An Anniversary Celebration

Wednesday 16 August

Our last full day in Beijing and it will be even hotter than yesterday – about 40 degrees C, despite being hazy for most of the day. We were treated to a bit of a lie in before boarding the coach for The Heavenly Temple, situated in parkland to the south of the city. From the entrance a long colonnade meandered through the park towards the Temple and provided the meeting place for small groups of friends and acquaintances to get together and enjoy themselves, usually during the morning - sitting around on the ground, playing cards, dominoes, mahjong, poker, or even singing and playing music. Some were taking part in therapeutic games with bats and balls, and others jiving to western music. In China the retirement age for Government workers is 55 for women and 60 for men, but for factory workers it is 54 for women and 55 for men. So lots of the people we saw were retired, but having some good crack between themselves and enjoying life. The park itself is much larger than our parks, but I can’t imagine several hundred people congregating daily in Regents Park,or Danson Park for that matter, to socialize and pass the time of day.

We followed the colonnade to the Temple where the Emperor would come to relax. There were the usual squares for meeting with specific people and large, ornate buildings for the Emperor to live in. One of these buildings was round – very unusual for Temples, but one Emperor realized that the sun is round so round may be good. We walked along the path the Emperors had trod all those years ago. Outside the buildings were collection of huge pieces of rock and you had to use your imagination as to what they could represent – there’s no right answer apparently.

Lunch was a buffet affair and for the first time the food was quite bland – we had been told by others not to expect tasty food, but that certainly had not been the case until today – and all the glasses were chipped. Since arriving in Beijing we have eaten only Chinese food for lunch and dinner and so far we are still enjoying it (it is on offer for breakfast too, but noodles and dim sum early in the morning seems to be taking it just a bit too far). June is still finding it hard and tending to eat mostly vegetables which are inclined to be less spicy and less saucy – but she did manage to find an English buffet in the hotel last night!

This afternoon we took a ride in a dragon boat on the lake at the Summer Palace. This palace is famous because the “Dragon Lady” had ruled from there. She was the Dowager Empress and Regent for the new Emperor, a child, and by all accounts ruled with a rod of iron – you always need a woman in charge! Another Emperor built the longest corridor in the world at this palace to prove his love for his Empress and lined the walls with paintings. This is being renovated at present, but we still had to walk the length – 728 metres (we were told it’s in the Guinness Book of Records).

Back at the hotel we had to pack our cases again as they have to be ready by 06.30 tomorrow. Luckily (or hopefully) they are being sent straight through to Xian – so they may not be checking weight too carefully – fingers crossed.

This evening we visited yet another Chinese restaurant with more delicious food – although there is a limit to the choice they can keep offering when they provide so many dishes at each meal. The waitresses here were dressed in very elaborate costumes.

Colin then took me to the theatre to celebrate our anniversary – how appropriate! Instead of going to the Peking Opera, which apparently is very screechy and most people don’t understand what’s going on, we went to see “The History of Kung Fu”. It was a very energetic performance with lots of leaping and twirling actors, using swathes and wires to perform some intricate twists and aerial manouvres, as well as several spectacular kung fu moves – balancing on swords, lying on a bed of nails and breaking wood and metal sticks with the hand and head. It told the story of a small boy who became a warrior monk and then fell in love with an imagined figure, before going through purgatory to be reinstated and finally becoming the head abbot. The scenery and special effects were very innovative and you could imagine this on the West End stage and being a great hit – call Cameron MacIntosh immediately!

Beijing has been a real surprise. We have thoroughly enjoyed our visit and found it to be upbeat and buzzing, with really friendly people and good food. The city is very large – about 16,800 sq kms – and very westernized now - it is now compulsory to study English in Chinese schools, so soon it will be easier to converse with people outside the hotels. Our forays into indigenous restaurants were good fun and standing on the Wall was a real highlight. Lots is being done to make the city ready for the Olympics, and there is still lots to do, so there are building sites on every street for new hotels and shopping facilities. But there’s window boxes full of marigolds along the flyovers, there are lots of gardens and trees and the street are so clean – they have people picking up litter, but the Chinese themselves are keen to put their rubbish in bins. It’s definitely another place to come back to.

(Sorry – still no pictures – it,s now almost midnight and we have to be up by 06.00. I think Xian and the Terracotta Warriors may be a busy time too, so may have to wait till we’re cruising on the Yangtze in a few days time.)