The Other Long March (Part 3: The Home Stretch)

So little time left, and so much left for Mum and Dad to do. That’s what was on our minds as we woke up the next morning from our Inner Mongolia/Ningxia trip, having survived the late flight back to Beijing with a ton of souvenirs in tow. On top of that, we were all feeling it from the long weekend of sightseeing, and a more relaxed pace was required if only for a few days to rest the bodies.

Luckily in Beijing there are plenty of things to see which just scream el Rancho Relaxo, and the first port of call (and an absolute necessity when you visit Beijing) was a trip to the Chaoyang acrobats. As we had already seen them on two occasions we thought it would be a good opportunity for Maddy to accompany her grandparents to this one, while I caught up on some serious darts time with friends.

During the first few days back Amy also suggested the possibility of checking out the ancient city of Pingyao while my parents were in town. Having been kept in its original condition and absent of most signs of civilised advancement (roads suitable for cars), this location had been recommended by a number of people as both an interesting, relaxing and convenient place to get to, albeit with a bit of pre-planning. And with Xmas coming up a weekend getaway certainly seemed a good option for a present for Mum and Dad.

The old streets of Pingyao. Many storefronts are in their original condition, just like this one.

So with everyone decided on the trip we booked 5 of the very few remaining seats on the fast train down to Taiyuan, which is only an hour and a bit drive away from Pingyao. Given our absent driver’s licences and the lack of any frame of reference to which way we were meant to go, we organised the hotel to pick us up from the Taiyuan train station and drive us to Pingyao. This is an ancient city that, for the most part (aside from the tourist stands) has been stuck in a time warp. While it didn’t have all the thrills of Xian or the grandeur of the Great Wall, the weekend Pingyao offers a great opportunity to relax and wander around the various historical sites within the walled city. And then there is the walk around the actual wall, which is 6km in length and offers great views down the old alleys where cars are still prohibited from entering.

One of the local Beijing expat rags had recommended a renovated courtyard home called Jing’s Residence as the place to stay in Pingyao, and upon arriving we had to agree. With all the courtyard rooms totally revamped into a modern style yet still showing some of the characteristics of the old Chinese architecture (wooden features) it even included more comfortable western beds.

The fully renovated Jing Residence at Pingyao. Great place to stay, but best to eat elsewhere until they improve their service.

On settling in (along with the wet weather) we headed on out to start exploring the town, and over the two days wandered through a multitude of museums and family compounds. No trip to a Chinese town is without a visit to the local temple so a Taoist temple was thrown in for good measure.

The pick of the spots for Amy and I had to be the 1st armed escort agency in North China (no, not THAT kind of escort, the kind Michelle Yeoh played in Wo Hu Cang Long/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) which had a dedicated martial arts training area out the back complete with a large array of weapons, wooden dummy and a punching bag. It was actually better than the martial arts facilities in the Martial Arts museum up the road.

Tomfoolery at the Martial Arts Museum in Pingyao.

Dad and I took the opportunity to practice our sword work. Good times.

Dad in a trance of some crazy sword dance.



Maddy doing the Grasshopper.

Being an early centre of finance we also got to check out the first financial institutions in China and the houses of the rich in earlier times. We all agreed it was a very relaxing place to spend the weekend, and although the food service at the hotel needs some improvement it was a great destination for anyone wanting a Chinese experience far removed from the hustle and bustle of the major cities. In between the ordinary weather we also managed a walk around one quarter of the wall section.

Section of wall surrounding the Pingyao Ancient City.




Taking a rest for a moment, while Dad films the City Tower.




Looking down onto the Pingyao main street from the City Tower.

