Back to Beijing

Communism as told by metal stick lady (dominatrix of the year 2009)
After a bit of a debate (which ended in crushing poor Clare’s dreams) we moved to Beijing by plane rather than the Doily Train.
This meant we had time for an extra visit arranged by the ever helpful James Su-Hao who we were booked in to meet later.
This visit was a guided tour given by a very scary leather clad lady with a metal stick, around what can only be described as “the workers republic of building a better life from poverty to percieved middle classness in a very organised Chinese way”
Let me tell it in story fashion…
“Once upon a time in a small and very poor village near the edge of Beijing, a man had a dream. I want to help my friends to become more comfortable and happy, he said.
So, with the backing of his local government he persuaded the whole village to build a new life by giving up their silly agricultural ways (which had only made them poor) and building a completely new village and a big building company to help China to rebuild everything.
In this new village everyone would work for the company and build…stuff, everywhere.
They would be happy or else they would have to leave.
The End.”
It wasn’t my favourite place but it gave a good insight into how this particular village had bettered itself and although we didn’t see many people I don’t think they were that happy.
The highlight of the visit was our country style lunch which was a huge table full of minging food the most memorable was a chicken which looked like it had been passed whole through a tennis racket on its way to the pan, only a welsh man could bring himself to eat the head of a chicken- well done Tony my son.

The Hutongs (someone tell me there isn’t a band called this)
A traditional Courtyard Hotel in the famous Hutongs of Beijing was our next stop after our lovely lunch and my treat for the Nuffield travel group.
First reactions after the bus negotiated the rather shabby back streets of downtown Beijing to reach a litter strewn and cat ridden hotel was sheer horror (and I think this was the final straw for James who had been having trouble with his body clock, which I think broke entirely at this point) No, 5 star luxury here, but after settling into the rooms it was actually very clean, comfortable and impressively quiet given the location in the heart of the capital, but once out of into the streets it would be difficult to think a young lady would feel safe walking back, in fact our transport gave up trying and picked us up some way from the hotel. A bit like choosing a Best Western in the middle of Kings Cross.

                                                                    great wall