So long, Hong Kong....Hello London

The view of Central Hong Kong and Kowloon from the Peak is spectacular on a clear day

My work assignment in Hong Kong was intended to last for two years, and on February 14, twenty-five months after we arrived, Jeff and I left Hong Kong with mixed emotions.  Our time in Hong Kong was an amazing opportunity to see a part of the World where neither of us had spent much time.  I like to refer to Hong Kong as "Asia for beginners," because the significant Western influence there helps to ease just how foreign Asian culture can be for Westerners.  The list of things we will always remember about Hong Kong is lengthy and includes the wonderful friends we made, the amazing scenery, the delicious food and the intriguing cultures.  We feel incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity.  The video at the bottom of the page recaps some of our favorite memories of our time in Hong Kong.

Exploring Chinese temples has been
a highlight of our time in Hong Kong

While neither of us would have been sorry to return to Minnesota for good, a new work assignment emerged for me in London.  Whether it was because we weren't ready to return just yet, or simply because our bags were already packed, we decided we would be up for another year of the expatriate lifestyle.  Both of us know and are fond of London, so this decision didn't have the same uncertainty that going to Hong Kong had.  And we expect that this assignment will only last a year.  So after we left Hong Kong, we made a brief stopover in the States and arrived in London in early March.   We are currently settling into our new lifestyle and routines here.  And as we recall our fond memories of Hong Kong, we look forward to the opportunity to explore and have new experiences in Europe.

This post marks the last one of our blog.  I have never thought of myself as a writer or blogger, and I don't even know if a blog is supposed to have an official ending.  In fact, I have always thought of this blog as a kind of postcard on steroids that allowed me to write home, brag about what we have done and show off some photos.  Trying to keep up the blog over past two years has given me a new respect for those who make a living as writers (and there are a couple of them in my family).   In closing, we'd like to say thank you those who have read the blog and especially those who have given us comments and encouragement to keep it going.

With very best wishes,
Carolyn & Jeff

A New Year in Each Hemisphere

Situated on the northeast coast of Australia, Cairns
is the primary gateway to the Great Barrier Reef

The three day Chinese or Lunar New Year holiday in early February gave us a few days out of the office and time to reflect back on our January 1 New Year holiday that we celebrated "down under" in Australia. Since we moved to Hong Kong, Jeff has been to Australia several times for business but I've never had the time to tag along. Australia is intriguing to me because its population density is such a contrast to Hong Kong: just 24 million Australians (fewer than the population of Texas) are spread across a continent that is only slightly smaller than the entire continental United States.

A Fish and Chips shop in Cooktown, Queensland

Australians' reputation for friendliness, the prospect of summer in January, and the opportunity to go SCUBA diving on the Great Barrier Reef are all reasons a trip to Australia has been on my list of places to visit during our stay in Asia. With our time in Hong Kong drawing to a close, we organized a trip to welcome 2016 in Queensland, Australia and on the Great Barrier Reef.

The rail station in Kuranda

The Kuranda Scenic Railway climbs 1,100 feet through the rainforest

A statue of Captain Cook in Cooktown

Although Australia is much closer to Hong Kong than to the U.S., it's still a seven hour flight to the city of Cairns, a major tourism hub in Queensland and the shortest direct flight from Hong Kong.  Queensland is situated on the Northeastern coast of Australia and is the second largest of Australia's eight states and territories. Because of its low rainfall rate, Australia is generally considered one of the driest places on earth, but Queensland is home to the wettest place in Australia on its far northern coast.  Cairns is best known as the jumping-off point for visitors to the Great Barrier Reef, and the city has the feel of a laid-back beach town. But Cairns is also the gateway to the Wet Tropics of Queensland, a World Heritage Site and one of the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforests on earth.  

We divided our time in Queensland between the rainforest and the ocean, with two days on land and four days at sea on a small ship cruise.  To visit the rainforest, we hopped on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, a historic rail line that runs 21 miles from Cairns to the town of Kuranda.  Originally built in the late 1800's to carry freight, the rail line is now used exclusively for sightseeing, providing a scenic and slightly harrowing ride through the rainforest, as it climbs nearly 1,100 feet of elevation and passes through 15 tunnels and across 37 bridges.  At the top of the rail line, the village of Kuranda is a bit touristy, but provides interesting historic background on the area and the Djabugay aboriginal people who have inhabited the rainforest for more than 10,000 years.

