** CHINESE EXPERIENCES **
** BEIJING and the GREAT WALL **
This is the 9 November 2002 Edition of
this page. It'll, slowly, be transcribed from my diary-like entries!
8 September 2001 - Saturday
So it's about 9.30 in the morning, I've landed, been 'processed', overnight I've put my watch
forwards several hours, been met at the airport by a very friendly and considerate guide (for
whole tour!) who called herself LUCY (to make it easy for us!). Now we catch a bus for the
15-mile route to our hotel. This should be a most unusual set of experiences!!.
Once there, I dozily mooched around my room, aimlessly, until I went for some walks to
different Park areas. Then I joined the complete group for some Beijing sightseeing with
LUCY taking us on one SPECIAL visit - to the TEMPLE OF HEAVEN, which was about
one hour's drive from the hotel! Having arrived there, I took many photos (some to be
inserted here later) and got the FEEL of the place. Great!!
I chatted with several people individually - and noticeably LUCY - making friends much
better than usual. Good job that we are using my language (English) rather than hers (Chinese)!!
On the way back to the hotel, we called for 'dinner' ('evening meal' by my terminology!) at a
real CHINESE restaurant, unsuccessfully trying the chopsticks for a serious first-go at my
'feasibility study' of these tools. Some managed OK, but I and several others DIDN'T !! For
me, this 'feasibilty study' proved to be an abysmal failure. A few succeeded - in part. With
the VERY HOT SPICES, I found that COLD DRINKS provided the solution. After an evening
and afternoon mileage (in coaches) of about 50 miles, I checked back into my room for a rest -
and hopefully, a good night's sleep.
9 September 2001 - Sunday
A curious night causing me 'multiple-wakeups' - and, not wishing to 'waste any of this time',
I did multiple-note-writing for my records!! I was also trying to 'sleep-off' my 'sleep-deficit' (jet-
'advance' being the analogue of jet-lag)
from my flight to China!!! My expected alarm awaoke me at 3.33am INCORRECTLY. After more
cat-napping, I eventually got up before the 7.00 alarm-phone went off at 7.05am.. After, then, dutifully
'processing' myself, I then went down for a multi-stage buffet breakfast. I shared my breakfast table
with some English people from a previous CTS (China Travel Service) tour.They had been approximately
where I was going to go!
After that pleasantly confusing discussion (in which the main topic was the 'proportion of tips for each
guide, driver etc') I went on a solo walk in a park opposite the hotel, getting back in time to join other
members of our group (later-risers than myself) as they boarded the coach just before 8.30am..
We left and visited, by coach, the FORBIDDEN CITY for long walks and a photo expedition around the
place. LUCY gave us good instructions about where and when to meet her EACH TIME - her attention
to detail being phenomenal, kind and personal!! Being in CHINA with her was to be a great pleasure. I always
found enough SHADE, and together with my MERLIN'S hat from the PERUVIAN trip, I could always
prevent getting sunburned.
The FORBIDDEN CITY was where the early Emperors, with their 'armed guards' prohibited the
entrance of the commoners. Today, everyone is able to enjoy the spectacular BEAUTY of the very
extensive place. Generally, each GATE, PATH and BRIDGE (even then) had THREE options -
there was the CENTRAL one (for the Emperor!), the LEFT one (for important people) and the
RIGHT one (for relations etc).
This took the whole of the morning to cover, and it was universally agreed to be a fabulous place to
visit! Stories of the Emperor's multiplicity of concubines, and the resulting hoards of children, were given -
and made a very interesting time. Preferences between concubines, the children and so on, were only
natural. It was an advantage to be born a BOY!!
After this, we got on the coach to take us to JUNGSHAN PARK (more photos and walks) where we
walked higher up to other edifices.
NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!.
I had some RICKSHAW rides to the Hutong alleys and
backlanes. These are from the OLDER, POORER parts of BEIJING - and make a wonderful vision of 'times-past'.
They will ALL eventually go!! I shared the rickshaw with the only other 'SINGLE' person in our 'group'. We had a
great Fleet of these CYCLE RICKSHAWS to get us all to experience this form of transport (two for each 'craft').
Then we left and walked to the 'dock' on HOUHAI LAKE for an evening 'cruise' with 10 people in EACH of
three boats. 30 was the size of our 'party' (or 'group') and the three boats (each with its own stock of
mineral water, pop corn, nuts and dates and MUSICIAN) departed individually and regrouped on the lake.
Each boat had its musician seated in the bow ('up front' to us landlubbers!), our one having a girl playing a
two-stringed violin - as did another boat. The third boat had a sort of guitar-like instrument (don't know what
it was called, but it was 'plucked'). That third boat joined us first - when our solo-violinist went into duet-mode
playing some of the most exotic oriental music!!
