Thinking about China

As I am sure you can imagine I have been doing a lot of thinking about China, particularly about Beijing, in the last few weeks. I am writing only one week before I leave. It seems at times like I am going on an epic journey when I am really going for only sixteen days, just a vacation. I think the "epic" part comes from waiting to do this trip for many years.

Beijing is a large city, and I have lived most of my life in or near Canada's largest city. Yet Toronto is quite small compared to Beijing. People have said that the number of people I will see every minute of every day could be overwhelming. The last time I checked the official population of Beijing was over 25 million. The population of Canada is less than 35 million. I cannot imagine putting almost everyone in Canada into one city. That is what people are trying to tell me: I cannot imagine what Beijing is like. So that's why I am going: so I can stop imagining and start experiencing.

Using Google Maps I discovered Beijing is not as far north as I thought. It is roughly on the same latitude as Philadelphia. Now I understand why Beijing about 5 - 10 degrees warmer than Toronto all year. And that explains the absence of snow in the winter. If Toronto were 5 - 10 degrees warmer, what falls as snow in the winter now would fall as rain. What little snow would fall would not stay on the ground too long. Go north to Huntsville or North Bay where it is 5 - 10 degrees cooler than Toronto and the snow does not melt. It comes in November or December and stays until March or April.

I am still waiting for suggestions or inspiration about things to buy. I need to replace one broken Yixing teapot. But what else can I bring back that will say "Beijing" to me in the months ahead when I think about returning? Suggestions welcome.