With a bit of time to spare in the afternoon before the train trip back we got our driver to take us back to Taiyuan via the domestically well-known Qiao Family compound (filming location for the famous Chinese movie “Raise the Red Lantern”), a very large family home of a former well off merchant. It was a fast and furious run through, interrupted only by another unpleasant public toilet (mis)adventure when some 300yo Chinese guy with a walking stick tried to accost me for 5 yuan. We had ducked into what looked like (and was) a public concrete shit pit for a leak, and missed the scratchy sign on the wall written in Chinese stating it was a 5 for #1 deal. With a need not to get involved with local law enforcement by knocking down a local we flew the coup thanks to a classic Michael Jordan head fake and headed back to the train station.

The garden courtyard of the Qiao family compound.

With their legs all relaxed it was time for Mum and Dad to grab the Beijing Taxi Book (a must for the non Mandarin-speaking tourist) and cover some of the other spots that were on the must-do list. Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Military Museum were all slotted in, as well as some separate time as Mum headed out to the markets with some of our friends while Dad went on what would have been the longest bike ride of his life doing his own tour-by-bike out to the eastern outskirts of the city (and checking out a few of Beijing’s neat civil structures – CCTV building), and the Michael Jordan statue that resides (oddly) at the northern end of Chaoyang Park.

With my limited weekday time available and my desire to see the Terracotta warriors we made plans to do a trip from Beijing down to Xian and back in a day. It was a long one, with us heading off at 6am in the morning and meeting our guide at the Xian airport. After a side trip to the White Goose Pagoda in the city (which offered GREAT views of Xian from the 7th floor) and an unexpected trip to a statue showroom we finally made it to the Terracotta Warrior world heritage site after a(nother) VERY ordinary tour lunch.

Mum and Dad at the White Goose Pagoda, Xian.

Mum and Dad trying out some of the formal attire at the terracotta warrior and furniture factory, Xian.

The feeling of seeing all the warriors was one of amazement, and our experience was enhanced by the knowledge of our guide who obviously had a good understanding of their history. In addition to the Terracotta Warriors there were also a number of other sites in the area such as the Horses of Qin Shi Huang, inlayed with gold and all made to scale from the original models. Amy had given me only one instruction for the day, and that was to get a book of the warriors and have it signed by the peasant farmer who actually uncovered the warriors. And the fellow wasn’t hard to find, sitting right next to the book store where you can pay extra to have him scratch his name on your book (but not take any photos according to the sign, but I must have impressed him as he was happy to pose for me). On the way back to the airport we spotted a great 5 star resort/spa which I have plans to check out the next time I am there.

Mum and Dad - Excavation pit of the Terracotta Warriors, Xian.

The man responsible for all the Terracotta hoo-haa. This fellow (along with some other farmers) came across the first pit of warriors when digging a well.

Two more organised events lay between our return from Xian and Mum and Dad’s scheduled departure – a rickshaw tour of the hutongs and a planned trip with people from our work to Chengde, located north-east of Beijing and location of one of the dynasty’s summer palaces.
The Rickshaw Hutong tour had been recommended by a colleague of ours, but in the end we found this to be poorly timed for Mum and dad’s visit because by the time we did it they had already seen Hou Hai and the Drum and Bell towers, and these places comprised 3 of the 4 key spots on the tour. The 4th one, Prince Gong’s Palace, was a place we were yet to visit and while it ended up being a place we all enjoyed it was also the busiest place tourist wise we had ever visited. It made our trip to the Summer Palace during Dena’s trip look like the Serengetti. Another little gem on the tour was a visit to a local courtyard home, which although looked very basic and lacked any significant insulation against Beijing winters, has an estimated market value of AU$800,000.

Jumping into our pedicabs for the Hutong tour.

Mum and Dad at Prince Gong's Palace (sitting at one of the few uncrowded spots).

