Of Beijing, Blogging and Trains

“Beijing, China: Teenage Naivety strikes again (AP)”

Headlines really should have been screaming that, for whatever reason, I formerly maintained the elusion that blogs from mainstream hosts such as Blogspot or Wordpress would be readily accessible in China. Instead, the Great Firewall of China steps in and a generic message reading “server taking too long to respond” appears on your screen. Paradoxically, Blogger.com is accessible, so I can update my blog, as will be obvious to you. I just can’t read it. Actually that’s not strictly true. Through the usage of a site called Proxy4china.com, even the notorious Naïve Teen can read all that the blogosphere has to offer.
Despite the lunacy of the internet control office, Beijing is a wonderful city. Whilst tourists generally come to see relatively ancient, ornate sites such as the Forbidden City or Temple of Heaven, the Russian-inspired structures on Tiananmen Square, such as the Great Hall of the People, are some of the captivating buildings in the capital. Not for their beauty, which is yet to be discovered, but more for the way they make Beijing feel such more impressive, in the linguistic sense of the word.
This is not a knock on the genuinely beautiful buildings immediately to the north of the Square, but the Communist-era structures have so much more historical relevance that from the perspective of a history lover, those are the sites to see.
Recently, many of my blog posts have been written aboard some form of transport or another and this trend continues for I lie aboard the K601 train to Taiyuan, jittering and jerking here or there. My only previous experience of China’s sleeper trains was on a school trip to Xi’an when I was living in Nanjing a few years ago. On the –Nanjing-Zhengzhou leg of the trip, we were lucky enough to have a reasonably private hard sleeper compartment (think a soft sleeper compartment without a door and topped with two extra bunks). On the way back, all the way from Xi’an, we were delayed 2 hours on the tracks in a much more open carriage. Not much fun.
But today, I have opened a new chapter in my experience of train travel. I am travelling soft-sleeper, posh class. Key differences? There are doors, and there is considerably more space. That’s about it. On the newer Z trains, things are meant to on a scale more comparable to the Oriental Express, so if I get the chance to check them out, believe me when I say I will.
As we speed towards the greener areas of Central China, I will miss Beijing, the fervent metropolis that is, but on the other hand, I do like my lungs aren’t full of sand. Photos to follow tomorrow, and no, none of my lungs.

Zaijian

Jottings from Beijing

After 36 hours in and around the capital, the double-bladed China Syndrome is starting to strike and hard. In one corner, we have the dusty, smoky air that swamps many urban areas of China. In the other corner, we have the progressive attitudes and cheap street vendors that first got me hooked on the Middle Kingdom.

So far, the latter is holding strong, and being above the smog line on the Great Wall near Mutianyu certainly helped things. Speaking of which, the Wall certainly has been tidies up in anticipation of the tourist boom, and is night and day from the crumbling bricks I climbed 12 years ago when living in Beijing for two months.

There is a line of street vendors along the approach to the chairlift up the hillside to the Wall itself. That’s right chairlift, Japanese-made and all. There is also an Italian coffeehouse adjacent to the car park.

Of course, the sightlines from the Wall are amazing, although Mr Ciao, are tour guide, informed us that this was the clearest day he had seen in a long time. Nevertheless, it was fascinating gazing towards the huge, steep, rocky mountains stretching as far the Mongolian Steppes. To think that this was built in a time predating the technology is truly amazing, a task more arduous even than that encountered by the Egyptian pyramid labourers many centuries before. Still, despite all the history behind the Wall, the most enjoyable aspect of the visit was the toboggan ride to the base of the hill. Despite a Mao-jacket behooded girl shrieking “no pikature,” it was an exhilarating way to cap off a great day, once we figured out that are legs had to be stretched out to build up speed.

So far, the trip has been amazing, and visiting a craft factory was also a lot of fun. In a few minutes, we’re leaving for a Peking Duck restaurant, and the tomorrow we visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Summer Palace before taking the overnight train to Taiyuan, meaning I’ll be away from the internet for about 24 hours. Check back then for more exciting musings, and hopefully I’ll also have had a chance to update my Flickr by then.

