All the Movement none of the fun

Sunday I decide was the day to once again explore the city of Beijing. I headed out pretty early in the morning trying to beat the crowds that I knew would form. Hoping on the subway I traveled south into the heart of Beijing. Once deep inside of Beijing I transfered trains. At this station transfer I was crowed onto the next car of the blue line on the subway. It was impressive how many bodies can be fitted on to a single car. As we rode on to the next station there were was more bumping and grinding by everyone. At the next platform the impossible happened, we put even more people on to the car. At this point breathing became a hazard as we all had to breath in union with each other otherwise we might crush a few.

We continued to ride like this for a couple of stations before the passenger load started to thin out a little. At Xuanwu station I got off the car and headed out of the station. The first stop of my day was NanTang or the Southern Cathedral. I choose to stop here first because I really wanted to see the incorporation of catholic architecture in China. I have to say that both the compound and the church are gorgeous. From my brief stop there I returned to the subway.

Back on the train I had very few stops to wait before my next stop. At Jiangou station I got off the train again in order see the Beijing Ancient Observatory. The observatory is one of the oldest in the world and the artifacts are beyond impressive. The amount of science that came out of the building prior to the 19th century is staggering. All of it done with the naked eye and simple yet elegant tools. After nearly two hours out I decided to brave the return trip.

I got on the subway and head towards campus and some food. The ride home was the same as down, crowded and interesting. I have to say that I greatly enjoy the ability to just jump on the subway and explore the city. Besides the price is really cheap and it is always fun to be shoved into a metal tube and bounced around. So next weekend I think I am going to go to the Military Museum or something along those lines.