August 26, 2019
We are now in the air between Beijing and Lhasa, a 4 hour flight. It seems a server in the Air China airport lounge was able to get me back up with Word Press so I am a happy camper.
It turns out the distance between Beijing in the east and Kashgar in far western China is 2,716 miles. I was surprised to learn that the distance between NYC and SFO is 2,902 miles, almost 200 miles farther.
Except for not being able to access WordPress, we had a very nice time. The weather was very warm, but not too humid. Almost comfortable. Our guide while there was a fellow named Wei, who spoke English with a thick accent. I had a hard time understanding much of what he said and had to ask repeatedly until I understood. Not fun for either of us. But I learned a number of facts to share with you.
The population of China is now 1.3 billion. The city of Beijing was designed for 4 million people, but is struggling with 33 million now. The infrastructure is totally inadequate, especially the roads and the water system, which is running low and no longer potable. I can’t even imagine what the sewer system is like, although the streets were clean. Just to buy a ticket to ride the subway takes 40 minutes and to get to work can take 3 hours if you live on the outskirts. Imagine 6 hours of commute each day plus 8 hours working. Most people, said Wei, especially the younger generation who have no means to live closer to town, barely have time to eat and sleep when they are home. The more affluent people are, the closer to the city they live. The average person in Beijing lives in a 30 square meter space (323 square feet).
Money and competition are the driving forces, plus the desire to live like Americans, in spite of the Communist rhetoric. We saw signs of America everywhere—fast food places like KFC, Starbucks, McDonald’s (there are 120 of them in Beijing alone), Wumart (a copy of Walmart); cars like Buick; western style clothing like the Gap.
The one child per family law that went into effect in 1980 has had unexpected affects. Most people wanted a son, so many girls were aborted until the couple had a boy. Today there are not enough girls to go around. Girls, meanwhile, are now better educated, have well paying jobs and many do not want children or even marriage. Many men are remaining single. Wei said he did not know anything about gays—obviously a taboo subject. The government reversed itself in 2017 and now wants more children. However, the population is declining anyway. The largest population is in the 60-67 age group. Retirement is allowed at 60 for men and 55 for women. The government is thinking about raising the retirement age.
Wei was very helpful in getting us to visit Zuby’s parents, which we did yesterday. We drove about an hour from the center of the city to the outskirts, where Zuby’s parents lived and worked in a pleasant, quiet, artist colony. Rashida Eli, Zuby’s Mother, was waiting for us on her balcony and welcomed us with a big smile and open arms. You would not have known we were meeting for the first time. Her husband, Najmidin Azezi, was only slightly less outgoing. They whisked us into their 2 story studio/apartment and we were instantly surrounded with floor to ceiling works of art, mostly oil paintings and charcoal drawings. In spite of the art work everywhere, the place was very clean and tidy with a kitchen and dining area down stairs and 2 sleeping areas upstairs. We found their work to be mostly somber and dark in spite of their happy, warm and upbeat countenances. Gradually we began to understand that their work reflects their experience and inner feelings about the hateful treatment of Uyghur people in general and their family in particular. Her sister and a brother were captured and held for some time. Finally, her sister returned, very changed. Her brother is still missing. She does not know why they were taken. Sad story. For once, I did not press to learn more.
No wonder they do not go back to Urumchi. The two of them are ok as they immigrated to Canada when Zuby was a small child and are now Canadian citizens. As foreigners, they reside in China with renewable visas.
While there, Rashjida surprised us with a hot Uyghur meal called Polo. It consists of rice mixed with chopped stewed beef, lamb, bell peppers, roasted garlic and spices. It was very tasty. She also served us a green salad and honeydew mellon, and a fruit tart for desert. We ate it all, including the salad. They were very generous and served our guide and driver as well.
After 4 hours of visiting, it was time to go. We left with warm feelings all around.
Back in the city center, we stopped at our hotel, grabbed the computer and walked to the Apple store. It made our Roseville Apple store look small. It consisted of 3 stories and every floor was crammed with people. We made an appointment with the Genius Bar, and were surprised to get called in less than 10 minutes. I sure appreciated the fast service. However, after conferring with each other, the 2 geniuses that served us, said the government had disallowed the use of our servers, Safari and Chrome. So no Word Press either. Bummer.
Back at the hotel we cleaned up and went with Wei and our driver to a simple dim sum restaurant to enjoy steamed dumplings. The dumplings were great.
Afterward they drove us to the National Center for the Performing Arts to attend a Woodwind and brass concert being conducted by a young American named Michael Kevin Holzman from Ohio. They performed the Candid Overture 7th Symphony. The concert was interesting and entertaining. There were 45 musicians and the sound was quite engulfing with 9 clarinets, 5 horns, 3 trombones, 3 flutes, 2 bass fiddles, 2 oboes, 2 tubas, 3 French horns, a bunch of percussionists and more.
Best of all was the Center itself. The facility was spectacular. From the outside it looks like half a very large glass egg floating on a lake. It changes colors in the evening and is very appealing. Inside, we walked underground and passed through a 30 feet high passageway with a glass ceiling that granted visibility of the large, shallow lake above. Quite unusual. Once through the passage, we climbed up again inside the “egg” where that ceiling was made of vaulted pieces of beautiful wood. The effect was extraordinary. Mark and I had seen the center from the outside during a previous visit to Beijing and we knew we wanted to experience the center from the inside. Our effort was well rewarded.
Today, As we approached Lhasa, the view outside the window was awesome–Snow covered peaks in all directions. The Gongkar Airport is quite a large facility serving the capital of Tibet and the surrounding area. Somehow I thought the place would be small and religious or spiritual, but it is overrun by Chinese, who seem to be hell bent on doing away with all things Tibetan. Our guide, PingPing, told us on introducing himself that he is a “full Buddhist Tibetan”. As soon as we were in the car, he admitted how upset he is with the Chinese ruining Tibet. If the Chinese have their way, there will be no more Tibet.
There is a tremendous amount of construction happening with many Chinese moving in permanently. The population, according to PingPing, is currently 6 million Tibetans and an additional 3 million Chinese. The drive to Lhasa from the Gongkar Airport was 45 kilometers on a new raised highway that went over the Brhamaputra River and through 3 large, modern tunnels. The area is quite wealthy due to large mining operations in gold, iron, tungsten and silver. Twenty % of the money raised in mining stays in Tibet to develop the area. The rest goes to the Chinese government. Schools are free for both Tibetans and Chinese, but they are largely segregated. HIs wife is a first grade school teacher in a Tibetan only school. Along the way we saw fields of barley, wheat, corn and mustard. Ping said they also raise potatoes, carrots, peach trees and flowers.
Finally we arrived at the St Regis Hotel through a maze of bumper to bumper shops and restaurants, high rises and construction zones. We could see the Portala Palace as advertised, but barely, due to the building congestion. The weather is sunny and warm. I did not need a sweater as I thought I might.
As we checked in and I realized that I was feeling light headed and slow, so I looked at the altimeter on my phone. We are at 11,754 feet. The hotel staff provided hot tea, which tasted super. Once in our room, I was happy to find that we have WiFi and Word Press. We went to lunch, which took way too long time just to get soup and a small sandwich. Back in our room I can sit by the window and see the Palace about a mile away. We are content to enjoy our room and our view at an elevation of 11,993 feet.
Adventures with Julia 