The Epitome of China

More to follow once I've caught up on some sleep. In the meantime, here's the link to my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10023454@N00/

CITS = ?

Well really, CITS stands for China International Tourist Service, and is essentially the PRC’s government tourist agency. In a country like China, having a government-affiliated tour guide could prove to be useful, for securing train tickets and getting problems sorted out.

But this could also complicate things. In every city, the CITS bureau has a list of endorsed souvenir shops. The tour guides receive a commission on all purchases made by their group there, and thus naturally will shepherd their tourists into such shops. This may not sound too bad, and it probably isn’t, but from my experience, one of the defining things in China is being able to wander down a little backstreet and stumble upon fantastic little flea markets where Cultural Revolution era Little Red Books can still be had.

Usually, these little knooks and crannies are not officially endorsed, meaning that you are less likely to be led towards them. Whilst in places such as Fuzimiao in Nanjing or YuYuan in Shanghai, flea markets are neigh unavoidable; they can be hard to find in other cities.

Still, this is not to say that all CITS guides are so heavily inclined to build up commission. For all I know, Mr Ciao will reveal these little curios to us, and most likely it is simply luck of the draw, and this rant isn’t even aimed at the tour guides themselves. This policy just seems a little on the archaic side of things.

And the cause of this indignation? Well this is my first real tour, and to date I have explored China without restriction in the most basic sense of the word. Whilst I’m looking forward to seeing from a slightly different slant, I’m praying those few degress don’t affect my impression of what is without a doubt one of my favourite countries on this planet.

With about 40 minutes to go before landing in Beijing, we’ll see.

UPDATE 14:44 Chinese Time: If my first impressions are correct, then Mr Ciao will help, not hinder us.

Mornin’ from Mongolia

Well 40,000 feet above Mongolia on a Boeing MD-11, to be exact. And on that subject, wow is Mongolia ever dry. One moment, we are cruising above the snow-coated mountain ranges near Irkutsk, the next, we are steadily flying over the Mongolian steppes. The difference is truly amazing. Granted, however, I’m not entirely sure that I didn’t drift off during that moment.

Good news though. So far, I have escaped the…ahem…consequences of Finnair catering. Imagine arriving at your favourite breakfast bar only to be told that today was Omelette, Pancake and Baked Beans. If you can imagine that, then you have a pretty good impression of the _horror delight I experienced after two hours of surprisingly pleasant sleep.

In many ways, Finnair reminds me of Air China. Both airlines are sharp and efficient on short haul routes, with sparkly new aircraft. On long haul however, the fleet age goes up and subsequently the quality goes down. Whereas on Air China, my seat had a constant desire to recline, AY51 brought with it a wonky table. Nothing life-altering, but it didn’t give the greatest first impression.

Still, having a flight that is at most 2/3rds full means we can stretch out considerably, something that is a definite rarity on most “mainstream” carriers such as British Airways or American Airlines. And it gets better. Poor Finnair obviously feels shame at this slightly deficient portion of the international fleet, as there are PSPs and Personal DVD Players to save face until the MD-11s are fully phased out by 2010.

Here I should mention that from this year, Finnair are bringing in quite a number of Airbus A340s as part of their Europeanisation policy. The A340 is known as one of the quietist and most fuel-efficient long-haul jets, so this dedication to environmental awareness is again impressive.

Solely from a passenger’s perspective, the A340 will also be a treat, with powerports for every seat, inflight e-mail, on-demand TV and the ability to hear yourself think. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Oh and Mongolia looks cool.

Mmm-Kay

So I was just reading the latest edition of The Hockey News. There is a special feature rankings the 31 General Managers of the National Hockey League. Yes, Dallas have two.

