| Show 71LV aATOAW6Pkit0A '- The Salt Lake rrihune Beijing China FehrJary Sunday 19h9 2k Going to China's Great Wall is the absolute highlight By Zeke Wigglesworth Knight Rvider Nowspperi 3700 miles and is mostly in pretty bad shape although the government has announced plans to renovate large sections of it The original wall was completed about 200 B C by one of China's greatest emperors Qin Shi Huangdi the same emperor whose tomb is s terraguarded by the cotta soldiers in Xi'an At Badaling the wall is about 21 feet high and about 18 feet wide on the top Once on the wall you have two choices for a hike: going east or west The east is longer a mile and more but the grade is much less than the very steep west side If you go west there are many places to stop for a rest on the way to the watchtowers near the edge of the renovated sections but it is a fairly strenuous hike Because of this the west side has the advantage of attracting fewer people If you walk far enough in either direction you come to the end of the restored parts and the wall is crumbled and collapsed There is a decent-sizecommunity at the base of the wall where you can buy gifts souvenirs food or a cold drink Your biggest problem probably will be finding your tour bus among the many parked in the village The wall is the big attraction for Beijing-bountravelers but the city itself is obviously worth a look as are a couple of other modest local places: the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace Beijing as befits a national capital is big and prosperous with wide boulevards stately buildings and such national sources of pride as Tian'anmen Square which contains the memorial hall of Mao and is just across from the Great Hall of the People China s equivalent of the House and Senate The Great Hall is huge — more than 1000 feet long — and was built in 10 months in 1958 The square the largest public square in the world is more than 100 acres and can hold at least a million people Also fronting the square is the Monument to the People's Heroes a 120- foot martial grouping that honors the 1949 revolution Off the square just across the street from Mao's hall is a symbol of what might eventually happen to China God help us: a Colonel Sanders chicken joint reportedly one of the most popular eateries in the city One can only imagine what Mao would say The city is under siege by construction cranes in any direction you look there are buildings rising The large number of projects is a sign of one of China's emerging major problems: too rapid an expansion The government has taken steps to slow the rush toward privatization because the economy is starting to get inflation cgit of control Double-digi- t and rapidly rising prices are becoming a way of life in urban China Even so Beijing has managed to keep most urban blights more or less under control You don't get the feeling you do in Shanghai nor the horrendous traffic jams that are part of everyday life in Guangzhou Beijing is large parks and wide streets and massive public buildings BEIJING — The Great Wall of China has been the victim of bad from press or at least visitors who are not prepared to cope with tourist attractions in China The word is out mostly that the wall is hip deep in people and knickknack stands vast mobs of Ugly Americans Ugly Japanese Ugly Germans and Ugly Others all heaving and shoving and trying to take photographs and shoot videos and trampling one another into the ancient rocks while nobody much notices or cares There are wisps of truth in these reports but going to the wall — the absolute highligM of any visit to China — is no worse than trying to find a camping place pt Yosemite in July Actually it's better The wall is very popular of course and weekends in the fall are noto 1ously crowded But it's not so bad that you can't find a quiet crenellaton here and there and pause to look out over the valley and the spectacular views of the wall disappearing into the mountains : The wall as currently constituted :is in many ways a perfect symbol of modern China On one hand it attests to a country strewed with relics of an ancient and powerful civilization on the other hand you find everywhere the sometimes abrasive trappings of a Third World nation that has radically changed its political direction and is desperately try-bito catch up with the rest of the modernized — and capitalist — world The wall like virtually every other major tourist spot in China is surrounded by trinket shops and plagued by pushy vendors and it's :true that a certain amount of its charm is diminished by the non-sto)parade of tour buses that roll in from dawn to dusk Nevertheless the reality of its power cannot be denied Its there no figment of a Disney-lik- e imagination a tribute to powerful emperors who turned to dust long before most Western Europeans even knew how :to read : If you stand on the wall — or better hike to