More to Peking than just Duck

Today was a great day for a sightseeing blast of Beijing - sunny, warm and not a cloud in the sky. Ali, Matt and I headed straight for Tian'anmen square which leads into the forbidden city. "An imperial solution to an everyday problem" Rodger Moore explains as I listen to him describe the three-tier terrace on my audio guide. The Forbidden city is essentially a huge walled area containing hundreds of buildings,
palaces and temples. I stood on the terrace of the Emperors private residence where he slept and worked during the Ming and Ching dynasties. It wasn't difficult to imagine the emperor sitting on his throne wrapped in robes looking out across his
land. There was lots of construction work being carried out - I assume they want to get the whole place restored and finished before the 2008 Olympics. We walked up a steep hill which was part of the gardens behind the forbidden city. On top of the hill there was a temple which offered great views of the city. On the way back down we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant. I was amazed at the amount of people who were starring at us. I checked in case I had developed a third eye or something. I'm assuming these people are tourists from rural parts of the country. Wherever they're from they obviously don't see westerners very often. As we walked along the streets in the less developed areas I noticed public exercise equipment on the side of the road. It all looked relatively new so it must be a recent development to enable poorer communities to keep in shape. It looked like an adult playground. Of course Ali and I did a quick workout using the cross-trainer. We lasted all of 3 minutes and got bored. I enjoyed watching the old men on the streets playing all kinds of games which I hadn't seen before. I wondered how they all met. Do they schedule these gaming events? I saw the first Starbuck's in China and of course had to make a stop. Unfortunately they didn't seem to have a clue how to operate the equipment and got tired of waiting. We accidentally stumbled upon a thriving area around a street known as "Lotus Lane". This place was full of cosy bars with roof terraces and restaurants. We stopped off for a drink before making our way back. Throat hurts from all the smog. Bartered with street vendors again. Starting to understand the logic and getting better at it.

Dinner time soon caught up with us and realised that a trip to Beijing wouldn't be complete without a Peking Duck set meal for one. It was absolutely delicious but I have to be honest and say that it tasted exactly the same as the Marks & Spencer's version which I have had many times before in Newcastle. The only difference here is that they don't shred the meat - just slice it in a special way so that the crispy skin stays with each slice. These ducks are specially raised on a diet of grain and soy beans. To prepare the dish, the cook pumps air under the bird's skin to produce a smooth surface, which is then coated with sugar. Roasting the duck in a special wood-burning stove makes the skin lacquer-red and crispy, and the meat tender (I read this in a book somewhere).

Looked at where we had walked today. Not very far in relation to the whole city. Beijing is huge!!! One of the drawbacks of this trip is that we never get to stay in one place long enough to really let it all sink in. I'm pretty sure that when I return home, I will look at all my photos in disbelief that I was actually there. I know I'm going to be upset when I leave Beijing knowing that I only saw such a small part of the city but I have to keep reminding myself that we can't see everything and to be grateful for things that I am seeing.