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Tian Beichun, the chairman of the Real Politics Roundtable, suffered severe altitude sickness while visiting the Qilian Sword Scenic Area near Qinghai Lake on 21 October 2026. The 2,000‑plus‑meter city of Xining had been his first stop after a flight from Hong Kong via Beijing. The next day he and his wife travelled to the 3,000‑meter Qilian Sword area, where his oxygen saturation fell from the 90‑plus range typical of Xining to the low 70s. He described the sudden headache and the rapid drop in blood oxygen as “a sudden, sharp pain in the head.” A driver took the couple back to Xining that night, where they received overnight oxygen therapy. By the following morning his saturation had risen to 85‑90 and the headache had subsided. Tian warned that older travellers to high‑altitude regions should monitor their condition closely. After recovering, Tian and his wife toured central Xining with a local guide. He noted that the city’s unemployment rate is 2.5 % and that the downtown area contains quiet parks where many seniors fish leisurely. He also highlighted the low cost of housing: a 1,000‑square‑foot apartment in Xining sells for about 700,000 RMB, a price that he said would make Hong Kong residents “drool” with envy. During the park visit, Tian observed that all staircases had been replaced with ramps, a change the guide said was part of the national plan to make all public spaces fully accessible by 2027. The guide added that while many cities have already adopted such measures, some facilities suffer from long‑term maintenance problems, underscoring the need for ongoing investment rather than one‑off construction projects. At the end of the tour, Tian asked a young guide about the contemporary relevance of the traditional “scholar‑farmer‑artisan‑merchant” hierarchy. The guide explained that in first‑tier cities the order has shifted to “merchant, scholar, artisan, farmer,” placing business at the top. In second‑tier cities such as Xining, however, the traditional order of “scholar, merchant, artisan, farmer” still holds, reflecting a respect for knowledge and institutional roles. Tian posted a detailed account of the trip on social media, noting that the journey had begun a year earlier when he and a friend had agreed to travel together on a sleeper train through southern Xinjiang. The plan was to travel from Hong Kong to Xining, then by train to Urumqi and finally to Kashgar, where the friend continued the trip while Tian and his wife returned to Hong Kong. The experience, he said, had broadened his understanding of China’s diverse social and cultural landscapes. Article source: Sing Tao Electronic Daily | Image credit: Sing Tao Electronic Daily
Tian Beichun, the chairman of the Real Politics Roundtable, suffered severe altitude sickness while visiting the Qilian Sword Scenic Area near Qinghai Lake on 21 October 2026. The 2,000‑plus‑meter city of Xining had been his first stop after a flight from Hong Kong via Beijing. The next day he and his wife travelled to the 3,000‑meter Qilian Sword area, where his oxygen saturation fell from the 90‑plus range typical of Xining to the low 70s. He described the sudden headache and the rapid drop in blood oxygen as “a sudden, sharp pain in the head.” A driver took the couple back to Xining that night, where they received overnight oxygen therapy. By the following morning his saturation had risen to 85‑90 and the headache had subsided. Tian warned that older travellers to high‑altitude regions should monitor their condition closely. After recovering, Tian and his wife toured central Xining with a local guide. He noted that the city’s unemployment rate is 2.5 % and that the downtown area contains quiet parks where many seniors fish leisurely. He also highlighted the low cost of housing: a 1,000‑square‑foot apartment in Xining sells for about 700,000 RMB, a price that he said would make Hong Kong residents “drool” with envy. During the park visit, Tian observed that all staircases had been replaced with ramps, a change the guide said was part of the national plan to make all public spaces fully accessible by 2027. The guide added that while many cities have already adopted such measures, some facilities suffer from long‑term maintenance problems, underscoring the need for ongoing investment rather than one‑off construction projects. At the end of the tour, Tian asked a young guide about the contemporary relevance of the traditional “scholar‑farmer‑artisan‑merchant” hierarchy. The guide explained that in first‑tier cities the order has shifted to “merchant, scholar, artisan, farmer,” placing business at the top. In second‑tier cities such as Xining, however, the traditional order of “scholar, merchant, artisan, farmer” still holds, reflecting a respect for knowledge and institutional roles. Tian posted a detailed account of the trip on social media, noting that the journey had begun a year earlier when he and a friend had agreed to travel together on a sleeper train through southern Xinjiang. The plan was to travel from Hong Kong to Xining, then by train to Urumqi and finally to Kashgar, where the friend continued the trip while Tian and his wife returned to Hong Kong. The experience, he said, had broadened his understanding of China’s diverse social and cultural landscapes.
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