The Regent Beijing

Overnight in Beijing

Arrived on evening of Sept 19th, off an Air-China flight straight to the chaotically lined up taxis picking up passengers to the city. Originally booked the Park Plaza Wangfujing, but upon arrival the hotel was fully booked. Feeling dejected, the concierge told me that I would have to stay at their sister hotel, the Regent which was right next to it - assuring me that it was really nice. It turns out, the fella wasn't lying at all. The room was large and great view to the bustling streets bel...

Before arriving in Beijing on the flight ov** a girl in the row behind us recognized Matt as someone she knew. Yi it turned out was from Beijing and returning home for a visit and to see one of the Olympic track and field events. She gave us tips on what to do and see and agreed to meet up in a couple of days to take us to some authentic Peking duck. When we finally arrived at the Regent Beijing hotel aft** the 12hr flight and instantly, we instantly walked into the lap of luxury. We w**e sta...

After a good nights rest woke up late in the morning and dedicated the day to checking out the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We stopped at a little noodle shop on the way to the Forbidden City and I got a delicious eggplant noodle concoction. The first of many delicious eggplant dishes to be had in China. Matt got some type of pork dish that apparently takes a long time to cook because the counter lady kept trying to tell us something in Chinese bust obviously we didn't understand, so ...

Rainy day in Beijing which helped clear up the air a bit. It was nice to have cooler air that day too. Decided to try the subway system since we had another soccer game that night and didn't want to hassle with taxis again. The subway system was very impressive- very clean and only 2 RMB (about $0.40) to ride anywhere, and well labeled stops and signs. Before making our way to the Temple of Heaven we went looking for a place to eat lunch and ended up in a 4 story market place where women were...

All the rain the day before did wonders for the city. I awoke bright blue skies and knowing this was the one day we had to get out to the great wall I was very happy it looked to be such a clear day. We had decided to do a 10K hike recommended in the Lonely Planet. We didn't want to go to the main tourist spot on the great wall- but something a little more peaceful and memorable. LP said the hike would take about 4 hours and although there were some steep and rocky areas it wasn't that strenu...

The one day we actually got to go up to the Olympic Greens (since you have to have a ticket to actually get into the Olympic Green area) and it was anoth** swelt**ing day with clear skies. First up was the Men's gold medal socc** game at the Bird's Nest Stadium at noon followed by track and field that night. Actually getting into the Olympic Green was tricky since taking the subway in you had to exit one station, have your ticket scanned and go through security screening to get onto the subwa...

Our last full day in Beijing we headed out to the summer palace, supposedly one of the more beautiful places to visit in Beijing. I was a little leery since the Forbidden City didn't live up to my expectations; however, the Summer Palace was great place to visit (albeit a little crowded). Beijing was starting to get the haze back too- so I bet on a clear crisp day the place is spectacular! When we left the Summer Palace the taxi wanted $40 RMB to take us back to the subway, but we had only pa...