Impressions of China and the Zoo

Beijing is a place I could easily visit again, as the sights demand multiple viewings and it is a city continually capable of surprise and change. There are numerous other places of interest, and our dollar goes far here. English is still hardly spoken, except among some people working with internationals, but the art of mime and body language and menu- and map-pointing serve most internationals well. It’s better to turn up with a smattering of basic phrases though, and the locals will notice. Fear of the foreigner can be seen from time to time, but mostly the foreign is seen as the monied and is therefore treated respectfully. Locals who mingle with foreigners are more likely to get criticised for mingling with western money. Accommodation there is cheap and well-pointed, and none of my fears of having no toilet were founded, and squat toilets only appeared in hotels for locals, but do appear in shopping centres, and do not forget your paper as it’s not usually supplied. For your hotel room and wherever you travel, bring mosquito repellant. These insects there are the size of pteradactyls.

Beijing Zoo was wonderful too, especially the Aquarium, and you can see well-trained dolphins looping loops and being anthropomorphic. It’s all a show, a slightly fake façade based on training and practice, like the opening of the Olympics. The colourful aquaria are wonderful, and designed for photograph-seekers, who will be rewarded. The pandas will probably be asleep or sick of being gazed at, and the African animals might not be looking too well, like the emaciated tiger and lions. There’s an Aussie section, but all you might see in the wilderness, mostly overgrown, is a kangaroo.

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