TOURIST AGENCY SERVES MEMORABLE MEAL
By Bob Van Leer

  (BEIJING, CHINA, Oct. 11, 1991) - Today started with a visit to the U.S. Embassy, then a tour of a primary school, a visit to a newspaper, and a briefing on tourism in China and closed with the most memorable meal we have ever eaten.

  U.S. Ambassador Stapleton Roy and aids briefed us on the present China situation. Under the cumbersome rules our staff had agreed to, the presentation was for background only and no one could be quoted directly.

  We were told that China is an exceptionally difficult country to comes to grips with. China never in its history has had a government we could approve and we need to find a frame of reference to deal with China.

  The U.S. and china, after 20 years of no relations got together because of a shred concern of the Soviet threat. Henry Kissinger, secretary of state, went to China in 1971 followed by Pres. Nixon in 1972. relations were normalized in 1979.

  China had destroyed its education system in the Cultural Revolution and China started sending students to the U.S. and other countries, 150,00 of them, the cream of the crop.
China gambled on this and part of it worked. But Tiananmen Square showed that all of it didn't work as planned. China has succeeded brilliantly with its economy (10% per year real growth) but not politically.

  The collapse of the Communist party in Russia turned all eyes on China. Will the party collapse there?

  China and the Soviet union are not comparable, the economy of China is doing very well. If the party collapses there is a real problem. China needs a peaceful transition, the only hope is for such a transition.

  Market-oriented impacts are now driving China, particularly in the south.
Interaction with China works heavily in our favor. But the public perception is tanks in Tiananmen Square. We need a way for senior officials to come to China without appearing to sell out on human rights.

Primary School

  Our next stop was the Hong Miao Primary School for children aged 6-12. It's a big school. It has over 1200 students in 24 classes and a staff of 106. Of these, 66 teach and 32 work in the school factory. Mr. Li Yu-Long, deputy schoolmaster, said the factory had two functions: a place for students to be taught practical work - and also to produce income for the school. The factory produces audio-visual teaching aids.

  Li said basic Chinese education is 9 years, 6 in the primary school and a 3 year high school. The student day is 6 hours, 6 days a week. There are two vacations per year, 7 weeks in the summer and 4 weeks in winter in the urban areas.

  English is taught starting in the fourth grade. Classes are large, averaging 50 students, but are tightly controlled and orderly.

  Teachers are supplied with housing and medical care free of charge. A beginning teacher makes 170 yuan a month (about $34.00) and top teachers make 300 yuan per month ($60.00) with the average at 240 yuan ($48.00).

  But Li said this puts them in the middle to high income level.

China Daily

  After lunch we visited the China daily, the only national newspaper in English. It is 10 years old and founded to present China news to those who don't speak Chinese.

  Chen Hui, the managing editor, showed us around. Newspapers look similar the world over. They're always cluttered. And the equipment used is getting to be the same around the world. A couple of pieces of equipment are exactly the same brands as we us at the Curry County Reporter.

  And the press used to print the paper is the Goss Community, the same one our newspaper is printed on, and also about 90 percent of the weeklies and small dailies in Oregon and other states.

  Wages are low. A beginning reporter is paid 100 yuan ($20.00) per month. The paper is far overstaffed by our standards. There are 120 reporters and editors producing 8 pages daily, which is 48 pages per week.

  At the Curry County Reporter the entire staff, most of whom don't write news, is only 7 persons and we produce 18 pages a week.

Tourist Agency

  Cheng Wen Dong, vice chairman of China National Tourism Administration, said China's tourist trade has been increasing at a rate of 20 percent annual rate since the opening in 1978 and has earned $15.7 billion for China.

  The country is rapidly gearing up to handle more. He said over 700 cities and areas are now open for foreign tourists and 1.7 million Chinese are involved with the travel industry. Beijing alone has 127 hotels with 40,000 rooms and more are building.

  The Chinese have designated 1992 as "Visit China Year" and have special events planned.

Chinese Banquet

  The tourism administration hosted us to a banquet in the evening that was the most memorable meal we have ever eaten. And Betty and I have had some outstanding ones before. The meal was served at the Beijing International Hotel, one of the newer ones, and took more than three hours. The menu listed 12 courses but some course contained several course themselves. One of our party estimated about 27 total courses.

  The meal started with appetizers mostly quite tasty but included some strange to western palates suah as thin-sliced smoked pig's ear.

  A second course was shark stomach soup followed by steamed prawns and then scallops. Some of these courses may not sound appetizing but they tasted better than they sound.

Peking Duck

  Next came Peking duck which lives up to its reputation. We had never had the opportunity to try it before and can testify it is delicious. Monkeyhead vegetables came next. It's actually broccoli and mushroom that, uncooked, is shaped like a monkey head.

  Fish in sweet and sour sauce was next. The fish was sliced before cooking so that, after cooking, it was in a rosette form.

  Spicy water dumplings were served with a rice dish with eight ingredients, one which was lotus nuts.

 The next course was listed as "hot pot". This turned out to be individual metal pots with a burner underneath that heated water to boiling. Spices were added to the water and a plate of raw meats and bowl of vegetables and tofu (bean curd) were served.

  Slices of meat or small amounts of vegetables were cooked in the spicy water and eaten. The meats included shrimp with egg skeins attached, mussels, and slices of pork and chicken.

  After all these were eaten, the cooking liquor became another soup course.

  One of our party had a birthday that day so a birthday cake was added as another course.

  Finally, we came to the last courses, melon balls and Italian style ice cream. And the ice cream was scoops of three different flavors topped with two sauces and garnished with orange sections. Everything about the meal was exceptional and there were little touches to make the meal more pleasant. Wine and beer glasses were kept full and there were repeated toasts.

  Damp washcloths in wicker baskets were at everyplace to wipe off after such things as peeling shrimp. After each course the soiled plates and utensils were removed and fresh provided.

  Decorative plates plates on the tables were pictures of orchids, plum trees, bamboo and chrysanthemums, all made of food. There was an 18-24 inch high sculpture of swans. This was sculpted from butter. Two cockatoo-like birds about a foot tall turned out to be carved from giant radishes.

  No, they didn't serve Chines fortune cookies. After such a meal the only thing left to do was return to the hotel and crash. Tomorrow we are to explore Chinese history with a visit to the Great Wall.