Have managed to complete this entry, finally! So here's a round-up of our first few days in the bustling capital, friends...just scroll down if you've read the first bit already.
Sunday 5 June: Landed in hazy weather at Beijing airport. We'd seen the moonscape of the Gobi desert from the plane before descending into cloud, and caught a glimpse of the majestic mountain range that divides the plains around the capital from Inner Mongolia. Hopped onto an airport shuttle bus for the hour ride into town, however the bus pulled over without warning a few miles from the city centre - the driver got out, lit a fag and told his passengers to get off... we were stuck on the outskirts of the city with no idea of where we were!!! Of course, pushy taxi touts appeared out of nowhere and bombarded us with loud offers, but we stuck to our guns and insisted we'd walk. Eventually, a rickshaw driver managed to talk us into a ride (having shown us on the map that we were still a good few miles from our hotel!).
So in we hopped... Rich into the rickshaw, and me into a tuk-tuk which coughed and spluttered along, sounding as if it was on its last legs. What a hair-raising ride! The drivers thought nothing of mounting the busy pavements or cutting off cyclists. Beijing is a city of bikes, with thousands of two-wheeled commuters zooming along the special cycle paths, but it's also a city of too many cars. Our first experience of the capital from the back of our open transport was a real eye opener and we were giggling madly when we got out. However, I have to add that our divers were friendly, helpful and courteous.
Our accommodation for our three nights in Beijing, the Harmony Hotel, is a comfortable and clean three-star establishment. We checked in at noon and after a two hour rest we decided to hit the streets. Beijing's symmetrical grid system of modern boulevards is a constant and noisy flow of traffic, while, in the blocks in between the boulevards, the old way of life continues in 'hutongs', narrow alleyways with low-slung traditional houses built around courtyards. Here, street vendors sell fruit and dumplings, oldies play cards on the steps and three-wheeler bikes with carts or baskets are put to use for transporting just about anything. Our afternoon stroll revealed to us some of this contrasting nature of this city where gleaming sky-scrapers and old-world slums sit cheek by jowl.
We walked towards the Temple of Heaven park, thinking we'd get one of the 'must-see' historical sights under our belts. But nature conspired against us - the heavens opened, breaking the hazy mugginess of the day. The rain was refreshing, though, and we continued our walk, winding our way through hutongs and a small park. But it was simply too wet for a visit to the Temple of Heaven. We returned to our hotel with just enough time to dress before meeting our tour group. A really interesting bunch of people, we look forward to getting to know everyone. After a talk through our itinerary, we went out together for a fabulous (and fabulously cheap) Mongolian meal.
Monday 6 June: A free day around town. After a late start, we headed out and back to the Temple of Heaven. The sky was clear and the weather mild after the previous day's rain, and we strolled back in the direction of the Temple of Heaven. We'd been told that traditional dumplings made a good breakfast, so we picked some up from a vendor in a hutong. Also got some lychees from a little market.
The Temple of Heaven park is a wonderfully serene place where locals come to entertain themselves - badminton, singing, playing music or playing a peculiar, graceful version of bat and ball. The temple complex is about 700 years old, laid out in perfect symmetry and heavily decorated with blue and green tiles. We strolled around and were amazed at how local people live in total and serene harmony with their history, having fun (always quietly and gracefully) among the magnificent old structures.
We continued our exploration of Beijing park life with a visit to Beihai park, an ancient site located next to the Forbidden city. At its centre is an artificial hill, topped with a stupa to commemorate a visit from the Dalai Lama some time in the 1700s. Around the hill is a lake, upon which rowdy teenagers speed around in little motorboats, and oldies bob about in pedalboats. Again, there's singing and traditional music everywhere - the city folk seem to love spending most of their free time in parks, sharing their hobbies and socialising. Who can blame them in a country where most people live cooped up in huge Soviet-style apartment blocks, with not a tree in sight.
In the evening our group gathered for a visit to the Peking opera, a splendid fest of painted faces, colourful costumes, clanging cymbals and shrill singing. Having settled well into Beijing and coming to the conclusion that, wherever you go, people are the same (A cliche, but true!!!) the Opera was a hilarious reminder of the massive differences in
aesthetic opinion! The singing was rather painful, and the storyline non-existent, but the fine costumes and acrobatic stunts stole the show.
Our evening was rounded off with a scrumptious meal of Peking duck, the city's signature delicacy. We turned in for an early night, in preparation for our visit to the Great Wall on Tuesday (see next entry).
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