China has done it!
God knows they have had a lot of expectations to fulfill and obstacles to overcome, given the many negative viewpoints that the Western press has on this mega-country! As we were approaching 080808, the opening of the Olympic Games, I could not help but believe that the Western press was simply hoping for something tragic to happen to Beijing: will the pollution be so bad that the athletes would not be able to breathe, will there be a terrorist attack, will the venues not be up to par, will the internet be censored so that the Western reporters would not be able to write freely (aka criticize China), will the Tibetan issue cast a dark shadow on these games?
Well ... I was at the Olympics ... and as far as I am concerned ... China came out looking like the new super-power that it is. This was their debutante ball and China was beaming with pride and joy.
The city has gone through a mega reconstruction in the past decade. As we were driving to the hotel last night, with a Chinese friend, he said that China is all about showing face. Basically, everything has to be big, for appearances are very important. The Chinese build to impress!
As you drive through Beijing, you will understand what I mean. The infrastructure is second to none, the streets clean, the buildings massive, the architecture is daring, the squares are gigantic, the shopping malls could fit all of Slovenia's population into them (the small little country where I come from) and as the night falls, the city becomes one huge constellation of colourful blinking lights.
The city has been rebuilt to emphasize grandiosity and power. It matches the status that the new China is aiming to achieve. In a very simple way, what it's saying to you is ... we are the new super-power of the 21st century and we are here to stay.
I was very excited to come to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. I had never been to the Olympics before. What impressed me the most is the joy and pride of the Chinese people as you walked around the Olympic Green (the location where all the Olympic events were being held). They were simply happy that you came to Beijing to see what they have managed to achieve. People would walk up to you with Chinese flags in their hands and say 'Hello', or 'Welcome to China'. I of course would say 'ni hao' back ... this is pretty much as much Mandarin as I have learnt in the 3 month course that I had just finished in Singapore :-) Or they would come to you and ask to be photographed with you. The Chinese fans were joyful, proud and emotional.
And going to the sporting events was very touching. Seeing the athletes from various countries compete, knowing that they've spent a lifetime training for this moment, was very moving. Having had been a competitive swimmer for 12 years, I remember what a commitment that was. Wake up at 5 am, train for 2 hours, go to school, train for another 2 hours in the late afternoon, go home, have dinner, go to sleep exhausted. And that was just me. Imagine the schedule of Michael Phelps!
Although I didn't manage to see the Opening Ceremonies, for I was at a wonderful wedding in Bali, I did manage to see many exciting sporting events. I have actually not been to many large sporting events in my life: some football matches, a few baseball games and ice-hockey matches. So coming to Beijing to see tennis, gymnastics, beach volleyball, swimming and volleyball was exciting. We saw Federer, Nadal and Serena Williams play tennis. It was funny to see them from upfront. Nadal for example was much smaller than the image you see on TV. Serena Williams is ... well ... much larger. And Federer is ever the gentleman of tennis. When we went to see gymnastics, we were lucky to have caught the men's team competitions where the Chinese won. To be in a massive arena full of Chinese fans cheering on their gymnasts ... and seeing them win ... that was the Olympic spirit I had hoped to experience.
We got a bit tricked by swimming. Given that NBC had paid something like 3 billion dollars for the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics, they actually managed to have the swimming finals in the morning instead of what I remember as common practice ... having heats in the morning and finals in the evening. So you can imagine my surprise when we came to the Water Cube in the evening and they were swimming ... qualifying heats. Hmm! Anyhow, we did see Phelps swim and that was exciting enough. I even saw a Slovene female swimmer set an Olympic record in the heats, only to have it beaten 4 minutes later when another competitor swam even faster.
Now ... so that you won't say that all I do is praise all the time ... there were some things that were not up to par. The main issue we had was that it was impossibly hard to get food at the Olympic venues. I don't know if someone never thought of this, or if it was done for security reasons, but there were no restaurants or food stalls to be found. The Olympic Green had one McDonald's for the millions of people attending and that was it. It would have added a great atmosphere if they had had various food stalls around, where people could sit down and have a decent meal and a drink, while mingling with the fellow visitors. For me the Olympics also represent a chance for people from around the world to come together, and what better way to enable that then through some good food. Unfortunately, that is an opportunity that the organizers missed.
The security was at times somewhat over-bearing. The surprising thing is that security issues came into play when you really didn't expect it. For example, months ago when we were planning our trip to the Beijing Olympics, one of the biggest deterrents for me not wanting to attend was that I am really not a person to wait in long lines ... and that is what I felt would happen in Beijing, due to the various security threats that led up to 080808. Actually, entering the Olympic venues was quite effortless, to my surprise. Instead, what they did was block various areas at the Olympic Green so that you could often not walk directly to a venue, but had to take the path that the organizers planned for you. They always made you walk way around. That I felt was un-necessary.
