]]> http://whatireadandwatchedtoday.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/the-danger-of-creating-idols/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:41:21 +0000 miofar http://whatireadandwatchedtoday.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/the-danger-of-creating-idols/

Clay Shirky

Clay Shirky is probably one of the people whose opinions on the Internet and knowledge sharing I take more seriously. I’m interested in the emphasis he puts on those elements of modern media and communication which are more beneficial to society as a whole, than the more myopic “Make your fortune from the Internet and only work for 4 hours a week” commentators. His piece I read today takes on the concept of smaller local bookshops, who are more and more threatened by massive online sellers. Though he doesn’t agree with some organisations seeking governmental intervention on the issue, nor their arguments for seeking this intervention, his final comments are crucial for many commercial enterprises. In criticising the comments of the American Booksellers Association, he also criticises many of the reasons put forward over the last, maybe, 15 years of the development of the Internet. However, at this stage any references the ABA make to themselves as some kind of guardians of culture, ring hollow to anyone who can see through them to the obvious commercial elements of their arguments. His article can be found here: Local Bookstores, Social Hubs and Mutulization

I don’t really take issue with anything he says, but I find his comments on social hubs etc very interesting. The idea of bartering, co-operatives, social hubs etc as part of cities’ social systems needs to be investigated more by individuals, the concepts themselves exclude any government or state involvement, which may be why I find them so attractive. In my experience such concepts exist quite freely in rural areas or put in place by NGOs and community groups in working class areas and have worked successfully in many cases. They are concepts which really should spread to all parts of society in all areas. The argument that these movements allow for too much localisation, doesn’t allow for the development of an interlinking system of local organisations.

One of the best articles I read is an interview in the Columbia Journalism Review and was a better insight into the changes the Internet has made and a perfect counter to those who argue that modern society cannot cope with the level of distraction and knowledge created this new flood of information. His points about information filtration are particularly apt

Obama, just another politician?

I have been cynical form the very beginning about how much hope and “a new beginning” would have to do with Barack Obama’s reign. Of course, I was remorsefully whipped by his enthusiastic followers anywhere I ever mentioned it. They obviously never read Noel Ignatiev’s How the Irish Became White, an interesting argument for abolishing the “white race”, what it stands for, not the people. There was plenty of horror here in Ireland when it was mentioned that more and more Irish-Americans were voting Republican, conservatism follows wealth.

So far my cynicism re-Obama still stands, bearing in my mind I am an outsider and judge him more on his foreign policies than his domestic ones. I have yet to see a substantial change in attitude from the last 15 years. A change yes, but not enough to convince me he’s not another patsy to corporate lobbying.

Aside from my own misgivings, I still find disparity in reporting on his speeches, talks etc fascinating. Two pieces from 18 November, writing on the same visit to China. One from the New York Times: During Visit, Obama Skirts Chinese Political Sensitivities where the only mention of Tibet is Bill Clinton’s speaking to President Jiang Zemin in 1998. The article is simply a list of failings in Obama’s approach to Eastern Asia. However, The Irish Times runs an article Obama’s remarks on Tibet tempered by praise for China commenting on how Obama made the US’s position on human rights and equality clear to President Hu. Yes there’s a level of hypocrisy in his comments, but why did the NY Times omit referring to them altogether? What gives?

Hitler’s hidden bunkers and Mao’s massive one

Anyone wondering about life in China and how it manages to compete so strongly against the US, almost on salary alone should read through Viceland’s feature on the “hidden city” built by Mao under Beijing. It’s a pretty alternative and specific view of the city, but there are some insights into the poverty and squalor that exist in the country as more and more people are pushed towards the cities: Chairman Mao’s Underground City

Of course Mao wasn’t the only dictator who like his tunnels. This video posted on Disinfo.com is pretty interesting, plus it features Anthony Beevor whose book Stalingrad is a great read, my fondness for references aside.

Megacity One Children

Funnily enough I cam across this article in New Scientist which put forward some evidence that children who show less fear are more prone to taking a criminal path later in life. Fortunately, the article recognises that the evidence is relatively weak, but believes the conclusions warrant further investigation. Every time I read anything proposing the possible early detection of traits in humans images of Judge Dredd flash through my mind. However, again, the same article does mention that such results can really never be properly followed through on because a child’s environment can still draw them away from criminality and vice versa.

Lego

This piece in Gizmodo was just a nice nostalgia trip for me, hope it’s the same for you!

Underground Cities? These troglodyte cave-cities were excavated as early as Hittite times, and expanded over the centuries as various marauding armies traversed Central Anatolia in search of captives and plunder. There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia and the deepst one is Derinkuyu underground city, while the widest one is Kaymakli Underground City.

Derinkuyu underground city is located in the same named town Derinkuyu, which is situated 40km far from Goreme (half an hour drive). There are about 600 outside doors to the city, hidden in the courtyards of surface dwellings. The underground city is approximately 85m deep. It contains all the usual rooms found in an underground city (stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories, churhes, wineries etc.) Apart from these, a large room with a barrel vaulted ceiling on the second floor was a missionary school, the rooms to the left being study rooms.

