BEIJING – FORBIDDEN NO LONGER

BEIJING – FORBIDDEN NO LONGER

By

VK Singh

          The China Eastern flight from Delhi to Shanghai was half empty - we were told that this was because Diwali was only a week away. Most of the passengers were Indian businessmen, with just a sprinkling of tourists. The Sikh gentleman sitting next to me – he had a shop in Karolbagh - was a regular visitor who went to China once every month. He was surprised when I told him that Sukesh and I were going to China on a holiday. The idea of two sixty two year old retired Army officers going to China just for sight seeing appeared bizarre to him. “Why not go to Singapore or Bangkok?” he asked, in chaste Punjabi. When we told him that we had already seen both places, he wanted to know why not Switzerland, UK or America. After being told that we had seen those countries too he said, “but there is nothing to see in China. There is nothing like the Taj Mahal or the Red Fort, just a big deewar.  They have no cabarets. No body understands English. Even the food is not good. I think you will end up spending a lot of money, without getting much in return.”

          The advice of the veteran traveler filled us with trepidation, but it was short lived. Long tours of duty in inhospitable terrain and several trips in the Himalayan Car Rally had turned us into intrepid explorers, with nary a fear of the unknown. Then, we reasoned, the dozens of reviews we had seen on Lonely Planet and Mouthshut could all not be wrong. The first disappointment came a few hours later, during the brief stopover in Shanghai, where we changed planes before flying on to Beijing. In the transit area – it was a waiting hall, not a lounge – we were given a small cardboard box that contained a sandwich and a packet of potato wafers, which apparently complied with the airline’s obligation to provide long haul passengers with lunch. The hundred odd Indians would have raised a ruckus if Air India had done this, but no one raised so much as a whimper. Most of them opened their bags and took out matthies and samosas, which were promptly dispatched without much ado. For once, the two veteran soldiers were caught off guard and could do little more than cast longing looks at the others.

We arrived at Beijing in the afternoon, and were met by our guide, Anna, who took us to Hotel Zhong Ya, which our tour operator had told us was a four star property. As we soon discovered, star ratings in China are meaningless. The room was reasonable, for the price, and the staff appeared affable. However, no one spoke or understood a word of English. Next morning, we found that they served only Chinese breakfast. We thought we would do with bread and butter but even that was not on the menu. To top it all, there was neither sugar nor milk to add to the tea. Sukesh tried his best to explain to the waitress that he wanted some milk, without success. Using his hands, he simulated the action of milking a cow, but she was none the wiser. Finally, throwing all caution and decorum to the winds, he pointed to her breasts and pretended to suckle a baby held in his arms.  Blushing a deep scarlet, she gave a knowing smile, and soon returned with two glasses of milk.

Anna arrived soon after we had finished breakfast. Fortunately, she could speak English, and we had no problem after this, at least as long as she was with us. During the next four days, she remained with us from morning till night, dropping us off at the hotel after dinner at an Indian restaurant. On the few occasions when we ventured out on our own, the going was difficult. A phrase book and map are a must, unless one knows a bit of Chinese. Sukesh and I had studied Mandarin while at the NDA, almost forty-five years earlier, but lack of practice had wiped out almost everything we had learnt. Chinese, as everyone knows, has no alphabet, and each word, or character, has to be memorized.  All that we remembered was “Ni hao ma?” (How are you) and “Wo hen hao, hsieh hsieh” (I am very well thank you).

