Overview Beijing 2016

Ming Tombs

Every three years, the World Congress of Comparative Education Society, of which I am a member, has a conference in remarkable places around the world. Through it, I have presented in and visited Havana in 2004, Bosnia in 2008, missed Buenos Aires in 2012, and now am in Beijing, China for the 24th WCCES conference. The Conference is amazing, in terms of discussions between Western and Chinese scholars questioning purposes and methods of education among their countries. It is being held at Beijing Normal University, a beautiful campus on the second ring of Beijing city. Ironically, it has been a good opportunity to catch up with a handful of scholars from the US and Canada that I frequently miss at domestic conferences, and to meet new ones. I've made several connections for Tokyo, where I'll be a Visiting Professor next year, so that will help me settle in next April. I also met a couple from the University of Sussex in England, where I hope to be a Fulbright researcher in 2018.

Helping Conference participants find their way!

Opening Session

My husband Richard came with me, and we got in some sightseeing on the weekend before the conference. We have also squeezed in short trips after daily conference sessions. I'm writing this blog to keep my memories and to share with anyone who might be interested.

We flew from Tampa to Chicago, and then Chicago-Beijing. The time difference is exactly 12 hours, so no need to change my watch! A two-hour delay on the tarmac in Chicago made an already long flight (13.5 hours) longer. I managed to get decent sleep on the plane, though, and was ok arriving into the Beijing Airport. The travel service we picked for tours was right there to take us to our hotel, and we arrived at night, so just went to bed in preparation for a busy Saturday.

Day 1, Saturday: Beijing Zoo, Lama Temple, Confucius Temple, a Hutong, and a tea ceremony

We got off to an 8am start in order to make several stops on Day 1 of our tours. I did lots of researching for tour guides before we arrived. I typically get to places without guides, but I had the sense we would need the help here, and I was right. Our guide, who goes by "Sabrina" in her tour guide job, was very fun and informative.

Sabrina in a rickshaw during our hutong visit

We began at the Beijing Zoo to see the famous pandas. At one point, when I thought I had my video on, a panda pulled a giant pile of bamboo over his head. When he came out, he stuck his face into the air making funny faces. Of course, I did not have the video on (new camera...). But I have a few cute pics:

Chowing down

Time to snooze

Our next stop was the Lama Temple, the most famous Tibetan Buddhist temple outside of Tibet. There are many halls and courtyards within the temple. The fifth hall houses an 18-meter high Buddha. The Lama Temple is an active site for worshippers, and it was filled with many burning incense, turning the prayer wheel and kneeling before the various Buddhist figures in the vast halls.

After the busy-ness of the Lama Temple, we crossed the street and entered the quiet pleasure of the Confucius Temple. Built in 1302, it has four courtyards and is the second largest Confucius temple in China. Besides the beauty of the pavilions and statues, the cypress trees ranging from 300-400 years old were amazing with the gnarled and twisting branches.

After leaving the Confucius Temple, we went for a rickshaw ride to a hutong, or old traditional Beijing neighborhood. With modernization, many hutongs have disappeared. But those that are left are vibrant, and they attract tourists with their rickshaws (now powered by bicycles), narrow alleys, and traditions. We stopped at a family home to learn that the house had been in the family for 100 years. It had an open courtyard, covered overhead by grapevines. The family also engaged in silk painting and paper cutting.

Next, lunch! And after that, our final stop for the day - a Chinese tea ceremony. They are not nearly as formal as a Japanese tea ceremony. However, we had the opportunity to try six flavors - two oolongs, a jasmine, one I have forgotten, pu'or, and a fruity flavor. I loved all but the fruity one - surprisingly, so did Richard! - and we bought a few to take home with us.

Altogether, a very full day. I was moved by the remarkable detail of the buildings and statues, and the generosity of the people. 

Day Two, Sunday - Jade factory, Ming Tombs, Great Wall at Mutianyu, Olympic Park

We had another early start, as the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is a two hour drive from Beijing. Our first stop was at a jade factory. I had no idea jade comes not only in green, but also in red, lilac, white, black, and gold. We got to watch a carver and a polisher. The work is amazing. Of course, we were lured into a couple purchases. I got Dick a ring, and he bought me a set - necklace, bracelet, and earrings of the multiple colors of jade.

Next, we visited one of the Ming Tombs. There are 13 on the outskirts of Beijing, and they are World Heritage sites. The last pavilion at the tomb we  visited was SO large. The view from the top of it was wonderful.

Fabrics found in the pavilions

From there, we drove to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. It is a bit less crowded than the Badling section. according to our guide. We learned that there were originally seven kingdoms in China. When one of the emperors united the kingdoms, the wall was built as a way to travel from one to the next. Not only is it one of the 10 great constructed sites in the world; it is also the world's largest graveyard, as thousands lost their lives in its construction. Being there, it is easy to understand this fact.

