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Or of suffocation, we are not sure. The only thing that is clear is that he died. Or he will die. And faster than we think. Asphyxiated by to the hordes of tourists that invade the last corner of every monument or bored dead after queuing for hours to enter any museum. There are either too many of us or not enough places to visit. Either way there is no easy solution for any.  

The other day, we went to the Chinese Emperor’s residence. Seven hundred years of monarchist history. Now, Mao’s picture is dominating the entrance. The king is dead, long life to the dictator! We are not going to lie, it is not that wonderful. Not for its architecture, not for the art that you can see inside. Its name attracts the public, the Forbidden City, even though some make fun of it (The Forbidden Shitty, read on the walls of the public toilets). And that’s it. Or that is what we thought until, tired of pushing hundreds of Chinese people apprentice tourists, we escape through one of the lateral pavilions. There, we sat on a bench longer than the Chinese Wall and a miracle happened. Just like the waters of the Red Sea divided in front of Moses, the crowd of amateur photographers disappeared and a dead calm invaded the garden where we had taken shelter. During those few seconds when the whole world forgot about us, we realized for the first time the majesty of the Forbidden City, the serenity that it transmits, the perpetuity that it radiates. At that moment their corny names were not corny anymore and we almost understood them: the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, or the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

This simple moment was worth all the hours waiting. Although just a few will be as lucky as we were.  It will take more or less time, it will be next year or the following, but we will get to the point where tourism will die of success; and it will be then when we will have to decide if we think that everybody has the right to enjoy these wonders and allow the crowd to destroy them, or rise the ticket price to protect them, so that only a few can visit them. What a dilemma! Just in case, we are going to see them this year. One after the other. The Seven Wonders of the World. And more to come.

Beijing, Olympic City