Travel to Lanzhou

On Wednesday we flew from Hong Kong on a near-empty plane to Beijing, where no doubt it would become loaded with participants, officials and spectators of the Olympic Games as they returned home. The temperature was a more familiar 26 degrees Celcius and again we set down while we waited for our final leg which would take us to Lanzhou. The appearance of 'Free Public WiFi' promised on the wireless connections list was not to be, and to buy WiFi credit for one of the other wireless networks available required a Chinese mobile phone, a tool we had not acquired yet, and it was not obvious how to buy credit otherwise. Never-the-less, we hunkered down for a meal at 'My Mill', a Chinese Fast Food Joint. The meals were indeed fast, arriving minutes after ordering, and were delicious and filling as well. And at 58 yuan for a bowl of noodle soup with braised beef (and a bottle of chilled orange flavoured green tea for me), I was told this would be the most expensive meal for a while -- and that at roughly 13NZD for two!

The first sign of China's officious nature was evidenced in the rigorous security checking experienced for flying, of all places, to Lanzhou. First, boarding passes and identities were checked, before carry on luggage and our persons were themselves checked. Fortunately, neither of us had anything to trigger the metal detectors, however the checking of our carry-on rose some issues. In my luggage I had a 125ml bottle of BodyShop deoderant, which is not permitted -- the largest volume vessel allowed is 100mL, even if the vessel is not full. This was relinquished, fair enough. Next, I learnt I was only allowed to take one of the two bottles of anti-persipirant that I carried (the reasoning behind this was not clear to me, but as one was near empty I was happy to give that up). Next, a surprise for me was that I was only permitted to take one of the two bottles of Alanase (a medication for rhinitis)! I gently argued that this was a medication, which I then had to prove by using. At least I had clear sinuses for the flight!
Andrew struck similar issues, relinquishing several items intended as a gift being delivered for a friend. When the official realised Andrew and I were travelling together, I was given my second anti-perspirant back! I can't say I was jubilant, but appreciated the kind act!

Then it was waiting at the airport gate again. From here it could be seen that there is a definite haze hanging over Beijing, what some describe as a "mist", but I won't discuss that further here ;) The excitement to be in China continued, despite being aware that I could not communicate with most of the people surrounding me, but that challenge was not to take the shine off it all.

The flight to Lanzhou was interesting, on a flight of over 100 people, only one other was European! There was some surprise that Westerners were travelling to Lanzhou. Perhaps more surprising was the entertainment on the flight. The audio channels provided three options -- two for the video display (one English, one Chinese), and a music channel. The surprising nature of the music channel was that one earphone was spouting European Pop music (including Celine Dion, Sugababes and Rihanna), and the other was Chinese Popera (a pop-py version of opera)! An unusal and un-explained combination... The flight was pleasant, as each had been. It also provided the first signs that we were headed somewhere less Western, as the tea served this time was jasmine.

When we arrived at Lanzhou airport we were met by Stephen, from the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office, and Yuan Mei (Mary), from Lanzhou University. During the one-hour drive from the airport to Lanzhou we learned that we were the first of twenty-four ambassadors to be participating in the exchange this year. We caught our first sights of the Yellow River, which following a burst of rain was indeed quite yellow with the (clay) washed from the land, and saw tree plantings along much of the hills in effort to change the climate (and protect the hills from being washed away!). We were immediately taken to a restuarant to sample the beef noodles that Lanzhou is famous for. They were indeed delicious, and served with a selection of side dishes including what appear to have been pickled cabbage, a carrot and vinegar combination, slices of ear from some unknown source, and delicious cuts of beef.
Our final destination for the night was the Guest House, where we were shown our rooms. They are quite comfortable, fitted with a (firm!) bed, desk, TV, air conditioning unit, and ensuite bathroom. Sleep came easily that night.