Beijing Sightseeing In Detail

I’m back at the hotel after a nice dinner at Annie’s, an Italian restaurant here in the heart of Chinese Food land. Having had Chinese food for dinner and lunch and knowing I’d have it Monday night I chose to take a break from it, much to Kelly’s amusement. It did give me a chance to get a look at the city as I rode in the taxi, which was nice.

Today’s tour was the highlight. I was to meet the driver in the hotel lobby at 8:10 this morning. I expected to see a crowd there, too, but I was the only one touring at my hotel. The driver whisked me off to the Grand Hyatt Beijing, where I met up with the rest of the group. We departed for Tiannamen Square around 9 AM.

There were 12 of us in the tour group. I was a bit surprised to find I was the only American. With me were three Canadian girls from Toronto, one Brit expat now living in Hong Kong, a Kenyan man, and two couples each from Spain, England, and an undetermined Eurporean country, perhaps Germany. We piled into the tour bus and made the quick trip over to Tiannmen Square from the Hyatt.

It was the first of the year’s sessions of the People’s Congress and our tour guide, John, said we may not be able to walk through the square as a result, since it neighbors the Congress building. Aside from a handful of soldiers and a few extra policemen the square looked open for business. I snapped a few pictures of the surrounding buildings but there is little way of capturing the expanse of the square from one camera on the ground. It truly is huge. Over a million people can stand in the square at once.

It felt surreal standing in the same square where the democracy protests took place in 1989. While it seemed at the time that the protests were a failure, you could never tell it from the look of China. The phenomenal growth of the past decade has made China a place Mao would never recognize. Capitalism is absolutely the name of the game here. I was reminded that Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control ten years ago. At the time I reasoned that Hong Kong would change China before China changed Hong Kong. It looks like I was correct.

We walked over to the Forbidden City, where the portrait of Mao hangs over the Meridian Gate entrance. It remains the only picture of Mao I’ve seen in China, with the exception of the Chinese currency, the yuan. With so much to see on our tour, we typically had only time to take pictures of each destination. Our tour of the Forbidden city, with its over 9,000 rooms, was mainly limited to those buildings on the path from the entrance to the exit.

We were presented with the first of many fake buildings in the Forbidden City. China is racing to prepare the city for next year’s Olympic games. Thus, construction projects are everywhere. Most of the historic sites are also being renovated, such as the Emperor’s home. This huge building was under scaffolding and tarps painted like the front of the building. I joked that this picture looked just like the picture in the tour guide. It was a recurring theme during each of our site visits.

In the middle of the Forbidden City the drizzle turned into a light rain. I regretted not stopping at the stand near the entrance to pick up a complimentary umbrella. It would be a while before I got another chance to get an umbrella. The walk through the rain limited my will to wander and I spent some time just looking for a roof to stand under.

Near the exit of the Forbidden City we stopped in a gift shop for some hot tea and a break. The gifts were outrageously expensive, so I opted for a cheap umbrella and a free cup of tea. It gave me a chance to meet the other tourists.

The Kenyan gentleman kept steering himself over to me and finally introduced himself as Linus N. Ruuju, a tour guide director from Nairobi. He was eagar to find tourists interested in a Kenyan safari and talked it up repeatedly. He fingered me as being an “agressive businessman” and soon pitched partnering with him. “If you can find me a group of clients, Mark,” he whispered, “I will set you up for free.” I nodded politely and wondered how legit he was. I decided he was genuine, though. If you’re ready to tour Kenya, give Linus a call at Sierra Tours And Safaris and tell him I sent ya.

As we were about to leave the gift shop, another large group arrived and promptly all began smoking. Italians, I guessed. As the shop filled with clouds of smoke, the Canadians and I were really appreciating the realtive lack of smoking in North America.

Off we went to the Temple of Heaven, today’s only destination without a “fake” building. We saw the temples the Emperor had built and ascended up their slippery marble steps. The crowds were not nearly as large as at the Forbidden City, which was a welcome change, though there were a few large groups. I recognized an older Vietnamese tour group as one we had seen at the Forbidden City. They seemed to stare at me a bit longer than others, and not always a kind look. I didn’t get that vibe from any of the Chinese I’ve met here.

We departed the Temple of Heaven bound for lunch. Few things are as surreal as driving through China in a bus with fogged-up windows. Trying to make sense of what I saw through the rain and the window was a challenge. While most of my fellow tourists snoozed, I happened to look up in time to see a sight I completely did not expect: a Beijing Home Depot. In my short time here I have not seen one single-family home, so this seems like an unlikely place for the hardware superstore. I wish I’d had a chance to go inside but the bus kept rolling.

Yet another sign of American influence was the multitude of Starbucks cups I saw being carried around the Forbidden City. I knew one was there but aside from the cups I never saw sign of it. Say what you will about the ubiquitous Starbucks, its good to have good coffee in a country saturated with green tea.

