Free What the Chinese Don't Eat by Xinran Page A

Great Wall?’ a British editor, holding her guidebook, asked our Chinese tour guide. ‘In my book this area is rocky and barren, but look, it’s so green.’ She showed a page to him.
    ‘Oh, your book must be old. See? It’s published in 2000, it’s too old. Those are trees planted in the past few years.’
    ‘All of them are new trees?’ More loud voices, as we were joined by the Australian and American editors.
    ‘Yes. What’s wrong with them?’ I could see that the guide didn’t understand why these westerners were so surprised.
    ‘How many people and how long did it take to cover so many mountains with trees?’
    ‘It happened in just the past few years, after we were warned that Beijing could be buried in dust blowing from the north.’
    ‘I see, but this is such a huge area.’ My western friend still couldn’t believe it.
    ‘We are Chinese. We can move 30 million people from their poor old houses to the new buildings of our largest city, Chong-Qing, in just seven years, why can’t we cover a few mountains with trees?’
    In fact, I’m not surprised westerners who know about Beijing should question whether the trees and flowers in this green and colourful capital are real – they often used to be made of plastic.

11th June 2004
    Twenty years after I first heard of it, I found myself scouring a Chinese street for a
HongDu-Dou
    She was standing there quietly, with some wild flowers. It was 1984, and many city-dwelling Chinese could offer only plastic beauty instead of paying the price of time and water for real plants. Her eyes followed some colourful foreigners, then lit on me, the first Chinese who had come to buy flowers in the seven years she had been selling them.
    ‘How much is a bunch?’ I had never bought real flowers before.
    ‘Five fen [half a penny].’
    ‘Is it the same price for those
Lao-wai
[ foreigners]?’ I could not believe she would stand there all day just for this ‘between-the-teeth money’. I also knew lots of people charged those bignosed, golden-haired foreigners ‘heaven price’.
    ‘Why should I sell to them at a different price? They love flowers just the same.’
    ‘They really should be worth more, they are so pretty,’ I said.
    ‘I know. This is why I pick them up before they can be destroyed.’
    ‘Destroyed?’
    ‘They are digging to open up the Terracotta Warriors of the Qin dynasty, and so much is being destroyed. These beauties are gifts from heaven. Have you been to see the Warriors? You have to pray and protect yourself afterwards. I see you love flowers, which is why I tell you, I cannot let you be punished.’
    ‘Punished? By what?’
    ‘This is not allowed to be said, but every local knows it. TheTerracotta Warriors were discovered in 1974, then in 1975 the government decided to open it. Do you remember 1976? We lost our three heads: chairman Mao, prime minister Zhou Enlai, the head of the military, Zhu De – and there was the Tang-Shan earthquake with 300,000 lives lost.’
    I was shocked. It was true that all these things had happened.
    ‘How should I pray and protect myself?’ I turned to her for help.
    ‘Don’t be frightened if you haven’t done anything terrible. Get some incense to burn, then pray as the smoke goes up to heaven.’
    ‘That’s it?’
    ‘That’s it, if you are not guilty of any misdeed.’
    I thanked her, bought 10 bunches of her wild flowers, then left.
    ‘Wait,’ she called after me. ‘You should try to get a
HongDu-Dou
.’
    ‘What’s that?’
    She shook her head. ‘It’s such a pity. Our young girls have no idea about traditional beauty. You must know that piece of red silk children wear in the new year posters. Silly girl, it is very good for a woman to wear this in bed with her husband. You should get one, even though you are young, because it could be forgotten very soon if our life goes on changing in this way.’
    The same day, I bought the best incense I could and prayed, but I couldn’t find