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Arrival: Beijing

by Bernard H. Wood on May 17, 2013

Trips and Tales: Part 112

I was going to use Beijing Rendezvous, but that’s the name of a local Chinese restaurant – and, frankly, the closest I’ll get to China itself in the immediate future. But here’s the beginning of the end, of Trips and Tales. That was the remit, the mainline Moscow to Beijing route. So heading out of the Trans-Mongolian section of the route, here we are, heading to some kind of conclusion – on the page at least.

OK, almost. There is a renowned and infamous ritual to go through: the changing of the bogies, before much Chinese territory is covered. It’s all down to the wider Russian/Mongolian train guage, that comes to an abrupt end just inside Chinese territory at the Gobi desert town of Erlian.

A view of the Beijing TV tower

The solution to this potential derailment is to literally remove the passenger carriages and place them each onto a new set of wheels. The process takes roughly 90 minutes – although a traveller I spoke to stated two hours. Maybe that was on a go-slow, or perhaps it seemed like two hours: stuck inside the carriage and suspended mid-air.

Yes, you can elect to stay inside the carriage if you so desire, or wait off-train whilst the process is carried out in special sheds away from the main station area. In either case your movements will be limited (in more sense than one: the toilets are locked down too) from arrival until customs-clearing is complete. Carriages are decoupled from each other, and from their parent bogies (wheel assemblies). Each carriage is then raised on four massive “corner” jacks, the old wheels rolled out en masse and the new ones rolled in. The couplings are aligned and the carriages lowered and secured. It’s roughly the same principle as changing a wheel but on a huge scale.

Expect the reverberation of loud clankings, the crashing of bogies and the sudden, unnerving rocking of your person if you choose to remain on board throughout. For most of us it’ll be a relatively rare experience whether watching it or being part of it; with only 30 or so track-breaks requiring a bogie-change in existence globally.

And then you are off. Edging out of the last remnants of the Gobi and into territory north of Beijing, expect the scenery to be varied, with distant mountains, lush valleys, ugly industry and modern urbanisation.

Beijing itself is the capital of The People’s Republic of China, with a population breaking the 20,000,000 mark and comprising of either native city dwellers or migrants that come and go over a period of months. Some figures even push 22,000,000. It depends on who you ask and by what criteria they judge.

An equally astounding number is the 3000 years that Beijing has existed for in one form or other as one of the great ancient capitals of China. There are currently either four or seven – again, depending upon who you ask.. Whatever the number, Bejing’s place ranks it amongst one the most important cultural, artistic, historical and financial centres within the country.

At first glance there does seem to be a mercurial element present within the nature of the city. It is represented by the shifting population figures, the blending of ancient and modern, and even in a history of 20 or so names changed over time. These were drawn from the shifting territories, administrations or conventions over which it presided and of which “Beijing” is only the most recent.

More next time.


[Photo by Grey World]

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Trips and Tales: Part 111

It’s about time to end this virtual meandering around Mongolia. Well, for the moment at least. I’ve got ideas for a few more “specials” if I can somehow arrange them. They can’t be any harder than getting to talk with a Buryat shaman, can they?

Anyway for now I’d like to finish scattering some gems from my conversation with Mr N, by summing up some of the entertainment/diversions available for those passing by Ulaanbaatar.

One of the most interesting pursuits – and very Mongolian – is Naadam: the “games” that are held in Ulaanbaatar on a large scale during early-mid July, with smaller versions potentially anywhere and at any time (though probably not during winter!) The three principle sides to Naadam are wrestling, horse riding and archery. Wrestling is for men only but the others feature both genders, so I am informed. There are also a mix of ages in attendance. It’s a big deal.

Mongolian wrestling - wanna have a go?

The fourth element -that seemingly makes it’s presence felt whenever Mongolians have a good time is Shagai or “Ankle Bones”. We’ve touched on this before, suffice to say: it’s all about the casting of sheep/goat ankle bones and how they land in various configurations and orientations. Tournaments may be held in larger Naadams but given half a chance, it seems to turn up anyway, anywhere!

There are variations according to age and gender in the tournaments, with 20km, 35km and 40km horse races for steeds of various ages, a ten metre reduction in target range for female archers (from 75 to 65 metres), etc. Children in their primary years compete – the horse racing is notably a child event, without being child’s play. Six years of age is not uncommon. Incredible.

Like all the proverbial roads leading to Rome, a great chunk that is core to Mongolian culture seems to link in some way to Ghengis Khan. Mr N tells me about the origins of Naadam: that these games were 13th Century warrior training for the mighty Khan, with the winners being selected for his fearsome army. The true origins lie back even further as festivities deeply wedded to the culture. Mongolians and games seem inextricably linked throughout history.

Talking of entertainment: Mr N enthusiastically describes the mini Naadams – well, wrestling actually that he lays on for the tourists. The bouts are free-form and feature the tourists themselves, an interesting twist, primed on Mongolian vodka to get them in the mood. So let’s get this straight Mr N: you get the tourists semi-drunk and set them upon each other? Well, I think that this is for your entertainment! Sure enough, with a hearty “Yes!” he gleefully admits the truth, and I can almost see the grin bursting out of my computer. Whilst the national stars of the Nadaam step out of the games into fame and up to 10,000 GBP worth of fortune, the tourists probably wake up with bruises, a headache and a few souvenirs for their troubles. Well, at least Mr N and his staff had a blast!

So what else to do? The Gurvan Saikhan National Park is within spitting distance of UlaanBaatar, featuring more life than its Gobi Desert location may suggest. Yes, as I have previously mentioned: the Gobi isn’t as uniformly dead as our supposition about a desert may lead us to believe. Indeed, there are five eco-regions comprising the Gobi whole, each with their particular environmental signature. The rough dimensions of the desert area are 1600 km by 800 km. Enough room for several varieties of terrain. So expect to find forest, grasses, canyons, other plant-life, water, animals, rocks, flash-floods, mountains and of course: lots of sand, depending upon where you may wander (preferably with a decent guide).

Mr N also mentions the option of spending a night in the haunting ruins of Ongi Monastery, featuring ruined structures on opposing sides of the Ongi river. Its lifespan ran from 1660 until 1939 when it was destroyed (no understatement) by the Communist regime. Thanks to M and Mr N.

OK, well it’s about time I found someone to chat with in China.


[Photo by A. Omer Karamollaoglu]

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