Big City / Small World

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The Peoples Republic of China is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world’s population. In Beijing, the massive historical capital, there are over 17 million.

Princes Risborough, the town I grew up in, is a civil parish within the Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Population: "3 rather mangy cows, a daschund called Colin and a hen in its late 40s..." (Blackadder the Third, 1987).

It did therefore prove somewhat of a shock then when I ran into a couple from my hometown in a small coffee house in the Forbidden City, thus proving that the world is indeed small... And that, no matter how hard you try, there is no escaping your roots! Running into people from my home town was nearly as strange an experience as wandering around the vast, inhuman centre of Beijing, Tiananmen Square only a few hours earlier, staring at a pickled dictator in the Chairman Mao Mausoleum after going through countless security checks and being constantly badgered into buying a Soviet Military Winter hat on the square outside...

Still, Beijing really is the place to be as a tourist in China. There is so much to see and do that even in just under a week I still only really manage to see some of the highlights...

One of these highlights is the Summer Palace, a series of beautiful gardens and temples surrounding the vast (and frozen over) Kumming Lake. A number of crazy locals’ nonchalantly wander across the frozen ice, despite the fact that there are clearly stretches of water that are not fully frozen... One couple try to encourage me to join them on the lake... In the true spirit of independent travel and rock n roll I decline and point out that none of us are insured for that...

And The Great Wall is of course fantastic and just about the most impressive thing I have ever seen. The trip proves be particularly exciting given that, after being on the wall for just over 3 hours and still being somewhat awe struck, I loose track of time and have to sprint across the wall in order to catch a ski lift down to regroup with the other people on my tour. Dashing across the wall, often spinning across the ice and nearly skittling a German couple in the process, I narrowly avoided missing a good but rather overpriced meal and a coach back to the City...

The 798 Art District, set on a former military-industrial site is pretty cool and after spending most of the week taking in the history, it’s interesting to see some Chinese art... And a Transformer.

But perhaps the real highlight of my time in Beijing is the Happy Dragon, a great hostel where I meet some great people, drink too much rice wine and eat too much Hot Pot...

On the final night, as I prepared to take the overnight train to Xian, a beer in my hand, staff dishing out free Dumplings and the first bellowing of karaoke rumbling across the packed bar I consider jibbing off my train and staying an extra night until someone sensibly utters the words "don’t miss your train for beer"...

Good advice which I heed. But bloody difficult when you have a 12 hour train journey on a hard sleeper surrounded by snoring Chinese poker players to look forward to...

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