I made a culinary decision that Mum and Dad’s last Saturday in Beijing should be one comprising of my favourite local foods, so for lunch Dad and I dropped into my local market around the corner and purchased a few boxes of roubian for lunch on the way back from booking ourselves in to the Peking Duck restaurant for dinner. Most westerners are aware of or have at least heard of Peking Duck – the fat juicy game bird served with spicy dark soyabean paste and complimented with slivered cucumber and shallots. Roubian, on the other hand, remains a largely hidden treat until you’ve experienced it – the lightly spiced beef or lamb mince cooked between two layers of the think, salty, oily Chinese bread. It’s the pide of the east, and best served with a mix of chilli paste and dumpling vinegar. Mmmmmmmm.

A few hearty meals were certainly required for our plans on Sunday, which was the trip to Chengde. The exact plans had not been agreed upon, but the rough ones involved a first stop at the old Mountain Resort in the city followed by a visit to some of the temples around the town. The Mountain Resort is a very large estate surrounded entirely by a big wall, which was set up for one of the dynasties as a hunting ground for the royal family. The residential sections at the bottom of the hill were the run-of-the-mill Chinese houses and halls, but a last minute decision to take the trolley car tour up and around the mountain areas gave us some awesome views of the town and also highlighted what a great destination it would be if someone was to ever get permission to run mountain bike tours there.

Maddy feeding one of the deers that roam wild in the Mountain Resort in Chengde.

The Beijing-based Guihot family on the wall surrounding the Chengde Mountain Resort (with the Putao Temple in the background).

The mini-Great Wall that surrounds the Mountain Resort in Chengde.

After polishing off our packed lunch in the cold we headed off to the Putao Temple around the corner, which is a replica of the Lhasa Temple in Tibet. It was a great pick by the group, as the wind started to pick up when we reached the top of some very long stair climbing causing the long flags to really show their colours. It was without a doubt my favourite temple experience here in China thus far, and makes me even keener to get to Tibet while I am here (fingers crossed :-). After a quick trip to the smaller Puning Temple we were on our way back to Beijing and to a solid night’s sleep (and the task of having to sort through even MORE photos).

One of the many long stair climbs at the Putao Temple.

With the flags and the large red walls it looked like a picture of Lhasa.

The Putao Temple as seen from the Mountain Resort 'Great Wall', Chengde.

With Mum and Dad scheduled to fly out on the Tuesday morning I was able to get Monday off work and take them on a flyby tour of a few other good spots to check out. Given the traffic congestion around the time we were heading out we decided on the subway, which in Beijing is one of the best ways to get around. We started with a quick tour of Wangfujian and the always popular (and stomach turning) “eat street”, where Mum and I both had to pull Dad away from the BBQ’d scorpions and seahorses on a stick (not). After a bite to eat we headed off to the Olympic Precinct and did a quick walk around the Birds Nest Stadium before heading home for some rest. That night Amy and I finished our first wushu set, heralding a start to the staff set the week after.

Mum and Dad at the Olympic Park. No need to explain this landmark.

As is the way with holidays there were things in Beijing that Mum and Dad did not get to see, which we would have loved to show them. The Temple of Heaven (which I am told is the best temple in town – still to get there myself), The Place (with its 100m long plus video screen), the Panjiayuan Dirt Markets, The Lama Temple, Guyuju Caves, Ming Tombs, and even some of the more domestically-centric parts of our everyday lives like the Angle Market and Grandma’s Kitchen (one of the best western breakfasts). And then there is the Oriental Taipan Massage and free food experience which is something to behold. Oh well, at least we have a good start for the travel plan for their next visit.

It was absolutely marvellous to have my family over here staying with us for 5 weeks, and I am equally looking forward to welcoming Amy’s parents next year and again showing visitors around our ‘home’. From Mum and Dad’s perspective, I know that they definitely left China with a VERY different impression than they came with. They came here with the typical parental concerns for our safety in what they thought would be a place showing all the traits of a developing country capital (as we did), but left feeling safer walking through the dark back alley of a Beijing hutong at 11pm than you would walking down George Street in Sydney on any given day.

