Beijing's Best View

Beijing is a massive city. The scale of the metropolis can be experienced on the ground while stuck in traffic for miles on end or underneath via its lengthy subway system, but it is best appreciated from above. Both the Atmosphere bar in China World Trade Center and China Bar in Yintai Center provide solid rooftop views of the downtown core. Excluding mirrors and other reflective surfaces, Beijing's best view can be found in the west side of the city.

For a more detailed perspective of the urban sprawl, a journey up to the top of the CCTV Tower is needed on a blue sky day. Springing up beside the cherry blossoms in nearby Yuyuantan Park, the CCTV Tower rises to a height of 405 meters. Visitors can get a panoramic view of the city from its observation deck. Informative plaques provide hints to what famous sites are located in which direction.

CCTV is China's national broadcaster. Every Chinese New Year it hosts a ludicrously popular variety show that is watched by hundreds of millions of viewers. The whole family traditionally watches the show together. Singing, dancing, and stand up comedy performances usher in the new lunar year. The observatory has an exhibit on this annual gala, chronicling its progression through the years.

*****

"A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands." - William Lyon Phelps

Canal Towns: Qibao

I have a certain affinity for canal towns. The region around Shanghai is dotted with them, bringing me back time and again to enjoy the echoes of the past. The White washed buildings, narrow alleys, and soothing waterways of Qibao are just one example of these wonderful ancient villages. I dropped by for a visit while in town to see the Shanghai Formula One Grand Prix.

Within easy walking distance of a subway station, the township of Qibao falls within Shanghai's city limits. It is easy to get lost amidst the throngs of visitors milling about. Qibao means "Seven Treasures". Folk tales abound about these treasured items, but only the whereabouts of a bronze bell from the Ming era and some Buddhist scriptures are presently known.

*****

"Like water, we are truest to our nature in repose." - Cyril Connolly

Pet Conspiracy

With restrictions on the number of babies a family can pop out, people in China tend to pour their excess affection into pets once their child leaves home. Cats and dogs are pampered to no end. The love of the owner is directly proportional to their purchasing power. Showered with luxuries previously saved for heads of state, the pets are groomed at expensive parlours and clothed in the latest trends. The pet care industry is booming in China, as I found out one night after dinner.

As I exited from a restaurant located in the second floor of a high rise building, I heard the delightful squeals of Chinese girls nearby. Usually the generator of such sounds, I wanted to know what else could engender such excitement. I walked the halls until I echo-located a group of girls looking through a glass door. On the other side was a wonderland for cats. Over two dozen of the finest felines I had ever laid eyes on were lounging about a pussy paradise. Most were sitting on the floor, some were using the upholstered furniture available to them, and others had opted for private rooms. None could speak English.

While the day care center for cats was an eye opener, it was not the strangest site I witnessed. Even among pets, there is a hierarchy. In Shanghai, three dogs were pulling a miniature chariot down the street. A flag of the People's Republic of China was proudly flying from the chariot mast, while Shanghai Expo decals had been pasted on to the sides. The chariot seat was occupied by a cat.

*****

"Dogs have owners, cats have staff." ~ Anonymous

The World's Largest Shopping Mall

For much of my youth, the world's largest shopping center was West Edmonton Mall in Canada. At this juncture in history, China is so superlative that it can only outdo itself though. I visited what was once the world's largest shopping mall in Beijing. It has since conceded first place to the deserted South China Mall in Dongguan in 2005. Beijing's Golden Resources Shopping Mall held the title for approximately a year, as it opened in 2004.

With narrow corridors and over a thousand stores packed into it, the Great Mall of China does not have any cavernous spaces to invoke a feeling of awe at its size. The design is quite mundane. Six million square feet of gross leasable area are spread across several city blocks. Sky walks over the streets connect the different sections to keep the mall connected as technically one building.

*****

"We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls." - Bill Bryson

Prince Charming

Me: You like ugly guys?
Chinese girl: They don't have to be good looking, as long as they are charming.
Me: Ahh, so I am too handsome for you?
Chinese girl: No, you are ugly enough... (pause and smile) ...but not charming enough.

Songzhuang Artists Village

As the less glamourous counterpart to Beijing's 798 Art District, the artsy community of Songzhuang has a more intimate feel. The laid back artists work where they live, readily inviting in curious guests to peruse their works. Situated within the eastern suburb of Tongzhou, Songzhuang Artists Village is Beijing's largest such creative community. Around 2000 artists practice their craft here. An annual festival brings in the crowds from the city, but we were among a handful of visitors on the day of our visit.

