March 29, 2000
I will join my alma mater, Oberlin College Alumni tour of China for 3 weeks. After a very comfortable journey, I arrived in Beijing to find a shiny new modern airport – could have been anywhere until I got out of baggage. First, I went to change money. In the middle of the transaction, a Chinese man elbowed me aside and threw his money at the cashier. I expected her to tell him to wait, but she didn’t. I was worried that she would get confused about what she was doing, but she didn’t. Apparently, it’s all part of service. Then came the challenge of finding a taxi. How difficult can that be when you’ve been in airports all over the world? Unfortunately Beijing airport is not big on signage. The taxi rank is unmarked and 3 rows of cars away from the door. While I was trying to get my bearings, at least 10 inofficial taxi drivers accosted me. I realize that it is going to be essential to learn the word “NO” in Chinese. My taxi seat was covered in material with frilly bits on the edge and that was covered with a lace throw. The driver was encased in a Perspex cage. It had so many gaps in it, I could only imagine it was to stop someone garroting him from behind. (too many Bond movies running through my mind). Arriving at the hotel, I consulted the sheet from the travel agency. They said the fare would be approximately 150 Yuan, so I offered him two100 bills. He jumped back in horror and started gesticulating wildly. The doorman came to translate and it turned out the fare was only 83 Yuan. I’ve never seen anyone so adamant not to be overpaid.
Beijing is full of broad boulevards. Despite being full of cars, buses, bicycles, rickshaws, scooters etc, it’s surprising how unpacked the streets feel especially considering there are 8 million bicycles and 13 million people in Beijing. Rush hour in NYC is worse than here. Morning exercises in Coal Hill Park
Well, I’ve learned the word for “no” – it’s BOO! As soon as you emerge from the bus, souvenir vendors surround you like vultures. As I feared, the temples are fading into one another and it’s hard to keep them straight. Most temples are painted either red or earthy red – both inside and out. Red is the Chinese white.
The Great Wall is a tremendous sight. More than any other place we’ve been in the past 4 days, it has taken my breath away – partly because some of us climbed to the highest possible point! I never realized that the wall follows the top contours of the mountains and is very steep in many parts. In addition, the steps are sometimes 3 bricks high, sometimes 2 bricks and sometimes 1 brick. There is no logic to which comes when, so you have to concentrate very hard especially coming down the mountain as you can’t get into a rhythm and yet it is very steep.
Temple of Heaven
Marco Polo bridge at the Summer Palace
