There and Back Again

Gallery: Scheming, Scamming, and the Great Wall at Simatai

jmleslie — Wed, 4 Jul 2007 13:33:00 GMT

The Great Wall

Scheming, Scamming, and the Great Wall at Simatai

jmleslie — Sun, 1 Jul 2007 14:10:00 GMT

So, Michelle and I had our trip from Beijing to Simatai very well planned out. We checked our guidebook, and it recommended that we go the long distance bus station, from there catch bus 980, and once the bus made its last stop at Miyun we were supposed to hail a taxi/minibus to take us to Simatai. It all seemed simple enough, but the trip was a little more complicated than we expected. When we arrived at the long distance bus station, we could not find bus 980. There were plenty of people that wanted to take us to Simatai--for a rate much higher than the normal bus fare of 15 RMB--but there was not a 980 bus. We checked with some official looking people in an office at the station, but they did not speak English and we did not speak Mandarin. They pointed in the direction of the parking lot we had just checked, and we tried to tell them that we had just checked that parking lot. Despite our attempt at charades, they had no clue what we were asking. They did know, however, that we wanted to find bus 980 and one woman got up and motioned us to follow her. We obliged, and we discovered that for all practical purposes there were three bus stations. The bus that we needed was about a block away. Along the way we saw a minibus with a "980" label in its window. Our guide looked at us, shook her hand back and forth, and said either "sur" or "shur." Judging from her sour expression, we believed that she was trying to tell us that this bus was "fake" or "bad" or something along those lines. When we arrived at our destination, we were pleased to discover a clean, shiny, and air-conditioned city bus. We thanked our guide, stepped on board, and sat down relieved that the rest of the trip should be less stressful from there on out.

When the conductor headed toward the back of the bus to collect the fees we were pleased to discover that she spoke English, but we should have remembered the general rule for travel in China. In general, if someone approached us and they spoke English it generally meant they were trying to scam us. From street vendors to "art students" to unofficial taxi drivers, English speaking Chinese people are generally trying to part you from your RMB. Having just finished a delightful trip up a mountain with a most friendly, honest, and kind person who spoke English though he was of Chinese dissent, however, we had become just a little too trusting.

Michelle and I relaxed in our seats but we really should have been paying more attention. We felt that we didn't really need to pay attention to pay attention since we were getting off at the bus's last stop and our conductor had seemed very helpful. Suddenly the bus came to a stop, and our conductor hollered, "Simatai" to the back of the bus and motioned for us to get off the bus. Still a bit surprised and startled, Michelle and I rushed to bus's exit. When we got off we were a bit surprised by what we saw. It didn't seem like we were at a bus station at all, and there was only one driver who was willing to take us to Simatai. He asked for 250 RMB for the round trip--our guidebook suggested paying 120 RMB--and we thought that negotiations had started. We offered something less than what he was asking, but our driver refused to go any lower than 250 RMB. Our options being rather limited, we simply had no choice but to take his offer.

The views from Simatai were breathtaking. It had just rained the day before, and I think this had helped to clear the smog out of the next day's sky. This must be what China had looked like twenty years ago. It was quite beautiful. Michelle and I debated whether to take the cable car, and since we had been doing a lot of walking the past few days we decided to pay for a round trip. We were glad that we took the trip up to the Great Wall at Simatai. Getting from where the cable car had dropped us off to the Great Wall was a bit of an uphill clime. We were exhausted when we got to the top. I can't imagine how arduous the journey would have been if we had walked the whole way. At Simatai, the ascents are steep and the drops are dramatic. The wall literally snakes from the base of mountains to the summit. It makes for some really awesome photos, but it leaves this visitor wondering of what practical military value this part of the wall could have served. Surely, the mountains themselves should have proved enough of a barrier without sticking a wall on top. If our exhaustion was any indication, an army of soldiers carrying their gear, weapons, and food would have had a difficult time getting through this portion of the mountains with or without a wall to block their path. Perhaps China's emperors had the foresight to recognize that they were building a totally awesome tourist location from which future Chinese could reap a tremendous profit.

