As I stepped out from the Beijing Capital International Airport, I felt like I was revisiting a brand-new China. Newly retouched airport, new cars on the roads and new highways, were the catches of my first glimpse. The welcoming coach is new and so the female tour guide, is modernly dressed. But most of the vehicles passing by were found to be heavily dusted. This probably could be due to recently hasty constructions, such as new airport, new stadiums, arenas, buildings, roads etc.; for a face lifting for 2008 Olympic!
Not only China's people have changed their social infrastructure, they've changed their lifestyle too. They are now having the opportunity to work five-days-week. They enjoy both a week of holidays for Labor Day and National Day, and months of Winter Holidays. Curiously, many peoples of whom I have had encountered could basically speak Standard English. Some were intonated but are listen-able. Cellphone have become part of their needs like what we have been getting used to. The price of foods has inflated in line with their modernistic lifestyles.
Mountain-people-mountain-sea can be described at many tourist destinations, such as Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Throngs of local people were also found at Summer Palace. According to locals peoples. Habitual daily exercises at the immense park of the Summer Palace has had become a healthy activity in their lives.
The public toilet, the place where I used to visit frequently, is unbelievably revolutionized! Most of them are equipped with auto sensors in taps, squirt hand soap, dryers and flush toilets. But most of them are aromatic with heavy ammonium flavor as hydrated urine from the large poor shooters over the floor courses the smelly environment. Perhaps, it is due to the heavy trafficking of visitors. Although they have a first class functionality but the mentality of cleanliness is yet to be improved. Anyhow, it is far better than ours!
The word 'queuing' is seemed not presented inside their mental vocabulary. Taking many times of buffet breakfast together with local guests who had brought disorder to the buffet like "hungry ghosts" for fear of unable-to-eat, were the bad experiences. Also, it is quite common that you would get a shoulder-one's-way manner at any entrance, payment counter, ticket counter and etc.
One thing for sure, it is a smokers' heaven. Almost everywhere is smoker free! Not like the one happened in the Hongkong Airport's smoking lounge, where usually 30 to 40 peoples would be packed like Sardine into a 5x15 cabinet in order to blow the cloud. Although it is free to smoke in public unwisely but significantly the number of public smoker has reduced. Even at the crowded Wang Fu Jin Walking Street, a famous night market, there were only a few smokers I'd seen. Was education had played a vital roll for this change, I didn't know.
During my visit to Tiananmen Square, I noticed a unique thing. There was a Malaysian tour was flagging a banner of "halal tour." But I really didn't understand!
At Great Wall, one must keeps right on the stairway in the same direction as how their vehicles run on the road when climbing up and down the wall. For this occasion, the principle is really worked to order!
I was much fascinated with the Underground City, a war protective tunnel which was built by President Mao in 1969 during the time of disagreement with Russia. The passage have 2 tiers. The 2nd tier is built by 18 meters dipper after the 1st tier, which could contain hundred-of-thousand of people. Unfortunately there were only few passages were allowed to be opened for visitors. Luckily, I was be able to manage for a few shots inside the tunnel!
At the Ya Xiu Shi Chang, a shopping mall, I had learned the way of bargaining purchase. My first experience was a poor bargain; a kid's silk suit which is priced at 260RB, was bid for 60RB after a bit-by-bit bargain, whereas my friend got the same suit for only 30RB! My second bargain over a vest of originally priced 380RB was later smartly obtained at 80RB. A quick check on the listed price of a 512MB SD card had caused my stretched-tongue surprise. It was deliberately tagged at 580RB by the average traders, what a whopping of about 600% marginal pricing!
Perhaps, from the perspectives of their cultural change, their living standard, property hike as well as the booming economic, It's a boon for the people of China!
In fact, there are many more to tell. In view of shortening my post, lets some of my shots in the next post (since photos.blogger.com is dead at this moment) to tell in short.
We stepped onto the Tiananmen Square to celebrate our 31 marriage anniversary.
The remains of the 589-year-old original solid-tiles flooring which is covering a very large area, is still there inside the Forbidden City.
The 2nd gate of the Forbidden City.
One of the many brass urns found inside the Forbidden City. It measured about 8 feet in diameter and was supposed to be utilized as a reservoir for fire fighting purpose for the Palace.
A large ancient 'time measuring instrument' (clock) made of solid rock of about 5' in diameter which is placed on-top of a wall inside the Forbidden City.
