Beijing
Our Chinese friend Charlie was at Mala & Bharat's place at 9.30 a.m. sharp as promised! He was his usual cheerful self and said 'Knee How?' I said 'Fine'. It is actually a greeting in Chinese, but I thought he was asking me about the condition of my knee after the previous days climb at the Great wall. A very apt question as my knees were really tested the day before!
Charlie is one of the friendliest persons I have met. He was there to receive us early in the morning at the arrival area looking absolutely smart in a suit and a natty tie. As we reached our friends Bharat and Mala's home, it was nice to see Bharat who was waiting for us to just say hello! He was on his way to Shanghai for a tennis tournament with the school kids. They teach at the ISB in Beijing and were Tara's colleagues at NIST in Bangkok.
The Great Wall
Mala had planned that Charlie would take us to the Mutianyu sector of 'The Great Wall' on the first day. As I was getting ready, Tara had a chat with him and asked him whether we could do one more 'sight' in addition. He responded positively and it was agreed that we do half a day trip at the wall and also see the 'Summer Palace'. He said he would take us to the 'Badaling' sector of the wall as it was closer to Summer Palace. We thought it should be fine!
We were soon on the 'super' ring roads making good progress, none of the traffic congestion, we have been reading about. Along the way, Charlie opened up and said he could sing Chinese opera. We requested him to sing and he did sing very well and some pieces from the movies. Tara said she could also sing and we had a music session as we drove. Charlie had heard a few Hindi songs and wanted to hear Tara sing them, but she did not know the ones he liked to hear!
Signs said we were on our way to Badaling and when it was around 21 kms away Charlie exited the highway and soon we saw the 'great wall'. But, it was not Badaling but the Juyongguan sector. It was quite an impressive sight and the wall spanned both sides of the ticketing booth and was quite impressive and extensive.
Tara realised that it was not the one she had seen seven years ago with her mother. The difference was that the other had a ski lift to the top and you could also slide down the Toboggan to return. She tried to explain this to Charlie but no luck! (Lesson learnt! Don't change plans given by locals!)
So we gave up and began going up, step by step! The climb on the right was long though not that steep. Charlie however convinced us that it was better do the steeper one as it could be done faster to be in time to visit the summer palace.
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| Steep as it can get! You can also see the variable steps from 3" to 30". The climbdown was tougher. |
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| The steep climb! The proof, if needed, is no one is seen attempting this! We decided after the first tower that it was not for us and came down. |
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The so-called not so steep climb! It surely was much longer. |
After some discussion and we persuaded Charlie to take us 'Badaling' section. Luckily we were also able to contact Mala at that time. She was firm that Charlie should take us to Mutianyu as planned earlier and I would do summer palace the next day. Hence we headed towards our original destination!
As we drove, we did learn why Charlie was not so keen to take us to Mutianyu. He did not know the way and was ashamed to admit it! (Very typical!) Finally, he stopped and asked for directions as we were totally lost and were moving away from the wall! The locals did not know either and gave wrong directions! Finally, he persuaded a person on a motorbike to guide us to Mutianyu!
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| The people who gave charlie wrong directions. |
Yes it was the place Tara and Amma had seen earlier. It was fun going up the ski lift and walking on the level portion of the wall. We took some pictures and spent a while admiring the view. It was nice to see many slide down the hill on the toboggan. Anyway we decided not to.
The temple of heaven.
The highlight of the second day was 'walk and walk and walk '! Mala realised that our friend Charlie while sincere and enthusiastic was still a novice as a guide! So it was nice of Mala to join me part of the second day. It was reassuring and a pleasure and also more sightseeing was done!
We entered the heavenly grounds. (No exaggeration here!) While we did not see many visitors at the Great wall, I saw more people here. However, it could surely accommodate a lot more as the garden is huge.
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| The park is as wide as it is deep! |
It was an interesting and a tranquil walk. Music accompanied us as we walked. Mala is a brisk walker, so it was also a good exercise. I saw activities reminiscent of Lumpini park, people dancing, singing or playing. The group doing the 'Tap Dance' were pretty good. Sweet old-ladies were making hand made embroidery and the display was obviously for sale but they were not selling aggressively.
Typically, Chinese families from the oldest to the toddlers were out in the park. Mala said Chinese love to entertain each other and we saw it in full swing on this wonderful day!
