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Travels In China ... Part Two (by Paul Eldon)

Bamboo branches and the pandas who eat them

 

The next stage of our journey moved us deeper into the country to south western Sichuan Province. Known for its spicy cuisine and more recently, tragically, as the epicentre of the devastating earthquake of May 2008, Sichuan – specifically Chengdu and the Giant Panda – is one of the country’s biggest draws. It was primarily for the endangered bear that we travelled to Chengdu because, to be fair, there’s not much else to write home about in the regional capital.

After the relatively modest accommodation afforded in Yangshuo, and before we headed into deepest, darkest Xinjiang, I decided that a couple of nights at Chengdu’s Kempinski Hotel wouldn’t do us any harm. A number of contributing factors had led me to this particular establishment, primary among them its proximity to the Chengdu chapter of my favourite watering hole – The Bookworm. Chengdu is very much a “modern” Chinese city; it has its luxury brand stores (Gucci again topping the list), top 5 star hotels (enter, stage left, The Kempinksi, Shangri-la and Sheraton hotels) and…a giant statue of Chairman Mao in People’s Square. The Great Helmsman stands there, resplendent in flowing winter overcoat and waving in silent benediction to the masses, most of whom are not even aware of his presence. Like I said, a modern Chinese city.

 On the Thursday morning we rose early to go to the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center, only 30 – 45 minutes from the hotel. More famous is the Wolong Panda Reserve, but at 3hrs out of the city it didn’t seem practical to visit. Not when you consider that Panda’s are essentially lazy creatures who tend to doze off mid-morning after their breakfast. I know how they feel! So off we popped with our driver, Mr Zhou (I think that was his name – it could have been Chou but he spoke Mandarin with a regional accent so it was hard to tell) who helped us gain entry into the centre (they spell it one way, I another) with a wodge of 2008 tickets. I love China. People can be so resourceful when they have a surplus of something (former U.S. President George.W. Bush might want to take note).

 It wasn’t long before we caught a glimpse of our first Giant Panda. They really are terrific animals and, a little like an ice-cream on a hot day, never fail to bring a smile to your face. Having said that, it’s little wonder they’re on the WWF endangered species list. First of all, they’re quite solitary animals and tend to not enjoy the company of others. Secondly, in a cruel twist of fate, they’re essentially herbivores with the digestive tract of carnivores. You have to wonder if God was tired at the end of a long day and added the panda to his “Let’s See What Happens If…” list, joining salmon and their ritual of reproduction. And nothing puts a smile on your face than the sight of nine or ten panda cubs falling over each other as they romp around their enclosure. There was an option to have a photo taken with a baby panda (I paid for the privilege of holding a koala once when in Australia) but the exorbitant cost put me off somewhat. In related news it apparently costs approximately US$1m per annum for zoos to “hire” a panda. Expensive beasts.

 After a while though the smile begins to fade, the ice-cream melts or your wine gets warm. Either way, you’ve had enough. So we headed back into town to spend the afternoon resting before an evening sampling the local speciality – hot pot.

I am a huge fan of hot pot. Many aren’t. My partner Daniel doesn’t see the point or nutritional value of eating boiled meat but then he’s not right all the time. However, on this occasion there was a slight problem which dawned on me after we sat down in a chain restaurant that I knew from Beijing. I had never ordered hot pot in my life. Not once. Every time I’ve been out for it someone else has ordered for me and so, although I could read the menu well enough, I had no idea what anything was! Luckily no-one else in the Group had the faintest idea what to expect anyway so it wasn’t very hard to make believe that everything I ordered was normal. The cow’s stomach was harder to cover up but, naturally, I got out of it by arguing that what I had said was “I don’t want tripe” and clearly the serving staff had simply focused on the fact that I had said “tripe”. It’s easy to get confused when foreigners speak Chinese don’t you know? A total disaster from my point of view and a clear indication that the next time I go for hot pot I should pay attention to whoever orders.

 To end the piece and, to go full circle, we found ourselves in The Bookworm after supper for a much needed gin, beer, wine and brandy. There is something tremendous about an establishment that can give you the same feeling upon entry as the more familiar venue located over 1,100 miles away. I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that The Bookworm in Chengdu and, specifically Pete Goff (The Bookworm co-owner) played a pivotal role in relief efforts after the May 12 earthquake. More information here: Sichuan Quake Relief. Such a great place.

 “China Experience” Rating: 10/10

 How could you not give it 10/10? There’s luxury brands, iconic pandas, the (usually not-disastrous) dining experience…and Chairman Mao.

Travels In China ... Part One (by Paul Eldon)

In May 2009 we persuaded Paul, our second son, to take us up to North West China. This is his side of the story. 

