h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

China – Oct-Nov 2012

My journey started with a four hour train trip to Heathrow. It all went quite well apart from the great hurry that everyone in London seems to be in. One man pushed past me on an escalator, muttering that “he only had ten minutes” and I wondered if that was until his train went or the remaining part of his life.

It was very gratifying to walk up to the Air China check-in desk and be greeted by name by the tour company rep; however the reason was I was the last male to arrive, rather than any deriving from
ill-earned fame. The group had the use of a complementary lounge and it was when I had my hand round a gin and tonic that I really felt I was on holiday, after the conveyor belt travel to get that far.

The flight itself, at nearly 10 hours, was long, but we arrived on time at Beijing. After immigration formalities we had a monorail trip to baggage reclaim and eventually emerged from the airport to
be greeted by our Chinese guide Mark and head off into the heavy traffic towards the city centre.
The road to the city was lined with an endless row of office blocks, interspersed with apartment buildings, as expected in a city the size of Beijing.

However, it was not a direct run to the hotel but instead we went to our first attraction, the Temple of Heaven on the way there. This was built around 1520 specifically for the Emperor to ask the gods
for a good harvest and all other things bountiful. Sacrifices were made (thankfully of the four rather than two-legged variety) to encourage them. The temple itself is made of wood, and built in such
a way that the support is a ring of giant timbers around the inner rim, leaving a completely clear inner sanctum. Admission to this site is free for local senior citizens and many of them gather in the
long covered corridors that lead to the temple, playing what looked to be some rather serious card games. One group was singing and on the way out they were doing a Chinese version of Beautiful
Dreamer so being a singer, I of course joined in, not in Chinese I hasten to add. I thought I would try some Handel on them and started The Hallelujah Chorus which quickly transposed into Glory Glory
Hallelujah much to everyone’s amusement!

From there we went to the hotel and after an enjoyable meal, the first of many using a round table and a ‘lazy Susan` for the many dishes on offer, it was time for bed as I had had little sleep on the
plane and this was finally catching up on me.

Friday 26 Oct

Perhaps firstly, a comment on the hotel, the Grand Gongda Jianguo. From the outside it looks not dissimilar to the many other tall, anonymous buildings that are everywhere in this city but internally
it is spacious and calm. A pianist tinkers away on a mezzanine level overlooking the lounge area and the rooms are very well appointed. Some of the group complained about the temperature in the rooms and traffic noise but that is a matter of individual preference for the one, and which floor you are on for the other.

Today, we were forewarned, was going to be a busy one and that turned out to be quite accurate. It was however full of variety. On the downside, a heavy pallor of smog hung over the city and this meant we did not see some of the great edifices at their best. To describe all that we saw and experienced would make this narrative overlong so I will sum up the main points:
First call was Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden Square. The teeming hordes today (typical daily total about 50,000) made quite a comparison to imperial days when dutiful eunuchs crept between the inner sanctum and the concubines’ quarters to summon whichever one the Emperor wanted to attend to his manly needs. The whole site
encompasses about 650 acres and we were only able to journey down the central spine.
We were told about the Dowager Empress Cixi, who started life as a concubine and got to the top of the imperial tree. She had so much cunning and guile that she must have a cross between Catherine the Great and Lucretia Borgia, however the Qing dynasty did not survive long after her death in 1908 and the republicanism movement under Sun Yat Sen soon swept away imperial rule. It made a brief return during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria when they installed the puppet ruler Pu Yi (as portrayed in the film The Last
Emperor).
We then repaired to a restaurant for lunch and headed for Beijing Zoo to see the giant pandas. At first, it looked as if we had arrived at panda siesta time as although they were visible, they were taking it very steady. Then their standard fare of bamboo shoots were delivered to an open area where two of them resided and I obtained some delightful video footage of them feeding.
Next stop was the summer palace and by now, the smog had reduced visibility even more. As the name implies this was where the imperial court decamped when things warmed up and consisted of a huge man-made lake with an island or two created from the spoil. The
work involved to do this must have been enormous, like putting the efforts of the ‘navvies’ who dug out our canals by pick and shovel all in one place. We crossed the lake in a large dragon boat and ambled around the palace grounds before going to another restaurant for dinner.
Our last visit was to a Chinese acrobat show. Most will know of the gravity-defying feats in these shows, with spinning plates and umbrellas, young men who seem able to throw themselves throw the smallest and highest of hoops, but it is still a jaw-dropping vision and was an excellent way to round off a busy day’s experience of Beijing.

