ItchyFeetBlog

As I’m now in Hanoi, Vietnam, I thought it’d be a perfect time to write up my journey through China. It has been an amazing 3 weeks and China went above and beyond my expectations in many ways. I have huge respect for the country, its people and even its sheltering (AKA filtering) as I believe it has had positive effects. I’m going to write a post for each city in China according to my itinerary, starting with Beijing. To view more photos, click on the thumbnails below to view my now HUGE photo gallery on Flickr!

This was my itinerary:

1. 10th to 15th May: Beijing
2. 16th to 18th May: Xi’an
3. 19th to 24th May: Chengdu
4. 24th to 28th May: Shenzhen
5. 28th May to 2nd June: Hong Kong

PART 1: 10th to 15th May: Beijing

The flight was long, but broken up by a change of planes in Doha. After writing off the first day, the next day we explored the surroundings of the hotel. We stayed just south of Beijing, right near the Temple of Heaven. The temperature was pretty hot, but not too humid so it was just right to wander down the road to explore the Temple and the grounds.

Temple of Heaven

It’s funny what you notice when you land in a new country; the climate, what people are wearing, the crazy drivers and horns beeping everywhere, and then the serenity of a park and the strange birds and sounds associated with them. As with a lot of the old buildings and tourist attractions in China, the Temple of Heaven was refurbished to a point that you were looking at new paint rather than rustic relics. It was still beautiful, and still worth a wander around if you get the time.

One of the first things we realised was the differences in water prices. You can buy water outside a tourist attraction like the Temple of Heaven for 3 Chinese yuan (about 30 pence in GBP), or you can buy some inside for up to 10 yuan (about £1 in GBP). Naturally, make sure you buy some water from outside tourist attractions if you can. And buy a spare as you will need it in the heat!

Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square was an interesting experience even though there isn’t much to see there as such. This was where I experienced interaction with sellers. They sell HARD. They will approach you and nag you constantly to get you to buy fake watches, books, souvenirs and anything else you can think of that you really won’t need ever in your life. Acknowledging them is like a catalyst, but it’s so hard to ignore the locals when you’re a visitor. But they will hunt a “Westerner” down and ignore any Chinese locals. They actually make a beeline for you and are relentless, so you’re left feeling a little abused!

There are some shopping and food streets south of Tiananmen Square, including some Western style cafes like Costa Coffee and Starbucks if you really must go there to combat your latte cravings, or you’re desperate for the loo and haven’t built up the guts to confront a public hole in the floor… Still, besides the maybe negative tone above , you must explore this area and you must experience some bartering! Just remember, halve the price, then take of a little extra… your seller won’t go further than meet you half way so do yourself a favour!

Forbidden City

The Forbidden City very much reminded me of the Temple of Heaven, but on a much larger scale. There is a lot of history to learn here, and many impressive relics have been preserved and are on display. Again, a lot of the buildings seem a little too pristine to be true and it would have been great to see the nitty gritty wear and tear of some of the objects. But still well worth a visit, and definitely check out the rooms and the gardens at the north end.

Beihai Park

This park is ideally located near the exit to the Forbidden City, and so it is ideal to add it after that in an itinerary. It’s a tranquil place to explore, with tree lined pathways, a huge lake and lots of pedal boats to hire around the lake. You’ll see men playing mah-jong, children playing and everyone enjoying the tranquility and oasis the park has to offer. Not to mention some gorgeous flowers etc. that you probably won’t find in the city itself.

Beijing Cuisine

I love Chinese food, even the quirky things like congee above! Don’t expect to find anything other than chopsticks, however! I’ve had plenty of practice, but if you’re rusty, you’re unlikely to find anywhere even possesses a fork!

If you do visit Beijing, you MUST try to find some good Peking Duck as this is a speciality of Beijing (which used to be called Peking). I went to a place called Da Dong Roast Duck – I can honestly tell you, the meal I had wasn’t cheap but it was one of the best meals of my LIFE! I can’t find a website for them but here is a Google search with map.

Great Wall of China, Mutianyu

The Great Wall of China was incredible! Again, it was very pristine with little authentic wear and tear, but then the steps can be VERY steep and huge in places so safety is vital! The views are incredible on the Wall; even on the day I went it was slightly misty, but that just added to the atmosphere of the stunning scenery. When you look around you can try to imagine soldiers on their own, walking the Wall, climbing the steps. They must have been very fit to walk the Wall is all I know – a lot of people never even walked half the distance available to walk at Mutianyu.

There are several places you can visit the Great Wall. I chose Mutianyu since it advertised that it had a ‘cable car’ which was basically a ski lift! I still had a sprained foot, but didn’t want to miss out, and it was perfectly fine. I even bought – dare I say it – a hiker’s walking stick to help me. A good investment to help with the steep steps. Some of the other places to visit the wall have other benefits – some are easily accessible, like the one in central Beijing, but this means it’s overrun with tourists. Then there are some further away where you can hike for hours – sounds amazing!

Miscellaneous Beijing

There were some really unfamiliar sights around Beijing, many of which were replicated throughout the country. One of them is the playground-like gym as seen above. All ages use it at all times of day and night. I tried some equipment and there’s virtually on resistance, but some of the frames are good for gently flexing muscles and joints etc. Further on the journey in places like Chengdu, there were often old ladies on some of the equipment, having a chat while they swing their legs on the ‘cross trainer’ like frame in the afternoon sun. Seemed like a great way to spend the day!

Other views around Beijing you have to experience for the madness – inside a van / rickshaw / taxi! They’re TINY and like little tin cans, the driver weaving you in and out of the taxis and other fast traffic. Everyone on the road is beeping their horn at each other, but even pedestrians are very relaxed about the whole thing! You can often seen whole families, or whole shops on tiny vehicles like rickshaws or scooters. Dangerous and fascinating to watch at the same time!

Well, that’s Beijing. Stay tuned for the rest of China coming up