The people here also have an affinity for pets, with many cats and dogs lazing about. One puppy became excited upon seeing us. It lay on its back and nonchalantly peed on one of my fellow travelers. The rest of the people, locals and visitors alike, chuckled with delight. A group of friends and I were then led from one floor to the next of an apartment building, each door opening to reveal an artist within. It turned out that the lady who gave the tour was both the landlord and the marketing department for her talented tenants.

Some artists worked in larger warehouse type workshops, their messy beds and small kitchens visible in the small rooms attached to the sides of their studio. One was painting and noticed us peeking through his ground floor window. He immediately invited us in. Another studio had a collection of portraits of a handsome young man baring an uncanny resemblance with myself, right down to the sexy beard and trendsetting dress sense. It was a work of art.

*****

“There is one thing one has to have: either a soul that is cheerful by nature, or a soul made cheerful by work, love, art, and knowledge.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Indiaman

When Chinese girls first meet me they are often curious about my origins.

Chinese girl: Where you from?
Me: Canada.

There are then three possible reactions to my mind boggling answer.

Chinese girl: Where you really from?
or
Chinese girl: You don't look Canada.
or
Chinese girl: Umm....

I must elaborate further as to not leave them utterly dazed and confused.

Me: My parents came from India.
Chinese girl: That make sense.

Journey to the Eastern Tombs

A group of friends and friends of friends assembled at the Sihui subway station in Beijing on a Sunday morning. They were eager to begin an arduous journey to the Eastern Qing Tombs. The final resting place of members of China's last imperial dynasty was located near the town of Zunhua. The bus heading there was supposed to leave from a depot across the street from the Sihui station. As is often the case in fast growing China, the bus station was now the former site of the bus station, as heavy construction work was already underway on something new. We walked in the eastern direction until stumbling upon a station which had a bus leaving for Zunhua from it. Our fellow passengers were auditioning for the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra, regaling us with sounds of singing, eating, burping, loud speaking and nail cutting throughout our bus ride.

We were dropped off at a fork in the road, the bus continuing towards Zunhua while we rented a van that took us to the tombs. Spread apart over several kilometers, vehicular transport from one tomb to another proved handy. The van had one less seat than the number of passengers, so the men alternated sitting on the floor. At one point, the driver found some cardboard boxes on the street, flattened them, and provided that as a cleaner option to sit on rather than directly on the floor.

The sky was blue and the sacred burial grounds were devoid of tourists, making it a perfect day to explore the tombs of emperors, empresses, princesses, and concubines of times past. As we walked along the main courtyard leading to the entrance, a sudden gust of wind churned the dust on the grounds into a miniature hurricane that whirled past us. "That's actually Bruce Lee!" punned one of my fellow travelers.

Xiaoling, the tomb of the first emperor of the Zing dynasty, and Dingdongling, the tomb of notiorous empress dowager Cixi, were the most fascinating complexes. The exteriors were much more colourful and ornate than the interiors of the tombs. A diorama explained how an adult Cixi had drunk breast milk from her attendants to maintain her youthful skin complexion. The coffins could be reached by climbing the stairs to the main entrance of a tomb, and then descending down a pathway until we were underground. One particularly productive emperor had 35 hut style tombs belonging to his concubines adorning the grounds around his magnificent resting place.

*****

“Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are.”
- George Eliot -

Pubic Hair on Moles

Whether by choice or circumstance most Chinese men sport the clean shaven look. What is more surprising is that a select few have a single hair growing on their face. This solitary strand of hair springs out from the center of a mole, its floss-like texture shimmering under both natural and artifical light sources. I find such a sight hard to ignore.

Fortunately, the Cindy Crawford style beauty mark on my face is hairless. Upon further examination, I found a mole on my shoulder that had sprouted a singular follicle as well. It was lengthy, curly, and glossy. The foliage on the skin around it did not have the same thickness or sheen. The pubic nature of the hair may be explained by the fact that it has to be thicker and stronger than regular body hairs to be able to pop out through the dense surface of the mole.  