Saturday 27 October

The sun was clear this morning so presumably the temperature and humidity balance meant no smog. First stop was a silk making factory but before we entered the shop we were able to witness the morning dance of about 100 or so ethnic minority Chinese who have a dedicated area nearby. It resembled something between tai chi and line dancing but it was a refreshing start to the day both
for performers and onlookers.

Inside the factory shop we were shown the process of extracting the silk thread from the worms but it was really a warm-up for the sales pitch to buy silk duvets, covers and a whole raft of other silk goods. I contented myself with a one foot square hanging rug depicting a panda; others went for the duvets and I can foresee some serious suitcase cramming at the end of the holiday.

Next stop were the Ming Dynasty tombs. Like the Pharaohs, the emperors liked to be remembered once they had gone on to better things and the area we were taken to was the Chinese version of
the Valley of the Kings. Just one tomb had been excavated, that of the one who built the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace (see above). The buildings are mainly a series of pavilions leading to a huge burial mound which was covered in juniper trees. We learned that when an emperor died 30 of his most favoured concubines were slain and buried around him, vertically so their stoic servility
could continue in the afterlife. Although there were a fair few people there, the place did have an air of quiet dignity about it and there were some quite informative displays about what the emperor
had achieved in his reign, including exploration as far as East Africa, apparently.

After lunch in a huge barn of a restaurant above yet another buying opportunity, it was time to visit the Great Wall. As you would expect, it is a highly-commercialised operation and very busy, as this site at Bandaling is the nearest section to Beijing. Most people try at least to get to tower number 8, going right from the entrance, but if you turn left it is easier going. Like many constructions of this scale, it is proof that you can build anything if you have enough slaves to do it, witness the pyramids, the Inca temples and Hitler’s Atlantic Wall in France, Jersey and Guernsey. However one has to concede that it is an outstanding example of construction engineering, given the terrain it had to surmount. But like many such defence works before and since it was never really put to the test as politics changed during the period of building.

To make the theme park enthusiasts feel at home the place has piped music everywhere, a cablecar and a sort of tracked ride down that resembles a mini roller coaster. But you can’t blame the Chinese for wanting to make the best of what they have inherited and everything is well looked after.

The day finished with a traditional Beijing Duck dinner, coupled with some culinary instruction on how go about consuming this very traditional dish.

There is another which covers 28 Oct to 1 Nov, if anyone is interested

By the way this isn't a "personal" email, it's a Google doc which was mailed to me and a number of other people.

Ah, brings back great memories!

I did buy the silk duvet - it packs away into a small space, and is a delight to sleep under.

I suspect he didn't buy the silk duvet because his toenails would shred it to bits

Part two:

Sunday 28 October

Today the pace of life slowed down a little although it was still an early call so we could board the
08.05 train to Chengde, a city about 250 km north east of Beijing. Our guides shepherded us through
the morning crowds and we settled in our pre-booked seats for departure. It was a 4 hour journey
and once we had cleared the concrete conglomeration that is Beijing we were in a very rural China.
Any moderately flat land that there was – little enough as it was a mountainous region – was put to
use for crops, mainly maize, and there was clear evidence of terrace cultivation, at least in the recent
past. Quarrying was quite frequent too and life, from the train at least, was conducted in a rather
less frenetic manner than the city.

On arrival in Chengde, we checked in to our comfortable hotel and after lunch visited the Imperial
Summer Resort. This was built in the early 18th century so the Imperial Court could leave behind the
oppressive heat of Beijing between May and October and comes across as a serene and restful place
and the Empress Cixi (see above) was very fond of the place. It boasts a beautiful lake (this time
a natural one!) set in a delightful park with elegant pavilions and footbridges setting the scene for
pleasant walking, which many of the locals do, as it is a public park now.

Last stop of the day was a shop where we saw how those superb paper pictures were created;
the owner cut out exquisite butterfly shapes whilst our guide, Lily, briefed us on the background of the art. In the evening after dinner we were entertained by a lively and talented troupe of schoolchildren, who delighted us with their versions of Jingle Bells and Auld Lang Syne as well as traditional Chinese music and dance.

Monday 29 October

Today was the first one that the weather looked overcast but undaunted, we set off for the first of
two Buddhist temples that the main part of the day’s itinerary.

