I went to China in December, for work. I have never been to China, and when it all comes down to it I realised that apart from watching dragon festivals and eating in Chinese restaurants, I don't know much about Chinese history or the nuances of Chinese culture. Although I have seen Mulan and Mulan 2, which has to count for something.
We were supposed to go to Beijing and Harbin, way up north. A slight problem saw us only go to Beijing, but more of that later. Beijing seems to be brand spanking new, and with its wide, divided boulevards it is eerily like Melbourne in parts (I'm not just saying that because of the trams). Everything seems to be either just built, or under construction. The Olympics loom large, and the frenzy is to complete it all before then. But its not just the physical city that is undergoing 'improvement' - it's the people too. Apparently, the Chinese are not inclined to line up for things (I never knew they were colonised by the French?!). So, in preparation for the Olympics, Beijing locals are being taught how to queue. They are worried that impressionable Westerners will think the Chinese are rude if they don't queue properly. One day a month is designated practice day, and everyone has to line up for buses etc.. There are volunteers in fancy uniforms to enforce this rule. THe campaign slogan is "It's civilised to queue, it's glorious to be polite." I love it.
During the Olympics, every day will be queueing day. I have heard that the queueing practice goes very well, until the bus arrives, in which everyone falls out of line and shoves in the usual fashion. Oh well, they have a few months yet. Personally, I would feel ripped off if I was an Olympic visitor. Pushing is much more fun.
It was my dream trip - a 5 star hotel, 12-16 course meals for lunch and dinner, meetings in which I was not supposed to say anything. But boy, all that eating can really start to get to you. I managed admiably, but when I got sick on the plane on the way home, I genuinely believed it was because I was just too full to take it any more. Turned out to be a nasty stomach flu, but the bright side of my enforced 3 days in a Guam hotel room was that no one wanted me to eat.
Tiananmen Square/ Central Beijing / the Forbidden City.
A little bit of old China remains in central Beijing. I got about 45 minutes to run through the Forbidden city...... It is so beautiful, on an enormous scale... made me a bit sad for all the construction work ripping down the city's past.
One of the old gates to the City
These poor guards were everywhere. I felt so sorry for them, they all looked about 12. It was pretty cold, too. Lucky I had headed to Super Savers, the thrift store on Pohnpei, and got myself a nice warm coat!
Tiananmen Square
Big Hall in the Forbidden City
Terribly arty photos of details on buildings in the Forbidden City
Yes, I am immature.
Chopsticks. I'm quite fond of chopsticks.
One thing I never considered was how useless a moat is in climates with winters cold enough to freeze water.
Accomodations and Hospitality
We were taken to a very expensive Peking Duck restaurant, Quanjude, and treated to 14 courses of duck. Yum.
The hotel was getting into the holiday spirit, spreading cheer and gritings everywhere
The Great Wall
I was told there would be no time to visit the Great Wall. In fact, pretty much the only free time we got was to walk around Tiananmen square and 45 mins in the Forbidden City. However, we turned up to the airport to fly to Harbin to find that our tickets had inexplicably been cancelled. I was devastated, Harbin sounds so cool. But on the up side, there was enough time to go to the Wall!!!!
And, you know, you can't see it from space.
The Wall is actually really, really steep, and I felt very proud of myself being the only member of our group that climbed it. Especially due to the dry freezing air that made my lungs feel they were liabe to explode. But then a man with one leg and crutches headed down past me as I was going up, and I was overtaken by a lady with a very small baby. Oh well.
