Getting to Beijing

Getting to Beijing from Guangzhou was not as simple as getting to Guangzhou from Bangkok.  I read in every China travel guide that it’s better and cheaper to book domestic flights in person rather than online.  The prices from online searches confirmed this as the flights as the prices for the non-Chinese airlines were high, and the domestic Chinese airlines do not accept online payments!

Since I had a friend arriving from Taipei to Beijing on a specific date, I felt the need to book my ticket as soon as possible to make sure I got there.  I decided to go to the ticket agent at Ramada Pearl Hotel in Guangzhou and book because I figured she would be able to understand a bit of English.

Her English, although far superior to my Chinese wasn’t great.  She booked me an early afternoon flight on China Eastern Airways.  While Chinese airlines have always had a bad reputation for everything from safety to service I truly didn’t know what to expect.  What I really didn’t expect was my business class ticket.  She booked me in business class in the half full Boeng 777 which made the flight a breeze, the food was pretty good and the service was outstanding!

The City of Beijing

I’m not sure if it was just the flight route but arriving in Beijing was different from all cities I’ve ever flown to.  While the sights of most plane’s approaches is usually rice fields, water or mountains, when flying to Beijing I saw a constant city skyline for at least the last 10 minutes.  I did a rough calculation that seeing city for 10 minutes at around 300 miles per hour equals about 50 miles of city!

Beijing was different than most large Asian cities that I’ve been to as the city center was not a cluster of giant skyscrapers but Tienanmen Square which really is just a huge vacant lot.  It’s safe to say that Beijing is a great example of urban sprawl.  The difficult Chinese language barrier withstanding, getting around Beijing was not very difficult.  As long as I knew where I was going and had help along the way, using the subways, taxis and other forms of transportation were not bad.

Beijing was cold in April when I visited.  I had a personal training client years ago who told me that Beijing’s women had a special name which related to their facial skin being rough because of the sand constantly blowing into their face.  Walking out of my hotel it took all but 5 minutes for the cold wind to blow sand in my face.   I’ll never forget that.

Places to Stay in Beijing:  Novotel – Coming Soon

West Beijing as seen from Jingshan Park

Things to Do in Beijing

Beijing has a multitude of things to do but the highlights definitely revolve around China’s history.  If you’re not walking around ancient places you can do anything in Beijing that you can do in any other major city in the world.  Beijing’s food is famous for its “Peking duck” but you will notice the authentic Chinese foods served in Beijing are very sesame centric.   Here are some of the things I did, or failed to do in Beijing.

Tienanmen Square

Most of the most popular hotels on sites such as Expedia’s Hotels.com were within walking distance to Tienanmen Square as was the Novotel I was staying at.  Of course everyone in the world outside of China remembers Tienanmen Square as the site of the student uprising which was dramatically put to end by the Chinese government.  The first thing anyone will notice when visiting Tienanmen Square is a very significant presence of the Chinese government from soldiers to police.

The entire Tienanmen Square and surrounding buildings which include significant government buildings are surrounded by a white metal fence which is a little more than a mater tall.  This makes it impossible to catch a taxi unless you exit the square from the north or the south.

Besides a few monuments and of course the tomb of Mao’s preserved body, Tienanmen Square is nothing more than a parking lot.  The fact that Tienanmen Square is a rather bland tourist attraction doesn’t take away from its allure as evidenced by the thousands or tens of thousands of Chinese and foreign tourists that visit.

Coupled its location & the fact that it is directly next to the Forbidden City and a historic, Tienanmen Square will likely continue to be popular with tourists foreign and domestic for many years to come.

Chinese Flag at North End of Tienanmen Square with Forbidden City in Background

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City in between Tienanmen Square and Jingshan Park.  Along with the Badaling section of the Great Wall it is probably the tourist site you want #1 on your list when you visit Beijing.  Unfortunately I missed on my opportunity to explore Forbidden City because I didn’t about the limitations for buying tickets so listen up.

To enter the Forbidden City you must buy your tickets before 4:30pm.  Even though the city is open until 8:30pm you will not be allowed in without a ticket.  I missed out the first 2 days in Beijing.  I arrived just after 4:30 and even tried to bribe the ticket agent at the gate for tickets but was denied.  I had to choose between the Forbidden City and the Great Wall for my last day in Beijing and I chose the wall.

Looking down on the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park

Zhongshan park

Zhongshan Park, the former imperial garden is a public park which is located southeast of the Forbidden City in the Dongcheng District of central Beijing.  Zhongshan park is another scenic park which has a mixture of landscaping, lakes, waterfalls and of course Chinese architecture.

Zhongshan Park Beijing

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is a a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of the Chongwen District in central Beijing.  Like the forbidden city, I missed out on going inside the temple grounds as I arrived after ticket sales were halted which I believe was around 8pm.  Even though I didn’t actually get in the temple there is a small admission fee to get in Tian Tan Park which surrounds the temple area.  The area was cool as I was able to chat w/ tourists and walk around.  I heard and saw some interesting things such as Chinese guys chanting, grunting and telling which I assume had something to do w/ qi.  I also saw groups of adults singing karaoke as well as a large group of retirees dancing near the entrance/exit.  I were told they get free entry in the park because of their age.

Behind the Gates of the Closed Temple of Heaven

Wangfujing Street

Wangfujing Street located in the Dongcheng District which was about a 5-10 minute walk from the Novotel I was staying at.  While Wangfujing Street was really nothing compared to shopping streets all throughout Asia you have to appreciate the fact that this is in the capital of communist China.  Wangfujing Street has some familiar retailers as well as some Chinese retailers.  This is not a place to buy cheap items though unless you’re talking about food.  There is an infamous food street which sells gimmick items such as live scorpion skewers as well as seehorse as well as the deliciously normal Chinese food items such as dim sum, noodles and more.

Walking down Wangfujing Walking Street in Beijing

Karaoke Lovers outside of the Temple of Heaven

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China Badaling Section outside of Beijing

Overall Impression

While Beijing certainly had a number of tourist attractions I could never live there.  It may sound odd, but in retrospect Beijing is China.  Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, & Taipei definitely do not feel as “China” as Beijing.   Beijing differs with the previously mentioned cities, because the major tourist attractions in Beijing are mostly old and ancient and have closer ties to the Chinese government and history.

While the government and police authority is clearly more present in Beijing than the other Chinese cities I visited, it is still comfortable to walk around in Beijing.  The parts of Beijing I visited were clean and while there was a good amount of traffic with cars honking with people hacking and spitting I never found Beijing to be nerve racking like I did Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

It helped greatly to have a couple of friends with me who spoke Chinese.  When they asked questions to people they always received a warm response as I noticed the people in China to be very social of course when spoken to in their own language.  More often than not, when asking directions a few people came over and tried to help which soon started to be a rather long conversation.

I stayed in Beijing for 4 nights which could have been enough if I planned my trip better.  I actually think 4 days is perfect for a trip to Beijing.  Staying at a hotel near Tienanmen Square and waking up early will allow you to visit the Forbidden City, the square and Jingshan Park in one day.  An excursion to the Great Wall would be perfect for your second day.  The third and fourth days would allow you to visit any museums, parks, or temples you are interested in.  Throw in another day for some shopping and you have a nice, activity packed trip to Beijing.

Next Destination in Mainland China – Shanghai - Coming Soon

Live Scorpions from a Food Street off Wangfujing Street

View More Photos from Beijing & All around the World at tourismPICS.com

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