Beijing: The capitol of capital

The 1st thing one notices upon arriving in Beijing (BJ) for the 1st time after spending over 6 months in other parts of the country is how damn expensive everything is; everything is twice the price, at least. Fortunately I was able to couch surf at friends of friends/family’s places or else my time in BJ would have found me in overpriced roach motels. Better still was the fact that the first place I stayed was a mere 20-minute walk from the Pakistani embassy, miraculous really considering both the immense size of BJ and the innumerable times I was asked to make the trip. After many days dealing only with headaches, I decided to play tourist and visit the most famous site within BJ, The Forbidden City.

Maybe I caught it on a bad day, but the only thing forbidden now from the once sanctimonious dwelling of the emperors is anyone unwilling to shell out 60 kuai. A testament to the burgeoning capitalism in BJ & China: There is a Starbucks inside The Forbidden City! Hundreds, nay, THOUSANDS of hype-driven foreign and domestic tourists detracted tremendously from the aura of the grounds which were once graced by only eunuchs and concubines. After my visit, I feel it’s more intriguing to watch Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor”. The nearby Tiananmen Square was much smaller than I’d envisioned. It was hard to believe that this was where thousands of democracy advocates were once squashed by tanks (an action which the Communist Chinese government to this day defends as “necessary”). The visit to the Mao-soleum in the middle of it all -the 1st mausoleum I’ve seen- was a comical peek into the modern Chinese mind. The waxy-looking Chairman didn’t look all that impressive.

        Not just another brick in The Wall

After learning the hard way time and time again in China to not believe the hype, I went to The Great Wall (TWG) with very low expectations. Hey, I’ve seen WALLS before. But when I arrived at TWG, my pre-conceived notions disappeared immediately. The winding, unrestored structure ascended steeply up the mountainside and off into the horizon in such a way that pictures just can’t do it justice. You just gotta see it to believe it. This section, Huanghuacheng, purportedly required one laborer’s entire day’s work for each inch of masonry. (more…)

XINJIANG: Blonde, Muslim & Chinese

Wild Bactrian camels, Kyrgyz yurts, live Tajik music and dancing, Xinjiang is a world unto itself. The far western frontier of China is as much a separate country as Tibet. Claims for independence have been suppressed by the PLA and by heavy investment by Beijing as the gov’t tries to find more suitable places for its crushing population to inhabit.

Hotan – Vestiges of a dying breed

My 1st touristy destination after 4 lax days recovering from the Tibetan isolation was the weekly market in Hotan, once a key oasis on what’s come to be known as the Silk Road. My timing was good this time as I could experience the calamity of the ancient trading methods in their natural setting in its waning months. This year China plans to “improve” the area by razing it in favor of a modern mall-type structure. (more…)