Beijing and beyond...

Beijing, the capital of China and my last port of call before Australia.

Upon arrival by plane my first port of call was the big sight of China, big being the operative word. It was the Great Wall of China, and it ain't no picket fence.

From Hadyn's Travel Blog China Dump 3

Another early start brought with it a frigid sunny day. Following a two hour drive we had arrived at a remote section of the Great Wall, just outside the throngs of tourists who normally inhabit the key tourist spots. In an attempt to attract more tourists to the area, the wall had been partially refurbished a few years ago to give us the idea of what it was like in its glory day.

Shortly after setting off it seemed that we had acquired some extras to our group. In true Chinese style, we had about four people tagging on to our original group of nine from the starting point. One of our group asked (in Chinese) what they were doing and they replied honestly
“We are going to follow you all the way [for the next four hours it turns out] until you buy enough trinkets to make our day worthwhile.”
Well, at least they were honest about it!



With our mixed ability group, out-running our unwelcome guests wasn't possible, so we just had to endure as they partially acted like guides and partially tried to sell us anything from beer, water and food to trinkets of our journey. After a while, they almost became part of the group, helping those who needed it and offering to take photos without charging(!)

The wall was certainly one up from the Terracotta Warriors, and was damn impressive in both scale and conception. Completely useless historically, especially when you remember that it wasn't actually one large wall, but sections of very long walls. Unfortunately, the enemy the Chinese faced at the time were known for consisting almost entirely of mounted units; the wall just added a couple of day's horse riding practise before the battle.

From Hadyn's Travel Blog China Dump 3

After arriving back from a great day at the wall it was time to get down to business.

Whilst I was in China, more than three separate groups of people mentioned that I should get myself a tailored suit. My last one was purchased when I was a little heavier on the ground and I had since lost a good four inches around the waist, gaining significant width around the legs due to some serious cycling. It was time to go for my first tailoring.

Like all good shopping in China, it was more a battle than a gentle stroll down to the local shops. First, I had to choose my battle-ground. The site must be strategic. It cannot be the fabled Silk Market in Beijing, which is known for it's tailors and tourists alike – this would no doubt have low quality and high prices. It also could not be a true local tailor, as they were known for taking a few weeks to finish a shirt, let alone a suit. What I needed was something in-between...



With the location identified, it was time to choose which one of the many tailors were to get my trade. I decided quality was what mattered the most, and learnt the Chinese for “I want to see the tailored suits you have just created” was. I then went from store to store, not looking at the perfect products which were placed on the manikins, but instead looking at the items for collection. Each item was studied carefully, not that I really had much of a clue what to look for, but stitching especially was pulled and tugged. I think I now have an idea what the UN Weapons inspectors were up to in Iraq – searching for an unknown shaped needle in a stack of needles!

After my fourth store, the quality was deemed acceptable. Now was time to pick the fabric, colours and styles for my two suits. One was the work suit, the other for a wedding of a good friend when I return from my travels.

After a rather lengthy process of trial and elimination, it was time for battle to commence. The price war from hell.

Starting my haggling about a single suit (which started at 300 pounds despite my use of Chinese for the whole haggling process) I managed to battle it down to 110 pounds. Then I threw in the second suit, which was made from a superior fabric – the first was silk, the second cashmere. Finally, after almost 25 minutes of battling, victory was mine. Both suits for 190 pounds. I then mentioned about a tailored shirt, which was priced at 15 final price. The whole lot was mine for 198 pounds. The 8 was a “lucky” number to end the transaction on. I was very chuffed, but still probably got fleeced...

With the sweet smell of victory, despite the fact that I'm sure they are still making a healthy profit margin, it was time to meet my good friend from Xi'an that I walked the mountain pass and enjoyed a meal with the Communist government...

...Despite him being over 2 hours late....

From Hadyn's Travel Blog China Dump 3

When we finally met we decided on our itinerary for the next few days. Some of the key sights of Beijing, and some of those more random moments which make travel so much fun. Perfect.

First it was time to see the Forbidden Kingdom, the emperor's central throne, and the centre of the kingdom for many years.



Here, Jesse did an excellent job of describing the mentality behind the building. Unlike in western buildings, where the building itself is the most important, the space around the building is almost as important within Eastern styles. The forbidden palace, whilst quite impressive, is not really anything special when removed from the space which it occupies. However, when placed in the middle of a large square, atop a raised plinth, it forces the viewer to look up to the building, and the emperor if he were still there. This then couples with the 4 mile journey through gate after gate, which the viewer would have had to undergo to achieve an audience. Psychologically, it was well ahead of its time.

What causes its vast sense of scale and mystery is all lost when the user finally makes it onto the throne chamber. Once here, you can see out of the kingdom's confines back into the real world. This is a view no normal Chinese would have had through during its use.