From the 3rd and 4th floors onwards the descent is by way of vertical staircases which lead to a cruciform plan church on the lowest floor.

The 55m deep ventilation shaft was also used as a well. Not every floor was provided with a water will upto the surface in order to protect the dwellers from poisoning during raids. Derinkuyu contains at least 15,000 ventilation ducts that provide fresh air deep within the underground city. Derinkuyu Underground City was opened to visitors in 1965 but so far less than half of it can be visited.

It is unlikely that the underground cities were ever intended as permanent, or even long stay, settlements, but they were clearly built to withstand attack and could support large numbers of people and their domestic animals, for long periods of time. The urban organization was very complex, and there was probably always work in progress. Extensive networks of passages, tunnels, stepped pits and inclined corridors link family rooms and communal spaces where people would meet, work and worship. The cities were complete with wells, chimneys for air circulation, niches for oil lamps, stores, water tanks, stables and areas where the dead could be placed until such time as conditions on the surface would allow their proper disposal. Most importantly, carefully balanced moving stone doors, resembling mill stones, were devised to quickly block the corridors in the event of an attack. Of course, these doors operated from one side only!

I forgot to mention that while walking around I have been mistook for a Turkish person. People come up to me and ask me for directions and try to have conversations with me. I suppose the more I grow my beard and the tanner I get the more Turkish I look.

I am in Cappadocia!

When I got off the bus at 7:45am I went up to the Travellers Cave Panysion where I am staying, dropped off my bags and had a Turkish Breakfast for free . I then left at 9:30am for the “Green Tour” which took me and others from nearby hostels, and hotels around the Cappadocia region to see an underground city, a hike through a gorge, lunch nearby a river, seeing what looked like a set from Star Wars, and a few other noteworthy places around the region. My favorite was the underground city which was 8 stories. The people that built it made the passages small so their enimies would not be able to move fast through them if they were attacking. So everyone on the tour had a bit of a back cramp afterwords. But it was an enjoyable tour. I met another girl from my same cave from New Zealand. It was great talking to someone in English for the day during our tour, and being able to relate to many of the same things. For instance, I now have a friend of a friend who has a brother who is good friends with Jermain from the flight of the conchords series. If you havent seen it I highly recommend it.

(underground city)

After the tour I we went back to the Cave and watched a bit of Turkish TV, the film we watched was in Turkish and from the 1970’s, the acting was overdone quite a bit, we were not exactly sure what happend during the show. But it was enjoyable.

Later I bought my bus ticket and had a wonderful chicken dish for dinner.

Today I did not necessarily have a plan of attack, other than trying to go for a hike here and there. After mailing a few post cards I headed out in the general direction for hiking and seeing more of the “fairy chimneys” and other old dewllings. I decided that I was bored with following the road and the map and just hoped on over to a dirt road that led to a few of the chimneys, as they call them. Being myself, I just started exploring the region.

(the guy I farmed with)

I hiked up an area that once served as a town for the cave dwellers and I explored all of the caverns along the cliffside. Later I ran into a french tour group that started up a hill, I followed them for while and then went to the top of the rocks and set out for another bigger mountain,  I decided that it was a good idea to hike to the top of the tallest moutain I could see in the hot desert landscape. After getting to the top I felt quite accomplished, famished, tired, hot and thirsty. But the view was quite worth it.

I wanted to get down and head toward Goreme instead of the way I came, which proved to be a bit difficult. I found myself jumping down some of the rocks, climbing down proved to be problematic considering the rocks in the region are quite unstable and typically break apart when you try to climb them. I did find a cave in the hillside that I took a break in. The temperature was considerably cooler inside. I came out of the cave a bit refreshed and actually found some more dwellings high in a hill that I scrambled to get to. Once inside I noticed that it was relitevely untouched, there were still artifacts from way back when. There was an old piece of pottery, a metal thing on the wall, and some hey that had been fashioned in some manner for something or another.

I followed a dry creek bed for some time and had to work my way through the thick brush and tall grasses over crumbling rocks and strange landscape back into a small town. I started walking through the town, looking very tired, I was covered with dust and I had sweat running down my face and all over my sun glasses. A guy a bit older than I said hi, and asked me to join him to sit down. He was running a shop for tourists. But did not pressure me into buying anything. He did ask if I wanted water, when I asked Ne Kadar (How Much) his friend said 2 Lyra, the man who invited me over spoke to him in Turkish and then he said 1 Lyra, he had explained to his friend that I was a backpacker and not just the average tourist. I of course thirsty bought and drank the icy water. After a bit of conversation with the guy I noticed that the family was preparing for lunch, I started to tell him that I was going to leave because they were eating, he then invited me to eat with them. So, after my long hike through the desert I was given water at a reduced rate, and a traditional Turkish home cooked meal with a family outside on a beautiful day. We had chicken and rice, salad, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, bread and orange fanta. It was amazing, the food was great and the hospitality was even better. I thanked the man and his family for their generosity and moved on. I found myself next hiking toward a church out in the middle of nowhere. I went past it and noticed two men farming, they were a bit startled that a tourist had wandered that far off the beaten path. I offered my water to the eldest one, but kindly refused and had me sit with him. He didnt speak any english other than Obama, Good! I have noticed that all over the world where I have gone, people seem to love Obama. He tried to ask me questions and have a conversation, we got to a point and then I decied to help them farm. I picked up a hoe and started to work the land with them. It was pretty fun hoeing the dirt with two Turkish farmers in the middle of nowhere.

