Tibet, Taiwan & The Lama Temple

18 May 2014

Today, Professor Xiong Zhiyong gave us some great insight into the Chinese perspective regarding Tibet and Taiwan. He also showed us some nuances in the Sino-US relationship that were incredibly interesting and reveal the tough history China and the US have had. This might have been old news to everyone else, especially those who have taken Chinese Foreign Policy, but since I have only taken one NSD class, the required theory course, I found this incredibly interesting. Now that I know more about the issue, I am anxious to see how the Taiwan issue continues to develop in the future, and if policies towards Taiwan play a role in the next presidential election. Unfortunately, the time limit was short, and the Tibet issue did not receive as much detail as the Taiwan issue received. This may have been on purpose, however.

After the lecture, the group split up and spent the afternoon in different places. Claire, Jason, and I went to the Lama Temple in downtown Beijing. We learned from our lecturer earlier that afternoon that the Lama Temples is one of only two ancient temples in the region that survived the Cultural Revolution, because it had served as a military headquarters. I have been to the Lama Temple before, and I was eager to go back because I knew Claire and Jason would like the site. Though it is a tourist attraction, the Lama Temple is a very active religious site, and one gets a glimpse into a religious culture that we do not often see in the United States. The temple is expansive, and the crown jewel is a Buddha statue that is eighteen meters high (and three meters deep); it was carved from a single piece of sandalwood. From the size of the statue, it looks like it could only have been carved from a California Redwood. I really cannot imagine a tree being that big.

After the Lama Temple, we went to Nanluoguxiang, a narrow alley full of small boutique stores, and sat in a café to rest and people watch. We kept an eye out for shirts in English that make any sense. My personal favorite had a picture of an apple and said, “chocolate.” Luckily, we found our entire group there, and we all went together to Hohai, a recreational lake area. We were supposed to meet at the front gate, but I really doubt we would have been able to find each other since it was a good distance away from the metro stop. The area was really nice, but it clearly catered to Westerners. Nevertheless, there were many Chinese enjoying the weather and the lake. Thanks to Ben’s Mandarin skills, we were able to find a reasonably priced restaurant after being led through several layers of hutongs. I’m surprised anyone who is not a local can find this place. After dinner, I stayed in Hohai with Ben, Caroline, and Sean for a little while before heading back to the hotel.

- Andrea