Jeff considers the warnings along the waterfront in Cooktown

After exploring Cairns and the rainforest, our next adventure involved the five words we never thought we'd say:  "We're going on a cruise."  Although we have friends and family who have enjoyed many cruises, we had never seriously contemplated one, largely due to my propensity for seasickness and Jeff's general dislike for large crowds.  But our research about the Great Barrier Reef told us that the best places for snorkeling and SCUBA diving are beyond the reach of day trip vessels.  We decided on a cruise with Coral Expeditions, an Australian operator of small cruise ships in Asia-Pacific.

Our home during a four night cruise over the Great Barrier Reef

Our cruise was a four night trip through the Coral Sea, departing from Cairns and traveling north along the coast of Queensland via Cooktown to Lizard Island, with stops for snorkeling and diving along the Rachel Carson and Ribbon Reefs. During our time on the ship, we enjoyed fascinating presentations by local Marine Biologists and naturalists, wonderful food and time for just sitting on deck to watch the beautiful scenery.

The large deck of the ship was ideal for viewing Queensland's scenic coastline

With only 35 passengers, we never felt crowded, and my supply of Dramamine kept my seasickness at bay. Our final night on the ship was New Year's Eve, and the crew anchored offshore from the town of Port Douglas, enabling the passengers to sit on deck and enjoy an unobstructed view of the fireworks.

Jeff enjoys an afternoon of snorkeling on the Ribbon Reefs

Although our trip to Queensland enabled me to explore a bit of Australia, it was a little bit like dipping one's toe in the ocean, and I am eager to return and explore other regions of the country.  But for us, it was a wonderful way to welcome in the calendar New Year of 2016 and prepare to head back to Hong Kong to welcome the Lunar New Year of the Monkey.

Ho Ho Ho from Hong Kong!

At this time of year, we normally send holiday photo cards to family and friends.  It's a good way to recap the year, stay in touch and even subsidize the U.S. Postal Service. This year, however, simple logistics  prevent us from getting them in the mail in time for the holidays, so we are resorting to a digital greeting.


We hope you enjoy our video card and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



Panda-monium!

A Giant Panda enjoys a meal of bamboo leaves at the
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

For most westerners, the Giant Panda is as emblematic of China as the Great Wall or the Terra Cotta Warriors. Growing up in the 1970s, I recall my first glimpse of Panda Bears when the cold relationship between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China began to thaw.  While China's gift of two Giant Pandas to the U.S. in 1972 is likely the most memorable moment in the history of Panda diplomacy, China's practice of using the adorably photogenic animals as diplomatic pawns actually dates back thousands of years to the Tang Dynasty. I've always had a soft spot for animals, and that spot is especially squishy when it comes to animals as cute as Pandas.  There was just no way I was going to let our two years in Hong Kong go by without visiting the city of Chengdu, the hometown of Giant Pandas.  Located in Sichuan province, Chengdu is just a 2-1/2 hour flight from Hong Kong, making it perfect for a weekend trip.

Giant Pandas once were widespread across southern and eastern China, Myanmar and northern Vietnam.  However, poaching, habitat destruction and low birth rates caused the population to dwindle.  Now classified as endangered, the remaining Pandas in the wild live in the cool, wet bamboo forests in the mountains of Sichuan and neighboring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Wildlife conservation efforts began in China when the Wolong National Nature Reserve was established in 1963.  In 1980, the Chinese government and World Wildlife Fund partnered to create the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Reserve.  Efforts focused on preserving the Panda's natural bamboo forest habitat to encourage population growth in the wild. Today there are 67 Panda nature reserves in China, and a survey released by the government in February of this year boasts a 17% increase in the population of wild Giant Pandas over the past decade.  Still, with a population of less than 1,900 Pandas in the wild, the rare creatures will likely remain endangered for many years to come.