I then walked a few KM back  to Goreme and to the Cave  for a much needed shower and clothes washing.

(the wild flowers around here are amazing)

(inside of a church)

I have a problem that I need to face: I have DM ADD. I’ve barely started a 4th Edition campaign that’s (theoretically) going to go into the Epic Tier, and yet I am constantly thinking of new ideas for other stories to tell. Instead of letting these all go to waste in a tiny corner of my mind, I’ve decided that I can expand and get feedback on them with a column heavily inspired (a term most likely to be used repeatedly in this column) by Wizards of the Coasts’ column of the same name. For those who want more general advice at getting started, you should check out the first few entries in that column (available to non-subscribers); this is going to be focused on building a specific world. So let’s get started!

I like epic stories. By “epic” I don’t necessarily mean campaigns that go into whatever your game system’s version of epic levels are, I mean the kind of “epic” that DNAPhil of Gnome Stew used in his series on long campaigns:

What I am talking about is a campaign story and style that is on the scale of Lord Of The Rings, Dragonlance, or any number of other fantasy novels.  I am talking about a campaign style, where the fate of the world rests on the PC’s shoulders, from the start of the campaign.  A style that does not worry about the fate of one town, but of nations.  It does not focus on the heroes building a castle with their adventuring loot, but rather raising a vast army and liberating a nation or saving a world.

It’s daunting to create such a plot/world, but even as a newbie-DM, I really like it, almost as much (or more) that the game itself; I guess that’s just my internal writer at work. A lot of the time though, I lift bits of inspiration from other forms of media. For example, my current idea is heavily inspired (there it is again!) by Stargate SG-1. I’ve been interested in adapting a Stargate-like setting for fantasy ever since I read a blog post about (which I can’t find at this moment, but if I do, I will update the link) incorporating magic portals into campaigns. There was an interesting tip about giving your players actual “addresses” for different locations. Sounds like Stargate? You bet it does.

So I decided to write an “Elevator Pitch”, a very short summary of the campaign that gives a brief  glimpse at the setting and hints at some of the major themes of the campaign. I’ll show you the elevator pitch first, and then talk about some of the ideas that went into it.

Upon discovering a hidden portal to other realms deep in the underground realm of Allein, you are thrust into the middle of a war that has been going on for centuries between the mystical Althars and the dark and treacherous Primah. Tasked by the leader of the land to find anything that can be of use to Allein, and destroy everything that may cause harm, you travel to different realms, discovering unusual creatures, finding wondrous magic and technologies, and choose sides in a war that you have no place in.

Side Note: Coming up with names is not my strength; many of these will likely be changed over time.

Allein- The idea of an underground civilization was inspired by a map I found at Wizards of the Coast (which I also can’t find right now) just a week or two ago. It’s a concept I love, plus it lets me start thinking about the themes of the campaign. An underground city is not only isolated from the rest of the multiverse (until the discovery of the portal), but from the rest of its own realm. I’m going to create a new document called “Campaign Themes” and add “Isolation” to it, and expand it as I come up with more ways to expand on the theme.

Also, spinning off of “isolation”, created an underground city leads to all sorts of interesting possibilities, including the PCs going to the surface after years of separation; perhaps even the surface could be the home to the Primah. Which leads me to:

The Primah – These are taking the place of the “Goa’uld” from Stargate*, and also filling the role of the Primordials, hence the name (something I hope to change soon). Unlike the Goa’uld, they are not a parasitic race, but they do force people of the realms to worship them as gods; whether they are gods or not is something I haven’t decided. I imagine their home realm a desolate wasteland, no longer suit for survival, as a result of some terrible conflict, which is a possible reason for Allein to be underground if it does end up being their old home world.

*For people who have never seen the show, the Goa’uld are vicious worm-like parasites that enter a human host and take control of their bodies. The show mythology says that many of the gods humans have worshiped throughout history (mainly the Egyptian gods) were actually humans taken over by the Goa’uld, given enhanced power because of it.

The Althar – These are the setting’s equivalent of the Ancients, the long vanished race who created the Stargate system. I thought it would be a bit more interesting if they were an active part of the war, and even the primary enemy of the Primahs. I haven’t fleshed them out much beyond that, but they are definitely going to be a major part of this role.

Choosing Sides – This is also going on my Themes sheet. Although it may seem a bit obvious what side to choose (the good characters are going to choose the Altharian side and the evil characters will pick the Primah), I plan on introducing new factions down the line, including the mysterious– well, I better save that one for later.

Come back next time when I talk about the origin of the name “in medias res”, and flesh out Allein!

