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.”
