against the pedicab or auto rickshaw drivers at Tiananmen Square who might charge you 30 yuan to drive to your destination, then take you to the middle of nowhere which will then cost you 300 yuan to get you back.

We headed out on our "peaceful" walk around, which turned out to be about 5 hrs long. We started out by just going to the top of the walking street and seeing where we would be picking up our taxi for tonight. Then we went to the end of the street, where the subway was, and continued to Jing Shan Park taking note of our surroundings so we could get back safely. 

After about half an hour to an hour of walking, we found the park. We sat down for a bit to figure out on a map how we got to the place and to watch the 10 photographers with their camera and equipment set up, looking at literally nothing. We figured they were probably waiting for a bird or something. There was a path going up a hill to different temples. We went to the top where we could see a birds-eye view of the Forbidden City. It was very pretty, however the smog was very noticeable. Also, like usual, there were vendors trying to sell things. We went down the other side of the hill, where at the bottom there was the tree where an emperor of the Ming Dynasty hung himself, because all the people close to him had died, including the ones he had killed.

We found a restaurant close to Beihai Park, which was just across the street from where we were. Montana got to try her hand at eating rice with chopsticks - not as hard as she expected. LuRue got some unbuttered, unsalted shrimp with vegetables. 

We entered Beihai park not expecting it to be so big. We climbed the stairs to the White Dagoba, where we got to see a birds-eye view of Jing Shan Park, although, a lot of trees were covering the view. We headed back down, but the stairs just kept going on and on. There were lots of temples to go through with people praying in them. No pictures were allowed in those places. We also passed a bell tower, but we didn't have the right tickets to go up and ring the bell. Ringing the bell 3 times is supposed to be good luck. 

When we got to the bottom, there were lots of people dancing, several with costume coats and scarves. We never figured out what was going on, but it seemed like there was just music for anyone who wanted to join. The last place we visited was "The Round City". It was a round building with house and more temples. It was where the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty's house. There was a pine tree that was 800 years old, too. People had to add a few tree-style walking sticks for it to stay up. 

Finally, it was past time for us to be heading back. We put on our serious faces. It took a few minutes for the map lady (LuRue) to figure out where we were, but soon enough we were speed walking and weaving through crowds. It turned into a game on who could find the quickest way through the people, especially when we got to the walking street. LuRue ended up having a stand off with another lady. They stopped and met eye contact for a few seconds then went their separate ways. Montana freaked out a few teenagers walking along too. She ended up ahead of them and LuRue, so she kept walking fast while turning her head around to make sure she didn't lose LuRue. One of the girls said, "Hello?", but got no response from Montana. Who knows what was going on in their minds at that moment. 

We got back to the hotel, made a quick stop to our room, before heading out to the road again to pick up a taxi to the Golden Dynasty Show and after several attempts at waving down a taxi, we were on the road to the theatre. 

Once we got to the theatre, we had to go get our tickets. We walked around trying to find the reserved ticket stand, but it wasn't obvious other than the ones for the amusement park right next door. We went to the auditorium entrance and asked some workers. A white person came to our rescue and pointed us to a tourism info center place. The people there couldn't speak much English. Finally they found someone who did speak good English. He guided us to the correct place to get the tickets. After asking a few more people, we got to our seats a few minutes after the show had already started. In the beginning, people tried taking their phones out to take pictures (even though there is a strict no-camera policy), but unlike in the other productions we've been to, the guards had laser pointers and pointed the laser at anyone's phone who had their phone open - a very clever idea. The show was very amazing. It was a mix of dance and acrobatics. The lighting and special effects were unbelievable. During a part where there was supposed to be a flood, they had actual water running down the stage, and not just a little bit either. It was enough to be a river. The play was about a queen who creates a dynasty, finds love, and drowns in a flood, according the the subtitles on the side and a website we found: www.goldenmaskdynastyshow.com/show. So worth the money! 

Getting back was a whole 'nother adventure. We went out to look for a taxi, assuming there'd be many - there was actually like none. We went back to the information office and they made a few phone calls. Finally, the lady that helped us, led us out across a busy street and to a cab. The cab driver didn't speak any English, except "Money?". He didn't know where Courtyard 7 was, so the lady who was helping us explained and we were on our way. The closer we got the taxi driver kept asking "Here?". We knew we were close, but we didn't know exactly where it was. Finally we just had him drop us off and we walked into a wine store and asked someone for directions to South Luogu Street (the walking street). Someone there just happened to be walking to the walking street, so he and his girlfriend guided us there and we found our way back to our hotel. We took a small rest before bringing the day to a close and going out to the walking street to get a dinner/late night snack - some frozen yogurt.