Wheezing and sneezing

Trip Start Jun 23, 2007
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Trip End Jul 25, 2007


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Flag of China  ,
Saturday, July 14, 2007

We arrived in Beijing after a long, dirty and extremely dusty train journey from Mongolia across the expanding Gobi desert.  This was by far the most uncomfortable train ride.  After inhaling dust for two days, my lungs felt like that of a 20 year smoker.   And Beijing certainly doesn't provide a respite from air pollutants.  This is, by far, the smoggiest city I have ever experienced. There is a constant, think white haze hanging over the city, like a scene out of Dicken's 19th century London.  It is gross. 

Despite our health (or lack there-of) and the blooming pollution, we joined thousands of Chinese patriots in Tienanmen Square at dawn for the flag raising ceremony.  It was rather surreal as we appeared to be the only westerners in the large crowd.  As such, we were quite popular, posing for pictures with the locals. Walking the streets in Beijing definitely helps the ego.  People stare, smile and try to discreetly take pictures.  This will most likely be the closest I'll get to celebrity status. 

Tienanmen Square is a perfect microcosm of the city of Beijing.  It is incredible large, slightly overwhelming and packed with tons of Chinese people!  This city is HUGE in scale, scope and size. 15 million people and counting.  Packing all the Olympic athletes and visitors into this city is going to be a trick!  Speaking of, much of the city is under construction or renovation in anticipation of Olympic glory.  Even Mao is undergoing restoration!  Like Lenin, he is usually on display in Tienanmen Square.  But for most of this year, they will be sprucing him up, reading him for the throngs of unwitting admirers who will come to pay homage in 2008.  Just imagine if at the Lincoln Memorial, you could gaze upon the unfortunate mug of Honest Abe. 
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Comments

skeithly
skeithly on Jul 22, 2007 at 08:32PM

Reflections on China from Whidbey Is.
Hey Tad - been thoroughly enjoying your blogging...having just come back from China I can definitely empathize with having to adjust to the environment there. I took a five minute moto-cab ride during rush hour on the streets of Quanzhou, and my eyes were watering for hours. It's a fascinating place though - you kind of have to take the good with the bad and just go along for the ride. But it sure is nice to be breathing the clean air and enjoying some classic northwest weather up here on Whidbey right now. Something you might look forward to when you get back... Have a great rest of your trip and I'll keep checking in to see how things are going. Cheers,
Sean

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