Beijing
December 28, 2009 by
Filed under China Travel Guide
- ISBN13: 9781740598422
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Ever wondered what Peking duck tastes like on its home turf? Always wanted to climb the Great Wall? Or perhaps you’d like something a little more obscure. A ride around town in Madame Mao’s old Red Flag stretch limousine, perhaps? Whatever tickles you, one thing’s for sure: Beijing is one impressive city. This up-to-the-minute guidebook uncovers all the marvellous secrets – and makes sure you have a great time.
Pull-out Sheet Map in Chine… More >>
If you go the largest imported books bookstore in Beijing, which is located in Wangfujing, and grab this title from the shelves, you will find that several paragraphs in the book have been covered with a white paper strip: my own educated guess is that one probably dealt with Beijing’s traffic congestion and the other with a certain bloody episode which happened on Tian’anmen Square in 1989.
I asked an employee what this meant. “The content must have been politically harmful”, was the answer. There was no trace of embarassment in his voice. Business as usual…
Nevertheless, the book is available. Who will want to buy a blatantly censored copy for what is still a high price remains an open question. This may sound anecdotal but it isn’t. It just shows how little things have really changed although China is reputedly the land of Change. I must congratulate the author for having written some “politically incorrect” stuff about Peking (let’s stick to the old name, it is so much easier to pronounce), but I have to disagree with his general appraisal of the city. It is quite true that, as he states in the preface, Peking has been a “global irrelevance” for many decades, but it is simply false to claim that it is now an “exciting time” to visit the Chinese capital.
Think about this: John Blofeld (1913-1987), a British scholar who wrote books on Eastern philosophy and religion, and traveled extensively in Asia, including China, reports in one of his travelogues that when he visited Peking in what are for us “the good old times”, before the Communist takeover that is, local people were already complaining that the old ways had disappeared.
Today, more than half a century later, after the Great Cultural Revolution and the demolition of the magnificent city walls, Peking finds itself in the midst of what in fact amounts to a second Cultural Revolution: an unprecedented, huge urban overhaul designed to turn it into a futuristic metropolis.
To sum it all up, Peking has completely lost its soul and one must ask: Where is the excitement, really? Are we talking about the five-stars hotels with their international buffets? Are we talking about the fact that local people can now buy French foie gras in the nearest supermarket? Are we talking about those glass and steel skyscrapers that have turned large areas of the city into what looks like a kind of alien Martian base? If that is something that makes you excited, yes, then by all means do visit the city. You will be satisfied.
Leaving aside the architectural monstrosities of the recent past and those that are being built in complete disregard to the ancient city environment, let us have a look at Peking’s much publicized cultural heritage. Is it really worth seeing?
My answer is a definite NO. Keep your money for Pompeii, Tikal, Versailles or Angkor Vat. First of all, unless you are acquainted with Chinese culture, chances are that you will not be able to appreciate what you see. Just as it takes some time to appreciate a book or a piece of music. The reason is that Chinese architecture is not spectacular at all. And it is quite devoid of originality. If you have seen one pagoda, you have seen them all. Besides, you probably can’t read Chinese characters. Chinese art is an extension of the writing system.
But there are many other factors that combined will probably make a visit to Peking quite disappointing, if not infuriating (for a sensitive traveler, that is). First of all, the crowds of tourists, both foreign and Chinese. They are overwhelming (and unfortunately most interesting sites have rather short opening hours). Second, the ruthless commercialism and incredibly bad taste: the merchants of the Temple are omnipresent. I am not only talking about nagging vendors, souvenirs shops, noisy fast-foods and bars inside the premises, but also about big and small advertising boards and a multitude of ugly modern artefacts that mar both the great monuments and the more modest ancient alleys (”hutongs”).
A few examples: if you go to the Forbidden City, you will find pistachio green plastic garbage cans everywhere. The benches inside the palace all bear advertising plaques for a company that sells air conditioners. If you visit the( few remaining)hutongs, you will find that the old houses are lined with brand-new cars and that their façades are marred by big air conditioners. Near the Forbidden City, the hutongs are dotted with ugly telephone booths in the shape of an orange mushroom (yes!)every five or ten meters. The tiles on most pavilions and pagodas are made of ugly, grey concrete (the real thing is too costly). There must be more than a hundred big, red fire extinguishers in the otherwise quite beautiful Lama Temple and there are alas not hidden from view. Roofs around Tian’anmen Square are bristling with huge, unsightly mobile phone towers. The wonderful animal and human statues in the Spirit Way, which is part of the huge Ming Tombs Site, are all flanked by a big plastic garbage can and they have built new roads on both sides of it: enough noise to scare away the spirits and prevent you from entering a meditative state…
Etc., etc., etc. There is no end to the list of things both small and great that spoil the remnants of the past in Peking and elsewhere in China, which shows just how culturally decadent Chinese people have become. One could without exaggeration say that today the urban culture in China is an extension of Las Vegas and Hollywood with some Chinese elements thrown in for good measure (and face!).