Unlike several other locations at the Great Wall, portions of Simatai are in disrepair and other parts are completely ruined and hardly resemble a wall anymore. In fact, the portion of the Great Wall past the twelfth watchtower is closed to visitors because the erosion is so extensive. Two PSB guard that spot to make sure no tourists go beyond the twelfth tower. If anybody goes beyond they have to pay 200 RMB as a fine. My wife joked with the PSB that she would gladly pay 200 RMB if they allowed her to venture on. One of them said that they would take 50 RMB and smiled back. I got the impression, however, that he was not kidding. The Chinese government and our tour book pointed to the disrepair at Simatai as a shameful fact. I guess the government plans to do some extensive renovations here soon. We thought the crumbled and ancient appearance of the Great Wall at Simatai were authentic looking. Who, after all, would want to travel to the Coliseum in Rome only to discover that the Italians had completely redone the Coliseum. Everything was new, but the Italians had managed to keep much of the original design. I imagine that most people would be horrified. Yet the Chinese tend not to leave their historic structures in disrepair. Everything has to be fixed so that it is better than new. Even at relatively unkempt Simatai we noticed that the completely ruined sections of the Great Wall were different from the portions that had been repaired for the tourist trade. The older guard towers have different windows and the bricks are different in color. I hope that the "repairs" never take place and that the Chinese government realizes that something would be lost if they made all of the Great Wall better than new.

We talked with a couple of other tourists from British Columbia after they had managed to ditch their shadow--a hawker who was desperately hoping to sell some souvenirs--and we heard about their complicated journey to Simatai. Instead of taking the official 980 bus, they took a minibus to Simatai. They each paid the driver 100 RMB to get them there, but they had to wait another hour until the driver managed to pick up a few more passengers. Once they finally got going, the trip progressed quickly, but the driver did not drop them off at Simatai. Instead they had to pay another driver to take them the rest of the way to Simatai. Having heard their story, we were able to put the breathtaking scenery out of minds for a minute and remember that something was fishy with our trip as well.

Having had our fill of the Great Wall, we made our way to base camp and our driver who promised to be there at 4:30. Having only paid him half our agreed price for the round trip, we hoped that he would come back to get the rest of our fare but suspected he may be happy with 125 RMB. As soon as we got back to the ticket window our driver waved at us enthusiastically and shouted "haloo." We got in his minibus and he started to drive us back to the bus station at Miyun. We drove a block when he announced that he needed to visit his mother, and he would drop us off so that his wife could take us the rest of the way to Miyun. We pulled up behind her car, and we asked our driver to make sure that she knew where to drop us off. He said that she knew the way, and we got in. Our new driver started to pull away when she said, "haloo again...conductor." I was confused as to what she was getting at when I noticed her pulling on the sleeve of her uniform. To my furor it was the conductor on the bus that was supposed to take us to Miyun. Michelle and I looked at each other and said nothing, but we were both thinking the same thing. This explains everything that had been odd about our journey to Simatai.

I would like to encourage anybody else out there who wants to venture to Simatai to take the 980 bus to Miyun, but to wait until you get to the real bus station. You really are supposed to get off at the last stop, and there will be many taxi drivers there. If you run into the same conductor and she asks you "Simatai?" you have two options: you could pretend you don't speak either English or Chinese and just shake your heads no or you could confront her with the fact that she plans to drop you off with her husband so that the two of them can take advantage of you. For my own personal satisfaction, I would like to suggest the latter rather than the former. I'm not sure, however, if confronting her would do any good. I don't think that she would get mad and do anything violent to you. I just don't think that she realizes that what she is doing is quite evil. When we got into her car, she acted like we were meeting an old friend. If you tried to confront her, I half suspect that she would smile, nod her head, and say "Yes, my husband is a very good driver."

Despite the schemers on the road to Simatai, a visit to this portion of the wall simply cannot be missed. If you disagree, simply look at our pictures. We think that they hardly do justice to the grandeur of the Great Wall at Simatai, but they are still beautiful pictures. I simply suggest that you plan ahead and take the Line D tour bus that--our guide book claims--leaves Beijing for Simatai Friday and Saturday. Any other method of getting to Simatai requires that you depend up the services of some charlatan. Even if the bus had taken us all the way to Miyun, we still would have had to hire an unofficial taxi to Simatai at the station. If you are like us, however, and don't plan well enough to go to Simatai on either Friday or Saturday, rest assured. Even though we were swindled, our fare was not that expensive. Our four hour long bus ride to and from Miyun cost us about $4.00 per person, our cab driver charged us about $17.00 per person for a two hour long cab ride to and from Simatai, and our cab driver got us an admission ticket for about $5.00 per person. By American standards, it's still quite a deal for such a great experience. We were just annoyed that we had been swindled.

