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Comments from my trip to China
in April 1998
In the last few years I spent most of my time south of the Yangzi River and I was
eager to come back to Beijing. Seven years is a long time in any city but Beijing
went through some really dramatic changes since my last time there in 1991.
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"Titanic" premiere in Chengde
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Street side hair dressers in Beijing
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New highways, a couple of hundred square miles of new office space, huge hotels and
shopping malls, 43 McDonald's restaurants (at the last count), tens of thousands of
cars (mostly taxis), higher prices, Internet Cafes and a more affluent population are
all signs of the new revolution that is taking place in China.
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Temple of Heaven and modern Beijing
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Even in smaller cities and towns this change is visible. China is now changing at a
frantic pace and whereever you go, things will be very different from what your
three-year-old guide book is saying. For the individual traveller a lot of things
are getting easier - if you have the budget. Prices are generally higher than what
your average backpacker in Asia is willing to pay.
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Qianmen Avenue near Tian An Men Square
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But if you come prepared and your budget is not too tight, China is now a lot more
approachable and is generally more fun to travel in. You won't have to negotiate
for train tickets and hotel rooms as in the old days. Taxis are cheap and plentifull
and make getting to places a lot easier. Entrance fees are now mostly the same as for
the Chinese and are actually a lot cheaper than a few years back. There's more
possibilites to shop and the quality of the goods is better. The choice of food got
better and, well, from time to time now at least you can go for a hamburger...
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