The greatest thing that I took away from the visit (other than seeing Mum and Dad) was the fact that both of them had different 'favourite things' about the trip, and neither of them picked the Great Wall. It meant that we had really taken them to places that they probably didn't expect to go or enjoy so much. And for the record, Mum's favourite was the Ningxia trip, and Dad's the Terracotta Warriors.

Next post - what we have been up to in the post-visit period, snow fun and karaoke shenanigans.

Tickets from all the places we visited during Mum and Dad's visit (and there are still some missing).

The Other Long March (Part 2: The Desert Campaign)

If you are planning on coming to Beijing for only a few days or a week then in reality you’ll likely be wanting to focus on the BIG TWO of the Chinese Tourism Machine – namely the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors in Xian (which, as we have found, you can do from Beijing in one very long day trip). With Mum and Dad in town for over 5 weeks though we felt there was the opportunity to throw in a few less obvious Chinese gems that the first time sino-explorers wouldn’t usually get to. We would end up covering the buried pottery padres anyway, so why not seek out something very different that would really show them the extremes in terrain and scenery that we have found makes China such an interesting place to see? And boy, did we end up picking a winner.

Desert, Dune Buggies and Dunny Tragedies
All organised and booked in before we left Australia, the epicentre of Mum and Dad’s China visit was a planned trip with the Chinese Culture Centre to Inner Mongolia and Ningxia over the National Day long weekend. While we were initially on the waiting list due to its popularity, we got a guernsey thanks to an overwhelming response and the need for a double tour party. Ningxia, one of the newest regions of China and home to the Hui muslins, would provide a significant contrast to Beijing and its overpopulation. Being located on the edge of the Tengger Desert of Inner Mongolia the province was sparse, and the vegetation even sparser. And while the sightseeing looked good, it was also packed with some real adventure which was sure to test the fine print in Mum and Dad’s travel insurance policy (you mean that WASN’T covered?).
I had yet to explore the desert areas of the country, and with the lunar calendar scheduling a full moon for the weekend it was fingers crossed for clear desert skies to make the most of the amazing landscape.

After a very early trip out to the Beijing airport we met up with the tour group and took a 2hr flight west to Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Autonomous Region. Flying during the day, we were able to see the desert out the plane window, but as we descended into Yinchuan airport the view of the Yellow River bordered by a thin green fertile belt and then into sand dunes really gave it an Egyptian Nile feel. After getting ourselves onto the tour bus we quickly made acquaintances with the other tour group participants, and as is the norm with these things quickly picked out those in the group who would best match our personalities (and be easy to get on with), and those we would be wanting to leave locked in a Chinese public toilet at the first stop. The latter this time ended up being a real narcissist, and had trouble understanding why not everyone wanted to hear about her medical problems in acute detail.

On our trip out to the Mutianyu great wall earlier in the week Mum had expressed a desire to see some of the unrestored ‘original’ great wall, and our first port of call this trip gave her just that. Located just outside of Yinchuan lies an area called Shou Dong Guo and a section of the original Ming dynasty great wall, unrestored for your authentic viewing and meandering pleasure. And while the sections of wall around Beijing look grandiose in their brick construction splendour, you won’t find any such fancy building materials here. This section of the wall was made of rammed earth, yet even with the passing of time and subsequent erosion you can still make out the guard towers along the way and access the tunnels that acted as gates through the defences. And if the great scenery around the wall wasn’t enough of a bonus for the tourist, the area also hosted an extensive cave system used to house the Ming wall guards, a nice little lake (with some actual bird wildlife not in cages) and a Chinese-style sideshow shooting gallery right out of Mad Max II. The area also housed the living quarters of the foreign archaeologists who did alot of the early discovery work on the prehistoric people of the area (there is lots of evidence of this on display in their old living quarters), and although they were European in descent you would have thought they were from the American Wild West, with their little settlement looking like a landscape from El Paso.

Surely this can't be China. Where is John Wayne?

Rammed earth section of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall.

Mum and Dad on the Ming Great Wall - awesome views.