Sometimes the incongruities are so blatant, so ludicrous that one starts wondering if there isn’t a kind of conspiracy, a deliberate attempt to debase and desecrate the past, which is after all just superstitious rubbish for a true Communist and a mere merchandise for a true Capitalist (they are pretty much the same in my opinion). The alliance of the two has produced what may be the biggest kitsch paradise on earth: Pe-kitsch.
The third point you need to keep in mind is the weather, which can be summed up as: cold winter smog, spring sandstorms and smog, summer sauna and smog (+heavy rains in July) and dry autumn smog. Twenty years ago(yes, I have lived that long here!), Peking had a Mediterranean climate of sorts with clear blue skies most of the time, but due to heavy traffic pollution the city has now smoky skies with no wind and therefore a suffocating atmosphere most of the time (let’s say about 70 percent of the time). In many places, the air stinks with the smell of chemical paint. It is also full of dust particles from the thousands of construction sites, to say nothing of the exhaust fumes from the hundreds of thousands of trucks, bulldozers and private cars that race through narrow alleys and oversized avenues alike.
The fourth point is traffic. It is increasingly difficult to go from one place to another without being caught in huge traffic jams (the government actually encourages people to buy cars and they hope every household will have its own car by 2020!!!). The happy times when you could go around leisurely riding a bicycle are basically finished. Now the streets have become a battleground and cars crowd even the sidewalks. The subway network is pitifully inadequate and incredibly crowded. As another expat once said to me: “I never take the Beijing subway because to find the nearest subway station, I have first to take a taxi.”
The fifth point is service. While young shop assistants and other employees are generally friendly (but not always competent), a large part of the local staff, specially in parks, museums and big supermarkets, is composed of (sexually frustrated?)middle-aged women who are rude, indifferent and lazy. There is a pervading mood of discontent and irritation in the city, which is quite comprehensible considering the high level of environmental stress, the lack of genuine community life (most “local” people are rootless domestic immigrants)and the political tyranny. Add to this the fierce competition for jobs, the money problems and all the cares inseparable from both great and modest affluence (blessed are the poor, indeed!). Almost everyone will try to rip you off. Money reigns supreme.
This is not to say that there aren’t any beautiful or interesting places to see–the author of this guide has done a good job in this respect since he mentions not only the (fake) Great Wall at Badaling, but also other segments of the wall in wilder areas– but most of them are outside the city. Or you have to be in the Forbidden City on a cold, rainy day or at the peak of a media-orchestrated flu epidemic, when the crowds are away. Even then, you will have to close your eyes often in order not to see all the jarring details I mentioned before.
You may appreciate the cheap food. The poor will still smile at you and greet you (while the new middle-class rich won’t even look at you). The huge parks provide a welcome respite from the ugliness and noise of the rest of the city, but they are quite ordinary and, like the whole place, not genuinely Chinese, but a sloppy mixture of styles. Even here, under the shadow of gracious willows, your contemplation of the beautiful lotus ponds will often be interrupted by the awful noise of spitting indigenous males clearing their throats. This is China!
Remember the white tags of censorship in the book. And know that contrary to what the cover photograph wants you to believe, very few young people in Peking practice kungfu. These days they prefer to play basket-ball or electronic games.
PS: Read the “Ugly Chinaman” by Boyang to understand why this country has become such a mess.
Rating: 2 / 5
The quality of the book does not compare with many others available. Very few pictures let alone even fewer color pictures. Information is pretty helpful. However nothing really stands out.
Rating: 3 / 5
Lonely Planet is de-facto standard of the travel guides, and therefore it is exactly what can be expected of de-facto standards: most reliable, comprehensive, but lacking the pointers to the “hidden gems”.
As others have already pointed out, Chinese characters are printed near every location, which enables simple interaction with the non-English speaking natives. The maps are great, but don’t expect them to be 100% accurate for a rapidly changing place like Beijing. (For example, in May 2004 they already had an extra subway line which didn’t appear in the guide) Other perks are the great quality of binding which makes it easier to travel with (on one occasion it got wet, but somehow survived) and great sense of humor.
The only major disadvantage was the lack of “off the beaten track” info. I’ld say the best bet is getting these tips from other travelers or maybe using another guidebook as a sidecar.
Still, LP offers the best value for the money.
Rating: 5 / 5
Comprehensive, concise and well-organized. A great resource and a true bargain. The fact that this series proudly features long-time local residents in their guides says a lot about their commitment and values. I also appreciate that they inspire enthusiasm and exploration in the reader almost from the first page. Also note this is hot off the presses in August 2007. Unless they somehow got everything totally wrong (I’ll know when I visit over New Year’s) this is 5 stars easily.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book was very helpful to us while we were in Beijing. This is one of the few books that has the Chinese version of the places written out, which was VERY helpful for the taxi drivers.
The reviews of the top sites were right on. The only thing we could find wrong with this book was that there is no Rainforest Cafe in Beijing as listed in the book. But looking for that lead us to an Outback Steakhouse that we didn’t know was there so it all ended well.
If I were going to Beijing I would take this book with me.
Rating: 4 / 5