China: Day 8

China Day 8: Beijing

I’m sad to say this is my last day in China – though I am looking forward to getting home to see my husband and to take a break from Chinese food!

Since I had an early afternoon flight, another EMBA student and I met early this morning to check out Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

It has been interesting in Beijing to see hoards of tourists, the majority of which are Chinese. For many years most Chinese were too poor to travel extensively throughout China, so recent economic growth has created a tourist boom for “locals” to visit China’s many treasures. The Forbidden City is certainly one of these – the sheer scale and wide open space is difficult to convey via pictures.

There were several Buddhist monks sightseeing in the Forbidden City, and one came over to me gesturing with his camera. I nodded, thinking he wanted me to take his picture, but actually he wanted to take a picture with me! Thai Buddhist monks cannot touch women, so I was keeping several inches of space from him, but he moseyed right up and put an arm around me… I guess the Thai monk rules don’t apply in China :o).  This set off a chain reaction of six other Chinese people wanting to take a picture with me. I felt a bit like a zoo exhibit (especially since they didn’t ask the male EMBA I was touring with), but I suppose flattered (?).

Forbidden City:

 

 

Tiananmen is dominated by the Mao mausoleum. It’s rather eerie to remember the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, but the feel today is more like Washington DC – lots of enormous, white government buildings, gardens, and crowds of tourists.

 

By noon it was off to the airport and goodbye to China. But first a parting picture of the Beijing airport which had pagodas, fountains and gardens inside… La Guardia and JFK look even more pathetic in comparison to China’s airports!

All in all it has been a great trip. That said, there are moments where you can definitely tell that this is a country of 1.3 billion people – massive crowds, smog, and traffic deadlock that become a bit overwhelming after awhile (and this is coming from a Manhattanite who deals with crowds daily).  The country, however, is a fascinating mix of openness (towards tourism, business capitalism) and communism (state business ownership, news censorship), so it will be interesting to see what will be in store for China in the decades to come. Will the communist party be able to continue this balancing act with capitalism? Or perhaps one day our future children will visit China as a democracy and wonder at the strange historical relics of the Maoism and communist past?

In closing, a few thoughts from Chinese Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu:

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.”

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”