Over the University of Hartford’s Winter Break, our political reporter David Leal traveled to China along with 7 other University of Hartford Students. Here is part one of his journey through China.
Airport Hassle
After 12 hours on the airplane, I was anxiously looking forward to getting off. I was still nervous over the surveillance, uncertainty, and the allure of it all. At this point, there was no turning back. I just had to trust the process and hope for the best. When the plane began its descent, there was a nice sunrise I could see through the windows of passengers on the opposite side of the plane. It would have been nice to see a better view but regardless we were on our way to finally landing. When we did land the sun had already mostly risen and we now had to navigate our way through security and customs.
Immediately after getting off the plane, our professor already wanted a group photo. Of course, we took one in the busy jetway (a sign of many more to come). After we got through that we entered the airport. Here the airport terminal was clean, sleek, with lots of natural light, and based on the exit from the jetway, seemed well laid out. The airport had an ecofriendly design with a wooden pattern in their ceiling. But this design served to distract me from the hassle of going through customs and security. First, we each had to go to these machines to scan our passports, all ten of our fingerprints, and our facial scan. After a brief hiccup with a certain student, we moved on to this next step. We had to fill out this double-sided slip of paper with contact information, as well as emergency, and travel details. We got a better glimpse of the airport here. We took another group photo at our professor’s request. Then once that was filled out, we had to wait in the foreign arrival line to get through Chinese customs. I did not notice many American passports. I saw some Australian, Singaporean, Indonesian passports. After the line cleared up and we all got through in-person customs we all met up to the next step. We had to take a train to another part of the airport. We had to wait and then walk a little bit, but we were on our way to get our checked luggage. I got a cart to carry my belongings. I physically could but my coat was getting warm. This coat was heavy to carry, and I wanted to give my body a break from my backpack.
Once we all finally got our luggage, it had to get screened again, which honestly was an unnecessary step, but we got through. Our professor wanted us to put on our UHart (University of Hartford) hats because the folks from HGU (Hebei Geo University) were waiting for us on the other side. Once through we were kindly greeted by HGU faculty and our Beijing tour guide Tony. They had a sign that read “UHart” which was both helpful and heartwarming. They also wanted to take a group photo in the airport with a banner but that was swiftly stopped by a security guard within the airport. Though we still took a photo without the banner. At the time I wondered if this was a sign of things to come. Either way we were on our way to our coached bus to finally start sightseeing “China Past & Present.”
Settling In and Starting
On the generously provided coach bus, it was explained to us that we would not make it to the hotel in time for breakfast. Instead, they took us to McDonalds for a light and late breakfast. Given my upbring I feel slightly uneasy about fast food, but it was going to be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the Chinese and American franchises. Once we got off the bus it was laid out similarly to any US chain. There was a separate area for pickup and deliveries, self-order kiosks, and traditional checkout counters. At this location, the seating was upstairs, and we all eventually met up there to eat. We all used the self-order kiosks to get our food. To my surprise there was enough clear imagery and enough translated material for us to somewhat understand what we were ordering.
The food was honestly not super different. I got a chicken sandwich with a white sauce, with a fried dough stick and an iced tea. It was not the best in taste, but it satisfied my hunger for now. I was also told the price for the ten of us was under forty US dollars which was wild compared to some other western pricing. This was also a rare time during the trip where I got a glimpse of food costs.
After waiting in the cold and dry Beijing air for the bus we got back on the bus where we would be taken to the hotel to drop off our things, change, and briefly recharge. In the meantime, Tony our Beijing tour guide, gave us his introduction and provided us with lots of factual and useful tidbits about Beijing, China, and the trip ahead. Although Tony is not originally from Beijing, he still is a seasoned tour guide with lots of knowledge, passion, and experience and it was on perfect display throughout our time in Beijing.
Tony explained how the geographic conditions have made Northern China have a more flour-based diet with more dumplings and noodles while Southern China has more of a rice-based diet. Also explained how Beijing in the winter was going to be very cold and dry. He recommended staying hydrated (with water bottles and hot tea) and eating some fruit to help us deal with it.