Also, I imagine due to security, the Olympic Green looked very deserted. In order for you to stroll amongst the impressive Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube, as well as all the other sporting venues that are in the Olympic Green, you had to have a ticket for one of the events. Well ... if you saw this pedestrian mall ... and how many people you could fit there ... you would understand that it looked a bit empty if the only people that could walk there were visitors with tickets. I would have opened that space up to everyone, so that folks would fill up the amazing space and create what could have been a fantastic Olympic atmosphere.
I remember reading the newspapers after I left Beijing, and they were mentioning that these were the first Olympics that were sold out. Well, I'm not sure then why there were so many empty seats at the venues that we attended. Actually, we were told that the corporate sponsors had received a substantial percentage of the tickets, which ended up going unused ... and thus appeared as empty seats at the various venues. I guess though, that they could have put those tickets back on the market. I would have gone to see more competitions if I could have had access to the tickets.
The biggest surprise though, and what impressed me tremendously, were the many toilets available at all the venues. When you think how many people attend the Olympics, I was sure I would have to spend half my time waiting in line to go to the toilet. Not in Beijing. They must have had the highest per capita amount of toilets in the world! Remarkable!
OK ... there was a larger surprise. The air! The pollution! Or lack of it! I had been to Beijing before, where the air outside was like chicken soup, where I couldn't see across the street from my hotel. I recall the air being yellow. Due to the drastic measures that were taken prior to the Olympics, the air in Beijing during our stay got progressively better. There were even sunny, blue-sky days. I hope what this does is that it shows the locals that clean air is possible and desireable and that they will push the government to solve this problem once the Olympics are over and all the factories are turned back on and the cars come screeching back onto the mega-roads.
All in all, this was a tremendous experience and I would recommend it to anyone. I'm especially thrilled that I got to have my first Olympic experience in Beijing, after all, these Olympics will go down in history as somewhat momentous. Now, how do I get to the next Olympic Opening Ceremonies. This is still something on my 'to do' list :-)
HOW TO GET THERE:
As you arrive to the brand new Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport, your jaw will simply drop down to the floor! I have never seen such a massive structure. The terminal is in the shape of a gentle wave, floating high above the ground and stretching for what seems like miles. All I could think was what the hell supports this giant roof!
I place a lot of importance on the national airline and the airport to which you arrive, for those are the first two impressions that one receives of any given city/country. And arriving to Beijing's new Terminal 3, you instantaneously know that you are being wooed. The point is to leave you impressed with size and scale. And that it achieves!
Getting into the city is very simple! You can either take a taxi, which is incredibly cheap, or board the futuristic and brand new metro into the city centre which is equally convenient.
GETTING AROUND:
You've got to remember that Beijing is a sprawling city of 16 million, and that getting around the city is going to entail crossing vast and congested areas.
Again, you have two options: either taking a taxi or the metro. Both require a learning curve, after all, the largest problem that we encountered in this city is the language issue. You don't understand them and they don't understand you. The Chinese language and consequently their writing, is so different from English and any other European language, that it basically comes down to sign language and mutual groaning. This is when you really realize how lost you can be when you cannot even communicate.
So to save you the many hassles (and laughs) that we had gone through, this is what you need to remember:
1) if you're taking a taxi, have the hotel write the destination you're going to in Chinese characters. The taxi drivers speak absolutely no English and cannot read your writing. So unless you know where you're going and can point the way, I simply recommend you get out of the taxi and get your instructions translated into Chinese. It will save you a lot of frustrations!
2) the metro is modern and clean and the network covers a large part of Beijing. We used it a lot. However, when buying the tickets, don't buy a bunch of single-tickets like we did, thinking we can save time the next time we use the metro. The tickets are only valid from the station that you buy them. Don't ask me how long it took me to figure that out ... for none of the tickets I had bought at one station worked at others. Remember, that no one is able to explain to you what the problem is. I finally came to this realization simply by deduction! And that took a loooooong time!
WHERE TO GO:
> Olympic Green: You've got to see the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, the two structures that have been photographed and their pictures sent around the world a million times. But besides these two impressive venues, there are several others at the Olympic Green that are not to be missed: Olympic Green Tennis Center, National Indoor Stadium, ... And make sure you see the Olympic Green at night as well. The Water Cube for example, to me looked much more stunning at night. During the day the bubble membrane covering it looked a bit dull, but during the night, the bubbles were all lit up. The Bird's Nest, though, is a marvel during the day or night. There is also a very large forest at the Olympic Green ... the new lungs of Beijing.
