China
China is a female realm that has no appetite for war, traveling and discovering; it is more comfortable at its cozy sweet home. China lives by its own rules; it does not look back at someone else’s order and does not try to follow someone else’s wealth pattern. China does not reckon with the haste of the rest of the world, it only takes account of its own traditions. China has its own way and it is positioned to immortality and invulnerability.
This process of reaching immortality and invulnerability has already had a very long history. It has begun at the times when along with Egypt, India and Mesopotamia, first Chinese tribes have announced themselves. Each of the Chinese history periods is characterized with the certain dynasty to reign, first of which was Xia in the 21st-16th century BC and the last one was Qing in the 17th-18th century. In between these two names, seventeen more ages with thirty-two of the other dynasties appeared. During the times of war, struggle and dynasty competition the art of Eastern philosophy that easily balances one of the European civilization, has bloomed. Its brightest representative definitely is Confucius, founder of Confucianism, one of the largest religious movements of China. Two other vast religions here – Buddhism and Daoism - are equally and peacefully living along with it. Many different rulers enthroned and dethroned until Mao came to power in 1949 and this is when the completely new era has begun. Copying political system of the USSR, Mao started to build communism in the new People’s Republic of China. Even until now, it is a socialistic republic and, keeping its favorable economical positions based on its geography and demography, China becomes the new kid on the block among most powerful countries of the world.
The name of the country „China” (Xina) came with the Portuguese from India where in its turn it came from Indochina. Another version, Kitay (Hotay) is based on the name of “kidanyi”, a nation ruling Northern China these days. It was brought by the famous Venetian Asia traveler and researcher Marco Polo.
Chinese cuisine must be the largest since the Chinese eat everything from cabbage to bamboo; from rice to noodles; from pork to fowl; from snakes to bugs, avoiding salt and sugar though which usually can be easily replaced by huge amount of spices, especially soy. Chinese menu is dairy-free though. This feature comes from historical gap with the neighboring Mongol nomads who, on contrary, mostly use dairy products. Mongols are even mostly responsible for the 6, 350 long Chinese Great Wall. It was built in 3rd century BC in order to protect Northern provinces of China from contacts and intermarriage with wild vagabonds. Chinese have never believed in peripatetic lifestyle; they prefer to stay in their place themselves. However, many of them recently are moving, too. These are most young Chinese though who barely have any say in their own country since the man is considered mature around the age of sixty; most statesmen have got into power even after seventy. As Chinese are certain of, one only learns to respect the traditions of the elder with the age, which is also proved by their political development. Average life expectancy in China is 73 years.
On the way to Beijing, the capital of China, probably rough weather is expected. Irrespective of being located on the latitudes of Turkey, continental climate and proximity of Mongol steppes are responsible for severe colds in winter, warm winds and sandstorms in spring and sweltering heat in summer. By the way, local sandstorms are typical example of natural mismanagement. In 1956, Mao Zedong has decreed to hunt down and kill all the sparrows in China to prevent them from destroying crops. In result, insects, free from their natural enemy, destroyed it. Next best decision to improve the situation was to get rid of the grass which is home to insects. Unstopped by grass fields, now the sand attacked the country.
The road of our expedition follows through several of the biggest cities of China, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Xi’an, Chongqing and Kunming. Beijing means “Northern Capital” and, being the capital of China, hence, is considered the centre of the world by Chinese. Another name of it, known in the world is Pekin, which came in Russian from “Pecheing”, a mispronounced Beijing. The Olympics are expected to take place here in 2008 and due to this, the city is getting improved, roads and railways updated and underground built. The huge clock in the shape of the athlete at the Tiananmen Square counts the days remaining to the Olympics.
Our travelers are moving further South, through the province of Hebei located around Beijing to the province of Shanxi, a true monument of Chinese architecture; to the province of Shaanxi with its famous terracotta army in the city of Xi’an, where the Great Silk Road began in 1st century; then Sichuan province, home of panda bears, is coming; and at last, through the mountainous Guizhou and woody Yunnan down to the Indochinese peninsula.
Elizabete Neimiseva for enduroadventure.lv
Photos from www.dbooth.net