Life in grey

Life can be quiet and leave me alone sometimes, not much happens and much of the day is lost in my own thoughts. Not so in China though! Since arriving a few days ago (feels like forever), every minute has been full to bursting with newness. It's my first visit to China, and my first experience of doing business with the Chinese, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise, but I'm still astounded at this sprawling city.

The city is shrouded in grey. A sandstorm from Mongolia brought a fine covering of grey-white powder across the buildings and cars, and the sky was full of clouds (or pollution), pretty depressing.

I was up early to check out of my gorgeous Western-style business hotel and move two miles down the road to a cheaper place. It's nice but feels much darker. My room is shrouded in dark wood and I feel like Miss Marple tapping away at the desk.

I'd hoped to get to the Great Wall or the Forbidden City while I'm here, but time is running short and we have to work on Saturday, so the precious sights will have to save for another time. I'm lucky to be here, so I shouldn't complain, and I've seen a side of China most tourists probably wouldn't ever see. My Chinese is non-existent, so even though I can read some kanji from learning Japanese all those years ago, most of the time I feel like such an outsider. There's a whole world out there that I don't understand, I haven't even scratched at the surface.

At dinner today I sat next to a man who was the first ever Chinese allowed to marry a foreigner. He met his wife in the seventies when China and the US had a cultural exchange - children of American diplomats and senators were sent to China for the first time. He fell in love with an American, but was refused permission to marry her until the Premier gave his approval... a symbol of a crack opening up in China's consciousness to shine its light to the outside world.