China
- Sept/Oct 2006
Unfortunately
for Steven – and us – one of our promoters
has done a runner so we have three gigs cancelled.
This gives us more time to explore Beijing and Robin
is up at the crack of every dawn filming the sights.
Aside from the numerous shopping opportunities –
Chinese people make everything, which is fair enough
as they also invented everything from football to
fireworks - there are all kinds of activities happening
all over Beijing, all the time.
In the local park every morning is a bustling food
and goods market while at the same time people are
practicing tai chi, dancing, singing, getting their
hair cut, and playing games. This is a highly social
and vibrant place: A hive of cultural activity,
which belies the sullen image portrayed to us in
the West - it's just not like that. This is really
vibrant country, filled with really vibrant &
helpful people. That's the way we found it.
Before
our second concert in Nanjing, We take the opportunity
to see Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City –
home of the emperor’s court, which is now
a massive museum. An epic place, its enormity is
a bit overwhelming, much like the Louvre in Paris:
To see it all in one visit can but only turn one’s
brain to congee.
|
|
speaking
of National Treasures...? |
In
its heyday, the emperor’s court consisted
of himself and his wife, numerous concubines
and a load of eunuchs. This was apparently a
reasonable opportunity for social advancement.
They reputedly kept their testicles in a bag
– so that upon their death they could
be buried whole. This may seem a wee bit extreme
but no more so than the castrati in Europe.
|
|
From
Beijing to Nanjing
“Bei”
means north while “nan” south; and
“jing” is mandarin for ”Capital”.
So our journey from the north capital to the
South Capital for our second concert consists
of a seventeen-hour, overnight train journey.
James has stocked up on salted vegetables, Sausages,
bread, and some meat whose origin is a matter
of some short debate – much like those
foodstuffs procured at the motorway services
in England.
|
On
the train we meet a charming young tax officer
from Nanjing who though working in Beijing,
is returning home for the week of the national
holiday. Jennifer (Chinese people who learn
English often take “English” names
hence our comrades Steven and James) has miraculously
heard of Battlefield Band and tells us we are
very famous. I find this last bit of information
hard to believe but I have never been one to
argue with the tax people.
Our man James had told us that he had considered
changing his English name and we had a few suggestions:
“Ruairidh”,”Uisdean”,
“Hieronymus” and my personal favourite,
“Jimi Hendrix.” |
Jennifer
the nice tax person. |
|
|
After
a somewhat surreal evening on our train of
beds, we arrive rather majestically in Nanjing
on the banks of the Yangtze River. We are
met at the station by Mr. Cheng Pengyang and
his team who take us directly to lunch –
excellent news.
|
This
is southern China and the Cuisine is markedly
different and very exciting. We start with vinegar
peanuts; Jellyfish; sweet soup; some sort of
shellfish with a clear shell that looks like
some kind of grey bean; frog soup; chicken elbows,
brine duck Nanjing style, soup made from special
wild grass which grows only on the hills around
Nanjing; another wild local grass; a spicy fish
which lives only locally….great stuff
all of it.
|
|
The
concert is not until tomorrow so after another
exquisite meal in Nanjing’s poshest restaurant,
we hit the nightclubs with Uncle Robin. In Nanjing,
these bars are both modern and western so Sean
sang the locals some Tom Waits songs. We'll
tell Tom how well his songs went down in China
next time we see him.
|
|
|
|
|
