Beijing

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After an overnight train trip from Xi'an I arrived at Beijing West Train Station and wandered around for an hour looking for the subway station, only to discover that the subway runs from Beijing Train Station, not Beijing West Train Station. This was a concern, as prior to leaving Shanghai for Xi'an, I had sat down and mapped out my way to the hostel I had booked according to the subway lines. After some futile attempts at communicating with taxi drivers and stall merchants, I spotted a group of university aged people and decided that one of them might have some English skills, so I went to ask them where the nearest subway station was located, only to discover that it was their first time in Beijing too. We learned that we were heading in roughly the same direction, so we all caught a bus that would take us to Peking University, which I figured my hostel would be near, seeing as it was called 'Peking Uni International Hostel'. After about ten minutes of traveling on the bus, I spotted an entrance sign for a subway station, so I gathered my things and alighted at the next stop, finally feeling like I was actually going to get to the hostel.

Two hours after I had arrived in Beijing, I was finally sitting in the foyer of the hostel. The hostel was essentially the living quarters for numerous university students and the rooms were akin to stepping into a sty that a pig had spent a good deal of its time trying to make as filthy as possible. I made an immediate decision that I would only be spending the one night at this appalling establishment. There was one positive aspect, however, as the hostel was located quite close to the Summer Palace, which was one of the sights I had on my list of things to visit.

The day we visited the Summer Palace we were blessed with a rare day of blue sky (after nearly two weeks in this gray city of construction, we have only seen the sky twice. Every other day the air has been so thick with pollution that one cannot see the length of a city block. In fact, the sun generally looks like a rotting orange as it makes its way on its ever westward journey). This clear day allowed us to see some sweeping views of the city, mountain ranges and the grounds of the palace itslef, which consist of an enormous lake and many beautiful imperial buildings.

On our second day in Beijing we moved to the Far East International Hostel, which was located in a hutong (the small alleys that characterise Beijing) to the south-west of Tian'anmen Square. This hostel was a welcome change, with large and comfy beds (the beds at the aforementioned hovel were simply a sheet over a plank of wood), a huge coffee bar which showed movies every night and an excellent cafe which served affordable and delicious meals. Incredibly, this hostel cost less to stay at than the atrocious hostel where we spent our first night. It was a terrific experience staying in the hutongs, as our meanderings enabled us to see the communal way of life that so many people in this city share, whether it be playing Chinese Chess on the side of the road or helping your neighbour do some repair work. Walking in the hutongs was one of the highlights of my time in Beijing.

Our visit to the Forbidden City was quite enjoyable, thanks largely to the audio guides that we hired. We learnt so much about the way of life of the imperial families of the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as Empress Cixi's corrupt reign. She decked out the Summer Palace with funds set aside for the naval budget, although she did have a marble boat constructed on the lake at the Summer Palace. Nevermind the fact that it doesn't sail. Empress Cixi also insisted that she wear a pair of new silk socks every day, but these socks took many days to make, so she employed 3000 seamstresses to ensure she had her silk socks ready for their one day of wear (she never wore any pair more than once). The marble balustrades and building designs were all striking and I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer size of the complex. We spent hours wandering the grounds, temples and living quarters and probably only saw a quarter of the complex. The hall of clocks and watches was also quite interesting, as the designs of the clocks that were presented as gifts to the imperial family were so ornate, intricate and impressive. The only disappointing aspect of our visit was that the main building of the Forbidden City (which, once upon a time, no other building in Beijing was allowed to be higher than) was undergoing renovations in preparation for the Olympic Games, as is much of Beijing itself. In fact, walking around the city of Beijing is like being an ant walking amongst a construction site.

