The Chinese Connection

In search of ancient history and culture, Anjusri Chandra visited China. This is her travel account of what she saw in Beijing

- Anjusri Chandra

In my childhood I had heard about the ancient history of China and the favourable impressions then created remained with me over the years. China is famous for its old civilisation just like India . And therefore I was very much eager to visit the land with its unique cultural heritage. However, not many people seemed to be interested in visiting China and so it took a little time to arrange a tour. But at last I was on my way. We set off on May 28 this year for a 10-day visit that included four destinations, Beijing, Xian, Zhangjiajie and Shanghai. Here I will describe my experiences about Beijing, the country’s vibrant and bustling capital city.

The first thing you notice about the Chinese is that they all have smiling faces and are pretty joyful. They talk in loud tones and, to my surprise, smoke a lot. Expecting to find them wearing conventional Chinese clothes, I was quite taken aback to see that a majority now wear jeans and tees and tops. In fact, Chinese women are quite fashion-conscious and groom themselves well with stylish haircuts and so on. Another aspect is that almost everyone is non-vegetarian and so if you are a pure vegan, it might be tough to find your meals. April to September is the best time to visit China.