English Wikipedia is mostly available from here in Beijing but there are some notable exceptions:
I’ve also noticed that although I can get through to some parts of IBiblio, I can’t reach others, including Cafe au Lait and Cafe con Leche. I can get e-mail from IBiblio but not use SFTP (which explains why those sites are fairly static at the moment.)
I knew I should have set up that VPN before I left the states.
One thing this trip to Beijing has brought out is just how useful it would be to speak even a little Mandarin here, even if one can’t reasonably converse or understand spoken Mandarin. Maybe a week’s worth of basic vocabulary and phrases:
Today I spent doing a lot of the standard tourist things in Beijing: The Forbidden City, Beihai Park, Hutongs, and Jianshan Park; and the most interesting thing I noticed while doing this is that Beijing is not a tourist city.
Even in the Forbidden City, Caucasians were greatly outnumbered by Asians (all Chinese as near as I could tell). After I left the Forbidden City, it was over an hour before I saw another Caucasian and that infrequency repeated until I got to the Jade Islet late in the day. There were several tour groups wandering around the Hutongs, but they were all Chinese.
This did mean I stuck out more than I’m accustomed to, and was a target for every single person making their living off tourists: waitresses trying to lure me into tea shops, vendors hawking water bottles, “Rolex” salesmen, and rickshaw drivers looking for a fare. These were the most persistent. They’d follow me down the street, and just as one would give up, the next would jump in. You think they might have realized that I could not have possibly gotten halfway down the block without already refusing half a dozen of their competitors. I’m not sure why they thought I’d be different, but maybe they were desperate. There were hundreds of them, and not many potential customers (though most of the people I’ve seen actually riding in rickshaws are Chinese.)
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A few random thoughts:
This is possibly the most polluted city I’ve ever been in. Most it seems to be dust, not ozone or carbon monoxide. After Beth commented on what a foggy day this was, one of our hosts corrected her and insisted that this was a sunny day. Nonetheless, you can look directly at the sun at midday; and it’s a sort of dull orange.
The whole city seems to be under construction in preparation for the Olympics. Some very impressive buildings are going up. However Beijing doesn’t put up fences around construction sites, and if you’re not careful you’ll walk right through them. (Many people do.)
We got to Beijing. The flight was uneventful and quiet, much quieter than American and European flights usually are, even red-eyes. I slept through about half of it. They played some bland tourist fare, and a couple of American movies with Chinese subtitles: Michael Clayton and some predictable Mandy Moore vehicle. I would definitely fly Air China again. A much more pleasant trip than I expected in coach. It helps to fly with your spouse, so you don’t mind if the person in the next seat is landing against you. I’m glad I didn’t spend the extra thousands of dollars to fly business class.
I finally understand where we actually are. We’re staying at the Xiang Yun Lou Hotel about ten kilometers north of the Forbidden City. No one working in the hotel speaks English, and I don’t speak Chinese; but I’m learning fast and pointing a lot. The hotel is nice enough and cheap. It’s not the most comfortable room I’ve ever had, but I think that’s just a difference between Chinese and American tastes. The bed is the hardest (though far from the worst) mattress I’ve ever slept on. In fact, it’s very much like sleeping on a board. I presume Chinese folks just like a firmer mattress. The room is missing some amenities I’m accustomed to, but includes quite a few I’m not. However we have been warned not to drink the water.
In a few days I’m leaving for Beijing for the International Alliance of Women in Music Biennial Congress. Actually, my wife’s going to the conference. I’m just tagging along in a spousal capacity. (It’s not like she hasn’t been to enough software conferences over the years.) I’m not sure what sort of Internet access I’ll have over there. I know that IBiblio, where Cafe au Lait and Cafe con Leche are hosted, is routinely blocked by the great firewall of China. For all I know, this site is too.
While we have some sightseeing planned, I will have quite a few days to kill while Beth attends the conference. I have my Chinese field guide, and I’m trying to make reservations for at least one day with a local guide. Otherwise, if anyone would care to make suggestions about local sites or birding, please leave a comment. However I probably won’t be able to make overnight trips away from the capital, so that limits me quite a bit.
We are staying at the China Conservatory of Music in the Chaoyang District. I have no idea where that is. Presumably I will find out. Google Maps and Mapquest seem to come up empty in Beijing. Is there any reasonable equivalent? Update: Wikipedia to the rescue.
