Brown Beijing shot from the Bus

Spring

We were in Beijing in April. John and I met a couple from Australia at breakfast who said they hated how the countryside was brown and the trees bare. No, people from a tropical country, it’s not pollution. We pointed out that Canada is also brown and the trees are bare in April. They didn’t believe us because like most tourists, they had visited Canada in the summer when everything is bright green (well at least until the dry dog days of August when the lawns go dormant if not watered) Suddenly, one day in Spring, everything goes green. The trees foam with green and the blossoms bloom. That’s what happened to us in Beijing. Without that conversation, I would have thought nothing of it.

Blossoms in Beijing on the Same Day

 Tomb Sweeping Day

When we started off, our guide said that the traffic would be good and there would be less people at the monuments because it was a national three day holiday with “Tomb Sweeping Day” on the Wednesday. The people in Beijing go to the hills and clean the family tomb. They burn paper money and paper houses for use of the people in the after life.

1.7 billion people have to be buried when they die. The Chinese government has decreed that everyone must be cremated. Even with cremation, the cost of a grave can be 10,000 dollars a metre for a prime spot. The further out from Beijing, the cheaper the plot. Very poor people scatter ashes on the hillside (our guide wasn’t clear if that was legal). Other people are fortunate if they have a home village. Our guide’s grandfather was taken to his home village to be buried.

Not all Chinese like cremation. Sometimes a body is smuggled out of Beijing to the home village to be buried intact. But most Chinese, like westerners, are quite accepting of cremation.

Beijing in the Early Sping. Round Building is a Kindergarten

Over population isn’t just about one child families! It’s also: Where can people live (apartments)?  Where will they be buried?

Our hotel room was spacious with comfortable beds. However, the bathroom floor was dirty and remained that way for our stay. Also, the carpets in the hall were dirty. The hall runners were dirty in a number of hotels until we reached Shanghai. But it is a small quibble. Everything else including the bedding was clean. One interesting energy saving device in all the hotels required that our card go in a slot just inside the door to turn on the electricity. When you leave the room and take the card, all the electricity is turned off. This is important to note if something is stored in the mini-bar or you want a cold beer.

Beijing Hotel

Each day, at each hotel and on the cruise, we had a Western/Chinese buffet breakfast. The one in Beijing was one of the best. The Western breakfast at each stop included bacon, eggs, baked beans, bread, cereal, all the usual. Lots of fruit, coffee, tea, milk but not often soy milk. Sometimes there would be samosa. In Shanghai there were Indian dishes (not into curry for breakfast). Always sushi and other Japanese breakfast dishes. Cold cuts for the Europeans.

The many Chinese dishes included congee (rice porridge) with pickles, which I didn’t try, vegetable dishes that included cabbage and other veggie leftovers,noodles, Chinese buns occasionally and steamed buns that could contain bed bean paste, pork, chicken or plain.  Since I was in China, I enjoyed the steamed buns and veggies. I liked it a lot since I am lactose (milk) intolerant, so Chinese food suited me fine. John was very happy to have Cheerios (labeled “donuts” at one stop) or other Western foods. All the food on our tour was excellent!