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Published: September 28th 2012
CHINA: Xian by Police Escort...The Chain of Command.
Upstairs Hotpot Restaurant...the
"Best in Beijing" they said...other patrons passing and bowing to our table...not to others that I can see.
Reunion for my Aussie mate's partner...the one whose parents were Professors of Fine Arts...who was sent 1,000 kms from her family in the Cultural Revolution...for re-education...lived in caves...her stories bitter and chilling.
Our guest tonight...one of the others living in those caves...then at the bottom of the cultural heap.
Not now.
Now he is a General.
Guess the patrons are bowing to him!
Chief Fitness Instructor of the Beijing Police...Retired All China Boxing Champion...even has his own T.V. show...talk about reversal of fortunes.
Life tentative during the Cultural Revolution...then cream rising when the waters are still...the resilience of humanity.
Pity he has no English...or I little Chinese...he'd have some cracker stories to tell.
"You are not to drink with him" our friend demands
. "He's just had a heart operation and he's not allowed to drink alcohol." The General seemed to take this as a cue...orders some beers...friend disapproving...General resolute...twinkle in his eye...wait-staff hovering & eager for his instruction.
Shot glasses arrive...friend vocal
"Don't drink with him"...mate giggling...wait-staff pouring...General directing
..."Gumbay"...glasses refilled...other tables indicating approval.
HOLD IT...HOLD IT RIGHT THERE
Before you start thinking a couple of Aussies are taking advantage of an old heart patient...as an excuse for a piss-up...THINK AGAIN.
This was a serious cultural event...with the dignity dictated by traditions of the ages...toasting with an eminent gentleman...bad manners to refuse...intentions pure...always genteel.
After all...it is tradition to have a drink...before you get down to business.
Just good manners in my book!
The General made some calls on his mobile...our friend announcing
"He has arranged a Police escort for you in Xian. Wherever you go in Xian...you will have a Police escort!!!" Rising...raising our glasses
..."To you...Gumbay"...just good manners!
"Please don't drink anymore with him. You'll kill him. He's got to be at the T.V. Station early in the morning...his Show is live at 8 a.m." "*!&%!(BADWIDTH)%!"(MISSING) He hugged us heartily and long when we left...the hug of men who had not known each other before...but consequent on sharing the power of Beijing Water...sworn friends for life...great night!
Hope he's O.K. in the morning!!!
Xian...Entering a Disaster Zone My first taste of Xian...the
ancient capital of China...the home of the Qin Terracotta Warriors...was the taste of smoke...reminded me of bushfires in OZ.
But this was not from bushfires.
Xian is in a basin in central China...ringed by mountains...the pollution from coal fires of industry...and for cooking by the populous...trapped and hovering over the basin...smothering Xian...no winds to clear it away.
It had been like this for 3 months.
The Government had declared it a Disaster area.
This was early 2003.
Thick smokey fog omnipresent...blue sky...not breaking through this trip.
The talk then was that Xian was to be rebuilt...a new city to be constructed...into which the populous would move...leaving Xian as a "Ghost Town".
I've been to Xian several times since then. I can assure you Xian is still occupied...and open for business.
I guess the paranoia present during my first trip...replaced by
"getting used to"...the severe pollution issues in this part of the World.
The Chain of Command Pauline (David's wife) was our mentor, guide & interpreter for my first trip to Xian...no better person than her to keep three Aussies under control...just the four of us.
Walking
WATERSLIDE FUNPARK
Reminded me of Bladerunnerfrom our hotel to the Moslem Quarter...pass a waterslide fun park...dismantled as it's Winter...smog enveloping the structures...reminded me of Bladerunner.
Pauline was being tested...ringing over & over...Where is our Police escort?...Woman answering refusing to put her through...to Mr Shu.
You see the General had arranged our Police escort from Beijing...with Mr Shu from Xian...but at the time of the General's call...Mr Shu was in Inner Mongolia!
So Mr Shu...
arranged with Mr Han (who was in Xian)...
who arranged with Mr Song...
who supposedly arranged a driver for our visit.
One of my mates contacted his partner in Beijing...who must have contacted her friend...the General.
At 6.30pm Mr Han arrived at our hotel...invitation to dinner
..."I am your host in Xian...and here is my assistant...Mr Song"...both little English...Pauline interpreting throughout.
Four of us into a plush black Buick...Mr Song driving...not enough room for our host...he'll catch a taxi...shouldn't it be the other way round?
Somehow Mr Han beat us to the restaurant...upstairs, large private room...two pretty girls serving.
Mr Han asks if we like beer...nod...in come both girls each carrying a large box of longnecks with a label
of a wolf...my favourite Chinese beer..."Hans".
Then a crate of white spirits...wooohh...there's only six of us.
"He says we should have a few drinks...before we talk business." "Hang on...Who does he think we are?" "He has been told you are important businessmen. Mr Han is looking for investors for a shopping centre...and..." "Wow...glad of the warning...Time for another toast Mr Han?" Mr Han expressing concern...as we are not used to white spirits...concern we can't handle it...me expressing Aussies are tough...he eventually suggesting we stop...for his sake!
