This is the view from my hotel bedroom at Sheraton THE GREAT WALL, Peking
Now I arrived. In Peking. For the first time in my life. I am truly impressed …
At the airport, even the conveyor belts and escalators talk to us. They warn against steps and order me to grip the handrail. It is both in Chinese (at least so I assume) and English.
Immigration is organized like a dream. No waiting. Memories of travelling to the USA come to mind…
Regardless of the most strict warnings and recommendations, we cannot fight our way through to the official green-and-yellow taxi cabs at the airport. After one of those hustler has caught hold of us, no “normal“ taxi will agree to take us. Basically, all Chinese are one big family …
It is clear that we will now pay twice the usual price (500 Yuan). What is even more annoying is that the driver takes us to the nearer Sheraton. It is the wrong place, because we want to go to the Sheraton on THE GREAT WALL. This time, we catch a real taxi – und what do you think? – It is only 19 Yuan (although the distance is considerably shorter and without poll). And the driver is happy about the small tip he gets.
So what else is there to tell?
The flight was uneventful. It took around 8.5 hours, so it seems we had dexterous winds. Considerably more than half the passengers were Chinese or at least of Asian descent. We flew Lufthansa – and the standards were good Lufthansa standard. A nice crew and the meals were also tasty.
And, of course, you instantly notice that Peking is a special city – just like China is a special country. At first sight, I have no idea how Europe is supposed to keep up. On the other hand, it is easy to imagine that quite a few things that are now being made will make life hard for the people in a few decades (or even earlier).
But then, I travelled to China not only in order to see a couple married, but also in order to learn a lot. I wish to better understand and evaluate this “globalization”.And I am sure two very exciting weeks are awaiting me in that respect.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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