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Peking..Beijing..Peking..Beijing..Peking..Beijing
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From Hong Kong I took a 40 minute KCR train ride to Shenzhen which is located on mainland China. It was here I had to go through proper Chinese immigration since HK does not require a visa for US citizens. From the train station I took a cab ride to the airport. I flew to Beijing from Shenzhen rather than HK since the fares are significantly cheaper out of Shenzhen for intra-China travel. Shenzhen is in southeast China and Beijing is in the northeast. The train ride between the 2 cities takes about 25 hours, so taking the flight was a no-brainer for me. I decided to bypass Shanghai (about midway between Shenzhen and Beijing) since it is China's most modern city and from what I read was nice, but mostly known for shopping.
As with most big cities, Beijing's budget hotel options are a bit meager, so I splurged and stayed at a brand-new Westin (using my Starwood points). The hotel was superb (free breakfast and free happy hour drinks always win me over) and I definitely recommend it.
Although Beijing has a metro, I took taxis just about everywhere since they are dirt cheap and never tried to rip me off. The city is very spread out and walking really isn't an option for reaching most sites. Many parts of the city were exactly how I imagined a commie city would be - very utilitarian, lots of colorless concrete block buildings and polluted skies. It is extremely orderly and I rarely even saw anyone jaywalk. A policeman always seemed to be nearby. This time of year the weather up in the north of China is cold and sunny. The city is in full-on preparation for the Olympics in 2008. There are signs promoting the games everywhere and much construction and beautification going on. The locals spat more than I thought humanly possible. It got to the point of almost being funny hearing the constant "haaaaaaawk" and splat. I think they all might have a medical condition. I heard rumors that the government is trying to limit the spitting in preparation for the Olympics by fining spitters.
My first stop in Beijing was Tiananmen Square. The square is massive and is supposedly the largest public square in the world. Ornate gates are on each end of the square and it is flanked by enormous government buildings. The square also holds various monuments and Mao's Tomb, which was closed for renovations when I was there. Seeing Tiananmen inevitably brought up memories of the massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators here in the late 80s. It was a bit weird seeing the place in person. Tons of cops (uniformed and plain-clothed) are all around the Square. If you stop moving in certain areas, cops with loudspeakers yell at you...yeah they were annoying! I'm not sure if all the police were for tourist protection or to squash any would-be rabble-rousers. Lots of tourists roamed in and around Tiananmen, but the vast majority of them were Chinese. I rarely saw any Westerners after I left my hotel each day.
I don't care for most Chinese food in the U.S., but the food in Beijing was surprisingly good. I dined on delicacies such as Peking Duck (delicious crispy skin and tender meat), fried noodles with pork or beef, and fall-off-the-bone seasoned lamb ribs. I think one reason I took to the local food so quickly was that they come close to frying as much food as Americans do. Just north of Tiananmen Square is the Forbidden City complex. The gate leading into the Forbidden City has a massive portrait of the now deceased Chairman Mao staring down on all visitors. The area is home to an enormous number of ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. It got its name since no non-royals (except servants and concubines) were allowed in it for about 500 years. The grounds are huge, pretty much a walled-in town, and I spent several hours wandering around. The buildings with swooping rooftops were quite colorful and adorned with requisite dragon statues. Ornate bridges crisscrossed the streams running through the area. The complex was very picturesque and well-preserved. It was almost like walking around on a movie set, but this was real. There were a large number of Chinese tourists, but the area is so big it didn't feel crowded. I had lunch in the Forbidden City...I joined the locals in downing a little bucket of ramen noodles (the vendor supplied hot water to pour in my noodle bucket). It cost me less than a buck.
The highlight of my time in Beijing was definitely the day I spent on the Great Wall. I decided to go to the Simatai section which is about 3 hours northeast of the city. Several sections of the wall are accessible from Beijing, but Simatai has not been restored and is in its original condition. It is also supposed to be much less touristy than the restored sections of the wall that are closer to Beijing. I wanted to avoid the busloads of Chinese tour groups. I hired a taxi for the day to take me to and from the wall and wait for me during my visit. Upon arrival a 30 minute hike is necessary to get up to the wall as it sits quite high up on some foothills. The Simatai section is composed of a 19 km section of wall with 16 gates. The views of the wall are amazing and even better than I imagined them. I hiked through 11 of the gates. The wall is quite steep and is almost a scramble in parts. The wall was in decent condition from what I saw. I encountered about 10 other people during my 3 or 4 hours hiking along the wall, along with a handful of locals selling curios or drinks. I felt like I had the place to myself. The surrounding countryside is mountainous with a lake and very scenic. The wall snakes off into the distance over hills making for great photos. This part of the wall and countryside are truly beautiful and offer terrific views. On the way back down I took a long zip line ride from the base of the wall across a lake?it was a blast and much more fun than walking down.
I also visited the Temple of Heaven, a pretty Ming dynasty temple set in a large park. Locals hanging out in the park were playing cards and board games, and some were singing (terribly, actually) and playing instruments. Another park I visited was Beihai Park where I saw locals practicing their Tai Chi. I went in a couple of the shopping centers and saw little stalls filled with fake purses, shoes, and clothing. I found the merchants to be extremely pushy, unlike all the other Chinese I met, and I didn't buy anything (except for a few cheap DVDs from a shady guy in the parking lot). For the most part I found the Chinese in Beijing to be nice and very reserved, but somewhat grim. They seemed a bit beat down despite the booming economy. I rarely heard any laughter or anything that indicated they were enjoying themselves. Maybe it's the close proximity to the overbearing central government? The language barrier in China is the hardest I've encountered in any country I've been to. The large majority of Chinese do not speak any English. With taxi drivers, a map that has the Chinese and English name of where you want to go is critical. In many instances I had to resort to pantomime and the old standby of using my cell phone screen to communicate prices, dates, and times. The city, while not pretty, has lots of great historical sites and is a very interesting place to visit.
I found a rock bottom airfare to Xian ($35 USD) so I get a 1 hr flight instead of the 12 hour train ride! More thumbnails ...
Latest Comments (2)
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What a Wall (reply)
Mar 23, 2007 15:45 EST by birdwatcher
Wow! The Forbidden City and The Great Wall look so intriguing and beautiful. You know that David Copperfield made a section of the Great Wall disappear...guess they found it :) Your pics of the wall were breath taking. Thank God for democracy. I'm sure freedom would color their world and put a smile on their face. Miss you lots. 381.
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WHAT!?! (reply)
Mar 23, 2007 15:22 EST by djn12313
I find it hard to believe you didn't simply speak English with a Chinese accent, which everyone knows, is the commonly accepted method to communicate in China and yes, virtually anywhere on Earth with unequaled clarity.
Next time you need to take Bodle - the human C-3PO - with you. "How you say ... eh ... parkoo?"
Also, I am struggling to understand how, with a perfectly service... show all
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| 22. | Peking..Beijing..Peking..Beijing..Peking..Beijing - Beijing, China Mar 08, 2007 (  40 ) (  2 ) |
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