Two adolescent Pandas conserve energy while eating bamboo leaves

Around Chengdu, there are a number of places to see Pandas.  We visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.  Originally the Chengdu Zoo, it claims to be the site of the first Panda rescue and the start of modern Panda conservation efforts since formation of the People's Republic of China.  The Panda Research Base was established in 1987 and focuses on research, breeding and conservation, with an ultimate goal of releasing Giant Pandas back into the wild.  Started with just six Panda Bears, the breeding program has been very successful.  There have been numerous loans of Pandas worldwide, and the park now houses over 80 Pandas within an area of nearly 100 acres.  The Pandas are well cared-for, live in open enclosures and spend their time doing what Pandas do best:  spending half of each day consuming up to 30 pounds of bamboo leaves, providing fabulous photo opportunities for visitors in the process!

Even monks hang out: a ping pong match at Wenshu Monastery

Aside from Pandas, Chengdu has many other worthwhile sites to visit.  We walked through Wenshu Monastery, a well-preserved Zen Buddhist temple complex with more than 1,300 years of history. The streets immediately surrounding the Monastery were filled with tea houses (a Chengdu tradition) and food stands serving Sichuanese staples:  Dandan noodles and grilled kebabs spiced with the famous Sichuan peppercorn.  At night, we wandered down Jinli Street, an ancient pedestrian area where commercial activity has taken place for more than 2,000 years.

The Sichuan peppercorn lived up to its promise to "numb" the mouth

Jinli Street has been a site of commerce for thousands of years

Leshan's Giant Buddha has 1,021 hair
coils and ears that are 23 feet tall

On our last day in Sichuan, we indulged my fascination with Buddha statues by visiting Leshan, a town situated about 75 miles south of Chengdu where the Min, Qingyi and Dadu rivers meet.  Carved out of a bluff overlooking the intersection of those three rivers stands the largest carved Buddha statue in the world.  The Giant Buddha is the brainchild of a Chinese monk named Hai Tong who hoped it would calm the turbulent waters of the three rivers.  The carving, which was started in 713 A.D., took 90 years to complete.  Visiting in person is the best way to appreciate the enormous scale of the statue, which is 233 feet tall.  The Giant Buddha statue is part of an extensive park with temples, statues and walking trails, all part of an area that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Chengdu is an easy yet fascinating place to visit. While its draw is definitely the Giant Pandas, the area's historic relics and delicious cuisine made for a relaxing weekend without unnecessary pandemonium.

An alcove with prayer flags and prayer wheels at Wenshu Monastery

Bubbles in Borneo

Jeff and I both have a number of hobbies that we genuinely enjoy.  Some, like amateur radio (Jeff), were easily transported to Hong Kong with us, while others (gardening and beekeeping) are sacrificed during our stay here.  One of my personal favorites is SCUBA diving, and fortunately for me, living in Asia has provided the opportunity to experience a number of unique diving destinations with a fraction of the jet lag we would endure traveling from the States.

Sipidan Island (marked by the red arrow) sits off the northeastern coast of Borneo

Situated on the south end of the South China Sea is Borneo, an island of 287,000 square miles, making it the third largest island in the world (following Greenland and New Guinea).  Borneo sits at the center of the Indo-Pacific basin, an area that is known for its large and diverse array of marine life.  Nearly three-quarters of the island, primarily the southern part, is controlled by Indonesia.  The tiny sovereign state of Brunei sits on the west coast, while the remaining territory is Malaysian, stretching from the west-central to the northeast side of the island.

Peaceful stretches of  sandy beaches awaited us at the end of our long trip to Mataking

In recent months, southern Borneo has been plagued by fires from the practice of slashing and burning its dense vegetation for the expansion of palm oil plantations.  Indonesia has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent these fires.  The land contains extensive amounts of peat soil which is highly flammable and produces the thick, hazy smoke that has drifted into other countries across Southeast Asia.  Despite this, eco-tourism is growing in Borneo due to its ancient rain forest that is home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, many of which are unique to the island.  In northern Borneo, the Malaysian state of Sabah is blessed with numerous islands and coral reefs in the Celebes Sea along its east coast.  This was our destination, and fortunately, it was clear of smoke from the fires during our week there.