          Beijing is the capital city of China, and also its cultural centre. Though it has less people – 12 million – than Shanghai, its size is enormous. The city covers an area of almost 16000 square kilometres.  Though Beijing became China’s capital in 1057, it was only in 1421 that it was given its present name.  The most famous landmark of China is the Great Wall, which is de rigueur for every tourist. Though its claim to be the only man made object that can be seen from space appears doubtful, it is truly a magnificent example of human endeavor. Its sheer size is overwhelming – 6 meters wide, 8 meters high and almost 5000 Km long. It took more than 2000 years to build, having been begun in the 7^th Century BC and completed only in 1650 AD. Since it generally follows the crest line, it resembles a dragon from the air as well as from the ground. Tourists usually see the wall either at Badaling or at the Juyong Pass, both of which are about 70 Km from Beijing. Badaling has a skyway, which saves you the trouble of climbing. The more adventurous and physically fit go to the Juyong section, as we did. Though climbing 1500 odd steps may appear to be no big deal, compared to what one does at Amarnath or Vaishno Devi, in fact it is not very easy on the knees. For one, the steps are quite large, about 10 to 12 inches in height. Then, they are not of uniform size, and one has to be careful negotiating them. Of course, one can halt en route, especially at the open towers, for a breather as well as a magnificent view of the wall.

          The other places worth seeing in Beijing are the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and the Ming Tombs. The Forbidden City is the World’s largest palace complex, covering 74 hectares. However, the buildings are puny, compared to the palaces in India. Instead of a large block, the complex comprises hundreds of small buildings, of one or two rooms, with open spaces on all sides. Each building has a name e.g. the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Earthly Tranquility, the Hall of Mental Cultivation and so on. The complex has only two gates, one opening into the Tianamen Square in the South and other on the opposite side known as the Shenwumen Gate. The Forbidden City has 9999 rooms most of which were used by the 10000 troops that were required to guard it, as well as the hordes of eunuchs and concubines of the Emperor.  The complex has been converted into a museum. In aesthetic beauty and opulence, the exhibits pale in comparison to those found in palaces in India.

        Tianamen Square is perhaps the most visited spot in Beijing today, thanks to the extensive coverage given by the World media to the brutal suppression of students agitating for democracy in 1989. It was earlier shaped like a T but later enlarged to form a rectangle and is today the largest square in the World.  At the centre of the square is the Monument of People’s Heroes who fought against imperialism with Mao Tse Tung, the founder of Modern China. Around the square are several Government buildings such as the Great Hall of the People, Museums, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the Forbidden City.  Thousands of people visit Tianamen Square every day, mostly from outlying provinces of China. The queues out side Mao’s mausoleum are as long as those seen outside Lenin’s tomb in Red Square in Moscow, in the Soviet Era. If one wants to get the real feel of Tianamen Square, one must visit it at night, when it is lighted up. People can be seen strolling about, just having a good time. A ubiquitous nuisance is the hawkers selling every thing from Rolex watches to Gucci bags, which are of course fakes. 

          The Summer Palace is another beautiful place comprising buildings and gardens surrounded by a lake. Constructed in the 12^th Century, it is also called the Garden of Ripples. Some of the unique sights are the marble barge and the covered corridor that is almost half a kilometer long. On can travel by boat to some of the islands that dot the lake. Another interesting complex is the Temple of Heaven, which was built for the Emperor because he was considered the Son of Heaven. It was here that he spoke to his people, after communicating with those in heaven.  The buildings are either round or square shaped, since it was believed that the Earth was round but heaven was square.  

          As happens all over the World, emporiums, factories and shops are always part of the itinerary of a conducted tour. This is because the guides get a commission on every sale. In China the system is highly organised. The moment one enters the factory or shop, he is given a card, bearing the name of the shop and a number. When you buy something, the salesperson will ask for your card, and endorse the number on the bill. The guide later visits the shop and claims her commission, tracing the bill from the number. As part of this exercise, we visited the jade factory, the silk factory and the handicrafts factory. Each of them had a restaurant on the premises, where one can have his mid day meal, and the visit is always scheduled around lunchtime. I suspect that the guide and driver are given free meals, as they are in dhabas in India where long distance buses halt.  Of course, tour guides in China do not pay any entrance fees anywhere, and are allowed free entry as long as they are wearing their ID cards.

