BITE

After several frustrating days things are looking up considerably. I left Beidaihe at 5.30 am the other day to catch the minibus from Qinhuangdao on the coast to Chengde in the mountains. It is site of the UNESCO World Heritage Imperial Summer Villa. This dates to the Qing Dynasty, late 1700s, when the Emperor built his "Fleeing the Summer Heat" getaway. It has 72 designated beauty spots and it is larger than the Summer Palace and Forbidden City combined. In the minibus the longest-legged one (me) got the wheel casing seat which meant minimum flex for legs. In addition the woman in front was sick which over seven hours of bumpy ride was nothing to be ashamed of quite frankly. At one point we all were required to alight (relief) while the vehicle negotiated a muddy hill. Next we drove up a riverbed, not across as might have made sense. N.B. there is a fight outside as I type but if it does not measure up you will hear no more about it. The rule of thumb on the trip was to turn right at every fork and there were many let me tell you. All to-gether it was a great venture which I would repeat (remember turn right at every fork, see its easy, only one left but I won't say where) since it offered blue sky, open country, fresh air (all at a premium to date) and a stretch alongside a high ridge topped by the Great Wall. At times surroundings evoked the vineyards of Burgundy with tree lined country roads and tiled roofs to boot, at others the slopes of the Swiss Jura or in some places the foothills of the Rockies. Wooded areas could also have been Foresty Commission Scotland and the heat, corn and peasant villages had much in common with Mexico. Just like BITE (Beijing International Tourism Expo) the week before, you could travel the world and not leave China! Next Up: Mongols and Kublai Kahn