I had to go down to meet with someone at the China World Center yesterday so I decided to take the long route and walk through some of the areas that I would not have otherwise had reason to go to. In actuality, I had no idea of what was that direction other than a lot of shopping and some ritzy restaurants. I got off the metro at Chaoyang, looked around, and realized that one of the books was right in that this is the side of Beijing that the government wants people to see. In fact, right in the middle of the road is a huge overhand that reads, �New China, New Beijing, New Chaoyang.� Immediately across is a large government building that looks nothing like the 1960�s Russian bunker-architecture of the older governmental blocks. My understanding is that this is where the Olympic park is being built, though a bit to the north, and so the government is spending countless yuan in trying to spruce it up.

There is a joke that the national bird is the crane because of all the building. I do believe it. But at least they seem to be doing a good job on some things even if there is a lot of criticism on how they are doing it. Essentially, the government is razing hutongs and other living quarters to make room for the highrises. I don�t know what it is doing with the displaced people but many believe that the history and heart of Beijing is in these hutongs and therefore don�t want them destroyed. Others feel the opposite in that Beijing is spread out enough and there is no reason to put the largest developments so far outside the center as to render them impractical and worthless. I think from reading and speaking with people that the main concern is that the government has a track record of acting first and finding the consequences later. Just this morning, I was reading about some reservoir that was created, costing an inordinate amount of yuan, only to find out that it didn�t hold water because the ground underneath was absorbent. Tearing down the hutongs is irreversible and many just are worried that the damage from losing them has not fully manifested and that the government is ignoring the potential future harm.

As I walked toward the tower from the subway, towards Ritan Park, writing soon turned from Chinese to Russian. The touts were becoming more aggressive, there were more �luxury� shops. More seediness. No offense towards the Russians in general, but where there�s Russian writing in a foreign country, I hold my camera and wallet that much closer. I have both heard about and witnessed the effects of the Russian mafia on its neighboring countries and it�s not an environment that I feel particularly comfortable with. Coming from Los Angeles, where there is a very serious Russian (and other ex-USSR) mafia problem, I have seen first hand the effects that are created. Not fun stuff. Needless to say, I just continued through in part since I wasn�t interested in knock-off fur coats, fake jewelry, and other faux-flashy items.

Below Ritan park is basically Embassy Row I. I hear that they are building II somewhere north. I have to admit that walking through the area was a very, very welcome retreat. Streets were empty. There were many people with sub-machine guns so it felt safe. Things were clean and well tended. The trees were blooming. It was a bit of an oasis in a city of chaos. I took the opportunity to stop into the US Embassy to get yet another set of pages in my passport (I was only down to 7 empties for reasons even I can�t explain) which was done quickly and without much effort other than going through many layers of security. One thing I found peculiar is that since this is my fourth addition I have had to visit the embassies on several occasions. This was the first time that a US Marine in uniform was guarding the inner gates. He was pleasant and we chatted a bit about nothing and I moved on. Security was obviously tight and the big winner in this was Bulgaria. Their embassy is immediately opposite the administrative building and so is within the security block. Nothing like saving a bit of money. Speaking of saving money (or not saving money), I have to say I was impressed by the Cuban embassy. In a country where people have so little, it�s nice to know that the diplomat is comfortable. I guess that Cuba ultimately knows who to kiss up to now that the USSR isn�t in the picture.

After a quick lunch, I headed to the center. I am refraining from talking specifically about food until I write something solely on the culinary experiences. I assure you that there has been both nirvana and tragedy, sometimes at the same sitting. The China World Center, or Guo Mao, is one of the most well known areas in the city according to some of the residents. You tell a driver Tsinghua Dong Men and you might get Xin Hua, you might get Qin Hua, and you might get Tsinghua other-Men, which happened last night and was a frustrating experience to find where the hell I was. I still don�t know what gate I ended up at. In any event, Guo Mao gets you to Guo Mao and, especially from a Caucasian, there will be no mistaking it for anything else. The center sits on Jianguo Men Wai Dajie, which is one of the most major streets in the city. From the Tiananmen Square to at least Guo Mao, the streets are lined with every high-class hotel imaginable. St. Regis, New Otani, Nikko, etc. But along with the high-class hotels come wealthy tourists, and in reality, most have round eyes. Why do I bring this up? Never did I feel like a target in almost two weeks here except in front of the Forbidden City. For the next four hours (minus the hour with the person I had to meet), I was one big dollar or yuan sign walking down the street. It started right outside the embassy district when I sat down to look at the map. Within two minutes, I had three DVD sellers thrusting DVD�s in my face, immediately speaking broken English. I hadn�t run into more than five people outside the University who spoke any English before then. But this was just the beginning. I headed down the road and decided to walk on the inner path. It�s hard to explain the big streets but there is an access road that is not usually used by cars. For Philadelphians, imagine the Roosevelt Blvd. without many cars on the side roads. As I walked by each hotel, I was accosted by at least three or four sellers of something. Usually socks, rick-shaw rides, DVD�s, CD�s, or tours of the city. This, of course, was in between the beggars asking for spare change.

