In the afternoon of 9 December 1980 I landed for the first time in Beijing, thanks to LH662 coming from Frankfurt. I never thought I would stay here for so long. Indeed, Beijing was not so welcoming at that time. It was the land of “meiyou” – basically there was nothing of the things we wanted or needed. In my seminars I always start with a quick look back (with some exceptional pictures) to remind us all how China moved from a Mao-type city to pole-dancing & belly-dancing megapolis in 30 years.
In that month I came to explore how to set up a Rep Office for ACEC – done in early 1981, see here with my faithful secretary Monsieur Chen.

I also went to Changchun, to face a Siberian climate with my ill-prepared Belgian clothing. Trip done by train and I promptly caught a nasty cold, missing a trip to Tianjin. I also had my first dinner at the Belgian Embassy (with the rather colorful ambassador Denorme). My first Great Wall and Ming Tombs trip was on 21 December. I think I left on 22 December, arriving back in Belgium on 23 December.
II managed to hold on to my room 5109 in the West Wing of the Beijing Hotel, with a view on the Forbidden City. I ignored the orders of the Hotel to leave the room. Hey, once you had a room, you just stayed. The daily rate was “steep”: 50 RMB;. A suite was 70 RMB but it would take me a long time before getting that.
I am going to celebrate – or mourn – that fateful day in one of my new (Japanese) KTV. Friends are welcome.

That pic was taken in our former KTV that was closed recently. All to promote myself though I forgot actually why people had to vote for me.
Must have been the vodka.