its high ramparts — you must agree that you've made it to one of the true wonders on Earth The Apollo astronauts said it was one of the few things they could see with the naked eye from outer space The wall is special enough that if :you have a chance to visit only one place in China it should be the one There is a Chinese adage: "If we fail to reach the Great Wall we are not men" which while sexist is a valu-ablgoal for any traveler Walking :the wall has few equals on this planet Viewing the Pyramids and the :Valley of the Kings perhaps Tikal in Guatemala Angkor Wat in Cambodia Easter Island Great human works of this magnitude are almost always worth contemplation The portion of the wall most often seen by tourists today is at a place about 45 miles north of Beijing :called Rada ling near what is called the Juyongguan Pass Here the wall has been extensively renovated and affords an excellent chance to appreciate the engineering problems faced by those who designed and built it From a labor standpoint its a lousy place to put a wall: It runs along the ridges of spiky hills up and :down around and over often at steep angles that almost defy people to walk up let alone wagons and horses But from a strategic standpoint it's just ducky The Rada ling section dates from The Ming Dynasty and is famous as a strategic spot along the fortifica4ions Another Chinese' adage: "The fortress (at Juyongguan Pass) is defended by one man 10000 men will fail to take it" By some estimates the wall — at its historic best — was almost 6200 miles long from the Yalu River in the far east to Xinjiang province in the west Today it runs for about g z 4 0 I 0 i ? u - -- Tse-tun- -- e g w-to-armpit PICK YOUR CARD rig: 14 A 1::1 237-200- 0 t3 ters 143 South Main r c4ir titAb a ': '' ' 4 ' - ' 7 tot '''' ''' ii N-- '1 t i-'4 :' N 4 4 -t 441 197:- 1 SS J I ato 14 - k t ' :' : 1 r- 0 A- -: 1 ' r i i - IT: 14plik t !I 00 4o: A 1- 4 ' ti I 44 ' 0' 4 1 'e t- - r 111U'''04 I 4 0 Though it does get crowded at the wondrous Great Wall of China it is the highlight of any visit to the Orient preferably a full day In addition to the main palace buildings and such sights as the rooms occupied by the sinister late Dowager Empress Ci Xi there is a museum where treasures from the palace are housed An estimated 900000 artifacts are stored on the palace grounds Much of the artwork in the city was destroyed after the 1911 revolution or taken by the Japanese during their occupation or by the Nationalists when they fled to Taiwan Be prepared for large crowds and some gridlock at doors narrow halls and stairways But also plan on taking a lot of film because there are good shots in every direction —Temple of Heaven Here is one if the nicest strolls in the city From the grounds of the temple you can see Tian'anmen Square and the gates of the Forbidden City Emperors went from the Forbidden City to the temple to pray for a good harvest The temple built in the 14th century is a tall Ming dynasty treasure roof made featuring a of 50000 blue tiles The four inside support pillars are painted in striking colors A favorite place in the temple complex is the Three Echo Stones where a single clap will produce as many as three echoes depending on where you stand The only problem is that the place is usually so crowded that you can't hear the echoes A long paved walkway takes you from the temple to the Circular Mound and what must be a billion high-ris- e apartment houses The modern city has little going for it architecturally but there are lovely little spots all over in which to escape the woes of industrialized society In addition to the Great Wall some things not to be missed in or around Beijing: —Forbidden City Anyone who has seen "The Last Emperor" the story of China's last Ching dynasty emperor deposed by the 1911 revolution will recognize the Forbidden Crty with its large squares and classic buildings The complex of buildings and walls also known as the Imperial Palace was begun in the 13th century redone in the Ming Dynasty sacked by the Manchus in the 17th century and finally rebuilt during the Ching dynasty Today the buildings are starting to fade a bit and the upkeep could be better Still you get a good idea of how insulated and powerful Chinese imperial families were (24 emperors ruled from here) It was called the Forbidden City because no commoner or foreigner could pass through its gates without permission Those who tried faced death One of the most striking areas is the massive square beyond the second entrance gate (The Gate of Supreme Harmony or the Taihemen Gate) where the emperor could view 90000 people at once The palace complex is about 250 acres and has 9000 rooms It is large enough that to really see everything you should plan on least a half-da- 19th-centur- y d cone-shape- y NI NI LEISURE TOURS AND TRAVEL mas -- 074 Bottom line time Should you take group tour of China? There