By Margaret Vuchiri

Like its trade, China's cultural and breath-taking sights are attractions that have made it an admirable destination for tourists. From incredible ancient architecture to rich heritage, one is bound to be swept away by the world's second largest economy.

China Beijing

Timothy Kalyegira recently wrote an article in the Sunday Monitor about a TV series titled "Brothers: Hand in Hand with Africa" focusing on China's projects in Africa which, he says, reveals the embarrassing backwardness of our continent. According to Tim, Africa as seen through China's eyes lives in conditions of the 1920s.

In my view, many Chinese do not see it that way. Or perhaps they do but are too polite to say it. On the streets of Beijing, ordinary Chinese are guarded about the growing China-Africa relations. What is obvious is that the Chinese have a well-structured setup that allows a visitor to experience their country without saying much.

Beijing, China's second largest city has many attractions. The Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall is one of the first stops for visitors because it introduces you to Beijing- its history and future! Our guide took us through the 3,200 square feet comprehensive model of Beijing in a four-story museum-like building.

This exhibition showcases impressive architecture and treasured historic models. It is an in depth assembly of everything Beijing, including a model of the city's plans. Our tour ended in the hall's theatre where tourists have the opportunity to see what the city will look like in future. As my colleagues lamented about how KCCA could use such plans, I recalled a recent visit to Nairobi where a young woman who had done extensive research on the Kenyan capital told us that no one was interested in her presentations. We were sympathetic enough to invite her to share her findings later. None of us showed up!

The Great Wall of China

As one of the greatest wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China boasts of more than 2000-year history. Our translator, Li Xiao, was incidentally climbing the Great Wall for the first time and like me, she descended with hands shaking and legs trembling.

As we went through endless dark alleys, I asked one of the locals why the rough surfaces are not smoothened to ease the steep ascend. "That would erase our history," I was told. For now, the Wall is best left with its faded charm. Its uniqueness is the imposing architectural splendour, not the smoothness of the staircases.

According to www.greatwall-of-china.com, the Wall, built between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire, is the world's longest human-made structure, with the entire wall and its branches stretching over approximately 21,196 km. Estimates put the number of Chinese who died during this project at two to three million.

世界各地的游客对中国趋之若鹜，不光是为了做生意，更多的是为了这里独特的文化和令人叹为观止的美景。从不可思议的古建筑到丰富的文化遗产，这个世界第二大经济体一定会令你心驰神往。

中国 北京

蒂莫西·卡里耶吉拉最近在《星期日警戒者报》上发表了一篇文章，评论一部名为“兄弟：与非洲携手同行”的电视系列片。该片集中介绍了中国在非洲开展的工程项目。卡里耶吉拉称该片展现的非洲大陆处于一种令人困窘的落后状态。他称，中国人眼中的非洲还停留在上世纪20年代。

而在我看来，许多中国人对非洲的看法并不是那样；或者他们私下里这样想，但是出于礼貌没有表露出来。在北京的大街上，中国的老百姓对于发展中的中非关系的态度十分谨慎。很显然，我们的东道主精心组织、有序安排，能够让外国游客体验这个国家，而不必过多地发表看法。

北京作为中国的第二大城市，有很多热门景点。北京市规划展览馆往往是游客们的第一站，因为在这里你能大概地了解北京，从它的历史到未来。在这栋4层的博物馆式的建筑中，导游带我们参观了总面积达302平方米的北京城市规划模型。

展览馆中的模型包括这座城市中令人印象深刻的建筑和文物古迹，这是北京城所有景观的全面大集合，包括城市未来规划蓝图的模型。我们在展览馆的最后一站是馆内的影院，在这里游客们可以直观地看到北京城未来的样子。我的同事们惋惜着我们的首都坎帕拉市政当局本来也可以进行像这样的良好规划；我却回想起前不久到肯尼亚首都内罗比访问时，一位对内罗比做过大量研究的年轻女性告诉我们，根本没有人对她的研究成果感兴趣。我们对此表示同情，邀请她其后与我们分享她的发现，结果我们之中压根没一个人露面！

中国的长城

中国的长城已经有2000多年的历史，是世界七大奇迹之一。凑巧得很，我们的翻译李潇还是第一次爬长城，当然我也是一样。她下台阶的时候紧张得手脚发颤。

我们穿过了仿佛没有尽头的幽暗巷道，我问一个当地人，为什么不把表面磨平，好让石阶不这样陡。那人回答说：“那样会抹去我们的历史。”如今，长城的古城墙依然保存良好，带着一种风华落尽的魅力。它的独特不在于平整光滑的台阶，而在于壮美的建筑奇观。

一个专门介绍长城的网站（www.greatwall-of-china.com）上说，长城自公元前5世纪起开始修建，直到公元16世纪仍然在陆续补建，目的是防御古代中国的北疆。长城是世界上最长的人造建筑物，所有分支加起来的总长度约为21196公里。据统计，历朝历代为修建长城而死的总人数加起来有二三百万人。