A Chinese Cameo

by Anne Rothwell

The slant-eyed Santas looked out of place, beaming at us from either side of the entrance to the Friendship Store. In the tourist haunts, we could have been in any western country, preparing for Christmas. Elsewhere of course, it was a different story. The ordinary populace of Beijing was not beguiled by our overindulgent yuletide.

The city was still unspoiled and strangely innocent. Traffic-wise, it was a relief. As private transport, the bike still ruled with parking lots filled with row upon row of them. The people wearing smog masks were not protecting themselves from traffic fumes, but from the ubiquitous 'Peking throat' which circulates continuously, aggravated by the very cold, dry air.

Eating was fun and cheap. On many street corners were stalls cooking a kind of huge pancake containing egg, spring onions and soy sauce, folded into four and handed to us in a paper holder: tasty and filling. The night-market food stalls were even better. At home, we’d never dream of eating in the street on winter nights, yet here in the north of China, in similar temperatures, we loved it. We walked from one end of the street to the other, tasting all manner of goodies. With portions at 7 or 8 pence each, it didn’t matter if we didn’t like it, and I balked at the skewered songbirds and scorpions. Carrying our own chopsticks, we moved along, throwing any leftovers in the bins provided by each stall.

Learning something about the people and their culture helped to increase our enjoyment of the usual tourist experiences. We watched the early morning Tai-chi in the park, the kite-flying, the older people playing Mah-Jong and Chinese chess or bursting into impromptu song. Their natural exuberance has returned since Mao’s repressive regime vanished and his little red books were relegated to the antique markets. We saw Mao’s embalmed body as everyone filed silently past in his mausoleum in Tianenmen Square and surely it’s only a matter of time before his huge portrait is removed from above the Gate of Heavenly Peace, fronting the Forbidden City.

First published in VISA issue 66 (April 2006)