Life Lessons and Bucket List Items in Classical China

Welcome back!

 

My last post chronicled two jam-packed days of touristy activities in China.

 

On the third day in Beijing we woke up early to make the 2 hour trek to what is arguably the most iconic of Chinese destinations: The Great Wall.

 

This sight was one of particularly high anticipation for me as I was anxious to check off yet another one of the 1000 Places to See Before You Die. Little did I know that we would do it in style.

 

 

Yep, that’s a chair lift. Apparently we were going to make the journey up to the wall with our feet dangling above the snow covered mountainside. Beijing was still recovering from the previous day’s storm, so the landscape was absolutely beautiful. We were also blessed with one of the clearest blue skies I have ever seen.

 

So, we started the journey via lift…

 

 

And climbed higher…

 

 

And even higher…

 

 

Until you could just make out that classic wall ridge in the distance…

 

 

And all of a sudden, we had arrived!

 

Let me just make a quick comment about the hats… It was SO cold that on the walk to the chair lift (which was littered with vendor stalls, obviously) that we decided to buy something… anything… that would cover our heads. This one lucky woman had somehow been the only one to realize that people would need hats when it was literally negative degrees Celsius, so she was the recipient of ALL our business. Good for her. Even better for our pictures.

 

 

It was a pretty surreal moment to say the least.

 

 

We walked around, up, and down for an hour or so before we had to head back to catch the bus. What we found was that the trip down was going to be even more adventurous than the trip up. That, my friends, was because we were going down in toboggans.

 

 

I didn’t even realize something like this existed, but sure enough, we each sat down on a toboggan—not strapped in, mind you—and flew down the side of this mountain as fast as we could go. The only thing slowing me down was the speed of the person in front of me. Can’t say this was the safest thing I’ve ever seen, but damn, was it fun.

 

From there, we made the trip back to downtown Beijing for an afternoon of random activities including lunch at a jade jewelry store and, my personal favorite, a stop at a Kung Fu School. Turns out, this was no ordinary school, but rather, it had the distinction of being chosen by Jackie Chan as the school in which he would film one of his most recent movies, Karate Kid.

 

HIYA!

 

We watched a karate show, complete with classical Chinese music overlays, featuring high-flying jumps, traditional weaponry, and feats of strength that definitely had us on the edge of our seats. At the end, all of the boys came down off the stage and took pictures with us. There was even a teeny tiny break dance fight where the boys competed to see who could do the best “worm.” Dancing is truly a universal language.

 

 

After the school, it was almost time for dinner, so we made our way to yet another 1000 Places destination—the Hutong. We rode rickshaws around a frozen lake where locals were ice skating then turned into a popular nightlife district full of popular bars and restaurants. Our dinner destination was not another one of these establishments, but rather, a private home.

 

 

In this two-room house, a woman and her husband cooked an entire meal for us from scratch. We even got to pitch in by making our own dumplings! This ended up being one of my favorite experiences of the trip as it gave us a small glimpse into local life and traditional Chinese food. The dinner was incredible and the woman was so friendly and welcoming that for a moment I totally forgot how far away from home we were…

 

Finally—the Holy Grail attained!

 

 

The next morning was by far the coldest, but we had a very short schedule before heading to the airport to meet up with the ship in Hong Kong. We made a quick stop at the Temple of Heaven for a couple photos….

 

 

And I took a small detour to dance with some Tibetans. Just to clarify, dancing was NOT on the schedule… that was just a very spontaneous, very cold, decision on my part.

 

 

That’s me in the green coat with the airplane arms. Such a good choice! Yet another life experience to add to the list! But one of the most meaningful and salient moments came on the bus to the airport.

 

Our tour guide, David, had spent all 4 days with us, leading us to, from, and through, each individual stop we made. He was always happy and engaged and incredibly knowledgeable when asked questions, which was often. When it was finally time to say goodbye, he gave a short speech about how he had chosen to be a tour guide because he loved speaking English and loved meeting new people.

 

Then came the hammer.

 

He implored us, nearly begged us, to find work we loved and chase our passions to their fullest extent. He said, and I quote:

 

“If you ever find yourself working at a job that doesn’t inspire you, doesn’t make you happy, or doesn’t fulfill you, please leave that job. Instead, share what you love with people that you like, and the money will follow you.”

 

I just about fainted.

 

It’s like he read minds or something…

 

The entire ensuing flight to Hong Kong, I sat staring out the window thinking about his wise words. On my worst days here, this little life experiment of mine feels incredibly dire—what’s a girl to do without an income, a plan, a vision. But on my best days, after hearing such reaffirming and comforting words, I get the sense that this trip is not in vain—that this journey to get re-inspired by life is going to be worthwhile… already is worthwhile.

 

So thank you, David, for everything I learned in Beijing.

 

It won’t soon be forgotten.

 

Question of the Day: What’s the last thing you checked off your bucket list?