He hugged us heartily and long when we left...the hug of men who had not known each other before...but consequent on sharing the power of Xian Water...sworn friends for life...great night!
And in his wallet...I.D. seen by Pauline...
Mr Han was also a Cop!!! The driver arranged for the next day did not arrive...waited from 9.30 to 10.50...so Pauline walked outside...and hired a taxi for the day.
Mr Han has probably guessed we are not important businessmen after all!.
Along the old city walls...out of the city...into a flat vista with neat small hills...all man made...some bigger than others...all tombs...heaps
of them in the hinterland.
35 kms E of Xian...to the top of a large hill...the unexcavated tomb of the First Emperor of China...Qin Shihuang...the smog making visibility difficult.
Then some kms to an edge of this massive tomb complex...the extent for discovery by succeeding generations...to the section discovered in 1974...the Qin Terracotta Warriors.
On my next visit...massive changes to the complex evident...and more excavated.
Lunch in a lonely restaurant...opposite the Banpo Neolithic Village...the floors thick covering of animal fat...quite slippery. They overcharge Pauline...its the chicken dish that was recommended by the driver...interesting watching a Chinese handle this...probably happened as she's with three Westerners.
We cross the road...at the ticket office to enter the Neolithic Village...suddenly concern the driver is having a smoke with the restaurant staff.
One mate has an expensive terracotta warrior in the boot of the taxi...made from clay from the tomb...it cost more than the taxi for the day...
What?...we don't trust the driver...back into the taxi...going back early...your kidding!
The chicken started kicking me in my guts...I need a toilet...driver making me suffer by driving around the circumference of the Xian city wall before dropping me at
the hotel...excruciating.
He was waiting at the hotel when we returned...like a whipped puppy...tail between his legs.
It was Mr Song...begging forgiveness.
I guess my mate had chatted to his partner...she in Beijing...must have let slip our driver had not turned up...must have told the General.
The General...
ripped into Mr Shu...
who ripped into Mr Han...
who ripped into Mr Song...
who ripped into the driver...who we never met as it turned out.
"I will take you where ever you wish to go...I am at your service for the rest of your visit...I will not let you down again"...he pleaded.
But my friends were not interested...didn't trust him...too much of a hassle waiting for a driver who does not turn up.
Me not so sure...never kick a gift horse...Nah
"You are a busy man...we can look after ourselves. But we are leaving for Beijing in three days...how about you take us to the Airport when we leave?" He couldn't be happier...my friends still reticent...come on guys...he'll be in the shit if he doesn't help us somehow...OK...All agreed...I'll give you the details.
Xian was fantastic...beginning of the Silk Road.
Xianyang half size Han Terracotta warriors...hundreds hidden in cabinets...side room...photos not allowed...could make a fortune if displayed appropriately.
Maoling...the tomb of a mighty General...with the massive hill tomb of his Emperor behind.
Liguan village for handmade noodles...the peasant chef...a celebrity for the day.
Prince Yide's tomb...the Emperor's son exiled by Empress Wu...for gossiping about her...the Emperor defying her...by building a lavish tomb for his son...with frescoes of his life.
Cave dwellings...cut into loess cliffs...cool in Summer...warm in Winter...satellite dishes & TVs of course.
The massive tomb complex of Empress Wu and her Emperor...never opened...massive treasures expected.
Wandering the Moslem Quarter...life basic but real.
The oldest Museum in the World...opened in 1056...10 years before William the Conqueror was invading Britain...in Xian..."the Forest of Stelae"...a repository of stone tablets...the Analects of Confucius...inspiring my soul.
And my favourite museum in China...the Shaanxi Museum...treasures from antiquity...Neolithic, Paleolithic, Qin, Han, Tang, Ming, Yuan Dynasty treasures...to name a few.
Even met the Oldest Taxi Driver in the World...lodged with Guiness Book of Records...77 years old...drives 16 hours a day...my favourite celebrity.
Taxi drivers have to retire
at age 59...but his records got lost or mixed up.
When found out...he was arrested...which hit the newspapers...which made him famous...thus he was left alone...still driving.
And when we were ready to leave Xian...Mr Song was waiting...and this time he had a driver!
Leads us out of the hotel...just the four of us...one backpack each...to the vehicle.
You are kidding...talk about overkill...a full size bus...for four of us...felt weird as we left Xian...past hills...all tombs...past smoke stacks belching...through the pollution that is Xian...one constant in all my visits.
But looking through the heavy air...the magic of Xian...from under the ground...treasures, treasures and more treasures...gotta luv it.
And then I saw something in National Geographic...led me to return...and became a member of a Chinese family...but that's another story.
Relax & Enjoy,
Dancing Dave
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nancic123
Nanci and David Curry
Love this Blog!
And I love your unique writing style! So, did The General make it on time to his TV show? I've never seen smog as bad as your picture in Xian! So, where to next? Nanci