One of the Greatest Man-Made Wonders of the World

Only those who have lived in a cave their whole life have not heard of the Great Wall of China.  There is a saying in Chinese which amounts to, “He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man.”  It is considered one of the most impressive man-made wonders in the history of mankind.   You pick any history book or website and read more about the history of the Great Wall of China.

Besides the fact that the first thing someone will ask when finding out you traveled in China is, “Did you go the Great Wall,”  I have always been interested in man-made structures whether it be giant urban skyscrapers to Buddhist temples.  As soon as I thought about visiting mainland China I began planning to visit the Great Wall.  I knew the Great Wall passed through some seriously remote parts of China but getting there turned out to be easier than I thought.

Great Wall of China Sections Near Beijing

Getting to the Great Wall of China from Beijing

If you didn’t know, the Great Wall of China covers a very long distance.  Very long may be an understatement as in the USA it would go from San Francisco to New York!  Having a wall that far is a feat in itself but the Great Wall weaves through some very rugged mountainous terrain.

The Great Wall’s most popular section is called Badaling and there is no coincidence that it is located around 30 minutes via car north of Beijing.  There are tour groups that go there multiple times per day in tour buses and vans but if you’re lucky you can either get a car and drive yourself.

I was lucky enough to have a friend in Beijing who offered to give me a ride.  We piled in her car and headed on our short journey to the great wall.  The way to the great wall is along a major highway with signs just like anywhere in the world   As we were driving I noticed we passed a huge, impressive looking section of the Great Wall on a hillside which was filled with tourists.  While I kind of worried we were passing the main attraction my friend who was from Beijing knew what she was talking about.

Looking up the Right Side after Purchasing Tickets

A Different Section of the Badaling Great Wall of China

The first section of the Great Wall we passed on the freeway is the most popular for many reasons, primarily because It is closest to Beijing and secondly because it is fully renovated.  Since the wall has been around for over 1000 years much of it is crumbling.  We ended going to one of those crumbling sections which appeared its renovation was incomplete.  Although you really couldn’t see much of it on the highway, it was located on the right side of the highway only around 10km past the first section which was on the left.  Getting there involved going through 2 or 3 villages on dirt roads for about 5-10 minutes but it was well worth it.

As we arrived there were about 2-3 Mongolian yurts which I think were rented out for people to stay the night.  There was a small ticket office which charged a fee which I believe was about 500 Chinese Yuan ($15 USD) then we were free to explore.  As you walked you could see the gateway was really where the Great Wall had crumbled as you could see huge stacks of rocks on the right and the left.

Entrance: Option to hike to the Right or Left

Exploring the Great Wall of China on Foot

We decided to go up the right side.  The right side of this particular section of the Great Wall looked very, very far as it went over the mountain which was off in the distance.  I could see that most of the wall was intact but some if it was obscured by the very uneven hilly terrain so I didn’t know for sure whether I could make it all the way to the top but it ended up not mattering.

When I thought about the Great Wall of China I failed to realize that it is very steep.  The section I climbed had a mixture of small steps and extremely large steps.  To say exploring the Great Wall was a workout is an understatement because it is a very difficult workout.

Each section climbing the hill was very difficult and took around 15-20 minutes to hike up.  Even with the chilly Northern China air and snow still on the ground and on parts of the wall, I started to sweat and was hot for most of the climb.

Each section ends with what I would describe as a ‘rampart’ which in ancient times, were likely manned with soldiers who were the first line of defense against a Mongol invasion.  While some of the ramparts were in good shape, others were in shambles.  Being inside one of the ramparts gave me an eerie feeling as I was thinking how a lone guard would react to seeing a Mongol army storming his position.

When I first started climbing the wall I wanted to climb to a point at the very top of the mountain you can see in the photo below.  While I was getting tired my legs felt like jello the reason I didn’t continue ascending to the very top was because I wasn’t prepared and had little food and no water.

Best part about this particular Bedaling section of the Great Wall of China we climbed:  Other than a Chinese tour guide scouting out new routes, we saw not a single tourist for the entire 2 and a half hours we were on it!

Looking Down from as far as I Hiked (about 1/2 way up)

Overall Impression

The Great Wall was spectacular.  Thinking that I probably saw less than 1% of it had me even more impressed.  I liked the fact that it was also a very good workout climbing up the wall as well.  I only wish I had prepared for a hike rather a typical, “park – get out – take pictures – get back in” type of tourist attraction.

Depending on your travel plans, I would recommend spending a whole day on the Great Wall, possibly camping on it which is offered at various tour companies.  Since each section of the wall is unique you have quite a bit to see although I could imagine after going a couple, couple hundred, or couple thousands of miles on it could get monotonous.

The Great Wall of China is highly recommended for anyone who has a day or 2 in Beijing.  If I were Chinese I could say I’m finally a true man!

