2018 resolutions from a picturesque scene
Does Beijing lead national capitals in terms of neighborhood “scenic spots” (say, in a 100 km radius)? I’d argue yes.
An office-organized customary Christmastime day trip took me to the hill-ringed Jinhai Lake area near Pinggu, northeast of Beijing. Utterly picturesque, insanely tranquil and unbelievably pristine in spite of bigticket realty development, this nature’s bounty is a perfect escape from urban grimness.
The sunny weather was a big help, the dusk chill bonefreezing. The pure air was refreshing and the general calm — you could hear the dull roar of a speeding vehicle several kilometers away — endearingly soothing.
Images I shot of Jinhai’s green mountains, rippling as well as frozen lakes, lustrous meadows, paved lawns, and other sights (redbrick bridges, Italian-style cottages, a modern marina) now populate the screen savers on my office PC as well as personal laptop.
When I shared the images on social media, a pal wondered about Jinhai’s location. So I looked up the “Tourist Sketch Map of Beijing Suburbs”.
There it was, nestled among numerous other similar spots in and around Beijing. I have visited some already — the Summer Palace, the Fragrant Hills, the Great Wall at Simatai, mountaintop glass-floor platform at Shilinxia, Huaibei Ski Resort, Cuandixia … and found each one of them charming in its own way.
Now, the map seemed to tell, almost taunt, me that I haven’t seen anything yet! I found nearly 150 destinations — “scenic spots” and such highlighted by printed letters in magenta. So I made a list, looked them up online, and quizzed Chinese colleagues and friends.
I can report only positive things — they offer numerous potential weekend getaways.
Here’s my New Year Resolution 1: Go check out as many places as possible.
Resolution 2: Overcome the once-bitten-twice-shy syndrome, and learn to ski. Several falls at the Huaibei Ski Resort as a first-timer had produced second thoughts, so I stayed away from skiing at Jinhai.
But with the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics sparking wide interest in snow and ice sports across China, the northern regions, including Hebei province, are seeing massive investment in recreational tourism. Now is a really good time to learn to ski.
Let me sign off with a couple of postscripts.
At a Beijing university hostel basement supermarket, I found numerous exorbitantly priced varieties of normal (not electric) toothbrushes. How many students can afford them? Why are their prices so high (20 yuan ($3) to 100 yuan)? Technology and mass production have made even textiles, garments, electronics, footwear and many other products affordable, unimaginably cheap.
In contrast, the toothbrush has not really seen any massive tech makeover or demonstrable value addition, in terms of benefits. So, its tag is a mystery. Resolution 3: I shall crack it.
Cache cleanups, virus scans, etc, are all in vain as we try to get the quickest internet access in the shortest time. Background activity reigns supreme. Resolution 4: I shall wean myself off tech and go in for a digital detox.