Nothing like a good op-ed piece and a national birthday to reawaken my pro-China inclinations. The Grand Parade was certainly magnificent (you can always count on China to put on an over-the-top spectacle), but still super dry and hella boring. The only highlights were:

1. When, during the flag-raising ceremony, the soldier threw the flag into the air (at about 7:35 in the video). That is just cool.
2. When the all-female brigade passed by, Hu Jintao cracked a smile for the first time and started applauding. Who doesn’t like hundreds of rifle-toting women in blue uniform dresses marching in a unison bloc?
3. The nukes. On parade.

As for the op-ed, it should provide a cursory introduction to the fundamental ideas behind China’s actions, as well as a reminder that China does have veritable ideals of its own, fashioned from its millennia of history. They force my mind to bend in ways that my mind can’t (much like physics), but only time will tell if they will deliver. Cynics and critics still have a lot to say about China’s actual adherence and belief in those eight ideas (China’s selection of facts, the CCP’s performance legitimacy belies the party-state it set up), but the PRC is just 60 years old. While it has made some very rapid changes and progress in some areas, it remains — almost frustratingly — slow in reforming other areas.

I’m enjoying the Beijing night one last time from my balcony. I haven’t sat out here in forever, it seems, which makes me realize how long I’ve been here—long enough to undergo changes in behavior. Sitting on the balcony at night right before I went to bed was one of my favorite things about living here. It still is, but Beijing nights are no longer as cool as they used to be when I first got here. Plus we started staying out later, and I usually just went straight to bed after getting home and showering.

Today was actually probably the hottest day that I can recall. Tomorrow is supposed to be just as hot, around 35 degrees Celsius. But it feels nice right now, though not very much breeze. I’ve said this a gajillion times already, but I’m going to say it again: I can’t believe this is it and it’s over. Time flies. It feels like it’s been such a short time, but thinking back to the beginning—what did I know then? How did I imagine this would be?—it was so long ago and different.

Just back from Datong. I need to go meet a friend, though, but here are a few thoughts:

Datong, briefly: It’s nasty and dirty. China is, in general, but Datong is nasty and dirty in a different way. Shanxi is infamous for its coal mines, and the dust from the coal supposedly blankets the whole province. I don’t know if the dust in Datong was coal, though, it was mostly just very fine dirt. I suspect it was everywhere because Datong seemed to be tearing up all of its roads. Everywhere we went, we would drive at least on two really really bumpy dirt roads that looked to be once paved. Our hotel room had a bunch of bugs, including roaches. There also is no ice cream in Datong, which I will elaborate on later.

China, generally: My mini-holidays are over, and the next time I travel somewhere, it will be to go home. Getting out of Beijing has made me realize how spoiled this city has made me, though. Which is interesting to think because of how living in Beijing has made me realize how spoiled the States has made me. Beijing has culture; I mean, it has different people from different backgrounds, and they all clash with each other. At the same time, Beijing is still Beijing, still China, and it is so without losing its identity and history. It is surely changing rapidly, but getting lost in its hutongs will still transport you back in time. Datong was uninspiring, everywhere the same. In Beijing, vendors at markets vary very little, and the whole city of Datong was like that. Every store on a street by our hotel was a little convenience shop (more on this later). Another street was all mian guan (restaurants selling noodles). Of course, Datong is not a big city like Beijing. Perhaps it’s a good sign of progress that China has cities like Beijing, which was so different just 30 years ago. But, though cities are always ahead of the wave, they are not necessarily harbingers of the future.

A rather unfortunate fact: My favorite part about my mini-holiday to Dandong was the hotel I stayed at. Crowne Plaza Dandong was probably one of the best things I’ve ever treated myself to. This is not a slight on Dandong (the town was fun), but Beijing has been rather rough on me. I think I’ve only recently began to realize how much I needed to get away, and staying here has been one of the most pleasant outcomes for things I wasn’t expecting. In fact, I am enjoying my last few moments of Dandong at a dessert cafe in the lobby of my hotel. Here, they have rather decent (above China average) Wi-Fi and homemade ice cream. The staff is so friendly and helpful. I love our doormen, who call cabs for us twice a day, open the doors for us, and greet us upon our return with “Hui lai le, Yueh xiaojie?” I love the travel service guys who kept our bags and shoes nice and safe for us. I love the pool, accessible only through the locker room, which had amazing shampoo, conditioner and lotion (and flowers and hair dryers), and its Nemo float. I love the beds, which had pristine white down comforters and pillows. I love how clean I feel here.

And now I have to leave. I will return post-hard seat with a sore ass.

First impressions: Dandong feels like the Myrtle Beach of China, complete with waterfront seafood restaurants and an island with a small amusement park. There are bright neon lights at night, a road and walkway along the river and lots of public spaces. It is in these public spaces where Dandong comes alive. Many groups of people, young and old, gather around: to play jianzi (the Chinese hackey sack), play music, listen to music, people-watch, dance, exercise, swim, fish, catch frogs or just enjoy the night air. Walking along this riverfront drive, one finds it impossible to go more than 100 meters without stopping to watch—something.

North Korea: I saw the Ferris wheel! It looked lonely and out of place (after all, Kim Jong-il just put it there for show and didn’t intend for any North Koreans to actually enjoy it). It wasn’t lit up at night, either, but little of the DPRK was—a stark contrast to Dandong right across the Yalu River. I wonder how the North Koreans I saw through a telescope feel: envious? thankful? confused? curious?

North Koreans: North Koreans are farmers living in sad houses, as best I can tell through a telescope off the Hushan Chang Cheng (Great Wall at Tiger Mountain). I saw some again at the Duan Qiao (OK, the broken bridge), and they were playing (or washing) in the water at a really tiny beach.

North Korea, again: The landscape looks pristine and beautiful. Green mountains in the distance turn into hills that gently roll down into the river. I saw a few bicycles and, today, even a van. The country perhaps has become even more mysterious to me than before I saw it.

The road to Pyongyang: Right beside the Duan Qiao is an intact qiao, a railroad bridge. Yesterday, while we were on the Duan Qiao, a train passed by! It was exciting to see something coming in from North Korea. I couldn’t tell what kind of train it was (as in, which nation operated it), but I did see curious faces of passengers pressed against the windows. What could they have seen on the other side of the bridge? A mysterious, very backward land? Kim Jong-il’s playground? How little I know of North Korea, and here was a whole train (it was like, four cars) of people who knew firsthand…

Speaking of trains: the yinwo (hard sleeper) wasn’t bad at all. I rather liked swinging down from my top bunk, and while there was not much space to sit up, it was pretty comfortable to lie down. I’m pretty sure the 14-hour train ride went by more quickly than the 14-hour flight from JFK to PEK. I just hope the yinzuo (hard seat) won’t be too yin on my bottom.

• Google music is revolutionary. I now have all the hottest and latest Chinese music (and the popular karaoke songs) so I can be that much more Asian.
• Beijing nights are not as comfortable as they were a few weeks ago. Chilling out on my balcony before bed is impossible now.
• They put up traffic lights at my favorite intersection. Crossing the street is no longer fun and disorderly.
• Looks like we jinxed Beijing drivers. Auto accidents are actually quite common in China. Ever since we commented on the lack of accidents on Beijing roads, we’ve seen a few a week. Oops!