Lunch was at a place across town. Our large group didn’t fit at the first table we got so we got a larger room upstairs. Dinner was served on a lazy Susan and was quickly devoured by our walk-weary tourists. We spent the remaining time getting to know one another before our tour guide reappeared. We then visited the “washrooms,” which were not at all up to Western standards. Some ladies decided to skip it.

After lunch we stopped into the pearl store next door, run by the PRC government, where we watched as an oyster was harvested for pearls. We were then whisked upstairs to a glittering showroom where young, bored saleswomen stood over cases of overpriced pearl jewelry. I happened upon some interesting books near the waiting area: paperback biographies of Western leaders like George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Colin Powell, and (inexplicably) Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. From thumbing through the Bush and Clinton biographies I was impressed at how balanced – even friendly – they seemed to be. As others spotted the books it began a political discussion where we all compared notes about our governments. It was a highlight of my day.

As we were now wet and cold from the walking, we looked forward to the Summer Palace, if summer in name only. Yet another fake building began the tour, but it did get interesting. The Long Corridor was indeed long – a half-mile of covered walkway near the shore of a large and picturesque lake. It showed it was good to be king ( or emperor/empress).

We mostly snoozed on the bus ride back. I was hoping to take a group picture at the tour’s end but it ended a bit abruptly for me. I squinted thorugh the fogged window to see my hotel facing me: the driver was dropping me off before everyone else! I regretfully picked up my things and bade everyone farewell. Perhaps I’ll see them at the start of tomorrow’s trip to the Great Wall.

I came back to the hotel and took a 90 minute nap before heading out to dinner. I ate at Annie’s and returned through the beginning snow. It shows no sign of stopping so tomorrow’s trip to the Wall could be quite interesting. I’m told the Wall is a tough climb when its clear and dry. In the snow it will likely be damn well impossible. Even so, how many chances do I get to see this amazing architecture? I’ve come this far, I’ll brave whatever I need to.

Look for more tomorrow. Now, bed.

Beijing Sightseeing

I did one of the Panda tours today, seeing the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace. While there were great things to see, the weather was more Londonish than Beijing, with a bone-chilling drizzle. Some of the main buildings at the sites were closed for renovations, leaving just a picture covering scaffolding. By the time we got to the Summer Palace the whole ridiculousness of traveling to look at a picture of a building became hysterical.

See the day’s sights (and yesterday’s) in my March gallery, brought to you by ssh, rsync, and 90RMB/day high-speed internet.

Its 9:20 PM Saturday night here and I’m out to get some food. It will be my first solo taxi outing. Wish me luck.

Army Secretary Resigns

Army Secretary Francis Harvey has resigns amid Walter Reed scandal. Could this be the start of some accountability in the Bush Administration? I could never imagine this occuring with Rumsfeld as SecDef. I may be willing to temporarily forget Robert Gates’ former involvement in the shockingly illegal Iran-Contra affair if he keeps this up. Maybe.

The abysmal support given to wounded veterans is truly a shame. You can’t say you support the troops,then slash funding to the Veterans Administration, dumping vets into squalid facilities like Walter Reed, away from the “glory” of the battlefield. These kids deserve better.

In Beijing

I’m spending my first night in Beijing here at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza. It’s a five-star hotel at a bargain-basement price of around $60 a night. Aside from the fireworks outside celebrating some unknown Chinese holiday I could look around my hotel room and fool myself into thinking I’m in America. Especially if the loud American women in the room next door keep jammering.

The plane flight was smooth and not nearly as long as I expected (they never are). We got off to a late start when Continental not only got into an oversold situation but managed to board one oversold passenger for a seat that didn’t exist. We had to get the jetway moved back in to let the poor schmuck off.

When I checked in yesterday morning I saw a row still empty while my row was full. Like an idiot I reseated myself into the free row, center seat, thinking this would give me at least one seat free on the aisle. Nope. I rode the whole way in the center seat while at least I could’ve had a window seat. The passengers on either side were cool though. One was Chinese and didn’t talk much while the other was from Ohio on his way to closing a deal on a steel-forging furnace his comopany makes. I chatted with the steel guy off and on throughout the flight. He was pretty friendly.

As we neared the North Pole (and our half-way point), I slipped out of my seat to peek out the window near the lavatory. I saw nothing but dark and clouds. The next visit to the window showed clouds, too. My third trip was rewarded by a spectacular view of Siberia – a few roads and villages etched into the snowy hills. A fellow passenger told me that a look a half-hour earlier showed complete desolation – no sign of human civilization as far as the eye could see. I marveled at the thought of flying over a country once considered our enemy (and later landing at the capital yet another one). The world sure does change quickly!

The first thing I noticed when we landed is the haze. There was a thick haze enveloping everything. The 4 PM sun was a deep orange as it burned through, reminding me more of late summer sunsets than midafternoon winter days. Smoke clogs the skies of Beijing. The air is not healthy at all.

Getting through customs was a breeze. The U.S. is far more strict than China, which I find amusing. One is the Land of The Free (TM) and the other is a totalitarian state. Can you guess which is which?

