Beijing was Something Else

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Once again I found myself in China en route to somewhere-else: this time reunited with my daughter Ali, in June 2007. The taxi driver who took me into the city said, "There are five things you must see: Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heavenly Peace."

We met up in a Beijing backpackers’ hostel, which I had found on the web. It was as far from Socialist Realism as it is possible to get. Visually it was all red lanterns, fake cherry blossom and mini gold fish stream. Culturally it was full of charming and helpful staff, eggs and sausage, and people of all ages and nationalities come together at the far end of the Silk Route.

This is Ali's description of the city: " In one day you can walk through communist Beijing, old style Asia, and see the influence of modern commerce. One nice thing is that people just spout melodies in this city: on the subway, in the gardens. The man next to me in this café is displaying his own talent at Chinese opera as I type. I love it. It makes me feel less self conscious about my own spontaneous outbursts." I would add that they also burst into exercise whenever they feel stiff or restless. There is no self-consciousness at all; it must come from living in such a crowded environment.

Some things that took my fancy: - Being asked to rate the immigration officer at the airport on an electronic push-button device - The Communist-era Friendship Store and the Beijing Foreign Language Bookshop being still there for inspecting (but not worth purchasing in) - Old men trying to entice an escaped cage bird back into its prison - Girls in pretty summer dresses and saucy shorts - Everyone having just enough English to do their job "Why shall you come to Beijing?" "Please go out." "Bigger." "This way". Thus I rode in a taxi, failed to buy lunch in a closed restaurant, bought some slacks, inspected the Summer Palace. Beijing people are friendly, helpful and non-intrusive. I have fallen in love with all of them.

The taxi driver listed five compulsory things to do and I got all of them under my belt. And yes, the Great Wall was great. Many other things were great too. And best of all was my final day when I went to a less-visited neighbourhood to visit an old mosque and an old Buddhist temple. How friendly everyone in both those places were: staff, worshippers, beggars, and folks hanging out on the pavement all alike seemed just delighted that I had dropped by to visit. I was even given lunch (thick warm pancake with long bean and green chilli) straight from the monastery kitchen.

Video: Beijing Rapsody. (Actually the quality of this is disappointing and I want to have another go at uploading it soon.)

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Photos

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The taxi driver's five imperatives: Ali and me in Tianamen Square.

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The taxi driver's five imperatives: the Forbidden City.

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The taxi driver's five imperatives: the Great Wall.

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The taxi driver's five imperatives: at the Summer Palace.

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The taxi driver's five imperatives: the Temple of Heavenly Peace.

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The taxi driver's five imperatives did not include anything modern ... maybe he was missing something.

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Open the doors on other things that we saw in Beijing by watching the video.