The temple of Putout Sect was built between 1767 and 1771 for the Mongols who came to pay their
respects to the Emperor – this area has a strong Mongolian influence even today. It is modelled on
the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and has a series of courtyards and terraces that lead the visitor ever
upwards until, 347 steps later they have a commanding view of the Chengdu area. We were amused
to learn that hundreds of what have been windows were actually only decorative and blocked to
ensure the lamas were not able to peek out and see the things they were missing as a result of their calling!

Now it was time to leave the well-trodden tourist trail for a real artistic treat. Lily, our guide for
Chengde, took us to meet the Professor of Art at her alma mater, Chengde University. As she
explained to us some very simple characters in the Mandarin language, he created the most
beautiful picture using traditional methods. Afterwards we were invited to purchase some examples
of his, his colleagues and his student’s work, with the revenues going to the university and we were
glad to do so. It would have been so easy to take back multiple pictures, such was the high standard
on offer, but my suitcase was already looking full and we are not yet halfway through the holiday.

A high quality lunch in the same location as yesterday followed and we went on to the second
temple, the Punning Temple, a smaller establishment than this morning’s visit. This is an active
temple and many lamas (with their mobile phones, like everyone else the world over!) were in
evident. We saw prayer wheels, large incense troughs and one of the largest wooden Buddhas in
China – weighing in at about 347 tonnes, it is an awesome sight to behold.

The first real free time of the holiday followed but I was content to have a nap and update this
account with a cup of jasmine tea by my side rather than indulge in retail therapy. Tonight we are
going out for dinner before returning by bus to Beijing tomorrow ahead of our flight to Xian where
the Terracotta Army awaits us.

Wed 31 October

This morning we left our very high-standard hotel in Xian for a special welcome ceremony at the
city wall. Many of China’s old cities had immense walls to guard against whichever aggressors
threatened but most have been knocked down as they are an impediment to the march of progress
in this country. Fortunately, this is not the case in Xian and the 14km wall is still completely intact,
although additional gates have been created in recent years to ease the flow of traffic, which needs
all the easing it can get – in Xian 800 new cars take to the roads every day.

A traditional welcome ceremony– quite a colourful and rumbustious affair, had been arranged for
our group and we were presented with a key and passport to the city. From there we progressed to
the Hua Qing Hot Springs. These seem to be dedicated to the favourite concubine of the first Tang
emperor Taizong, Yang Guifei, and there are two very distinctive statues of her, one of which is in the form of a marble fountain. Around the courtyard are a series of bath houses formally fed by the
springs, in a strict pecking order of emperor, concubine, princes and ministers.

Lunch was in a large establishment which combined a dining area with an extensive shopping zone.
It was the brainchild of a local farmer who spotted an opening when the Terracotta Army site was
beginning to take off, as he happened to have a property on the road twixt city and site.

So it was we came to the Terracotta Army itself. Fast becoming China’s best known attraction, it
is a breath taking sight. But first, on the matter of its discovery, thereby hangs a tale! In 1976 a
farmer, Mr Yeung, was digging for a well and came across a terracotta face as he laboured away.
Overcome by ingrained Chinese superstition, he thought it was Old Nick himself but calmed down
when he reported his find up the chain of command. Archaeologists then took control and began
the painstaking task of excavation, which of course is still on-going and will be for many decades to
come.

The discovery was linked to the tomb of the first and only Qin emperor, Qin Shi. He came to the Qin
throne at the age of 13 and subjugated all the other states `as a silkworm devours leaves’ as the
great Han historian Sima Qian put it. He substituted the harsh authoritarian philosophy of ‘legalism`
for the more esoteric Confucianism, burning all books (even burying alive some of their authors)
save those on farming and the law.

His sudden death at 50 precipitated panic amongst his ministers to the extreme that they drove his
corpse around in an imperial carriage to try and fool the people that it was business as usual.

The warriors are spread between 3 pits, each of which has been covered with a hangar-like building.
Pit 1 has the largest number of soldiers, and restoration is a slow job because of damage both by the
passage of time and that caused in the chaos that ensured in the aftermath the emperor’s death.
The other two pits show best the progress of restoration and many of the soldiers are still buried
under the collapsed and by now, petrified, wooden beams that were used to cover the pits.

The smallest display building has excellent examples of restored individual soldiers, half-scale
models of two types of chariots and an exhibition about the discovery and building of the museum.

