This is an incomprehendibly large country with an equally astonishing amount of inhabitants. A third of the world eat with chopsticks and one in four of the worlds population are Chinese so I realise that I cannot write holistically about a nations habits from my visits to a handful of places.
I will however mention the food and people experiences I have had in the capital before I progress to Xian and then on to Chengdu.
This city is very different to Hong Kong, both the language (in Hong Kong they speak Cantonese and many speak some English) and the culture. Although part of China, Hong Kong is far more commercial and western in outlook. The vastness of Beijing itself only hints at the size of the nation and how it is changing. Beijing is very flat and ideal for cycling. You can hire a bike for under 1GBP per day. However at the moment (March 2007) its minus 4 degrees and there is a bitter wind whereas I wore a T shirt at night in Hong Kong just last week.
I am living in the ancient but bustling, Wu district which is a vibrant part of town popular with ordinary people. Its full of small tea shops, hairdressers, massage places and busy with young men building or old men playing draughts. There is a constant stream of cycles, rickshaws, cars and mopeds honking there way in and out of the very narrow and irregular street.
As a westener I stand out like a sore thumb and you will be harassed nearer the main sites as a result. Everyone here spits - and I mean men and women - big, hockley gob - straight onto the street - it seems as much part of the culture as noodles.
As a lone traveller it has been a challenge to adapt on account of the language and writing differences which couldn't be more dissimilar.
That said, with each day, I have learned words in Mandarin and been able to order breakfast for example - sitting on an outside bench with (bemused) locals next to the steaming noodle pots. (see photos of Huntun and Jimb)
They are very fond of carbohydrates here and you are likely to be offered rice, some form of noodle or buns with most meals. The one issue I have with the food I have eaten is that they use a lot of oil. One night I ate several dishes which were so saturated in fat I was ill. Its best to combine steamed, poached or boiled dishes with fried ones.
I have not gone in search of an English breakfast here as its a waste of time. Find out the names of the local food from a guide or hotel concierge and try what the locals are eating. My breakfasts of eggy pancakes, noodles and white bean curd are great and cost very little indeed.
At the end of the day, once you have seen the major sites, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Tian'anmen square it is, or is becoming a city like many others - rows of shops or shopping malls.
It is for that reason that I am leaving town tomorrow night to see other places.
I am off on a sleeper-train to Xian to photograph the Qin "teracotta" army. Then another sleeper train to Chengdu in the Sichuan province where I hope to photograph Pandas in the wild. I read there were only 1000 Giant panda left in the whole world so to leave China without trying to see one is wrong.... or wong as the case emay be.