The Chairman is Closed for Renovations

jmleslie — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:05:00 GMT

China is infamous for its odd English translations. Our hotel room in Qingdao, for example, had a sign that I believed to be a warning, but its message was cryptic: "Point out Friendly, Smooth Floor." I should certainly hope that the floor is smooth, but why the hotel staff believed that it was so important to let me know that the floor in our room was smooth I will never know. Despite myriad English translations that simply make no sense, the sign outside of Mao's mausoleum made it fairly clear that the building that housed the Chairman's body was under renovation, not the corpse inside. Having read about Chinese doctors' less than perfect methods for preserving the Chairman's body in 1976, however, I rather enjoyed the idea that it is Mao rather than his mausoleum that is under renovation. Rumor has it that attempts as preserving Mao's body failed miserably and that a wax facsimile is what people see when they come to the mausoleum to view the venerated and hated Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Though struck by the humor of the idea that laborers were working diligently at making Mao more presentable for the 2008 Olympic Games next summer, I must say that I was more than a little disappointed that I did not get to see the Chairman—or his wax replica.

After more thought, I came to believe that perhaps the problem with Mao's body inside that mausoleum has nothing to do with failed efforts to preserve his corpse for thirty years. It may be that Mao's body has simply rolled over in his freezer, and the laborers are working diligently to turn him upright again. It seems hard to believe that Mao would have appreciated the changes that China has undergone in the past thirty years. When the CCP expelled the Nationalists from mainland China in 1949, the CCP opened the Forbidden City—the area that had been the private playground of Qing emperors until their dynasty was toppled in 1911—for everyone in China to enjoy. They also drastically altered Tiananmen Square. It was enlarged and is today bordered by monuments and museums dedicated to the proletariat. The statues that border Mao's mausoleum are a testament to the CCP's vision of the 1949 revolution as a revolution of the people. In these patriotic statues rural farmers, soldiers, urban laborers, women, and children all help push an image of Mao on their shoulders with their indomitable will. Symbolically at least, the CCP was announcing the dramatic creation of a public sphere in which everyone could participate.

Of course, much of the imagery demonstrating the collapse of an empire ruled by the whims of petulant and spoiled emperors and the creation of country led by the common people is merely rhetoric—or a lie intended to deceive if one wants to look at it more cynically. Time and tme again, the CCP has violated human rights, and made evident to the world that China is not a democratic nation. Ironically, in 1989 the CCP demonstrated with tanks, bullets, and secret prisons that the imagery in Tiananmen Square intended to depict the creation of a people's republic was more jargon than truth. In 1989, the statues the CCP built to represent the polyglot people whom the 1949 revolution was supposed to represent watched on helplessly as the “People's Liberation Army” arrested and shot unarmed students who had the audacity to question the actions of their representatives. No, unfortunately China has no real sphere of public debate. China truly is a dictatorship of the proletariat.

Despite the irony of the 1989 uprising in a square dedicated to the people's revolution and the CCP’s brutal oppression, it seems doubtful that Mao would have been upset with the CCP's successful suppression of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989. Mao was no bleeding heart humanitarian himself. Millions of people died because of his actions, and Communist ideology typically recognizes that a dictatorship of the proletariat is a necessary step in the creation the ultimate and perfect communist state. No, the reason why laborers are today working to upright a body that has rolled over in its freezer is—I think—because of the capitalistic economy that the CCP is working feverishly to create. Mao encouraged simplicity in lifestyle among his followers. Once again, rhetoric was a bit different than reality. History indicates that Mao had concubines as numerous as any of the emperors he replaced, but at least he claimed that simplicity was something desirable. Indeed, the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976 encouraged mobs of people to destroy ceramics and other cultural artifacts deemed by the mobs to be “imperialist." For all the evils it created, the Cultural Revolution forced simplicity of life upon the people, and prevented some from acquiring artifacts to indicate their superiority over everyone else. In other words, people didn’t try to keep up with the Joneses. Instead, they smashed the stuff that made it appear that the Jonses were better than their neighbors. No longer, however, is the Chinese Communist Party encouraging simplicity among its followers. Today, to be rich is glorious. Citizens in China—as are the citizens in America—are encouraged to buy, buy, buy. For example, Beijing is no longer a city of bicycles. Anyone who tours Beijing on a bicycle today will find the busy and wider roads intended to ease the dramatic increase in automobile traffic a bit dangerous.

