Day 1(Still): "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

On the highway back to Beijing we passed what looked like a huge concrete bird’s nest. "That’s known locally as the huge concrete bird’s nest," explained Jenny. Beijing is beset with construction projects for the [1] 2008 Olympics, & the National Stadium is a truly magnificent structure.

We were due to leave the city early next morning; not enough time on this visit to take in the [2] Summer Palace or the [3] Forbidden City. We opted for [4] Tiananmen Square, at 440,000 square meters, the largest urban space in the world. Waving away swarms of rickshaws descending amongst the flagging tourists, we undertook the long march towards [5] Mao’s huge portrait.

At 6pm precisely, the Five Starred Red Flag was struck by an honour guard in front of the Tian’an Gate. Impressive, but power in China increasingly resides in the office blocks of the financial districts. As the sun retreated over the Gate of Heavenly Peace, and the Chairman’s countenance faded into dusk, my thoughts turned inevitably to dinner. Jenny’s thoughts turned inevitably to shopping.

We compromised with a visit to the [6] Oriental Plaza. Beneath gleaming frontages flaunting western brands, its vast subterranean food hall is a cornucopia of culinary traditions. Cities and provinces were represented, from Shanghai to Szechwan, as well as Japanese and Thai foods. Sushi, dumplings, seafood, noodles and curries all jostled for attention under the bright lights. The USA had colonised an ignored corner from where McDonalds and KFC glowered like Nixon. I had a Big Mac & fries. Not. Jenny wanted to take me to her favourite Szechwan restaurant, so we hopped on a bus.

At Jin Shan Cheng I enjoyed the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. The menu was extraordinary, featuring such items as boiled cow frog with chilli pepper; river turtle with Chinese prickly ash; braised fresh deer tendon; frozen fungus; crystal jelly fish; smoked rabbit tea flavour; crispy iced algae and braised sea cucumber. I’d been awake for 36 hours and it was all getting a little surreal. I gazed hollow-eyed at the swimming images.

"How about the frog?" enquired Jenny.
"Just get me chicken or lamb."
"It’s farmed frog, it’s nice."
"Chicken or Lamb. And a beer."

Crispy lamb shank, and chicken sautéed with red chilli & peppercorns arrived at the table with spinach & pine nuts, cold potato noodles, & boiled rice. The lamb was tender and fragrant, the volcanic chicken one of the best (& hottest) dishes I’ve ever eaten. For desert - white dark yin yang bean curd cakes, sweet rice congee, and turtle shell jelly. The jelly, a medicinal delicacy, tasted vile, it’s bitterness unassuaged by the tablespoon of honey I’d added to help it down. The entire meal cost less than the equivalent of twelve pounds.

A taxi to the hotel, a deep and dreamless sleep, and a morning trip to the airport. Destination Lanzhou, from where we take the Quingzang train over the mountains to Tibet, and the holy city of Lhasa…

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