Today is one of those perfect days you’ll remember until you forget it.

It didn’t start wonderfully as I woke up late and missed out on Sue’s early morning walk to the old part of Urgup. Neither was the breakfast anything special, apart from I had some of Radhika’s muesli she’d bought for want of variety. Cucumber, tomato, salty white cheese, olives, hard-boiled egg (sometimes warm), bread, butter, jam and honey are identical at every hotel.

At 10:00 we took the minibus to the underground city. Outside there was snow but as you descended four floors into the tufa (volcanic rock) it got rather warm. It was quite claustrophobic and I don’t really understand why people would choose to settle there, but who am I to know.

We moved on to a tall castle fashioned from the rock, from the top of which you could see for miles – the snow-capped mountains that surround the basin that was filled with magma millions of years ago. The landscape is pretty surreal and the sky was clear in all directions.

For lunch we visited the hilariously named Uranos restaurant, which gave David and I carte blanche to come up with crudely euphemistic jokes for a week. You had to pass deep into a stony passage to reach the restaurant, where I had soup. I try and remember them, but David and Radhika came up with the best ones. In the car park we had a half-arsed snowfight, but there wasn’t much left and it was quite compressed.

Next was a pottery showroom which at first I avoided; Radhika and I climbed onto the roof and looked at some of the hills around. But it was cold so we went inside, where Radhika was promptly followed around by a guy with a calculator giving her prices for every item she even paused at. It would have been great if I was decorating a house, but I’m not so it wasn’t.

What was great was a stop we made halfway between there and Zelde, a place with a Jendarma police station carved from rock and old churches up to which one had to climb a ladder. I also got a cool group photograph.

Zelde, a cave town that had been inhabited up until as recently as the 1960s, was very interesting. I still couldn’t understand how and why people lived there, but Emre’s guiding made it all the more fun. We climbed up to a cavern, and we were given two tunnels down which we could climb. I chose the right-hand one, a dead end, and was promptly killed by some Romans. Apparently, the left one was an escape tunnel used by old Christians as a way to flee Roman soldiers who came a-persecuting. Climbing through in the dark was fun, and once again my trusty headtorch served me well. The tunnel brought us out on the other side of the mountain, by which time the sun had set and the temperature dropped.

We took the van to a carpet shop. I want a carpet with my own face in it in the style of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe. Alas, they didn’t have one, so I bought nothing – unlike Emily who spent 950 GBP on a carpet that changed colour, apparently due to the natural dye. It was really nice, but there’s better things to spend that sort of money on.

That evening we all ate at a pide restaurant that Sue recommended – eight of us ate for only 20.50 YTL! And it was really good food too.

On Friday I got to see the movie version of the novel, The City of Ember, named, City of Ember!! LOL, so much difference… wonder why they dropped the ‘The’ though… Anyways, onto the movie. I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by it, I was expecting to be disappointed. My expectations were crushed months ago when they decided to cast a 24 year old as the 12 year old Doon, the male lead alongside the female lead, Lina, who is meant to be the main-main character, it even says that on the wiki page for the novel… but it’s not made clear in the movie at all who’s the lead… Especially in the adverts, its cut to look like Doon is the main character…… GAH….I want to mega-rant about the huge errors they made… I do…. but later….later…

(Much more review below.)

The City of Ember is a 2003 novel by Jeanne Du Prau, which I picked up on world book day this year, purely coincidence that the movie was coming out the same year I began to read the series… weird… same thing happened with the Twilight series… Anyways, I asked the book lady, who came with many-many books, for a recommendation for someone who liked the ‘Wind on Fire’ Trilogy by William Nicholson((I always wanted them to make movies for this series… would have been awesome if done right…), and ‘His Dark Materials’ series by Phillip Pullman. And she pointed The City of Ember out. I was up for a new book after reading Jpod and other books by Douglas Coupland, so it was worth a shot. I started reading on the way home from school on my minibus and was pleasantly suprised. And happy to find out there were 2 more books in the series already available. BUT, not in the UK…. the first one must not have done very well in the UK, because the 3rd in the series never got published over here, and the first two were very hard to get ahold of. It was an Amazon job. The story is fairly simple. Underground city, the lights are going out, the food is running out, two kids try to find a way out after one finds what seems to be a set of instructions on how to do just that. Lots of things happen, yada yada, read the book to find out, or, the lazy mans option, check the wiki, which I’ve most helpfully provided the link for a little earlier in this post. The 4th in the series, Diamond of Darkhold has come out recently, hardback only so far, I just ordered it yesterday along with a Japanese language book. Have kept forgetting, and still haven’t finished the final Twilight book, Breaking Dawn! I suck….