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| Sorry no more pictures of the activities. I did not get them right. Also I am not comfortable with intruding on privacy. |
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| Mala waiting patiently for me as I looked around. |
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| You can spot me in the front. |
Urban Planning Center
After the heavenly walk, Mala suggested we take quick look at this center. Wondering why does she want me to see a Urban Planning Center Exhibition, I said yes and I am glad I did.
I will borrow from the web to tell you more about it:
Beijing Urban City Planning Exhibition Hall, which is designed to showcase Beijing 's past, present and future, might be the most modern and advanced museum in Beijing. Visitors can easily find what Beijing looked like 50 years ago and how it will probably look 20 years from now, including its business districts, Olympic Village and the entire city of Beijing in miniature and aerial photographs. The photography of the city layout is printed on nearly 1,000 illuminated glass floor panels and stunning scale models of the Beijing urban master plan is placed at the centre of the photograph. The map is so big that local people can actually stand on the exact spot where they live. 3-D video show also vividly showcases Beijing 's past and future. Quite many hi-tech elements can be seen in the museum.
( Courtesy: http://www.chinaculturecenter.org/tours/)
We walked around a bit, saw a 4D show about the Transit systems planned for Beijing. It was futuristic, brief and very enjoyable. We did have an exposure to the Train system at the airport as we were transported from the arrival gate to the immigration area. People from Bangkok will appreciate it more as there is no need to walk many Kms as we do there.
It is also interesting to browse the website: http://www.bjghw.gov.cn/english/leaders/index.asp
Here are the details of the first two leaders. They both hold master's degree and have impressive responsibilities and credentials.
Ms. Huang Yan: Master's degree, senior engineer, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning (Office of Capital Planning & Construction Commission). Ms. Huang Yan is in charge of organizing the formulation, adjustment and report of the detailed planning and special project planning, carries on special assignments such as Olympic projects etc. ... She is also in charge of the Detailed Planning Division.
Mr.Wang Yingjie: Member of CPC, master's degree, deputy secretary of Leading Party Group and deputy director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning (Office of Capital Planning & Construction Commission). He provides assistance to the secretary of Leading Party Group to work the traces on political thought and organisation construction, cardres contingent, talents contingent and Party-masses work. ..........
The rest of the team are also members of the CPC, degree holders and many are senior engineers. Impressive team and the results are there to see!
Here are a few pictures I borrowed from their website:
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| Here are a few I took: |
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| Aerial view of the Temple of Heaven (I thank the almighty for our own Cubbon park and Lalbagh) |
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| Model of the Forbidden City. |
Tiananmen Square
I was on my own now and I was expecting a solemn visit to the square. Instead I walked into a very festive atmosphere. It was so unexpected that I forgot to pay my respects to the remains of Chairman Mao. (Oops!) These pictures probably will explain why I missed!
I see that I do have some pictures which reflects the solemnity of Tiananmen Square.
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| I did get a nice picture of Chairman Mao. |
Forbidden City
The forbidden city is essentially a museum, very beautiful and unique. It would be a daunting task to walk into its 9999 rooms and get out! I do not know if anyone has done this or if one is even allowed to see all the rooms of this city.
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| Beauty and the Beast! |
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| A long tiring walk |
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| The crossed branches are auspicious Couples get married in front of such a tree! |
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| Chinese are really holding their heads high after the Olympics! |
This perhaps is the highlight of the day. A short walk around the lake Ho Hai and drinking tea at the Tea House. It was the perfect end for a very eventful day. Enjoyable surroundings and a peaceful atmosphere. Tara saw this tea house and said let us have an experience of drinking Chinese tea in a Chinese tea house. It was a great idea!
It had a nice authentic Chinese decor and was practically empty. We selected a spot over looking the colorfully lit lake. The whole place was active, with music and people strolling in a relaxed manner. A place to chill out as the young ones say.
The menu was on rectangular wooden pieces strung together, very artistic. Anyway as Mala looked at the menu she said 'My god this is expensive'. Finally she chose a pot of herbal tea. While it was not an elaborate ceremony, the hostess was gentle and courteous. The tea was excellent. I asked her if we could buy the menu scroll as memento; we could at 2000 Baht! The most expensive tea listed was around 9000 Baht! Wonder what it was made of or more interestingly, its claims to what it could do!
The final day
A visit to 'The summer palace, the largest Imperial Garden in the world':
I left home around 9.30 and Mala suggested that if I could I should also try and see the Botanical gardens. Anyway it could not be managed as we got stuck in a traffic with no one in sight for regulating it. It took us an hour just to cover about a km. I became cautious and decided to shorten my visit so as to get back in time for our evening flight. This meant that I could cover only a portion of this huge palace grounds. A pity as I missed some wonderful spots.
