Beijing is a must see place in China and on anyone's list of must sees around the world. The city is packed with amazing sights, and we felt gave us the chance to see the real China (whatever real China is nowadays). We both really enjoyed Beijing, and given it was Chris' third visit in 10 years, that's saying something.
We decided to stay for 5 full days, giving us plenty of time to see the sites and do a couple of side trips to The Great Wall, which was an ambition of Julia's to see and walk along. We also had to contend with a second interview for Julia, but luckily enough it only took a day out and the internet connection in the hotel was good enough for a good Skype chat.
The journey from Shanghai was smooth and actually very good. We left at a reasonable time of 9pm and were scheduled to arrive at about 8:30am, which we did. The train was fairly new and was a very smooth ride indeed. We had booked onto top Soft Sleeper bunks - the most expensive sleeper option as this was the only option available, and it was plush - especially as we were comparing with our last overnight trains which were in India!
On arrival into Beijing, we spent our first day doing a fair amount of planning and rested a little before heading out at around lunch from our hotel. We decided to stay near Tianamen Square and the Hutongs in a hotel called Kings Joy Hotel. We're not sure a King would have been overly joyful about the hotel, but it was clean, had a good internet connection and did us very well for the week.
The Hutongs
We headed to the Nanluogu Xiang Hutong area north of the Forbidden city and wandered around following the walking tour of the Lonely Planet. The Hutongs are quite unique as they are a mixed residential and commercial area of single story dwellings, that seem quite out of place in modern China. Indeed many are being bulldozed - we saw a lot of building work around them and saw some being modernised.
The area of Nanluogu Xiang is very characterful, and seemed quite a fashionable place, bringing many young Chinese to the bars and restaurants. After wandering around for a bit, it was time to get some food and luckily enough we stumbled across a super little restaurant called Grandmas Kitchen. The food was delicious and very different to the standard Chinese options - it seemed they had actually thought to be different.
After a good night's rest we headed for our first full on day's experience of Beijing and the most famous of the sights within the city; to the Forbidden City via Tian'anmen Square (a short walk from our hotel).
Tian'anmen Square is the largest public square in the world, so we understand, and sits just south of the Forbidden City. For a simple square it has hit the news a lot, especially during the student protests of 1989 and regularly hosts huge military parades. Therefore it is now probably the most watched and listened to area in the world - there are cameras, armed guards and not so secret police everywhere!
The square is flanked by huge soviet styled government buildings to the west and east and Zhengyang Gate Arrow Tower to the south. The other two main structures on the square are Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (like a mini Madam Tussaud's) and the huge monument to the people with large plain red flags. To the north is the iconic Gate of Heavenly Peace with a giant portrait of Mao looking down over the square.
After a quick wander around the square (there isn't anywhere to sit and not too much to do), we headed across the road past Mao's portrait and though the Gate of Heavenly Peace and into the Forbidden City.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is the largest palace in the world with over 3,000 rooms and walls that scale high above your head. The palace is massive, so even though it is extremely popular, the crowds soon disperse and we actually found ourselves fairly alone in parts.
Along the centre is a series of gates and halls. The majority of tour groups just go through the centre without looking at the various palaces and areas to the sides.
As you walk through the first gate, the size of the place really takes you back. In front of you is a huge courtyard, with a curved stream running through it with several bridges, leading to another huge yellow tiled hall. It is very spectacular indeed.
However instead of pushing forwards, we decided to look at a couple of smaller palaces on the sides - the Hall of Martial Valor and Hall of Literary Glory.
One thing about the Forbidden City, and all buildings we have found so far in China, is that they look amazing from the outside, and the roofs, but the furniture inside is disappointing, and just rather dusty and un-kept. This was common throughout the Forbidden City, and a real shame, as it would have been nice to see how the Emperor really lived.
A rather nice thing however about these smaller palaces was that they had exhibitions in them about paintings, porcelain and calligraphy, which was a nice bonus to see some of the beautiful historic crafts on show.
Back in the main area we headed through the Gate of Supreme Harmony and towards the largest building on the site - the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This was truly spectacular. At each staircase in the complex there is a beautiful marble relief (normally of something to do with dragons) separating the stairs, and lovely marble balustrades. There are also huge bronze bowels, which were used to store water for putting out fires. Each building is also adorned with huge bronze or marble sculptures of mythical beasts, with one often being female and one male.
For those who have been before, we could no longer find the Starbucks which was in the palace (we could have done with a coffee at that point!).
After heading through here with a small tussle to see the things inside the hall (old and dusty again) we found ourselves in another courtyard area, with a small building in the centre, but with more options to walk right or left.
We headed left and into a beautiful peony exhibition (the Chinese national flower), which Julia loved, and a small palace for one of the Emperor Dowagers (mother), which contained more information than some of the other areas on her life within the palace.
On the other side of the main courtyard was a mini version of the Forbidden City, in the Forbidden City which showcased some of the 'treasures' of the palace. We had to pay extra for this, but Julia blagged student discount and in any case, it was worth it.
As you enter this part of the palace, known as the treasury, you see a beautiful dragon screen, and then a succession of halls and buildings with the treasures of the palace. These ranged from Jewelry (huge diamonds!) clothing, porcelain - you name it it was there. There was also a fascinating opera house and a well, where apparently, some concubine was thrown down (the hole must have been bigger back then as it was only a foot or so across, so it would have been a bit of a squeeze!).
We finished off by heading to the garden at the back of the palace, which was filled with ancient trees, pagodas, more peonies and interesting rock formations.
The Forbidden City took much longer than we expected and we were a little dead on our feet. However, there we were keen for a view back at where we had walked and the hill behind found in Jingshan park, had just this. The park is also known for its peonies and local people watching, so we headed down to explore the edges of the park.
The Chinese are generally a stone-faced, serious bunch but was in this park we first experienced them in their downtime and actually smiling! They seemed to be having a great time singing karaoke, opera (solo and in groups), dancing or playing keepy-upy with a large shuttle-cock.
The Chinese camera brigade were also out in force taking photos of the peonies, blossom and tulips - even bringing along a small spray gun to make the petals look wet. It was quite an experience and something we would both highly recommend - you really see the real Chinese people in their element, especially the older generation.
After a long day, we headed back just in time to see the flag lowering ceremony (sharpen your elbows!) on Tian'anmen Square and grabbed some food from our favourite bar near our hotel - cheap beer and a burger - can't beat it after a long day on your feet!
Drum and Bell tower
Julia had her interview the following day, so Chris headed off to find some fake student ID, and was successful - more on that later - and wander around the drum and bell towers in the Hutongs.
It was a great day wandering around, taking photos and listening to music. Chris just got to the drum tower in time (with new Chinese student id... and it worked!) to see the drum performance, which was great. The tower was used as a time keeper, so every period of time, the drums and bell would sound, allowing everyone know the approximate time of day. They had a range of ways to calculate this from candles, water timers and incense burners. There is only one original drum left and it is in pretty poor state, but it was interesting all the same and well worth the visit.
The views from the bell and drum towers are fantastic - across Beijing and the surrounding Hutongs. In fact the view from the bell tower is probably better as you can walk all the way around it.
Chris then decided to go and try and find the real China in Beijing, before it disappears from all the major construction work taking place. Out the back of the bell tower the older generation can be found playing cards, Chinese checkers and the keepy-uppy game with a giant shuttle cock. Really interesting the older generation keeping active and fit, as you don't see that within the public spaces of the UK.
The walk went past many Hutong homes and after a few wrong turnings down dead ends, ended up at the Great Leap micro-brewery where Chris enjoyed tucking into a pale ale - his first since leaving the UK. They cooled their ales which wasn't perfect, but it soon warmed up a little and was a great end to a fun day of exploring.
Temple of Heaven
Our final day in Beijing before our overnight train to Datong was spent travelling to the other two largest sights within the city - the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.
The Temple of Heaven is a top site and in our opinion, probably the most beautiful building in China. The temple is part of a complex of buildings located in the southern part of Beijing centre and placed within a lovely park. It was only a few stops on the bus from out hotel and we were helped by a lovely chap, who looked rather official.
As we headed to the park through the subway we again came across the older Chinese generation doing ballroom dancing and rollerblading - it was another fascinating insight into the Chinese daily life (don't think our grandparents would be hanging out and in the subway back home!).
We entered the park from the West gate and walked along the long walkway flanked by large trees with new spring green leaf growth and plum blossom - it was a beautifully peaceful walk.
The Temple of Heaven and Imperial Vault of Heaven are directly opposite each other in the centre of the park on a raised platform. As you come up to the Temple of Heaven you see the circular roof line and just fall in love. True it has been restored Chinese style so all the paint is bright and new, but it does make it stand out. It is so well designed and proportioned just right.
After a good time exploring we headed in the opposite direction along the marble causeway to the Echo Wall. The walls didn't echo (too many Chinese tour groups) and barriers against the walls but the building was nice and the nearby Round Altar interesting (no idea what it was used for).
There are various other sites in the complex, but we needed to move on so headed onward to the summer palace.
Summer Palace
The summer palace was the weekend retreat for the Emperor and now receives over 100,000 visitors a day! The nearest subway station (Beigongmen) drops you at the North gate, so when you enter you need to walk over a huge artificial hill. There were some attractive Buddhist buildings and interesting rock formations (a regular thing in Chinese gardens).
After summiting, we headed down towards the huge Kunming lake that sits in front of the palace. We wandered along to the marble boat (a bit of a disappointment) and along the Long Corridor walkway, which runs along the north edge of the lake. It has some super little paintings in the rafters, keeping the walk interesting.
In the centre is the palace itself and the Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion. This was not part of our ticket, but with the trusty student IDs, we got another discount and headed in. It was well worth it.
The buildings rise above up the hill with super views of the lake. As you climb the many steps to the top, there are many photo opportunities and some interesting view points. We walked all the way up, took some pics of the pagodas (which sadly you cannot go in to see the Buddha) and saw another area of the complex we had missed, so headed back down and over to a Bronze Pavilion. It seemed many people missed it, as it was empty, but probably one of the more interesting buildings, having been built entirely of bronze.
We finished off by walking around the top part of the lake, watching them re-stocking the lake with new fish. It was another long day and so were lagging a little by this point in time so decided to head home, but as we left we realised we were near the Olympic Park, so decided to head over there.
The Olympic Park
Chris had visited the Olympic Park in 2007 when it was being built for the 2008 Olympic Games and saw it from a mound of earth in the building site, so was keen to see it finished and the iconic Birds Nest stadium.
The park is relatively well connected with the dedicated metro station, so it was fairly easy to get to and as soon as you leave the station you see the park and the stadiums.
It is such a unique stadium and architecturally quite stunning with the steel wrapped around the stadium forming a complex mesh... rather like a Birds Nest surprisingly. It is huge.
Nearby is the aquatics stadium as well, which looks like a load of bubbles. As it gets lit up at night, we stayed a little longer to see the lights.
When you go to the Olympic stadium in London or Barcelona or any other hosting nation the park is normally quite empty unless there is an event there - not in China though. The place was packed with Chinese tourists taking photos, dancing and generally having a lovely time. It is quite the destination.
Soon the light was fading and we decided to head back.As it was our last night, we decided to go back to Grandmas Kitchen before picking up our bags and heading over to the train for our overnight (hard sleeper this time!) to Datong.
We really enjoyed the city Beijing. There is so much to explore - we didn't really scratch the surface -and you get to see the real China, something Shanghai is lacking. We just hope Beijing doesn't change too much and the every day feel of the Hutongs stays despite all the renovation and new construction.
Read about our two days on the nearby Great Wall of China...coming next!
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| Beijing |
The journey from Shanghai was smooth and actually very good. We left at a reasonable time of 9pm and were scheduled to arrive at about 8:30am, which we did. The train was fairly new and was a very smooth ride indeed. We had booked onto top Soft Sleeper bunks - the most expensive sleeper option as this was the only option available, and it was plush - especially as we were comparing with our last overnight trains which were in India!
The Hutongs
We headed to the Nanluogu Xiang Hutong area north of the Forbidden city and wandered around following the walking tour of the Lonely Planet. The Hutongs are quite unique as they are a mixed residential and commercial area of single story dwellings, that seem quite out of place in modern China. Indeed many are being bulldozed - we saw a lot of building work around them and saw some being modernised.
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| A Hutong |
The area of Nanluogu Xiang is very characterful, and seemed quite a fashionable place, bringing many young Chinese to the bars and restaurants. After wandering around for a bit, it was time to get some food and luckily enough we stumbled across a super little restaurant called Grandmas Kitchen. The food was delicious and very different to the standard Chinese options - it seemed they had actually thought to be different.
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| Delicious dinner fresh from Grandma's Kitchen |
After a good night's rest we headed for our first full on day's experience of Beijing and the most famous of the sights within the city; to the Forbidden City via Tian'anmen Square (a short walk from our hotel).
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| The vast scale of Tian'anmen Square |
Tian'anmen Square is the largest public square in the world, so we understand, and sits just south of the Forbidden City. For a simple square it has hit the news a lot, especially during the student protests of 1989 and regularly hosts huge military parades. Therefore it is now probably the most watched and listened to area in the world - there are cameras, armed guards and not so secret police everywhere!
The square is flanked by huge soviet styled government buildings to the west and east and Zhengyang Gate Arrow Tower to the south. The other two main structures on the square are Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (like a mini Madam Tussaud's) and the huge monument to the people with large plain red flags. To the north is the iconic Gate of Heavenly Peace with a giant portrait of Mao looking down over the square.
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| Left, right, left, right... |
After a quick wander around the square (there isn't anywhere to sit and not too much to do), we headed across the road past Mao's portrait and though the Gate of Heavenly Peace and into the Forbidden City.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is the largest palace in the world with over 3,000 rooms and walls that scale high above your head. The palace is massive, so even though it is extremely popular, the crowds soon disperse and we actually found ourselves fairly alone in parts.
Along the centre is a series of gates and halls. The majority of tour groups just go through the centre without looking at the various palaces and areas to the sides.
As you walk through the first gate, the size of the place really takes you back. In front of you is a huge courtyard, with a curved stream running through it with several bridges, leading to another huge yellow tiled hall. It is very spectacular indeed.
 |
| Nice wall |
However instead of pushing forwards, we decided to look at a couple of smaller palaces on the sides - the Hall of Martial Valor and Hall of Literary Glory.
One thing about the Forbidden City, and all buildings we have found so far in China, is that they look amazing from the outside, and the roofs, but the furniture inside is disappointing, and just rather dusty and un-kept. This was common throughout the Forbidden City, and a real shame, as it would have been nice to see how the Emperor really lived.
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| Curving waterways in the courtyards of the palace |
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| The forbidden City is huge |
For those who have been before, we could no longer find the Starbucks which was in the palace (we could have done with a coffee at that point!).
After heading through here with a small tussle to see the things inside the hall (old and dusty again) we found ourselves in another courtyard area, with a small building in the centre, but with more options to walk right or left.
 |
| Exploring the Emperor Dowagers abode |
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| Peonies in all their glory |
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| Beautiful painting |
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| Dragon screens seemed to be a 'thing' in China (this was the first of a few!) |
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| The opera theatre |
We finished off by heading to the garden at the back of the palace, which was filled with ancient trees, pagodas, more peonies and interesting rock formations.
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| Walled in |
The Forbidden City took much longer than we expected and we were a little dead on our feet. However, there we were keen for a view back at where we had walked and the hill behind found in Jingshan park, had just this. The park is also known for its peonies and local people watching, so we headed down to explore the edges of the park.
 |
| Part of the Forbidden Palace eerily empty |
The Chinese are generally a stone-faced, serious bunch but was in this park we first experienced them in their downtime and actually smiling! They seemed to be having a great time singing karaoke, opera (solo and in groups), dancing or playing keepy-upy with a large shuttle-cock.
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| View back to the Forbidden City from the park |
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| The edge of the Forbidden City |
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| Snap happy! |
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| Strictly come dancing... eat your heart out! |
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| Spontaneous opera in the park |
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| The Chinese National Flower |
Drum and Bell tower
Julia had her interview the following day, so Chris headed off to find some fake student ID, and was successful - more on that later - and wander around the drum and bell towers in the Hutongs.
It was a great day wandering around, taking photos and listening to music. Chris just got to the drum tower in time (with new Chinese student id... and it worked!) to see the drum performance, which was great. The tower was used as a time keeper, so every period of time, the drums and bell would sound, allowing everyone know the approximate time of day. They had a range of ways to calculate this from candles, water timers and incense burners. There is only one original drum left and it is in pretty poor state, but it was interesting all the same and well worth the visit.
