Well, what’s left to do in Beijing? Quite a lot really, and what I would like is to return and spend more time just wandering through the hutongs, taking the underground and buses to various places, exploring in a rickshaw. If I ever return to China, it will have to be as a lone traveller, not on a tour, so that I can move around as I wish and spend as long as I like in different places. I love the country, its culture and history, after this first experience of it. But I also know I could never live here. In the midst of all the fantastic experiences we’ve had, I’ve never really forgotten the oppression people lived under for so many decades. Before this trip, I bought several books by two Chinese authors. The reason I didn’t bring them along was because I learnt that both authors have been exiled and their books banned in China. One of them lives in London. This controlling attitude is still evident in China today. It is difficult for people to leave or return to the country – hence the checks at borders. People are happy and relaxed and enjoying the wealth which is now theirs for the taking (well, for some people) but there is still a communist government, and no free passage – or speech – when you want it.
We spent the morning at the Summer Palace, a lovely landscaped estate on the edge of the city. Story has it that an emperor, Qianlong, visited another palace on a lake and was hugely impressed, so he returned home and turned one of his royal gardens into a smaller identical version of the one he’d seen on holiday. This was sometime in the 18th century, and his landscaping and embellishments (he created new hills, islands in the lake, etc) employed over 100,000 labourers. It is undoubtedly a beautiful place, with temples on the hills, arched bridges across to the islands and an amazing long wooden corridor winding alongside the lake, decorated with fine latticework and painted panels.
A later resident at the palace, the dowager empress Cixi, was a bit of a spendthrift. When the buildings were damaged during the 2nd Opium War, she used the money which was earmarked for a new, modern Chinese navy to repair the damage. The only concession she made to the navy was to have a marble boat built at the edge of the lake. She liked taking her lunch on it, apparently. She was also quite cruel – and not a woman to be crossed. She would order 50 or 60 dishes be prepared for each meal, and then only sample a few – after her official taster had tried out all dishes in case they contained poison. Not only wasteful, but also a bit paranoid. Unless, of cure, she had good reason to believe people wanted her dead. She wasn’t exactly beloved of her people; probably a bit of rejoicing when she finally died.
The buildings do have the most charming names: Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion, Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, Temple of the Sea of Wisdom, Cloud Dispelling Hall. And the boats that carry you from mainland to the islands are beautiful, with canopies and embellishments, dragons and other animals at the prow, all painted and goldleafed. It’s a very popular day trip for locals from Beijing and a bit of a tourist attraction for parties of Chinese from all over. And us.
Our next – and last – stop was back in Beijing at a traditional Tea House. A proper tea ceremony to round off our time in China and make sure we got a good dose of the culture. It was a beautiful ceremony, highlighting the Chinese philosophy that it’s not just the end result that matters, but the entire process. So from the heating of the teapot to the final pouring (from a great height) of the boiling water onto the leaves, it was a great thing to watch. We tasted about 5 teas, examined them in their dry state – amazingly they wrap some teas up in tiny rose petals, so they unfold in the boiling water. The art of hand rolling teas before using them is an alien concept to us Brits, accustomed as we are to the dust in our teabags.
The rest of our time in Beijing was our own, to spend as we wished. I really appreciated being rushed from place to place because otherwise, in the short time here in China, we’d have seen relatively little. But it was so nice to just have a day where you could get up when you wanted, sit in the bar or explore shops at your leisure. I went off to find a jade shop I’d seen the first time we were in Beijing, and ended up with lots of small pieces which I can incorporate into jewellery. It’ll look stunning together with silver! I also went to the Artists’ Village in Beijing with three others. a great morning out but could have spent longer. It’s built on the site of an old munitions factory – it must have resembled a small town, with its many streets, railway lines and countless buildings. It’s now been converted to artists’ studios, shops, galleries and cafes. A lovely place. I wandered around for just over an hour, bought a watch to hang round my neck for a fiver. One shop I particularly liked, selling beautifully crafted silver jewellery. I managed to pick up a few ideas…..
There are still reminders of its less peaceful past in the rail lines, engines, huge pipes and boilers which used to service the huge munitions factory. Funnily enough, these provide favourite backdrops for wedding photos! I saw a girl being heavily made up in the back of a car before such a photo shoot, as well as several bridal couples in flouncy finery being snapped against a backdrop of rusty boilers.
We also had a last meal with Margaret and Pete, who left the Ozbus trip at Beijing. Margaret has returned to the States but we may see her again in New York. Pete is flying back to the UK and will be resplendent at his niece’s christening if he puts on his Chinese gear and displays his tattoo. We will miss them both. At the dinner, which was in another hostel which also has a restaurant – very atmospheric – Ciaran, Andy, Ben and Jonny had a surprise for us when they announced they had Awards to hand out. We all got a certificate for something: Linda for battering gypsies (when she foiled an attempt to steal her bag in Moscow), Pat for her Rocky moments, me for being better late than never (joining at Warsaw), Sandra for being a cardsharp, Andy for the best blog, and so on. Some I can’t mention. A lot of fun.
Patamateria 