Raising the flag in Tienanmen Square

It was one of those 'conference call till 5am - still jet lagged' mornings that found us in a cab heading for Tienanmen Square for the dawn flag raising ceremony. We had never been and I thought it would be romantic - the two of us in the square on a chilly February morning as dawn broke over the Forbidden City and the flag of the PRC was slowly raised to the mournful sound of single trumpeter.

Little did I know that this ceremony is on the itinerary of every Chinese tour group visiting Beijing. It was the two of us, a chilly February morning and about 5,000 out-of-towners six deep across the square. The national anthem blasted out of the loudspeakers as the guard-of-honour marched to the flagpole and raised the flag. It was all over in a few moments and the crowd scattered. Tienanmen at 6am was heaving and buzzing. We beat a hasty retreat to Steak and Eggs for a fry-up.

So what is the finger guessing game, anyway?

What is this finger guessing game? What sort of job do you win that pays 100KRMB pa if you are an ace at it? Why did the woman manager want to learn to be great at it..and to avoid too much dinner table drinking? Could I train and get free meat? Would you subscribe to the Chongching Times?

Such a short article..so many questions to answer.

All quiet at Terminal 2

Poor old Terminal 2 at Beijing's Capital Airport.

It was relegated to second class status once the Norman Foster designed T3 opened in spring 2008 and all the major domestic and international airlines moved their services over to the shiny, new terminal.

T2 has become a terminal backwater. Serving a few domestic airlines and the slightly bizarre 'SkyTeam' alliance of KLM/Air France, Aeroflot, Delta, Korean Air and Alitalia and a host of lesser known carriers I feared the worst on a recent flight to Seoul.

But what a great surprise - the place is empty. Check-in, immigration and security in minutes. Walk to the gate..just a few steps. And on the way back I was off the plane and in the car in 15 minutes. Maybe the old terminal doesn't have the glitz and elegance of the new T3 but in terms of convenience - no contest.
another busy night at the restaurant