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| I could have spent the whole day taking pictures of the delightful old people |
I climbed what probably was an unofficial path to take this picture, it was not paved, but others were doing it. Coming down I needed to find a firm footing plus a hand support. This side trip meant I lost some time. Part of the sightseeing game!
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| The distant Pagoda remained distant. I could not get there! |
This place was magical. A young man was playing on the flute, the right music for the place and I thought heaven on earth. They called it the 'The garden of harmonius interests'.
There was no traffic on the way home as we reached in about 40 minutes as against the 2 hours we needed to reach there! Good in a way as I reached home and took off my shoes, Mala came in and said that Tara had just called and we could go and get her. The school visit was nice. True to Beijing tradition ISB where Mala and Bharat teach and Tara had her workshop was big and modern!
I noticed that we were passing a hutong, portions of it were fenced off with sheets and workers were busy breaking up the place. I had also observed as we were driving on the main thoroughfares, long stretches of new and painted compound walls. The surprise was what was inside the well made compound walls. They were old type of structures and the alleys were very narrow. Anyway there are no pictures as I was running behind Charlie who was walking at a brisk pace. We had to walk a little to the spot where Charlie had parked his car, a brand new Peugeot. We thought as Tara was busy at the workshop, we could drive around the olympic complex in the evening, so that we could say that we had seen the 'Bird's Nest'. I did take these two pictures as 'Dhristi Bhottu' for the amazing city! (A way to make people less jealous by deliberately keep some ugly parts)
The stadium was closed. However, it was a pleasant walk around the complex though a little nippy!
We also claim that we speak better English and that our quality of products and services are much better and so on. In fact, we spoke with pride that Chinese even visited Bangalore to learn about our IT industry. It seems somehow we have missed the bus!
My first China exposure was the movie 'Dr. Kotnis ki amar kahani' I saw as a kid. I do remember we were sad but felt good and proud that an Indian had gone to help in their need. I learnt that it was Pandit Nehru who acted upon a request by Mao Tse Tung to send them doctors. It is interesting to read the full story at this site.
Beijing is a clean city, full of open spaces old and new. We did not see any beggars. I did see a few women collecting recycle bottles and cans from the trash. They did not look destitute, were very small in stature and thin but were chirpy and reminded me of sparrows. They wore uniforms, surely part of the Summer Palace staff and the busy week end meant some extra income for them. Another woman while looking for bottles, took time off to read the newspaper that was in the trash bin.
I wondered 'where are the poor!' There were no slums or abject poverty seen. Tara said 'They don't allow them into Beijing. People need permits to live in Beijing'. Is it the perpetuation of the 'Forbidden city' concept, with only the borders becoming much larger?
I did not see any police around. I even wished they were there when we were stuck in traffic! I was looking for signs of the officialdom. There was no sign of them. I have seen more of them at Lalbaugh in our own Bangalore, driving cars and scooters, even honking and forcing walkers in the park out of their way. Probably it was a no-officials-day in Beijing.
People looked relaxed and reasonably happy. It was a pleasure to see the older people. They were special. Their demeanour probably defines the place better than anything else. All of them looked content. The Chinese way of taking care of their old is well known. I could have filled my blog with pictures of these old people as I marvelled at their composure.
Has life changed for the better for people stuck in the villages? RecentlyI saw a documentary 'Up the Yangtze' wherein I saw people forced to give up their homes as the water rose with the dam. I remember one businessman crying as he spoke about how officials had driven them out of their homes. But his final comment was 'I suppose it is ok we suffered, as it is for the common good of our people'.
I think it is this spirit that is driving the Chinese and the liberalisation that is propelling the country much ahead of India. It started around thirty years ago and the gap, I concede after my brief visit to Beijing, is increasing.
I asked Charlie, my only contact, about what he felt about his country. He obviously was very proud of his country and especially so after the Olympics. He said ' We were poor and not very strong, now we are not afraid of anyone'!
But, I was not successful in drawing him into a discussion on politics or the party. Finally, I asked him whether he wanted to be as powerful as the members of the party. He said 'Yes I would like to, but I do not know how!'
He was surely not cut out to be one such. This became more obvious when I saw on TV the premier addressing the Chinese parliament . The parliament was huge and very very orderly and again very impressive in its size! The members were all serious and grim faced. I do not think Charlie could act grim even if he wanted to.
