Beijing, China

           On 7 Oct 2013, we awoke at 5:00 AM, a few minutes before our alarm clock went off.  Although it was still dark outside, the Diamond Princess was already in port at Tianjin, China.  After a quick breakfast, we walked down to the Princess Theater, just in time for our 6:00 AM meeting time.  By 6:30 AM, we were on our tour bus, starting on the [normally] 2.5 hour drive to Beijing.  As the bus driver maneuvered through Tianjin streets, our guide told us that Tianjin is a big manufacturing city, well located for shipping to other parts of Asia; cell phones, microwaves, and many other items are made here.  We saw many stacks of large shipping containers, awaiting shipping.  Soon, we passed through miles of reclaimed land that had been under sea water.  Land improvement has been continuing for 6 years; trees have been planted and apartment buildings built – but no one is living in those buildings yet.

            As our bus drove on toward Beijing, about 45 minutes from our ship our journey stopped abruptly when police closed the highway (a toll road) due to dangerously thick fog.  For the next two hours, our bus sat on the highway, along with lots of other vehicles, waiting for the fog to clear.  When asked about the frequency of road closing due to fog, Tao replied that it happens only a couple of times each year; usually the wind blows the fog away, but today there was no wind.  Still, we were lucky because Tao told us that we could get out and walk around the stopped vehicles in other lanes to the side of the road where there were public restrooms – though she warned us that they were dirty.  Indeed, they (especially the ladies’ room) were filthy!  (On the other hand, we found out later that some other tour busses had not stopped in such a convenient location, and the passengers had to “do their business” in the bushes along the road!)  Also, being able to stand outside the bus allowed us to avoid continuous sitting during that long period of time.

During the trip to Beijing, Tao told us more about China.  She has been a tour guide for 15 years and is much more knowledgeable than our previous Chinese guides.  Concerning the Chinese policy regarding family size, children normally receive free medical care and university education; however, if a couple does not limit family size according to policy, ALL of their children forfeit this benefit.  Hence, most couples follow the policy; of course, if you are wealthy and willing to pay the cost, you can have as many children as you like.  Everything is more expensive than it used to be.  Purchasing an apartment is out of reach of most younger Chinese couples and they have to rent (or live with parents).  Two-bedroom, 900 square foot apartments in Beijing sell for about 4 million Yuan (about $600,000 US).  You don’t really “own” the property; the government owns it, and you are actually purchasing a 70-year lease.  Tao didn’t know what would happen to her apartment after 70 years.  She hopes to live a long life!

Regarding food, the Beijing area isn’t wet enough to grow rice; Tao grew up there, eating noodles and potatoes, not rice.  We passed by farm land where two crops per year (winter wheat and corn) are grown, as well as large fish ponds.

Tao said their first leader, Mao, was mostly a military leader; but the one who followed him made many economic improvements.  On the other hand, two things have become worse since her childhood:  (1) There is a widening gap between the rich and the poor, and (2) there is more crime.  (Sound familiar?)  Another note regarding children: City people do not prefer having a son over having a daughter; in fact, many prefer a daughter because the daughter “doesn’t forget her parents.”

Not far from Beijing, we passed several nuclear reactors.  As we drew closer to the city, Tao explained that “bei” means “north” and “jing” means “capital.” Beijing is the political center of China.  The city has expanded a lot in the last 30 years; in fact, Beijing’s population had grown by 2 million to about 22 million, since she last checked not long ago, and now has 5 million cars!  Tao said that driving on Beijing streets is restricted by license number for one’s car; the last number determines which days one can or cannot drive on city streets.  That policy started in 2008 when the Olympics came to Beijing.  However, as a result, many people have bought a second car (in order to have a different license plate), which contributes to even more traffic and parking problems.  Because the city is on the edge of a desert, the government has encouraged the planting of trees and other vegetation to stop the blowing sand; the streets are lined with trees and flowers, making an attractive city.

Since our lunch reservations were for 12:00 PM, our schedule changed and Tao was instructed to take us directly to lunch in Beijing before our tour there.  We had another great Chinese-style meal, although not as quite as good as the one yesterday in Dalian.  After lunch, Tao announced that the ship’s captain was delaying the ship’s departure time from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM to allow us to complete our entire tour.

Forbidden City

            After lunch, we made the 20-minute remaining drive to the Forbidden City, which is surprisingly right in the middle of downtown Beijing.  When walking through the magnificent Meridian Gate, it is impossible not to be amazed at the splendor of the wooden architecture, colors, and gold.  For the next 2.5 hours, we walked, following Tao through the 250 acre complex of palaces, pavilions, gardens, and ceremonial courtyards.  Since all of the buildings looked very similar and we didn’t want to risk getting lost and left behind, we stuck to Tao like glue.  The intricate, elaborate decorations were fascinating.  For example, Tao pointed out that the relative importance of each building can be measured by the number of statues on the roof.  [After this experience, Sally plans to watch the movie “The Last Emperor” again.]

Temple of Heaven

            Next our driver took us through the historic Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world, capable of accommodating one million people.  Afterward, we also drove past several other historical buildings.  The last part of our tour was a visit to the Temple of Heaven, which includes the largest grouping of temples in China, as well as the world’s biggest religious structure.  Built from 1406-1420, it was a special place of spirituality where Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties prayed for a good harvest twice every year; the rest of the year, it was empty of people.  At the end of the tour, the two of us stopped briefly at a souvenir shop before running on the bus, and then hurried on to the bus, where we were the last to board!


            As Tao had predicted, the streets in Beijing and the road leading to Beijing were very crowded.  Since today was the last day of a 7-day holiday period in China, many Chinese families were also enjoying these sites, and more cars were on the road than usual.  For a while, our bus was stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident some distance in front of us.  If outsiders wanted to spend a week in Beijing, this week would be a very bad time to do that!

            By 7:30 PM, we were finally back on the ship and enjoying dinner in the Horizon Court, since it was too late to go to our assigned [6:00] dinner table.  Being very tired, we skipped both swimming and dancing, but before going to bed, we watched the push-off from the pier about 9:00 PM.  From our balcony, we could watch the ship’s quiet departure; the dock was empty, the last Chinese employees were driving off, and we could see distant fireworks going off, apparently celebrating the end of their holidays.  The original “set sail” time was supposed to be 5:00 PM, but fog and late busses had delayed the schedule by 4 hours.  Meanwhile, we thought of the busses (and Tao) returning to Beijing; she had told us that on one occasion of heavy fog, she didn’t get to her home in Beijing until 5:00 AM!