A fishing village along the shores of Kalapuan Island

In diving, the general rule is that the best destinations are the ones that are most difficult to reach. Our friends, Glenda and Tom Kleinkauf, were up for this challenge and joined us for a week-long adventure on Mataking Island.  The trip involved two flights between Hong Kong and Tawau, a two-hour drive to Semporna, followed by a 45-minute boat ride to the island.  When we arrived, we were rewarded by a quiet, peaceful island with white sand beaches and clear, pristine water.

Our dive guide, Hardy, and three of his eight children

Mataking is about 40 miles northeast of Sipidan Island, a well-known and highly protected diving destination.  Just 32 acres in size, Sipidan is thousands of years old, having been formed by the growth of corals atop a now-inactive volcanic cone.  Following a territorial dispute between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, control of the island was awarded to Malaysia by the International Court of Justice in 2002. The government has since enacted a number of measures designed to protect the environment there.  These measures included clearing the island of all resorts and strictly controlling the number (120 divers) and hours (8 a.m. to 3 p.m.) of visitors each day.  In order to dive there, one must apply in advance for permits and meet minimum experience levels.  The Royal Malaysian Navy maintains a small outpost on Sipidan to monitor compliance with the regulations as well as to defend the country's control over the island.  In recent years, the area has seen some unrest unrest caused by migration of refugees from the southern Philippines, so in addition to the Naval presence, the Royal Malaysian Police patrol the area extensively.

Regular patrols by the Royal Malaysian Police ensure the waters are safe for divers

During our week, we did about three dives per day in a variety of dive sites around Mataking Island and spent an entire day visiting Sipidan.  The whole area is really a dream for divers and snorkelers alike.  From macro-sized creatures like nudibranchs and shrimp, to large creatures like turtles, barracuda and bump head parrotfish, our biggest worry seemed to be whether our camera batteries would last.  I'm pretty sure that I've never lost count of the number of sharks I've seen on a dive, but that happened on this trip! At one site, a sunken ship made a reef where hundreds of fish now happily make their home.  We mailed some postcards, wrapped in watertight packaging, from "the only underwater post office in the world," a mailbox attached to the ship that uses dive weights to hold down the lid.  The resort's conservation efforts include a turtle hatchery, where staff and volunteers carefully collect turtle eggs, re-burying them in a kind of protected nursery for incubation, ensuring a larger number make it to the hatching stage. On the day the eggs hatch, the baby turtles are released on the beach and make their way into the ocean on their own.  We attended two releases and watched in awe as hundreds of baby turtles scurried down the sand and into the water, either to start their lives or (sadly, for most of them) end up as a small snack for birds or larger fish.

We enjoyed a week of exceptional diving

Over the years, we have enjoyed many dive trips with Glenda and Tom, and this trip was no exception.  I think we can honestly say that eastern Borneo was some of the best diving we have ever seen.  No doubt, part of this was luck because of the good weather and calm seas during our visit.  But the number and diversity of marine life left us impressed with both the area and Malaysia's efforts to protect this unique ecosystem.  The following video captures some of what we saw during our trip.  Our week went by much too quickly, but we left with very fond memories of our time making bubbles in Borneo.

The Top of the Food Chain

 Hong Kong's Cooked Food Centres are typically found in Municipal Buildings

Massive municipal buildings with utilitarian
architecture house Hong Kong's many markets

Food is omnipresent in Hong Kong.  When Jeff and I first learned that we would be moving here, one of the most common reactions we heard was "You will love the food." Indeed, there are many aspects to Hong Kong's culinary culture, but a prominent feature is its vast restaurant industry.  It is difficult to walk down the street in Hong Kong without encountering some form of eating place, ranging from modest food stalls on the street to high-end dining establishments branded and overseen by a celebrity chef.

The combination of cramped housing and lengthy work hours for the average employee (a 45+ hour week is typical) mean that food prepared away from home is a popular choice for most Hongkongers. Restaurants thrive here and are typically full, with lengthy lines formed in front of them at peak lunch or dinner hours.  Take-out containers are a common site, whether loaded on the back of a motor scooter or dangling from the arms of a courier running between buildings.

Food deliveries are a common sight on Hong Kong streets

During early years under British rule, Hong Kong's culinary culture was highly segregated, with little crossover between the traditional, peasant style cuisine consumed by the local population and the Western-style cuisines favored by a growing expatriate community.  The restaurant industry began to grow in response to the need for business entertainment among the elite.  Restaurants even featured prostitutes and opium until just before World War II broke out. To the north, Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) was the home of Cantonese cuisine, and its close proximity heavily influenced Hong Kong's culinary scene.

