A week ago, BOCOG gave us a "Welcome to Beijing" tour. It was supposed to be three days of tourist sightseeing of the cultural capital of Beijing for the 300 international Olympic volunteers. What BOCOG chose to show us was something else.
The first day we visited a waste sanitation plant. Why? I'm still not sure. It was more than an hour drive outside of Beijing. Arthur, our volunteer tour guide walked us through the plant and showed us how all our poop wastes from Tsinghua University are circulated here and transformed into tap water. We walked over the swirling brown liquid and tried to act interested. Most people in the group didn't even do that however.
Next, we loaded up in our exclusive University of Iowa/Tsinghua University tour bus to the next oddity. A rural farm. I had been excited when I first found out that we would be visiting a farming village in the country. "Rural" was not true. The place was designated as an Olympic tourism village (China's propaganda.) The village contained a temple with large Buddhas (we weren't allowed to take pictures to preserve its holiness), a nursing home (where we visited the oldest woman of the village, 102 years old, as if she were a toy on display), and a golf course. We toured some of the homes and were allowed to look inside. Many people became frustrated because it felt like a made up village with fake people set inside. Later we found out that many of the residents are actually Americans or Europeans who rent out homes for periods of time.
The two hours bus ride back to Beijing during rush hour brought us to another sampling of the famous Peking duck. Free food still didn't make up for the dire day.
Day two: We left early again on another near 100 degree temperature day. This time we left the city for the Great Wall, to the most tourist section open to visitors. Inside the gate was a Starbucks. Really?
It was more congested than usual that day because the el presidente of Mexico was visiting. Arthur told us he was reserved the highest security and as a result half of the wall was closed. In the middle of the summer, on a Saturday, with the addition of 300 international volunteers, it unmanagable. We only made it to the second tower before we decided to turn around. It was unbearable, especially on this sweat clinging summer day. I wasn't as disappointed as many of the volunteers from other schools because I had already climbed the Great Wall at a different, less touristy location. Another letdown by BOCOG. That afternoon we visited the nearby Ming's Tombs. This was also less than expected. The best part about this historic attraction is the descent in the ground where the tombs are located. However, it loses most of it's magic because the actual tombs are not there, only poorly created replicas. We finished the day with another massive feast at a restaurant in Beijing.
Day Three: We visited the ruins of the Emperor's winter palace. Destroyed twice in it's history, now it is comprised of only erased memories. Inside most intriguing is the temple with the winding maze leading to it. Arthur explained that this is where the emperor played with his many concubines. The only men allowed inside were castrated. Arthur told us to guess how many women. It included as many as 3,000 concubines. Luckily things have changed since then.
We left early and continued to the Summer Palace for our second visit. We ate lunch served by "authentic" costumed women of the Qing dynasty. Their shoes, most surprisingly, had it's flat heel in the center of the shoe. After another stuffing meal, I opted to paddleboat in the lake. It was an enjoyable afternoon. We left to return to Tsinghua to shower for the Beijing Opera. I somehow scored VIP tickets so I got to sit in the balcony overlooking the show from above. I had no idea what to expect of the show, but it was a lot of scream singing that was not very enjoyable. Exhausted from the activities of the weekend, I managed to fall asleep over the belting cries of those on stage. Our crazy tour ended with our bus ride home as we passed the glowing Forbidden City at night. It may not have been an ideal way to spend the weekend, but it was a free way.
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