I didn't have much choice. We were in Xian, on the way to Beijing.
At the last minute the flight was delayed. (CAAC stands for China Air Always Cancels.). They had to feed us, so they took us to a restaurant that catered to Chinese Government officials.
We didn’t know it at the time, but Gorbachev was going down in the USSR. When we did fly to Beijing later that night we landed not at the civilian airport, but a military base.
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.