George Hogg/Rewi Alley trip 25.7.17

It was back to Zhangye and a visit to the Big Buddha. Once again this was something I had seen recently and in any event it was miserable and raining and I felt terrible, having caught a nasty cold. Accordingly I stayed on the bus and by the time it was lunchtime I could not countenance eating and also remained on the bus trying to get forty winks – unsuccessfully.

Another lengthy train trip to Lanzhou, at which point I parted company with the group. I had been given the opportunity to stay in an hotel but decided to go home instead and launder my clothes preparatory to leaving for Beijing. The group visited Peili and the main campuses the following day. At the main campus we had a talk by Tim Zachernuk, an executive member of the Gung Ho group and someone who not only resembled Donald Sutherland but if you closed your eyes, WAS Donald Sutherland. He has been in China for 30 years now and resides in Xining. I have mentally pigeon-holed a trip there to meet up in future and eat at the curry restaurant with him and his Chinese wife.

We were treated to an excellent lunch, this time with wine provided and various gifts were exchanged. I received a lovely university badge and USB stick plus a ceramic mug I have yet to look at and which was made by students at the university specialising in ceramics. With time to kill before our train, there was much singing after the eating was done!

I have to say I had never looked forward to the train journey from Lanzhou to Beijing and how right I was! Nearly 21 hours in hard sleepers. Online photos show neat compartments with an electric socket in each one. They are also described as having lockable doors with clean shared toilets between two compartments. The reality is vastly different. For starters everyone had been booked a middle bunk by a third party agent (must have been on special offer!) and my immediate reaction was basically “not on your Nelly!”. Our guide very kindly persuaded a young lad to forego his bottom bunk so that I could at least get some sleep later.

As for sleeping, I didn't get much. In the small hours I had the fright of my life to be awoken with a dark shape close by, said shape was extremely lucky not to have been immediately set about. Roused from REM, my immediate thought was that it was a thief. It wasn't, it was the young boy in one of the top bunks (there are three tiers in hard sleeper class) who by all accounts kept coming down all night.

I got another couple of hours before I was again rudely awoken by a vibrating phone close to my head. This was at 0500. So much for using the train to catch up on sleep. Kate (I think) had forgotten to cancel her alarm for 0900 Kiwi time (0500 this morning our time) and couldn't hear it. In fact only I could. It never stopped for half an hour and by then I gave up, got some hot water and made a brew. As I have said before, it really will be good to get back to work for a rest!

The compartments never had doors, leave alone lockable ones, the toilets were execrable and the socket was in the corridor. I had my laptop connected and was systematically charging mobile phones until the jobsworth attendant decided I wasn't permitted to run a cable into our room. If ever I still harboured any small thought of taking a sleeper train in future, that guy banished it forever. Never, ever again!

On arrival in Beijing we were transported to the Beijing Bailie university campus, a junior cousin to our university and another one which owes its existence to Alley. It is a private uni and in size is similar to “my” little campus. One of their main buildings is named Alley Building.

Off then for dinner. After a tortuous drive in Beijing traffic we arrived at the restaurant where, after 61 years I can finally lay claim to having eaten Peking Duck in Peking!

Tonight's hotel is comfortable although it has taken hours to solve problems with double-booked rooms. It has newly opened and it seems somewhat chaotic. Just before we arrived I was asked to give a speech in the morning. We are visiting the Chinese International Friendship Organisation and there will be executives as well as Chinese government officials there. The spokestudents for the Chinese and New Zealand delegates will make a speech and as the sole representative of the UK it is incumbent upon me to fly the Union Flag. At least this time I was warned beforehand – in Lanzhou I was given five minutes notice!

I gather later we will visit Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. Unless they have installed a lift, any pictures I take will be from the foot of it rather than atop!!