(SPOILERS AHEAD)Now… the movie…. the movie was….intresting….wasn’t a total let down, the set design and actual city scenery was actually pretty cool, not how I imagined the lights of Ember, but otherwise, the houses and streets weren’t too far from my own ideas. They did add some things though…. giant animals… like moths and moles, creatures you’d find in the dark basically. Something not featured in the book…. and there was no real need for them either. Another thing they added, the card-key thing… the box was cool, but theres no secret compartment in the book far as I remember… I think the boat scene could have been better, its not how I remember it in the book… And it didnt seem as epic in the book, seemed darker, dingier, the generator room wasn’t made out to be so big… but it was quite a few months ago I read it, so I could be wrong. All I can say for sure is it was rushed. It felt too choppy, and the death of Granny(the great Liz Smith, who has played the Granny in SOOOOO many things I can’t remember now…) could have been handled alot better, it was sadder in the book thats for sure. And I would have liked Poppy to have a bigger role, she seemed to in the book… And they missed out the whole thing about the drawings of the cities that Lina did… which I feel were pretty important to the story.

They got some well known people in this movie aswell, Bill Murray, Tim Robbins. The problem in, the book didnt do well in the UK, so hardly anyone will know anything about the movie, and when it’s a movie of a book, its kinda important that people know the book. This will be no problem for the upcoming Twilight movie, as Edward and Jacob have girls swooning all over the world. The City of Ember was just too isolated in America. It’s a shame, cos the book was done really well. Can’t wait for the 4th. Regardless of this, the movie wasn’t fantastic. It wasn’t a total shambles, but it doesnt look good for the rest of the movies getting made. The rushed feeling of the film just made it feel bad… although, it might be because I was enjoying it time seemed to go faster? I just don’t know… the novel wasn’t that long anyways, only 270 pages-odd, it was aimed at a young teen audience. Around the same age as the 12 year old protagonists, which makes sense, apart from in the movie they got a 24 year old man to play the 12 year old Doon… seriously messed up….. there are plenty of kid-actors out there…but a 24 year old….. if they did make the rest of the movies he’d be like 30 before they’ll be done!!! And the second book doesnt even span a year after the first! I don’t know about the third, but I bet it won’t be long enough to explain the 12 year old growing into a 30 year old…. :sulk: Anyways, rant over…

If you’ve read the books, I’d suggest you go see it anyway, just to compare the two. And even if you haven’t read the books, if your in the mood for a steampunk-ish designed underground city and intresting story, go see it.  Although I’d get the book over the movie any day. Better story, better character development, better overall. Depends if your a movie or a book person. Some are both. I know I am.

Everyone that was supposed to be down here finally got down here. It took longer to get everyone settled then they expected. The water dried up almost 10 days ago. But people are getting settled. The water purification that we had to establish almost 2 years ago is finally working. The system (way to difficult to explain in a blog) had some difficulties at first. But I found the problem in the filtration area and its been fixed. Me and Amanda finally got settled in. She’s been pretty upset the last few days. She had to leave her cousins behind. She knew what would happen to them. We all knew what would happen. The government tells us that everyone is dead. No one made it. Well how could they. There’s no way they could still be living without water. But that’s how life goes sometimes I guess. Survival of the fittest.

Oh god, something happened to the Presidents building. Now what. What button did they push that they werent supposed to push. Morons. And then they always call me to fix it. Whatever.

Underground City Nobody knows just how many underground sites there are in Cappadocia although the number has been estimated at around 300. Some say that there is one for every village and settlement in the region but certainly not all of the sites can be described as cities.

It is unlikely that the underground cities were ever intended as permanent, or even long stay, settlements, but they were clearly built to withstand attack and could support large numbers of people and their domestic animals, for long periods of time. The urban organization was very complex, and there was probably always work in progress. Extensive networks of passages, tunnels, stepped pits and inclined corridors link family rooms and communal spaces where people would meet, work and worship. The cities were complete with wells, chimneys for air circulation, niches for oil lamps, stores, water tanks, stables and areas where the dead could be placed until such time as conditions on the surface would allow their proper disposal. Most importantly, carefully balanced moving stone doors, resembling mill stones, were devised to quickly block the corridors in the event of an attack. Of course, these doors operated from one side only!

Stuart Bass

Since the time of Deng Xiaoping, the great liberator and champion of an open China policy more and more travellers have been heading East, pulling back the bamboo curtain and taking trips to China. This August with the Olympic games being hosted by China more visitors than ever will be following in the footsteps of Marco Polo.

I made my first visit to China over a decade ago and have been returning with sufficient frequency to make Beijing my second most visited capital outside the UK.

So, with the Olympics looming I thought I should take time out to make known my lists of “ Beijing do’s and don’ts” .

Beijing Do’s (in no particular order of merit)

1) Beihai Park, Dōngchéng District.

Just North of the Forbidden City stands Beihai Park- originally planned in the 10^th century it remained part of the Forbidden City until the early part of the 20^th century.

An excellent destination to try and escape the Beijing traffic, if not always, the crowds. Half the park is given over to a lake, which houses the famous White Dagoba in it’s centre. The Dagoba dominates the landscape of the park and is supposed to be the site where Marco Polo met the Kublai Khan.

Beihai Park also houses one of only 3 Nine – Dragon screens in China. The Nine-Dragon screen is as its name implies a screen…with nine dragons inscribed on it. You can see another in the Forbidden City but if you come across the third, situated in Datong city, Shaanxi Province, you are either lost or planning on spending a longer visit to China than the duration of the Olympics.

