Ai Weiwei released

 

It is pleasing to hear that after almost three months artist Ai Weiwei has been released from detention by Chinese authorities.

{Photo: 'Ai Weiwei: According to What?' exhibition at Mori Art Centre, Tokyo, August 2009}

China

Visiting China was not what I expected. The inevitable modernisation of the country is well underway particularly in Beijing. The food was great, especially the dumplings. Finding the old hutongs and wandering through them was fantastic and I feel that I was very lucky that I was able to experience this before they all disappear. Climbing the Great Wall was awe-inspiring.

I enjoyed visiting but my view of China has been shifted by the recent disappearance of a Chinese-Australian writer (which has since been denied) and detention of other prominent dissidents including the artist Ai Weiwei.

Ai Weiwei's beautiful works have been shown extensively in Australian and his installation Sunflower Seeds  is currently on display at the Tate Modern, London. Weiwei's works explore society, culture and history from the perspective of a Chinese dissident. He is now The Artist as Political Hero.

I am not sure if China is high on my list to visit again but I think that the dramatic craggy countryside, terracotta warriors and lights of Shanghai may lure me back.

Chooo chooo

The first train trip was an epic adventure. Not only was it our first time sleeping on a train it also involved the border crossing from China to Mongolia as well as boogie changing.

We watched the landscape change as we chugged away from Beijing through industrial to isolated towns and spectacular mountains. Before we knew it night was upon us but we couldn't sleep yet as we had to go through immigration and customs for both countries.

The process was relatively painless although they do lock the trains bathrooms while the officals are on the train for about five hours. While our passports were being processed to leave China the train with us on it was taken to a workshop where each carriage was separated and lifted up into the air for new wheels to be placed under the carriages. A very long, involved and interesting procedure which we watched with fascination.

We got our passports back with all of the correct stamps and it was into Mongolia to go through the paperwork again. Sleep was at around 2am.

Changing China

I wasn't sure what to expect of China but Beijing was not what I had pictured. The Olympics last year may have had something to do with the rapid modernisation of the city. The traditional hutong neighbourhoods are diminishing and being replaced by ultra wide streets.

Climbing the Great Wall was amazing. It is vast which I didn't appreciate until I actually saw and walked on its stones!

We ate yummy dumplings and pastries for dinner and breakfast from the small local holes in the wall from the hutong behind our hotel.

Our visit to Tienanmen Square was complete with Chairman Mao's 5m high image watching over us.

The train journey begins tomorrow!