          Apart from sightseeing, we took in a few shows in the evenings. We could not see the opera, but were able to see an acrobatic show and a Kung Fu show, which was a type of ballet, instead of the martial arts show that we were expecting. Evening meals were in Indian restaurants, of which there are several in Beijing, the most well known being the Indian Kitchen. The food was typical North Indian, so one felt at home right away. The meal includes an unlimited supply of soft drinks or beer, as well as snacks before the dinner is served. The non-vegetarian snack usually comprises chicken tikka, while vegetarians have to be content with samosas or pakoras.  The bar is well stocked, and a peg of Scotch whisky costs about 15 yuan (90 rupees), which is much cheaper than what most restaurants charge in Delhi. Indian brands such as Royal Stag, Peter Scot and Royal Challenge are also available, at the same cost. There is a separate dining area for the tour guides and drivers, who eat the same food as the tourists, which is of course gratis.

          A major problem was telephones. Though almost everyone seemed to have a mobile phone, we found it difficult to use the ones we had carried from India. There were a large number of telephone booths, but these were operated by different companies and telephone cards of one company could not be used on a booths operated by another company. Some booths accepted only coins, while others needed a card. Making calls from the hotel was a time consuming process – one had to book a call and then wait for up to 30 minutes before it materialized. Ultimately, we bought a card that was compatible with our guide’s cell phone, and used it to communicate with our homes.

          Everywhere we went, we saw a large number of senior citizens. In parks and other public places, it was a common sight to find a group of white-haired men and women, some in their seventies and eighties, singing group songs or dancing. Others were playing chess or draughts, while some were just sitting and chatting. We were told that in China, one has to work very hard to earn a living, and it is only after one retires that he can relax and enjoy his leisure. So everyone looks forward to old age, when he can enjoy life to the fullest. What a change, we thought, from what happens elsewhere, including India, where old people have such lonely lives, especially after losing a spouse.        

          Another feature that struck us was the orderly traffic and discipline on the roads. It is similar to what one sees in Western Europe or Japan, but the Chinese are a little different. Apart from sidewalks for pedestrians, there are separate tracks for cyclists almost everywhere. The roads are wide, some having 10 or 12 lanes, with slip roads and green belts on both side. Most Chinese keep small dogs as pets, and the canines use the green belt during their outings. The distance between buildings on opposite sides of a road is rarely less than 50 metres and there are hardly any traffic jams. Everyone drives in his own lane and there is no honking. The large open spaces reduce pollution and account for the large size of the city. Of course, shrubs and flower- beds seemed to be everywhere, along the roads, in front of buildings, and under flyovers. During our morning walk at about 6 am, we saw gangs of cleaning women, sweeping the squares, sidewalks and streets. By 7 am, they had finished their work and vanished.

          Beijing is to host the next Olympic Games, and everyone in the city seemed determined to make sure that everything is ready in time. There was frenetic building activity going on everywhere, and when we expressed doubts about a particular stadium or bridge being ready in time, the response was the same – don’t worry, it will be done. The common people seemed to be as involved and concerned as the government and civic agencies, and their pride and confidence was unmistakable.

The four days we spent in Beijing were clearly insufficient to do justice to this magnificent city and its people. However, we came away with many misconceptions removed and a clearer idea of the World’s most popular country. China is widely regarded as the next super power, challenging the numero uno status of the United States by the middle of this century. The Chinese, aware of their ancient civilization and distinguished legacy, are keen to bring back their former glory.  They have realized the mistake of isolating themselves from the World and are moving quickly to recoup the loss. In spite of the problems of language, China is all set to become a hot tourist destination in the years to come. A visit to China is a rewarding experience in more ways than one. Accommodation and transportation are inexpensive, the people are friendly and there is a lot to see. For the first time visitor, it is best to take a conducted tour, if not the services of a guide. And if you intend staying there for long, buy a Chinese sim card and put it into your mobile phone.

9 Dec 2007