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Beijing & Great Wall |
1/9 |
Arrival at Beijing's brand new airport terminal was a pleasant experience, even if I had to wait a bit long for my luggage.
But at least I got it, unlike passengers going through another recently opened terminal (won't mention any names ;-) ).
I rested a bit longer at the hotel than I had intended to, so on Wednesday, the arrival day, I didn't do a whole lot.
A bit after 4pm I took off walking in the direction of the Forbidden City, staying north of it where there's a park with a hill
and a nice view onto the Forbidden City. The hill is an artificial one, created with the material which was dug out to make the moat around the Forbidden City. I was surprised to see blue sky and the sun disk - a sight that seems to be rare in Beijing.
And as if to prove it, it wasn't like that any more the next day. I'm suspecting that it was like that because it had previously rained
for a few days. Needless to say, it was a nice welcome.
I had my first dinner in the area of the hotel, in a restaurant where they had an English translation of the menu, but the waitresses knew very little English. I ended up getting a huge bowl of soup and spicy chicken and rice. I was the only foreigner in the restaurant and glad not to be completely ignorant when it comes to chop sticks, but I still felt very clumsy.
On Thursday I visited the main sights of Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the
Forbidden City. I'm not sure what to write about Tiananmen Square. I guess
in a way I was disappointed. Certainly not impressed. Yes, it's huge, but
quite ugly. The buildings on its sides, the "Great Hall of the People" and
the National Museum don't make for nice façades and the vastness of
the square is broken by the mausoleum put up to put Mao Zedong's body on
display. No, I was not impressed. I liked the Gates at the south end of the
square, but they are hidden behind the mausoleum, so don't seem to be part
of the square any more. Also, there is heavy traffic on all four sides. Those
roads don't add to the beauty of the square. At its northern side lies the
Tiananmen Gate, an impressive fortified "gate" and behind it the
Forbidden City.
One can easily spend hours in the Forbidden City. After about
four, I've had enough, but I am sure I could have kept myself busy for a
couple more. The complex is so vast, that it's even possible to avoid the
hordes of tourists that flock into the Forbidden City.
Friday's plan was to be at the Temple of Heaven at 8am when it opened. Thanks
to the direct subway from the hotel to the temple, I was even early. I knew
which subway station to get off at, but didn't know where exactly the temple
would be. However, I figured I'd easily find the large park the temple is
in. And very easy it was - just around the corner from the subway exit. Except
that I didn't realize that at first since herds of people were flocking
into the park - and it wasn't even 8 yet! It later dawned on me that the
park must open earlier, just the buildings didn't open until 8am. There was
great activity going on in this park: the stereotype morning gymnastics,
but to my surprise there were also dance lessons being held at this hour
and in open air. In another part of the park, people were playing cards.
I found my way to the main temple building and it wasn't terribly crowded
yet. I moved on through the park to the "Palace of abstinence".
It required an extra entrance fee and I was first contemplating whether it
might be worth it or not. I finally decided that it wasn't really a lot
of money and I might as well try. Excellent choice for I was the only one
in that compound, consisting of two moats and walls, and a fasting hall.
It was very peaceful. I spent a total of two hours in the park around the
Temple of Heaven and then moved on to the Lama Temple, again by subway.
The subway exit is litterally in the rear temple wall, but it took me a while
to figure that out and to finally find the entrance. Because the Temple
of Confucius is so close by, I visited that one also, before heading out
to the summer palace. It's quite a ways outside the center and I estimated
an hour to get there by subway, light-rail and bus, which turned out to be
surprisingly close to what it actually took (70 min.).
I suppose a few years ago it would have been quite difficult to take subway and bus in Beijing for all the signs and announcements were
only in Chinese. However, it has now gotten very easy - no challenge left ;-). Subway stations are labelled in Chinese and Pinyin , which
sounds exotic, but is "just" writing we can read, e.g. Chinese words in Latin letters. Announcements are in Chinese and English. I suppose
it's one of the advantages tourists get from the Olympic Games being hosted in Beijing this year.
After the summer palace I wasn't sure whether I'd have time for a brief stint
at the zoo before having to be back at the hotel by 6:30pm to attend a show
(Beijing Opera) or whether it would even still be open. I attempted to hire
a cab to drive me to the zoo in one go, but ended up renouncing. The guy who
initially approached me had such a crappy car (a mini-bus on top of that which
I didn't need for me alone) that I didn't want to ride with him.
I told him (well, sign language) that I wanted a "real taxi" with
a taxi sign on the roof. He got quite angry and showed
me his meter and said that it didn't matter which taxi as long as the ride
was metered. Other drivers with "real taxis" joined the discussion
and in the end I preferred to again take bus and light-rail. It cost me 3
yuan instead of 80 ;-) (3 yuan not even being half a dollar). And the best
part: I wasn't too late: the Giant Panda House was still open and one of
the pandas was even kind enough to sit in a tree.
On Saturday, I (temporarily) left Beijing to hike on a not so touristy section
of the Great Wall of China (at Huanghua). Unfortunately, the weather wasn't
ideal for picture taking (overcast, visibility not too great), but on the
other hand it was good weather for hiking, especially the steep parts. I
had no idea that the Great Wall was so terribly steep in some parts. I guess
I just never stopped to think what exactly it meant, that the wall followed
along the mountains' ridges, snaking through the country. There is no tourist
infrastructure in that section, unless you count the two farmers who are
selling soft drinks to the few who do come along to visit that part of the
wall. Also, there is no official entrance fee. Just twice someone sat at
a watch tower asking for a few yuans since we were apparently about to hike
through their land. Some parts of the wall have been renovated, others are
somewhat decaying, but those parts look somehow more authentic than the nicely
renovated parts.
On Sunday, I went to another section of the Great Wall (at Mutianyu), this
time with the group. We had all met for a welcome dinner on Saturday night
and where going to the Great Wall before flying to Xi'an. This section is
considered (and I take it actually is) less touristy than yet another
section (Badaling) which is closer to Beijing. However, to me it seemed very
touristy with hundreds of souvenir shops and two cable cars leading up to
the wall.