Beijing II: Tackle the basics

by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.    

We are taking a private tour with our tour guide, Michael Ye.  We also have a driver who speaks no English and has a small picture of Mao and a jade Buddha hanging from the rear-view mirror for good luck.  We have already toured the Great Wall (discussed in Beijing I).  From the Great Wall, Michael continued to educate us about China and Beijing.  He told us, for example, that whereas the U.S. has a big middle class (45-50%), China’s middle class amounts to only 15%.  These are mainly young, educated, and sophisticated Chinese who are likely to help forge a new direction for China.  He explained that the “new” China is similar to “capitalistic communism,” and all land in China is still owned by the government.  There is no private ownership; people only rent it.
    
Michael considers himself part of China’s “new” middle class and, too, thinks positively about communism and the role Mao Tse Tung played in advancing China.  Mao is widely viewed as one of the most respect Chinese leaders of his time.
    
Beijing, despite its attempts to open up and become more westernized and “user/tourist friendly,” has major problems to overcome if it wants to truly become “user/tourist” friendly.  First, is pollution.  They are aware of this and working on it.  The tree plantings (mentioned in Beijing I) are designed to ameliorate some of the effects of the Mongolian sandstorms.  (About a week before our visit, as noted in Beijing I, it was severe, and it affected both Shanghai and even Hong Kong and Taiwan, but it had mostly dissipated in Beijing by our visit there.)
    
Also, to help their pollution problem, they have moved all factories out of Beijing.  Having the Olympics there (2008), helped expedite this move.  Also, car use is restricted in Beijing (although the effects are hard to notice).  Gas in Beijing is expensive ($4.00 per gallon U.S. when we were there).  All those wishing to drive in the city must pay an $8.00 per day (U.S.) tax.  This may have made a significant change, but it is not noticed by tourists, and pollution remains a serious problem.  Traffic, then, is a second problem.
    
The third problem is the aggressiveness of Chinese drivers.  Pedestrians do not have the right of way, even in well-marked crosswalks.  Cross at your own risk — or peril!  It isn’t the constant changing of lanes, entering abruptly onto a heavily-used traffic lane, or driving at high speeds, but it is driving without any regard for pedestrians and their safety.
    
The fourth problem is as serious as all of the first three: you cannot drink the water.  Even in the most sophisticated, expensive, and luxurious hotels (and the Beijing Marriott City Wall Hotel is one of these), you are warned not to drink the water.  Even the residents must boil their water first, and most depend on bottled water.  We bought a 1.5 liter (big!) bottle in the local market for 6.00 RMB (about $.90 U.S.), and we will have some left over because we have been carrying bottles with us (which we re-filled on the ship) from the Four Seasons’ Hotel in Bangkok.
    
Beijing needs to tackle their problems with a vengeance.  
    
Getting back to our tour with Michael Ye.  From the Great Wall, we went to the Beijing Rin-Ze Jade Garden Trade Company where we saw carvers of Jade at work, huge jade pieces, as well as attractive room decorations.  Then we were led into a massive (about the size of a Walmart store) salesroom where all sizes, shapes, and colors of jade were for sale.  There were few other people in the store, and the clerks spent time with us showing us how to tell real jade from plastic.  (It’s hard to tell the difference just by looking at it.)  We bought nothing.
    
Having visited the Great Wall and the jade factory, it was time for lunch, and we had a typical Chinese lunch (where many on tour-bus excursions were also eating) in a restaurant at the back of another massive-sized salesroom of all kinds of Chinese cultural artifacts.  Called the Yu Long Friendship Store, their prices are less than the hotels, more than the local markets, but guaranteed for quality and workmanship.  We are not shoppers, but the food in the restaurant at the back of the store was delicious.  (Although the food was good, as an aside, I have had much better Chinese food in a variety of U.S. restaurants.)
    
After the Great Wall, the Jade Garden Trade Company, the Friendship Store, and lunch, we visited the Summer Palace.  At a Chinese website, the essay on “The Summer Palace,” describes it like this: “The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China. Its Chinese name, YiHeYuan, translates as 'Garden of Nurtured Harmony' or 'Garden for Maintaining Health and Harmony.'”  The essay continues, “As its name implies, the Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by China's imperial rulers - as a retreat from the main imperial palace now known as the Palace Museum (or 'Forbidden City') - a pleasureground in the countryside, yet near to the city.  The Summer Palace is virtually a museum of traditional Chinese gardening that uses rocks, plants, pavilions, ponds, cobble paths and other garden styles to create a poetic effect between different scenes. . . .”
    
Unfortunately, because of the continuing rain, fog, and pollution, we were unable to see the dragon located on an island in the middle of the huge man-made lake.  The Palace was spacious and lovely, and you can see why emperors enjoyed the ambiance of these gardens.  That you could feel despite the inclement weather.
    
The tour of the Summer Palace ended our private tour with Michael Ye.
    
In the third Beijing essay I will discuss Tiananiman Square and the Forbidden City.  I will also mention taxi-cab pirates.  If there was a fifth problem Beijing needs to solve with respect to making the city more “user/tourist friendly,” it would be the problem they have with pirates.  You cannot have tourists being subjected to even the possibility (or merely the thought of) price-gouging by uncontrolled, rogue pirates.  It is not a pleasant thought, but it is a real and pervasive threat.
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At the website ChinaReport.com, Doc Ben has an essay on: “About Beijing Taxis,”  which gives the following tips for using taxicabs in Beijing: “1) Get a Cab at your Hotel. This way the Doorman or Concierge at the Hotel can translate your destination to the driver, and this may avoid any mis-communications. After this you will have a better drive.  2) As most drivers still have difficulty communicating in English, for exotic destinations, I advise to bring a map of your destination area. This way - if a problem occurs or they head the wrong way ( with you along ), you can simply point your destination out to the driver. If you have Chinese names on your map you are a champ!  3) Be sure you have a licensed cab with a working taxi-meter. No meter , no go.  4) Don't be fooled into a pre-arranged price. At tourist-sites drivers may come up to you and offer a price. If you are not familiar with the low prices in Beijing, you may be fooled and pay double of zilch. Ooooh well, get over it and learn !”

For things to do in Beijing, check out the website Beijingtraveltips.com, and an essay there called, “Beijing! Travel Tips.” The tips there, including pictures, cover  Beijing nightlife, shopping, eating, tourist travel, transport, sights, tips, hotels, and an online store.
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Copyright June, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.