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Reflections on a Wandering Life.....
Friday, May 05, 2006
Just got back from Chengde tonight in time for a pizza party that I had put together back last week when I thought I was going to be in Chengde the beginning of the week. Since I was not able to buy a ticket right away, things got a little rushed. Anyway, I got back just in time for the party.
Yesterday we went to visit the Imperial Summer Villa. I was interested in this place, because it is the site of the MacArtney mission, where Lord MacArtney met the emperor Qian Long in September of 1793, in an attempt to establish formal trade relations between England and China. The palace itself did not seem that impressive to me, but the grounds are quite expansive, and have been turned into a park area that is pretty nice. I doubt that most people who go there really understand the significance of the historical events that took place there, but they seem to like the pedal boats on the lake. I didn't see any reference to the MacArtney mission, which is probably an oversight, but an unfortunate one, I think, because the MacArtney mission really marks the beginning of China's opening to the West, even though MacArtney was rather firmly rebuffed.
Other than the Summer Villa, the main attraction of Chengde is the statue of Guanyin at the Puning Temple. I didn't see it, because Claire refused to take me.
"God doesn't want us to worship this."
"I don't want to worship it. I just want to see what it looks like."
"No."
"It's okay. It's not important. I was just curious."
"In the beginning, the Israelites were just curious."
Some other time, I guess. Today, Claire and I biked around her hometown. I was riding a bicycle her grandfather purchased in 1967. It has been in the family for almost 40 years. Incredible. So bicycles don't get stolen in Chengde?
"My hometown is not like Beijing."
I guess not. Chengde is much smaller, and more isolated. Pretty tough to steal a bike from one guy and sell it to his next door neighbor. It would be tough for professional thieves to make a living stealing bikes in this town. To make a living stealing bikes, you have to be able to turn them around quickly. That's the main problem in Beijing. The main It's easy to steal bikes in Beijing is because it is so easy to sell them.
Yesterday we went to visit the Imperial Summer Villa. I was interested in this place, because it is the site of the MacArtney mission, where Lord MacArtney met the emperor Qian Long in September of 1793, in an attempt to establish formal trade relations between England and China. The palace itself did not seem that impressive to me, but the grounds are quite expansive, and have been turned into a park area that is pretty nice. I doubt that most people who go there really understand the significance of the historical events that took place there, but they seem to like the pedal boats on the lake. I didn't see any reference to the MacArtney mission, which is probably an oversight, but an unfortunate one, I think, because the MacArtney mission really marks the beginning of China's opening to the West, even though MacArtney was rather firmly rebuffed. Other than the Summer Villa, the main attraction of Chengde is the statue of Guanyin at the Puning Temple. I didn't see it, because Claire refused to take me.
"God doesn't want us to worship this."
"I don't want to worship it. I just want to see what it looks like."
"No."
"It's okay. It's not important. I was just curious."
"In the beginning, the Israelites were just curious."
Some other time, I guess. Today, Claire and I biked around her hometown. I was riding a bicycle her grandfather purchased in 1967. It has been in the family for almost 40 years. Incredible. So bicycles don't get stolen in Chengde?
"My hometown is not like Beijing."
I guess not. Chengde is much smaller, and more isolated. Pretty tough to steal a bike from one guy and sell it to his next door neighbor. It would be tough for professional thieves to make a living stealing bikes in this town. To make a living stealing bikes, you have to be able to turn them around quickly. That's the main problem in Beijing. The main It's easy to steal bikes in Beijing is because it is so easy to sell them.
