Panman Gate Scenic Area

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So today, Steve, Sharon and I took a trip to see the Panman Gate Scenic Area in the Southwest corner of the old city. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a ceremony honoring something. It wasn't us but it was very nice to see the costumes and the dragon, the men beating the drums and so on, you'll find those photos seperated into an album. I took some video with the camera but it's 73 meg so I don't think it'll really work to add it to the site unless you want to come back in an hour. This was a very nice park/garden/historic site. They had the first pagoda that they allowed you to walk up so I jumped at that chance. I have those photos in there as well, the stairs and very steep and aren't meant for many of the "meatier" Westerners. I wasn't able to go out on the top 2 floors of the pagoda but I was able to get some photos from there showing the sights. It's too bad it was overcast today but I think somehow I'll be back to see this again (along with many of the other sights).

The interesting items from this (among all the other things);

• We got asked to be a part of a photo with a Chinese young lady. Initially when they asked about taking a photo, we assumed they wanted us to take a photo of this young lady & her boyfriend. We were a little wrong on that, she indicated that she wanted us to be in the photo with her and the boyfriend took the picture....we were the attraction. All the history around and they wanted a photo with 3 Americans, I guess there are still people in the world that like us despite what we have been told for the last couple of years.
• If you don't get a ticket from the front gate when you enter, don't bother. We were going to sit in on a Chinese Opera performance but we didn't have the ticket and they wouldn't allow us to buy on on the spot. They preferred to perform for one lady rather than an audience of 4. Really stupid since we would stand outside the door and hear the cats yowling (that's not very nice, it was more like an animal with it's paw in a bear trap....spiteful aren't I). We walked away but it was odd. In the US, there would be a ticket booth selling the tickets right there.
• The market in the middle of the walk had some interesting items, most noticeably the wooden crossbow for kids. You'll shoot your eye out kid! (the classic mother / crossbow block)
• They would try and con you into wearing robes and getting your photo taken in many places around. Something that will be fun with the kids but I opted not at this time. Who knows where that photo would end up. I also didn't like the "Linked to Hang themselves as Stars" translation.
• Some things just don't translate well, the photo is self-explanatory.

So after we took the grand tour, we decided to walk around a bit and see what there was in the area, see the street market album. All kinds of dishes and stuff to buy to outfit the kitchen. We walked to the Confucian Temple which was nice and ran into 2 other Americans (one with a distinct New England accent, wearing a Mead-Westvaco hat). Just to clarify, Mead-Westvaco is/was a paper company that would purchase from my company, strange to find a guy wearing this hat of all the hats out there. Anyhow, we found a small street market behind the temple selling all kinds of items. I have only 2 photos of this area, I hated to bring my camera out in this area. I don't feel comfortable taking photos of people in these settings. Strangely enough, we walked through with very little harassment. I expected to get hit with the buy this, buy this guys but really no one approached us and was rude about it. They pretty much left us alone but for goodness sake, don't point. As soon as you point, they get excited and start the sales pitch. Most of the stuff seemed to be crap but there was a lot of foot traffic in this area. This isn't a place you'll find on any tour map that's for sure.

One of the things I find most strange is the tea fetish in China. Below is an image of a tea container that you'll find just about everywhere. People carry their tea much like a water bottle, in the cabs, down the street, everywhere you turn. I don't know what the tea is made of, in many cases it looks to me like pine needles or grass clippings but they like it. I see women in the office drinking rose tea, they put rose buds in hot water and call it tea. We're nuts for coffee and they're nuts for tea, it's a matter of taste. There is a strainer in these cups to keep the tea "leaves" in the cup. At the office, there is a small waste bucket with a strainer on the top. When people finished their drink, they dump it in the container, the water goes into the can and the strainer holds the tea leaves (I've noticed kidney beans in the mix, I wonder what that's about). It looks really nasty but they don't want to dump it down the drain and clog the pipes so at least they strain it. I think it would be interesting to plant the remnants and see what comes up out of the ground.

So another weekend has passed, back to work tomorrow. Have a good week, keep checking in for more from the other side of the globe.