My short stay in Beijing may only have been a few days but I left with a lifetime of wonderful memories. It is truly one of the marvel cities of the world – a constant battle is waged daily between the ancient and modern part of the metropolitan for the right to exist. Another major significance surrounds my first trip back to the “Motherland”, though it might be cliché but it is certain not without a sense of one being truly home. After reading much about the rich history, wide selection of fine cuisine, arts & crafts, ancient customs and superstition that is China – it was another experience to be physically there. It didn’t seem that long ago that my grandparents had only embarked on the dangerous and treacherous journey to the dense jungles of Malaysia to escape the brutal Japanese invasion and eventual occupation during the events in World War II. As a second-generation Chinese born outside the country, the first footstep does seem daunting. To think you have lived all these years being raised and recognized as a Chinese but you have never set foot on the mainland or know what is to live day-to-day as one of its national citizen. It didn’t take long from moments of the touchdown at the Beijing International Airport to put you into the retrospective that you might look every bit a Chinese but you are still very much a foreigner to these lands like the many thousands that arrived for a glimpse of the next host for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The early days of July brought about the on set of summer in the city. The heat was as much a physical presence as the grass and trees. The humidity packaged with the city smog was overwhelming, sweat pores began to pour just a few minutes outside. The smog itself was as dense as natural fog with the capacity to blur or totally block out views of skyscraper and even the horizon. It was virtually impossible to catch a rare glimpse of the sky or the sun. I was told that a good day was when it rain since this gave you a momentarily view of the sky. This was hard to contemplate since we enjoy countless beautiful and perfect blue sky days in Perth; we would be a bit ignorant of it until it is truly missed. The blistering hot weather in the higher 30 degrees during the day was followed by stormy and wet evenings.

Despite the government’s drastic attempt to reduce pollution in the city by relocating all industrial activities away from heart of the city, the bustling motor transportation and the quest for status symbol for Beijing locals have drove them to owning luxury cars. Never have I witnessed so many Audi A6s on the road all black of course; I guess they took upon Henry Ford’s motto: “you can have it in any colour as long it is black”. The trip from the airport to the residence was really an eye opener. Tall thin straightly lined trees stood on both sides of the motorway like ever vigilant guards. I was told they are the first line of defense against the sandstorms that comes to visit from the Gobi Dessert every spring. It is said that the frontlines of the world-renown ocean of sand is ever creeping closer to the city.

You will be greeted with marvelous structures of fine architecture and engineering once you have set foot in the metropolis. Buildings that captured one’s imagination were dotted across the landscape; in between you could see what remains of the past. Beautiful lodgings and villas that have stood the test of time for more than 200-300 years, some even longer. The presence of the huge skyscrapers and invasive billboards are a sharp contrast to the ancient practice of never building any structure higher than the throne chair for the Emperor inside the Forbidden City. The race to modernized ahead of the deadline for the Olympics have raised many magnificent structures of great engineering feat literally raised from the grounds, some locals even joked that you awake to see a new building in your neighbour – a page taken from Jack and Bean stalk maybe. The way that the city has been layout is something also very profound as square rings perfectly circled each other origin from the Forbidden City hence all the streets and roads are all in straight lines – a design that would even impressed the Ancient Romans.

The people themselves are all together another marvel. Beijing has the same population as that of Australia. You could drive to the outskirt of the city and they will still be people everywhere whether it is day or night. They were truly the bloodline that feed the vessels of this living being that is Beijing; making their way to through the hive like buzzing bees in all modes of transport that include cars, bikes, scooters, motor bike and buses. Traffic laws seen not existence as vehicles of all shape and sizes negotiated the streets nor did I see any courtesy exchange between the drivers. If I once thought Malaysian driving was chaotic, it is nothing compared to Beijing. It is simply puzzling how one gets from A to B without incurring an accident.

(There is more to come in the next installment on cuisine, history and the woman! – stay tune).