Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Davao in Beijing
By Jun Ledesma
(Conclusion)
BEIJING is in a frenzy of constructions. What you read and heard and expectations of tenement houses before and after the cultural revolution are no longer there. Except for the Tiananmen Square and the well-preserve temples, the remnants of the past regimes are being demolished and have given way to massive high rise condominiums and corporate offices, eight-lane express avenues and skyways that traverse the vastness of Beijing.
It's mind-boggling! David Chang, a tour guide, who is a rara avis in that he speaks good English and is knowledgeable of China's complex history, said that the big boom started about ten years ago. When China opened its Bamboo Curtain to foreign investors the progressive development never stopped. Despite the frenetic construction activity however, the Beijing government obviously kept track of the environmental impact of industrialization and the physical transformation of Beijing into a modern city of the new millenium.
The transport system including the rapidly growing population of privately-owned vehicles do not emit pollution commonly seen in Philippines city traffic. Shade trees lined up the avenues in the urban center while public parks are full of lush cypress trees some of them dating back to the days of the emperors. Still they are transplanting hundreds of full-grown trees from nurseries in the rural area to the city proper. Where road construction is done the finishing touches of beautification follows. At this time of the year, petunias and climbing roses along the busy city thoroughfares are abloom.
Olympics and 888
But what kept Beijing abuzz with unceasing activity is the coming Olympic Games scheduled on August 8, 2008. The triple 8 is regarded by the Chinese as the luckiest number combination and they are out to prove that. A huge digital signboard across Tiananmen Square displays an up-to-the-second countdown of the Olympic event. All of the tourist sites are undergoing massive restoration job and a number of them are presently off limits to visitors. The Forbidden City where the best preserve historic structures and artifacts of China are kept is not yet open to the public. The Summer Palace in the summer garden where the man-made Kunming Lake is found, is still being restored. Cypress, ginkgo and willow trees, some of which are as old as the ancient temples and palaces, still stand luxuriantly defying time, extreme weather conditions and the delirious pace of industrialization.
Beijing, at this time of the year, is incredibly hot. The climate is shimmering but for those who came from the Philippines the 34 degrees is tolerable.
Shopping, planning a trip back
Shopping in Beijing involves the art of haggling. One becomes an accomplished bargain hunter if he or she can pull off a 70 to 75 percent discount from the tag price. Pinoys always get a good deal but for Europeans and Americans the Chinese sales clerks can be tough to bargain with.
Three summer days is not enough to explore the vastness and mystic of Beijing. Early or late winter might be a good time as any to visit this city anew. Maybe by that time snowflakes shall have done away with the smog that hides the grandeur and beauty of Beijing and its blue skies. Getting there and to other cities in China is a cinch since PAL, the Philippines flag carrier, has regular flights to all these prime destinations.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (July 5, 2006 issue)
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