Antonio C. Abaya - Letter from Beijing

I am actually writing this in Xi'an airport where we are socked in by a heavy snowfall and zero visibility as we try to fly from Xi'an to Shanghai. The wonders of computer technology enable one to use a few hours in an airport coffee shop to collect one's thoughts which in pre-digital times would have meant scribbling random thoughts on the backs of envelopes and whatever paper bags or napkins one can find in a coffee shop.

This is the first time I have ever been in the People's Republic of China, believe it or not. This sacred land which my confreres in Joma Sison's Kabataang Makabayan in the 1960s worshipped with the fervor of religious zealots somehow failed to make it into my travel plans as I subsequently ventured out to North America, Europe, Australia, Japan and even into the fraternal land of Vietnam (in 2006) and the recently dead cadaver of the late, unlamented Soviet Union (in 1995).

So, finally, in the autumn of my years I am to step into the Holy of Holies of the Philippine Revolutionary Left, except that now, of course, that Holy of Holies has been corrupted by the smell of money and has turned itself into a "stinking capitalist country", in the bitter unrequited-love lament of the New People's Army, as their cadres in Negros Island torched road building equipment of a Chinese construction company about three years ago.(See my article of January 01, 2006 titled "Stinking Capitalist")

Holders of Philippine passports who are applying for a visa to the People's Republic may be surprised to know that they are now required to present an NBI clearance with their application. I know I was. In my three score years as a traveler, this was the first time I was ever asked by any embassy to present an NBI clearance.

This was a new requirement, said my travel agent, effective only recently, Sept. 14 to be exact. And it seems to suggest that either some Filipinos are turning TNT (tago-ng-tago) even in the People's Republic, or some Filipinos now see the PRC as a Land of Promise for the practice of their darker trades and expertise.

So I went off to the NBI headquarters on Taft Avenue for the required document, only to be told that, while their new quarters are under construction, NBI clearances are being processed and issued in an office in Carriedo Street in Quiapo. Carriedo, the armpit of Metro Manila? Yes, the one and only.

I realize the NBI must be hamstrung by lack of funds, but could they not have found a more presentable building to house such a facility frequented by hundreds of people everyday seeking a document required by local and foreign employers â€“ be they domestic helpers, taxi and bus drivers, office employees, factory hands, construction crews, seamen, and now would-be visitors to the People's Republic?

The NBI offices, housed in a dilapidated building, are immersed in a sea of cheapie-cheapie stalls selling everything under the sun, be they at street level or in the building itself. The escalator was not working, and the clunky elevator threatened to unravel in mid-flight.

On the plus side, the staff was helpful and courteous, there was actually a fast lane for seniors, and the whole process took only 45 minutes. The "quality control officer" who gave a final interview told me there was another Antonio Abaya in their files who had a pending or recently concluded case for estafa, but he recognized me from television and gave his OK to my application.

November is not the best time to visit China. Beijing was freezing cold, and so was Xi'an. Both were so heavily polluted with smog, visibility was down to 50 to 100 meters. On our last day in Beijing, it started to snow. On our last day in Xi'an, it snowed so heavily on our way to the airport that we were socked in for the next 30 hours. No aircraft could land or take off, delaying our flight to Shanghai by more than a day, although we had all checked in and boarded the plane.

Because no airport or airline authority could tell when flights would be resumed, a group of about 30 Europeans elected to check out of the flight and check in into an airport hotel. Naturally, all luggage were unloaded from the plane for the Europeans to get theirs.

And here Murphy's Law took over. After the Europeans had hand-picked their luggage, no one apparently thought of re-loading the rest of the luggage back into the plane. So when we finally took off for Shanghai the next day, the luggage of about 130 passengers, including the two of us, were left behind in Xi'an airport.

Shanghai does not have the historical monuments and artifacts of Beijing and Xi'an, but it does not have their smog either. It is a commercial and cosmopolitan hub that shows off its gleaming architectural landmarks in plain sight, without the intervening pallor of smog and dust that seems to blur and cover everything in Beijing and Xi'an.

Actually our main purpose in visiting Shanghai was to satisfy this railway buff's desire to ride the MagLev (magnetic levitation) train from downtown Pudong to the International Airport, a distance of 30 kms that MagLev negotiates in seven minutes and 20 seconds. Its top speed clocked at 431 kph, faster than Japan's Shinkansen or Bullet Train, or France's TGV or Train de Grande Vitesse.

MagLev Shanghai, built with German (Siemens) technology in 2001-2004, is the future of train travel, in much the same way that hydrogen fuel cells are the future of power generation MagLev trains float above the rails using the forces of magnetic repulsion, thus eliminating drag from friction. But, like hydrogen fuel cells, it is still too expensive to be the dominant mode of propulsion.

There is no space here to describe in detail the historical monuments that we enjoyed in Beijing and Xi'an. Foremost among these were the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square, and the Temple of Heavenly Peace, and the Olympic sites in Beijing, the Great Wall in Badaling, and the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an.

Because of the distances involved in Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City, we had to hire a wheelchair with pusher, as I have been suffering from a pinched sciatic nerve since early August and cannot walk long distances without discomfort.

There is obviously the danger of information overload that one experiences as the tour guide rattles off the details of his/her presentation. Thank heavens for the DVD. We made it a point to purchase DVDs at each historical monument so that we could relive the moment in the comfort of our living rooms, with professionally produced videos (minus the smog, presumably), and relevant historical data inserted at the right moments.

We were lucky in our choice of travel package. For $1,680 per person, we had international and domestic airfare, plus first class accommodations (the Marco Polo Parkside in Beijing, the Mercure in Xi'an, and the Majesty Plaza in Shanghai), plus ALL meals, plus tickets to ALL historical monuments and sites, plus tickets to all shows (Kung Fu in Beijing, Tang Dynasty Cultural show in Xi'an, Chinese Acrobatic show in Shanghai), plus all transfers, plus a driver, a tour guide and a van, all for the two of us, in each city. (Email of the tour packager available on request.)

We skipped most of the shopping stops. Despite the 30-hour sock-in in Xi'an airport and the consequent baggage snafu (resolved in 24 hours), it was value for money.

Chinese art, Chinese culture, Chinese aesthetics and Chinese civilization overwhelm with their depth and breadth, their long, uninterrupted development and their pervasive presence in all aspects of daily life. It is not possible to absorb it all in eight days.

But it could be the start of a love affair with China, a China that now bestrides the world like a Colossus, hopefully a benign Colossus that inspires, rather intimidates, unlike the belligerent China that Joma and his Communists worshipped in the 1960s as a role model for transforming a feudal Philippines.

TONY ABAYA on YouTube

11 The Yellow Magic Fever, with former Senate President Franklin Drilon and Harry Tambuatco, Sept. 23, 2009. Checks and balance under the presidential system â€“ shift to parliamentary via a constitutional convention â€“ why no action against political dynasties â€“ high costs of running for office â€“ use TV Ch 4, 9 and 13 to give equal airtime to all candidates and parties FOR FREE â€“ Noynoy Aquino as presidential candidate â€“ agrarian reform and CARL/CARP.

part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNgHpCahIKo
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTOqsXjPsy8
part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt2cE94aEQ8
part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyrNNEGoiN8

For earlier episodes (nos. 1 to 10), please go to www.tapatt.net, then scroll down.

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