Then the other violinist's boat joined us for a trio of these delightful girls playing even MORE delightful music. We
all lit candles which were put into little paper rafts which we then placed on the lake as it glided slowly by. The sight
of these three musical boats leaving a trail of candles in the still, dark evening on this serene lake was as attractive and
'romantic' from our on-board positions as well as from the shores of the lake!! (LUCY, our guide, said this is a thing
that ONLY the RICH used to do - but is a custom that has been borrowed for visitors to enjoy! And we DID!)
The boat-ride took us to the restaurant for our evening meal - for a PEKING DUCK DINNER. A peculiar over-
rated meal, the 'Peking Duck', which had virtually NO MEAT!! True, there were plenty of vegetables - with
Chinese and Tropical components. There was a good 'atmosphere' at our table, Judy and I sitting together again.
She hails from the Derbyshire/Yorkshire border area. I'd had the mid-day meal and the RICKSHAW ride with
her too! After the evening meal, we caught the coach back to our hotel.
In my own room, reviewing the day and making my own notes on it, I also did some preparations for tomorrow's
long day which includes THE GREAT WALL. I 'turned in' at about 11pm after some TV browsing.
10 September 2001 - Monday
Some early cat-napping started the night's progress - but I slept WELL after that - until the 6.30am alarm call. Then I
'upped & readied' for todays trips, and later (at 7am) went into breakfast - some already being there!! I sat next to
Judy and chatted before each of us returned to our own rooms ready for the 8am coach to the GREAT WALL at
Mutianyu!!
We stopped at a factory making Worcester-like-porcelain Vases with a multilayered copper-based fiddly-workmanship
structure.On the coach to the foot of the 'Great Wall', I travelled solo .. and, from there, caught a CHAIRLIFT to the
nearest part of the wall (this time sharing with Judy). The coach ride had been about 39miles (63 Km) and the chair-lift
about 0.7miles.!
I walked on and photographed the wall in BOTH directions - mostly in the UP direction!!!
Judy and I took each other's photos, each with the respective subject's camera (35mm) [After Judy had brought hers
back into service with new batteries!]
Down, off the slopes of the GREAT WALL, we hurried down to catch our coach (which should be waiting) and
encountered (or 'got tangled up with'!) a barrage of the Chinese equivalent of the RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
round of THE GLADIATORS. Having. successfully side-stepped, or otherwise avoided, one or two of the
female gladiators, I was eventually caught (physically) by persistent but nice women (and I was going DOWNHILL!)
I was dragged into their respective (and respectable) sales-shacks between the GREAT WALL and our coach
departure/assembly point. After several such shacks, I began to learn WHAT was available and the prices that
they were ASKING - and what I could OFFER. It is very much a bargaining situation!! Eventually, I purchased
10 photo-cards and two tee-shirts (talked 'well-down') of:
(a) The Great Wall
(b) Beijing Olympics 2008
So now I'm going to be a walking bill-board for the next six or seven years!! Each Tee-shirt has already got me
into many conversations in the UK and elsewhere since!
I took the COACH back, through traffic, to TIANENMEN SQUARE - where I went on a multi-photo-shooting
trail, passing Judy on my way. I had expected an hour, but planned to be back in three-quarters of an hour, so
as not to keep others waiting. Unfortunately, as I strolled across the square back to the Group, our courier came
running towards me, asking "had I got lost?" but I told her my understanding of the departure time. [It was a
mistaken, unfortunate, translation to the English by her!]. I had gone OUT of the Square (the BIGGEST in the
WORLD) photographing all-and-sundry exitting by the North West Corner and underpass to get a close-up
of ex-Chairman MAO. This is where the locals go!! I wanted to be with them! I apologised to our female
guide and explained what I had been doing.
We walked back to the coach, travelled back to the Hotel (about 3 miles), had a quick CHANGE in our rooms
for a brilliant show (not acrobats & gymnasts as forecast) - which was GREAT with BALANCERS and JUGGLERS
(including young girls and lads) at the BEIJING CHAO-YANG OPERA PLAZA, all for 100Yuans! I bought
a programme for 20Yuans extra, which will help me to illustrate this chapter of the CHINA STORY.
First, just a small area of the restaurant attached....
There were many 'individual' and small-group acts, like...
...and sometimes there was a whole-stage full!!
It was a great show, with great dignity, music and humour.
After the show when I was back in my room, I missed the meals that other went to - as I ate
quite a delicious lot at the SHOW!! I got my notes up-to-date and prepared for tomorrow.
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