Taking a Piece of the Great Wall for Myself

View the Full Photo Set from the Great Wall of China

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

Taipei, Taiwan, Taking a Trip down Memory Lane

I purposely waited to write my primary post about Taipei because I really had nothing to compare it to other than Hong Kong and all of your average Chinatowns that I’ve been to.  When I went to Taipei, other than my Taipei Lonely Planet Travel Guide, I really didn’t know what to expect.  I thought Taipei would be yet another large bustling Asian metropolis.  Now that I’ve been to mainland China including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai I feel I can write a little more about Taipei.

I actually got the trip to Taipei before I booked my weekend trip to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand the earlier weekend.   I didn’t realize it when I did that traveling 2 consecutive weekends is not a good idea.  The previous weekend I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Chiang Mai returning to Bangkok Monday Morning and I was scheduled to go to Taipei on Thursday which only gave me 3 days at home to catch up on this blog, tourismPICS.com amongst other things.

After I realized that traveling 2 consecutive weekends was probably not a good idea it was already too late to re-book the flight for the next weekend.  I also saw a poor weather forecast which included lots of cloudy skies and fog which makes taking good photos difficult as well.  Even though the next weekend was supposed to have better weather, I decided not to re-book and lose the few thousand baht I spent on the original tickets.

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall in the center of the city of Taipei

Getting to Taipei

Lucky for me Taipei is only around 3 hours away from Bangkok.  I did a few searches on major flight search engines but found nothing cheaper than what AirAsia offered.  I took the painless 3 hour flight from Suhamabhumi to Taipei International and following the Taipei Lonely Planet guide’s advice, I took a bus from the airport to the city.

The drive in from the airport to the city was pretty long.  The bus had 3 drop off points which were relatively close to the hotel I booked for the first night.  I ended up getting off the bus at the first stop and then taking a taxi to the hotel which coincidentally was named First Hotel.

Typical Brightly Lit Taipei Street

Places to Stay in Taipei

I booked a hotel for the first night only beforehand because I wanted to make sure it was in a good neighborhood, write a couple more posts for this blog and of course the hotel only had 1 night available.  Maybe it was due to the fact I tried to postpone my trip to Taipei but I found it difficult to find hotels online.  I ended up calling hotels which happened to be full, and asking them for the numbers of hotels which possibly had vacancies.  I ended up staying at the following hotels in Taipei.

Places to Stay in Taipei:  First Hotel

Places to Stay in Taipei:  Dolomanco Hotel

Things to Do in Taipei

Just all Asian cities, Taipei has all the shopping anyone could hope for.  Whether you want expensive designer handbags or cheap knock-offs, you can find it in Taipei.  Here are some of the tourism attractions I had a chance to experience in the city of Taipei.

Taipei 101

Core Pacific City

Visit Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

River Bicycle Ride

Overall Impression

I truly believe I missed out by visiting Taiwan without leaving Taipei.  Like I mentioned in the introduction, Taipei is a relatively small city and with the language barrier it was very difficult to get around in a timely manner.  Looking in the Taiwan Lonely Planet Guide I saw many very beautiful sites that I wish I went to.

I can’t speak for Chinese speaking people but I would recommend anyone going to Taiwan to spend no more than 2 days in Taipei.  Plan your trip well ahead and plan your excursions outside of Taipei and see the beautiful natural as well as historic man-made attractions that Taiwan has to offer.

View More Photos from Taipei, Taiwan at tourismPICS.com

Tourims Pics Travel Photography

Getting to Guangzhou

My new strategy of travel lead me to make Guangzhou my first destination to mainland China.  Instead of taking long flights and passing over or even worse, waiting at the airport of places I want to visit, I flew to Guangzhou instead of Beijing where I was to meet a friend who was traveling as well.

Instead of taking the 5 or so hour international flight to Beijing, I took the 2 hour flight to Guangzhou offered by AirAsia which has the best prices in the region.  I made sure to pay the extra 250 baht ($7.50 USD) to get the exit row seat so I could type a post or 2 for this blog during the short trip.  Keep in mind both Shenzhen and Hong Kong are very close by and while all have international airports, the bullet train is probably the easiest and cheapest method of travel.

I arrived very late to the Guangzhou airport from Bangkok and I was immediately approached by a tout who spoke perfect English.  I was immediately skeptical thinking he was trying to rip me off or squeeze money out of me some way.  I was pleasantly surprised as he was able to sell me a sim card for my cell phone for cheap and lead me to a taxi for the drive to the hotel and didn’t try to charge me a single dime.

Places to Stay in Guangzhou, China – Ramada Hotel Pearl - Coming Soon

Getting Around in Guangzhou

Like Taipei which I visited a few months before, Guangzhou was very difficult to get around mentally at least.  Physically there was more than enough taxis, buses and a thorough subway system as well as a giant train station but mentally there was very little to help me get around.  Guangzhou seemed completely unprepared for tourism.

