By Robert Johnson, Sydney Symphony Principal Horn
After the flight from Sydney it was straight to bed on Friday night. I slept so well that I was late for breakfast. But I made it to the bus on time for our trip to the Great Wall and that’s what mattered. At 9.30am, about 70 musicians hopped on 2 separate buses for 2½ the hour journey from the hotel to the Wall. It was a very slow trip due to a crazy amount of traffic but the long travel time gave me a chance to look out the window and take in Beijing. This is my first trip to China and I am simply fascinated by the architecture, both old and very new. There are also not the millions of bicycles I was expecting. It’s very interesting. I guess the car has taken over. There are also banks everywhere including one called ‘the Workers Construction Bank’. There’s no St George Bank – there may be an opportunity here for one of our sponsors!
Going to the Wall was definitely worth it. It’s hard to describe what it’s like. It was overwhelming more than anything else. I managed to walk about 1km and my legs are starting to tell me! A lot of the Wall is very steep as it follows the contours of the hill. I’m sure there is a doctorate in working out why they built it as they did. It’s amazing. If we built it now we would probably do it in a straight line. It’s simply fascinating and I’m guessing there was a strategic reason from a defence point of view to have it curved. It’s definitely something I am going to explore further.
All in all, it was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect although quite windy and it was not as cold as I was expecting. I even managed to avoid most of the locals trying to sell things – scarves, pashminas, t-shirts, Mao hats etc. I took some photos on my phone which don’t do the Wall justice but at least I can say I was there.
The whole group was pretty quiet on the bus trip back to the hotel – probably due to aching calves!
When we got back to the hotel it was time for our Wind Quintet to perform at the graduation dinner for the University of NSW. We played Danzi’s wind quintet to a few hundred very attentive people. Then it was off to join our colleagues at a local Peking Duck restaurant.
About 80 musicians went to the restaurant which is situated in the heart of Beijing. The exotic parts of the duck had been eaten by the time we got there which I think may be a blessing in disguise. Things like duck tongues in gelatin, duck feet and the webbed part of the feet do not overly appeal to me but I tried a few things which was enough to say I have had the experience.
A few of us caught the train back to the hotel and I find it fascinating that there’s a hand luggage scan at the station. My French horn went through without a problem, which is a very good thing given we have a concert tomorrow!
But yes, enough of the playing around in Beijing. Tomorrow the real playing begins with our first performance. I am certainly looking forward to the concert at the Forbidden City Concert Hall. There is definitely a nice feeling about the upcoming concert amongst all the musicians.
I sat next to our piano soloist Behzod Abduraimov on the plane over here and I am very much looking forward to the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with him. He’s an amazingly mature player for someone so young and a he’s such a nice person as well. I think his performances are going to be a real hit.
< Back to Asia Tour Home