China, China, Far Away

When I was a little girl, I had a sandbox in my backyard. One of my favorite activities in my sandbox was to spend hours attempting to dig to China. I always had this idea that if I just dug long enough, I would somehow get there, and a Chinese guy or gal would be waiting for me on the other end of my tunnel. I guess I was always destined to travel the world! OK, so it didn't happen from my digging, but here I am in China- albeit 30 years later!
It is hard to believe we actually arrived here. China has always seemed to be the most exotic and far away destination I could imagine. Somehow, though, being here is very familiar. The culture, the food- it feels comfortable! We arrived in Beijing a few days ago and there is already so much to say. Unfortunately, the computer access here is extremely limited so I have to be quick. There are practically no internet cafes because the government shut all of them down a few years ago after one had a fire. (makes perfect sense, yeah?) So I am the computer at our hostel and people are waiting.
So here goes...on our first day we headed to Tienanmen square, of course...it is only a ten minute walk from where we are staying. Wow. What a stunning place of great historical significance. Oddly, both Matt and I thought the tiles of the square were going to be red, but they are not- they are grey. There is, however, the massive picture of Chairman Mao on one end, at the entrance to the Forbidden City. We have not gone there yet but plan to- and also we will visit the museum where Mao's body is kept embalmed. (yikes!) As we walked around, we noticed a very heavy police presence, and that of course does not even include the dozens of plain-clothed police that wander the square on a regular basis. Another striking aspect is that there is absolutely no mention or monument to the thousands that lost their lives during the student demonstration not too long ago. I won't say much more about that, since the internet is censored here.
After that, we have spent the last day and a half mostly wandering around Beijing. Yesterday, we went to an old part of the city where there are tons of winding alleyways and little restaurants. The buildings there are very short, flat, and grey. Apparently, all of Beijing was like this prior to Communism. We stumbled upon a rebuilt area within the alleyways that was amazing- very trendy, full of bars and art galleries. Really fun and hip!
Tonight we head to Xi'an on a 10 hour bus, to see the Terracotta Warriors. I am sooo excited, as this is something I have always wanted to see. When we get back to Beijing, we will hit all the other great sights- The Great Wall, etc...
Ugh, I wish I did not have to go but I do not want to be rude. My first impressions of China are absolutely wonderful. We both love it here and I have a feeling we will be back.
I will write when I can....stay tuned!