*****

"There's many a man has more hair than wit." - William Shakespeare

The World's Most Dangerous Road

While navigating through the information superhighway, I chanced upon on a listing of the world's most dangerous roads. My eyes scanned the list and widened as it reached the top. First position belonged to a road carved into the cliff side to reach the ancient village of Guoliangcun. The tiny outpost in Henan was only a combined overnight train ride, short bus ride, medium distance taxi ride, and shorter golf cart ride away from Beijing.

My travel partner and I arrived at dawn in the city of Xinxiang via train. We walked to the location of the bus stop, only to discover it was under excavation. The erstwhile grounds of the bus depot were to be transformed into a world class shopping facility. Several early rising locals watched us with bemused expressions as we tried to hail down whatever buses passed our way on the street in front. We wanted to get to the nearest town at the base of the world's most dangerous road. After several failed attempts to find a bus heading for Huixian, we entered a sinister looking taxi. I said the name of where I wanted to go to the taxi driver repeatedly until he started driving.

After several stalled attempts at conversion, the driver realized that I could not speak Chinese. Logically, he handed me a pen and piece of paper so I could write in Chinese where I wanted to go. I snarled with frustration, the paper combusting into flames under my fiery breathe. On the way to Huixian we picked up three separate individuals, diverting our route to drop each at their desired destinations. One of these fellow passengers muttered the same bus stop name that I had orated to the taxi driver. This elicited understanding, and the taxi driver repeated the same syllables that I had. Once we reached the deserted bus stop, we realized it would be a couple of hours before any minibuses that pass by the road to Guoliangcun would depart from the station.

We engaged in silent talks with our driver. He fashioned another piece of paper out of sheer willpower, upon which I drew one line and three dots. Dot 1 was where we started. Dot 2 was where we were. Dot 3 was where we wanted to go. We had already agreed to pay a certain amount for being ferried from Dot 1 (Xinxiang) to Dot 2 (Huixian). We then negotiated different pricing bundles based on extending the journey to Dot 3 (Guoliangcun), as well as returning to Dot 1 from Dot 3. After coming to an agreement we continued our journey towards the road of death.

*****

“The greater the fear, the nearer the danger.” ~ Danish proverb

Old Town of Lijiang

Lijiang is picture postcard perfect city in Yunnan. Magnificent estates are hidden among narrow knots of streets and a beautiful lake reflects the mountains behind it. Although Lijiang has 800 years of history, many of the ancient style dwellings in the town were actually built after a devastating earthquake in 1996 flattened many high rises in the area. Now a Chinese version of a Lord of the Rings movie set, the old town is dissected by narrow waterways and connected by quaint bridges. Sporting a maze of cobblestone paths, I was able to find my hostel with great difficulty.

The rulers of the Naxi tribe that inhabited Lijiang lived in the intricately designed and ornately decorated estate known as Mu's Mansion. With a sprawling courtyard and relaxing trails leading up to temples on a hill side behind the complex, the mansion provides some room to breathe compared to the claustrophobic alleys and tight living quarters outside the estate walls.

A brisk walk away from the center of the old town leads to the Black Dragon Pool. Boasting one of China's signature views, the pool mirrors a bridge, a pagoda, and snow capped mountain peaks borrowed from the scenery behind. It is a popular picnic spot for locals and visitors alike. Water from the springs come together to form this pool, which in turn pours into a waterfall that streams into the old town. I would head to Tiger Leaping Gorge from Lijiang, leaving behind man made beauty for nature's splendour.

Little Sheep and Big Bad Wolf

To commemorate my two year anniversary in China, I went to the Little Sheep hotpot restaurant in Guomao with my colleagues. Our cute server had caught the eye of my coworkers, and they peer pressured me into talking to her.

Coworker #1: You should talk to the waitress!
Me: No, I don't think she can speak English.
Coworker #2: Find out.
Me: But you know what will happen if I speak to her in English. First the left cheek will turn red, and then the right cheek will turn red.
Coworker #3: I know.
Me: I meant my cheeks.
Coworker #3: I know.
Me: Maybe I can ask her for napkins? I need some.
Coworker #2: Too complicated.
Me: Square paper for wipe face.
Coworker #2: Ask her for toilet paper.
Coworker #3: No, ask her where the toilet is!
Coworker #2: That is good idea.
Coworker #1: Go! Go!

I approached the waitress and asked her for the toilet, bathroom, washroom, and WC without success. I pointed to the sign for the toilet. She finally understood and guided me to the bathroom. I returned to the table where my coworkers were sitting and told them what had transpired.

