China: Crouching Marvels, Hidden Treasures

By Lark Ellen Gould

Excerpt from original article

Once upon a time in China, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 B.C.E.), a famous painter named Zhang Seng-Zuong painted the finishing touches on the wall of the temple of Andong. It was a riveting portrait of four dragons nearly breaking into a gallop beneath a layer of clouds. However, in its vivid expression it lacked one thing. "Why didn't you put pupils in their eyes?" asked one bystander.

"If the pupils are put in," answered Zhang Seng-Zuong, “they will surely fly away forever.” Nobody believed the artist. Instead, they laughed and continued pleading for him to paint the pupils in the blind dragons’ eyes.

At their request, Zhang Seng-Zuong picked up his brush and began to work. He hesitated at first and then resolutely dotted the eyes of two dragons with the key specs that would bring them their sight. Before he could put down his paintbrush, a great thunder and roar rumbled from the wall as half of it crashed and fell. The two dragons with the pupils took off for the heavens. The crowd dispersed in an explosion of chaos, hiding behind pillars, and ducking under rocks. When the dust settled, only two of the four dragons remained. They stood emblazoned peacefully, happily, and purposefully upon the temple wall.

China today is similar to that temple wall. The call to modernize in the past ten years has been like putting pupils in the eyes of sleeping dragons. The country of nearly 10 billion people has awakened to take a steroid-laced leap into the global economy, en route to becoming the world’s wealthiest with double digit growth and single manufacturing contracts that out-pace the economies of other countries. Shanghai is awash in cranes and concrete while Beijing is building cities within cities in the race to show off its colors in time for the 2008 Olympics.

Yet something of China’s greatness has not been so quick to meet the demands of the new millennium. In this mass that comprises the world’s fourth largest country something of its 5,000-year-old history remains. There is a China where sleeping dragons lie: in ancient monuments, medieval neighborhoods, Taoist fishing villages, precious temples and colorful traditions. These make China a conundrum of time and transcendence – the sleeping dragon aimed at the sky.

Travel to China is an involved, but rewarding enterprise. Flight times from the US West Coast average 14.5 hours, non-stop. Hotels in Beijing and Shanghai are as fine and well-serviced as those in the U.S.  English is spoken by hospitality staff, and many are trained by American hotel chains. Tour operators, such as Ritz Tours, General Tours and Pacific Delight offer an array of packaged trips that keep costs trimmed while ensuring a comprehensive and enlightening experience. Travel agents who specialize in China can prepare an itinerary that combines exotic museums, spas, unusual dining venues, opera, shopping, and city tours with experienced guides possessing a strong command of English.

In fact, in its fast-forward momentum, China has more English speakers than America has people. Cell phone service is available even in the remote countryside. Quick, clean and efficient rail service works to move a nation on the go through crowded cities. Whatever you want – from the latest electronics to the latest fashions of  Fifth Avenue, you will find them in China and at affordable prices.

Beijing is at the heart of the People’s Republic of China with a history that dates back more than 3,000 years (500,000 years if you count Peking Man). It has four seasons, somewhat similar to the climate in Boston. There is a distinctive culinary tradition that brings together China’s four styles of cuisine: Cantonese, Shandong, Sichuan and Huaiyang. Beijing Roast Duck is perhaps the most popular menu item and best enjoyed at the 130-year-old Quanjude Restaurant. The Fangshan Restaurant (in the Summer Palace), the Tingliguan Restaurant (in the Summer Palace) or the Dasanyuan Restaurant are places where the imperial court dishes of China’s Manchu and Han Dynasties are served in consummate style and visitors can dine like emperors.