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Phase II

Harbin-Beijing Blog

Main, Blog, Harbin and Beijing Photos, Great Wall Photos

Beijing

Wow! My first time visiting this city was a real eye-opener. First, let me say that it was nothing like I expected. Being the same size as Bangkok, (around 15 million, give or take), I expected the same kind of chaos and "the distinctive odour". Was I wrong...

In spite of being told that things in China are on a large scale, you really have to see how Beijing is laid out to appreciate what big really means. A "block" is between 1 and 2 kilometres in length, the sidewalks are wider than most roads, the streets are so wide you wonder if you will be able to run across before the light changes, and the buildings! Let me put it this way: after seeing the Grand Beijing Hotel, it will be hard to imagine anything else ever being able to use the word Grand as a fitting description.

The next thing I was surprised by was the complete lack of shoving and pushing that I'd been lead to believe was standard here. Without fail, people were courteous of each others personal space. The notion of queuing up for something is alien, but there is no shoving to get ahead of you, just a gentle jostling to move into any available space. Although I wouldn't describe the people as outgoing and friendly, having just come from Russia, the seemed refreshingly happy.

Since Eric has been to Beijing before, we split up so I could do the requisite tourist activities - The "Forbidden City", Tien'am men Square, antique shopping district, and the Wagfujing western-style shopping district and of course, the Great Wall hike. I'll fill in details when I have a little more time, but overall I was very impressed with this city.

I caught my flight to Amsterdam this morning, (thus ending my segment of Surface Travel - London Gatwick Airport to Beijing, via Vladivostok and Harbin - easily 12,000 Km), so now I'm officially on my way home.

Will - from Amsterdam

P.S. The details as promised:

"Forbidden City" - officially known as the Imperial Palace Museum. I walked the "block" from our hotel, (the Novotel Peace, which was fine, other than the loud construction noise which we insisted on changing rooms for), and found the South gate main entrance easily. The Chinese phrase Eric taught me, "boo yow", which means something like 'not want', proved very useful as there were numerous people trying to sell postcards, books, guides, watches, and anything else a tourist might want.

I hired a guide for 160 Y + (40 Y x 2 for tickets) to ensure I would get the most out of my visit to the museum. Having seen it many times in film, I was still impressed with the place in person. Hiring a guide was a great way to go: he knew a lot of interesting things about the museum, (John was an "official" guide, and his English was good); I would have missed out on a lot if I hadn't spent the extra $20 USD. For example, the floor in the Emperor's palace is covered by "gold tiles". They get their name not from any gold content, but due to the 120 days of baking followed by 49 days of soaking in oil, and of which only 20% are accepted for final use: they are truly worth their weight in gold!

At the end of nearly a two hour tour, I asked John if we could stop for tea to warm up somewhere. We went to a gift shop, (near the North Gate), and I spotted an oversized stamp. To explain, the Chinese use a personalized stamp to mark their calligraphy and other documents. It is a block of stone, mostly Jade, with a carved Chinese zodiac character carved on the top. The one I spotted was about 2 inches square on the stamp, and about 4 inches tall. The top half of the stamp is carved in relief and features the 9 dragons of the Emperor. I picked one out and had the artist engrave Happy Dragon, (a name I picked up a few years back in Thailand). It is my favourite souvenir and a beautiful piece of art.

Tien'am men Square - in the snow! When I came out of the Internet Cafe, there was a 2 inch blanket of fresh snow, and more coming down. The shop keepers were busy sweeping their walks as I made my way to the world's largest public square. The vast expanse of concrete now features some trees, giving the square a much less imposing feel than I'd expected. Due to the snow, there were only hundreds of people there, not the thousands or millions that come to listen to speeches or discuss politics there. Some Chinese 20 somethings were having a snowball fight and I managed to get their picture, right in front of the People's Monument. (Photos soon to be published...)

Antique Shopping District - I had only an hour before my trip to the Great Wall, but I managed to dash through most of the district and buy some scrolls - calligraphy and some paintings. Also, I found the ink for my stamp, in a ceramic dish large enough for my oversize stamp. No end of shops wanting my attention... but I really didn't need any gate knockers that have been buried for a year to make them appropriately "aged".

I cruised the Western-style malls on the pedestrian Wangfujing street and observed that any brand name item could be had: from Levi's to Lambourghini's. However, unlike the brand mall in Moscow, these shops were nearly empty and the cash registers were silent.

The Great Wall - it really does look just like the pictures. I had planned to take the bus tour from the hotel for the two-hour journey to Mu Tien Yu, but the tour desk informed me that due to the snow the 238 Y (per person) bus wasn't running, but I could take the private tour for 1130 Y. I told her I'd think about it and I went for breakfast. By the time I got back to the room, Eric said she'd called four times. I sat down to read, (pout), and justify spending $120 USD to see the damn wall. "I've got to do it, I may never be here again." Ring, ring...

"Special offer, just for you!" She told me she had spoken with her boss, and because of my situation they could offer me the private tour for 600 Y. Great! Twice the price beats four times the price any time. I booked my private car for noon, giving me an hour and a half to get cash from the ATM, and hit the Antique district for a quick shopping trip. I might as well blow the extra money I was all set to spend on the tour!

The drive out of Beijing took an hour, then another hour to get to the destination. Through the turnstile, and then just 1000 m vertical hike to get to the wall. I had a Pekingese dog join me for the first half of the walk, but he gave up on me when the wall was still hundreds of stairs above. It was a beautiful, sunny, clear, warm day and the stairs were in great shape, so the "warm up" was fine.

So, as Eric said, it does look just like the pictures. I hiked a couple of Km to the south, putting the sun at my back for photos back along the wall. There were some steps that had clearly been replaced, but there were whole sections that were ancient. Some of the stairs rose at 60°, but I just chugged my way up to the end of the tourist trail. I went down the stairs beside the wall and walked a little way past the "no tourist" sign. I wasn't about to vandalize the wall, but I have a piece of another wall, (Berlin 1990), and I wanted to add to my collection...

In the rubble beside a broken section, I found the perfect fragment from one of the large blocks. It is about the same size as my other wall, a little smaller than a fist, and it is a corner so it has three cut sides. The funny thing was explaining to the Customs Officer here at home, that the carefully wrapped treasure he was holding was a rock.

Other random sightings -

In any tourist area, with a frequency approximating once per half-hour, expect to be accosted by roving packs of aspiring English speakers. At first, I expected them to get around to selling me something, but no, they genuinely just wanted to have a conversation. They travel in groups of two or three, and typically the best speaker will initiate the conversation, "Hello. Welcome to China. Where are you from?". The others will listen attentively and may get a word or two in, but always end with an enthusiastic "Goodbye, nice talking with you".

A Big Mac meal, Super size costs 19.2 Y ~ about $2 USD. Of course, it tastes just like any other Big Mac. Also, the pretty girl at the counter says, "Welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order, please."

The full-body Chinese massage, (no - not that kind of massage), costs 180 Y ~ about $20 USD for an hour. I'm accustomed to Thai massage, (about $6 an hour in Thailand, or $90 an hour at home), which includes stretching and application to pressure points. By comparison, the Chinese style is more muscle rubbing. Pleasant, and my sore back felt much better.

Will - from home