Seven People, Six Cities, Four Provinces, One Autonomous Region...

and a Uyghur called Patti.

Having lived in China for the past eight years but never having traveled around the country, the two-week round-trip journey from Hong Kong via Yangshuo (Guangxi), Chengdu (Sichuan), Kashgar, Turpan (Xinjiang), Dunhuang, Jiayuguan (Gansu) and Xi’an (Shaanxi) was probably the closest I was going to get to what might be described as the “China Experience”.  This is a term thrown about by pseudo China commentators regularly; what qualifies as an “experience” anyway?  Is it something cultural and rather esoteric, or can that prolonged and awkward visit to the bathroom after a particularly potent hot-pot also be termed a “China Experience”?

 I went to China in 2001 to study the language. Not because I had a deep seated desire to immerse myself in Chinese culture, nor because I wanted to report on the living conditions of China’s mega-population of peasants. The BBC’s regular misrepresentative and painful to watch “exposé’s” do just fine in that regard. It was simply because I recognised that a working knowledge of Mandarin might come in useful in the future.

 It is not my place to comment on Chinese society in comparison to Western society. They are so different that you cannot objectively compare the two without sounding either smug or trite.  I am staggered by the number of people who write books about life in China after spending just a few months (and sometimes only weeks) in the country.  I am simply a man who moved to Beijing for my own reasons, was delighted that I enjoyed living in the city, and ultimately set up shop there for most of the next decade.  Having said that, as I had only previously travelled to Shanghai, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Shenyang, I was very much looking forward to the trip around the People’s Republic if only because from what I’d seen and read, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was the closest thing you’d get to a Central Asian experience without needing another visa.  That I was going to be able to strut in front of my parents, godparents and family friends like a peacock in full bloom using what I’d learned in the Northern Capital was a boon.  You see, I’m a bit of a show off as anyone will tell you who ventured into The Bookworm in Beijing on a Monday night for our weekly (award winning) pub quiz, or on the second Thursday of the month for our equally popular Basically Beethoven classical music open-mic evening.  After each leg of the journey I shall rate each place on a “China Experience” scale of 1-10 with 1 being as Chinese as cheddar cheese and 10 Modern Communist China in all its red glory.  (If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!)

 So, to the trip. 

 We began our mini adventure on a Sunday morning as the retired population of Hong Kong set out to do their morning Tai Chi. We were to take the train into Guangzhou, fly to Guilin and then transfer by bus to Yangshuo.  All up it took us the better part of a day but the distance we had traveled?  Hardly anywhere.  China is a vast country and, if we’re simply using climate as our guide, we might as well have been in Hong Kong’s New Territories.  But unlike the New Territories, the topography of Guangxi is, simply, breathtaking.  If you think about classical Chinese painting you either get the Taoist mountains of Shandong coming to mind, or the rugged and rippling terrain of Guangxi.  Indeed, near Yangshuo in the village of Xingping the picture used for the reverse of the ¥20 RMB note was taken.  Friends of mine who have been in China since the early 1990s tell me of a time when Yangshuo was a quiet fishing village with a couple of restaurants and maybe one or two places to stay.  Not so today. 

 We stayed at a nice little place - The Rosewood Inn (which I’ll give 3 stars to for their rooms but 1 star for their breakfast), a semi-boutique style hotel and one of a small handful in the village. The hotel’s manager, named by the Group as “10% Sam” is a businessman originally from Hong Kong but who has lived in Yangshuo for the better part of the last 10 years.  Never let it be said that Hong Kong businessmen can’t spot a good deal when they see one because dear Sam now runs an entire strip of restaurants on one of the busiest streets in the village.  Yangshuo still has a romantic feel to it, helped along by the mist, the mountains and the cormorant fishers, but make no mistake – this is a tourist destination and the irritating “guides” pressing you every waking minute to go with them to see the “real” countryside, or sell you goods and services “very cheap” can get tiresome.

The Group ventured out on its own on long bicycle rides, into the food market and down the river on bamboo rafts. We included a visit to the extraordinary sound and light show held twice nightly on the outskirts of the village.  Zhang Yi Mou (director of the excellent film Raise The Red Lantern – one of the first foreign language films I saw and one of my all-time favourites, and Artistic Director for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games) has come up with a huge spectacle using the surrounding scenery as his stage and about 300,000 people and a similar number of light bulbs to create, at least in my opinion, a vulgar and thoroughly dull 60 minute show.  Some people like it.  I didn’t.  (I didn’t really like the opening ceremony either but, as you will have read in an earlier post on this blog, for those who were actually there on the night it was a quite different experience to watching it on television).

