Beijing...after a long hiatus

16 May 2010

Despite many visits to Hong Kong and Mainland China since I last added to this blog way back in 2006, it wasn't until now - our Spring 2010 vacation to China - that I managed to update it. Walti and I spent a few days visiting friends and business associates in Beijing, then four days in Chengdu, before embarking on a bike trip in NW Yunnan Province.

After a leisurely morning coffee on our first day in China, we were met by our personal chauffeur, which Henry Ho, Anne’s Hong Kong business partner, had graciously arranged for our 3-day stay in Beijing. First stop was the largest Buddhist temple in Beijing, the Yonghe Si (Lama Temple). On Saturday, the temple became full of Chinese worshippers by noon. One attraction for non-Buddhists is the 26-meter high golden Buddha, which was carved out of a single piece of wood (and is therefore in the Guinness Book of World Records).

Our next stop was the Bookworm Bookstore, where we went to buy a new book by a Dartmouth historian on “Shanghai’s Dancing World” in the 1920s. It was a gift from us to Sophia, Henry’s wife, who dances as a hobby. The bookstore also had good coffee and food – and looked like a great place to spend the day…


...but we continued on to
northern Beijing to tour the Olympic facilities, including the Olympic Village, the Olympic Park and the two signature facilities, the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest Stadium (designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron). We encountered a very typical weather pattern for the capital – grey-brown smog – and lots of Chinese tourists, accompanied by horrible Chinese muzak.

That evening, we were invited by Henry to a party dinner at the restaurant 101. After some negotiations to obtain a suitable room, we dined with a great group of close Hong Kong friends of Henry and Sophia. I particularly enjoyed the long-anticipated meeting of Walti with Henry and Sophia.

The evening included a heavy dose of karaoke with truly professional performances (not by us), a birthday celebration and lots of local Beijing baijiu – ganbei!

In addition, we were treated to a demonstration of Chinese drinking games (performed by elderly gentlemen with too much experience). Walti impressed the hosts with his ability to quickly pick up the finer points of the game – thanks to his training in the Swiss military. But he still managed to drink his fair share of white grain liquor.