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About China

I so waited for this day and it happened! I have read so many books about history and culture of this great country, I have watched so many movies, I have learnt the language so many hours and now this white-coloured plane carries me into the night, far away and only after some hours I will see that I have dreamt so long…

During long-hours flight I talked with a Russian guy, who comes back, to Beijing. He has been living there for several years and he started to forget Moscow. I can't believe that Moscow was his favourite city, though he feels in Beijing like in golden cage.

Sunlights marked the beginning of a new day, the day, when my dream comes true! The plane has landed and we have reached to the gates of airport.

I haven't ever felt in China, but every minute helps to do this one, especially after the border and the custom. The large and luxury building of airport astonished my mind. I got used to movies about life in the USA and Europe, so I didn't expect to see this beauty in this part of the world, according my scanty information about life in China. After some minutes I reached to arrival part of the airport. My friends have waited for me already. No wasting time, we got on to the bus and went to the capital. I was tired of sleepless night at the plane because of a lot of new impressions, and I slowly reacted to events around me, letting my friends to know each other.

There are many beautiful sights in China, which astonish imagination their fanciful forms and exquisite shapes. The capital of this country has accumulated many achievements of human thought since ancient times, and it takes more than one day to see all these places. In my point of view, you shouldn't visit many places during one day, because your impressions mixed up and you have got a feeling that you had seen something incredible, but it will be difficult to remember what it was. Consequently, I planned my excursion by my own rely upon my friends advises.

I think my next story won't remind you typical description famous places from guide book, so I prefer to retell my observations.

I was amazed parks - Yiheyuan (Summer Palace), Beihai, Xianshan (Fragrant Hills Park). I was pleased to meet cleanliness there. It's impossible to make a mess, when rubbish bins everywhere. Moreover, typical Russian problem - WC - doesn't exist there. Although there are many small shops, which sell different kinds of frozen tea and well-known drinks like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, etc. You shouldn't forget about beautiful views there, of course! But how many pearls there! For example, I saw real lotus in Yiheyuan at first time. In Xianshan, there is a pond with multi-coloured fishes, which try to jump out of the pond. The common feature of all parks is a hill(s), with views to the city. Some sights didn't impress me much, though I had read much about them - Long Gallery in Yiheyuan as well as Gugun (Emperor Palace). I expected to see them else.

The Great Wall. Nowadays, it have been restored some parts of this historical monument. The very famous place is situated near Badalin (about 90 km from Beijing). It seems very strange, but I saw foreigners only there, in other places I didn't see so many as there. I also saw so many foreigners in The Heaven Temple.

Long, like a snake, the wall strikes impression. But the slopes of the wall more amazing. It necessary takes this fact mind, preparing for excursion. It will be suitable good, non-slippery shoes, and you must appreciate your own forces to go up, else you should use cableway.

When I saw the main sights, I was offered to visit Shanghai. The distance between Shanghai and Beijing about 1500 km, and it takes 21 hours by normal train and 16 by express. Both trains are comfortable and the trip is not exhausted. My neighbors were friendly people. Although they didn't speak English well, they were amazed to hear some words in Chinese. It might think that I had the risking tour, because I traveled by my own, but in reality, I wasn't alone - I was met in Shanghai Railway station. Then I was settled in a hotel and the evening of next day I was seen to the station.

When I left the train in Shanghai, I felt as in a bathhouse - there was hot and humid. In Beijing, the weather was hotter, but dry, so this climate is bearing more easily than Shanghai's climate. Moreover, I found out other differences. There are many high buildings in Shanghai, comparing with Moscow; it seems that Moscow is a large village. There are also many high buildings in Beijing, but at the same time Beijing has ancient and modern.
There is the highest building of whole China in Shanghai. Jin Mao is the 88th floor business building. There are many beautiful views of city from observation place! I can compare this city with American. It's very difficult to find difference between them. At the same, we can see European houses, built in the end of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century at embankment of Huangpu River. Shanghai had known as "Oriental Paris".

I was astonished local subway (metro) in Shanghai. I noticed that it has many advantages. Firstly, it has air-conditioning, secondly, metro isn't so noisy as in Moscow (I might have become deaf when I came back to Moscow), thirdly, I heard names of the station in the train as in Chinese as in English. I found out lifts for disabled people there. So, I think this subway for people, in spite of Moscow's metro similar underground palaces. Actually, the trains and platforms wider than in Moscow. Moreover, the train consists of the linked carriages with passages, which allow moving from the first to the last carriage during the train's movement.

I noticed that this country has many dialects. In Shanghai, I heard another language, though it was only the local dialect of Chinese. Fortunately, common characters unify this large multilingual country. There are some national minorities, using own languages, which different from Chinese. At the same time, there are existing things understandable for people from different countries. For example, I visited the lecture at Beijing Planetarium and it was easy to aware the meaning, without knowledge of Chinese.

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