The Trip to Beijing
I used to think Beijing must be a grand and special city, given that it was the
capital of China, and lots of events I have heard took place there. But soon after I got off the plane, I knew all was but my illusion. If I had to use one wordto describe it, nothing but “grey” will fulfil the task. As far as your eyes
could see, all was covered in dust and haunted by air pollution.
Though it was the first time I had been to the North part of China, I was still
surprised by the sharp contrast between the South and North. It wasn’t hearsay.
Plane shortened the distance and time between two places, and made the difference of Shanghai and Beijing even more obvious. My friend had been to Beijing before, still, he was amazed after the four-day trip.
When he first landed in Beijing, the first impression this city left on him was
its greyness. What followed after it was the coal smell. He had told me more than once that in his mind the smell of coal there after was associated with this whole country , especially the North part . I didn’t smell the coal. But when I
walked on the small lanes interspersed almost at every part of this city, I saw
a life style that was, in a way, similar to the time when people used coal home
in winter.
I know that if you want to know one city, you have to walk in it, and dodge those fake touristy places. So I did. Then I saw under blocks and blocks of roof howpeople live. Those numerous lanes, where tourists can’t reach, told you the essence and difference, if any, of life in this city from others. I saw the old chatting away in front of their weather-beaten gate; I heard the young, riding on
their bicycle or scampering around on the narrow alleys, talked and laughed in the twilight; and I smelled the stinky smell from public toilets which you may see everywhere.
Then talking here, would you think that Beijing had left on me nothing but negative impression? That wasn’t the case. Despite its drabness and dust, there was
something that stroked me and somewhat even made me envy. For example, I envied
its broad streets near Tiananmen Square. It was so broad, long, and indifferent,
that a nameless respect and awe arose in my heart. I knew that people change, but the road would remain the same.
There were many aspects of Beijing that stoke, and even amazed me. Like when I sat on the shabby subway with my friend, I felt as if I was in a dream. I had never seen subway trains as this old and slow. Even the broadcast voice seemed unreal. But then ever since I arrived in Beijing, I often had the unreal feeling. Having dinner outdoors with lots of foreign tourists, sleeping in the hotel molested by mosquitoes and fainting noise from people’s houses, walking on Changan Street three o’clock in the morning, and climbing on the South part of the GreatWall to watch how packed with people the North part was. All this reminded me that I was on the way, that I was far away from where I was from. But I guess maybe this was exactly why people crave from travelling: What will happen is unexpected, so the journey is full of surprise and adventure.