 “China Experience” Rating: 8/10

It’s China alright, from the picture postcard scenery and interesting dining (Pijiu Yu or “Beer Fish” is a local speciality) to all the bells and whistles of a country tourist destination.

Britain - Pay As You Go (Out).

The Visit Britain website is a mine of useful information. Even though I left the country over 40 years ago I still enjoy visiting, not only because of the redoubtable Mother, but because it is stunningly beautiful and historic. And I always encourage others to do the same. Indeed, just this summer we will be hosting a small group of Americans who have never visited Britain before, and on doing the research I am seriously amazed and impressed at the deals available for foreigners. Welcome to Britain!

The sights in Britain are in fact so good that the "enlightened" but beleaguered Government are determined to encourage more Britons to stay at home and visit. Hence the bad news for the foreign tourists is that there appears to be a dark sting lurking in the tail of the British welcome.

So what is it that has caught my attention? 

A little underhanded Economic Nationalism perhaps - some protectionism, despite the fact that everyone is paying lip service to the "no protectionism" bandwagon? [And on that particular protectionism subject think ‘Buy America’ provisions. Or China’s Coke moment. Or Australia’s 

Rio Tinto dilemma. But I digress.]

In Britain's case it all revolves around the now "hidden" subject of Air Passenger Duty (APD) - in other words, Departure Tax. 

In the most recent British budget - and presumably to act as an incentive for Britons to stay at home rather than go and enrich some other economy during their holidays, there is about to be introduced a higher APD. Great for the British Government revenues and of course for Britain - or is it?

If you are a UK based businessman who travels overseas to acquire business which will ultimately benefit Britain, you are going to be paying more for the privilege - or at least your company is going to pay. If you are a British tourist who wants to go overseas on holiday, in the most economical class of travel, it will cost you more, (and heaven help you if you want to move up to World Traveller Plus). And if you are a foreign tourist, like our summer visitors who are a source of revenue to Britain, you can get in to the country, no problem - but then you have to pay to leave!!

An example as supplied by a friend who has looked into this carefully (it is complicated by distance, but I will use Hong Kong):

• 4001-6,000 Miles from London (eg Hong Kong, Thailand,Brazil, Kenya, China,Seychelles, Mauritius,S Africa)

       Current APD:   £40 Economy.                £80 Any other class

       In Nov 2009 will go to:      £50       £100

       And Nov 2010 will reach:     £75               £150

So today, the minimum airport tax to leave the UK on an economy class ticket is £40 - already the most expensive in the world. By November 2010 it will almost have doubled to £75. If you are a business traveller or tourist, who travels even just a little further up the plane, you will be paying £150 before the end of 2010!

And before anyone claims that this is all to do with the "greening of Britain", none of these taxes is earmarked for use for environmental purposes or research and development of cleaner engines or fuels or  technology improvements or anything to do with aviation or climate change.They simply go into general revenue. So, a "Brown-ing of Britain" in effect. (I wonder if Government Ministers or other Civil Servants are exempt from airport taxes?)

One quotable quote (I suspect the others were unprintable!) I have seen, was from the IATA Director General and CEO, Giovani Bisignani who said “It is time for the UK to realise that APD is penalising one of its most powerful economic  catalysts at the same time that is spending billions to bail out other failed industries.”

Hear hear, Giovani; on one hand the international business community that is a generator of revenue for Britain, and the tourism industry which does rather well from the arrival of foreign tourists, have been well and truly stuffed - to use a rather crude expression. But what a good move by the "Bayou Beauties", the ladies from Louisiana who chose the Summer of '09 to make their trip to the UK. They will still have to pay to leave - but it would have been a lot more next year.

"Cabin Crew Prepare For Take Off..It May Be Bumpy."

For those of us who fly regularly to and in China, last week's report (SCMP - 3 August) about Air China and China Eastern each losing a slot at Beijing as "punishment" for weather-related flight delays since June at Beijing Capital International Airport, has a rather sinister ring to it. According to The China News Service, The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China said its investigation into delayed flights was aimed at ensuring good service for next year's Olympics.
In the absence of any further elaboration or explanation on the reasons why the delays occurred, one might conclude that a pilot may no longer have the final say in whether his flight goes or not. If the airport authorities decide in their infinite wisdom that actually it's a good day for flying, off you go or you will be punished for prudence.
I have had my fair share of bumpy rides during a flight and, on one occasion, even had one sitting on a plane on the ground, when the pilot decided it was unsafe to fly. But I have always taken comfort from knowing that sitting up at the front of the aircraft was a team of people who had as much interest in getting safely to their destination as I had.
Let's hope the airlines concerned still give their flight crew the final say, make their policy known domestically and internationally, and they should be the ones who reap the benefits. And also hope that the authorities either provide more information, or leave it to the professionals.