Good Medicine

Good Medicine

Today we visited the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square. I wept on the bus before we even got there today, just listening to Eric give the history and acounts of the uprisings and deaths that have occurred there. I am just so emotionally open on this trip.

The children are all weary of the long walks and the heat, and today we got one extra stress factor added in; crowds. I am told it was a normal Sunday in the park crowd, but we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people in the square and visiting the historic city. We all got a taste of feeling boxed in and even anxious by the sheer number, the noise and the speed at which the crowd was moving. There was no where to stop and catch your breath, it was keep going or get crushed at some points. Poor Liam, being the smallest in our group, was simply overwhelmed. First came the headache then the tears. Ethan followed suit 20 minutes later with dizziness and a nose bleed. Parker had stomach cramps within minutes after that. They were all fine once we got through the Square and into the larger courts of the Forbidden City where the crowds thinned to about half. Still an astounding number. I can honestly say I have never been in a crowd that size before. What great lesson for all of us on the precious SPACIOUSNESS that we enjoy in Saskatchewan. A hard pill to swallow at the time, but the kids agree with me.

All of that aside, it was worth the visit. Eric gave us so much information and historical trivia that I started video taping some of it. The Forbidden Palace was truly unique. As Logan, one of the other children on the tour, said as we passed through the gates, "Woah, Canada ain't got nothing on this place!" If you haven't seen the movie the Last Emperor, go watch it. Much of the Forbidden City is in the film. My favourite part of the tour was definitely the Imperial Garden. After visiting so many dead sites, this one had been carefully restored to some of its previous grandeur. It was lush, green, cultivated beauty. Rows upon rows of 400+year old trees, rock gardens, water gardens, and a multitude of flowering trees and bushes. Take away the crowd, add in an emperor and one empress and you have tranquility. I would have liked to stay in that portion of the city for several hours, but the schedule did not permit it. If you ever go, leave time for that.You will need the rest by that point in the day anyway. Bring a snack and relax a while.

Our afternoon was spent at the Chinese Association of Herbal Medicine. Eric surprised us with this lecture, and free visit by a Chinese Naturopathic Doctor. The topic was an introduction to the culture of Chinese medicine and a great overview of how they value preventative, non-invasive health care through out the centuries and throughout the whole country still. There was alot of information on balancing kidney and liver function, as well as an overview of how a diagnosis is made. The mini appointments went well. Each person on the tour received a 5-8 minute interview with the doctors and some recommendations on things they could do to enhance their health. I thought this might just be a big push to get you to by things , but really only a few of us were given herbal remedy recommendations, and the feed back I heard from everyone, myself included, was that they were right on with their diagnosis each time. There was also a mini-massage and acupressre demonstration for those who wanted to pay the $3. Good call Eric! I loved this! Again, I have SOOO much to learn.

Tomorrow we head out to Hutong for a village tour and to spend an afternoon with a local family. in the evening we travel to Zhou Zho. We will not arrive here until very late, so you probably won't get a posting tomorrow.

Our week in Beijing has come to an end, but we have three weeks ahead of us! What a gift.