今年のお正月でした。70歳を過ぎた父が「万里の長城を見たいから、中国語を話せるエリックと一緒に北京に行きたい」と言いました。中国の歴史と言語に強い関心を持つエリックは、ふたつ返事で承諾。でも、父とエリックは上手く意思疎通できないことがあります。そこで、私も一緒に行くことにしました。
北京に着くや、現地ガイドの呂さんに連れられて、まず万里の長城に向かいました。大勢の人民の血と汗と涙のにじむ労働により、長い年月をかけて築かれた城壁。述べ12,000里（＝約6,300キロ、旧説）を超え、この距離が「万里の長城」と呼ばれる由来になったそうです。私たち夫婦と同じペースで景色の良いところまで一緒に登った父の満足顔を見て、私も嬉しくなりました。その後も、北京ダックを食べたり、動物園でパンダを見たり、順調に旅程をこなしていったのですが…。（つづく）
＊通貨レート
10元＝約120円＝約1.56ドル
＊物価参考
地下鉄全区：2元
雑技団ショーA席：380元
写真：万里の長城と頤和園
Trip to Beijing 1 -A Plan Realized
It was around New Year’s Day of this year when my father said, “I want to travel to Beijing with Eric, who speaks Chinese, to see the Great Wall.” Eric agreed with him right away. He has always been very interested in Chinese history and language.The two of them, however, sometimes have difficulty in communicating and I decided to go with them.
Our guide, Ms. Lo, took us to the Great Wall immediately after we landed in Beijing. It is a series of walls built by so many citizens with their blood, sweat and tears, spending so many years. The entire length of the wall used to be described as over 12,000 li (=approx. 6,300 kilometers = approx. 3,950 miles) and it became the Chinese name of “Ban-li” which literally means “ten thousand li.” I was happy to see my father’s contented face after we climbed to a point which offered great views. He kept his pace with us. After that, we stayed with our itinerary of eating Peking duck, seeing panda bears at the zoo and so on, until… (To be continued)
*Exchange rate
10 Chinese yuan = 120 Japanese yen = 1.56 American dollar (approx.)
*Prices
Subway fare with no distance limitation: 2 yuan
First class ticket for an acrobatic show: 380 yuan
Pictures: The Great Wall and the Summer Palace