From Hadyn's Travel Blog China Dump 3

Following some more walking and site-seeing, it was time to move on. It was time for one of the more random moments of my travels.

Jesse is part of a very informal ex-pat choir within Beijing and mentioned that he had to attend the choir meeting that day and so would be unable to meet with me in the afternoon. I don't think he was expecting it, and neither was I, but I then offered to come along and join in. After a brief audition in the middle of a street, I was allowed a special entry permit for a single session.

Let's get the record straight right now. I'm certainly no singer. Whilst I'm not tone deaf, I have never done any singing and would regularly mime if I had to sing whilst at school. Time for a baptism of fire...

On arrival, we all sat around a table and very politely drank our Chinese tea, discussing reasonably intellectual topics of conversation. I was now getting a little worried that this was not as relaxed as Jesse had indicated. I was then asked what part I usually play in the choir – much to my shock. Upon hearing that I had no idea at all, we started a song. I was worried.



The song went like this:
“Mighty Mickey Mouse, Makes love to Minnie in the moonlight, Mighty nice....”

After each repetition it would get lower, probably by a note, but I didn't have a clue. At the end of approximately six minutes of singing about Mickey's marital prowess, I was one of only two people left 'singing'. It turns out I am a bass, which means I can go very low... so I have a use after all!

Although the singing got slightly less light-hearted, including some Latin and French work, the end result was good enough and I don't think I disgraced my country.



That evening we decided to go out for a final night of fun, indulging in the Russian quarter to appease our sudden lust for a good drink. One bottle of vodka later, we all realised why nights out in the Russian quarter are never a good idea.

With a raging headache, it was time to leave China and Jesse for Australia – diving was calling...

From Hadyn's Travel Blog China Dump 3

Something to muse from one of our more intellectual topics of conversation...
During one of our more in-depth conversations about the differences between East and West, Jesse and I turned to the example of Government. In the West, government is often viewed as interfering. Everything they do is seen a meddling and laws often unnecessary and barriers to our freedom. In the East, things are the opposite, government laws are well respected and generally loved by the people as a way to restore order to the populous. After some time in China we believe that we know why.

Take a queue, the bastion of British society. In the UK, everyone knows how to queue, if you need something, then you must wait behind anyone else who was there first, only after they are served will you get your turn. Now, in China, that isn't the case. If you need something, then push to the front and you will get it before everyone else. If that were to happen in the UK, people would say something, they would react and get annoyed. In China, they do not, the government would have to intervene by placing someone to watch the queue to ensure no queue jumping happens.

Historically in the UK, queue jumping was always stamped out sharply and swiftly, especially in smaller towns you would never do it, as you knew the people you were jumping and didn't want to be known as the arse of the village. When the village grows however, and people are less inclined to spend their day arguing, there is a chance that queue jumping beings to work. For those who jump, they receive the reward of quicker service. Although everyone thinks you are a jerk, the town is now large enough that you probably won't see you again, and if they do they would have forgotten by then.

China has very large towns. Therefore the queue jumping has been happening for a while, and whilst in the beginning it benefited those who did it, now that everyone does it, no one wins and what you get is the sheer chaos you will often witness. How do we get around this – government intervention. Consequently, the government is viewed as a positive force; bringing order to chaos.

Supply vs Demand
Another good example of a key difference between China and the West is that of the supply or demand cultures. Within the West, if we get a bad meal at a restaurant, we complain. This usually results in the restaurant providing us with a reduced bill, free food or some other incentive to keep us happy. Within China it's different.

One morning, Jesse and I sat at a table discussing what we wanted to do that day, just having ordered some breakfast with eggs. About 20 minutes later we were told by the owner that they didn't have enough eggs. That's it. Not, “Sorry I don't have enough eggs, but you can have some extra bacon”. No, just “We don't have enough eggs, so one of you will have to do without”. When we then threatened to leave, we were told we cannot, as one meal had been cooked with the available eggs. This is supply side mentality. The supplier had run out of its supply, thus the consumer must suffer. Tough.

The story did have a happy ending, with us suggesting that a trip to a local shop which supplied eggs should be in order, but one suspects that would have not been on the cards if we were Chinese.

Again, one can see the logic to this. In the West, we have a very out-dated view of businesses. If someone in the village doesn't like it, they will tell all their friends and then no-one will eat there. Now, what happens if your village has a very high population density who rarely eat at the same place anyway? With hundreds of restaurants all serving the same food, all within a few square miles, all serving the same millions of consumers, many of which are transient. Now supplier side mentality works.

We can see and example of this ingression into our society at tourist hot-spots and viewpoints. If you open a restaurant near a tourist location such as Stonehenge, you will always have customers, no matter how awful your service or awful your food. In this location, it would be best to maximise profits by employing idiots for minimal wage and providing the cheapest food available. Okay, give your customers the best from those ingredients, but if it fails, so what?