The Chinese school of elocution demands that one yell and then applaud oneself. Mr. He (pronounced like bronchial attack) shouted about China’s success in attracting tourists, then grinned and clapped. China’s Premier Li Peng smiled and politely fluttered his hands after touting the quality of Chinese goods…not shouting so loudly, however (perhaps trained in the etiquette of giving good sound bite). And so it went on the Chinese equivalent of the Rubber Chicken Circuit…three weeks of conferences and organized tourism. It is the first time I had visited Beijing and Shanghai since before the revolt.

China, today, has much to shout about, lots to applaud and a some things that will make you retch and run for the fire exit.

Breathless in Beijing: Stinky Air and Stirring Arias

Beijing can be LA on a bad day.

Smoke from coal-fired power plants gene-spliced to Gobi Desert dust. Hack and spit is a time-honored rhythm. But, oh my, have other things changed. The Beijing I saw ten years ago was one of unfinished jobs and dirt pits. Today’s Beijing is neon, rayon, nylons. Beijingers have shed their blue Mao outfits in favor of splashy designer garb -- mostly counterfeit. You can also buy US$6,000 worth of bogus software for about 12 bucks. "Psst, CD ROM?", hacked touts practically every time I stepped out on the street. .

In Beijing you will find the best and the worst of American Culture, from MacBurger to Menuhin (who performed in concert) to Tosca with tea. The Jianguo Hotel, where I stayed, features a twenty piece orchestra and an opera troupe on Sunday afternoons.

I avoided the regular tourist sites this time around except for Tiananmen Square, which is always great place to watch people…especially during their early morning exercise which consists of everything from martial arts to ballroom dancing. I am not a shopper but I loved the Chow Wy Market near Ritan Park. It has unusual furniture and objets d’arte. Most are "new" antiques so I wouldn’t pay antique prices.

I attended a banquet at the Great Hall of the People where the ghosts of rhetoric --The Great Leap Forward – and other missives float through massive halls. Beijing now has Cultural Revolution theme restaurants…tongue-in-cheek celebrations of "the good old days." Much preferred, however, is an Emperor’s Dinner. During the Qing Dynasty the kitchens which occupied the the place where the Fangshan Restaurant now stands, fed the Emperor and Empress. Each day the imperial chefs prepared twenty to thirty dishes, from which only two or three were chosen. Today Fangshan serves 800 different treats. My dinner there served samples of some thirty dishes.