Tony talked a bit about Beijing history and what exactly makes up China. The name translates into Northern Capital, and it served its purpose as the capital for 24 emperors. It was used by the Ming and Qing during their dynastic rule of China. Today the Beijing area has 21 million people (about the population of New York State), and the province consists of a large area. Tony also lectured us on how China was made up of 34 provinces and special administrative regions like Xinjiang and Tibet. He also explained the status of Hong Kong and Macau. They currently have their “one country two systems” but after fifty years from their return (we are halfway through), they will be fully incorporated into China. He also explained the status of Taiwan in an eye-opening way. He explained the civil war and how the Communists and Mao triumphed over the democratic forces who looted treasures and escaped to Taiwan. Tony called them “failures” and sounded embarrassed but followed up that statement by saying hopefully (China) will “try to get it back.” Honestly, this worried me a bit as this is not the full picture of Taiwan. Yes, they were on the losing side and did loot some important items, but they are a thriving democracy and do not want to be a province of China. It was insightful to hear the Chinese take on Taiwan and how they see the situation over there. Taiwan today is an important ally and a beacon for liberal democracy. Uniquely it is haven for gay rights and produces vital semiconductors for the world’s technological devices and appliances.
Tony also discussed some observations from the highway. As a fan of the US States license plate game, I noticed some different characters on some of the plates. I drew the character for Beijing, and I asked what it meant. Tony explained that the province is displayed on each license plate. He also explained some interesting tidbits on motor laws in Beijing. Depending on the last digit on your license plate you are not able to drive on the road on certain days and must use public transportation to commute. Criteria and numbers change every week for optimal fairness. If you are caught it is a 100 Yuan fine and there are many cameras to catch people. Also, electric cars are exempt from this policy and have a white and green gradient on their license plate which makes them easier to spot. Richer residents have bought multiple cars to get around the policy.
The hotel was a Holiday Inn, and it was a welcome break after many hours of travel. The room was smaller than the living room in my quad, but it was compact and had all the needed amenities. For the power to stay on, you had to keep your key card in by the outlet. We had to meet back in the lobby at 12:15 PM. While in the lobby we waited extra for Dr. Li. We also meet up again with Prof. Wang who traveled to China earlier. The folks from HGU each kindly gifted us tote bags which had a gray beanie and hand warmers. We would later come to regret accepting these gifts.
We then took the bus to a nearby restaurant. It was exciting to finally try something authentic. The McDonalds was nice, but we needed something a little more substantial. On the way I noticed that the bus was driving westward parallel to the 12-subway line and turned north on the 4-subway line. On the bus Tony had explained some Beijing development facts. It was once a city of walls, that helped defend it from foreign invaders. Although Beijing is on a plain, the surrounding area is rugged and mountainous. Through modern techniques China has been able to overcome some challenges when comes with its terrain. They have also torn down many of the walls that were used to protect the city. To make travel easier the current city has been developed with more ring roads. So, this grid style road layout was much easier to understand than some urban European street networks or an American suburb.
Lunch
Once we arrived, we were guided into the restaurant, into a crowded elevator, and up to a VIP room. Inside there was a choice of dishes all laid out on a circular rotating lazy Susan tray. The overall table and food presentation was very elegant and combined with the natural light coming from the window made for some Instagram worthy pictures. It was described to us as Chinese comfort food and it sure felt like it. There were soups to slurp, appetizers to eat and other dishes to indulge in. Overall, all the food was excellent with my personal favorites being the dumplings, leafy greens, the onion heavy dishes, a beef stew, and to end it of some honey dew melon and watermelon. The savory dishes were flavorful, well-seasoned, not too spicy, there was a great balance of options to choose from. My chopsticks skills are not the best. I am naturally a nervous person, but I managed to work through my own difficulties. I carry around a hair tie on my wrist to deal with my curly hair and I used this to my advantage. Wrapping a hair tie at the end of my chopsticks assisted me with my stability and shaky hands.
