Destination: Beijing, China
Itinerary: 4 days 4 nights Tian’anmen Square The centre of Beijing, and essentially the political heart of China. The equivalent of the Beehive in Wellington, Tian’anmen square is a large open court, with a massive colourful historical gate at the Northern end, a museum on the west, the ‘Peoples Hall’ on the East and the gate to the Forbidden City on the south. Having recently been to Red square in Moscow, I felt this really was the Chinese equivalent. Chairman Mao watches over from his portrait overlooking the whole square, and the centre is home to his tomb which is open for viewing (yes you can see his dead corpse lying there – for a fee). There’s also a monument in the centre paying homage to soldiers who died during Chinas historical wars, and I was impressed to see statues of people in military dress that included women. Military personnel patrol often and it makes for great shots against the backdrop of the monument or the north gate. There is so much history embroiled here, it is the site of the June 4th 1989 Tiananmen massacre where pro-democracy protestors were killed by armed gunmen on tanks as they tried to march against communism. It is now where International political leaders meet with Chinese government. To have a real appreciation for the place I recommend reading up about it before hand or taking a guidebook or interpreter with you. The Great Wall One off the bucket list. My dream is to walk the entire length of the great wall, but due to degradation of the wall, that really isn’t an easy feat nowadays so this was a great little taster for it. We had a whole day trip that included the bus fare, a buffet lunch, a gondola and the wall. The road in takes you past the winding wall and its twists its way through the mountainsides that suddenly appear as you leave Beijing city behind. The area of the wall where we toured was 800m high, and had it not been for the Gondola ride, it would’ve taken most of our 2 hour time slot just to reach it. It was just like in Queenstown when you go up the gondola to get to the luge and see stunning views of the town, but this time the view was of a never ending wall and Beijing city in the far distance. The wall is pretty much exactly as it was when it was built – hard uneven rock and incredibly steep in some areas. It really is so important to wear good footwear if you are going to visit the wall! I was so blessed in having an absolute pearler of a day with not a cloud in the sky, but I imagine no matter what the weather, the scenery would still be as breath taking. Seeing this incredible wall, built with blood and sweat, and now bodies of those who helped build it in the Ming and Qing dynasties, spanning hundreds of years. Something that impressed me was the “gutsiness” of the elderly Chinese people. Walking up a 45 degree wall in the heat of the day was something I was coping with ok, but to see an elderly woman charging up behind me was something else. The Chinese have such a great spirit and can do attitude. It’s not even an attitude I guess, as they just do it with no fuss. We managed to get the whole day tour on a student ID discount, for 218rmb (NZD$140). Really quite a steal when the Gondola ride was 100rmb alone (NZD$22) and the Bus ride was around 2 hours one way. Other tours were offering 380rmb, not including the Gondola. The Forbidden City If you want to see the lavish lifestyles Chinese emporers and their cliques lived, you need to come here and/or the Summer Palace. The architecture and sheer size of this place is mind boggling and for those who are snap happy – you will have endless opportunites to photograph the incredible architecture here. Do not expect to do this in an hour or two, or even half a day. You need at least a day if not two (unfortunately the tickets are only sold per day) and expect to be seeing your Fitbit go crazy as it counts all the steps required to circumnavigate the city. As much as it’s a ‘city’, after learning about the history you realise how it’s really just a boss as palace for the emporer to spend his days. He's got multiple bedrooms, a room for his consummation night, a room for changing, a room for greeting officials, the list goes on. Whilst most rooms (and when I say rooms I mean what we in NZ would call a moderate sized house) are closed, there are some that have been converted into shops, or have glass panels so you can get a look inside. I couldn’t help but think of how the engineering behind it all must’ve been pretty impressive for the time, and on top of that the artwork and painting is amazing with intricate detail in door frames and painted on pillars. It’s definitely a day where you need loads of water, and luckily there are reasonably priced stands inside the city selling all sorts of refreshments. Worth bringing a hat for this one too as you won’t see any trees until the very end when you discover the only garden. There are some added extras you can see inside the city, where most of the throngs of people don’t go. For that reason alone I recommend paying an extra 20rmb to go and see the Hall of Clocks/ the Jade collection/ the Ceramics hall and the 9 dragons. The crowds are smaller and you will have ample opportunity to get that great shot you’re picturing, without someones head or selfie stick ruining the picture. It’s also a chance to take a breather and just be, enjoying the history seeped stone walls. Most signage has English translation on it, but there is the chance to get an automatic electric ear piece where a pre-recorded voice can give you the history of the area you are in. Otherwise, guides are hawking themselves left right and centre, ready to give you a tour. Wangfujing street - aka “The Bug street” Being vegetarian this street was a struggle for me. I was torn between wanting to tick it off my tourist list and sticking to my morals. Not