Coworker #2: If the sign already point to toilet, why you ask her then? You are idiot!

Wedding Fail

I asked a colleague if he had been to a particular Chinese restaurant that I wished to visit.

Coworker: Yes, I have been there for a failed wedding meal.
Me: Why was it a failure? Not enough food? Not enough beer?
Coworker: The meal was excellent, the marriage failed.

Backup Boyfriend

Coworker: You are always the backup boyfriend.
Me: Yes, unfortunately I am every girl's second favourite man.
Coworker: I mean even if she leaves the first boyfriend and gets a new one, you will still be the backup.
Me: How cruel.
Coworker: Chinese saying - 'Good medicine is bitter, good advice cruel'.

The World is Flatulent

Research suggests the average person passes gas around 10-20 times a day, with some overachievers emit as many as 50 farts a day. A guy blows his horn about 10 times for every 8 times that a girl fluffs. Although the volume of flatus released by the man is greater, the stench is more concentrated in female farts as they do not disperse the odor as frequently. Despite these facts, gender and racial stereotypes have made me the victim of vicious fart attacks by women across the world.

During my school days when I was standing beside a group of girls and one let out a silent but deadly fart, all sets of eyes would immediately and accusingly turn towards me. I was always found guilty in the court of public opinion without being given a chance to defend myself. One of the girls had temporarily suspended traffic from passing through her southern route, waiting to synchronize her release with my arrival. This seemingly innocuous behaviour is actually a cunning stratagem to pass the blame of the foul stench on to the most likely candidate as perceived by the masses - me.

Even in China, girls will let out a fart when I am standing nearby or as I walk past them. I frequently smell farts in crowded buses and trains wafting around me. When I look around trying to identify the perpetrator, I see disapproving gazes being directed at me from the petite ladies in the blast radius. Only two of us know that it was not I who had cut the cheese. When I complained about this atrocious behaviour to a Chinese girl, she said I was being paranoid as she farted discretely.

*****

"Whoever smelt it, dealt it."

Cat Got Your Tongue?

Korean guy: I am going to a cat buffet now.
Me: I have never been to a cat buffet before! 
Korean guy: I can show you where it is if you want.
Me: OK, I'd like to check it out. How much does it cost?
Korean guy: Not too expensive.
Me: Cool. 
Korean guy: Yes, you can even bring your own cat.

We walk over to the entrance of the cat buffet. There are pictures of several of the cute critters on a billboard outside, with images of various dishes below.

Me: Hmm, here it says 'Cat Cafe' only. Are you sure it's all you can eat?
Korean guy: What do you mean?
Me: Are you sure it's all you can eat cat meat? You said it's a cat buffet...
Korean guy: What?? No! I said cat cafe, not cat buffet! It's a place where you can bring your cat and hang out and have coffee and some snacks.
Me: Oh...

A Confusion of Tongues

I arrived in Lijiang at night. My journey through China's beautiful Yunnan province would begin here. In the dark, the maze of alleys of the old town is quite difficult to navigate. My travel buddy Matt and I had a hard time locating our hostel. After several rounds through the cobblestone paths, we kept returning to the same central square. Matt is so fluent in the Chinese language that poems have been written about his mastery of the Middle Kingdom's mother tongue. He meandered into the darkness to ask for directions or go look for a toilet. I did not know whether he had continued onwards or would retrieve me first. After he had been gone for several minutes, I decided to look for the hostel myself. Miscommunication had separated us and our phone batteries were running low.

With the assistance of my sharp mind and befuddled expression, I was passed on from local to local until I ended up in an unmarked domicile. The madam in charge ushered me in and confirmed I was at the correct location. I called Matt to tell him that I had either found our hostel or a whorehouse. He was in a foul mood, back near the town square. The madam went to retrieve him while I stayed behind and enjoyed the company of her silent assistant. Once my friend arrived at the hostel and verified that it was not a brothel, he expressed great frustration about the fact that I had found the place first without speaking a single word of Chinese.

*****

"Language is the dress of thought." ~ Samuel Johnson

Free As A Bird

While Chinese men were busy sneaking a peek at my magnificent instrument in the bathroom, I did some observation work myself. I noticed that my Chinese colleagues would drop their pants before they started to pee into and around the urinal. After they finished they would spend some time fumbling around, pulling up their pants, and tucking in their shirts.