In my imagination, I think that China’s contemporary consumption based economy is why laborers are currently working to turn Mao’s body upright. From Mao’s mausoleum a visitor to Tiananmen Square can see Mao’s portrait above the entrance to the Forbidden City, and within the Forbidden City—transformed into a monument dedicated to the people by the CCP—visitors can revive themselves after a couple of hours of touring with a sip of coffee from Starbucks. When I was planning my visit to the Forbidden City, I made it a point to try to find and to partake from the Starbucks inside. I wanted to sip a cup of coffee and stroll through the emperor’s private garden. When I got to the Starbucks in the Forbidden City, I was aghast to discover just how expensive a cup a coffee was. For about thirty-five Reminbi—about one hundred and fifty percent of the price of a decent meal at a fancy restaurant—a visitor can enjoy coffee in the Forbidden City. Such a price made a cup of coffee too expensive for me, and it makes a cup of coffee astronomically expensive for ordinary Beijingers. Not only have western corporations arrived in China, they are encouraging Beijingers to keep up with the Joneses. More like Americans now, the Chinese no longer smash the priceless artifacts of their neighbors in order to create an egalitarian society in the People’s Republic of China. Instead, the Chinese now try to buy all the cool stuff that their neighbors have acquired. Cars, TVs, DVDs and Celine Deon CDs are all hot items in Beijing. The CCP opened the Forbidden City—the private playground of the petulant emperors of old—for all Chinese to enjoy. Now, the parts of the Forbidden City in which western corporations are allowed to set their own prices are simply prohibitively expensive for the majority of the Chinese people. The emperor’s soldiers may not execute people who dare to enter the emperor’s private domain, but now prohibitively expensive prices keep most Beijingers from enjoying the city that they have opened up for themselves. Free enterprise and inequality of condition go hand in hand. Surely the capitalistic spirit that is being encouraged within the walls of the Forbidden City has made the Chairman roll over in his freezer across the street.

Gallery: The Chairman is Closed for Renovations

jmleslie — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:55:00 GMT

Tienamen Square and the Forbidden City

Gallery: Lao Shan in the Rain

jmleslie — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:45:00 GMT

Lao Shan Mountain in Shangdong Province

Gallery: Views of Qingdao

jmleslie — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:14:00 GMT

Views of Qingdao

Mr. Driver, Please Drive More Slowly

jmleslie — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:56:00 GMT

So, Chinese drivers are absolutely insane. We took a taxi from Qingdao railway station to our hotel, and neither Michelle nor myself thought we would actually make it to our hotel. Worried that our driver tempted fate too often by driving into head on traffic, Michelle found the phrase in our phrase book that said, "Mr. Driver, Please Drive More Slowly." At first he did not quite understand us, but then he understood our meaning. He corrected us on our pronounciation, and he laughed heartily. He, however, did not change his driving techniques. We think that he was showing off for us, but we were not entirely impressed. We do not intend to take another Taxi unless we have to.

After our harrowing taxi experience, we found Qingdao to be very pleasant. We strolled on the sidewalk and visited the pagoda at the end of the pier. Street salesmen lined the boardwalk, and they had some interesting stuff. Lots of them had various items made out of sea shells. Michelle was a little interested in all the jewelry, but she really wanted one of the little turtles. Unfortunately, I don't see how we could bring one back to the states.

Hey-it's Michelle. Finally get a chance to add my 2cents now that the conference is over. Last night was great--we walked along the beachfront with a thick fog rolling in from the ocean, all the time being serranaded by the likes of Ricky Martin and Brittney Spears from a nearby hotel. We had a delicious dinner of crab & vegetable balls and spicy tofu. The waitress misunderstood our order at first, and brought out about 3 liters of Tsingtao beer for the two of us. We sent two back, and really enjoyed the third. Not much different than a bud light. Overall, I'm pleased with our communication skills, and we havn't missed a meal because of them. I also got a chance to practice my bargaining skills, and paid Y3 for a map that said Y5 right on it! well, it's off to the beach for us...

