We had arranged a driver to collect us from Beijing airport. This seemed like a good idea at the time but unfortunately, she had a cold. For an hour we were trapped in the car with a sniffing, coughing and snotting driver. It was not pleasant. The noises were stomach churning but worse was the feeling that I was actively contracting a cold, influenza or even covid. None of these things happened. She did not crash the car. We arrived safely at our hotel.
Beijing Holiday Inn. An easy start for new visitors to China. Chinese hotel but with a definite nod to the west. Knifes and forks in the restaurant, coffee in the foyer. We had a couple of days before the group tour took off. This gave us time to catch up on chores, like laundry, phone updates and this blog. Also to explore the local neighbourhood at our own pace, which is terribly slow. We made the mistake of going to the Thai restaurant in the hotel. Every single dish contained meat. Even the deep-fried tofu had crab eggs on it. This high degree of meatification was a bit disappointing. I have been to China before, on business, twenty years ago. Back then I had no trouble with the food at all. Quite the contrary, the food was particularly good, varied and interesting. I discovered many new things. We have also been to Thailand more recently and the food for vegetarians was fine there as well. So why the meat-creep at this restaurant? I think part of it is to do with a kind of showing off to tourists. In many cultures, meat has a background as a luxury item. The addition of meat to every menu item is an attempt to impress visitors and demonstrate opulence. Whatever the reason, it is a complete pain to those of us trying to reduce the amount of violence in our diets.
Next day Bruce and Anita turned up. Our friends from Australia. They had come on a long-haul flight that arrived in the early hours of the morning. We said hello but mostly they just wanted to sleep it off. Diane and I mooched around close to the hotel in a gentle, unhurried way. We surfed a shopping mall, perused some pathways and pottered in a park.
Two days later, all 25 of us were in a coach on our way to the Great Wall. The whole tour group had arrived in dribs and drabs. We had eaten an evening meal together and completely forgotten each other’s names by breakfast. There is a rumour that the Great Wall of China is visible from outer space. This is a nonsense. For a start, where does outer space begin? Back in Victorian times it was posited that the wall could be seen from the moon. Why was this opinion asserted when nobody had genuinely traversed the 400,000 km to the lunar surface? I have no idea but I have noticed that factual evidence does not always need to be present in support of a good story. In fact, even from low earth orbit, the closest distance to earth that satellites fly, the wall cannot be reliably discriminated by the human eye. Various astronauts have claimed to see it although China’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, admitted that he could not. The European Space Agency issued a press release stating that the Great Wall could be seen from 160 km altitude. The accompanying photograph turned out to be a river near Beijing. Leroy Chiao, a Chinese-American astronaut, took a photograph from the International Space Station that shows the wall. It was so indistinct that he was not entirely sure. Based on the photograph, the China Daily later reported that the Great Wall can be seen from ‘space’ with the naked eye, under favourable viewing conditions, if you know exactly where to look.
After an hour in a coach, we were definitely looking right at the wall. Close up it is thoroughly enormous. There was also a humungous car park with many, many coaches. Several sections of the remaining wall can be walked along from here. We were pointed at just one of these and told to be back by midday. The crowds were substantial. We needed to push and shove just to get close to the wall. Then it got steeper and more difficult as the crowds got worse.
The wall was never built as a single entity. Construction of some sections began as early as the 7th century BC. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe. Substantial parts were constructed during the Qin Dynasty and the best known sections were built during the Ming Dynasty. Despite its lack of visibility to aliens, it was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007. It has been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition that the defensive system of the Great Wall is one of the most impressive architectural feats in history.
We worked our way up the steep steps. Steps that were just a little too high for comfort and packed with people. It was hot and steep and arduous work. One section was particularly packed with slow-moving tourists. It reminded me of pictures I have seen of the Hillary Step on Everest when hundreds of climbers are trying to summit at the same time. Progress was desperately slow but we prevailed and eventually the crowds began to thin. More and more people dropped out as we got higher. We plodded on. Diane had gone beyond complaining and had become quiet. An extremely worrying sign. Also, we were running out of time. The final push to the summit fortress turned into a battle against ourselves and the clock. We prevailed. There was nothing much to do at the top other than take a couple of pictures and come down. The views were great. In the far distance we could see the wall zigzagging its way across distant hills. We made it back down in time but only just. Our only pause on the descent was to look at a Chinese mantis that someone was proudly showing off.
Straight after the exhausting epic of the Great Wall, we were led into the first “carpet shop” of the trip. The standard formula was there. A brief explanation, an assertion about genuine workmanship, some small demonstrations and an enormous showroom. This time it was jade but the real difference was that this time it was state sponsored. The Chinese tourist industry is remarkably good at taking tourists for all they are worth. The jade tourist shop was a fine example. It was absolutely enormous. A constant stream of coaches arriving and departing. Upstairs were numerous restaurants serving lunches to many groups. Downstairs was the biggest jewellery store I have ever seen and all dedicated to jade.
We did not want any jade so we twiddled our thumbs for a while and were happy to eventually be loaded back into the coach. The afternoon was spent at the Summer Palace. Billed as the former holiday retreat of the Qing emperors and a stunning example of Chinese garden style. Mostly what we saw there was people. Thousands of people. With the crush on the wall in the morning, we had our fill of people. Also, our legs were tired and it was too hot. We wandered round for a while to try and take some of it in and then searched for a quiet corner to sit and eat ice cream. The ice cream happened but the quiet corner was utterly impossible. There are so many people trying to be in the same place at the same time that I found it a little overwhelming.
Final part of the day was a show. It was interesting. The costumes were amazing. We were presented with half a dozen short story pieces. Some of these were classics of Chinese theatre and involved gymnastics and singing along with elaborate costumes and makeup. Fortunately, the show did not run on too late. Diane got a quick photo opportunity with one of the actors and then, back at the hotel, we were both very happy to take our tired legs to bed. I think only one other couple made it to the top of the wall so the pain was worth it.