just because of the dead insects and animals on sticks, but the live ones. To have some sort of difference amongst the other stalls, the cooks spear live scorpions onto skewers to display to punters before deep frying them - live - to eat. It’s horrible to see the little critters desperately trying to get off the stick shoved through their back, but I know most wouldn’t share in my abhorrence here being that they’re creepy crawlies. They do cater for us vegos though – with a signature dish of “Chaodoufudoufu” or ‘stinky tofu’ in English. Boy does it reek! Walking down the street the smell hits you like it does the first time you go to Rotorua. I already had a case of Beijing belly that night so didn’t try any, but I picture needing to peg my nose if I ever attempted to. You want to try Snake on a stick? It’s here. How about some other reptile like a gecko or Lizard? That too. Tarantulas, multiple species of Scorpion, dried Seahorse (…heart currently wrenching as I type this..). Then of course is the more standard seafood and pork meat – crab legs, pig intestine and stomach, they even cover the poultry food group by having deep fried pigeon and partially developed birds fresh out of their eggs. I applaud anyone who can stomach walking down the street, and have nothing but awe for those who manage to eat the food. I’m glad I went, it really is a hubbub of activity and how traditional Beijing shopping streets used to be like. I’m also glad for taking a face mask with me that night! The Summer Palace I’d seen the Forbidden city and thought my biggest day of walking was done – but the Summer Palace saw me walking loads AND climbing. Designed for the Dragon empress (or *Bitch lady as we came to refer to her), the Summer Palace is an amazing city with a huge manmade lake and water way set amongst more stunning towers and temples. The highlight here for me was the Buddhist temple, nestled amongst forestry looking out over the lake. Built on the earth that was excavated to make the lake, the Temple is up a fair few steep flights of stairs which are incredibly steep but over pretty quickly. Historically it was known as an arduous trek to get to the top, but there is a Chinese saying that goes ‘those who climb the 100 stairs to the temple, are sure to live 100 years’ or something to that effect, so wicked as – I’m going to live to 100! The view from the top is pretty sensational, and it’s again got that juxtaposition of the old Beijing dynasty in the foreground with the smoggy Beijing skyscrapers in the distance. Just like the Forbidden city, the Summer Palace was pretty packed and so again, it was worth buying the extra passes to get in to see the rooms full of treasures on display. Again an entire day is needed, and to finish it off there is a boat ride down the man made water ways and back into the Beijing cbd. It reminded me a bit of the Avon river in Christchurch but on a much bigger scale - Still the same beauty though – with Willows dripping into the waters off the grassy banks. It was quite comical to see too, as we motored down the river, little haggard men fishing. I couldn’t believe they would actually catch anything in the muddy coloured, lifeless water but after asking one of them, apparently Koi carp are common. Figures too – the water quality is less than desirable, a great environment for Koi carp to thrive. *Bitch lady was actually “Cixi”, Chinas only female ruler for 48 years who saw herself equal to male emporers and made sure to let everyone know she was the boss dog (how’s that for some early Chinese feminism). In Chinese symbolism, the female form is the Phoenix and the Male the dragon, but Cixi had dragon effgys put in her Palace to send the message that she was as good as any man. As great as it was to have a female ruler in my eyes (girl power), she is seen as the demise of China and it seems the general population don’t particularly revere her, hence our nickname for her. I could go on of course, but the point of this blog is to get you excited to go to these places and find out about all this incredible history for yourself! Shi mao tian jie A big screen/digital canopy erected above a shopping centre. Big as in 220m x 27m. This screen is incredible, and the largest in the world. It sits above “The Place” shopping mall (a very upmarket one) and has you looking up craning your neck to see the amazing pictures displayed on the LED screen. When we visited, the French open was winding down, so there was a clay tennis court set up below the screen with aspiring local players playing a match for public viewing. A cool novelty technological place to visit, but really only worth it if you combine it with some shopping or dining simultaneously. This trip was a special trip with my good friend, a Chinese born New Zealander. If I’m really honest, I would say don’t bother going to China without a translator, or a really thorough understanding of Mandarin/Cantonese and Chinese culture. Although English is taught at school, there is not a lot of practise as the language of business is Mandarin and so, aside from gesticulation and broken English conversations, communication can be really difficult. I never say never though! Perhaps having gone with a local, I was lazier than usual and didn’t make much of an effort. If you have the gumption to give it a go, coupled with their interest in foreigners, I am confident it would be even more of an adventure. Good to know: Get ready to work those quads – Squat toilets are the go in Beijing, as well as no toilet paper. I got in the habit of grabbing serviettes and napkins at restaurants and stowing them in my bag for such occasions. People are friendly. There wasn’t one day that went by that I didn’t get stopped and asked for a selfie or a photo with someone. Foreigners are such novelties to them and they love it. Once you realise that for the