Hutong Tour

jmleslie — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:06:00 GMT

At least the weather in China was better than it was yesterday. The day started off with a lot of smog, but I guess most of it blew off. The afternoon was really quite nice. While Michelle was attending meetings on plant stuff, I went on a tour of the Hutong district in Beijing. We drove around the Hutongs on a rickshaw--a bycicle with a seat for two behind the driver. In general, the Hutongs were an interesting mix of a traditional society that people could have seen 300 years ago and the modern global economy. On of our rickshaw drivers, for example, talked on his cell phone for about a quarter of our journey. The courtyard home that we visited seemed very well kept for a house that is almost 700 years old. It was constructed according to the traditional familial structure. The master/lord's section was bordered on either side by the smaller rooms for his wives. The head--or first--wife got the biggest wing to herself. The other wives--concubines--shared the other wing between themselves. There were also two wings for the children. The sons, of course, got the bigger of the two wings. The home I visited was actually owned by the state. One of chairman Mao's generals lived in the courtyard home, and now his children live there. If they decided to leave, however, they could not sell the home as the home belongs to the PRC. Within the home, there were several artifacts from the Maoist era. In addition to the standard photo of the chairman himself, there were more personal photographs of the man whose children lived there. It seems that he was a participant in the Long March.

The Hutong ended with a "tour" of "the Silk Market." Actually, we went to a silk market that was really more like a clothing store. The staff gave us a fairly interesting description of how silk is made, but then we got a tour of the store. In general, Chinese merchants seem rather pushy. They don't take no for an answer, and I think that most of them believe that Americans have money to burn. If there are Chinese vendors reading this posting, please note that if an American tells you he does not want/need another watch he really does not want to buy a watch no matter how low you drop the price. It seems like basic economics--if demand is zero then there really is no need for a supply--but its a concept that is foreign here. It seems like the Chinese economic model is as follows: if I follow him around long enough there may not be any demand for my product, but the customer will be willing to purchase peace from pushy vendors.

First Evening in Beijing

jmleslie — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:13:00 GMT

Last evening we arrived in Beijing international airport, and I must say that I was not impressed with the security provided by the PSB. I half expected to be stripped searched when I got here. We had to fill out a certificate of health, provide information on what we were brining into the country, and provide information about our stay. When we passed through customs, we merely placed our health card in a box and no body checked our luggage to make sure that I told the truth on my claims card. In general, security seemed pretty lax for a bureaucratic organization with a reputation like the PSB.

United Airlines managed to lose our luggage, and I have called their affiliates here in Beijing this morning only to find out that it could take up to three days to get our other bag. Three Days!! I am fully confident that the bag will arrive in Beijing this afternoon on the next flight from Washington D.C., but I don't think that anyone at United Airlines in Beijing has a clue where our other bag might be. This is kind of surprising since everything is done electronically now. When I have had my luggage lost before, the airlines could tell me exactly where my bags were located. In Beijing, however, the staff use computers but their filing methods seem to be stuck somewhere between the computer/high speed modern world and a world of printed paper information with limited electronic capabilities.

The hotel that we are staying in seems very nice, and I am shocked by how many of the staff speak English. Even the staff who claim to speak no English know a few helpful words and phrases. Most of the signs in our hotel are also labeled in English and in Mandarin Chinese. This has made getting around the hotel fairly easy. Some of the translations are little funny. The shop labeled as "grocery" actually sells Beijing 2008 souvenirs and no food.

Perhaps most shocking of all, however, is the air polution. I had read that the air would be very bad, but I had no idea it would be this bad. The smog settles on the city like a thick fog every day! The whole city seems to be coated in the filth from the coal burning plants. All the street lamps are coated in brown goo from the smog as well. Michelle thought about canceling the evenings that we were planning to stay in Beijing, but I still really wanted to see the Great Wall, Tianamen Square, and the Forbidden City. I think that we will tough it out and stick with our original itinerary.