Altogether, a wonderful experience. Oh, a postscript concerning Mr Yeung. As a reward for his
discovery, the government, in their munificence, gave him a basket of eggs (well, times were hard in
those days). He is now 76, and having learnt to write his name, spends his retirement in the souvenir
shop signing copies of the glossy book on the Terracotta Army museum. No photos allowed but we
heard that if you slip him a few yuan, he’s happy to oblige!

In the evening we viewed the colourful spectacle of a Tang Dynasty folklore show, with lithe girl
dancers, energetic men with fierce masks and instumentalists – an exhilarating experience.

Tomorrow, after a brief tour of Xian, we return to Beijing for a night stop before journeying on to the
start point for our cruise down the mighty Yangtze River.

Thursday 1 November

This morning we were taken to one of China’s biggest jade factories – jade is found in the Xian area –
and after a brief introduction to the semi-precious stone it was time for another buying opportunity!

As befits work of this quality, prices are quite high but even if you are not tempted to fill up your
jewellery box, the items on display have to be admired for their intricate artwork.

From there we moved on to the Small Goose Pagoda which was built in 707 AD to house sutras
brought back from India. It is situated in a peaceful park with a number of pavilions; a shop in one of
them offers your name in Chinese script written on rice paper, a service I took advantage of. In the
grounds there is a replica of a large bronze bell which visitors are invited to ring for a small charge.
The information board told us that if you ring it loud enough it will send a message to your relatives
and friends saying that all is well with you, so I hope you were all listening despite the fact that it was
about four in the morning for most!

We then took to the skies again to return to Beijing and the next morning we were up at 4.45 for
a long day’s travelling by air and bus. We saw a different side of China; the paddy fields, ponds full
of carp and lotus flower plants tended by rural peasants so atypical of the country. A 21 st century
contrast was provided by us passing close by to parts of China’s 300kph high-speed railway system,
which cuts journey times by up to 75%; great swathes of concrete curved their way relentlessly across the countryside.

Finally we arrived at the start point for the final leg of the trip, the cruise down the Yangtze River on the Victoria Anna which on first impressions seems a well-appointed and comfortable vessel.

Well that was my worst night yet 3 times I woke in pain and had to use the GTN spray but I've barely had any sleep at all. Glad it's clinic day maybe they will be able to bring the date of my op. forward.

Breakfast, shower then awaiting transport to Scunthorpe. Later, peeps, full report on my return

Do tell the about your symptoms overnight....

I will Z, thanks

all went well, stent op. planned for next Thursday going ahead

great

but! there's a spelling mistaketents op - there's a rip at the back

It was a great idea to pass on Gordon's journal. Brings back lots of happy memories. I hope their cruise was less eventful than the one we took: seemingly we hit another vessel in the middle of the night. I wouldn't know as it didn't wake me but the rest of the passengers were very impressed with my British phlegm.
I hope Scunthorpe is continuing to be good to you and that you will very soon be rid of the pain, which must be frightening. Was thinking of you earlier today and wishing hard. Thank you for letting us know so promptly what's happening.

Prof, keep it up unless I ever have stitches

Hello Wand'rin starI thought of you as we passed the turnoff for the Humber Bridge do you remember us passing that on the way to Hull and ended up in Scunthorpe?

I am glad you enjoyed reading Gordon's journal, but he is not on a cruise, he flew to China and will fly back when it's finished. How scary is that, that your ship hit another vessel during the night? Still, worse things happen at sea () at least they didn't run you aground and tip up the ship and you lived to tell the tale

Glad to hear that your op date is confirmed and will take place
next thursday. Will be thinking of you and sending you healing wishes.

Thank you Count

[Amy P]

The letter I got with my appointment date contains misleading information. After the admission date it says: "You may have a light breakfast and a drink before 6.30am on the day of your procedure after which take nothing by mouth." It also says "The enclosed booklet contains details of what to bring with you, it is important to read this prior to admission".

In my nurse interview she said I must have nothing after midnight but I can take my usual morning tablets with water, but must eat nothing. I mentioned that my letter said I could have a light breakfast and she repeated "Nothing after midnight!"

The envelope contained no booklet, so when I rang to confirm the date was OK for me as requested, I mentioned there was no booklet. I was told I would be given it at my clinic appointment on the 5th. I was already on my way home when I realised I hadn't been given a booklet. Luckily I have kept the one from my angiogram procedure so I have an idea of what to take!

