It was in the month of October that along with my son, Angaraj and friend Meghali, I went to China. China always held a different kind of fascination for me. There was a time when nobody would have thought of choosing China as a tourist spot. But, in recent times, China has become quite a hub for tourists, especially Indian tourists. Our destinations were Beijing and Shanghai in China. From Hong Kong, we flew to Beijing. My tour operator had arranged for our hotels and also a guide who would take us around the city, and it was a good decision on our part, as we could hardly find anyone in China who could speak English. Meghali couldn’t help clicking some very interesting posters in English. On one of the tour buses, we noticed the following warning – “For your safety when the tour car is running, please do not stand up, do not stretch out any part of your body, do not jump off or climb aboard until the car comes to a complete halt. Please hung on and sit tight on the tour car.” Then again, in one of the tourist spots – “Werm reminding. No entry here, since it’s constructing, please understanding if make any discomfort for you.” In a restaurant – “Please take care of your personal belong!” Speaking English here was indeed a problem. The very first day, as we all walked down from our hotel and saw meat on sticks like our tikkas here, Meghali wanted to make sure they were not frog or snake meat, and asked me to enquire. I asked, “Is it chicken?” and even after repeating the question several times, I got blank stares. So, I put my question in one word, “Chicken?” Once again a blank stare. Finally, my question was, “Cuck, cuck, cuck cuck cuck?” The seller was so happy that he answered, “Coocrooo coooo.” And so, we got to eat the ‘coocrooo coooo’. Quite tasty and very reasonable – just two Yuan for five to six pieces on a stick. In fact, if you could bargain, in the jewellery or the clothes shops too, you could get things at a very good deal.

We were in Beijing for five days. Our cheerful guide Betty (she has taken an English name for the benefit of the tourists who couldn’t pronounce her Chinese name), took us around in a private vehicle for three days from morning till evening. She would narrate the history of China, concentrating very hard on what she was saying, which made us feel that she had mugged up everything for our benefit, but when she found out that we were not much interested in the details of Chinese history, she narrated only what was relevant to the places that we visited.

No one could miss the major wonders when a tourist comes to Beijing: The Great Wall, Ming tombs, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. As we did not want to waste any time, Betty took us to the the Temple of Heavens on the very first day, as we were on our way to our hotel. Temple of Heaven is the largest temple complex in China, where the Ming and Qing emperors worshipped the God of Heaven and prayed for a good harvest. The highlight of this temple is the blue tile-roofed Hall of Prayer. UNESCO has listed it as one of the World Heritages in 1998. It was simply awesome, just walking in the complex and what a dignified complex of fine buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods.

The next day was scheduled for a visit to the Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in the morning and then after lunch to the Summer Palace and Pearl Factory, and in the evening, to see an acrobatic show. Just walking in the complex of the Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City was an overwhelming experience. The Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, represents the splendour and lavishness of the Chinese Imperial Court. Built in the period 1406-1420, the Forbidden City boasts over 9000 room-units with a building space of 150,000 square metres. UNESCO listed it as one of the World Heritages in 1987. At one point of time, no common people were allowed in the complex. This was the place from where the kings ruled, tyrannical queens tortured people they did not like – hands and legs would be cut off and the limbless humans would thus, be kept alive in cases. We had our lunch in ‘Feng Dan ail u’ restaurant, which was arranged by the tour agency. After a wonderful lunch, where we did not have to ask for anything in English (!!), we proceeded to the Summer Palace. It is considered to be the best-kept and largest existing royal garden in China, with over 3000 sites; it is a virtual museum of traditional Chinese gardening. We took picturesque photos by the Kunming Lake, breathing the fresh fragrant air in the lake breeze and strolling along the half-mile corridor, enjoying the Chinese legends from the 14,000 brush paintings. UNESCO listed it as one of the World Heritages in 1998.

Our next stop was the Pearl Factory, where we watched pearls being taken out from oysters. That was quite something!! Various pearl jewelleries were displayed for sale. The acrobatic show was a very interesting one. After all, the Chinese are famous for acrobatics.