2) Beijing Underground City, Chóngwén District.

One of my favourite destinations in Beijing and one I believe which epitomises China perfectly. A destination I had to have on my list despite the fact that I have never actually been inside. On one of my first tourist visits to Beijing I was desperate to see something off the tourist map and the underground city fitted the bill perfectly. The City was mainly built in the nineteen seventies to safeguard against the threat of Soviet bombing and it’s passages are said by some to rival The Great Wall in length, Having spent the best part of an afternoon in locating the entrance my guide and I were ecstatic to finally find it – only to be met by three Beijing grandmas ensconced in their knitting. Without dropping a stitch the grandmas informed us that although the underground city was open, every one who paid the admission, currently 20RMB, emerged shortly afterwards non-plussed and demanding their money back. An enquiry as to whether we could peek inside to see whether we thought it was worth the entrance was flatly refused, but a request for a photograph of the three was warmly accepted. My advice is go –apparently these days a 20 minute tour is offered-but only to see if the knitting is finished.

3) Tiananmen Square, Chóngwén District.

Tiananmen Square is another part of the capital, which perfectly epitomises the country as a whole. Tiananmen is a huge open space surrounded on all sides by imposing official buildings. Apart from being a popular gathering place for tourists and kite flyers, it is still often used for any big celebration and for the government leaders to address the people.

If you can try to get there in time for sunrise as the raising of the flag ceremony is performed. People come from across all of China just to see this get there an hour or so before if you want the best view.

If at all possible, you must check out the square at night as well as during the day. The atmosphere at night is different again and the square is beautifully lit. But don’t arrive too late, at 10.30pm the soldiers come and evacuate the whole thing in minutes and its sealed off for the night.

In between sunrise and sunset at Tiananmen you can explore :

v The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall

v The Forbidden City Front Gate

v Gate of Heavenly Peace

v Monument to the People’s Heroes

Also bordering Tiananmen is the Great Hall Of The People, but to be honest I wouldn’t recommend it. A very ordinary looking building used for conferences – enough said.

4) The Temple of Heaven, Xuanwu District.

Bigger than the Forbidden City but smaller than the Summer Palace. Built in the 15^th Century as an altar for Winter Solstice sacrifices to heaven. Today the temple of Heaven is sometimes missed during a frantic visit to Beijing, but those who do miss out. Try to get there early in the day to check out the acoustics prior to the advent of the crowds of day-trippers. At the Three Echo Stones if you speak when standing on the first stone you will hear one echo, standing on the second stone two echoes and third stone …well you can figure out the rest for yourself.

More echo fun can be had at the Echo wall, but to appreciate that you need a friend or fellow traveller to stand at the other end of the wall.

Another attraction of the Temple of Heaven is the Vermillion Steps Bridge, which was believed by past emperors to lead directly into heaven.

5) Forbidden City, Dōngchéng district.

The Forbidden City is a vast complex of halls, temples and housing, which make up the former residence of the ancient emperors. Also known as the Imperial Palace, the complex is said to contain 9,999 rooms. The complex is divided into a northern and southern part. The southern area is where the emperor would hold ceremonies and entertain guests. The northern half was kept completely private residence accessible only to the select circles of the emperor.

If you take the audio guide you might recognise the English speaker’s dulcet tones as none other than Roger Moore, which pleased me greatly as I meandered round this imposing site.

Today, the Forbidden City is one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions and lately becoming ever more popular with film crews who pay a hefty price to film Chinese period pieces. Be warned, the Forbidden City might have 9,999 rooms but on a busy day it will seem half of China is attempting to view the one room you wish to see. I first visited on China’s National Day and came away with a lot of photos of the back of people’s heads.

6) Jingshan Park, Dōngchéng District.

Any who has visited Beijing will tell you what a rewarding experience it can be. They will also tell you that the constant hum of man, engine and business can wear down the hardiest of souls. And for that reason another Park makes it onto our list.

Situated just North of the Forbidden City Jingshan Park has an excellent view of the City and Beijing itself. My advice is to take a packed lunch with you to the Forbidden City and then when you are finished there take the short trip up into the Park to recuperate. Just find yourself a bench (the Chinese aren’t great fans of grass dwellers) and enjoy the view ( smog permitting).

7) Confucius and various other Temples, Various Districts.

The Temple of Confucius was where people paid homage to Confucius between the 13^th and early 20^th Century. Today it is now home to the Beijing Capital Museum. It is the second largest temple in China erected in honour of China’s greatest thinker.

Look out for the Evil touch Cyprus tree in the courtyard – this 700-year-old Cyprus is supposed to have once taken the hat off a treacherous visitor to Confucius – so legend now has it the tree can discern between those of good and evil intent.

For those of you whose appetite isn’t sated by the Confucius Temple there are many more to choose from before Temple fatigue sets in. I have listed some of the more popular ones below. But inspiration comes from within and your favourite might turn out to be one not listed here.