I am still a bit flummoxed as to why she asked me when I had my last period, after taking my medical history which included "hysterectomy, 1998". I am afraid I took the mickey with her and said "just before my hysterectomy" and she actually laughed. I guess it would be funny to me as well if my life wasn't at stake, at the end of the interview I had to sign the papers saying I understood that the procedure I am about to have can have side effects including stroke, heart attack and death.

I do feel for you, GB. Hospitals can be a bit soulless. Procedures get delayed, information is inconsistent...

I think it's a good idea to ask questions. Make sure you know what's going on and why.

I think Wandrin Star was referring to the cruise on the Yangtse.

Our tour guide in China was called Lily, too! Either it's the same girl, or else all Chinese tour guides are called Lily

I think for most operations it's nothing after nidnight, I'd be surprised at the suggestion to have a light breakfast. But how annoying to have such confusing advice!

Thanks mvp, although I got the impression she thought I was telling her her job, when I was querying the breakfast thing. I should've took the letter with me! I wasn't nil-by-mouth when I had the angiogram, good job as I was the last one down and it was well gone lunchtime. That's because they used local anaesthetic, and I've been told this procedure will be as well, so I'll be awake during the whole thing.

Oh my apologies to W'Starthanks Bea it does sound like she's the same tour guide you had

In my day (I'm talking 2005..) we had doctor-led pre-op and we'd do the same things, but hopefully be able to provide a bit more medical information. Nurse led works ok, probably better, if the nurses are the more experienced ones who actually have nursed people after the procedure in question. Most of the questions the patients had were ones about their recovery which the nurses were better placed to answer. I do think that the consent form should be done by the doctor doing the procedure, or someone else who understands the risks and benefits. I suppose that may be an experienced nurse, particularly if they've been working in the area for a while.

Appointment letters are often standard and sent by a central admin department. Ignore! If the reason they want you to have starved is because there is a risk they might be converting the procedure to a general anaesthetic. Err on the side of caution and don't take anything by mouth (apart from the medication as you've been told). (Maybe after your procedure write a letter about how the letter and booklet didn't match up).

The period thing? I can only speak for myself, but I ask some crucial questions as 'automatic pilot'. For instance I know I never want to give someone an injection of something they are allergic to, so before I give any injection I ask someone about allergies. The only way I can be sure I will always ask this question is to never pierce the skin or open a cannula port without asking someone about allergies. Now it would seem weird to give any injection without asking about allergies..

I also always ask about allergies when I am writing a prescription. So what sometimes happens when I see someone who is admitted is that I'll see the patient, talk to them, say 'Are allergic to anything?' write a prescription card, decide the patient needs an procedure (which will involve local anaesthetic), go and get the stuff, and as I am about to give the local anaesthetic I'll say 'Are you allergic to anything?'

And quite often people will say 'I told you five minutes ago I was allergic to peanuts'. What's more worrying is that people will often say 'actually now you come to mention it again I am allergic to Penicillin'. ....

With the last period. An angiogram involves a lot of X rays, which you couldn't have if you were pregnant because it would harm the baby. The nurse may have needed to sign a form to 'request' the x rays, which involves a legal responsibly for the consequences if you were pregnant.

It's important to check last period before doing any X ray. I've been aware of a few instances where pregnant women have been X rayed when they really shouldn't have been. Usually the critical incident report always reads 'well I normally always ask about pregnancy but I didn't see any need to because she was only 13/nearly 50/a nun etc.. So they engaged their brain and didn't ask about pregnancy but the brain got it wrong.

I guess one way to prevent this happening is to always ask the 'are you pregnant question' on automatic pilot. So know that you never sign a form without asking this question. Automatic pilot works better than 'engaging brain'.

I still have to sign that form when requesting an X ray, even though I'm a geriatrician, and most of my patients are over 80. I still have to sign that they are definitely not pregnant. I usually say 'this form asks me to check that you're definitely not pregnant' and if they are older, or have had a hysterectomy everyone laughs and says 'What a stupid form'. But making the joke prompts me to think 'could you be pregnant?' and we do sometimes see younger people in stroke clinic who cold be pregnant.

Wow, thanks Z I did think the nil-by-mouth is in case they have to give me a general anaesthetic.

I'll definitely write a letter afterwards, about the confusing standard letter and lack of stated booklet

I'll take it as a compliment then that even though I'm 57 I look young enough to still have babies