China Tourist Attractions Bring New Beijing Hotels And Ring Roads

Beijing was soon to have a transport problem ! Beijing not only attracted tourists, but also attracted Chinese people from other areas of China hoping for a better life. There were service buses in Beijing in which the passengers were packed in so close that it puzzled me how any of them were able to get off the bus when it reached their particular destination. I often wondered what these Beijing bus passengers thought of us traveling in our air conditioned coaches, with comfortable seats, when our coach occasionally pulled up alongside them, as the service buses were far from new. Even the Beijing lorries seemed to have seen better days, sometimes precariously loaded, with perhaps workmen sitting, standing or sleeping on the open backs. The most used form of transport in Beijing was of course the bicycle, which had special lanes on the major roads, and it was a spectacular sight to see them packed together, when they were stopped by a red light at a road junction.

China Tourist Attractions Change Between Visits

This was of course Beijing in 1987 and by 1990, on my second visit, the improvements in the lives of the ordinary people were more noticeable and the mushroom growth of new hotels and new roads had already begun. By 2002, the year of my last visit to Beijing, it was sometimes difficult to remember which city I was in. Perhaps I was in Hong Kong or New York ! Gone were the middle aged men with their notebooks, sitting on low stools at road junctions and other vantage points, ready to reprimand and fine anyone who dropped litter, spat on the road or pavement, or crossed roads against a red light. There were more private cars in Beijing, and the numerous taxis were hired not only by the tourists but also by the Chinese people themselves, although now it was almost quicker to walk. This spectacular change in Beijing and China attracted the outside world like a magnet !