A Tale of Stardom in Beijing

Hello, loyal Caravel readers. My name is Hannah, and I’m a rising sophomore in the MSB. This summer I will be trekking across Asia and studying abroad in Hong Kong for four weeks. The first of my travels takes me to Beijing, China with my parents and siblings. For many tourists, what can make or break a city is the hospitality of its people. Bad experiences with waiters, locals, and hotel concierges can burn into our memories, leaving a sour aftertaste. Just as negative experiences can leave scarring memories, good experiences can leave indelible impressions.

I had one of these positive experiences in Beijing. I’m not referring to an amazing hotel or exquisite dining service; I’m talking about the fans. I’m not sure if you all are aware, but I am a mega pop-star celebrity sensation in Beijing.

I don’t know if they love my movie star face, luxuriously frizzy hair, or supermodel body, but whatever it is, they LOVE it. Every few seconds, I see cameras discreetly pointed towards me. Every once in awhile, someone finds the courage to ask for a picture. I’m not going to say I posed and really flaunted my stuff, but if that’s what you assume, that’s what you assume.

It all started during our first dinner at a dim sum restaurant, called Din Tai Fung. Din Tai Fung is a well-known, decently priced chain. As we were having trouble communicating with the waiter and trying to order one cup of tea for five people, one of the restaurant managers pulled out a camera.

The rest of the day, there weren’t many other noticeable occurrences. However, my stardom escalated the next day while touring the Summer Palace.

While at the Summer Palace, the amount of staring and gawking at my sheer beauty was definitely on the rise. As we walked around the massive man-made lake with our tour guide, Skye, more people stopped to take our photo.

The Summer Palace is like China’s Versailles. There are so many things to do at the summer palace, and with all my fans following me around, we only got to a few of the attractions. We saw the Political Center, Emperor and Empress’ living quarters, the long corridor, and went on a dragon boat ride on the lake.

A brief history lesson on the Summer Palace: The summer palace was built in 1750 during the Qing dynasty and is around 350 hectares in size. In 1860, the Anglo-French burned down the garden and in 1888, Dowager Empress Cixi stole money from the navy to rebuild the palace. Dowager Cixi, now called the Dragon Lady, loved the summer palace. She spent six months of the year roaming this wonderland. The Dragon Lady was a very emasculating figure. Her son was technically the emperor of Qing China; however, she suppressed his power and held it all for herself.

The following day, Skye showed us around the Forbidden City. This was the point in our trip where I would say my stardom reached Justin Bieber on a scale of one to Beyoncé.

Both inside and outside people were asking me for selfies and group photos. Words cannot describe how amazing it feels to be loved by so many fans. I would just like to take a moment and thank the real fans – A1 since day one! You guys are the reason I do what I do… whatever that is….

I politely asked Skye why I was so famous in China. She giggled and responded that some of the other tourists had never seen foreigners. She also added that my family and I are always smiling, so we seem approachable. In all seriousness, the phenomenon seems pretty odd, but understandable. It didn’t take long for the fame to go to my head!

Check back soon for more tidbits from my adventures. Below I have posted a few of my “major keys” for navigating life in Beijing. If you are traveling to Beijing soon and want any more information on my adventures, feel free to contact me!

Hannah’s Major Keys:

• Go to China Mobil for a SIM card. I got a plan of 100 minutes and 1GB of data for 60USD. It’s pricey but makes contacting my family in China and in the US easier.
• Set up a VPN (virtual private network). My brother and I were #shocked when we found out that Snapchat does not work in China. The government blocks tons of social media, like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and any Google product (including your Georgetown email). If you are staying in China for more than a few days or have a 260+ day Snapchat streak to keep, I highly suggest downloading Anchor Free or purchasing a VPN from WiTopia for 50 USD before you leave the U.S.
• Try to avoid staying in the business district. Cabs do not want to go to the business district because it is out of the normal tourist path.
• Many bathrooms do not have toilet paper and are of the squatting variety. I recommend keeping a travel sized Kleenex in your bag at all times!
• Book a tour guide. We booked Skye through Trip Advisor. (We have also been recommended Jesse). Personal tour guides are relatively cheap; Skye charged around 350 USD for one full day. This includes transportation and tickets for attractions. Skye (and other tour guides) has special tour guide passes that make seeing different sights a lot easier. She also knows many of the security workers and attraction employees, making service quicker. Plus, if you do not speak Chinese like us, Skye is almost essential! Plus, she’s a great photographer.