Couriers deliver food to the many office buildings in Central Hong Kong

When the Communist Party came to power in 1949, an influx of refugees from the Yangtze River Delta introduced Shanghai cuisine into Hong Kong, a style that remains popular here today.  Eventually, Hong Kong became the epicenter of Cantonese cuisine when Guangzhou's influence and sophistication declined after years under Communist rule.

Traditional street stalls or Dai Pai Dong
are still popular but declining in numbers

The flood of refugees from the Mainland in the early 1950s put significant pressure on the tight housing supply in Hong Kong.  As a solution to the lack of cooking space in their cramped living spaces, residents turned to outdoor food stalls which had been operating in Hong Kong without licensing since the late Nineteenth Century. Around the end of World War II, the government set up a licensing system to monitor the growing industry and control hygiene standards.  The licenses that were issued were larger in size than those issued to other hawker stalls, so the food stalls became known as Dai Pai Dong, which means "restaurant with a big license plate."

Food is prepared in an open-air kitchen in Dai Pai Dong

Throughout the 1950s, Dai Pai Dong grew in popularity as neighborhood gathering places for the working class to get affordable, homestyle meals of rice or noodles.  But complaints about noise, traffic congestion, lax hygiene and even black market activity began to emerge as the popularity of Dai Pai Dong peaked.  In 1956, the government stopped issuing new licenses and restricted licensees' ability to transfer their licenses.  Subsequent efforts to eliminate Dai Pai Dong included buybacks and other incentives to surrender the licenses.  At their peak, more than 800 Dai Pai Dong existed in Hong Kong, but by 2014, the number had dropped to about 25.  A mini-documentary called The Fading Spirit of Dai Pai Dong is a tribute to the history of the food stalls.  Today, concerns about the loss of tradition represented by Dai Pai Dong have loosened some of the restrictions on transferring the licenses, and efforts are underway to preserve the few Dai Pai Dong that remain.

Many traditional Dai Pai Dong moved into Cooked Food Centres,
where the authorities could exercise more control over their operation

During the 1970s, many of the Dai Pai Dong moved to one of the 25 Cooked Food Centres (CFC) around Hong Kong.  These centers are typically part of larger food markets that occupy hulking public buildings, sometimes alongside other government operations, such as libraries and sports or recreation centers. Today, there are 76 Public Markets in Hong Kong, and they are managed by the Hong Kong government's Food and Environmental Hygiene department.  Ironically, the markets are ugly tile and concrete multi-story buildings that house their culinary treasures in a very modest atmosphere.   Many are organized like the classic food chain, with produce stalls on the ground floor, followed by meat, poultry and fish one level up.  At the top of that food chain, one finds the Cooked Food Centre where the humans sit down for a meal.  In some markets, purchases from the lower floors can be brought to the CFC to be prepared and served by one of the food stalls.

A market directory showing meat, fish and produce stalls on the lower
floors of the market and the Cooked Food Centre on the top floor

In a city filled with expats and foreigners, CFCs are one of the most "local" experiences a person can have.  Wobbly, folding tables are surrounded by plastic stools for seating and topped with large plastic glasses stuffed with chop sticks and and array of bottles of chili sauce, giving CFCs a certain charm.  Seating is communal and all of the food stalls generally share the tables and chairs in the center.  In keeping with the Dai Pai Dong tradition of being a gathering place, it's not uncommon to see large groups or families lingering over a meal that can last for hours.

Fish and seafood for sale at Kowloon City Market

CFCs are generally acknowledged to have some of the best local "Hong Kong" food around, which is usually described as a local spin on traditional Cantonese, Sichuanese, Shanghainese or other regional specialties.  But since Hong Kong is essentially an international city, it's not surprising that cuisines offered in CFCs are no longer just Chinese but now include Thai, Vietnamese, Indian and even Italian, among others.

