Odour of Antiquity

Although not impressed with China when I first arrived, I have admittedly developed a fondness for the country over these last 10 days. The best way to describe life in Beijing is, "Larger than Life". This seems to be the case in almost every way. People don't just talk to each other, they yell; disobeying traffic rules isn't an exception it's mandatory and all of the 'important' buildings tower over you in an austere-Soviet sort of a way, making you feel like you've been shrunk.

Of the places that we've visited I've been particularly impressed with some of the most famous. Tiananmen Square, being the largest open square on earth, lives up to this ranking...there is certainly room enough for more than one tank. Also, The Forbidden City and all of its layers of buildings and walls is jaw-dropping. I enjoyed climbing through each archway to have a new and amazing view open up before me. No pictures or words can describe the atmosphere of this no longer Forbidden City....it was closed for 500 years only to be opened up to commoners and Starbucks, conveniently located within the ancient city walls.

Alex and I had the fortune of seeing Mao's mausoleum, an experience not soon to be forgotten. Hundreds of people were shuffled along and were able to lay down flowers inside of a gigantic building in the middle of Tiananmen Square. We were herded into a room where he (or a nice wax look-a-like) lay in a glass chamber that made me think of the space travel machines used in Star Trek or Alien. He wore a green uniform and was covered with a maroon blanket decorated with a hammer and sickle. I found it odd that so many people, young and old, would come and pay there respects considering the history. I guess "The Great Leap Forward" included superb propaganda use...not surprising considering that we can't even access Wikipedia here.

Other highlights have included a great day bicycling around the city. We were able to partially participate in regular life here and were able to see a lot of Hutong, or side streets, bustling with activity...a really neat experience. Yesterday, we spent the day hiking along The Great Wall. We went to a 'non-popular' section of the wall - Jinshanling. From there, we were able to hike 10km over the mountain tops to Simatai. Absolutely amazing. Just as was expected from pictures we'd seen, the wall snaked seemingly effortlessly over steep and narrow hilltops, dotted with periodic buildings that guards used for shelter. The wall seemed barely restored, with pieces missing and stones scattered. For most of the route we were alone and were able to watch the sun as it set behind the rolling hills...spectacular view. It was amazing (and a little crazy) to think that something so grand could have been built so long ago.

During the time that I've spent here, I've definitely grown to enjoy Beijing. So much so that even the smell has become somewhat heartwarming. In Korea, Jas purchased a tiny notebook with a beautiful little house on the cover. It's description read, "My Journal...odour of antiquity". I think that Jas inadvertently stumbled upon the perfect description for the smell in Beijing. There is so much history in China - and a third of the world's population smushed into a relatively small space - the smell emanating from the streets can only be described as the "odour of antiquity". Thousands of years of rotting, too many people and a lack of garbage control all rolled into one.

Tonight is our final night in Beijing. Tomorrow we head for Xi'an via overnight train...hopefully it will be a better experience than our boat ride.