Prelude - A Baptism of Fire

In which the journey starts and you are drawn in .....

To paraphrase Douglas Adams: Beijing is big - really big - you just won't believe how vastly, hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. You may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to Beijing.

Karen quickly sums up the population of Beijing - "Holy Crap! Look at all those people!"

17.4 Million is one of the official estimates of this city's population. Local opinion has the number a lot higher. Illegal migrants from the country side make the population higher again. This is like the entire population of Australia living in one city. Fifty percent of the Beijing population ride bicycles. The other fifty percent drive things that run over bicycles.

Bringing our bicycles to China was either a stroke of genius or the dumbest thing we have ever done. Primarily here for a conference,Karen and I have a plan to ride North of the city to the great wall after the conference is over. A chance meeting of Brisbane-based colleagues on our first day in Beijing results in a drive to the Great Wall at Badaling. This convinces us that our plans to ride to Badaling should be scrapped immediately - but more on this and the Great Wall in a later post.

On our second day in Beijing we decide to assemble the bicycles and ride to the Forbidden City. Assembly of the bikes is uneventful except that I break a saddle post clamp stud. This both challenges my spares planning paradigm, and introduces some of the locals who have gathered to watch to some colourful Australian language.

Assembly and repairs complete, we embark on our journey to the Forbidden City. This proves to be both a Navigator's Nightmare and a minor peril to life and limb. For a full treatment of these perils see "Tips for Cycling in Beijing" . In summary: Cyclists are at the rock bottom of the Beijing vehicle food chain. There are dedicated Bicycle Lanes on all Beijing roads, but their use is not exclusively for bicycles all travelling in the same direction. The locals approach cycling with a detached assurance that belies its hazards. Many cyclist have no peripheral awareness. They cross against lights. Many meander constantly while others doggedly hold their line against all oncomers. None use lights after dark. If it wasn't for the humble bicycle the population of Beijing would likely be far higher .....

After a two and a half hour map reading fiasco in which sixth senses are enhanced and Sino-Australian relations are moderately bruised, we arrive at the Forbidden City. Karen discovers that bicycle cleats and squat toilets are a bad match. The metal cleats on bike shoes just don't provide enough grip on the tiled foot pedestals. Mental images of the consequences of this are deeply disturbing.

The Forbidden City is impressive. Like many impressive things, its stories invoke all of the basic emotions, but in the case of the Forbidden City mainly awe. It is crowded. Crowd etiquette in Beijing is one of the world's prime improvement opportunities.

Tiananmen Square is disappointing. I am disappointed because it is not actually square (Tianamen Oblong is far more accurate). Karen is disappointed because there is no information on the role of the square in the numerous revolutions, protests and demonstrations that have defined modern China. The only source of knowledge at the square itself we assume to be Mao's Mausoleum. This is closed on Mondays. Today is Monday.


Anyway - here is a photo to get things started.

---

---