We’re arriving to Beijing a couple minutes past 11. It takes a while to wait for our weapons and then we’re able to leave the airport. At exit a gentleman with a Slawek from Yantai banner awaits us. Unfortunately the bus that came to pick us up is too small for a team of 11 plus baggage. After two rides we’re all at the hotel – Beijing Airport Gold Rout International Business Hotel (Beijing Konggang Jinhang Guoji Shangwu Jiudian).

After two hours we’re taking a bus to the airport so that we can embark an express train for 25 yuan and depart to the Jiang Guo Men subway station. And only then to take a regular subway line for 2 yuan to reach the Tian’anmen square. Unfortunately it’s already too late and the “Forbidden City” is closed for tourists.

After a while we decide to buy a tour by a mini-bus around the “Forbidden City”. After a bit of wrestling we’re taking our seats and for 1 yuan we depart for a tour… that ends 1.5km later. Laughing at ourselves we end up in a pub on Beijing’s “Oxford Street” that is Wangfujian. Yanjingpijou beer for 10 yuan is acceptable.

Earlier that day we arranged a meeting with Tomek who was just finishing a course for sanda judges in Beijing. After we have finished our second beer Tomek finally appears. We go for dinner together.

We couldn’t really afford most of the things in the restaurant we had chosen but finally I managed to find something acceptable. Surely the  Beijing kaoya was worth its price of 138 yuan. For a similar duck in Yantai Yanai we used to pay much less but it was never as tasty as the one near  Wangfujian.

The second day was a morning trip to the great wall – Mu Tianyu. Taking a lift to the level of 800m and then walking the wall for two hours made us quite tired.  From up there we went down by a tobogan-like ride.

The advantage of this section of the Chinese Wall was that there are not as many tourists there. At least it wasn’t hard to take a souvenir photo or two.

To reach the wall we rented a bus in our hotel together with a lady tour guide who has only shown us to the ticket booth where we bought tickets for the lift. Unfortunately during our way back “lady guide” unsuccessully tried to cheat us claiming that the cost of the bus doesn’t include her fee. It wasn’t the first time when I had such a situation so that’s one of the reasons I tend to skip going to Beijing.

After coming back to the hotel part of our crew went back to the Forbidden City and the rest of us went to a restaurant near our hotel. This was also the place where we had our final dinner constantly interrupted by ganbei   - both yanjingpijiou and baijiou. The food, however hot, was very good. Paying only 300 yuan (for 10 people) and very kind service made bad memories of Beijing fade away. We’re going back home now. Our next entry will be a summary of our whole journey.

Yantai is crying because of us leaving Since yesterday it has been raining all the time. Today in the morning we had the last training session. Afterwards with the whole team and shi shu and older brothers we went to lunch. Some of us after our last adventures, especially those in Penglai were a bit afraid of the meal but it all ended well and we had time for last shoppings. Also yesterday after the evening practice unexpectedly the uncle master took us to a quick grill and a couple of ganbei with half-litre cups of beer The sponsor of this dinner was our laoshi Zhang. Actually each of our evening practices was concluding with a by-street grill where we used to drink beer for 2 yuan and tasted meat for 1 yuan a piece. It was nice that even when there were no free tables, the lady owner was organizing her garden in a way so that we all might be sitting together.

Back to the topic of trainings then. After the competition we have begun regular practice at school. Upon my wish we started with tanglang jian form, that is the two-handed sword. It is not strictly a traditional form. It was developed together by masters Yu Tiancheng, Yu Hai and Yu Tianlu. I have chosen this form on purpose as many people still have problems with appropriate body work in  tanglang and moves from this form, of course when performed properly, should allow to correct those errors. A few trainings let most of the group master this form on a decent level. Now we need to practice the moves over and over again so that we have reach a minimum similarity to the moves of uncle master. For most of us this is mission impossible.

The next form I chose was a form with staff – wu hu qu yang gun. It’s a traditional form practiced also in the Hong Kong lineage intended to correct the body movement similar to the sword tao lu. Unfortunately I didn’t think it was so difficult. We know the moves but whether anybody is going to be able to do it the way the uncle master does it, it is another matter.

The third form that uncle master has chosen for us was shi shu to pu dao dui qiang. Short but very nice form for competitions and exhibitions. Of course we also attended the trainings conducted by our da shixiong. Discovering the form details and training methods as used to be taught in Yantai in the old days is also one of the goals of our visit.

We are finishing our journey with namesday of our Cursing Bear that is Yogi. First dinner at Yantai Renjia which is the “Home Inn”. Now in the hotel a few bottles of bamboo vodka, the stronger one – 45 percent. Tomorrow in the morning we have a flight to Beijing and last two days of our stay in China. And Yantai is still crying for us.

For me China happens to be a totally different country than that which can be seen in television. I was expecting to see people in large straw hats dressed in traditional outfits. But it’s the western fashion that dominates here. Modern glassy skyscrapers that could be envied by more than one European city, wide streets and lots of modern cars among traditional bicycles. Although the traffic is a big problem during the first few days, one can easily adjust.

A big suprise is the hospitality of our chinese kung fu brothers that has accompanied us during throughout this visit. For lots of us an unforgettable memory will be the first dinner after coming here, traditional dishes that once served were landing on our plates because of our hosts caring for our stomachs.

An interesting experience was a visit to a disco where instead of chinese hits the western music dominated. Young Chinese are having fun in a similar manner to their western counterparts, they are friendly and have been eagar to meet us. In such good companionship and many gan beis we’ve been having fun until sunrise.

Life is China is changing, resembling more and more Europe and young Chinese willingly cut themselves from the traditional life in favour of the western style.

I am very happy that I could visit the country where kung fu was born, in the home town of master Yu and the capital of Praying Mantis.

I’ve been awarded the possibility of writing one of the last entries from our journey to China. In a few days we will be back to our country enriched with new experiences. For most of us these is all new experience. Many of us has not since seen such an exotic country. One that has more new luxury cars on the streets than in many European streets. One that has more moppets of different looks and taste than bicycles in Amsterdam. There are many contrasts such as these and it’s not possible to enumerate them all.

There are a couple of places which we visit multiple times whenever we are in Yantai. Of course the most frequently visited place is qixing wuguan school where we practice everyday. However the place unrelated to kung fu where we regulary go since a couple of years is a tea house located on San Zhan market. Each visit means at least two hours of sampling different brands of chinese tea.

We are finally past the competition. Three days were enough to tire us, considering that the Yantai weather is back. And seating in a hot hall is not nice too. I will write more about the competition in a moment.

From 1993 when I met master Yu Tiancheng until the moment of his death I had a chance to participate in something we call traditional kung fu – chuantong gong fu. Meeting the Master has changed my life significantly and understanding the rules of traditional kung fu has changed my view of the world. His death closed this chapter of my life. Fortunately before his passing away he managed to teach what is most important in traditional kung fu - understanding of kung fu and methods of learning free fighting. It is something almost impossible to find both in today’s China and elsewhere.