Golden Week, the Chinese national holiday in early October, is a great time to be in Beijing. The north wind from the Mongolian steppe dispels any lingering pollution. The city glitters in the pristine sunshine and, as always in China, there are new cultural treasures to enjoy.
We took a trip to the Fragrant Hills, an hour from Beijing, where Fahai Si, a Ming monastery, has been reopened, revealing a perfect set of 15th century Buddhist wall paintings. Originally commissioned by powerful Forbidden City eunuchs, the paintings are unbelievably lavish. On one wall, Buddha’s veil requires a magnifying glass to see gossamer threads as finely drawn as dandelion seeds. Gold filagree paint complements the rich robes. It is a wonderful reminder of China’s 4,000 years of culture; an extraordinarily rich tradition still evident in the Chinese character and language. I can only agree with Henry Kissinger’s words: “I have come to admire the Chinese people, their endurance, their subtlety, their family sense, and the culture they represent.”
Back in Beijing, all the talk was of the launch of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the US and Japan-led trade pact that excludes China, and which is bitterly resented there. It is a complex deal that in many ways does not suit China at this stage of its economic development. But TPP looks as though it is a part of a new strategy by the Americans to corral the nations abutting the South China Sea into a common front against the mighty Middle Kingdom.