"Why don't you just use your zipper? It's much faster that way." I asked, demonstrating how the zip in the front of my pant works.

"Not comfortable" one replied.
"I need to relax" said another.
"How do you poo? Do you have a zip on your backside as well!?" one mocked.

The best answer during the course of my private investigation was yet to come: "Because bird needs breath. Bird is small, but it plays the whole sky."

I had found the answer to my question, and it was profound. Thus concluded my private investigation.

*****

"Let freedom never perish in your hands." - Joseph Addison

The Ningbo Scene

For a city with 7 million people, Ningbo or "Serene Waves" in Chinese is almost as quiet a place as one will find. The thriving coastal city does not have the frenetic pace of nearby Shanghai, even though it boasts the world's longest bridge over sea and the fifth busiest port. One of the five ports opened to the British for unrestricted trading after the First Opium War, Ningbo is now largely devoid of foreign devils. I drew enough interest to keep the crowds occupied during my weekend there.

Graceful canals, estates, and parks are contrasted with the modern day wonders of glistening towers and shopping districts. The foremost attraction is China's oldest library at Tianyi Pavilion. For centuries only a privileged few were allowed access to the private collection, but it is now open for public perusal. Built in 1561 during the Ming Dynasty, the collection peaked at 70,000 volumes with 13,000 in existence now. I visited the sparkling new Ningbo Museum of Art before heading to Laowaitan. This old waterfront district has been restored with rows and rows of buildings follow the Shikumen architectural style popular in the early 20th century, making it an ideal location to spend an evening in Ningbo.

*****

"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted." - Bill Bryson

The Three Gorges

The greatest letdown about China is that the womenfolk no longer wear the traditional body-hugging qipao in their daily lives. The second biggest letdown was the Three Gorges. The 200 km stretch of waterway comprised of the Qutang, Wu, and Xiling Gorges is the stuff of legend, but what I saw was far from magnificent. From the Chongqing wharf, I took a bus to the city of Wanzhou. The bus arrived woefully late, so I had to dash to my hydrofoil with not a moment to spare. The small enclosed vessel swiftly jetted off as I hopped aboard. During the six hour journey it stopped at riverside towns to pick up and drop off passengers along the way.

After the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, water levels rose and many villages and historical sites were submerged. The world's largest hydro power project was completed in 2009 at a cost of 23 billion US dollars. The government provided the 1.3 million residents who had lost their homes with new accommodation, so the gorges are dotted with high rise apartment complexes that rise bizarrely from steep cliffs. The Yangtze is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world. The river is so polluted that even a private detective will have a hard time identifying some of the objects floating past.

The monumental Three Gorges Dam project serves multiple purposes, from providing massive amounts of energy to a wider passage for cargo ships to control over a river that has claimed over a million lives due to sudden flooding. The boat I was on did not cross the Three Gorges Dam using the ship lock system that raises and lowers vessels from one level to another. The transit time for going down the five tier ship lock is four hours. Instead it docked and all the passengers rushed to a shuttle bus that took us to the nearby city of Yichang. This portion of the trip was actually the best part, providing a faraway glimpse of the world's longest dam and some spectacular scenery of the canyons from up close.

*****

“All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” - Samuel Johnson

Better City, Better Life

The corporate pavilions at the 2010 Shanghai Expo were more interesting than the country ones, showcasing some advanced technology. Most of it was centered around new forms of multimedia that will immerse the user completely in a digital world. With more in depth exhibits than the national ones, the city pavilions featured detailed case studies on sustainable development. As the Chinese move in droves to cities from the countryside, the overarching theme of "Better City, Better Life" further encouraged this migration.

The grounds were excellently designed, the transportation system adequate, and the crowds spectacularily large. Both my visits were in the middle of the work week on rainy days, but I had to wait for around an hour at the airport-like security check area before entering the World's Fair. Running from May 1 to Oct 31, 2010, daily visits reached over 1 million as China's showcase to the world neared its later stages.

Other figures behind the grand gathering of the world's cultures are equally astounding:

• 73 million visitors
• 80,000 volunteers
• 1 ridiculous mascot
• 5.28 square kilometers
• 246 participants

Shanghai Expo 2010

Beginning with the largest fireworks display in the history of mankind, it was easy to see why the Shanghai Expo cost even more than the Beijing Olympics. The largest and most expensive world exposition ever staged was spread across both sides of Shanghai's Huangpu river. One side had the country pavilions, anchored by the host nation's gigantic red inverse pyramid. On the others side of the river banks were the corporate pavilions and the city pavilions. I explored each side for one day.

