We had no plans to visit any of the famous sites in China but, on a whim, we decided to do a bit of sight-seeing and the past two days have been the highlights of our trip. We have glimpsed some of the most remarkable achievements in the history of mankind and can put in perspective that the so-called miracles of the modern age pale into insignificance when you look at the scale of wonders like the pyramids, the rice terraces of the Philippines and the Great Wall – all done by hand, too.
It was an early start but it gave us enough time to drive through the Olympic Precinct built for the 2008 Games.
The 7-star hotel built in the shape of a dragon dominates the skyline but you have to be very close to see it; the pollution is appalling. This photo is heavily photoshopped to make it clearer. The level of petro-chemicals in the atmosphere seems to be just a part of life in Vladivostok and Beijing but we certainly wouldn’t accept it here.
We were full of anticipation as we headed for the wall and we couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the rural villages and other places in South-East Asia.
We could have been in Thailand or the Philippines and, when we reached the approaches to the Wall, it was just like Nepal; colourfully-dressed locals with stalls loaded with garish souvenirs.
It’s a long steep walk up a cobble-stoned street to the foot of the Wall. Thankfully, there is now a cable-car for the main part, but then there is a set of steps for the last few metres. The steps are up to 60cm deep and not level. I’ve been having trouble with my knee and found it a real issue to get up this section. But, at last, we’re standing on the Wall itself … and walking along … and imagining the effort involved in building just this section we’re standing on now.
It’s an average of 9m high and 6.5m across. It’s made of roughly-cut stone and each piece might weigh 20 or 30Kg. It’s built on the ridge-tops so that the Mongolians on the other side would have to climb uphill if they wanted to attack. How did the builders ever do it?
We weren’t there long enough but we needed to get back to the airport. On the way down, Marilyn wanted to buy some baby pyjamas. The price quoted was 860 RMB but the stall-holder offered a discount making it 680RMB. Oliver became involved and eventually knocked the price down to 200. Later on another stallholder tried to sell Marilyn a dressing gown for 800 RMB and chased her down the street reducing the price with every step. It got down to 60RMB before we shook her off.
There was a bit of time left so Oliver took us to a government-owned factory where they make cloisonné. French cloisonné is different but the Chinese have adopted the term. Talk about primitive – the factory was a series of filthy little rooms where each step of the process takes place. One man makes the base – vase, bowl, animal shape, etc, from copper pieces, cut on an ancient guillotine and soldered by hand. The next step is to glue on copper wire to outline the shape of the design. Then hand-paint the various colours, fire the piece and re-paint up to 8 times.
The kiln was an OH&S officer’s nightmare and so was the room where a man ground off the excess copper using pieces of stone held in his bare hands.
The pieces were exquisite and quite pricey but, seeing how time-consuming the process was, I wondered whether many of the smaller and cheaper pieces came from a modern factory where they could be mass-produced. No matter, but I left the workshop wondering what it is about the Asian mentality which allows them to accept the most primitive and dangerous of working conditions and make no attempt to, at the very least, keep them clean.
As Marilyn has said, it would have been a shame to come this far and not see just a little of the history and culture of this extraordinary civilization. We were absolutely exhausted getting on the plane and, when we had to sit waiting for two and a half hours for a break in the weather, we knew it was going to be a tough flight. Thankfully, we had allowed for an overnight stopover in Singapore so we know there is a bed waiting for us.
It was an early start but it gave us enough time to drive through the Olympic Precinct built for the 2008 Games.
The 7-star hotel built in the shape of a dragon dominates the skyline but you have to be very close to see it; the pollution is appalling. This photo is heavily photoshopped to make it clearer. The level of petro-chemicals in the atmosphere seems to be just a part of life in Vladivostok and Beijing but we certainly wouldn’t accept it here. We were full of anticipation as we headed for the wall and we couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the rural villages and other places in South-East Asia.
We could have been in Thailand or the Philippines and, when we reached the approaches to the Wall, it was just like Nepal; colourfully-dressed locals with stalls loaded with garish souvenirs.
It’s a long steep walk up a cobble-stoned street to the foot of the Wall. Thankfully, there is now a cable-car for the main part, but then there is a set of steps for the last few metres. The steps are up to 60cm deep and not level. I’ve been having trouble with my knee and found it a real issue to get up this section. But, at last, we’re standing on the Wall itself … and walking along … and imagining the effort involved in building just this section we’re standing on now.
It’s an average of 9m high and 6.5m across. It’s made of roughly-cut stone and each piece might weigh 20 or 30Kg. It’s built on the ridge-tops so that the Mongolians on the other side would have to climb uphill if they wanted to attack. How did the builders ever do it? We weren’t there long enough but we needed to get back to the airport. On the way down, Marilyn wanted to buy some baby pyjamas. The price quoted was 860 RMB but the stall-holder offered a discount making it 680RMB. Oliver became involved and eventually knocked the price down to 200. Later on another stallholder tried to sell Marilyn a dressing gown for 800 RMB and chased her down the street reducing the price with every step. It got down to 60RMB before we shook her off.
There was a bit of time left so Oliver took us to a government-owned factory where they make cloisonné. French cloisonné is different but the Chinese have adopted the term. Talk about primitive – the factory was a series of filthy little rooms where each step of the process takes place. One man makes the base – vase, bowl, animal shape, etc, from copper pieces, cut on an ancient guillotine and soldered by hand. The next step is to glue on copper wire to outline the shape of the design. Then hand-paint the various colours, fire the piece and re-paint up to 8 times.
The kiln was an OH&S officer’s nightmare and so was the room where a man ground off the excess copper using pieces of stone held in his bare hands.
The pieces were exquisite and quite pricey but, seeing how time-consuming the process was, I wondered whether many of the smaller and cheaper pieces came from a modern factory where they could be mass-produced. No matter, but I left the workshop wondering what it is about the Asian mentality which allows them to accept the most primitive and dangerous of working conditions and make no attempt to, at the very least, keep them clean.
As Marilyn has said, it would have been a shame to come this far and not see just a little of the history and culture of this extraordinary civilization. We were absolutely exhausted getting on the plane and, when we had to sit waiting for two and a half hours for a break in the weather, we knew it was going to be a tough flight. Thankfully, we had allowed for an overnight stopover in Singapore so we know there is a bed waiting for us.
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