After 36 not-so-short hours of transportation (plus an additional 24 hours offline), I’m back in the land of delicious noodles and blocked websites. Unfortunately, my blogging routine will have to change to accommodate the new post-Xinjiang Chinese Internet. Not only is Twitter blocked, again, but Picasa is gone too. Frustrating!
Surprisingly un-frustrating was flying to Beijing in the midst of swine-flu paranoia. When we landed, I had nightmares of quarantine dancing in my head. On the plane, just one row in front of me, a guy had been permanently sniffling into a damp handkerchief. He looked so bad that one of the flight attendants asked if he was ill, and reminded him that they would take his temperature in Beijing. (A bit too late for that warning, in my opinion!) Of course, I immediately imagined the worst — a week stuck in a Beijing hotel or hospital, several wasted train tickets, and a ruined trip to western China.
The reality was far, far better. Most importantly, I am not in quarantine. Overall, the health-verification process was remarkably efficient and non-intrusive. On the plane, we all filled out health forms inquiring about flu symptoms and our plans for travel in China. As we debarked, we were shepherded to a health checkpoint. The workers, who all spoke at least some English, stamped our forms and handed us small pamphlets reminding us to watch our symptoms. After that, we were free to go on to immigration. No Hazmatted health workers boarded the plane, as has been shown in a video shot at the Shanghai airport. It was not even apparent that anyone took our temperatures. And although the pamphlet instructed us to avoid crowded places and public transportation, no one batted an eye at my form, which said that I would be taking three overnight trains in the space of a week.
Overall, the entire immigration process — from stepping off the plane to claiming my bags and going through customs — took just 30 minutes, giving me plenty of time to make my train to Changsha. Perhaps the paranoia of China’s initial response to swine flu has calmed down a bit, or else I just got lucky.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
http://www.torproject.org/ Try this to get around block on picasa and other websites in China, Jessica