Since I have been in this environment, I can handle it, but I admit that it got really old really quick and I was glad to make it the mile or so to the towers. After the meeting, I headed back the same way towards Tiananmen, but this time on the outside road. It�s dirtier and noisier, but saner. No touts, only beggars here and there. A few jiao or a yuan makes them very happy so I am obliging if they don�t grab me or chase me.

I need to still find a souvenir for mom which is a bit of a point of contention now. The man I met said that if I wanted a souvenir (she likes kooky and tacky things) that the Silk Market on the way was a good bet. He was actually right. The problem is this. Being in the middle of up-market-round-eye land, the aggressiveness quotient was *extreme*. I walked in and was immediately accosted by about 5 people shouting at me, in English, at whether I wanted this or that. Again, walk through Pratunam in Bangkok a few times and you become very jaded very quick about people shouting things at you. But, no, I am not interested in a North Fake jacket or a pair of Levvi�s jeans so up I went to the third floor which had some T-shirts and other likeminded things. I have to admit, I have never ever been in this kind of environment. I was like honey to the ants. People walking out of their stalls to shout things, in English, at me about what they were selling. Trying to lure me in like a lucid lover.

Sellers in Asia are funny. Other Asians just ignore their cries for attention and westerners learn to do the same. However, when an Asian does it, the seller doesn�t care because it�s expected. When a westerner does it, the sellers get really pissed off and start shouting things at you. I don�t even care much about that. What I do care about is when people grab or touch me. Here�s a quick tangent. I was at Panjiayuan the other day and about right before we left there was an surge of white people. One, obviously American, was busy showing a group of very happy onlookers what a hundred dollar bill looks like. Oooooh . . . aaaaaah. First, lady, most of these people have seen a hundred dollar bill at some point. Second, you are flaunting about a weeks worth of wages to a lot of these people which is plainly rude. Finally, they are far more interested in the $300 they just lifted from your purse or pocket than they are in a bad picture of Ben Franklin. People who don�t pay attention to their things tend to get things stolen. And it usually happens when people touch you or when you�re doing something stupid . . . like holding up a $100 bill. So when I am in markets, I am very docile and relaxed unless I start people grabbing at me and then I get the hell out of Dodge. In this case, it was going to the next floor, which was fabrics and a lot calmer. The funny thing in all this is that I walked in ready to spend money on something without even bargaining too hard because I wanted to get over to the Temple of Heaven before sundown (which I was unable to do) and so I was on a time constraint. I walked out without my shirt, thoroughly annoyed, and ready to get out of this horrible part of Beijing and back to sanity.

Sanity came in the form of the Temple of Heaven. I got there right about when the sun was going down and unfortunately the temple itself was closed. The grounds, however, are left open until about 8pm so I took a leisurely stroll through the park. A book described it as one of the few places of serenity in Beijing and I would agree with that. There were legions of old people going for their evening walks, a few tai chi�ers practicing their moves, and a lover or two hidden under a cloak of darkness. Everyone looked at me with a bit of amusement which leads me to believe that Caucasians don�t go to the park at night all that often. But it was nice. The only thing I would have liked would have been for them to put lights on the temple. The lights on the grounds eventually came on but either I missed any lights that shone on the temple or there aren�t any. I expect the latter. This is one place where the Chinese need to take some hints from Bangkok. In Bangkok, all the wats, or temples, are lit at night and makes the city shine brilliantly. It would be nice for the people of Beijing to be able to enjoy their monuments both in the day and night. I will return to the temple at a later time and will talk about it again at that point.

