0:00:02 > 0:00:08Please note: We are currently unable to insert accents, etc, in the following subtitles.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27The real adventure of exploring China is going it alone
0:00:27 > 0:00:29and travelling the way the locals do.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36In this programme, getting around by taxi, coach and train
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and how to do it in Chinese.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Plus, a trip out to the Great Wall... and beyond,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46to the mountains, palaces and temples of Chengde.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54China is revolutionising its transport infrastructure,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57but despite a massive road building programme,
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Beijing still suffers traffic gridlock at peak times.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06"Car."
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Buses are frequent, but often crowded.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14"Public bus."
0:01:21 > 0:01:26There are some 50,000 taxis in Beijing.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28They're cheap and easy to find.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32"Taxi."
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The underground system is tiny for such a large city,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42but it is being expanded.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46"Underground."
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Many Beijingers still travel by bike,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52some 8.5 million of them.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58"Bicycle."
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Once, they were kings of the road.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05Now, they risk their lives daily in a system that seems little short of chaos.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16If you want to flee the congestion and get away from the city,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20coaches like this are a good way to visit key sites.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25"Bus" or "coach".
0:02:28 > 0:02:30"Does this coach go to the Great Wall?"
0:02:33 > 0:02:35"Great Wall."
0:02:38 > 0:02:41"I'll buy two tickets."
0:02:42 > 0:02:43"Ticket."
0:02:45 > 0:02:47"A return ticket."
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- Nimen hao.- Ni hao. Zhe ge che qu Changcheng ma?
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Shi.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Wo mai liang zhang piao. Duo shao qian yi zhang?
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Yi ge ren wangfan wushi.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00"A return is 50 yuan."
0:03:01 > 0:03:04"50."
0:03:04 > 0:03:06To check departure time, you can ask...
0:03:08 > 0:03:10"When does it leave?"
0:03:12 > 0:03:13"When?"
0:03:16 > 0:03:18"Seven o'clock."
0:03:20 > 0:03:22"7.30."
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Zhe ge che shenme shihou kai?
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Qi dian ban kai.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Xiexie.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44The most enduring symbol of Chinese civilisation.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48"The Great Wall."
0:03:50 > 0:03:53The wall dates back over 2,000 years,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55but sections of it existed even before this.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Linking them up into a single wall
0:04:01 > 0:04:05required the efforts of hundreds of thousands of forced labourers.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13The wall never really kept out attackers from the north,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17but it worked well as an elevated highway,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21stretching over 6,000km across the north of China.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Its beacon towers were also a clever warning device,
0:04:30 > 0:04:35transmitting smoke signals back to Beijing when there were enemy movements.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40If the Great Wall symbolises China's past,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Beijing's Central Station is all about the present.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49For 50 years, it's been the hub of the nation's gigantic railway network.
0:04:52 > 0:04:53"Train."
0:04:55 > 0:04:58"Train station."
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Times of trains and the train number are indicated on a board.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06It helps to know your destination in Chinese, of course!
0:05:07 > 0:05:11You can travel hard or soft class.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15"Hard seats."
0:05:17 > 0:05:20"Soft seats."
0:05:20 > 0:05:24To be sure of getting tickets, buy them in advance.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29"I want to go to Chengde."
0:05:33 > 0:05:36"I want two tickets."
0:05:40 > 0:05:45"I want soft class. How much is it each?"
0:05:45 > 0:05:47- Ni hao.- Ni hao.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Wo yao qu Chengde. Yao liang zhang piao.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Yao mai ying zuo haishi ruan zuo?
0:05:52 > 0:05:56- Wo yao ruan zuo. Qing wen duo shao qian yi zhang? - Liang zhang yibai ershi kuai qian.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00"120."
0:06:03 > 0:06:05They want to check the train's departure time.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Huoche shenme shihou kai?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09- Zaochen qi dian ban.- Xiexie.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14"When does the train leave?"
0:06:18 > 0:06:21"7.30 in the morning."
