The imminent prospect of getting off our final overnight hard sleeper train after 12 hrs was exciting. However coupled with the fact that we were arriving into the capital city of this monumentally enormous country was an acute awakening of all the senses. Nothing really highlights how incredibly large this population is until you have experienced the train station and while this is not the biggest city we had visited nor has it been the longest trek from the station to the actual train, the sheer numbers of people that got off this train made me feel like the entire population of the UK had landed and needed to go through exactly the same exit. It was quite an experience. When we boarded the train in Xian I had chatted with a couple of Swedish students who had only managed to buy standing tickets - this means if there is a place to stand then there is a ticket. They told me that they had a hard seater ticket on the way from Beijing and they thought that was tough so they didn't even want to think about the standing. Now all of my hard sleeper experiences seem trivial and I spent the evening and following morning thinking of them, very grateful for my bed!
Upon finally getting out of the station we headed to the hotel to check in and find somewhere to eat
As it was still early morning, two rooms (one for boys, one for girls) were allocated so we could shower and prepare for another day that was jam packed with historical sites and places that you never quite imagine actually seeing.
Breakfast and shower done, first stop was Tienanmen Square. In the middle of this bustling city this square is packed with people and despite being surrounded by large buildings, the first thing that hits you is the size (approximately 100 acres). A celebration for the Communist Party's 90years meant that there were giant television screens and flower arrangements that were so big that it took your breath away but it didn't take away the awe at the sheer size of it. Chairmen Mao's mausoleum is at the end of the square and the line of people waiting to pay their respects never seemed to end. In subsequent days after we finished the tour we would learn first hand just how long this line really was - waiting for 1hr and 40minutes.
After a quick whistle stop look around, we were guided into the Forbidden City. Now when we thought that Tienanmen Square was big we wern't really prepared for this. Set on 74 hectares and surrounded by a 52-meter-wide moat and a 10-meter-high wall, we were told by our guide that it has 9,999.5 rooms. The reason for this figure is that only God can have 10,000 rooms and therefore the Forbidden City that had been home to 24 emperors and their families which could include up to 3000 concubines was .5 short of 10,000.
Visiting this place was quite spectacular and each courtyard and inner wall was gigantic but heading through another door only revealed yet another courtyard and beautiful building and so on
After a few hours of walking through this place we returned to the hotel to prepare for our evening performance of 'The legend of Kung Fu'. This was the story about a young boy who was taken to the Tibetan monastery to learn the art of Kung Fu. A continual demonstration of skill and physical ability for the whole hour and a half this was definitely unlike anything I had ever seen before and when I asked our guide he told me that they had been running for 5 years, performing two shows per day. Quite impressive!
The following day we were off early 7.30am to visit 'The Great Wall'. After a two hour drive and a short chairlift up to the wall, we stood there looking out over the hills and the view was breathtaking. I probably haven't mentioned the weather, which is very unlike me but this is because it has been well into the 30's since our arrival into China and today was no different. Clear blue sky and sunny hot weather, we walked for 2 hours making our way up the incline of the wall, up some very steep steps before arriving at a section that was in its original state. Many pictures were taken to mark this monumental experience and I will never forget how it felt. A short 40 minute walk back to the bus and a mere 2hours later, we arrived back in Beijing around 2pm - plenty of time to fit in another visit to an iconic landmark and so we headed out on the subway to Olympic Park.
Now the subway system in Beijing is probably the best I have ever been on. The stations are spotless, the trains were so long and continuous (mind they would have to be as everyone of them was absolutely packed) and it was 2yuan or 20 pence to go anywhere and as far as you needed. Upon arrival to Olympic Park (I know I am using every word that describes big) the size is again, the first thing that immediately hits you. The Birds Nest and the Cube are two striking features on the landscape and the pathed section that during the Olympics was used to park the numerous buses is now used as a pedestrian walkway filled with people selling 'Gold medals'. As it took more time than anticipated to reach Olympic Park (Beijing is the city that never ends) and having another 8 days in Beijing on our own, we decided to buy a ticket into the Birds Nest and return later in the week to visit the Cube. Inside the stadium really highlights how impressive this building is - but the running track is now home to Segway riders who are mostly young children. Wanting to get onto the track Gareth decided to investigate a ride on the Segway but with a half hour wait we decided against it.