OK, NOW lets start the haggling.

After taking about 5000 photos we boarded the bus and headed back to Yinchuan for what would be the first of a number of ordinary meals for lunch (interdispersed with two good ones, including a great dinner at a local Yinchuan muslim restaurant). Loaded up with chilli and mutton we were then off on the bus again for the trip to the ‘Tengger Terminal’ and then into the desert. The “Tengger Terminal” is essentially a carpark at the end of a bitumen road which marked, well, pretty much the end of the road. From here on in any travel was by 4WD or by camel only - the shifting dues were your road and the quickly disapearing tyre tracks of previous jeep trips to the lake your road signs. With night time fast approaching for us it was no time for Laurence of Arabia, and we prepared to throw all of our things into the back of jeeps organised as part of the tour. Before we got into a potentially s&*t scary situation on the edge of a large dune it was a good idea to rid ourselves of the excess s&^t, so as we looked around the carpark for a toilet we spotted in the distant a couple of hardy looking sheds that seemed to be welcoming our kind of business.

What resulted though was the worst public toilet experience I’ve ever had. The shed didn’t offer a toilet so much as just a hole cut in the wooden floor, and no hole dug underneath to send the packages out of sight of the naked eye. Yep, nothing like being able to check out the days takings while you make your own deposit.

If that business wasn’t enough to highlight China’s often wide deviation from the norm, the trip out to our resort - a 40min jeep drive into the desert over the dunes was to seal the deal. With the tour group allocated a particular set of jeeps in which to jump into, we eyed off a not so new looking one and decided that would be our chariot to adventure. Well, this chariot seemed to have some maintenance issues, which started as soon as the driver flipped the back open to load our bags in. With a strong smell of petrol fumes coming from the back of the truck, it was soon obvious that fuel had actually leaked from a can onto the floor of the luggage compartment. In the usual “she’ll be right, mate” attitude prevalent among the Chinese business fraternity he grabbed a blanket and laid it down, before piling our luggage on top. In we hopped, with Maddy jammed in between Amy and I along with Mum in the back seat sans seatbelt (only 3 for 4 passengers) and Dad in the front. With the car started and ready to roll, the only concerns we thought we had were the chance of a rolling jeep down the dunes, and the not-so-secure top suitcase in the rear which looked like it could hop into the drivers lap on any sudden rise in the bonnet level. But OH-NO, this driver was trained in really testing the nerves of his passengers. Just when we thought all dangers would be met after departure, he pushes the jeep’s cigarette lighter into the dash and a minute later decides to light up a durry. He obviously didn’t like the overpowering smell of the PETROL FUMES, so wanted to get rid of the PETROL FUME smell so decided to replace PETROL FUME smell with cigarette smoke. Now what was that email address for Darwin Award nominations?

This could so nearly have been the last photo of the Guihot family alive. Waiting to board the jeep out into the dunes.

We did make it though, and after settling into our rather basic but comfortable rooms at the 'resort' (with the standard uncomfortable chinese bed) we took the opportunity for some great scenery shots (full moon over the desert dunes) before heading to dinner. Being a predominantly muslim area mutton was big here, but even with mutton there are still good and bad bits. The dishes we got served as part of the deal had us wondering what they did with all the GOOD cuts of the geriatric lamb bag because we seemed to get every knuckle, meatless bone and spinal vertebrae from the animal.

Amy and I on the balcony of our Desert 'resort' room (taken by Maddy, hence the great artistic use of side props).

Full moon over the Tengger desert. Memorable moment, methinks.

Whatever it was in the dishes it didn’t seem to do my blood pressure any favours, as I woke up the next morning to have breakfast interrupted by a persistent bloody nose. Luckily it settled just as we were boarding the camels for the cool morning ride to the Sun Lake, about 1 hr trek away.

