On
our second to last day, we did a ton of stuff like Tiananmen Square, Forbidden
City, a silk factory, pearl market, CP Group and a supermarket. Starting off at
Tiananmen Square, which was 110 acres, the view was incredibly open and
interesting to see the real architecture of China. The main building, called
the Eternal Glory to People's Heroes, had five stars on it. The main star was
for the communist party while the other four stars were for the laborers,
students, business people, and farmers and was meant to have a united life for
10,000 ages. Also, as soon as we made it through the security gates vendors
bombarded us trying to get us to buy these goofy umbrella hats. Eventually, we
all caved and were rocking the beautiful shade providing hats.
The
Forbidden City was the next stop on the trip. The entrance was packed with
people. The gates to get in were tall and very decorative for the emperor who
once used them. Once in the main gate there were dorms that the soldiers once
to live in and that they still do. The rest of the city was covered in 180
acres and filled with tall glamorous buildings that once housed the emperor and
his staff. There were many great halls that were used for many different
purposes like passing judgment on his people and inspecting his army and
generals. There were living quarters for the concubines that once stayed there
with the emperor. The buildings were closed to the public but had windows for
everyone to look into. The imperial garden was covered in beautiful mosaics
that told stories of the local people's lives.
Stopped
at a silk factory on the way to lunch where they showed us how to make silk by
harvesting the cocoons of silk caterpillars. To make silk, they soak cocoons in
water, stir them with a brush to get a few strands, then hook it up to a spool
machine and let it run. another way is to take the cocoon and stretch it out
like a giant spider web. No matter how the stretched and layered silk was
deformed it always went back to the original flat square.
We then learned about the company Charoen Pokem
from Thailand, which is the “Cargill” of Asia.
They are involved with all phases of agriculture in the world, and are
also involved in humanitarian efforts with local villages. Dr. Gary Stoner who is in charge of CP’s
China efforts, gave us a great overview if the company, as well as a new
perspective on life.
The
pearl market was the next stop for the day. While there we all got to
experience how to barter and try and tell the difference between real and fake
items. Some of us split off from the group and went to different shops to
barter and make deals on various pearl items. The supermarket was also another
stop for the day. This building had 6 different floors and was filled with
about anything you could want except for food. We all had a good time running
around and buying some cool items. The amount of stores and deals that you
could get was shocking and everyone seemed to enjoy this experience. At the end
of the day we really found out who was great at haggling and who needs some
work.
Renae and Andy
