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Golden Week in the old Beijing

　　By Geoff Lemon

　　Pat and Shen discuss how they will spend the holiday break.

　　Pat: Hi Shen! Going to visit your parents during the Golden Week?

　　Shen: Hello Pat, nice to see you! No, not this time---my mum and dad are on business in Tibet.

　　Pat: Oh? Are they busy being tourists?

　　Shen: Well, I hope they have time to enjoy the scenery. But actually, both my parents hold important positions in an engineering company, and they are there to oversee some projects and to look into new business opportunities.

　　Pat: Sounds pretty serious. I want to go to Tibet someday, but I’ll not be going far from home this time.

　　Shen: Not leaving Beijing?

　　Pat: Nope ?----there are enough adventures here to keep me occupied! So anyway, what are your plans...maybe we can join forces?

　　Shen: Possibly...what activities are you thinking of?

　　Pat: Have you ever climbed the Fragrant Hills? I hear they look pretty special this time of year!

　　Shen: Right you are! Actually they will look even better in October, but it is a very lovely place to visit anytime. That’s a nice day-trip. What about this... do you like horse-riding?

　　Pat: Is the Pope a Catholic? Why honey... I was born on a horse!

　　Shen: Hmm... that would explain why you are so funny looking. I think you must have fallen off a few times!

　　Pat: Oh ha, ha, ha. Very funny. Really, I used to ride a lot as a kid. My uncle had a farm and they kept a few ponies there. But where can we ride around here?

　　Shen: It’s another day-trip ---- or two days is even better. You can join a group to go out to the grasslands. There are places out there where you can hire a quiet pony and spend the day riding lazily in the fresh open air. You can even stay overnight in a farmer’s house and get some more riding in the following day.

　　Pat: Fresh air you say? I could do with some of that. Don’t think I’ve seen the sun for a week. All this dust is getting me down. And the thought of spending a night somewhere where we can see the stars at night might be “just what the doctor ordered”.

　　Shen: Yep. It’s the perfect antidote for those “Beijing blues”.

　　Pat: Now, now. Don’t knock the super Olympic city. I thought I might just spend some time casting my eyes over the stadiums that are under construction.

　　Shen: Oh... so now you’re a Supervising Architect?

　　Pat: Well I’ll be glad to offer advice if I think they need it.

　　Shen: If you can find somebody who’ll listen.

　　Pat: Yeah! That’s it ---- you’ve “hit the nail on the head”. They should have a Suggestion Box!

　　Shen: And I have a suggestion for you!

　　Pat: Oh yeah? What?

　　Shen: Leave it to the experts! Anyway I bet there is something that you haven’t seen.

　　Pat: What might that be?

　　Shen: Did you know that they’ve finished restoration work at the Forbidden City?

　　Pat: Oh great. Last time I was there all the important buildings seemed to be blocked from view.

　　Shen: Well now is a great time to see them in all their glory. I’ve heard they’ve done some magnificent restoration work.

　　Pat: OK. Lets put that on the list. It’s a must-see!