Even trying to find tourism information from the Ramada hotel I was staying at was almost impossible due to the language barrier.   There wasn’t even tourism pamphlets in English at the airport or my hotel.   Even when I booked my flight from Guangzhou to Beijing I could barely communicate my desired information to the attendant at the ticketing desk at my hotel.

Like Taipei, when I wasn’t getting around by foot, exploring the area around my hotel and the Pearl River I took taxis.  Taxis in Guangzhou were pretty cheap but required the directions written down in Chinese to go where you wanted.  I also found it interesting that there was a metal cage with some glass surrounding the taxi driver’s seat in all taxis.

Things to do in Guangzhou, China

Besides growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area which has a huge Chinese population, before Guangzhou I had traveled to Taipei, where very few people spoke English and Hong Kong where there are a lot of English speakers.  Since most of the Chinese people in San Francisco were from Guangdong province in southern China I hoped English would be widely spoken in Guangzhou.

My hopes were dashed as I found it very hard to get around, hence this “Things to do in Guangzhou” section is going to be slim.  Guangzhou is a huge city so I could have just been in the wrong areas but I’d assume English is not widely spoken anywhere in mainland China.

Since it was difficult for me to get around, like my trip to Taipei I feel, “I didn’t really do much” in Guangzhou.  Luckily from my hotel’s location I was able to walk to Guangzhou’s yet to be completed future main tourist attractions as well as a good portion of the Pearl River.

2010 Asia Games

Like the Olympics 2010 Olympics was a worldwide showcase for Beijing, the 2010 Asian Games is going surely to be huge for Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and China as a whole.  As you can see from the picture below when I was in Guangzhou the site for the games was under construction.

Under Construction site for the 2010 Asian Games

Visit the TV & Sight Seeing Tower

When I was in Guangzhou during the 2^nd week of April 2010 the tower appeared to be going through the final stage of construction.  As you can see from most of the photos, the tower is pretty easily visible from most of Guangzhou as it is Antenna or spire 610 m (2,001.3 ft) tall and is the third tallest structure in the entire world.

From a distance I could see the tower which would light up in mesh-like patterns of different colors.  There were plenty of views from along the Pearl River but I had a taxi driver take me to tower which was in the midst of a construction zone.  I assume the tower will open when the 2010 Asian games begins to showcase Guangzhou along with the following.

Visit the Guangzhou International Finance Center

The Guangzhou International Finance Center aka the West Tower of the Guangzhou Twin Towers skyscraper was an ominous dark object towering over the Guangzhou skyline at the time of my visit, but along with the Radio and TV tower it is likely to open for the start of the 2010 Asian Games.  As a new skyscraper and one of the tallest buildings in the world, I assume it will have an observation deck and house numerous tourist attractions.  I didn’t get very close to it as it was obviously not finished yet.

Guangzhou International Finance Center (right)

Pearl River Walks & Liede Bridge

Guangzhou is basically split in half by the the Pearl River.  From what I read the Pearl River is very polluted as one may expect going through large industrial areas of China.  Access to the Pearl River was within a 10 minute walk from my hotel.  I was pleasantly surprised when there was a rather long scenic walkway along the river.   There were a few people milling about and a couples relaxing amidst the foggy/smoggy Guangzhou night.

The walkways along the Pearl River were a bit unpredictable as they would abruptly end or sometimes be under construction.  Also apparent along the Pearl River is Liede Bridge which is a brightly lit, futuristic looking bridge crossing the Pearl River.  There was walking paths on either side easily accessed by spiral staircases.  Interestingly enough the power abruptly shut off around 9pm which was the signal for me to catch a cab back to my hotel.

Walking Path Along Pearl River

Liede Bridge

Take the Bullet Train

Before I booked my flight from Bangkok to Southern China I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to go to Shenzhen or Guangzhou.  I decided on Guangzhou and planned to take the train to Shenzhen as it was only an hour away.  I made my way to the giant train station to find almost no English signs.  The train station was very confusing as there were many different booths and lines all w/ Chinese writing.  If you or a friend oes not speak Chinese and want to take the train from Guangzhou to anywhere, I highly recommend having a guide or things planned out beforehand.  I luckily found a scarce “English Speaking Booth” and got my ticket to Shenzhen.

Shenzhen China – Coming Soon

Overall Impression

The reason why I finally booked my first trip to mainland China was primarily because my (Chinese speaking) friend was going to be in Beijing and Shanghai.  Since I’d rather take multiple short flights rather than a single long one Guangzhou was more of a pit stop.  Similar to what I experienced in Taipei, it was very difficult to get around in Guangzhou because of the language barrier.

Like I mentioned before Guangzhou seemed like it wasn’t quite ready to be an international tourist attraction although you can see it was taking steps to be.  Perhaps I stayed in the wrong area but it seemed like there was not much going on in Guangzhou and I wouldn’t recommend anyone visit Guangzhou unless travel plans are well thought out and/or you or a friend speak fluent Chinese.