is no easy answer but here are some things you can ponder that might sway you one way or another: —People The Chinese are nice folks friendly mostiy polite and the service is excellent and for the most part professional in the Westernized hotels and Friendship Stores and in the larger stores and restaurants But there are a lot of people too about 11 billion and you can get caught in some real crowd squeezes at train stations and airports In cases like this forget polite — it's everybody for himself After a while a UYS ' $98 $7 around If you're small weak or infirm make sure you have somebody around to break trail for you —Health Just assume you're going to get sick Traveler's diarrhea is almost automatic because sanitary conditions in the People's Republic are not up to our standards The strains of diarrhea you tend to get in China are virulent so you might want to talk to your doctor about some form of antibiotic medicines just in case Also it seems as if everybody in 50MS rot row 1112 Pelgic 9r11 DriktlD Fn $10 1 1 239 $ CASN CROSSING NtVADA ZS:ASH 3ACK 34 !COD ELKO — O'NITE 36 moN $12 50 & - RENO 17 9 6R 7 DAYS 79&820 CALGARY STAMPEDE — 4 DAYS 39 330 & A 801483-641A r 3 k K )0CIZTID CI 800888-669- 9 7 Division Of MornsAsk Mr Foster 7 DAYS 19 NS a cnii Four years excellent placement record We teach on Delta Air Lines computers-th- e most used airline computer in Utah Unlimited computer practice hours AI training in one location 9 DAYS 23 isisso rizi edam !z DISNEY'LAND 3i 20 SAT iS 18 00 S7 CASH RACK ON At 22 76-- s g44 IN OM bi bi bi bi OGD 7gYS lAn J77 under-flavore- APRIL 10 DI AN' Liu 1 ult—rtvn 111111J PORTLAND ROSE FESTIVAL Sun P M H BACK CASF 1 1 i49VTGAI well-cooke- DAYS Si22 - rusItcs Sat $7 V 4 top-rate- d THE JUNE MORRIS SCHOOL OF TRAVEL ) 198 319 2 2611 iNct tAlIGMiN irritating being shoved it gets DURANGOMERTON LAS VEGAS I 800-- $ ITA SW There are several exhibition "NvriN 17184041 ever-efficie- rooms near the tombs where you can see some of the loot found in the tombs Normally tour groups will stop at the Ming Tombs on the way to the Great Wall The bus parking area is surrounded hy vendors if you're in the mood for snopping -- I around Traveling around China can he a lot of fun but it also can be a major hassle In addition to putting up with crowds of rude Chinese tratplers yon also have to contend tvith a populace that often does not have Western concepts of time or organization There's not a lot you can do about it except grin and bear it The national tourist group the Chinese International Tourist Service gets better every year as it deals with more and more tourists hut macan occur jor foul-up- s Especially suspicious are the dealings of the Civil Aviation Administration of China CAAC which operates all the flights around the country As Third World airlines go its not too bad but its still a Third World airline LOOK at it this way If the Americans who run Delta or United can delay flights and screw things up t'hat do you expect front CAAC? Some of the aircraft are ancient and falling apart some of the pilots are really sloppy and the airports need upgrading But the CAAC is buying fleets of new Boeings and of all the flights we had in China only one was canceled You'll see a cultural difference around airports immediately if a flight is canceled by the way The Western tourists all complain and scream while the Chinese just shrug their shoulders and use the Mandarin equivalent of -- que era Trains are pretty good in China soft-sea- t and the first-clas- s service features new East German cars The major problem you'll face is hordes of noisy Western tourists and overcrowded stations The food and drink as I have mentioned are probably best left untasted —Food Our tour group was fairly sophisticated having among us traveled a lot of miles so we were prepared to deal with most of the difficulties I have outlined above What surprised us the most I guess was the low quality of Chinese food I'll admit that I'm spoiled by the great restaurants in San Francisco and Hong Kong and just assumed that the Chinese in China would do it even better resBut the food even in taurants often was pretty had — d very oily not Meat often contained large bones fish often were not boned na Odfar5 orr 7'r 41 111 4 vs la - JTRAVEL 1 1ST CLASS AT 4gkitip 41 30706 10 1 all 0 20 10 11 13 El El MOTORCOACH 9 TOURS ri ELKOJAUPOT 3 15 $37 ea In' — (lays SAN FRANCISCO SOUTHERN El NEVADALAS MARCH 28 — Days $198 ea CARLSBAD CAVERNS 0 APR 10 A 5480 ea 5sys RENODEAT4 VALLEYLAS ANIL It El CALL '1-- I rS489 Iti r 4it 71 t rardb"ms49q F ea TOO APRIL 21 — Nov S r1vt 61t 12eoea $79q l'ell"1 4)(1' Tn s: J LC( 1::""149 LI At PLATINUM WORLD TRAVEL 485-120- or 0 OPEN ROAD TOURS 8 I lowest roundtrip airfares worldwide If your airfare is (aver S39900 we can save you money! We have discounted airfare to him nca dreds far-- El of locations You world‘mide travel at your