> Holland Heineken House: Now, given that my partner is Dutch, and that his brother and family were with us in Beijing, we had to make an appearance at the Holland Heineken House. This is a fantastic concept by the Dutch and primarily for the Dutch. The Dutch fans know that if there is a large sporting event (like the Olympics, World Cup, etc) that each hosting city will have a temporary Holland Heineken House where they can come to party it out. During the day you can come and watch broadcasts of all the Dutch teams playing, at night it's one massive party ... with a band, stage and host. If a Dutch athlete won a medal that day, then at night they do a big salute to him/her. This includes the throng of people singing Queen's 'We are the champions'. If you're in a city with a large sporting event, try and hook up with some Dutchies to take you to a Holland Heineken House. You will love it and laugh at it. Remember ... they may ask you to join in on some really god-awful Dutch country songs :-) but 10 glasses of beer ... and you will be willing to do just about anything.
> Driving around at night: I have to say that Beijing at night is even more spectacular than during the day. The grandiose buildings are lit up magnificently, neon lights everywhere, light strobes beaming into the sky, ulta-modern buildings lit up in ultra-modern ways. Enjoy the light show as you're driving from place to place in Beijing at night.
> Bicycle tour: A lot of people will have a vision of Beijing still filled with millions of bicycles. Well, those days are gone. Don't expect to see many bicycles around the city today. Instead, hire a guide and let him take you on a bicycle tour around the old city centre. It's a great way to see see Tiannmen Square, ride through the traditional Hutong areas (maze of alleyways), and see many of the other magnificent monuments that are in the central area.
This trip to Beijing was all about the Olympics, so we did no sightseeing of the many historic sites that are scattered around town. But from my last trip, I remember that you absolutely must see the following:
> Tiananmen Square: doesn't need an introduction other than to remind you that this is the largest square in the world.
> Forbidden City: bordering on to Tiananmen Square, this former palace with 9,999 rooms is now open to tourists. I was actually there when they still had a Starbucks within the palace grounds!
> Temple of Heaven: a very large temple complex and gardens where the emperor went on the winter solstice to offer sacrifices to the heavens.
> Summer Palace: this is where the imperial family used to come to cool down from the blasting heat of Beijing in the summer. Stroll around the big lake, parkland and pavilions to get a glimpse of the imperial lifestyle.
> Great Wall: this truly deserves to be one of the wonders of the world. When you see the shear scale of it (it stretched for 6,400 miles!!) and the human sacrifice that it must have taken, you will be awed. As far as I remember, there are three areas of the wall that you can visit from Beijing. If you have time, make a day trip out of it. Remember, the part of the wall that is closest to Beijing, is also the most crowded and touristy.
WHERE TO EAT:
I cannot recommend many specific places to eat, for our culinary experience this time around amounted to tons of junk food. This was most probably the biggest disappointment of the whole Olympic experience. In the Olympic Green, there were basically no food stalls. There was one McDonald's that we could find ... and other than that you could order crisps at the drink stalls.
The strategy was to have a huge breakfast at the hotel, and then survive on junk till you went to bed early next morning!
> Xiao Wang's Home Restaurant: this is the only place that we managed to go one evening, and I highly recommend it. It had somewhat of a glamour post-communist feel and the food was superb. It was interesting to be eating dinner and as you looked out the window at the adjacent building, you would see half naked men reclining on their bunk beds. It seemed to me like it was a dormitory for migrant workers! Anyhow, don't forget to order the Peking Duck ... a delicacy that you simply must try while in Beijing.
Bojan Tercon
p.s. I was involved in the English training for the 2008 Summer Games Committee so I've made friends all over this country. My unique and extraordinary experiences have shaped my rather unique and extraordinarily flattering opinion of China. It is not as often publicized how the Chinese people exhausted themselves to welcome their international visitors. When the torch relay protests happened, the Chinese people took the criticism to heart and realized that their self-image was not shared with the rest of the world. I think the most important lesson to learn from China's "coming out party" is that the world needs to communicate immediately and voraciously with China. The opportunity has officially arrived. Your travel and report of China is important because it's grass roots diplomacy. I encourage your readers to consider doing the same. Have a go and learn something about the nation that will most assuredly have a tremendous impact on the world, starting with the immediate future.
Posted by: rickymay | April 02, 2009 at 18:14
I'm an American who lives and works in Beijing. You're spot on with some of your eval. Thanks for not repeating what so many foreign bloggers prefer to say about China. There is much to enjoy and experience in China and her people can be some of the most generous on earth.
rickymay
www.rickymay.com
Posted by: rickymay | April 02, 2009 at 18:00