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We're in China finally, the 1st of many stops.
Fighting against the jetlag in the middle of our first night in Beijing, it's a set of colours that comes to my mind when I try to gather my first impressions: yellow, red and black.
Yellow: not as the Yellow River which is the 2nd longest river in China after the Yangtze and is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization", not as the Yellow Sea which name is owed to the Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden yellow but as the Yellow Smog, that thick layer of pollution that blankets the whole city. Beijing is infamous to be one of the most polluted cities on the planet but it's not until you experience it that you understand what that means... after a 5mins stroll outside our hotel, my nose is blocked, I have tears in my eyes and the physical sensation that each pore of my skin is binging on some unfriendly substances. Later on that night, still sleepless, I stand at the window to look at the beautiful lightenings filling up the dark sky and I hope that the rain will wash away that smog...
Red: yes it's a cliche about communism but this year, China will be red all over as billboards are spreading around in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Communist Party. It is also 62 years ago that the Party took over as ruling party of the country. For an insightful snapshot of China today and the challenges its facing I really recommend the Economist's special report on China which I read on the way. It was published in the issue of June 25th and is available online here.
We're in China finally, the 1st of many stops.
Fighting against the jetlag in the middle of our first night in Beijing, it's a set of colours that comes to my mind when I try to gather my first impressions: yellow, red and black.
Yellow: not as the Yellow River which is the 2nd longest river in China after the Yangtze and is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization", not as the Yellow Sea which name is owed to the Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden yellow but as the Yellow Smog, that thick layer of pollution that blankets the whole city. Beijing is infamous to be one of the most polluted cities on the planet but it's not until you experience it that you understand what that means... after a 5mins stroll outside our hotel, my nose is blocked, I have tears in my eyes and the physical sensation that each pore of my skin is binging on some unfriendly substances. Later on that night, still sleepless, I stand at the window to look at the beautiful lightenings filling up the dark sky and I hope that the rain will wash away that smog...
Red: yes it's a cliche about communism but this year, China will be red all over as billboards are spreading around in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Communist Party. It is also 62 years ago that the Party took over as ruling party of the country. For an insightful snapshot of China today and the challenges its facing I really recommend the Economist's special report on China which I read on the way. It was published in the issue of June 25th and is available online here.
Black: as blacklisted... i hit the reality of censorship pretty fast when logging in from our hotel room, I try to open Blogger all excited about sharing my first pictures and end up cursing indistinctively our poor little netbook and/or the hotel connection for not allowing me to load the requested page until I have a moment of clarity and remember that I am in China which means I cannot access facebook, blogger, twitter, or even Google docs. And I wonder how people can share their feelings and opinions outside of their household or close circle of friends in this country... they can't.
When I open my eyes the morning after, my wish has been granted: the rain has accomplished its purifying mission and we can now see the blue sky and the sun. We decide to leave the hotel early to go explore Tian'anmen square...
When I open my eyes the morning after, my wish has been granted: the rain has accomplished its purifying mission and we can now see the blue sky and the sun. We decide to leave the hotel early to go explore Tian'anmen square...
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