A very scenic Beijing

THE umbrellas were out in force again in Beijing yesterday, however, this time it was to offer shade from the blazing sun.

The rain on Thursday cleared the haze and brought beautiful blue skies over China’s capital city.


You could see for miles and for the first time since arriving here I was able to view the mountain ranges on the outskirts of Beijing that I had heard so much about.

The Bird’s Nest Stadium also looked like the image that is on so many postcards over here – with blue as the backdrop rather than grey.

I had the chance to visit the main stadium last night to watch the athletics.

I got there early so I could walk around the outside of the stadium and take in the sights. I had been in Beijing for nine days but hadn’t had a chance to walk around the Olympic Green.

It is very impressive, especially on a day like yesterday with the glorious sun shining off the canal that runs around the park. I actually saw a large turtle in the water.


As I walked around I was once again stopped by a Chinese family to ask if I would have my picture taken with them.

I had previously had a similar experience in Tian’aman Square and the Patten family had about 100 people wanting to be pictured with them yesterday.

I have come to the conclusion that some locals just want to be photographed with people from different countries, whether they are famous or not.

I did read in a tourist book that in some areas foreign travellers are still something of a sensation and so do become something of an attraction.

They are thousands of overseas visitors here, yet some Chinese still seem fascinated, in a nice way, with their guests. But, then, most of the visitors are also fascinated and taking pictures of the locals – so it is working both ways. The Olympics is certainly bringing difficult worlds and cultures together.

The main Olympic stadium is amazing. Yet I cannot, for the life of me, work out how they built the outside of it – the nest bit. It is certainly an impressive feat of engineering.

However, the inside is equally jaw-dropping.

I have been lucky enough to have visited three other Olympic Stadiums – Barcelona, Atlanta and Moscow – but I think this one tops the lot. London has got a lot to live up in 2012.

However, one problem Britain should not have is a lack of wind for the sailing, which has been a bit of an issue over here with a number of races delayed.

I think a few of the athletes last night would have liked a bit of a breeze in the stadium, especially for the women’s 10,000m, which was what I was particularly keen to see with Devon’s Jo Pavey competing.

However, despite the hot condition, nearly the entire field of 31 athletes ran either personal bests or season bests. The race was won by Ethiopian Dibaba, who smashed the Olympic record. Pavey eventually finished 12th and was lapped by the first two athletes, but she did set a new PB.

The Olympics are over a third of the way through already, which is hard to believe.

My time in China is certainly going quickly and other than Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City I have not had chance to visit any of the other main tourist areas.

Plymouth and Great Britain diving coach Andy Banks was telling me that all the divers had been to visit the Great Wall this week, and that is one of the things I want to do.

There is a free organised trip going for foreign journalists, but it is on the same day as Kelly College’s Flora Duffy competes in the Triathlon. There are private companies also offering tours but they are expensive.

However, I have been told the best way is not to pay over-the-odds for an organised trip and instead make my own way on public transport.

I am reliably informed you can get a normal bus from the centre of Beijing to one part of the wall which is not too far away, and for only a few Yuan.

So I think I might have a go at that – if I can find a spare day. It could be an interesting adventure.

If my diary pieces stop it means I’ve got lost somewhere in China!

Meanwhile, I have found out why taxis are so cheap here. It turns out there are an incredible 67,000 registered cabs on the roads of Beijing – that’s nearly the population of Exeter – and the standard fare is just 10 Yuan (about 75p) for the first 3km and 1 Yuan for every extra km.

However, another mystery I am yet to get to the bottom of is why you don’t see any new bikes on the streets here.

You see loads of new cars, but I have not seen a nice new mountain bike parked up anywhere.

All the bikes look as if they have been around for decades.

I will keep working on trying to solve that mystery. Mind you, if everyone did get new bikes the poor bloke who mends tyres and chains on the end of my street would be out of business.