And a city yet untouched by the Red Guard destruction of temples and treasures during the Great Cultural Revolution. Yes, Beijing had come a long way. I ask again for Frank but Frank is never around. Frank is off preparing to open yet another joint venture. In fact, nobody in Beijing is around because they are all off in various sections of the city building a building, or making a deal or opening a hotel or talking on their cellular phones about joint ventures.
Construction cranes face one another about the town like ancient weapons from forgotten wars.
I stare for a moment at the license plates on the wall and stop at that of New hampshire. I decide to leave Frank's Place and head back to my hotel located far to the west of the city. A clean, inexpensive hotel but not where my guidebook map said it would be. Because the editors have obviously mixed up the name of the hotel with the same name of a park in the city's center. When I'd landed at Beijing Airport, a taxi driver had told me my hotel wasn't even on the map.