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China always fascinated me, one of the big pieces of Asia on the map that along with Russia , was carefully avoided when questions came up at school about what those countries were . China was
always Taiwan to us and the other places were too godlessly communist to mention. Meeting recent immigrants to New Zealand made the place even more intriguing with their stories of the capitals of China, The German city of Qingdao ( a German city in China? At the turn of the 19th century, the Germany had owned by treaty the place and hurriedly put up a city in German style. It must have been at breakneck pace judging by the size of the original city and the number of buildings from that era still remaining)
These days it seems to be the number one concern of the rest of the world . What will china do? And strangely for a communist country , it now seems to have the most efficiently functioning capitalist system the world has seen. Of course it isn't either, its a chinese system , with all the apparent contradictions that implies to western sensibility. Why there wouldn't be one never seems to occur to the western media , but makes perfect sense to all Chinese , whichever their political persuasion.
- Beijing family in Hutongs ( traditional alleyways) enjoying spring sunshine
- Part of the temple of heaven , Beijing
- Beijing opera actor applies makeup
- Making breakfast , Beijing
- Dumpling stall , Beijing
I planned a working trip/holiday there and thought it might be a good idea to take some language lessons before I went. Unexpectedly I found my self fascinated by the concept of a tonal language , and the arcane but highly sophisticated writing system . I was , and still am , very enthusiastic about learning more about chinese culture , language and cuisine.
Photographically I wanted to explore another country and culture , particularly one where English wasn't a major language, and to see what I could acheive travelling relatively in that kind of environment.
- Tiananmen square , Beijing
I expected to ease into the language on arrival in Beijing. Despite the previous eighteen months with regular lessons I didn't feel confident with the language, but arriving off the plane by myself was quite a shock . I needed to speak straight away to do the basics , find a taxi and get to the hostel then buy food . Thankfully the hostel staff there and later in other places all had a very good command of English , but once outside the doors it was very different.
I spent a couple of days in Beijing by myself , exploring the city , experiencing a few of the tourist traps and well run historical sites. I spent half a day in the forbidden city and sadly it wasn't enough time . despite having purchase a map at the entrance , I found it to big to take in in the time I had allocated. I had by passed the hall of clocks with the thought that it might not be that interesting but later seeing the fabulous timepieces in that location I regretted the decision.
- Bridal photographers window , Beijing
After carefully avoiding the year of the olympics , I had found an independant tour company that seemed to offer what I was looking for , independent travel with language and logistical support . On the internet I found www.dragonbuschina.com, it seemed to be the solution to the sort of service I was looking for , rather than the package tour kind of trip with sights and Hotels included.
It was avery good experience and way to travel China, and although we went to places that seemed obvious tour destinations , there were often few , if any other europeans there . In fact the bulk of tourists in China are chinese , going to experience some of the highlights of the country often for the very first time .
- Electrical wire Beijing
- Comrade Obama in Beijing shop window
Our Guide Andy's knowledge of local areas and appreciation of aspects of chinese life was impressive. An Australian married to a chinese woman who spoke fluent mandarin and has lived in China for nine years, he had a good knowledge of how everything worked and how to interact with Chinese.
After meting the other members of the tour , we unanimously agreed at our hostel in Beijing the first thing we all wanted to do was see the Great wall, Although a day trip was included , we all were very keen to see it , even if it meant going to Badaling , the main great wall tour destination. Andy warned us it might be a little crowded and so it turned out to be, with a mass of humanity moving up and down the wall between the first three towers heading up the hill , after that as the hill got steeper, the crowd thinned out . Nevertheless , the approach to the great wall was an awe inspiring experience and to see Chairman Mao's statement that "if you haven't been to the great wall then you aren't a real man" was greatly encouraging to my masculinity. After the trip to the Great wall , we spent the afternoon at the temple of heaven , another vast historical site in Beijing . On entering the exterior park we encountered many , mostly older people playing shuttlecock ( where a shuttlecock is kicked around a circle of people) and others talking and playing musical instruments. The weather was cool , so every one including us , was dressed warmly.
The temple of heaven is the last in a series of locations running through the centre of Beijing where the emperors , lived or received guidance. An aerial map showed me the way the city was laid out all the way from the bell and drum towers through the Forbidden city to the far end of the temple of heaven.
After a very spicy Hainan style meal we enjoyed with Andy, learning the finer points of shouting FUWUYUAN! to get the waiters attention. After the meal we bought some food and water in preparation for the next day when we would do a hike along the Wall from Scimitai to Jinshanliang .