0:06:22 > 0:06:24"In the morning."
0:06:29 > 0:06:34Most of today's travellers from Beijing to Chengde are going there to work.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Or as a tourist.
0:06:42 > 0:06:51THEY SPEAK CHINESE
0:06:51 > 0:06:57Travelling by train is a great way to observe life in China's countryside.
0:06:57 > 0:07:03In northern China, villages have always grown corn and sorghum.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Now agriculture is improving and as well as having a more varied diet,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09farmers can sell their produce to the city.
0:07:11 > 0:07:18The train winds at a leisurely pace to reach its destination 250km from Beijing.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24A provincial town now fast developing as a tourist resort.
0:07:27 > 0:07:33The local government spent vast sums reviving the area's imperial history.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44In 1703, the Qing emperor, Kangxi,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49began building a summer palace and hunting ground away from the heat of Beijing.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53The whole court would move in here for several months.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01The Qing dynasty were from Manchuria.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08The early rulers, Emperor Kangxi and his grandson, Qianlong,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12created a period of great stability and prosperity.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22In the grounds of their palace, they designed lakes
0:08:22 > 0:08:27and architecture to imitate the delicate forms of southern Chinese landscapes.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Hills and grassland were painstakingly transformed
0:08:34 > 0:08:37into pleasure gardens for the royal elite.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45The Imperial resort performed a useful diplomatic role.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Leaders from nearby Mongolia and from Tibet
0:08:48 > 0:08:52were invited to join in splendid hunting parties in the hills.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57To further impress their neighbours,
0:08:57 > 0:09:04the Qing emperors built a number of magnificent Lama Buddhist temples in the nearby foothills,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07several of them modelled on Tibetan originals.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15The largest of the temples was designed to resemble the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
0:09:15 > 0:09:23Built to mark Emperor Qianlong's 60th birthday, it's adorned by the six Buddhas of infinite longevity.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Like all the temples in Chengde, it's undergone costly renovation
0:09:30 > 0:09:35since the damage caused during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and '70s.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48The Qing emperors built a new temple whenever there was cause for celebration.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51This one was built in honour of the sixth Panchen Lama,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53when he first came to Chengde.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57The gilded dragons are masterpieces of decoration
0:09:57 > 0:09:59and weigh a tonne each.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04All the temples are a little way out of town,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07but an easy ride by taxi.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11This visitor wants to know how much it is to go to Puning Temple.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15To address the driver, say...
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Shifu, qu Puning Si duo shao qian?
0:10:20 > 0:10:22- Shi kuai qian.- Hao.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Most taxis have a meter, so make sure it's on.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Driver, how much is it to go to Puning Temple?
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Ten yuan.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Puning Si is a working temple
0:10:48 > 0:10:52with a community of 70 Lama Buddhist monks.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01The temple draws believers and non-believers
0:11:01 > 0:11:03from all corners of China.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Though Buddhism is now tolerated in China,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10places of worship are heavily controlled by the state
0:11:10 > 0:11:14and valued largely for their tourist revenue.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21Puning Temple boasts the largest wooden Buddha in the world,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24towering some 22 metres high
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and weighing 120 tonnes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34In Chinese, she is called Guanyin - a motherly goddess of mercy
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and a central deity for ordinary people.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Buddhism originated in India in the 6th century BC
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and despite periods of persecution,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54it gradually took hold in China, merging with existing beliefs
0:11:54 > 0:11:58to the extent that it now has a distinctly Chinese face.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Most of the monks at Puning
0:12:29 > 0:12:33come from devout Buddhist families in Inner Mongolia.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38They join the order when they are teenagers.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Being a monk here is a world apart from anything they might have imagined
0:13:12 > 0:13:16and that includes performing for tourists.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Every day, the monks re-enact a Buddhist celebration.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25The ritual portrays man's quest for peace and tranquillity
0:13:25 > 0:13:29in the face of life's perpetual struggle.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:14:05 > 0:14:07E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk