Post #195 30 September 2019

Gentlefolk,

We got back from China, caught up with emails and family & friends, now it's time to blog our experiences.

I will do a post (this one) describing our two week ACFS Tour of the Beijing Hinterland and a separate post on the week we spent visiting our former university in Qingdao.

The tour was the brain-child of Carol Keil, President of the ACT Branch of the Australia China Friendship Society (ACFS), and arranged by the China Travel Service. Twelve members from Canberra participated (including Carol, who was an excellent Tour Leader), and one from ACFS NSW (Ella Hong).

Unfortunately I had an attack of gout on our first day there (my first-ever experience of gout - not something I would recommend!).  The toes on my right foot became swollen and inflammed.  Eventually saw a doctor who confirmed that it was gout, and got medication.

But for the two weeks of this tour my mobility was severely restricted.

Anyway, it was very nice to be back in China again after an absence of 3 years. Such a dynamic, amazing country.


Herewith photos of some of the activities of the Tour.

A map showing our itinerary. We stayed in Pinggu (about 50 km from the centre of Beijing), Chengde (about 230 km from BJ and 350 meters above sea level), Yanqing (about 70 km from BJ), Zhangjiakou about 150 km from BJ and 750 meters above sea level) and Beijing itself (Beijing is about 50 meters above sea level).

The extensive, and very good, highway system around Beijing. Can you believe that 35 years ago, when I worked at the Australian Embassy in Beijing, the road from Beijing to Tianjin (about 150 km) was so bad that it took 5 - 6 hours by car!! Now there are super highways and the High-Speed Train does it in 45 minutes!

We flew Qantas from Sydney to Beijing on 28 August 2019; eleven hours.

The group at the departure gate at Sydney Airport.

A photo of our Tour Group.  This photo was taken when we visited the International Horticultural Expo near Yanqing. Elsa & Mike, Jeanette, Carol & Brian, Jean, Abel & John, Angela & John, and Vera & me (during this visit I had to use a wheelchair because of my gout). Missing from the photo: Ella.

This was our bus during the tour; very comfortable - we had plenty of room to spread out. Mr Jiang was our very good driver.

I usually sat on the back seat - so that I could elevate my right foot. Can you see how swollen my right foot is, from gout? 

Our intrepid guide, Candy Wang Yan Hui, from China Travel Service.  She met us on arrival, and saw us off on the last day.  Good English, knowledgeable, and friendly. Here she is at the front of the bus, typical stance, microphone in hand, telling us stories about China.

PINGGU

On the first afternoon we visited the extensive Foshan Caves near Pinggu, and specifically the Jingdong Karst Cave, reputedly 1.5 billion years old!
The following day the group went up a mountain in Shi Lin Xia Scenic Area (Stone Forest Gorge) by cable-car, and accessed a glass "sky walk", bigger than the one at the Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately I couldn't go, stayed home to rest my right foot which was swollen and sore (at that stage I didn't realise that it was an attack of gout and I hoped that a day's rest would cure the problem).

One of the impressive formations inside the Jingdong Cave.

We had banquets for lunch and dinner every day, usually featuring 15 or more dishes (and of course we wanted to try each dish).  The food was a bit overwhelming, day-in day-out, but I guess that is the easiest way to feed a group.

CHENGDE

Chengde, the summer Palace for the Qing Dynasty Emperors; located about 230 km north-east of Beijing and about 750 meters above sea-level. With excellent highways it now only takes 3 or 4 hours to drive from Beijing; but 200 years ago it took over a month to move the whole court. We had a long-weekend here back in 1986, took hours by slow train from Beijing, with David & Minette Ambrose (David was Deputy Head-of-Mission at the Australian Embassy).  Chengde is very different now:  an impressive city, the historical sites have been extensively renovated.

Several of the temples have a Tibetan Buddhist look.

The Great Wall at Huanghua Cheng. This is very rugged country indeed - how did they ever build here? Must have cost a fortune in resources and lives!  This section of the Wall has been rebuilt and recently opened to the public.

Another view of the Great Wall, along the top of ridges.  We used to visit the Wall often (mainly around Ba Da Ling in the mid-1980s) and I never tired of it - such a crazy/amazing feat of engineering and human endeavour!  Only Emperors could decide to build about 10,000 km of walls, along the northern borders of this huge country, in an effort to keep out possible invaders from the north.

We had lunch in a restaurant run by fans of Mao Ze Dong - a whole wall was dedicated to him. Mao is widely admired as the founder of New China - the mistakes he made, such as some of his disastrous economic policies and the Cultural Revolution, which cost millions of innocent lives - are largely overlooked. There is no doubt that Mao was a brilliant strategist and revolutionary, but Deng Xiao Ping had a clearer vision of a better future and how to get there.

YANQING

The Wyndham Hotel in Yanqing had wheelchairs for disabled or injured guests, so I borrowed one to use when we visited the Horticultural Expo. I'd never used a wheelchair before and did a few wheelies in the foyer to get used to it. Fortunately using a cane was usually enough for me to get around (hence my new nick-name: Hop-a-long!).

Map of the Horticultural Expo near Yanqing on the northern outskirts of Beijing.  It covers a huge area of 503 hectares. Exhibits from all provinces of China, and over 80 foreign countries (including a disappointing pavilion from Australia).
Personally I think "Expos" have passed their use-by dates in this globalised, digital era, but obviously China still thinks they are important as a show-case. The Government must have spent tens of millions of dollars putting on this impressive Expo.

Vera and me at the entrance to the Horticultural Expo. We are standing in front of the Expo mascots.

One of the many, intricate flower displays.

Welcome to the German Pavilion. Australia also had a Pavilion, but very ordinary - obviously done on a tiny budget!

The German Pavilion included a beer garden where you could buy a snack (German sausage, of course!) and German beer - it was patronised by Brian and John (Ella is hiding behind the menu).  Very civilised.  

A lovely orchid display in the International Pavilion.

The International Bamboo Organisation sponsored this Pavilion - the whole structure was made of bamboo.

On the sixth day my foot wasn't improving and we had a free half-day so Candy took me to this nearby hospital. I saw the specialist twice - she confirmed I had gout - had blood analysed, had an injection, got tablets - good service - everything cost about A$120.

Specialist Dr Gao Hui arranged for me to have a blood test which showed that my Uric Acid count was high and supported the diagnosis of gout.  It was my first experience of gout - painful, not nice.  Dr Gao arranged a corti-steroid injection (which reduced the inflammation) and Prednisone tablets (which reduced the swelling). The inflammation went within a few days, but the swelling lasted longer.

The busy food-hall in the hospital catered to visitors and patients.

ZHANGJIAKOU

Driving from Yanqing to Zhangjiakou, we stopped at the Ji Ming Yi Ancient Village.

The wall around Ji Ming Yi Ancient Village is a square with each side about 500 meters.  The wall averages 5 meters wide at the base, and from 2 to 3 meters wide at the top.

One of several old temples in Ji Ming Yi Village.

Inside the temple.

There was a small museum in Ji Ming Yi Village which featured, among other things, a section on Mao and the Little Red Book (above), and many old radios (below).

We stayed in the Zhangjiakou International Hotel - comfortable rooms, and a great breakfast. Zhangjiakou is about 150km from Beijing, half-way to Inner Mongolia. A large, busy city.  It will co-host (with Beijing) the 2022 Winter Olympics.  A High-Speed Train is under construction, almost finished.  

We travelled on excellent highways, with many tunnels and bridges. China has planted millions and millions of trees and shrubs along the highways.

It is a bit difficult to see, but there were huge solar-farms all along the base of this range of hills; when the sun was glinting off the solar panels it looked like a rivers of silver.
The Chinese Government has invested heavily in renewable energy, solar and wind. 

BEIJING

Our hotel in Beijing, the Novotel Peace Hotel just near Wang Fu Jing Shopping Street.  It was centrally located.

Our group waiting near Niu Jie Mosque, one of several mosques serving the estimated 250,000 Muslims in Beijing. This mosque was built in 996 AD, and refurbished around 1700, during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi. Unfortunately the Mosque was closed for prayers, so we went to a silk factory instead (see below). Note the "bikes-for-hire in the foreground.  They seemed to be quite popular in Beijing.

We went to a Silk Factory (really, a marketing ploy for silk products, but interesting nevertheless).

That evening we went to a Kung Fu Show in the Red Theatre - an exciting and professional production, great spectacle.

The following morning we visited the Confucius Temple in Beijing.  Built in 1302, it is the largest shrine to Confucius (551 - 479 BC) outside his hometown Qufu in Shandong Province. Confucius is revered in China as a great teacher who promoted education for all. His famous sayings include: "Treat others as you want them to treat you"; "Life is simple but we make it complicated"; "It does not matter how fast you go as long as you don't stop".

A lovely gate in the grounds of the Confucius Temple.

Next to the Confucius Temple is the Imperial College (Guo Zi Jian) which is an ancient educational institution. It is now a museum, also used for conferences. Confucius started China's long love-affair with learning and education which continues today.  Teachers are respected and esteemed.  On National Teachers Day, every 10 September, the contribution of teachers is recognised and celebrated around the country.  This year President Xi Jin Ping met with teachers and thanked them, which was front-page news.

A Guqin (7 string traditional instrument) Conference & Exhibition was held in the Imperial College.

Many of the men and women helping with the Guqin Conference & Exhibition wore traditional clothes. Chinese culture has deep roots in society.

A foreign visitor getting instruction on how to play the Guqin.

We dressed up for the call on the Beijing Office of the Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Meeting with Madam Zhang Qiang, Director of the Association; a most impressive lady. Fluent English, clever. She expressed dismay at the constant negative portrayal of China by the Western media.

The menu for our lunch at the Friendship Association. The lunch was beautifully presented, and delicious!

We had dinner with friends from Qingdao: former UPC students Lui Fang Qiang now working as a journalist), and Wang Bing (working for a financial company), and former English teacher Ben Rotheram (now with the Sino - British Trade Council). Good to see them all doing well.

A stroll along famous Wang Fu Jing shopping street which was near our hotel. We used to come here in 1984 - 6 as there were very few shops in Beijing at that time; crowds would follow us around as foreigners (especially with children) were a curiosity. So different now - there are huge shopping malls everywhere, and foreigners don't get a second glance these days.

Still on Wang Fu Jing street - bulls are regarded as lucky!

Lots of police in evidence in busy public areas like Wang Fu Jing shopping street - actually, we didn't see any physical violence at all during our 3 weeks in China, and only encountered one beggar!

The government provided modern mobile toilets for the public in Wang Fu Jing street. Previously it was hard to find a public toilet, and they were usually dirty anyway.  Much improved now.

On the Tour's last night, 11 September 2019, Candy arranged dinner in this Peking Duck restaurant. The exterior did not prepare one for the large and ornate interior.

Ready for our last banquet.   

One of the chefs preparing Peking Duck; it needs skill to get the right combination of duck skin, fat and meat. The meal was delicious - probably the best we had.

Candy did her party trick again: opening beer with another bottle. She is multi-skilled!! Thank you for everything, Candy - you did us proud!
After the meal most of the group went to the airport for the return flight to Sydney while some stayed on. It was a really good two weeks - we had fun, saw many interesting things, and all the members of the group got on well.

Vera & I stayed one more night in Beijing, at the Jianguo Hotel. This is where we stayed (for 3 nights before moving into an apartment) when we first arrived in December 1983; it was new then, and the best hotel in Beijing! It's still a nice hotel, but now one of hundreds of good hotels.