The views from the bell and drum towers are fantastic - across Beijing and the surrounding Hutongs. In fact the view from the bell tower is probably better as you can walk all the way around it.
Chris then decided to go and try and find the real China in Beijing, before it disappears from all the major construction work taking place. Out the back of the bell tower the older generation can be found playing cards, Chinese checkers and the keepy-uppy game with a giant shuttle cock. Really interesting the older generation keeping active and fit, as you don't see that within the public spaces of the UK.
The walk went past many Hutong homes and after a few wrong turnings down dead ends, ended up at the Great Leap micro-brewery where Chris enjoyed tucking into a pale ale - his first since leaving the UK. They cooled their ales which wasn't perfect, but it soon warmed up a little and was a great end to a fun day of exploring.
Temple of Heaven
Our final day in Beijing before our overnight train to Datong was spent travelling to the other two largest sights within the city - the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.
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| Temple of Heaven |
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| That's quite some roof! |
As we headed to the park through the subway we again came across the older Chinese generation doing ballroom dancing and rollerblading - it was another fascinating insight into the Chinese daily life (don't think our grandparents would be hanging out and in the subway back home!).
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| Just your average ballroom dancing in the subway! |
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| In-line skating |
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| Up close with the Temple of Heaven |
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| The long walk |
After a good time exploring we headed in the opposite direction along the marble causeway to the Echo Wall. The walls didn't echo (too many Chinese tour groups) and barriers against the walls but the building was nice and the nearby Round Altar interesting (no idea what it was used for).
There are various other sites in the complex, but we needed to move on so headed onward to the summer palace.
Summer Palace
The summer palace was the weekend retreat for the Emperor and now receives over 100,000 visitors a day! The nearest subway station (Beigongmen) drops you at the North gate, so when you enter you need to walk over a huge artificial hill. There were some attractive Buddhist buildings and interesting rock formations (a regular thing in Chinese gardens).
 |
| The view over the palace area |
After summiting, we headed down towards the huge Kunming lake that sits in front of the palace. We wandered along to the marble boat (a bit of a disappointment) and along the Long Corridor walkway, which runs along the north edge of the lake. It has some super little paintings in the rafters, keeping the walk interesting.
 |
| The marble boat |
In the centre is the palace itself and the Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion. This was not part of our ticket, but with the trusty student IDs, we got another discount and headed in. It was well worth it.
The buildings rise above up the hill with super views of the lake. As you climb the many steps to the top, there are many photo opportunities and some interesting view points. We walked all the way up, took some pics of the pagodas (which sadly you cannot go in to see the Buddha) and saw another area of the complex we had missed, so headed back down and over to a Bronze Pavilion. It seemed many people missed it, as it was empty, but probably one of the more interesting buildings, having been built entirely of bronze.
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| The Fragrance Pavillon |
We finished off by walking around the top part of the lake, watching them re-stocking the lake with new fish. It was another long day and so were lagging a little by this point in time so decided to head home, but as we left we realised we were near the Olympic Park, so decided to head over there.
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| Painted walkways lined the water front |
The Olympic Park
Chris had visited the Olympic Park in 2007 when it was being built for the 2008 Olympic Games and saw it from a mound of earth in the building site, so was keen to see it finished and the iconic Birds Nest stadium.
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| Beijing 2008 |
The park is relatively well connected with the dedicated metro station, so it was fairly easy to get to and as soon as you leave the station you see the park and the stadiums.
It is such a unique stadium and architecturally quite stunning with the steel wrapped around the stadium forming a complex mesh... rather like a Birds Nest surprisingly. It is huge.
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| The Birds Nest |
When you go to the Olympic stadium in London or Barcelona or any other hosting nation the park is normally quite empty unless there is an event there - not in China though. The place was packed with Chinese tourists taking photos, dancing and generally having a lovely time. It is quite the destination.
Soon the light was fading and we decided to head back.As it was our last night, we decided to go back to Grandmas Kitchen before picking up our bags and heading over to the train for our overnight (hard sleeper this time!) to Datong.
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| Time to get cosy |
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| Hard sleeper this time! |
Read about our two days on the nearby Great Wall of China...coming next!
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