ItchyFeetBlog

China days 1 – 9 Beijing to Xi’an

So it’s day 9 of trip to South East Asia. I’m currently in Xi’an China having started in Beijing.

China thus far has been a bit of mix for me.

I’m both impressed and disturbed by the diversity of the people around what they have and have not. China isn’t at all communist, in fact they could certainly teach us a thing or two about commerce and the fine art of negotiation. The living conditions of the poor are appalling. The Hutongs as they are called displayed some of the worst living conditions I’ve seen. I’m not easily shocked but it really was something I didn’t expect to see.  In this part of China, it would seem that for the prols at least, communism was about equality of having fuck all and unfortunately that notion persists today for a huge number of China’s populous.  I saw families huddled in one room shacks with cardboard for a roof, a bed and a cooking pot in the centre of the room no bigger than 8ft squared. These weren’t isolated instances either, there were literally rows upon  rows of similar dwellings. When you look at the opulence and splendour of the various attractions and transport systems it does make you ask, whoa hang on shouldn’t China be fixing this sort of thing!? Should they really have spent all those millions on hosting the Olympics even, and will they re-invest the proceeds on the lives of the people who live like this? My guess is, no I doubt it and I’m sure it’s probably a little bit more complex that putting up a few more new houses here and there   but hey, what do I know – I’m just a spoilt fat cockney bastard with the means and opportunity to choose not to live that way.

Outside of food, you’re little more than a big mug if you pay the asking price. They start at the far end of the scale asking silly money for a product. You of course are expected to knock them down and give them an equally ridiculous price at the other end of the scale. A series of counter offers ensues before you eventually agree on a price.

It’s a little annoying to be honest, because in many ways you have no idea what a ‘fair’ price is. You also feel like you are constantly being hustled and identified as a walking pound note.  It’s as if they see you as johnny foreigner (long wei) with too much cash and the stupidity to match. This seems to be an unfortunate aspect of virtually every tourist attraction I’ve visited, with guides steering you into sales traps to upsell you into a purchase you don’t really want. Street hawkers barter furiously and follow you up and down the street shouting ‘best price, best price ’ or ‘you come back later, I give you best price’ etc.  Sure, we’ve all got to earn a living but FFS have a bit of decorum China.

Anyways, my slight grumble about ‘buy buy buy’ aside,  I am actually loving China.

Beijing

Beijing is a hustling bustling hive of activity. It’s awesome to feel like a foreigner, I’m clearly an unusual sight to these people and in a funny way that’s kinda cool.

The food has been amazing! You haven’t had a number 43 until you’ve eaten it out here. The places I’ve eaten at have served me enthusiastically and I’m sure have been amused at my lack of chopstick dexterity but hey, splashes of chilli beef on one’s T-shirt is what it’s all about. I’ve seen some truly awesome sights all of which deserve a blog post of their own at some point. The Hutongs, Bai Hai Park, Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City, The Great Wall, Dadong Restaurant to name but a few.

Travel has been brilliant. It’s so cheap too. A taxi fare is about one tenth of what I’d pay in England and bus fares are just crazy (70p for a 30 mile trip).

Xi’an

We travelled down to Xi’an by train from Beijing on deluxe soft sleeper class for seventy pounds, a trip of around 12 hours. The countryside views were an amazing combination of bustling re developments, shanty towns, mountain views, expansive vistas of fields and shrubbery shrouded in mists and and and. Seriously words don’t do it justice, I promise to put up a pic or two at some point.

Xi’an seems a little more western than Beijing which might be a legacy of it’s rich trading past. Xi’an was once a the capital of China and was an important part of the Silk road. My theory is that the constant flow of different people over the years has left a bit of a mark and made the people a little more accepting of people like me and are more willing to embrace aspects of other cultures. Perhaps it’s an education thing too. I’ve found it a whole lot easier to communicate here. One taxi driver enthused about ‘Arick Felguson’ and seemed to know about ‘Arsene Wenger’, despite pronouncing him as ‘Alsen Wanka’ a sound that much amused my puerile self. He even called his son whilst driving who was fluent in English and passed his phone to me in the back seat. We talked about China, football and his dad’s driving prowess for about 5 minutes!

Anyhow, I’ve omitted to say that a primary reason for my visit to Xi’an was to see the Terracotta warriors. To get there we  took a bus journey from Xi’an Bus station which is situated some 200 yds to the right of the train station in the north-east perimeter of the wall. The trip to the warriors took 40 minutes and cost 7 yuan.  On arrival we purchased tickets for 90 Yuan and hooked up with a guide who was nice and showed us around. She charged us 50 Yuan each for the tour (about 5gbp) She also fixed up with tickets for the Tang Dynasty Palace show in Xi’an City (more on that later). My thoughts on the warriors are that they look cool close up and the whole story around them is awesome too, yet I couldn’t help but feel that something was awry. I even remarked to a friend that something just didn’t seem right. The dude who discovered the warriors in 1974 ( a farmer named Mr Young) was there at the centre, signing autographs in official memorabilia books, tourists also had the option to buy mini versions of the warriors at barter-able prices as well as jade and other stuff that to be honest I don’t really want (the best souvenirs are those that live in your head), they even had the archaeologists working away at tables in blue smocks, some of whom looked terribly bored.  I guess you could say that I was a little tarnished from the various barter batterings I’ve had since I’ve been here. A feeling that I’m there to be gamed and sold into and hoodwinked if I don’t watch my back – Could the warrior attraction be an elaborate hoax!? Possibly, and probably not, but the fact that I’m thinking it might, could be indicative of the less welcoming aspects of my people interactions thus far.

We stayed at the Terracotta warrior site until about 5pm and got the bus back to make it in time for the feast that was Tang Dynasty Palace Dumpling Banquet.  Seriously, for 270 yuans you just can’t go wrong. It was the most amazingly delicious meal that I’ve had since Beijing’s Dadong Peking Duck experience. The banquet consisted of elaborately shaped themed dumplings of various tastes and sizes. In short heaven for the palate. This was followed by an authentic Chinese opera, full of colour, music, dance and good humour. If you go to Xi’an, do not miss this experience.

We are off to Chengdu later by train, soft sleeper class (320 yuan)  on a 16 hour journey. I have bottle of Brandy. I hope my travelling companions have their anti snore ear plugs. ;0)

For those interested the distance from Beijing to Xi’an is 1101 km by car or 11hours by train.