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Beijing and the Great Wall
Entry 38 of 62 | show all | print this entry |
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Beijing turned out to be a really nice surprise for us. We were expecting congested roadways, heavily polluted air, and a crazy subway system chalk full of people pushing and shoving. Coming from Russia and Ulan Bator in Mongolia, where the acrid smell of burning coal is always lingering around, the relatively clean air in Beijing was quite welcoming. The city is clean as a whistle; people are always about picking up litter (even little cigarette butts crammed in between rocks) and scraping stickers off the sidewalks. No doubt it all has to do with the Summer Olympics Beijing is hosting next year - after all, they did move all the smoke-producing factories outside of the city. There are many buildings in the middle of construction and entire areas are closed off behind big wooden fences as they renovate. The city is massive. The tourist map has no scale making everything look close together, but without the use of public transport or a bicycle, it is very tiring and time consuming to try to see the city on foot.
Our train ride from Mongolia was relatively uneventful. Because Chinese railways use a different gauge than Russia and Mongolia, we got to watch them change the bogies at the border. It was an interesting process - they jack up each carriage and then it's out with the old and in with the new. Our hostel (actually, more of a hotel) was just north of the city center, in the middle of an ancient labyrinth of narrow alleyways (called hutongs). This is the old Beijing, where you see elderly Chinese men stooped outside doors leading to inner courtyards - maybe playing cards or checkers, or just hanging out - and singing birds in hanging cages. Bicycles seem to be the main mode of transportation (although there is no shortage of cars). They cart around all sorts of goods on their bikes - bricks, vegetables, 20 foot long plastic moulding, mattresses, stacks of shoeboxes - some with trailers and some three-wheeled vehicles with a flatbed like a truck. The drivers ride by shop fronts yelling into the open doors, announcing the cargo they have for sale. The bicycles come in all shapes and sizes and are a mix of gas, electric, or human powered machines. We rented bikes for a couple of days and make note, it is not a relaxing activity in Beijing! Even with extra-wide bike lanes on the streets, you have to keep your wits about you at all times. It felt like we were in one of those simulated environments they use for police training, you know, where cardboard cutouts pop out at unexpected moments (at least that's what they used in all twenty or so Police Acedemies). In our case though, these weren't cardboard cutouts, they were cars and buses hurtling around corners, other cyclists flying through intersections, and pedestrians walking blindly.
Beijing is such an interesting city, with a great mix of new and old, and enough nooks and crannies to keep you occupied for several weeks. You can get yourself lost in the confusing network of hutongs, go shopping for knock-off clothing brands, visit centuries old temples, palaces and parks, sample all sorts of regional Chinese cuisines (and also food from around the world), among countless other activities. We intended to stay for only a few days, but it soon became apparent that to give it a fair shake, we would need much more, so we ended up staying ten nights, including one overnight trip to nearby Chengde (see next entry). The people were also very friendly; we never expected that. We were offered seats in the subway. At a mall show a man moved over in the front row so Yvonne could squeeze in (a courteous act we haven't seen since leaving Canada), and in general they would just smile and say hello to us all the time. One thing we could have done without though was the spitting. Not just men spitting, but women too. And not just a small, harmless spit; we're talking dig-down-deep, cough-up-a-lung kind of loogies. It makes me shudder just to think of that sound.
We did most of the usual touristy things while here - Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven - but to be honest we were somewhat disappointed. These places were so over-packed it was nearly impossible to get a thought to yourself and really appreciate where you were. The Forbidden City is so commercialized (e.g. at the end of each info board it read "brought to you by American Express") and full of shops and cafes, it was almost like being at a theme park. Until recently there was a Starbucks inside, but it has since been replaced by a Chinese coffee bar. One more complaint: the main building (THE building) - the Hall of Supreme Harmony - where the emperors sat on the throne and handed down decisions was covered in scaffolding and closed off! Just bad timing I suppose.
There are a few options from Beijing to access the Great Wall (which, by the way, is NOT visible from outer space) and we chose an eight kilometer stretch from Jinshanglin to Simatai. The most visited part of the wall is at Badaling, but from what we've heard and read, it's a zoo there so we kept well away. Jinshanglin is a three hour bus ride from Beijing, and from there you begin the mildly tortuous three to four hour walk on top of the wall. Almost the entire wall along this stretch is original; many parts are in disrepair making the clamber a little dodgy at times. There are some very steep and lengthy sections, so it is quite a good workout. The wall here follows the contours of the mountains like a spine, so you are essentially walking up and down the high hills. It is funny to think that, as impressive and mind-blowing (in terms of its scale) it is, it was pretty much useless for its intent (that is, for defending). We were lucky to have a clear and sunny day and it was amazing to see it snake over and around the hills, as far as the eye could see.
We did manage to get some shopping in for ourselves too. Even though the last thing we wanted to do was pack more into our already oversized backpacks, we felt it was high time. We've grown tired of our trekking pants and hiking boots, trying to pass them off as suitable wear for going for a drink on the town. We visited the Sanlitun and Silk Road markets, where we haggled fiercely for, what we thought, were pretty good deals. Every item inside is fake (although they look real and the quality is decent). And the merchants mark it all up at ridiculous prices, sometimes as much as ten or even twenty times what you actually get it for. So the usual 'begin at 50% of asking price' doesn't apply here. If something is 1000 yuan ($125), start at 80 yuan ($10). They will say "you are joking?!" to which you reply, "no, I am not", and then start to walk away. They will then physically grab you and hold on to you (at one shoe stall, I was blocked by two tiny Chinese girls who wouldn't let me leave). "Okay, best deal, 500 yuan" they will counter with. "Nope, I gave you my best offer". From here they will slowly come down, but never come close to your original offer, at which point you shake them off your arm and walk away. Most likely they will yell after you "OK! Ok...". This is when you smile to yourself, turn around, and complete the deal.
Public toilets are a non-issue as well. Let me rephrase that. Non-issue in that they are plentiful and free. The cleanliness, on the other hand, won't win them any sanitization awards, but at the very least they are there if you're in a bit of a pinch. This is especially true in the hutongs, where many of the dwellings don't even have a toilet, and so these are the residents' bathrooms. Fittingly, our last meal in Beijing was the famous Peking duck. Our restaurant had the chefs behind a glass window so we could watch them as they roasted our duck in the fire. A common way to eat it is with crepe-thin pancakes. You roll the sliced up duck, with whatever garnishments you choose, in the pancake. It was very good, but it wasn't the best meal we had in Beijing. We had so much good Chinese food (although here, they just call it food - thanks Seinfeld, for that one) - there is no shortage of choices and we ate something different almost every single meal while we were here.
Aside from the tourist traps in Beijing, we spent most of our time slowly ambling about, enjoying the scenes that unfolded around us. In the hutongs it was people stir-frying in their doorways, playing badminton on the sidewalk, digging up streets to lay pipe in the darkness of the night, with nothing but a small flashlight. In the city center they rushed around answering cell phones (with extremely loud and obnoxious ringtones), shopped in malls and wore trendy clothes. This is why it would be very hard to get bored here; there is just too much variety and too many choices. More thumbnails ...
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