• The Lama Temple, is the base for the Yellow Sect of Buddhism in Beijing, the head of which is the Dalai Lama. Originally the home of a long forgotten prince and now home to the monks in this working monastery. The Lama Temple also houses what is supposed to be the largest wooden sculpture on Earth, an 18 metre tall Buddha carved from a single Sandalwood tree.

• The Fayuan Temple, claims to be the oldest Buddhist Temple in Beijing and has some fantastic buildings. Famed for the hundreds of Lilac bushes it had which were unfortunately destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, pleased to say they have now been replaced.

• The White Pagoda Temple also claims to be the oldest in Beijing and it’s architecture rivals anything The Fayuan Temple has to offer – one of the lesser visited temples in Beijing and because of that one of the more authentic and peaceful.

The Terrace Tea House, Dōngchéng District.

What could be more Chinese than taking tea in Beijing. And The Terrace Tea House have been dishing up some of the best for as long as anyone can remember. Situated within a teacup’s throw of the Forbidden City East Gate, the full address is 69 Donghuamen Dajie. Expect to pay £2 to £4 per cup – a small fortune by Chinese standards, but well worth it.

9) The Great Wall, Badaling section.

And in at number 10, it’s the pretender to the throne as strictly speaking it’s not really in Beijing but let’s face it if there was one thing you wanted to see in China then this is it. Great by name and it has to be said Great by nature. For me seeing the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an was a big disappointment but my visit to the Great Wall lived up to all of my expectations.

From Beijing you can get to a few different pieces of the Great Wall within 2 or 3 hours by bus or car and the only negative I can draw against Badaling is that this section does suffer as being the day trippers preferred section of wall.

That said, the wall here is fully restored and you can walk for two hours in one direction before having to turn around – very few people do.

A word of warning though, in August it will be sweltering and the Great Wall is extremely hard work. Some sections have steps and railings, other sections are just gradual steep slopes. My advice pack extremely comfortable shoes, a lot of water, and a light snack and give yourself plenty of time.

For those spending longer in China you might want to try either the Simatai or Xiangshuihu sections for a rougher less manicured section of wall where you can escape the crowds somewhat and enjoy even more fantastic scenery.

The largest Imperial garden in China, again a short way outside central Beijing, built following the destruction of the old Summer Palace by British and French troops. In 1998 UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace an “outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole.”

Mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, three quarters of the Summer Palace is actually lake. The earth excavated for the lake went to make the hill. The Summer Palace is also home to a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures.

Do’s and don’t do’s…

1) Currency . The Chinese currency is the Reminbi, more commonly known as the Yuan. The Yuan is made up of 100 Feng. The system is exactly the same as sterling pounds and pence. Some universal rules apply in China as they would do anywhere:

ü Obtain currency before you go, try to get all of the major denominations and familiarise yourself with them. You won’t be able to obtain Feng but just remember the smaller the note size the lower the value. I have heard reports of people being given Feng change in China when they should be receiving Yuan.

ü Always try to change your currency at a bank rather than your hotel, you will get a far better rate of exchange. If you take traveller’s cheques The Bank of China will probably be the only bank willing to encash them. However, if you wish to withdraw cash from an ATM I have been able to do this at Bank of China and China Agricultural Bank.

ü

2) Hotels

Like the majority of countries you will be unable to check into your hotel without a passport. Although you should carry a copy of your passport don’t expect to be able to use the copy at the reception desk.

Avoid any hotel which has a karaoke bar attached – unless you wish to stay awake until the early hours of the morning listening to drunken Chinese murder the hits of the seventies.

3) Road safety.

When crossing the road feel free to use Zebra crossings. Just bear in mind that to many Chinese drivers – cyclists included – they are a decoration rather than a regulation. Crossing the road in China was once explained to me as follows: Never make eye contact with the driver of a vehicle, as soon as you do responsibility for any accident passes from them to you.

If you are a passenger in a taxi the safest seat is always the one directly behind the driver.

4) Racism/ Discrimination.

Being a white male this is something I have never experienced in China however, there are widespread reports of prejudice towards non-Asians and women.

Every traveller in China though, becomes a “Laowai” the second your plane touches down in China. You will rarely hear this in Beijing but the further you are from the capital the greater of occurrence of it’s utterance. Laowai is used in conversation by all Chinese to refer to foreigners. Some travellers find it annoying to hear the words uttered by onlookers wherever they go, however, it is hardly ever said with anything but surprise and curiosity,

Bear in mind though that the old Chinese saying remains as relevant today as it did during the Boxer rebellion “We can always fool the foreigners.” Remember that you are visiting a country where many consider you a big nosed barbarian interloper.

5) Scams

Be careful of the bait and switch, where the item you select is not always the item that ends up in your bag. I have heard tales of this happening with electrical equipment at Beijing airport!

Beware con artists are widespread in China. Ostensibly friendly types invite you for tea, under the pretence of practising their English upon you. Your new found friend will then order food and say they have no money, leaving you to foot the bill. The variation upon the theme of this is that you are taken to a bar where your Chinese friend will order a whisky priced anywhere between 500-3000RMB. All prices are displayed, and the bar will deny all knowledge of your ‘friends’ association with them, they send in the heavies if you refuse.

