Six days in China: from ancient wonders to modern marvels

From Beijing’s Forbidden City to Xi’an’s Terracotta Army and high-speed rail, travelling in China reveals a country where history and innovation exist side by side but the people were the main drawAfter two flights and one lengthy layover in Qatar, I finally made it from Larnaca to Beijing Daxing international airport, located roughly one hour from the centre of the Chinese capital. But the exhaustion lifted soon after arriving in Beijing. Two things immediately strike the visitor: the welcoming nature of the locals, with everyone smiling as soon as they see you, and secondly, the sheer number of colourful bicycles – a rainbow of them – lined up neatly in rows on seemingly every corner of the city. Bicycles are a hugely popular means of transport in Beijing. Blue, yellow and pink, they carry the diversity of the city’s residents – from students to workers, from suit to tracksuit. And it makes sense: our tour guide explains that renting the bikes costs roughly 20cents per hour or around €2.5 per month. Biking in a city of 22 million people? Yes, indeed. One might expect Beijing to be chaotic, but while there certainly is a lot of traffic, the city is anything but. In fact, it’s impressive how smoothly traffic flows, and with bicycle lanes on almost every street, biking is a feasible way to get around – including for tourists eager to reach the city’s historic centre. Pedal a few minutes from the surrounding neighbourhoods and one of the key cultural highlights in the centre comes to view: the Forbidden City. Built between 1406 and 1420 and having served as the political centre of China for nearly 500 years, it was home to 24 emperors until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. Spanning over 720,000m², it is the world’s largest preserved imperial palace compound and has since become a popular tourist destination, with long queues stretching in front of the main entrance. It is also a popular setting for anime stories, in the annals of which it is just as popular as it is with tourists. Yet, as with the traffic, there’s no chaos here either, ticket checks and entry queues move with practised ease and efficiency. The majority of tourists are Chinese, and being a European visitor seems to draw more attention than might be expected. “Excuse me,” two young girls ask, already pulling out their phones and typing quickly. “We are talking to people that visit Beijing, could you write a few words and could we take a picture?” Despite slight initial irritation, the girls are persistent enough to win over even the most reluctant traveler and ultimately – after several shots – the whole ritual almost feels like being a celebrity of some sort. That feeling lingers for the rest of the journey. At least six more people approach politely to ask for photos, thanking afterward with enthusiasm and a childlike delight that’s hard not to find charming. The Great Wall of China The most remarkable ‘celebrity moment’ occurs at the Great Wall, where a young girl – maybe five years old and visibly nervous – approaches. “Can we take a picture?” she asks in perfect English. Cheese, peace sign, shot – the girl smiles as though she just won the lottery. Beijing – and the Great Wall just beyond it – has a lot to give: culture, history and a taste of accidental celebrity. But it’s only the start of what China has to offer. And who would have thought, one of the country’s most well-renowned highlights – the famous Terracotta Army – even has a connection to Cyprus. Discovered relatively recently, in 1974, the prominent figures are “stationed” in Paphos’ sister city Xi’an, a two-hour flight from Beijing. Dating back to around 200BC, they were part of the mausoleum for China’s first emperor, Qui Shi Huang. The now colourless soldiers each have unique faces. They used to be hand painted in blue and red, the colour having faded over the years. Part of the Terracotta Army Most of the soldiers were destroyed in the grave, but restoration work is ongoing on site to repair the remaining ones. As of today, around 8,000 restored soldiers are on display to the public. In fact, the connection between Xi’an and Cyprus goes even deeper. As some may know, Cyprus has its very own miniature version of the terracotta army. In 1929, scientists from Sweden discovered around 2,000 clay figures, some larger than life, at the sanctuary in Ayia Irini, in the north-west of the island. These included human figurines, but also chariots and sphinxes. Around 500 of them remain on display at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia. Counting an estimated 13 million inhabitants, Xi’an is a prime example of China as a whole: an impressive mix of well-preserved ancient culture and history, as well as modern technology evident in its high-tech port which functions as China’s largest inland ‘dry port’ handling massive rail and container freight volumes, serving as a major trade centre. The port’s railway connects China and Europe, as well as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. But Xi’an isn’t just about ports and freight, the city holds its own culturally too. One of the highlights we saw in the city was the historical drama The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, the title alone setting the tone. Having been described as the Chinese Romeo and Juliet by one of our tour guides, the two-hour outdoor performance unfolded on the foot of a mountain on a stage built on water, with the mountainside fully integrated into the show. Based on the 9th century poem by Bai Juyi, it tells the story of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and his famous concubine Yang Guifei, regarded as one of the Four Great Beauties of Chinese history. The couple falls into a deep romance and becomes inseparable, so much so that Xuanzong begins neglecting his state duties, drawing increased criticism from both the people and the military. Tensions come to a head with the An Lushan Rebellion. Guifei is blamed for the kingdom’s downfall and the army refuses to move until the emperor finally agrees to her execution, allowing him to turn his attention back to his duties. The Communist Museum in Beijing Later, the two are reunited once more, if only in a dream. Brought to life on stage, the story becomes a spectacle of water, fire and pyrotechnic effects performed by dozens of actors. Xi’an’s blend of old and new doesn’t end there. Another highlight for us was catching the high speed train from Xi’an. A peak example of China’s impressive technological progress, the train covers 60 kilometres in just 15 minutes, connecting Xi’an with the significantly smaller city of Weinan. With just five million inhabitants, Weinan is located in a mountainous region and is home to Mount Hua, the highest of China’s Five Great Sacred Mountains, reaching an elevation of 2,150m at its highest point. The hike to the summit takes around 20 hours, but for those less ambitious there’s a cable car that gets you there in just 20 minutes. Once at the station, a short climb up a final flight of stairs rewards visitors with a breathtaking view over the mountains. Beyond the mountain, Weinan has more to offer too, including some rather less ambitious pursuits, such as wine tasting at a modern winery that opened in 2009. And while wine may not be the primary association with China, the location is truly remarkable. Rows of vines heavy with grapes stretch across seemingly endless fields, so vast in fact, that a golf cart is needed to explore them all. Aside from its traditional wines, the winery also produces a non-alcoholic version, fully in line with current drinking trends – but don’t get too excited just yet. Although the winery holds a license to export to Europe, it currently lacks the capacity to do so, meaning that bottles remain primarily in the local market. From Weinan, it’s an about an hour’s drive back to Xi’an airport and from there, another two hour flight to Beijing. One flight later, we were in Dubai, from where it’s only a five-hour flight back to Larnaca. Six days in China felt like a whirlwind, moving from the ancient to the ultramodern. The skyscrapers lining Beijing and Xi’an – and their striking uniformity – are impressive, especially to someone living on a small island where the closest such thing is Nicosia’s 360 degree tower. It was the little things that stood out though: rotating tables that turned every meal into a shared experience; learning that the two pairs of chopsticks serve very different roles, one for serving food and the other for eating with; or discovering that many people in China prefer to drink hot water rather than cold, even during the peak of the summer. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the journey, however, was the overwhelming sense of safety. Throughout the trip, there was never a need to keep a constant eye on personal belongings – a feeling that made China stand out from other destinations. As rare as it is during travels, it was that sense of safety, rather than China’s ancient landmarks and futuristic skylines, that proved that everyday experiences sometimes leave the strongest mark.