Beijing

After spending ten days in Shanghai, my classmate and I took the fast train to Beijing. Beijing was fun although I don't think it is nearly as interesting as Chengdu. Chengdu feels like China. Beijing feels like Tacoma. The Forbidden City, Great Wall, and Tiananmen Square were all cool and I'm glad I got to see them, but by far the most interesting part of the trip was the Mao Zedong Mausoleum.

Situated smack dab in the center of Tiananmen Square is the body of Mao Zedong. Okay, so it's on the first floor of a large concrete building, but it's there nonetheless.

The highlight of my vacation (I'm not sure about my mom) was the trip to the Mausoleum where we saw the body in all it's neon glowing glory. Before we could enter, the tour guides took everyone to a booth where you could buy a flower to lay at the foot of a statue of the Great Helmslmen as you entered the building. I decided my money was better spent on a booklet describing the achievements of the late great chairman, but was disappointed that it didn't have a picture of the body (we weren't allowed to take cameras in).

It's hard to describe just how weird this experience was. Everyone was herded past the body which was laying in a glass coffin. A bright neon orange light shown on Mao's face, making it look as though he had been irradiated. He was glowing. Glowing like the Las Vegas strip. His body was covered with the national flag, and the coffin was surrounded by rows and rows of fake plants. It was really bizarre! Although I've seen plenty of weird things in China, this topped the list.