Far and away, the the country pavilions was were the action was. Lineups lasted for hours, with digital signboards updating visitors on the latest waiting times. The queues were horrendously long, but part of the fun. The vast majority of visitors were Chinese. Many had purchased an Expo Passport as a souvenir. They would wait hours in lineups, hurriedly rush into a pavilion as soon as they were granted entrance, and crowd around the booth where they could get their passport stamped. Once the initial stamping stampede was over, many would spare only a momentary glance at the exhibits within the pavilion they had just lined up hours to visit before continuing on to the next country on their checklist.

I was given VIP entrance to the Canadian and Indian pavilions, saving hours of waiting. I tried the poutine at the Canadian pavilion for dinner. I did not visit any of the other pavilions of the popular nations, preferring to go off the beaten track and breeze through the smaller nations that had little to no one queueing up to visit them. Most of the workers at the pavilions were unenthusiastic, with the exception being the friendly folks manning the booths of the nations in the Pacific Islands.

Conversations with Chinese Girls - Rule Number One

On boyfriends:

Chinese Girl #1: My number one rule is no cheating.

Chinese Girl #2: That's not my number one rule.

Me: Really? Then what is?

Chinese Girl #3: No Arnab! 

Chinese Girls: [all chuckle]

Arnab's Year in Cities, 2010

I journeyed to new corners of the world in 2008, going to Central America and Africa for the first time. In 2009, I began the year exploring the two Alpha++ cities of the world in New York and London, then returned to India, before making my way to the People's Republic of China.

This year I stayed overnight in 32 different cities in 3 countries. 2010 saw me crisscross the nation during an epic 40 day trip. I attended two of the premier international events of the year in the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo, before ending the year in style in Seoul, Korea.

In alphabetical order:

• Beijing, China
• Chongqing, China
• Guangzhou, China
• Harbin, China
• Hotan, China
• Jian'ou, China
• Jilin, China
• Jinan, China
• Kashgar, China
• Langfang, China
• Longyan, China
• Luotiancun, China
• Luoyang, China
• Nanchang, China
• Ordos, China
• Qufu, China
• Seoul, Korea
• Shanghai, China
• Shenyang, China
• Shijiazhuang, China
• Suzhou, China
• Taishan, China
• Tashkurgan, China
• Turpan, China
• Urumqi, China
• Vancouver, Canada
• Weihai, China
• Wuhan, China
• Xiamen, China
• Xian, China
• Yangzhou, China
• Yarkand, China

Previous years:

• Arnab's Year in Cities, 2009
• Arnab's Year in Cities, 2008

"What we love to do we find time to do." ~ John L. Spalding

With Glowing Hearts

For years, Vancouverites eagerly anticipated the 2010 Winter Olympics. Time passes swiftly though, and a memorable month of February came and went in what seemed like a blink of an eye. The city and the people of Vancouver hosted a marvelous Games. I was in my hometown for this once in a lifetime event, and the story could not have been written any better. For 17 days, the streets were jam packed with enthusiastic fans of all shapes, sizes, and colours. Strangers passing by high-fived each other in downtown Vancouver. During hockey games, whenever Team Canada scored a goal cheers would resonate through the downtown core like a Mexican wave.

The athletes also did not disappoint. Wayne Gretzky lit the flame to signal the start of the XXI Olympic Winter Games. Early on, Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada’s first ever gold medal on home soil. Canada owned the podium, winning the most gold medals ever captured by a single nation at a Winter Olympics. On the final day of competition, a hockey mad nation watched the final of men's ice hockey with bated breath. Overhead satellite views of cities across Canada would show almost no cars on the street. The Games had a fairy tale ending, as Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal against the United States in sudden death overtime.

The Olympic schedule happily coincided with the Chinese New Year, so I combined the national holiday with my personal vacation days. During my month off, I met my friends and family after almost one year in China. A day after the closing ceremony, I was at the airport to catch my flight back to Beijing along with members of the Chinese contingent. I flew from Vancouver to Beijing, from one Olympic city to another, both changed forever by a few special weeks.

*****

I believe in the power that comes

From a world brought together as one

I believe together we'll fly

I believe in the power of you and I

- Olympic theme song 'I Believe'