__stoked on china__
months ago i decided to take a trip to china during golden week this year (golden week is a magical time in japan with four holidays in nine days). as my trip to china approached, i could feel myself getting more and more excited. great walls, ancient statues, and interesting cultures awaited me in that foreign land across the sea of japan. planning was kept to a minimum; outside of flights, trains, and hostel reservations, my itinerary was completely open for random adventures to ensue. i chose to visit two very different cities - beijing and xi'an - not only to see some [in]famous landmarks, but also to experience some of the diversity china has to offer. six days to see two cities with one awesome travel buddy and zero elementary school english classes; i couldnt wait to start already.

qianmen, beijing

__arrival to beijing__
i finally arrived to beijing after six hours on a train and six more hours in various planes and airports. when we found our hostel, we were surprised to hear that they already sold our room to someone else. that was so nice of them. we walked around the area carrying our luggage (read: a small backpack) while looking for another place, but due to a three-day holiday we knew nothing about beforehand, all the other hostels and hotels were either full or crazy expensive. we ended up eating the cost and staying in a hotel room with no hot water for about $60 a night. lame.

qianmen diaje - we accidentaly started our trip on a pretty, yet touristy, street

__tiananmen square__
the next morning we woke up early and, after walking through qianmen a little bit to get adjusted to our surroundings, we decided to head to tiananmen square. during the walk and throughout the day, strong winds and continual dust storms ensured that i got plenty of dirt in my eyes, nose, and mouth. yum. when we got there we noticed that tiananmen square was already packed with people and under tight security - probably because of the holidays.

monument to the peoples heroes

communism

walking around the largest city square in the world was surreal to say the least. just 20 or so years ago, hundreds of protesters supporting democracy and economic reforms were murdered by their own government in that very square. adding to the ominousness, a gigantic portrait of mao zedong, leader of the chinese revolution, hung over the gate of heavenly peace and watched over the square at all times.

the gate of heavenly peace

__flag lowering ceremony__
much later in the day, we returned to tiananmen square to watch the lowering of the flag ceremony. we got there just in time and took our place near the front of a huge mass of people. soldiers came out through the gate of heavenly peace and started marching straight at us. when they reached the front of the crowd, they began yelling at us in chinese and pushing us backwards. they were parting the crowd to make more room for someone or something. im not ashamed to admit that i was a little scared of being yelled at in a language i dont understand right outside the location of a terrible massacre done by men *possibly* wearing the same uniform as these soldiers. needless to say, it was fun to observe for a little while, we got out of there pretty quick.

flag ceremony