own convenience a On rNiLir17 ih4-!o- r H1 kr 113 7 11 El 8 E1 t3 Czi I y and hilsiness 64 6458 6458 6458 lit' Il cin help us today for prxe on volir next n12ht s woRLD 58 El a4lis SO SALT LAKg J 1 LI AND TRAVEL sa STRATEAD AVIL Di -- ri k PHONE Toll Free s i I we offer the E1 '2' iv - 44 4:10" S449 a a VEGAS 160 SOUTREPN STATES ORIENT 870 E 9400 S Suite 206 s — 5 Days TRAVEL 1 ' c) toal n22 571-993- r3""'S399 Hinni n VEGAS - - ea b r'"'V—EI s' 398 $ rrit ' 1 60 : h3 Q locc03 A HIGHUGHTS 6 Onvg AC11 a) MARCH 21 frtm $499 CLASSIC WORLD KRA SPECIAL MARCH $499 SOE Aran 1 I :' '''' o' '11i 1k' 01 t 0 I 60:: "1 SOUTHWEST e ''' " ELOYE 4- '!'1 :b ir 14041 41 1 - 0 well-traine- - r 1 i P'1 a 4IV idaMIIMNIPINIMMBFIM ' r 4 A) kf 1 - ' 1" irk 1 TI 4 A:m4 a 4 r1 ' 1 ) 41? !'' ') 4 ' :' " i10 f ''''''' 11‘'7P4A 'e- - : and Russia Tour departing on June 24 1989 CALL OUR VACATION SPECIALISTS FOR THE FULL DETAILS AND A BEAUTIFUL BROCHURE - - al ''? ''''' our Northern Capitals 1 ' 7) s' ::Y' 7 it ' - t TIE - '' :f - ta 4 ''7''' Otiio0- 4 pa 1 4ti ' '1:' x it ' — --::-ora- ''' 7 11111 AUSTRALIA ps '''''' : ''' I N:' 4 A 46 - - i4w A 44'1:' '‘: has ' 9: Economy Also Available We still have space available on 'I 1 t The Best Tour Values Of This Decade 'f '' 'It - ' i fit t tt'':e :t tzp-4- 3 ria MI Ma The only qualification Reservations must be made and deposit paid prior to berember 31 19S9 tor 19 departures ft E 4 I'dre r ' 0'''E ' :: 4! ' s 1 7 IDay or Cosmos '' ftItli4 ' sK '' :7 ' )! ' '1 '- - s? ' : " er- ' ' a 1 ' x !- t '''' 114:1' ) r ro- I I Globus-Gatewa- y 4 I ''' "' ) '''"t' ! - - I ybnipticAED 0111990 1989 with -- - : 4' fun — all for $276 Days of on dbl occupancy pp 1 - Tonopah NV Day I1 Gambling &A an evening in a charming n mining-towu Omosphere 3 1 Day 2 — TonopahDeath Valley Goldfield to Death Valley through the u 1 scenic Gopevine Canyon Visit Scotty's 1 Castle and the &wax Museum Overnight at the Furnace Crook Resort Day 3 — Death ValleyLas Vegas Death Volley to Los Vegas for a day of gambling and show entertainment g 4 — Las VegasSIX Sit via the Virgin River gorge With a in Ihrook Mosquito Tour Includes: Coach Transportaton nDeluxe Motor hotelmotel accommodations Luagage Handling Sightseeing 3 Professional Escort Service 363-7- 9 111 1 a-11- I- t if :i I y I )W-- '1 ' ' 7 t I 5 0 077 of any tour for cost the land kg L 'A - 14 : March thee tan this 0 age us 0 ffe 6 ' ' Q' DEATH VALL1Y & LAS - r Oft : :" N 1 T I it-- -- t- I A c 4 T1 4ti' if NI MI MI --- : -- siv li ' b 1 i 4”) I 1 d p — 4A )" ' 6b0' r ' d -- : 01 - - - i 4 4 world-famou- g r---------- 1 China has a head cold which you will catch immediately In the larger e't les medical staffs tend to be by Wostern standards hut in the country sanitation in hospitals and the quality of treatment IN pretty poor In China you must altvavs follow basic travel hygiene techniques Never drink tap water anywhere Re suspicious of the water left in your hotel room decanters eten in five star hotels Never ose ice Take your own chopsticks In 'natty smaller cities and restaurants the chopsticks supplied are wood which are almost impossible to sanitize Even the plastic ones are suspicious Do not eat peeled and sliced fruit or uncooked vegetables Even following these precautions thIngs are risky Also if you're smart you'll avoid packaged meals on boats planes or tour buses —Summer Palace The palaee area about 10 miles from the Forbidden City has been the summer residence of etnperors since it was built in the 12th century Palaces in the area have been burned and looted twice by Western armies once in 1860 and once during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 The current palace area is mostly the work of the Dowager Empress who embezzled money designated for the Chinese navy to restore and improve the grounds Among the things she did was commission a huge boat that you can see on Kunming Lake next to the palace grounds The other notable work she was responsible for was restoration of the Long Corridor a wooden walkway about 730 yards long elaborately painted with scenes from all over China A tour of the palace area usually includes a boat ride on the lake —Ming Tombs The best part of the Ming Tombs is above ground The Manchu emperors who overthrew the Ming Dynasty were not about to show dishonor to buried emperors so they lined the walkway to the tombs with some truly great creatures real and mythical a grouping now called the Avenue of the Animals Only two of the tombs which contain 13 of the 16 Ming emperors have been excavated: the Ding Ling and Chang Ling tombs The furnishings have been removed and what you have is a long boring walk through big vaults in the ground with about 6000 of your closest — and I mean closest — friends Ifs not worth the walk Above the Chang Ling tomb is the Hall of Eminent Favors said to be the largest wooden building in Chi- 3rr 377 rArriers stve ip ii |