The next day was devoted to the Great Wall and the Ming Tomb. It took the whole day. On the way, we visited a jade factory to learn how the precious gem, revered by the Chinese, is carved and spent our lunch hours nearby. The items of jade are quite fantastic, right from the pendants of Chinese charms to the huge decorative pieces and dining table sets.

As one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, visiting the Great Wall, symbolising China’s ancient civilisation, was an experience of a sort. UNESCO listed it as one of the World Heritage sites in 1987. There are different locations from where one could climb the Wall. It is about 10,000 km long. We were taken to the Juyang Guan part. Climbing the Wall was an experience of a lifetime. I climbed quite a way up till I was literally breathless. I even got a card known as ‘Hero Card’ for climbing that high. The stone steps are very big and in some portions, the steps are quite high. While climbing the wall, you are sure to experience its greatness, which is far beyond your imagination. With a little effort, for the climbs can be really steep, we gained commanding views of the surrounding countryside and got a strong sense of the overall grandeur and expanse of the world’s most famous defense project. From the Ming-era watchtowers, it was a pleasure to take in the views of the ancient wall as it snakes its way into distant, rugged hills. It’s amazing how at a time when technology was not that advanced, such a wall could be constructed. It is the only man-made object that can be seen from the moon.

After lunch, courtesy our travel agent in Beijing, we went to the Ming Tomb – the burial site of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2003. We visited Changling, the largest of the 13 tombs and looked at the treasure unearthed from the burial chamber. But, as we walked through the Sacred Way and crossed the threshold to see the Imperial Ming Tombs, Betty taught us to say – Woh hoi lai la, a kind of apology to the Ming kings lying in the tombs and whose spirits are disturbed by our presence.

We were taken to a Chinese hospital, where we got a free foot massage and a free check-up. This place of medicine is more than 300 years old. Previously, it was for the royal family, now it is open for the common people. Traditional herbal medicine has a history which is 3000 years old. The doctor, in a very soft cultivated voice, told us how food and medicine come from the same source. “Western medicines all come from chemicals. But in China, we have natural medicines that have no side effects. Our people live a very long and healthy life – they often live up to the age of 100 plus.” I was prescribed a medicine, but I decided against buying it, though pressurised by my son. In this strife-ridden world of ours, I have no intention of living up to a hundred years.

The Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium, of course, held a different kind of fascination for us. We had watched it on the television, now we were able to actually view it. Souvenirs of the Olympics were still being sold to the tourists at very reasonable prices.

Our Shanghai visit was another experience altogether. Here, too, we had a vehicle with an English speaking guide for three days. Her English name was Grace. Shanghai is a modern city, unlike Beijing. Beijing is modern, no doubt, but it is a cultured place with a very much rooted population, whereas Shanghai has a floating population and is a very commercial city. We visited Nanjing Road and the famous Bund Area on our very first day. Later, we came back again to sit for hours and relax watching the passers-by and then of course, walking into shops.

The second day was a visit to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. It is a very tall tower and is the landmark of Shanghai. We took the elevator to the top floor and had a good view of the city from more than 1200 metres. Inside the tower is a museum that has vintage cars, wax figures depicting Chinese culture, places of importance in China in miniature. Quite an interesting place.

We also enjoyed the visit to Yu Yuan Garden, a traditional Chinese park with beautiful pavilions, miniature lakes and bridges. We saw the famous Jade Buddha Temple. Built in 1882, it has two jade statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha and houses various ancient sculptures, rare paintings and Buddhist scriptures. The temple of Confucius is so soothing. It was built in 1294. About 279 students used to study in the Confucius school in ancient times. We entered the Minglun Hall. It was the place where lectures were held for Confucian students. Cruising on the river late in the evening gave us a sight of Shanghai by night, when the tall buildings are illuminated with all kinds of lights.

Our ten-day visit to China was an enthralling and exciting experience. The very name ‘China’ is so awe-inspiring. After all, it is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and at one time, a somewhat forbidden place.

Srutimala Duara