Dur Wali Khan
In the last week of August 2024, I, Waqas and Arif got a chance to pay an official visit to China. On the weakened, we visited the Beijing city along with our guide Mr. Denish, a brilliant Chinese guy.
Beijing is the capital of China, with more than 22 million population with 97pc literacy rate. It is located in northern China and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of State Council.
Beijing is a global city and one of the world\’s leading centres for culture, diplomacy, politics, finance, business and education. Beijing is the most developed city, having World\’s standard roads, airports, tourist places and well designed modern buildings (plazas).
Beijing is the second highest earning tourist city in the world after Shanghai.
In China, both women and men are actively engaged in business activities in shopping centres, restaurants, hotels, factories and offices. People leave for work at 7am and come back at 8pm. All shopping centres, restaurants, parks and factories close before 10pm.
We also visited the Great Wall of China, one of the great and famous man-made wonder in the world, which attracts millions of visitors each year. Basically, the wall was built to protect the country against invasions and raids from various nomadic groups. The Great Wall of China was constructed in 7th century BC with major addition and reinforcements made during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
We also visited Tiananmen Square, one of the largest public squares, that stands as a significant political and historical site.
We also visited the Palace Museum also called Forbidden City. It is a large national museum complex in Beijing China. The museum inherited the imperial royal palaces from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China and opened to the public in 1925. The Palace Museum was constructed during 1406 to 1420.
In Beijing, there is a Muslim Street, where some Muslim families are settled, who have constructed a small Mosque in the street. We visited Muslim Street to offer prayer in the Mosque, but unfortunately, it was closed due to repair work. There are a few restaurants where you can get Muslim foods/halal foods to eat. There is no concept of eating bread in lunch, dinner and breakfast in China. The people eat simple foods without bread. That is why they are healthy and smart. 40 years old man/woman looks like 20 years old guy.
We also visited Baoding, an industrial city of China, where many factories have been established to manufacture different kinds of electronic, electrical and other equipment. In Baoding City China, we found a big walnut tree bearing fruits. We picked some walnut, which were so big and tasty, like the walnut we have in Chitral Pakistan.
Temperature in China varies a lot in cities in different climate zones. Beijing has a monsoon climate, which makes weather very pleasant.
The beautiful world\’s standard roads, buildings, and tourist places in Beijing China are unmatchable. Having an exciting experience of visiting Beijing to enjoy its natural beauty and interact with its lovely, well disciplined and well behaved people. People of China are committed, hardworking, honest and fair in dealing and business.
Underground train services are available for general public with departure and arrival schedules. About 50% men and women drive bicycles to keep environment clean and unpolluted. The roads, airports and buildings are more beautiful and World\’s standard as compare to our roads,airports and buildings in Pakistan. During our one week visit to China, we didn\’t see any police Or security forces in the roads Or tourist places except immigration check posts. In the check post, checking is very strict, but in a respectful manner.
However, we have to face two problems during our visit. There is a language problem, nobody knows English to facilitate you. You need to have a guide/translator to visit China. But, in hotels, shopping centres and restaurants, they have installed software in their mobiles to translate English into Chinese/Chinese into English to facilitate the foreigners. The second problem was non-availability of halal foods for Muslim tourists. During our visit to China, we observed that Beijing is more expensive city than Islamabad. For example, I bought a cap in Beijing for Rs. 2500, while the price of this cap in Islamabad is Rs.600 only.