Another interesting thing we saw during our time here was the lowering of the Chinese flag that takes place at 6:15 every night at the northern end of Tian'anmen Square (It also takes place, in reverse, at 6:15 in the morning, but we never roused from our slumber early enough to see it). Roads are blocked for this to take place, as the guards emerge from the Forbidden City and make their way across to the flag pole. It is amazing watching them do this, as they are trained to walk at a pace of 108 steps per minute at a stride length of 75cm. Their presicion is phenomenal. What was a little disconcerting, however, was that the guard standing next us had a fire extinguisher at the ready in case anyone decided to burn themselves as a form of protest. We later discovered that there were riots in Lhasa that same day, so a protest wasn't an unrealistic possibility. How those riots were portrayed in the Chinese media is another story altogether. Apparently, there were only 13 deaths, it was masterminded by the Dalai Lama to draw negative attention in the lead up to the Olympic Games, the police used significant restraint and the military weren't involved, except for helping with the clean up of the city. The media also stated that over 100 people surrendered of their own volition. As I know you are aware, these descriptions do not match what the foreign media was reporting and it became abundantly clear just how much the Chinese government controls the information that is available to the citizens of China. There are a few thousand Internet police who determine exactly what sites can be accessed, with the BBC being one site which is blocked. Freedom of information and speech is just not a possibility in China. Whilst we have been in Beijing, I have seen two people dragged off the footpath and unceremoniously thrown into the back of a police van. One of these men appeared to simply be selling kites at Tian'anmen Square, as do many other people. The young man was a blubbering mess as he was manhandled towards the nearest police van, pleading with the officers. Considering the number of executions that take place every day in China, I could understand his considerable distress. Military and police presence is everywhere. The other day as I was walking down a street reading a map, I had a man with a rifle emerge from a van who curtly instructed me to change my path and go around the other side of the van. As much as I have enjoyed my time in China, I have witnessed a darker element whilst in Beijing. When I have seen people taken from the street, the passers by all look at their feet and scurry away, not daring to draw the ire of the unsmiling men with the weapons.

Anyway, getting back onto more positive things, our visit to the Great Wall of China was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The day we had originally planned to go we were trapped indoors by a sandstorm that was whipped up by the winds over the encroaching Gobi Desert (desertification is huge problem here, with one sandstorm a couple of years ago dumping over 300,000 tonnes of dust on Beijing). Whether this kept tourists at bay the following day, I'm not sure, but we had entire sections of the wall to ourselves, which was something I had not expected. Walking along the wall and seeing it snake its way over the hills and through the valleys was a wonderful experience. I know it seems strange, considering it's just a wall, but I woke up the next morning with a real buzz, knowing that I had been to the Great Wall of China and walked along it.

We have also visited the Temple of Heaven, where one of the structures was designed with everything revolving around the number nine (nine was considered a very holy number, as odd numbers were considered holy and 9 is the highest single digit odd number...bored yet?). The floor of the structure consisted of nine concentric circles, with the innermost circle being made up of nine marble slabs, the next circle consisting of 18 marble slabs, etc.

On the second of our 'no pollution' days, we made our way out to the Olympic venues to have a look at the new National Stadium, which is more commonly known as 'The Bird's Nest'. One look at its amazing design and you see why it has this moniker. The outside 'nest' supports itself, meaning that no seat has an obstructed view of the arena. Opposite this stadium is the National Aquatics Centre, which has the appearance of an enormous, bulbous ice cube. The material it is made from is flexible, so it should withstand even an earthquake's attempts to dislodge its joints. We had hoped to get to the new Forest Park that they have built to the north of the stadia, but most of the area is still blocked off as it is still a working construction site. I'm sure it will look amazing by the time of the opening ceremony.

Today we meet the other people who will be on our Trans-Mongolian train adventure. Obtaining our Mongolian visas from the embassy in Beijing was like stepping into a struggling circus sideshow. We arrived early one afternoon to discover that they close at 11:00 in the morning, so we returned the next day, queued, got to the front of the line and were then told that we needed a form. We figured they would have them there and that was what we were lining up for, but the guy just grunted and pointed to a sign of the website address of the embassy, which, we deduced, was where we obtained the application form. Thankfully, a tourist from England had a spare form (he had the same problem the day before) and gave it to us. We now just needed another form, but they refused to photocopy one for us! When we offered to pay money for the photocopying, suddenly they were willing to oblige. So, we filled out the forms with the pens provided and lined up again. Whilst in line I realised that there was an instruction to complete the forms in black ink, but the pens they provided were blue! Anyway, we pressed on and then discovered that you don't pay for the visa at the embassy, instead you have to go to a specific branch of the Bank of China where they get a commission for every payment! Adding to the complications, the map the embassy had on display of how to get to the bank had the north arrow actually pointing south! Eventually, we got through the process and picked up our visas on the next business day, which was a huge relief.

I am now really looking forward to getting into the Mongolian countryside and seeing grass and clear sky for the first time in weeks. I am not sure how much Internet access I will have in Mongolia and I may not be able to write again until I'm in Moscow or St Petersburg. When I do write again, hopefully I'll have some interesting tales to tell.

Bronson

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