Leaving Beijing

Today is our last day in Beijing and we're taking an overnight to Xian (home of the terracotta warriors) tonight. On Friday we hit the Summer Palace in the morning. It was the summer retreat of the emperor which had been rebuilt after the original was burned down in the late 1800s. There was a lot of interesting architecture not to mention nice breezes and fresher air in the hills and trees. After that Rishi and I met up back with Tim and Tinya and braved the Silk Market, a popular shopping area. The guide book talked about the intensity of the market, where you bargain for everything - from knock-off Gucci and Prada purses, to GoreTex jackets, Lacoste polos, Nikes, Callaway golf clubs, Rolex watches and a bunch of other stuff. Expecting the worst, I was actually surprised at how relatively easy the experience was. The market was indoors and the stalls were nicely laid out. You did have to negotiate hard for a good price (which I did with mixed success), but the sellers were all business - and if you walked away they pretty much let you go. I've experienced a lot worse in Honduras and Africa. Then we had the consumate culinary experience for Beijing by having Peking Duck. There are several restaurants that specialize in the dish, which is highlighted by a roast duck bred specifically for this dish only in Beijing. Needless to say, it was delicious - though we could have gotten by ordering only one duck instead of the two the waitress suggested.

Yesterday we spent the whole day on a trek to the Great Wall. We went to the Simatai section of the wall, which is less restored and less touristy than the Badaling section. It was me, Tim, Tinya, Rishi as well as Arjun and Steve Gomez, two other classmates who met up with us. We took two cars out to the wall (a 2.5 hour drive) and then hiked 12km of the wall, sometimes going on inclines as steep as 70 degrees. It was hot, tiring, but better than just seeing the wall with tourists all around. The drivers picked us up where we finished the hike and then took us back to town. By then it was pretty late so we just ordered a quick bite in and spent the evening playing cards and catching up (and doing some laundry).

The pollution and air quality has gotten progressively worse in Beijing since we've been here, and it was especially bad yesterday. There is a grey haze that is just everywhere, limiting visibility to less than 1/2 mile at times. I've seen enough car belching smoke, trash burning on the side of the road, and bikes loaded with coal bricks for heating to know that the pollution issue is multi-faceted and will be hard to improve. In general, I'm surprised at the lack of anything appearing natural in Beijing or the surrounding area. Even near the Great Wall, there was lots of cultivated land, canals and the like. I've seen very little wildlife, and even birds are relatively scarce. I only hope that we can come up with technologies and other solutions to prevent other developing countries from having to basically destroy their environments in order to grow their economies.

While I'm ready to leave Beijing, I will miss having Tim around to speak the language and help us navigate China. English language proficiency has been a lot more scarce than I expected, and I fully expect the cost and difficultly of the trip to increase without Tim around. Not to mention the fact it was great seeing him and Tinya. I'm not sure what the internet situation will be like from here on out, but I will try to post again whenever I get the chance. I also posted a couple more photos to Flickr, including some of the Summer Palace and Great Wall.