Beijing

We’ve arrived at another luxurious and comfortable hotel via a very fast (300kmph) bullet train. We can’t help but be impressed by modern China. Our new guide is very respectful and grateful to the government for pulling 600 million people out of poverty in the great urbanization of China. As we whizz ( literally) past abandoned villages and see endless sky scraping appartments being built we can see what he is talking about. The millions of pushbiles we saw on the roads 4 years ago are gone. Our guide explains they have been replaced by ebikes paid for with smartphone apps in fact everything seems to paid for via smartphone and barcode scanning. Streets are super clean, shops are modern and everyone seems to be working, I’m not sure who is buying all these amazing goods. However there is certainly a veneer of affluence and modernity that was not evident last visit.
The trip is comfortable and we get to know more of our group. Our new hotel overcooks the birdsnest ( Olympic stadium) and we enjoy a light show drinking Chilean wine eating Chinese delicacies in our room watching fantastic beasts after a spectacular dinner of another hot potty thing with lots of veggies and a bit of fish. A big day traveling - it’s freezing! Great Wall tomorrow!!!Okumaya devam et