One World, One Dream... One Party

Something unexpected happened when we arrived in Beijing. I got the opposite of culture shock (culture recognition perhaps?) brought on by the buzz of a massive city, the prevalence of KFC / Starbucks / McDonalds and the numerous English language signs. After rural Mongolia, this Westernised metropolis almost felt like home. Soon however, from behind the skyscrapers, the coffee chains and the 24-hour consumerism, the China I had been expecting started to emerge.

There'd been hints before we arrived - other travellers advising us to hide our guidebooks as they recognised Taiwan's independence and were routinely confiscated by customs officials - but it was after a few minutes of watching China's English-language news channel (part of the entertainingly named CCTV network) that their version of reality began to come through. Advertised as a standard domestic and international news programme, there was something of the Demon Headmaster about the smiling presenters parroting unfailingly good news about China's prosperity, international prestige, moral strength and perfect readiness for the Olympics. (Attempting to ride the packed underground trains or even more overcrowded buses soon put this last proclamation in doubt, proving that London is not the only Olympic city in danger of being brought to a standstill by the Games.) Even more blatantly, it seems the Museums of the Revolution and of Chinese History are often closed while history is altered. He who controls the past, controls the future, indeed. And visiting Tiananmen Square was an unsettling experience. I don't really know what I expected, but it wasn't a giant portait of Mao, traders selling postcards and a huge Olympic-themed flower sculpture where a memorial should be.

But politics aside (if it is possible to put politics aside in China), Beijing is a fantastic place to visit and its historical sights have far exceeded my hazy expectations. The Great Wall in particular was unforgettable and although the 10km scramble up and down the steep sections between Jinshanling and Simatai was exhausting, the views of the wall snaking away into the distance made every step worthwhile. The Forbidden City too was breathtaking, although far too big to take in during our half-day visit and teeming with hundreds of tour group tourists in matching baseball caps, all jostling to take the same photo at the same time.

A few days into our stay in Beijing, Amber and I took a two-day trip to Xi'an, home of the Terracotta Warriors. I didn't know much about the Warriors before we arrived, just that they'd been buried for centuries and had been rediscovered in the 1970s, so I was surprised to discover that the excavation and restoration process is nowhere near finished. After we'd watched a scene-setting film, our tour guide led the way into the main 'pit' - the original site of the discovery with an exhibition hall built round it. In one section, a large collection of soldiers and horses stand in lines, in another the mishmash of broken pottery shows the condition of the statues when they were discovered. A third large area is still covered with earth. As with the Great Wall, I find it hard to comprehend the immense amount of time and effort that must have gone into such a project. I think it comes of not being a natural 'completer-finisher' myself, that I find such great feats of time and energy fascinating but slightly unimaginable...

Beijing marks the end of my Trans-Siberian journey, and as Amber flew home on the 14th it is also the start of my solo trip into South-East Asia. Special mention at this point goes to the perceptive people at CAAT who bought me a compass as part of my leaving present in July - pathfinding alone with my sense of direction, I would have been lost in Beijing many times without it, and I have no doubt that it will be invaluable as I continue my journey!