Don’t take a taxi without the meter running unless the distance is very far and you agree a price in advance. Taxis will wait at train & bus stations and try to take you to a hotel of their own choosing -OR- they will ask you where you want to go then offer you a price without turning on the meter. It will almost always be a higher price than the meter would be. Better to go out to the street and flag a taxi.

Beijing in August you are going to need a lot of water and as in so many other countries the only water you ought to be drinking is of the bottled variety. However, the bottled option is not always legitimate. Some water sellers recycle bottles and caps and refill them with water from non-safe sources. The only way you can check this is by having a careful look at the lid and ensuring the protection circle is still around it and intact. You will see water bottles for sale with straws in them – these should be considered unsafe.

Be alert at all times if changing money on the black market. One trick is for the money-changer to take your money and then say he has made a mistake and wants to recount the money he has just given you. Taking the money back as if to recount it, the last you see of him and your cash is his heels moving at velocity down the road.

6) Prostitution

No matter how many stars your hotel has if you use the sauna/spa you will be offered a massage, however, apparently the Chinese translation of the word massage is “sex for money”.

Also, if you wander off the main thoroughfares in Beijing you may stumble upon some streets with more hairdressers than would seem normal. Furthermore these hairdressers might have more young ladies gathered within than might seem normal in the UK. If this is happens and you enter within expect to be offered more than just a haircut. Whilst there are many perfectly honest barbers plying their trade in Beijing many hairdressers across China are in reality a front for prostitution.

Bear in mind getting too intimate with Chinese residents, especially women, can land you in big trouble with the Public Security Bureau.

7) Theft

Wherever you are you need to keep your bag close! If you have a strap purse make sure it has a long strap to hang across you and keep it to the front. Wallets should be kept in either an inside pocket or a front closable pocket. If you use a backpack you may want to wear it with the bag in the front at times. I have used the sleeper compartments on Chinese trains and on two separate occasions have woken to find razor cuts in my bag allowing thieves access.

Pollution

Don’t expect clear blue skies here. Pollution is a serious problem in China and can make travel unpleasant for everyone, but especially if you have allergies, skin conditions, or chest, eye, nose and throat problems. According to the World Bank, China has 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities. With Beijing being the 28^th most polluted city within China.

9) Spitting

Not such a problem in the major cities nowadays but be warned the Chinese believe it is much better to expel than retain the bodily humours. The Chinese also fail to understand why Westerners would wish to retain body fluids, trap them in a handkerchief and carry it around in our pocket.

Spitting should not really affect your trip to China but beware if you sit at an open window on a bus or a train – sometimes things that are blown out are blown back in again.

10) Queues

There is no Chinese word for queueing! Instead when a bus/train arrives it is an oppurtunity for those present to audition for the national Rugby team.

11) General Advice

a) Obtain a free city map from the airport, bus station, or your hotel. If you can’t get a free one, purchase one.

b) Remember that all official documents have to be written in black ink.

c) At the very least you should learn the numbers and carry a phrasebook or electronic translator with you.

d) Don’t walk outside of crowded places by yourself at night. In other words, do not find yourself alone on a dark street.

e) This has not been confirmed to me but there is anecdotal evidence to suggest a scarcity of O group blood for transfusion purposes.

f) Never assume your fellow travellers are as honest as you are.

g) If something of yours is stolen, you should report it immediately to the nearest Foreign Affairs Branch of the PSB. If you have travel insurance (highly recommended), it is essential to obtain a loss report.

h) Carry your own plastic chopsticks and avoid using wooden ones.

i) Take your own toilet paper.

j) If travelling by train, retain your train tickets until you have left the train station – the reason for this will become apparent.

k) Give nothing to child beggars – in doing so you are rewarding parents who keep their children out of school in order for them to beg for them.

l) Don’t visit Beijing in August. A comparison of airfares to land you in Beijing in time for the Olympics gave an average airfare of £802.90. The same search for the day after the Olympic circus leaves town gave a fare of £437.30.

Finally, since this piece was written China has been hit by a natural disaster that comes only once in a generation.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the relief effort can do so via:

The Chinese Embassy in UK has opened a special account for donation for Earthquake in Sichuan province in Bank of China(UK).

1)CHEQUES,TRAVELLERS CHEQUES AND POSTAL ORDERS SHOULD BE MADE
PAYABLE To:
The Chinese Embassy In UK
Sichuan Earthquake Donation Account
ACCOUNT No: 10196750
CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS:BANKING DEPARTMENT,
BANK OF CHINA(UK) LIMITED,
90 CANNON STREET,LONDON,EC4N 6HA

2)UK AND OVERSEAS DONATIONS CAN BE MADE QUOTING:
Beneficiary Name:The Chinese Embassy In UK
Sichuan Earthquake Donation Account
Account number:10196750
Sort code:405037 BANK OF CHINA(UK) LTD LONDON

3)CASH can be deposited at any branch of Bank of China(UK)Limited,please
quote a/c no. 10196750