Dick and I chose to take a ski chair up to the wall. Once there, we had the option of going left or right. One way was "shorter," but steeper. Given our time restrictions, we chose that direction. "Short" was over 1,000 steps one way, with some steps nearly up to my knees in height. It was a sunny, hot day, and I was beet-red by the time I completed the journey. Dick didn't quite make it the full way, but a nice Aussie helped me on some of those steep stairs. We had great fun going down alpine slides to return to the base of the mountain.

Dozing on the way back to Beijing, we had one more stop - the Olympic Park. It had shooting fountains that reminded me of the ones in Atlanta's Olympic Park. The Water Cube, built for swimming events, was unique, and it has a shallow "mote" around it that children were taking full advantage of to cool off. I wanted to join them! We also saw the "Bird Cage," built for other Olympic events.

Exhausted and into bed early, as the conference begins on Monday morning!

Day Three & Four, Monday/Tuesday - First Days of WCCES

This morning the hotel dining room was filled with WCCES attendees. I met up with a young professor who had worked at the University of Sussex (where I have applied for a 2018 Fulbright),
and we walked the short distance to Beijing Normal University (BNU) together for the opening speeches and keynotes.
The first keynote, by Prof. Yingjie Wang of BNU, discussed the complexities of collective society in China mixed with the competitive of the gao coa, the National University Entrance Exam. This test is all-encompassing both to jr/sr students and to their parents. He also discussed the pressures on teachers and principals for the students to pass. I found myself thinking that I would want to be neither a teacher nor a parent if I lived in China. With the "one child policy," parents become subservient to their "little emperors." Teaching is considered a "hazardous profession."

Andreas Schleicher from the OECD also presented an excellent talk about skills needed in the near future, presenting the point that memorization of facts is insufficient and mostly unnecessary. He talked about the importance of numerous skills - critical thinking, problem solving, but also things like innovation, creativity, confidence, communication skills, generosity, etc. He discussed the need to get beyond the dominance of economics to consider other ways to think about one another. He frankly surprised me, coming from the OECD with a talk that went beyond the need for job skills.

Afternoon panels were equally interesting. After them, I rushed back to the hotel to get ready for an evening acrobatics performance in Beijing. Prior to the show, the speakers were pulsing out vaudeville music from the 1920s. The show began, and ended, with a clown. In between, the acts included contortionists, and feats of remarkable balance, coordination, and strength. We enjoyed it.

However, traffic in the city is absolutely harrowing! I've seen scary driving in Kampala, but this made Kampala look tame and orderly. People drive outside their lanes, squeeze into lanes, come within an inch of one another at speed. I can't figure out the rules at lights. While generally green means go and red stop, it looks more complicated than that. Certainly the green pedestrian lights do not guarantee that a vehicle will not come at you and beep. It is just crazy!

Tuesday was another full conference day for me. To learn more about the Chinese system, I attended a couple sessions about Chinese education. It sounds very stressful. And yet, it does not seem all that different from the US system with high-stakes testing. Parents will move as they can to places in which their kids have access to better schools. But then they are regarded as outsiders, and teachers pay more attention to local children. That doesn't sound much different from US teacher attitudes towards migrant children. Another similarity is that wealthier families have more school choice. Teacher descriptions reminded me of early US history - teachers are to be virtuous and moral, dignified and authoritative, sacrificing themselves to this sacred profession. In China, they are also required to conduct research.

In the evening, we went to the Black Sesame Kitchen, a restaurant I saw advertised on TripAdvisor. It was not easy to find (our cabbie got lost), down a narrow hutong lane, but it was so worth it. Coco only serves 10 people/evening, all seated at one table. There was one other US couple, and three other couples representing Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and England. We had a terrific conversation, and the food was the best I have had here for a very reasonable price. You could watch the food being cooked by looking into a mirror hung from the ceiling. Great night!

Day Five - WCCES, Jingshan Park, Wangfujing Street

After morning conference sessions, Dick and I taxied to Jingshan Park. Along the main path, there are large, colorful sculptures of insects that delight children visiting with their parents.

Ascending the steep hill to its pavilions, you get the only overlook into the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, it was a smoggy day, so the colors of our photos are not bright. Still, the view helps the viewer realize just how huge the Forbidden City is.

There was also the fun chance to dress up in imperial costumes for a photo --

After that, we walked to Wangfujing Street, a pedestrian street that is a main shopping district. I was disappointed in it. The choices were somewhat junky souvenir stores or ridiculously expensive Western stores like Cartier and Prada. Wishing we had hit the famous Silk Market instead.

I admit, I was sorry that I was not hungry in that district, as there were some Western fast-food places. I'm an adventurous traveler, but my stomach is not, and I am typically content to have Chinese food no more than once/month. At this point, even a McDonald's burger would be welcomed!