A hour later and melting with the intensity of the sun we headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for our final evening with the group. However this was slightly more difficult than we first anticipated. The first taxi we hailed told us to get out after I handed him the directions to the hotel; the second did the same, the third had just dropped off some other tourists and while the guy held open the door for me to get in, the taxi driver drove off. Frustrated, hot and having only a card of the hotel that was written in Chinese, I made a last ditched attempt to hail a cab. Perhaps he noticed the desperation of my face and that of Gareth and Daniel- aka Miller Bank and so he smiled and motioned us to get in. Driving us back to the hotel we thanked him and raced in to have the quickest shower ever before meeting our group for our final evening together - and what better way to celebrate that to go out for the famous 'Peking Duck'! Our guide led us all to the acclaimed restaurant and ordered two ducks as well as an assortment of different dishes for us to try..and try we did. The duck was served and when I say served..I mean ever part of it was served. Bones and all. For the 12 of us who are used to the Western style of meat first, bones last, we tried the delicious duck that literally melted in your mouth - the skin we were told to dip in sugar and it just dissolved on your tongue. I have never tasted anything like this before.A final farewell drink was on the cards and so we all boarded taxi's (oh the taxi's are a whole story in themselves) and headed to Bar Street to toast our trip and make our final goodbyes. Checking out of the hotel is always sad and as Gareth and I packed our bags headed for the hostel, we were informed by our guide that it was where other Intrepid tour groups stayed and that it was lovely. Yippee!! So as we said goodbye to two of our fellow travellers who were off to spend their final nights in 'The Hilton' we boarded our taxi headed for 'The Hostel' and left our Intrepid guided tour!
Filling in your time in Beijing is probably the easiest thing we have had to do. At no point have we run out of things to see, places to go and not found interesting people to meet. After a day's rest we headed back to the square to meet Daniel - aka Miller Bank (our Intrepid buddy who was staying for a few days also) and join the queue to see Chairmen Mao. After checking our bags in at the checkpoint, we waited in line for over one hour and a half before we finally reached the mausoleum. Lying in a glass case Mao looks porcelain like - a light shines onto his face and the flag is draped over his body. There is a huge pile of flowers left by the people paying their respects at the entrance and upon entering the mausoleum it takes approximately 1 minute to shuffle past. After this we headed back to Olympic Park to visit 'The Cube' and investigate the possibility of having a swim. However despite having our bathers with us, we were not aware that in order to swim, a swimming cap is required! Who would have thought! So instead of an afternoon swim (that we discovered was only in the warm-up pool) we bought our 'visiting ticket' and made our way in to check out the Olympic Pool and diving boards - from the spectator seats! Upon leaving we left to get some food and say goodbye to Daniel for the final time.
The following day Gareth and I, realising that we had not looked at any markets headed in to take a look. Wanting to buy a Mahjong set (a Chinese game that we had been taught to play) we headed to the famous 'Pearl Market' and then to the evening 'Night Market'. The night market was incredible; mostly food based it sold the most interesting things like seahorse, starfish and live scorpions on a stick! Mmmm! Unfortunately and quite genuinely we had eaten another 'hot pot' for lunch and ordered way too much food with some help from a random Chinese lad who knew we were hopeless with the language.. so we were not that hungry. Our look in the markets for a mahjong set was cut a little short when the lady who Gareth was bargaining with insisted he look again and when Gareth said he wanted to think about it, she slapped him hard on the back. Laughing we promptly left the market avoiding further 'negotiations', as we walked onto the pedestrian street to stumble across a 'foreign book store' where I bought the book about Henrietta Lacks - a book I had read a raving review about but didn't think I would find on this trip - or in China! Brilliant! Off back to the hostel to begin!
The next morning we made our way to the cooking school in the Hutong District that I had booked as part of Gareth's birthday present. An early morning trip to the market we headed back to begin our lesson. Creating numerous dishes that included Black Bean Beef, Cumin Beef, Pork Spare Ribs and Eggplant & Pork we spent the whole morning and early afternoon cooking and eating, and met a lovely father and son from Texas. Enjoying the company we all headed to the subway and made our way to visit 'The Temple of Heaven' which was a place that the emperors went to pray for good havests. Again this was enormous - set on about 74 hectares we spent the afternoon wondering the vast grounds.
We then shifted across to join our Vodkatrain tour to the Jade Hostel. Here we met our fellow train travellers, 5 of us in all, all English (couple from north yorkshire, and chap from norwich). On our final days we went shopping crazy in the so called 'Dirt' antiques and crafts weekend market, where you could get pretty much anything. Here we finally found a nice authentic Mahjong set and the seller was nice, no striking out at all! Also picked up some great paintings directly from the local artists. Then we shot across to the frantic and manic 'Silk' market, where each floor has a different specialiity - silk, jewelery, leather, shoes, clothes, etc, etc. We bargained heavily and got some more souviniers of China, generally at 10 times less than the first price asked for!
Our last night in China we decided to head out to the Beijing opera to see all the brightly coloured masked performers. A real spectical. First we watched the performers doning their make up and costumes. Then was treated to a mix of opera (as we know it), acrobatics and general theatre. A unique show.
So all aboard from Beijing Railway station early in the morning for a momentus journey that will take us all the way to St. Petersberg!
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