This ride over the dunes in the cool hours of the morning was absolutely amazing, as we got to look back at the lake next to our resort and the contrasting nothingness beyond. The terrain of the camel train route mostly involved traversing across the dunes, but every now and then required us to sit right back and hang on (or push down into the stirrups) to save us going over the front of our own camel and into the arse of the one in front.

The camel train goes on, with Maddy up front in the pink.

The front group heading down to the Sun Lake.

While the camel ride was great, the destination ended up being a bit of a fizzer - though the dunes and the lake looked amazing, there seemed to be no real plan for what to do with our group as we waited like shags on a rock for the jeeps to come and pick us up. Mum and Dad had a rawer end of the stick though as they took the jeeps out to the lake and then had to trek over sand dunes for about half an hour to the pick up point for the camels. A bit more organisation from the tour company for this leg of the trip would have been nice. Mum and Dad headed off on the camels to the Moon Lake and our jeeps eventually showed up and took us back to the resort - yep the wrong destination.

Dad and Mum getting set for their camel ride back to the resort.

Family shot at the Sun Lake (in the Nevada desert this could easily be a newspaper headline).

We had to jump on a boat to rendevous with Mum and Dad at the Moon Lake to enjoy some of the other activities on offer including dune boarding, dune buggy riding, desert golf and swimming for those keen on some calcium carbonate therapy (which the lakes were very saturated with). Unfortunately the other 200 resort guests had the same idea, so we used some of our aquired knowledge of 'lining up chinese style' to push in and get across in time to at least have a go of the dune buggies before having to head on back (the dune boarding and desert golf seemed to have been closed down for the season).

A chance conversation on the boat ride back across the lake showed what a small world it is among the expats in China (no six degrees of separation here - try 2 or 3). On talking with one of the tour party families from Shanghai I discovered that the husband worked at Volvo, and that he knew an old aquantence of mine who also works there (boyfriend of an ex Flying Cocktails, now in London). Getting a hello from him in Shanghai through the mobile of a total stranger in the middle of the Inner Mongolian desert was certainly not something I expected.

Putting all the above frustrations aside, we still had a pretty amazing experience. However there was still one more opportunity for the hotel to stick another thorn in my side - as we went to check out, the hotel staff tried to charge me for a washer I had used to clean up the bloody nose from earlier that morning. Sure - I pay 8 kuai to 'replace' something they can go and wash and re-use. Piss off!

Rock Stars
The next stop on the tour (after jeeping our way back to a western road system) was the Xixia mausoleum of previous local emperors. Like huge beehives the size of pyramids (they are known as the "Oriental Pyramids"), they were interesting to checkout but by this stage we really needed something impressive to match the great experience of the desert. The second last stop of the weekend did that, as we went to a local museum and mountain pass in the Helan Shan range dotted with various rock paintings and carvings. The whole group really seemed to enjoy this, with the museum gift shop and the usual souvenir shop doing great business (including our own pick of a charcoal rubbing of a sun god carving - not overly Chinese but something that will always remind us of our visit there). The charcoal rubbings of the carvings were proving to be popular with the group, as was the local stone of the area which had been used to make some great and unique pieces (owing to the nature of the rock which was black with green running through it).

One of the burial mounds at the Xixia Mausoleum.

Maddy seeking inner peace through sublime thought (or Chocolate thought)

Sun God carving (charcoal rubbing of which now takes pride of place in our apartment hallway).

So it was home time, and with most people on the bus verging on homicidal rampages becase of the group's resident P.I.T.A (Pain in the... ) everyone (my folks especially) was looking forward to enjoying their own bed and being served meat that wasn't older than they were or packed with Ningxia's own version of the Guatemalan insanity chillies. Aside from the poor food (which you seem to expect on these trips) and the crazy bus driver it was though a great weekend, and one that I would recommend to anyone visiting China (just be sure to throw some two-minute noodles in your bag).

Next post - weekend at old Pingyao, Chengde, Pottery Warriors and the China Experience wrap-up.