Jasper, the bizdev guy here, is taking good care of me. He picked me up from the airport, drove me into town, checked m e into the hotel, bought me my first Chinese beer, booked my sightseeing tours for the weekend, took me out to South Beauty restaurant for a good Chinese dinner, and then brought me back to my hotel. He’s made things so much easier than they otherwise would’ve been. I’m very comfortable already.

In many ways Beijing has become just another Westernized Asian city. Yet there’s something different. I’d read accounts of Chinese people gawking at foreigners but those accounts were ten years ago. There are many more foreigners here now yet they still do draw attention. I felt like Godzilla walking through the restaurant tonight (yes, I know I’m mixing cultural icons here. Name me a Chinese Godzilla-equivalent, smarty pants). As a caucasian I can blend into many different cultures, but not here. Not completely, not yet. Its a different feeling to be a minority as a white guy.

I’ve snapped a few pics of my first day which I’ll post shortly. Then its bedtime. At 8 AM (Beijing time, 7PM EST Friday), I take the first of two guided tours around the area. They each last 8 hours each so I should be pretty spent by this time tomorrow.

Censor This, Please!

There’s nothing more annoying than the incessant droning of CNN Headline News in an airport terminal.

Thank God China censors its media! I’m looking forward to ten days’ vacation from Anna Nicole Smith and other brain-numbing events that pass for news nowadays.

Boy Dies From Toothache

Following on my recent healthcare posts is this news that a boy has died from an untreated toothache. This is just sad, and it doesn’t have to happen.

How many billions of dollars each month are we spending on a pointless, fraudulent, unwinnable war? Why is money spent to kill people acceptable and money spent to help people not acceptable?

Track My China Flights

Through the magic of the Internets you can follow along as I traverse the planet. I’ll be on Continental Flight 89 on the way over and Continental Flight 88 on the way back.

I leave Newark at 12:15 PM tomorrow and arrive at Beijing at 3PM Friday (Beijing time). I leave Beijing at 4PM (Beijing time) Sunday, March 11th and arrive at Newark 5:40 PM the same day (Wow, that’s a heck of a jet stream, huh. 🙂 )

From FlightAware plots it seems I’ll be going right by the north pole. Another first!

China Tomorrow!

I just checked in for my flight to Beijing tomorrow. I was sweating the seat selection process as the plane has filled up considerably since I booked it. Luckily for me I have managed to snag an entire row to myself on the starboard side of the plane! That makes me one of only five lucky passengers to have a row to themselves. For now, at least!

There are so many unknowns about China for me. While the training I’ll be doing is pretty standard stuff for me now, getting around the country will be a roll of the dice. This should be nothing like the visits I made to Hong Kong 15 years ago. I’m content to allow for a few “stupid tourist” moves but hopefully I’ll avoid the worst ones.

Westerners are not so rare in mainland China anymore. One tour book I’m reading says 200,000 or more are in Beijing and Shanghai. Numerous blogs of expats in China are available on the Internet. I expect to find some English-speaking friendly faces when I need them.

The weather is cold there, however, which might impact any of my sightseeing. Average temperature is 43 degrees, with a low of 17 forecast for Monday morning. Not exactly tourist weather. I’ll make do, though.

Look for blog posts and photos to appear throughout my trip. I should also have access to email, too.

Now, time to pack!

BBC Reported Collapse of WTC7 Before It Happened!

Well well well, if this isn’t interesting! A few clips of the BBC World Service have surfaced on Youtube showing a report from September 11th, 2001 that the WTC7 building had collapsed while all the while WTC7 is plainly visible behind the reporter.

This has got to be fake. Someone is just trying to embarrass our government. In case you want to see what these obvious nutjobs are suggesting, here’s the clip.

An Ode To Wikipedia

Saw a news story the other day saying that Middlebury college has banned Wikipedia citations in papers submitted by students. One professor said that the reason is that Wikipedia entries may not have been “fully vetted.” The NY Times article seems to try to frame this as a New-Media-Vs-Old-Media battle, but Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales agrees that Wikipedia shouldn’t be cited,because no encyclopedia should ever be cited in a research paper. Makes sense to me.

Anyone can add to Wikipedia, which I consider one of its strengths. Someone begins by adding information to a subject. Others are then free to mold that information as closely as possible to the truth. Experts often weigh in with factual information that is orders of magnitude more detailed and accurate than any publishing fact-checker could achieve.

Wikipedia is Open Source for facts. Everything’s laid out there to be debated. It doesn’t guarantee the information’s accuracy, but it does guarantee exposure to debate that will eventually lead it to accuracy.

I also love that Wikipedia’s entries are constantly evolving. Traditional encyclopedias are frequently out of date as soon as they are printed. Wikipedia is updated constantly.

Our understanding of things evolves as well. A description of electricity from the early 1900’s would look far different than today’s. The same with nuclear theory. Our perspective on historical events changes over time as well. As the saying goes, winners write the history books.

The truth on any matter often varies upon whom you ask. Wikipedia allows any of us to add our knowledge of a topic up for debate – a most democratic means of soliciting truth. The more eyes that can review information for accuracy, the more accurate that information can become.