Experiencing China again for the first time
By Willis P. Whichard Special to the Smoky Mountain Sentinel

Editor's note--Willis (Bill) Whichard is a former member of the North Carolina State Senate; a former Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and has recently retired as Dean of the Law School at Campbell University. He and his wife, Leona, are part-time residents of Clay County. A report of his trip to China is being published as a 12-part series in the Sentinel.

Part VII --China-tourist sites

On Friday, October 13, we had a "Cultural Day." This meant, essentially, that we were tourists. In the morning we spent some time walking around tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing. this is where, in 1949, Mao stood at the top of the gate and proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China. Today his mausoleum stands here, with his body in a crystal coffin. When I was here in 1977, my Southern Legislative Conference delegation stood in line for two hours to pass by the crypt. Now, by contrast, the Chinese do not take foreign visitors through. they say that the queue is too long. The chinese, however, despite the downsides of the Cultural Revolution, still respect Mao and wish to pay their respects. They compare him to the emperors and consider him good by comparison. The official line is that he saved China,and he was 70% good and 30% bad" That is quite in contrast in 1977, when he was, in effect, their Jesus, who could do no wrong. The scene on the Square, likewise, was quite different from that in 1977. In 1977 the mem- bers of my group were the only foreigners there or at least almost so. In 2006, the place was overrun with tourists from all over the world. In imperial China the Square functioned as a courtyard for the emperor. At some point the emperors opened it to the people.We were told that 1,000,000 people can stand in it at the same time.

In 2008 China will host the Olympic Games. In front of the National Museum, which faces the Square, there is a device counting down to the commencement of the Olympics.

From Tiananmen square we crossed the street to the Forbidden C ity, which housed the emperors in the Ming (1368-1644) and Ching (1644-1911) dynasties. In the dynastic period this area was heavily guarded by a surrounding moat. The emperors still did not feel safe, however so fifteen layers of stone were placed under the area to prevent anyone from tunneling in. When I was here in 1977 we were told that most of the treasures from the forbidden City had been taken to Taiwan when chaing Kai Chek fled the mainland in 1949. I was skeptical about that at the tim, but when I went to Taiwan the next year and saw the National Museum, I became a believer.

Following lunch at the Dayi Restaurant upstairs from the Friendship Store, we went to the Great Wall. Again, the scene was very different from that which I experienced therein 1977. there was noting else there then, and there were few other visitors. Now there is a commercial district all around the entrance to the wall. Visitors are plentiful, and one cannot traverse more than a few feet without being accosted by aggressive sales persons hawking their wares.

W e walked the same section of the wall as P r e s i d e n t Nixon did on his visit in 1972.I went as far as tourists were allowed to go. The wall is undergoing repairs and renovations, and a point comes at which the construction precludes further traversing.

Saturday, October 14, was a travel day. We flew from Beijing to Guilin.There were no organized activities. We arrived at our Sheraton Hotel in the late afternoon. We were on our own for dinner, and there was time to do a bit of strolling about the town.

On Sunday, October 15, we took a boat cruise on the Li River. I had taken the same trip in 1977, but again, this one was very different. In 1977 ours was the only cruise vessel on the river. this time, by contrast, there were boats as far as the eye could see in either direction. On both occasions I got a glimpse of rural life in China. But whereas in 1977 any small boat we saw contained fishermen, in 2006 there was a constant array of small boats puling up beside ours with small merchants hawking their wares. Hypercapitalism is the vogue in modern China.

We observed small farms, children at play, water buffalo and an occasional dog. The scenery was quite nice, dominated by oddshaped mountains, not at all like ours. After an intense week in Beijing, it was a pleasant, leisurely way to spend a large portion of a Sunday.

The return trip to Guilin was by coach. Upon our return we visited the Guilin Art Gallery with its landscapes,portraits and bird/flower drawings. Some members of our delegation purchased art work; that, of course, was apart of our hosts' purpose in taking us there.

We were on our own for dinner. Leona and I found it very pleasant to avoid hassle by simply dining at our hotel. We then witnessed the amazing waterfall at a nearby hotel. This is impossible to describe adequately with mere words.At an appointed hour every evening a huge mass of waterfalls across the entire front of the hotel building for a number of minutes,

Our day ended with a Chinese foot massage at our hotel. It would be nice to introduce this tradition in the U.S.

Next week: Part VIII- China--explaining our legal system

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