On our return flight a person who was obviously an official occupied a seat ahead of us on the plane. The way he spoke to the Airhostess, while not loud, declared his superior status and the face of the Hostess was a study as she dealt with him. I guess she would have been happy to throw the water on his face instead of giving it to him politely!
Yes, I saw a few bicycles in the center of the city and there were special lanes for bicycles all over except the ring roads!
Charlie our dependable friend appeared right on time to drop us off at the airport. Sadly we forgot to take a picture with him! While we will never forget Charlie and his smile, it would have been nice to have his picture on my blog.
As we stepped into the new terminal 3 of the airport, the terminal is shaped like the character 人 which means people, we were in awe. It was the largest and the most modern and artistic airport we have seen so far. The feeling of space was unbelievable for an enclosed structure. The chinese really love creating space in their public places. It can be seen in the ancient palaces and parks, also in the new Olympic complex. The pictures of the airport are from the web. Courtesy, Steve Zhang, Wikipedia.
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| Arrival Level |
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| Departure area |
We also claimed that we spoke better English and that our quality of products and services were much better and so on. In fact, we spoke with pride that Chinese even visited Bangalore to learn about our IT industry. We were very confident that we would catch up with the Chinese.
The race is apparently timeless between the In and the C, the only two Billionaires in population. (There is so much written about this phenomenon and there are legions who are better informed than I am.)
However, my first China exposure was the movie 'Dr. Kotnis ki amar kahani' I saw as a kid. I do remember we were sad but felt good and proud that an Indian had gone to help in their need. I learnt that it was Pandit Nehru who acted upon a request by Mao Tse Tung to send them doctors. It is interesting to read the full story at this site.
I will go back to my impressions of the city. Beijing is a clean city, full of open spaces old and new. We did not see any beggars. I did see a few women collecting recycle bottles and cans from the trash. They did not look destitute, were very small in stature and thin but were chirpy and reminded me of sparrows. They wore uniforms, surely part of the Summer Palace staff and the busy week end meant some extra income for them. Another woman while looking for bottles, took time off to read the newspaper that was in the trash bin.
I asked Tara 'where are the poor!' There were no slums or abject poverty we see in India. Tara said 'They don't allow them into Beijing. People need permits to live in Beijing'. Is it the perpetuation of the 'Forbidden city' concept, with only the borders becoming much larger?
I did not see any police around. I even wished they were there when we were stuck in traffic! I was looking for signs of the officialdom. I missed them here, I have seen more of them at Lalbaugh in our own Bangalore, driving cars and scooters, even honking and forcing walkers in the park out of their way. Probably it was a special no-officials day in Beijing.
People looked relaxed and reasonably happy. It was a pleasure to see the older people. They were special. Their demeanour probably defines the place better than anything else. All of them looked content. The Chinese way of taking care of their old is well known. I could have filled my blog with pictures of these old people as I marvelled at their composure.
Has life changed for the better for people stuck in the villages? I saw recently the documentary 'Up the Yangtze' wherein I saw people forced to give up their homes as the water rose with the dam. I remember one businessman crying as he spoke about how officials had driven them out of their homes. But his final comment was 'I suppose it is ok we suffered, as it is for the common good of our people'.
I think it is this spirit that is driving the Chinese and the liberalisation that is propelling the country much ahead of India. It started around thirty years ago and the gap, I concede after my brief visit to Beijing, is increasing.
I thought I would also probe Charlie, my only contact, about what he felt about his country. He obviously was very proud of his country and especially so after the Olympics. He said ' We were poor and not very strong, now we are not afraid of anyone'!
But, I was not successful in drawing him into a discussion on politics or the party. Finally, I asked him whether he wanted to be as powerful as the members of the party. He said 'Yes I would like to, but I do not know how!'
It was obvious he was not cut out to be one such. This became more obvious when we saw on TV at the airport, the premier addressing the Chinese parliament. The parliament looked huge and very very orderly and again very impressive in its size! The members were all serious and grim faced. I do not think Charlie could act grim even if he wanted to.
On our return flight I did come across a person who was obviously an official. While I had no direct interaction with him, I could observe him as he was just ahead of us on the plane. The way he spoke to the Airhostess, while not loud, declared his superior status and the face of the Hostess was a study as she dealt with him. I guess she would have been happy to throw the water on his face instead of giving it to him politely!
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