On leaving China …

Less known but no less impressive are the Sacred Way and the Ming Tombs, where 13 Ming emperors found their final resting place. They chose places well, framed by mountains and rivers, and the tomb complexes are amazing. Even more so because only 1 of the tombs has been excavated, and that a less important one – the Chinese decided to leave the other 12 undisturbed. Who says there are no wonders left to be unearthed? It was just great to stroll along the Sacred Way with space and peace to truly appreciate these amazing places.

We also discovered the source of the aforementioned torturous wailing heard outside the hotel in Xi’an. It is the utterly bizarre art form that is Peking Opera. If previous cultural shows were a little difficult, well Peking Opera was just unfathomable. And reduced the entire family (except I, trying desperately to keep straightfaced and appreciate it) to absolute hysteria. It has to be heard to be believed. I think the chances of us understanding the high-pitched exaggerated speaking and singing (oh my lord, the singing) are about the same as a Martian exposed to panto. We gritted teeth and fought terrible giggles for over an hour.

We also though rode rickshaws through Beijing’s tranquil old Hutong (like a mini Pingyao), strolled Behai Park as the willow blossom fell like thick snow and saw our last two temples of the year (possibly ever, if we have our way!) at the Lama Temple and the Temple of Heaven. It says something for the number of temples that we’ve visited that the kids have developed a new rhyme to replace ‘here’s the church, here’s the steeple’ that goes

Here’s the Bell,
Here’s the Drum,
Open the door
And here’s Buddha’s bum.

We counted up, and we’ve actually only visited 18 temples in 32 days, but hey, it feels like three hundred. We’re arhat experts.

The city is transforming fast, faster still for the Beijing Olympics. Okay, so the Olympic village and Bird’s Nest Stadium are still essentially feverish building sites, but the place is abuzz with preparation and anticipation. Some positive developments include ousting the heavy industry to Hubei (poor Hubei) removing a lot of Beijing’s famous pollution, and the building of the Green Wall of trees at Datong will keep the Gobi at bay for a while. It’s certainly meant none of the 4 day sandstorms have hit Beijing this year, which has to be a blessing. Still, as the Beijingers will tell you, 2.5 million cars in the city centre are causing their own problems.

So, Beijing has been a mixed bag with a really positive last bit. It is a wonderful city with café culture and world-class attractions. But to see Beijing alone or with a handful of coastal cities is not to see China. You could come 5 or more times to different regions and have a completely different experience each time. You could seek out pandas in Chengdu, strive for enlightenment at 5,000 metres in Tibet or hang out by the beach in Guangxi. It is an amazing, transforming nation with more history than you can shake a stick at.

Do we regret our heartland itinerary? Not a bit. You could cut about 10 days happily and could well do with never seeing so much pollution again, but we have had our eyes truly opened and learnt reams. Our advice? Learn Mandarin, study China’s history (goodness knows they wont teach you it at school), aim to do business here and watch China rise and rise.

But on a final flippant note, Joe and I are thinking of hosting an authentic Chinese dinner party when we get home. We will make the room REALLY grubby, hawk and spit on the floor, drop fag ash in your food, serve you entire deep fried pigeon and bits of mould scraped from our damp patch, stare and laugh at you as you eat and give you a few bits of moss in water as tea. If you’re lucky, we’ll chuck in some Peking Opera and donkey stew.

Farewell, mighty China. Greetings, Mongolia.