An unlucky chicken is selected for the next customer at Kowloon City Market

In our visits to CFCs, Jeff and I are frequently the only Westerners.  We enjoy strolling through the markets, occasionally attracting a curious stare.  More often, though, proprietors of the various food stalls wave their laminated menus and invite us to sit down and order.  Our selection criteria is pretty simple - we look for a menu translated into English and plates of food that look appetizing.  Our lack of Cantonese skills have provided some amusing moments, like the time I accidentally ordered 72 Beijing style dumplings (turns out, there were twelve dumplings to each order, a fact that was omitted from the English version of the menu).

Abundant fruit stalls at Kowloon City Market

I have to admit to a few moments of hesitation, but have never been disappointed by our meals or experiences in the CFCs.  And the communal seating has allowed us to interact with fellow patrons in a variety of ways, ranging from a raised beer and a smile to patient explanations of the various food offerings, depending upon the extent of their English skills.

Communal seating adds to the adventure of eating at Cooked Food Centres

In Hong Kong, the vastness of the food industry means that it would be nearly impossible to have a craving for something that couldn't be satisfied.  In our time here, we have had the good fortune to sample foods originating from many different nations in a variety of venues ranging from modest to elegant.  But our warmest memories will be of our meals at the food stalls in the Cooked Food Centres.  Their Dai Pai Dong origins, the traditional Chinese fare, and the warm and friendly locals with whom we shared our tables make us happy to be among those eating at the top of the food chain.

Enjoying a moment of fellowship at the Sheung Wan Cooked Food Centre

Going to Great Lengths

The Great Wall stretches over 13,000 miles across northern China

Long, steep sections of the Wall are lined with
battlements and connect watch towers

The history, size and sheer influence of the People's Republic of China typically evokes many different images, but likely none more famous than the Great Wall.  Although Jeff and I have traveled throughout Asia during our time in Hong Kong, our visits across the border to Mainland China have been limited for a few reasons. First, visa requirements for U.S. citizens were difficult until early this year, and air traffic conditions are notorious, leading to some spectacular delays at times. Finally, Jeff travels to the Mainland for business, and I've been reluctant to make him go back during his leisure time. Although I was able to visit a section of the Great Wall during a trip to China almost two years ago, it also occurred to me that spending two years in China without seeing it would be a big missed opportunity for Jeff. Recently, I convinced him to tack a weekend onto one of his business trips so I could join him, giving us both a chance to see the Great Wall and some of Beijing's other landmarks. 

The length of the Great Wall is one of its most striking features.  Stretching 13,171 miles through nine provinces across northern China, the length of the Wall is nearly five times the distance from Los Angeles to New York.  Its easternmost section starts in Liaoning Province along the Yalu River bordering North Korea where visitors are warned not to stray across the border lest they encounter well-armed and unwelcoming border guards. 

Periodic watch towers along the the Wall
provide spectacular views in all directions

From there, the Wall stretches west to Gansu Province, where its two final gates, Yumen Guan ("Jade Gate Pass") and Yang Guan ("Sun Pass") were trading posts along the Silk Road corridor that connected Asian merchants to those in the west. From its westernmost point, the end of the Great Wall sits just 1,600 miles from the border of Kazakhstan.

Initially, the Great Wall was a series of defensive barricades erected by various independent kingdoms to protect themselves from invasion by Eurasian nomadic tribes. The earliest sections of the Wall date to the 7th Century B.C.  Eventually these sections were joined together and ambitious extensions of the Great Wall were undertaken by the Qin (221-206 B.C.) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties.  Although exact numbers will never be known, thousands of workers were involved in constructing the Wall over the years, many of them political prisoners.  The work was difficult and dangerous, and many of the workers perished on the job. The Travel China Guide reports that workers who died were simply buried in the Wall to save on funeral expenses, because the bones of the deceased made for good building materials and "to intimidate the avenging spirits of those who died."

The Great Wall at Mutianyu has undergone extensive restoration

The condition of the Great Wall varies dramatically across its length.  The passage of time, exposure to the elements and damage from humans have caused sections to disappear altogether.  At one point, even Mao Zedong encouraged peasants to raid the Wall as a source of building materials. The Wall was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, and its cultural and economic value is clearly understood by the Chinese, who have been working to preserve and restore it since the early 1980s. The government has enacted a number of laws to protect it and launched efforts to reconstruct portions of it.  Most of the sections that remain today date from the Ming era.  Jeff and I visited a section of the Wall at Mutianyu, an area about 45 miles north of Beijing that is known for its beautiful scenery.

