We're here, we've made it, we are in China! Beijing to be precise, home to the finest roast duck (and therefore the finest food) in the world. I have waited many years to come to China and being here is overwhelming; although it is still very early days (day 3) I can report excellent first impressions.
We arrived by ferry from Incheon (Korea) to Tianjin, about 3 hours south and east of the capital. Conveniently there was a shuttle bus waiting to take us to Beijing and after a bracing afternoon in the hands of one of china's many insane drivers (kept alive only but the speed-limiting high volume of traffic, I'm sure) we arrived - somewhere. We didn't know where we were and we didn't know where our hosts lived. We didn't know how to get from one location to the other once we did find out, or indeed how to do anything at all - this is certainly the most alien culture we have experienced to date by some way. Luckily it is also one of the friendliest, and us not having a clue didn't matter a jot becuase everyone else seemed to have things well under control. taking our notebook that contained the one phone number (our host) upon which everything depended, a combination of passengers, hostess and driver conspired to ignore us totally, plan things amongst themselves, make phone calls, herd us from bus to taxi, and eventually deliver us into the arms of our new hosts. Our input into events was not only nor required, but positively discouraged, illustrating that no only are the Chinese immensely kind, energtetic, funny, load, exuberant and open but also that they are great judges of character! We couldn't have hoped for a better introduction to this place that seems to get such bad press that, at least on first inspection, seems so unwarranted.
Our hosts have been magnificent - Xuemei, Yinghui, Jianping and Xumei's daughter Shell. Its brilliant to be able to stay with a Chinese family, to experience real Beijing life at first hand and to have assistance in orientating ourselves in a culture so different from the one we are used to. And the family are really great to be with too - Xuemei is a pearl wholesaler with an excellent sense of humour, Jianping produces beautiful traditional calligraphy as a hobby and is a big fan of different Chinese teas, and Yinghui speaks really good English and has been so kind to us, spending lots of her time showing us around markets and areas of Beijing.
The city is huge, and packed full of treasures - too many probably! We are struggling to work out what to see in the week we have allowed ourselves here before we head off on a circuitous route towards Shanghai, where we meet up with Ellen's sister on 4th November. We spent the first day cycling around the centre of town near to the Forbidden City, sticking mostly to old, quiet winding hutongs (alley-ways) that snake across the city away from the main roads; this proved to be a great introduction as we could cover much more distance than on foot, and the hutongs were incredibly interesting and evocative of centuries past.
Since then we have visited the very impressive Temple of Heaven (takes at least half a day and is a brilliant example of Ming architecture), pearl markets, local markets, eaten duck in a really swanky duck restaurant, eaten very weird but nice things in local restaurants, and had a glimpse of the imposing Tianeman Square as well as the Gate of Heavenly Peace famous for containing a gigantic picture of Mao, right at the entrace to Forbidden City. Today was particularly amazing as we visited White Cloud Temple, a little-visited but very special Taoist temple in the south-west of the city.The whole complex radiated calm in the middle of an otherwise hectic city, and as we trundled through the maze of temples buildings and huge open-air insense burners we became immersed in a strange blend of serenity and vibrant smells and colours. I'll say this for the taoists- they like their gods strange: there was a huge variety of really really weird gods and demons and immortal beings of all colours shapes and flavours, brimming over with mystical concepts and magic in a way that, well, you wouldn't get it in a C of E joint that's for sure. A very groovy place and probably the highlight for me so far, although we have so much more to explore before we go...