For some reason, Brian Burke’s prodigal son, Dave Nonis of the Vancouver Canucks. THN’s reasoning:

- Nonis has shown a post-lockout inability to sign that elusive forward to fill out the top six. Fair enough, but this season players such as Ryan Shannon, Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond, Alex Burrows have shown that sought-after offensive touch. Combine that with the return of Brendan Morrison from a long injury layoff and the acquisition from Washington of Matt Pettinger for washed-out fan favourite Matt Cooke, and the Canucks legitimately claim to have 9 offensive forwards. There are 5 forwards averaging 0.25 goals per game, equivalent to 20 tallies over the 82 game campaign: Brendan Morrison, Daniel Sedin, Markus Naslund, Mason Raymond and Ryan Kesler.

- THN also ranted at Nonis for refusing to forfeit Alex Edler and Ryan Kesler for Brad Richards, then of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Richards won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2003/2004, but since then has done little, and before being acquired by Dallas had a league-worst -17 and was on pace for approximately 60 points, and was also burdened with an $8 millon salary. Conversely, Alex Edler was named to the Western Conference YoungStars roster, is considered to be a dark horse candidate for the Calder Trophy, and is also projected to become a franchise defenceman. Likewise, Ryan Kesler is considered by many to win the Frank J Selke trophy, possibly as early as this year. Individually, those players are hardly worth trading for Richards, so it conversely to what The Hockey News thinks, it would be insane to trade Edler and Kesler for Brad Richards.

This isn’t even Eastern bias, this is just plain stupidity.

Harping From Helsinki

Well, if I’m honest, I’m not actually in the Finnish capital, I’m about 4km over the Ural Mountains, but Harping from Helsinki just sounds better. My overall impressions of the trip so far?

- They really ought to tidy up security at Heathrow Terminal 1. The atmosphere was very temporary, due mainly to straggling wires here and there.

- Helsinki is dark. I was expecting a suave, European capital. Granted, it is difficult to get an accurate impression from the air, but it definitely had a dull, dark ambience to it. To summarise in one onomatopoeic word, Brrrr...

Still, as I sit here aboard Finnair 51 to Beijing, I am filled with a pleasant apprehension as to what awaits us in the Middle Kingdom. One of the participants in this tour last visited China 30 years ago and is nervously anticipating what will to her look like a different country. Whilst I left only 18 months ago, that same fervour has beset me. For instance, have modern… no wait, sorry, space age trains been instituted on the Central China routes yet? To what extent has old Xianlin University and College Town been developed? Most importantly, will this still be the China I knew and loved?

I’m not sure I’ll know it, but I feel confident that I’ll love it, albeit from the sheltered perspective of a prope tourist. Still, for me the funniest thing about China is that is impossible to talk about it in the present tense, for when you do, you’re already out of date.

However, I don’t know what tense, let alone what language I’ll be talking in Monday evening after over 40 sleepless hours. Should be fun.

"I want in!"

Despite the recent unrest in Tibet and other parts of Western China, our tour is still going ahead, and I'll be blogging from various locations around China for the next few weeks, providing Blogger is not blocked by the firewall to end all firewalls.

Below is my itinerary:

Day 1: Helsinki Airport (lets pray for free wifi)
Day 2: Beijing
Day 3: Beijing, Train
Day 4: Taiyuan and Pingyao
Day 5: Pingyao, Train
Day 6: Xi'an
Day 7: Xi'an, Train, Luoyang
Day 8: Luoyang, Longmen Grottoes, Shaolin, Zhengzhou
Day 9: Zhengzhou, Plane, Nanjing
Day 10: Nanjing
Day 11: Nanjing, Train, Suzhou
Day 12: Suzhou, Bus, Hangzhou
Day 12: Hangzhou
Day 13: Hangzhou, Shanghai
Day 14: Shanghai
Day 15: Shanghai, Helsinki, London

Don't get your hopes up, as I probably won't have time/ means to blog every single day, but do check back every now and then for photos and that little thing that makes the world go around, musings.

Warning: Tread Carefully!