A quick dinner and a quick taxi ride and I was back at the campus. Unfortunately, the driver wasn�t sure about the area and so he just got me to one of the gates. I assumed that it would be easy enough to get to the gate I needed. In this case, the ... was made solely out of me and after about 45 minutes and several people �helping�, I gave up, found a taxi, and was driven to the hotel. I put �helping� in quotes because although they were very, very patient and very, very friendly, they were very, very wrong and actually sent me in circles or to the other side of the campus instead of to where I needed to be. Such is life.

Sometimes I actually have to question my own sanity. This should be #10, not #9. I have asked a moderator if they can change it but I don't know if it's possible. In any event, here are the previous.

Past Episodes:

#1: Intro, PHL-LAX-LHR-DXB, Dubai
#2 : London : The Flumps
#3 : London : The Great Navigator
#4 : PHL-LAX-SIN : Surviving USScareways
#5 : LAX-NRT-SIN : A Singaporean Experience
#6 : SIN-PEK : On to China
#7 : Beijing : What in the world is this?
#8 : Beijing : A helping of Mao
#9 : Beijing : Creeps, Sips, Ghosts, and Ducks

In any country with aggressive touts, saying "No thanks" in the local language is by far the best way to get them to back off. I used to get annoyed as hell by the taxi touts in BKK airport, to the point of almost throwing a punch at one guy who insisted on sticking his clipboard in my face; then I learned the magic words "mai ao khrap" and now they actually apologize before slinking away. ^

In China, the magic words are "Bu yao". Use 'em.

I can't quite figure out why darren is a magnet for touts

Would that be pronounced "Boo yow?" If not, please advise correct pronuncuation, as we're going to China for 3 weeks in June. Thanks.

You are the BEST travel writer! I feel like I'm travelling through China with you

that's right. Yao rhymes with cow.

in general i have better luck doing as the locals do and just ignore whatever the touts are saying. it's not rude as far as i can tell. only if they are being really agressive will i look at them and say bu yao.

have a good time!

ryan

Yeh, I disagree generally about saying no to someone and having them apologize. Most don't care about offending you and just see you as someone who might give them money. I have probably spent 5-6 months in Asia at different points if you add up all the time so I am hardly new to this. I do know how to say no, no thank you, no thanks, etc., in many languages but I disagree that this makes them back off. In fact, often, it causes the opposite effect. If you acknowledge the tout then many will see that as an "in" to stop you and eventually get someone from you. In the market, however, the problem was far more extreme. When you walk into an aisle and eight people are shouting at you and pulling at you, saying boo yao, boo she, or similar just isn't possible unless you shout it back at each one which I find personally offensive and frankly aggressive. The only option is to get through and move on. I have never, ever had someone apologize for being overly aggressive. When in Rome, do as the Romans. As CSB said, when in Beijing, do as the Beijingese. The concept of what is rude and what isn't is very different from culture to culture. For example, if you ask for something in the US, it is generally considered rude not to use please or thank you when asking even though it's the job of the person doing it. I don't speak putonghua but I don't think there is a word for "please". At least it's not in any book I have and the locals don't use any word consistently when asking for things. And to say thank you (pronounced shee shee in quick succession) is not common at all, especially when it's for wait staff, sellers, or others whose job it is to serve you.

And fallinasleep, I am a magnet for many reasons. First, I was in a very, very touristy area. Second, I am white and all white people are presumed wealthy. Third, I don't speak the language (though I have picked up a little here and there). And fourth, I tend to walk places instead of taking cabs. So I tend to run across more of them. If you know Beijing, the path I wrote of I walked. From Chaoyang metro to Ritan to Jianguo down to the China World Center back down Jianguo to Tiananmen Square down to the Temple of Heaven and about half way back to Tiananmen where I caught a cab back to Tsinghua. First, it's a fairly long way. Second, it's a heavily touristed spot. Where I am staying, there are few or no tourists becuase there is no reason to be up here for them. Accordingly, there are no touts which I think is why going down there the other day was such a shock.

Thanks for the info. I hope I don't have to use it, but its always handy to have a few phrases available.