Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Great Wall

Well, one thing for sure. Future Light Fellows, never fear for a lack of materials to write about! In fact, since there are so many things to see, touch, taste, smell, and hear – overall, experience! Once one gets to China for a summer abroad, he all too quickly realizes mere two months is not enough to get to know its language, culture, and people. Upon reflection, I realize I had spent over ten years in United States for me to rightfully earn the title of “Korean American.” Would only equally long of stay in China grant me the degree of knowledge I have now of the English language, American diversified culture, and ever changing face of the American people?

It’s been some time since my last post, and I have seen, touched, tasted, smelled, and heard – overall, experienced –so much since!

Eyes: The past weekend saw me at Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Needless to say, I was mesmerized. The historic site of Tiananmen Square has always been confined to the space shown in the renowned photograph commonly referred to as “Tank Man” before this summer. I felt no need to imagine further than the space shown to me in that photograph. But, when I arrived there, my eyes could not help but widen. Yes, I did recognize the ever famous space in that photograph, but the surprising wideness of the place fascinated me the most. So much space! I could not help but let go of my image of Tiananmen Square confined by a photograph and wonder about who stood and what have taken place in its other parts.

Forbidden City, which has been the political and cultural center of China for more than five hundred years, was such an aesthetic pleasure to the eyes. It definitely lives up to its fame, for it failed to disappoint me despite myexceedingly high expectations: for one cannot help forming them when he hears it consists of 980 buildings with 8707 rooms! The color yellow – the color of the emperor – can be found everywhere! The further you go inside, the color yellow surrounds you even more. As my family and intimate friends can confirm, my favorite color is yellow, and the place that glorifies the color yellow so much delighted me immensely. Besides the ever-present color yellow, the intricate design of the buildings down to a tile on the roof is breathtaking. I concede perhaps my long source of wonderment –the White House – growing up right outside D.C. felt a bit inadequate after a visit to Forbidden Palace.

Skin: This weekend’s excursion to Great Wall has been surprisingly categorized under “Touch” for the cool, smooth touch of the stone walls of Great Wall lingers much more powerfully than the sight. Disappointingly, I could not see Great Wall go on for miles and miles due to the smog. But, the steep climb on perfectly even steps up to Great Wall (on the way, encountering a donkey!) was greatly rewarded once I reached Great Wall itself. A truly magnificent feat of engineering and vision! I still cannot name all the Great Wonders of the World, but if asked to recite them all, I never fail to name Great Wall first. My feet will forever remember the difference between the perfectly even steps on the climb up and the unpredictably uneven steps when traversing the Great Wall itself. My skin will forever remember the contrast of sweltering embrace of the sun on the Wall and the brief, dark coolness of lookout towers. I will go back there again, hopefully this summer. If not, I do not fear, for its allure as a place of many discoveries and historic significance is too strong.

Mouth: On Friday, my class made a visit to an antique market in order to gain authentic Chinese bargaining experience. Ancient paintings, scrolls, calligraphy brushes, inkstones, Buddha statues, Chinese seals, ancient clothes and furniture, and various trinkets such as Mao pin greeted me. But the most impressionable experience for me while at the market was when I was politely received by a very kind tea shop owner for a free tasting. She showed me all the different kinds of tea pots, cups, water boilers, mini god statues that take the forms of Buddha, frog, and ox, tea leaves, and the proper way of making and drinking tea. I will never look upon the simple act of drinking tea the same way again. So many different tea leaves to taste – jasmine, chrysanthemum, oolong, yellow, and kudin to name a few.

Nose: I go every Sunday to a grocery market right outside the campus to buy my week’s supply of fruits. The market is very crowded, but before one can discern with eyes how crowded the market is, he is immediately overwhelmed by the smell – the smells of freshly cut (hopefully) meat, fresh fruits, already cooked various side dishes, and many others that I cannot identify all fused together. The smell at first was so nauseating that I could not bring myself to enter the place. But, the relatively cheap prices of apples, cherries, watermelon, and peaches eventually strengthened my willingness to keep an open mind.

Ears: My language partner has recently gave me a copy of every song she has on her mp3 after hearing my complaints that there are as many commercials on Chinese radio as there are on American ones. Right now, I have been writing this blog all the while listening to Chinese pop, rock, rap, and hip hop. Unfortunately, not many modern college students have ethnic Han or folk music on their mp3’s, which leaves me no choice but to intentionally seek out these types of music. The music given to me so far cannot be said to be too similar to the music of Ben Folds or even that of Lady Gaga. But, these songs are a great source of escapement in accordance with my language pledge as I now have more than my Chinese lesson recordings to listen to.

Experience: So much to do! So little time! On a different tangent, I could not help but notice that women here do not shave their armpits, very much like the women who speak the only other language that I have formally studied – French.