Since the dawn of modern diplomacy, domestic silence has surrounded contentious issues involving China. This trend wanders on after exiled Tibetans rallied and protested in the streets of Lhasa.
Their anger at China's staging of the Olympic Games this summer was apparently no match for local military forces, as two of the protesters lay dead in the parade streets surrounding Potala Palace and Jokhang Square. Predictably, organizations such as Radio Free Asia, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were all up in arms over the turbulent incident, seemingly throwing caution to the wind regarding their purportedly pacifistic rooting.
Still, several thousand miles to the East, it was work as usual in Beijing as preparations hit full throttle in the run-up to the Olympics. Not a word of the Tibetan unrest is spoken amongst the marching band practicing on Tiananmen Square. Whilst gales of unrest sweep Lhasa, barely a breeze of notice is detectable over Beijing. Such a paradox is only possible in China, a country where, bizarrely, rampant capitalism, Communist doctrine and censured media all go happily, hand in hand.
However, Beijing understands that negative press is only going to sour the Middle Kingdom's shiny status as international dish of the day. Whilst the West screams for deliverance of freedom of speech legislation, China cowers behind the world's largest media firewall. But just why does the world's most powerful nation feel so vulnerable? All thats for certain, is that its another unnerving paradox that China could do without.
Ironically, though, the PRC is home to many bloggers, webmasters, so long and so forth, but if the Politburo was to officially condone the practice of citizen media, then much material would be lost. So on some level, it is a lose-lose situation for China's bloggers.
So where does that leave Tibet? Well, in short, Xizang, as the region is known in Chinese will be still be bound by high unemployment and isolation from the main currency flows of the Eastern seaboard. In that respect, it is difficult to understand what exactly the protesters were protesting. True, China should not impose its will on Tibet, but independence will hardly help matters. Its not as though there is money or diplomatic support in place to facilitate a transformation (see Kosova), so essentially Tibet is acting like a whiney little brother, wanting what it can't have and shifting blame on what is its essentially its big brother. And, as my little bro can attest to, that's a move that can come back to bite you. Hard.

Asking for Trouble

In the UK, common sense and logic has it that you just don't accept a ride in a private vehicle from a stranger. At times, this may seem like an over the top piece of parental advice, but is usually regarded as a sound tactic. Overseas, however, we lose this common sense for some reason.

Case in point: Scarlet Keeling, a Devon teenager living in India with her family, accepted a lift home from a stranger and wound up dead on a beach. Goa, India, where Keeling lived with her mother and siblings, is no London or Liverpool, but as a city of 1.5 million, similar precautions should be taken there as you might expect in the UK. However, as I can attest to, exotic countries can nullify one's sense of judgment. For example, when I was living in Nanjing, China, I thought nothing of flagging down a black cab. Well not nothing. I thought they were a cheaper alternative to licensed taxis. Granted I am a 16 year old male and Keeling was a 15 year old female, but the start of the sequence was the same. Whilst I usually traveled with several of my equally male friends, none of us were experts on the local road map and so could easily have been led into uncomfortable situations. Nothing untoward ever happened, but looking back, I was probably a bit foolish.

As the Keeling case proves though, foolish, naive decisions can bare consequences that are deadly serious. Unfortunately, Scarlet's problems were compounded as her mother and siblings were visiting another area of India at the time. The bells of the McCann case of last May are ringing whole-heartedly in my ears. Gary and Kate McCann left their 3 children, all under the age of 4, alone in a holiday apartment whilst boozing it up with friends. Fiona McKowen, Scarlet's mother freely admitted that her daughter had been dating a 25 year-old. In adulthood, a 10 year difference is not unheard of, but at that age, it is pedophilia. Pedophilia which the mother appears to have condoned. Whilst teenagers making naive choices is the global norm, parents need to be responsible in a foreign environments and avoid being lulled into the false sense of security that so often floats over foreign holiday hotspots. Otherwise fun in the sun will no longer be such a lethal tourist trap.