Trip to Beijin

19 years have passed since I last visited Beijing. The two decades have witnessed much change both of the world and of myself. What have they seen in Beijing? Ms Liu, our guide, was busy talking to the other members of the trip, with her sign down. Our flight had left Osaka at 10:00 in the morning and arrived Beijing just after the noon. The time difference might make it sound short, but Eastword wind over the Northeast Asia had made the flight longer and rougher, and we had felt already tired when we arrived at the airport. We went out of the arrival area and looked for the sign of our tourist. Beijing airport was so busy that the outside of the arrival was jamed with people. We went through the people with their company's banners and signs in their hands. We couldn't find one for us. I went through them again in reverse in vain. I came out through them again, checking the banners and signs one by one. At the end of the crowds, there was a bank, and a young lady and a middle aged couple was talking about exchanging. I examined a sign in the lady's hands, and found who she was. The drive from the airport to the mid town was a tough one. Chinese streets used to be packed with bicycles, and now are packed with cars which people drive ust as they used to compete with their bicylces. They must have cirtain "FORCE" in them as JEDIS do, or otherwise they could not avoide getting crushed each other. The drive reminded me a pot race in Episode I. The drive, anyway, brought us to Tian-tan (namely, Heaven-platform) Park, where emperors used to pray to the heaven. There are other platforms like Nong-tan (Farm-platform), and Di-tan (Land-platform). Daoism in China is somewhat similar to Shintoism in Japan. Every and each thing has its god in it. Tian-tan used to be a closed temple only for emperors, but now open to ordinaly citizens with small entrance fee. They enjoy greens which lack in city life. Long corridors where nobles used to walk now give the people shades in hot summer days. Some play pokers, some Chinese chesses, some Chinese songs, but other majorities just sit, looking into passengers. Tian-tan building itself was already repaired, and looked brandnew. Unluckily, some other buildings in the park, along with many other sightseeing spots in Beijing, were under repairment. They are preparing for 2008 Olimpics. Tian-tan is in the south of the city. We drove north to visit Qing-shan (namely, scenery-mountain) Park. The park adjoins the Royal Palace, and used to be a closed personal gurdain for emperors. The mountain's northskart has a tea house, Yu-cha-yuan (Royal-tea-house), which, of course, used to be used only by emperors and their families. We enjoyed Chinese-style tea ceremony there. We call our tea ceremony Sa-do (Tea-way), while they call theirs Cha-ying (Tea-art), which concenrate more on how to make tea delicious. Our dinner time was yet to come, so the couple suggested to have Hu-dong tour. Having no particular idea, we said yes, which led us to an action-movie-like experience. Each pair of us mounted a bicycle-type rickshaw. Against our expectation for an elegant tour through Hu-dong area, the rickshaws rushed through narrow streets, sometimes car-chasing each other, sometimes bumping into each other, sometimes narrowly passing other rickshaws which rush against ours. Our hearts were just pounding so hard as to get out of our mouth. Hu-dong is not a proper noun in a gramatical sence. Beijing's traditional residential areas have been called Hu-dong. Those areas have small private houses along narrow streets. The houses usually belong to a type which is called Si-he-yuan (Four-combined-house). A courtyard is surrounded with 4 buildings in Si-he-yuan. Parents live in the north one, which faces south like emperors'; brothers in the east one; sisters in west one. The south building is used for other purposes, like a study. The Hu-dong tour had its own guide. The guide said the number of cross post on the gate used to indicate the class of the owner. As far as I see, all the gates of the area had two cross posts. As the number must be a even one,there used to live the lowest officials. Stone posts under the gate indicate the owner is either a civilian or a military officer. The former post has a picture of sheep, as a civilian officers used brushes as a stationary; the latter shapes a drum, as military officers used to be organized with the sound of drums in the battle fields. Beside officers there used to live some merchants with a picture of a purse on their stone posts. A middle aged man in his 50s welcomed us to his Si-he-yuan. He had made an earlier retirement because of his illness, and receives 1,800 RMB every month as a pension. His early retirement might have led him to show his own house. He served us a paper-cup of tea under a grape trellis. His pronunciation was clear, and his explanation had a well experienced tone. That enabled me to understand
Ms Liu sighs it rains rather a lot in Beijing this summer. Chang-cheng, or the Great Wall, is hazed in the light rain and misty fog. The longness or the greatness of the wall never reveals itself; the steepness of the cliffs in both sides can be hardly sensed. Steep hills and flights of steps tell us we are ascending anyway. How far and high have we come? You can never see in the mist-like clouds, but your legs tell you. As we climb the wall, the wall shows itself peak by peak. Each peak has a fort with some space to hold soldiers. "The wall" itself is wide enough to let two horses pass in parallel. Our right side barriers are taller than the left ones, which tells we are walking westward. Chang-cheng is a bulwark against the North, nomads such as Mongolians. The wall, however, never worked under any great pressure from the North. Someone, some Chinese officers, opened gates to them then. A Japanese warlord once wisely put it; people are stone walls, and people are strongholds. We kept walking westward. Dunhuang, the west end of the Great Wall, is some 2,000 km away. I wonder if we have walked 1/2000 of the way. Over the steepest hill and flight of stairs, the fourth fort or fourth peak comes into our sight out of the mist. Here we are in the fourth, highest, and largest fort. Come into the fort, and you will find a souvenior shop, which offers arrival certificates. Another side of the peak has another souvenir store, which sells a full range of gifts along with refreshments. Ah, are we welcomed, or made fool of?