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Access to Tiananmen Square was restricted, and the Forbidden City was closed for parade preparations

Our brief stay in Beijing was during the week leading up to a major military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory over the Japanese in 1945.  As a result, central Beijing was in a virtual lockdown, with access to Tiananmen Square heavily restricted and the Forbidden City closed to visitors.  The elimination of those destinations from our agenda gave us a reason to explore a couple of other sites that were suggested by a colleague at work.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is an all-wood structure constructed without nails

On the south side of Beijing is the Temple of Heaven Park.  Dating to 1420, the Temple was used by the emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties to worship and offer sacrifices to pray for a successful harvest.  At 675 acres, the park is larger than the Forbidden City and takes a few hours to visit.  Based on Confucian design principles, the temple is actually more of an altar than a traditional temple.  Most of the structures that survive in the park today date from the Qing era and include a mix of round temple halls and square bases methodically arranged within the park land that is scattered with 4,000 knotted cypress trees, some as old as 800 years.  The highlight of the park sits near the north end and is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.  The original structure, which was built in 1420, burned after it was struck by lightning in 1889.  Reconstructed a year later, the replacement is considered to be a true representation of the original and is a beautiful, three-tiered, structure constructed entirely of wood, without the use of nails, atop a three-tiered marble base. 

The Imperial Vault of Heaven is surrounded by the Echo or "Whisper" Wall

About one-quarter mile to the south and connected by a raised walkway is the Imperial Vault of Heaven, a round pavilion that dates to 1530 and is surrounded by the Echo Wall.  Also known as the Whisper Wall, it is said that a whisper will travel from one end of its 633 feet and be clearly heard on the other end.  

Looking north from the Round Altar, which was designed around the number nine

At the southern end of the Temple of Heaven Park's north-south walkway is the Circular Mound (or Round) Altar, which also dates to 1530.  Rebuilt in 1740, it is an open, three-tiered structure of white marble designed around the number nine.  The Ancient Chinese believed that odd numbers represented masculinity and even numbers represented femininity.  As the single largest odd-numbered digit, nine was considered the ultimate in masculinity and therefore used extensively in Imperial-era construction as a means of reinforcing the sovereignty of the emperor. 

An incense burner at Yonghe Gong

A statue of Tsong Khapa, founder of Gelug Buddhism was
spared from destruction during the Cultural Revolution 

Beijing is not generally known for having great temples to visit, but it does have the distinction of being home to Yonghe Gong, one of the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temples outside of Tibet. In Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism, monks or spiritual leaders are referred to as Lamas. Because Yonghe Gong is a monastery, it is sometimes also referred to as "Yonghe Lamasery" or just "Lama Temple." Yonghe Gong means "palace of peace and harmony" which is fitting, given that its ornate structures create a calm setting within otherwise bustling Beijing. Dating to 1694, Yonghe Gong is made up of five Han Chinese and Tibetan halls filled with historic art.  Between the halls are peaceful courtyards containing smaller pavilions, incense burners, and prayer wheels.  During the Cultural Revolution, the Central Committee pursued a policy of destroying the "Four Olds" consisting of old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas. Numerous temples were destroyed under this policy, but Yonghe Gong is said to have been spared due to the intervention of Premier Zhou Enlai. 

Chefs carve Beijing Duck at Jinbaiwan Roast Duck Shunyi Branch

Beijing Duck served with traditional condiments

Since our weekend was about experiencing Beijing, we decided we couldn't leave without trying out some Peking (or Beijing as it's now called) Duck. With a little online research, we found a restaurant that would give us a truly local experience.  When we arrived, we were pleased to discover we were the only Westerners there.  Although ordering our food involved a comedy of pointing, gesturing and picture-drawing, our efforts were rewarded with a delicious dinner.

It's not difficult to find reasons to avoid Beijing.  The prospect of air traffic delays, urban congestion, horrible air quality and government red tape add up to make make one feel like it may not be worth the effort.  But in our brief weekend there, we avoided most of these problems and were rewarded by seeing some of Beijing's most enduring landmarks without having to go to great lengths for the experience.