The front lounge of the Jianguo Hotel, near the check-in desk. It was once regarded as the height of sophistication and luxury in Beijing!

A view of the main street outside the front of the Jianguo Hotel - modern high-rise buildings as far as eye can see and lots of cars everywhere.  Very different from 1983 when very few buildings were taller than 6 floors, with millions of bicycles and few cars.

Boarding our flight from Beijing to Qingdao; we were going to spend 6 days at our former university.

...

The upside of my forced periods of rest due to gout during the 2 weeks was that I read many more books than I ever expected, namely:

• Jerusalem the Golden by Margaret Drabble (1969)
• The New Girl by Daniel Silva (2019)
• The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith (2011)
• The Rome Prophesy by John Trace (2011)
• Crucible by S G MacLean (2011)
• Dove by Robin Lee Graham and Derek Gill (1972). This book was the most interesting - described the experience of Robin who, in 1965, set off to sail solo around the world in a 24 foot boat called "Dove". He was only 16 years old and started with $70 cash in his pocket! That's the definition of 'optimist'; it took him 5 years, but he did it! An amazing story.

...

I started reading the China Daily again.  I know that it promotes the Communist Party line, but without reading Chinese it is the best source available. The following were some of the stories during our time in China:

Domestic:

• Demonstrations in Hong Kong are continuing, smaller numbers but more violent;
• Ma Yun (aka Jack Ma), founder of Alibaba and China's richest person, announced his 'retirement' on his 55th birthday (he believes younger people should run e-businesses);
• Beijing's new Daxing Airport was getting ready to open at the end of September.  Cost US$13 billion, took just 5 years to build, will initially handle 50 million passengers, increasing to 100 m over time;
• Millions of pigs slaughtered in African-Swine-Fever affected areas; price of pork hit US$4.80 / kg;
• eCommerce sales in China totalled US$2.8 trillion in the first half of 2019 (about 25% of total retail sales);
• Sales of new automobiles in 2019 expected to be about 26 million units, down more than 5% on the previous year.

International:

• New US tariffs started on 1 September on about US$150 billion imports from China, with more to come in December; bilateral trade talks to start again in October;
• Nadal beat Medvedev in the US Open for his 19th Grand Slam; 19 year old Canadian Bianca Andreescu beat Serena Williams in Womens Final.
• Mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid her 12th official visit to China;
• British PM Boris Johnson struggling with Brexit and Parliament;
• Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas;
• President Trump cancelled peace talks with the Taliban;
• FIBA Basketball World Cup first 4 placings: Spain, Argentina, France, Australia.

 Article in the China Daily on 3 September about economic progress. After years of negotiations China was admitted as a member of the World Trade Organisation on 11 December 2001. It was the 143rd country to join the WTO. Some of the economic changes since then:

• In 2001 China's GDP was US$1.3trillion; in 2018 it was US$13.3 trillion;
• Foreign exchange reserves increased from US$200 billion to US$3.1 trillion;
• Foreign Direct Investment increased from US$47 billion to US$135 billion;
• Average tariff rate on imports into China decreased from 15.3% to 9.8%;
• Over 700 million people have been lifted out of severe poverty since 1978;
• In 2017 608,000 Chinese students were studying overseas (360,000 in the USA);
• China was ranked 14th on the 2019 Global Innovation Index (up 13 places since 2013).

...

That's it for this post. One of the advantages of writing this blog is re-living the Tour.  It was a fun two weeks (gout notwithstanding);  we saw many new places (off the usual tourist track); ate lots of good food; and made new friends.

This afternoon Vera & I had coffee with Jeanette and her husband Patrick Regan - fun to reminisce about the Tour.

My next post will describe the 6 days we spent visiting our former university in Qingdao.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera Olah & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Monday 30 September 2019