The hike along proved to be one of the highlights of the trip . On arrival at Scimitai, we were immediately confronted with some of the spectacular feats of engineering the wall with towers and the wall following a dizzying path along ridge lines that seemed somewhat pointless to defend in the first instance as they only guarded steep cliffs - perhaps they in themselves would prove no obstacle to a determined invader. The approach to the wall meant running a gauntlet of hawkers selling everything from souveniers to bottled water . After talking to some of the sellers I discovered they were usually farmers in the growing season but to make some additional cash in the other seasons they sold stuff on the wall . I also discovered that if you might look like you were going to buy something , or the possibility of any other financial transaction , then my limited mandarin was immediately understandable by the seller who might benefit, and it didn't matter how badly I mangled tones or grammar, and spirited negotiation was a good way to quickly improve. This was to prove very useful later on . Andy said I should be happy to buy stuff I was getting so many free lessons.
The great wall is best taken step by step. In some sections I would look up to see what seemed like thousands of stairs heading up a hill and despaired I was ever going to get to the top , but slowly we did , then headed down the next hill and started to repeat the experience. Thankfully despite poor weather the two days previous, the day was hazy but fine, a cool breeze was welcome . Some of the sections of the wall we traversed were in poor condition with steep drops either side , it was a nerve wracking climb to get through one of the towers
Some of the time on that day was really quite magical . I frequently got left behind when stopping to take photographs and often found myself completely alone , which in one of the worlds most populated countries seemed quite strange.
- Bridal photographers window , Beijing
Dumpling stall , Beijing
- Burning incense at Yonghegong ( Lama temple) , Beijing
- The Throne room in the forbidden palace , Beijing
- Beijing Opera performance, Beijing
- The great wall at Scimitai, near Beijing
- The crazy construction of the great wall along ridgeline at Scimitai
- Double happiness! The Forbidden city Beijing
- Broken tower on the great wall
After Beijing and our walk on the wall , we headed further north to Chengde, the home of the Emporer's summer residence and still a fascinating historical spot .
Much cooler than Beijing because of its altitude and more northern location, The town and residence are laid out along a river . The residence remains a resort , now with the main buildings a museum and the park open to the public , surrounding a lake and with temples and pavilions place around the exterior.
Walking through the summer residence was a fascinating experience. A few aspects stood out - the large plaque that denounced the agreement of shame , when the five powers invaded China. That was news to me and I wondered who the five powers might have been . As it turned out it was the usual suspects - Britain , France , Russia , Germany and the USA. I got the feeling suspicion of the west was definitely not just a communist era phenomenon. I walked quietly by to a display of the dowager empress Cixi , who maintained power and her position in China by quietly assassination of any potential heirs to the monarchy.
The parks at that time of year were really pretty . Although the vegetation was mostly brown , recovering from the winter. The lakes were iced over and deer ran over the top between the shores. A stream of people strolled through the paths , many tour groups but a lot of locals as well. A closed amusement area hinted at the parks summertime use . With another member of the tour group I was on , we climbed one of the pagodas and then a hill that overlooked the main part of the city , as well as the summer residence.
On a day trip we went to the Baby Potala palace. Built by one of the emperors to host the emperor of Tibet when he came to stay - which could be for extended periods so I guess it was to make him comfortable .
I was very surprised given all the reports about religious suppression in China how prevalent monasteries and temples are , I asked how seriously people took them , considering they were supposed to be living in a secular state and the answer was that nobody took it too seriously , but if you really wanted something , there was no harm in going to the temple to pray for it . that made sense . An RMB each way.
In Addition, the government seemed to be going to a lot of trouble to make sure many of these places were well preserved and maintained. Perhaps they are having a RMB each way too.
After retuning to Beijing for a couple of nights, and negotiating the Beijing railway station , we caught the hi speed train to Qingdao. We passed through Jinan and Weifang along with other cities on the way. The train was incredibly smooth and comfortable , totally unlike other trains I have been on , not that I have been on many. I spent some time talking with the people sitting next to me on the train ,(and later met them again while negotiating the Qingdao coastal walk ) .
John is a phsycologist studying English and his partner Dujuan worked at a wool importing company so knew quite a lot about New Zealand.
At Qingdao we stayed in a hostel in an old observatory on the top of a hill in the German quarter. Walking around to the back of the building gave a spectacular view of the city . People came to the top of the hill in the morning and the evening to play Jianzi , a shuttlecock game where a shuttlecock is kicked through the air by players standing in circle .
