We finished our first busy day in Beijing with a trip to the Olympic Village. How amazing that we had just visited one of the worlds oldest landmarks in the morning, and then in comparison, we saw the architecture of the buildings in and around the Olympic Village, which were as new and modern as you could imagine. Most people are familiar with the Birds Nest and the Water Cube from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but all around the area were buildings with incredibly modern designs. Designs that I never would have even dreamt of before. The picture here shows one of the tallest office buildings in the area, one whose design stood out to me specifically.
Day 2 in Beijing was a rainy and pretty dreary day, but on the agenda was both Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden city. Although it was raining on and off for the majority of the day, even the worst of weather could not hide the immense beauty of these world landmarks. While exploring both Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, there were several things that really caught my attention. Tiananmen Square boasts a giant picture of Mao Zedong, former chairman of China. Mao's legacy does not end there. All over the city, there were books, pictures and even statues of Mao for sale. It is hard to understand how much this entire country worships this one man.
The other thing that I found absolutely stunning that day, was the unbelievable vastness of the Forbidden City. The reason it is called the Forbidden City is because during the time of the emperors and dynasties in China, only the emperor, his family, and his immediate advisors were even allowed into the city. It was hard to imagine how so few people (likely less than 100 people), could ever be able to use or even benefit from that extreme amount of luxury. 
Each evening in Beijing we were given the freedom to sign out with Jing or Tian (our Leaders) and explore the city at night. An entire world existed all within a mile radius of our hotel. There were many big commercial stores and brand name shops, but my favorite part of this shopping area was a small narrow side street that looked as if it came right out of the movies. It was a street called Wanfujing Street.
It was exactly what one would imagine a small busy bustling street in China to look like. It had lanterns hanging over the sky, foods at every vendor, lots of shopping and every color of the rainbow everywhere. These small streets ("xiao che") or snack street are also known for their exotic and obscure foods that many native Chinese do not dare to try. Some treats included scorpions, seahorses, starfish, beetles, bugs, tarantulas, lizards and almost anything else you can imagine! I did not dare to try, but a friend of mine tried both the scorpions and a tarantula, and he liked them so much he went back for more the following night!
It is also on this street that I perfected my expert bargaining skills. Since nothing has a price, and everyone is expected to bargain for the ideal price. Bargaining the price is almost as fun as shopping itself! One American dollar is equal to 6.5 yuans. In other words, everything is really inexpensive. I left Beijing with many great deals and it was a great way to practice my new Chinese skills!
