CHAPTER 1

CHINA NEW YEAR

2000-01

DECEMBER 28, 2000

TO CHINA

Our China Day has arrived! Sixteen of us, the extended family of Dold-Schafer-Plaskett-Joyce, this year adding our son-in-law Marty's parents, Walt and Tommye, are on our way to Beijing and the People's Republic of China. For several months we have been preparing for this trip, by far the most adventurous of our annual excursions at New Year. Each of us has been practicing various degrees of cool, as we tell our friends of our trip.

"What are you doing for New Year?" they ask.

"Oh, we're going to China."

It is such a great answer to be able to give. With a little practice it is possible to attain a high level of casualness, which makes people green with envy. Ultimately, they will hate you.

"Where are you going?"

"Beijing, for the New Year's party."

Cities are even better than countries for bragging. If you go straight to Shanghai or Xi'an or Hong Kong, it is so much more impressive than just saying "China", elevating you to the rank of world traveler, possessed of an intimate knowledge of world geography, and even better, of culture. It might be even more impressive to say "The Orient" or "the Far East" because that will let you field additional questions. But a simple "Beijing" or "Xi'an" does just fine. You rarely get a chance to be completely insufferable, and going to Beijing for the New Year is generally unheard of, almost as good as going to Paris for lunch. In fact, it may be better.

So here we are, aboard Air China flight 986, bound non-stop for Beijing, with ten days ahead of us for ancient wonders and modern thrills. 11+ hours of flight and 16 hours of time zones will get us there by 5:30 P.M. tomorrow. We cross the date line tonight and lose a day, which makes it impossible to figure out. I just ask for the time on arrival, accept the report, change my watch and settle in as a local. This is one case where if you leave your watch on California time you are in genuine trouble. On this trip you have to start thinking Chinese. Nothing relates — language, food, music, history, culture, crafts, time. It is best to get there, lose all preconceived notions, and settle in. China is staggering in so many ways.

"What are you doing New Year's?"

"Oh, (yawn) we're going to the Western New Year's Party on Tiananmen Square." Parts of cities are even more impressive than the whole.

"Tiananmen Square? That's in China isn't it? You mean you're going to China? For New Year? Really?"

Mission accomplished!

DECEMBER 29

ARRIVAL BEIJING

I'll have to make up something for today because we lost it somewhere above the Aleutians when we crossed the International Date Line. At least we lost most of it. We left San Francisco yesterday in early afternoon, have been flying for about ten hours and it is still early afternoon tomorrow, or today. In fact it is two hours later a day later. I have never quite figured out if I'm supposed to be really tired or sound asleep or wide awake. Whatever it is, in about two hours we are landing in China and it will be 5 P.M., dinnertime. Haven't we missed a breakfast or two?

The kids have been wonderful. Kasey, age six, is so charming, so huggable, moving around gently from row to row with a happy smile in her beautiful manner. Joshua, four years old, scoped out the airplane structure, analyzed the emergency procedures, crawled under the seats to find the floatation devices, and in two hours declared the aircraft to be okay and commenced patrolling the aisle, flitting from person to person, jabbering away, happy and funny. About nine hours into the flight both of them fell sound asleep, sprawled over whoever happened to be with them. Have there ever been two more beautiful children?

But it isn't just the Munchkins. Everyone is relaxed, laid back, patient, primed for a great experience. Jim got into his pulpit this morning and set forth the "Rules of the Road": no complaining, no fighting, no teasing, no cell phones. We were reminded that we were "on a tour" and individual rights were subordinated to the general good, commanded to enjoy China and be interested in everything. His admonition has been labeled "The Prime Directive." It was a moving speech, delivered with passion and commitment, and it is vitally necessary. It was repeated later for Patrick and Deb and again for Walt and Tommye, although Walt was declared to be "permanently exempt."

"That shouldn't be hard to follow, Harold," yelled Walt in the jet way. Harold, aka Jim, immediately lifted Walt's exemption, piercing him with a baleful stare. Today there is no room for teasing in Jim's, James's, nee Harold's, world.

Just before 6 P.M. we landed in Beijing. Amazing! Halfway around the world, 5,906 miles to be exact, in a single flight and less than half a day, sort of. Our route had taken us over Alaska, across eastern Russia, above the Sea of Okhotsk and on to Mainland China, in 11.5 hours.

Long before we left California, I was with Kasey and Josh in my den where I had a globe. I showed them where California was and spun it around to show them China. Josh was silent for just a moment.

"Papa, won't we fall off?"

I was trying to figure out a 4-year old's answer when he brightened up and solved my problem.

"It's okay, Papa. I'll just put gum on on shoes."

* * *

As I knew he would, Walter Horatio (Shui Heng Jong) was there inside customs waiting for us. Though we only met last April on my first trip to China, we have become very good friends. He came to our house in California later in the year and the bond only got stronger. He is such an attractive person, always smiling, witty and very interested in everything around him. Our travel groups have all come back from China thrilled with the experience and the quality of the service, all thanks to Walter, who runs the Beijing office.

It is almost an anticlimax going through China customs. They smile and stamp your passport. That's it! You collect your luggage and simply walk into China. Whatever happened to the grim intimidation of Communism? It almost lulls you into dropping your political guard. Indeed many European countries and certainly the U.S. are harder to enter.

Vickie Lee, the director of San Francisco's Ananda Travel office, who does all of our China travel, was waiting for us outside, not being possessed of Walter's diplomatic passport that would give her access to baggage area. Also waiting was Li Xiao Sung, or Sam, our Beijing guide, who will be escorting us for the next few days. Sam has escorted several of our groups already and is almost a familiar person, though I have never actually met him before.

Not knowing exactly when it is or where we are, we trudged to our waiting bus and Mr. Sun, our driver, headed for the city. It's interesting that all bus drivers in China are addressed as Mr. and Mr. Sun would become a decades long friend, who eventually became simply "Sun" for us.

With Beijing and other Chinese cities, you never really arrive at "city center". It sprawls over a dozen square miles, encompassing nearly a dozen million souls, and just when you think you have reached the center you turn the corner and enter another blitz of neon and high rise. With Beijing the glare spreads in every direction, radiating off of Chang an Avenue and Tiananmen Square. Four Ring Roads girdle the old city spreading the population further and further into the desert, accommodating to the reality of...