Day 2: Beijing – Peking Opera
LA-> Vancouver -> Beijing, whew. Hanging around in airports is definitely not the best part about traveling. So says my $5 orange juice.
Beijing: As the plane is landing, I am immediate struck by the rundown dusty external appearance of the airport. No one seems to mind. Out the window I watch workers watching other workers work; watching, waiting. Exiting the plane I am immediately struck with an overwhelming feeling that I am in a communist collectivist country. I didn’t imagine it was going to be so obvious – not so early as the airport anyhow. As we drive off in a tour bus, the roads are lined with pretty flowers in perfect bloom, sitting in dusty, dirty flowers boxes. Beijing is a dusty city. Cranes and construction are everywhere sweeping the landscape, indicating growth, and preparation for the upcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Banners for the Fortune Global Forum line the roadway exiting the airport. (more on that later)
That evening we attended the Peking (Beijing) Opera, which was visually stunning, but one of the most excruciating aural experiences of my life. Imagine the sound and clatter of racket that erupts when you arm a class full of pre-schoolers with musical instruments…. now plug all those instruments into amplified hi-fi stereo equipment. Ouch. The majority of the Chinese attendees ran out holding their ears, with dismayed looks on their faces. I peered in at the neighboring theatre which seemed to be much more interesting (and bearable). I think we must have bought the cheap tickets.
We had some dinner (standard Chinese round table) and were entertained by traditional female dancers from one of China’s 50 or so ethnic minorities. The food was good, but the atmosphere was full of fake plastic decorative junk – which seems to be treated with a somewhat less distasteful regard in China. (This sheds a whole new light on Chinese restaurants in America).
That night I stayed at the Jinqiao Apartment Hotel
I would highly recommend it to anyone staying in Beijing. The rooms are gorgeous and come with washing machines, kitchens, free computers and Internet access.
Beijing: As the plane is landing, I am immediate struck by the rundown dusty external appearance of the airport. No one seems to mind. Out the window I watch workers watching other workers work; watching, waiting. Exiting the plane I am immediately struck with an overwhelming feeling that I am in a communist collectivist country. I didn’t imagine it was going to be so obvious – not so early as the airport anyhow. As we drive off in a tour bus, the roads are lined with pretty flowers in perfect bloom, sitting in dusty, dirty flowers boxes. Beijing is a dusty city. Cranes and construction are everywhere sweeping the landscape, indicating growth, and preparation for the upcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Banners for the Fortune Global Forum line the roadway exiting the airport. (more on that later)
That evening we attended the Peking (Beijing) Opera, which was visually stunning, but one of the most excruciating aural experiences of my life. Imagine the sound and clatter of racket that erupts when you arm a class full of pre-schoolers with musical instruments…. now plug all those instruments into amplified hi-fi stereo equipment. Ouch. The majority of the Chinese attendees ran out holding their ears, with dismayed looks on their faces. I peered in at the neighboring theatre which seemed to be much more interesting (and bearable). I think we must have bought the cheap tickets.
We had some dinner (standard Chinese round table) and were entertained by traditional female dancers from one of China’s 50 or so ethnic minorities. The food was good, but the atmosphere was full of fake plastic decorative junk – which seems to be treated with a somewhat less distasteful regard in China. (This sheds a whole new light on Chinese restaurants in America).
That night I stayed at the Jinqiao Apartment Hotel
I would highly recommend it to anyone staying in Beijing. The rooms are gorgeous and come with washing machines, kitchens, free computers and Internet access.
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