My journey to Beijing was a revelation of China?s modern and ancient achievements. What I saw was a serious nation building effort, a blend of modernity and tradition, order and discipline. Let me take you through what I saw.
Arrival. Beijing airport is modern, spotlessly clean, efficient and comparable to any European airport. It took me exactly 25 minutes to complete all formalities and come out. The forms are simple. As one gets past the health check, body temperature is remotely scanned. People arriving with a fever risk being quarantined. Chinese customs do not allow animal and plan products.
There are automatic money exchange machines at the exit area to exchange US$ and Euros into the national currency Yuans. It is illegal to make payments in China in any currency except the Yuan. Outside the airport one sees orderliness. Taxies are convenient and cheap. A luxury taxi costs 80-100 Yuan ($10-12) to the city center. A world-class tolled express-highway connects the airport to the city. As I traveled on this modern road I thought of our Communists and their impractical ways.
The City itself is a unique blend of gleaming modern architecture, and magnificent ancient structures. The city?s infrastructure is already of a very high standard yet is being upgraded to the world-class for the Olympics. Beijing has 6 ring roads. The 7th one (400 km) is being constructed. In contrast Delhi has one ring road and the outer ring road is not yet complete.
Moving around in the city. The city buses are overcrowded. There is an underground metro but not useful for site seeing. There are special tourist bus routes for those who can manage by themselves. Communication is a problem in Beijing very few people speak English. Therefore, the best option is to take standard guided (English language) tours for site seeing and use the taxi for short shopping trips. Taxis are cheap, reliable, and plenty.
It is advisable to get the name of the destination written in Mandarin and show it to the taxi driver, as most of them don?t understand English. Always keep the calling card of your hotel with you. If you are lost ? you can get back to your hotel by showing the card to a taxi driver. There is plenty to see, shop and eat in Beijing.
Let me describe the most prominent places to see in a short trip which most of us usually make.
The Great Wall. The construction of the great wall began in the 7th century BC. The Qin dynasty unified the different segments of the walls in the 2nd century BC. Subsequent dynasties expanded and strengthened it. Today its length is about 3, 000 km. We visited the Badaling great wall which is about 80 Km north of Beijing linked by a tolled express highway. The wall is about 7.8 meters high, and 5.5 meters wide at the top.
It was constructed on top of steep undulating hills ? a very difficult terrine for construction even today. One can use the steps to climb the hills to scale the great wall, or use a monorail/rope way. The wall is quite steep at some places and offers a fascinating experience.
The Ming Tombs. These are spread over an area of about 30 sq km. We saw the tomb of the 13th Ming emperor ? the Dingling Tomb. The tomb is 27 meters deep underground and has an area of 1, 200 square meters (equivalent to about 10 large 3 bed room flats!) comprising 5 halls. The tomb is of magnificent scale made of stone and has three large marble thrones. This was discovered in 1956.
The Forbidden City and Tian?anman Square. The Imperial Palace was built in the early 15th century (1406-1420) by the Ming dynasty. The palace is so called because ordinary folks were forbidden to enter it without the emperor?s permission. The place has a 10-meter high wall around it with a 52-meter wide mote. All main buildings are on the central meridian. The palace is probably one of the well preserved ones in China.
Wumen gate, which adorns Chairman Mao?s picture, is the main entry to the palace. The hall of supreme harmony, and the hall of celestial harmony (where the throne is located) are some of the beautiful buildings in the palace. The imperial garden is located at the back of the palace. It is claimed that the palace has 9, 999 rooms. The palace faces the Tian?anman Square, which is probably the largest square in the world. Mao?s memorial and Chinese Parliament are on this square.
The Yonghegong Lamasery is the largest in Beijing where Lamas get training. One can see quite a bit of Indianness in the Lamasery. Many names have the Sanskrit root. The sculpture has Indian influence. This shows the strong relations both our civilization have been having since ancient times. A major attraction in this place is the statue of Mitreya possibly the biggest carved statue on a single piece of sandalwood in the world. It is gigantic, 18 meters above the ground and 8 meters below the ground.
Though the communists persecuted religious leader and discouraged religion in the past, they did not destroy the cultural heritage as they did in some other countries. Now the temple is operational and I saw many worshippers. Chinese worship in the same way we do ? bend and put a namaskar and offer flowers and dhoop.
The Summer Palace is across a large lake. It is large and has beautifully landscaped imperial gardens and exquisite buildings. The 788 meters long covered gallery connecting the palace with the marble boat is the most interesting site. The roof and the sides of the gallery have beautiful and colorful paintings depicting sceneries, landscapes and stories from Chinese mythology and folklore.
The Temple of Heaven is a unique object of Chinese architecture and it is intricately decorated. It is as important as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. This was built by the Ming dynasty in the 15th century. It has three segments ? the circular altar, the echo wall, and the hall of prayer for good harvest. The coffered ceiling of this temple is one the most beautiful painted objects I have seen in my life.
Shopping. Beijing is a shoppers? paradise. We shopped at the Wangfujing market near the Forbidden City, a large diverse market with a range of shops ? pavement stalls to large departmental stores. Some departmental stores here contain a large number of small shopkeepers. In most places bargaining is a must. Do not feel shy, start at 20% of the price quoted at pavement stalls ? we got quite a few things at 25 ? 30% of quoted price. Silk is the best thing to buy. There is a large state run silk shop, which sells at fixed prices. One can also get traditional tea sets variety of souvenirs. Clothes are dirt-cheap.
Eating. Chinese food is diverse and delicious. There are plenty of places to eat and food is inexpensive. Those who love Chinese food can eat authentic food to their heart?s content. Chinese duck is a delicacy one should not miss. Those who have food restrictions should be very careful ? pork is commonly used in many dishes, so is beef.
Safe bet is to eat chicken or seafood. Exotic sounding food should be avoided ? I saw scorpions being barbequed at the Wangfujing market! I did not even like the smell. Vegetarians should be quite careful, though they can find delicious food at most places with some patience.
Finally, a visa is needed to visit Mainland China, though visa is not needed to visit Hong Kong China