One of the main benefits of the dragon bus service is that the guides know the best places to eat in the cities we pass through , and you don't have to pay a fortune. Qingdao has the usual western fast food food restaurants you can find in any international tourist city but if you know about them ,it has the most fantastic small restaurants specialising in seafood, dumplings and other foods . One seafood meal we enjoyed in a small hole in the wall restaurant was superbly cooked ,and served with ( what else?) Qingdao beer. It was a a little strange the group of us entering the restaurant and taking over the entire room , and the interior decoration was nothing special , but the food really didn't disappoint.
Walking down to the main city area and the waterfront was easy and interesting ,,. Not only were there the old German buildings but some curiosities like a Russian orthodox church made of a deep red , almost purple, coloured brick .
Qingdao is a very large industrial city , and the old city is surrounded with ranks of large apartment buildings in various stages of completion . The outer areas of the city are home to many heavy industries, but curiously , one of the main businesses in the Central area is wedding photography. People come from all over the interior of China to have their wedding photography done by the Sea,, to the extent there is a strre called wedign photography street. On any given day you can see recently married couples getting their best set of pictures
taken at the seaside .
A walk through the Badaguan scenic area also reveals an interesting mix of building styles.
Much cooler than Beijing because of its altitude and more northern location, The town and residence are laid out along a river . The residence remains a resort , now with the main buildings a museum and the park open to the public , surrounding a lake and with temples and pavilions place around the exterior.
Walking through the summer residence was a fascinating experience. A few aspects stood out - the large plaque that denounced the agreement of shame , when the five powers invaded China. That was news to me and I wondered who the five powers might have been . As it turned out it was the usual suspects - Britain , France , Russia , Germany and the USA. I got the feeling suspicion of the west was definitely not just a communist era phenomenon. I walked quietly by to a display of the dowager empress Cixi , who maintained power and her position in China by quietly assassination of any potential heirs to the monarchy.
The parks at that time of year were really pretty . Although the vegetation was mostly brown , recovering from the winter. The lakes were iced over and deer ran over the top between the shores. A stream of people strolled through the paths , many tour groups but a lot of locals as well. A closed amusement area hinted at the parks summertime use . With another member of the tour group I was on , we climbed one of the pagodas and then a hill that overlooked the main part of the city , as well as the summer residence.
- Rou jia mou being prepared
- Street Scene , Chengde
- Buddist Monk , Chengde
- Temple buildings in the baby Potala palace , Chengde
- Tai Chi in the summer residence , Chengde
- Prayer flags and triple glaze tang dynasty ceramics, Chengde
I was very surprised given all the reports about religious suppression in China how prevalent monasteries and temples are , I asked how seriously people took them , considering they were supposed to be living in a secular state and the answer was that nobody took it too seriously , but if you really wanted something , there was no harm in going to the temple to pray for it . that made sense . An RMB each way.
In Addition, the government seemed to be going to a lot of trouble to make sure many of these places were well preserved and maintained. Perhaps they are having a RMB each way too.
After retuning to Beijing for a couple of nights, and negotiating the Beijing railway station , we caught the hi speed train to Qingdao. We passed through Jinan and Weifang along with other cities on the way. The train was incredibly smooth and comfortable , totally unlike other trains I have been on , not that I have been on many. I spent some time talking with the people sitting next to me on the train ,(and later met them again while negotiating the Qingdao coastal walk ) .
John is a phsycologist studying English and his partner Dujuan worked at a wool importing company so knew quite a lot about New Zealand.
- Monks in the Baby Potala Palace,Chengde
- Musician, the baby Potala palace Chengde
One of the main benefits of the dragon bus service is that the guides know the best places to eat in the cities we pass through , and you don't have to pay a fortune. Qingdao has the usual western fast food food restaurants you can find in any international tourist city but if you know about them ,it has the most fantastic small restaurants specialising in seafood, dumplings and other foods . One seafood meal we enjoyed in a small hole in the wall restaurant was superbly cooked ,and served with ( what else?) Qingdao beer. It was a a little strange the group of us entering the restaurant and taking over the entire room , and the interior decoration was nothing special , but the food really didn't disappoint.
Walking down to the main city area and the waterfront was easy and interesting ,,. Not only were there the old German buildings but some curiosities like a Russian orthodox church made of a deep red , almost purple, coloured brick .
- Old and new buildings , Qingdao
- Mayday memorial , Qingdao
taken at the seaside .
A walk through the Badaguan scenic area also reveals an interesting mix of building styles.
- Sculpture , downtown Qingdao