most part the culture is a kind and helpful one, you start to see the beauty of every interaction with these kind people. I was treated better by people we asked for directions in Beijing, than I am when I buy my morning coffee! Language - Ni hao (Hello), Xi Xi (thankyou) and Bu ke qi (You’re welcome/No worries) came in very handy. I whole heartedly recommend having a smartphone and even getting a Chinese sim card to help getting around. Face masks – Beijing pollution wasn’t obvious to me at the time of year I visited (late May/early June), and infact the streets were tidier than downtown Auckland. Thanks to the Beijing Olympics back in 2008 there are cleaners employed to clean and tidy the streets daily. However, as silly as it looks with one of those doctors masks on your face, it is worth at least trying to protect your lungs. The smoggy haze that is seen over the city is trapped putrid air that is less than desirable to breathe. When I got back to NZ my first priority was to *detox and exercise to get my lungs working and get rid of any toxins I’d ingested. Its probably an over-reaction on my part - but I feel better for having done it! *My choice of detox/cleanse post holiday is pHd – cold pressed juices and salads. Check out their plans at www.phdhealth.co.nz Social media – Everything is so connected in China, people were paying for coffee with their phones, we paid for our taxis with an app and used Baidu (the Google equivalent) to navigate the side streets. China ‘officially’ boycotts American social media (despite being a country where everyone has an iPhone, go figure), so WeChat is the FB/Insta/Twitter equivalent all rolled in to one. Worth downloading if you have friends who also use it but otherwise you either need to give up social media while you travel OR invest in working out how to use a VPN (virtual private network). These use other countries internets to reroute your device as if you were in that country, and therefore can use blocked Social media freely. I was using a Singaporean VPN to update my Social media accounts. Like anything, there is an app so have a look in your app store for anything ‘VPN’. Warning – they are pretty sketchy and won’t hold a secure connection for long. Don’t waste your time scrolling, just do what you need to and save yourself the frustration of the dreaded ‘loading’ symbol. Tourists are everywhere – and are mainly Chinese. It was an interesting concept to think that it was other Chinese people visiting their own country – something I feel us Kiwis aren’t accustomed to as we have the ability to see most of our relatively smaller country much more easily. I barely saw any other Western tourists, and those I did were in tour groups or were Russians who come down to work in China. Not that I understood, but Jimmie did say that a lot of people would consider whether to try to talk to me in English, as they thought I could be Russian! Transport – Taxis can get busy and were quite hard to book if you didn’t know your way around We Chat or the other Chinese transport apps. Learn to use the Subway and Electric bus systems. Most of the station names will be in Pinyin English to help with getting around, and if you miss your train there is literally another one in 5 minutes time. Crowds – Get comfortable with having no personal space. It just doesn’t exist in China and the sooner you accept it, the easier it gets. I never felt like I had someone breathing down my neck, but it did take me a while to not be offended by the pushing of crowds as they hurry to get onto a train or in a queue. Realise they don’t mean any ill towards you, it’s purely how they do things having to get around in a city of 21 million people. Security is everywhere – Security cameras are common place and it would be easy to get anxious when you realise big brother really is watching 24/7. I was surprised to see cameras watching in Tian’anmen square on historical lighting fixtures, through to cameras at the subway. Security in and out of anywhere is usually by way of a security guard and an x ray for all your bags. They’ll make you take a sip of any liquids (water etc) you have with you to prove it’s not something untoward. Try travel as streamlined as possible as it wont take you long to get frustrated taking everything off (backpack, hangbag, camera etc) and having to put it all back on. Accommodation: We stayed in an old Beijing styled street in what would be called a motel by NZ standards. It was totally sufficient, and what I loved was the authentic Chinese fittings everywhere and the friendly staff. As much as it is in an old styled street, the city is literally a stones throw away as this style of road is common place around Beijing as the old and the new have merged. We would wake up in the morning and have our street food breakfast, then walk 300m and down under the CBD office buildings to grab Starbucks. Really ironic and crazy to be amongst. It doesn’t have its own website but is available for booking on the standard websites. Head to booking.com and search for “Xiao Yuan Alley Courtyard Hotel”. Being the capital there are loads of options if you have a large budget and everywhere/everything is super accessible by way of subway or taxi. Journey: Departing from Auckland, I flew China Southern to Guangzhou and then onwards to Beijing. I have no complaints with the airline and have flown them multiple times. If you are transiting in an airport be aware they are over the top ridiculously priced (I fell into the trap and ordered myself a flat white for 60 yuan which at the time, was the equivalent of about NZD$18). AirNZ, China eastern, Air Asia, Singapore airlines. There’s a multitude of airlines, I recommend shopping around and don’t be put off by flying a Chinese airline – they have great service and have English speaking crew. If you are staying less than 72 hours you will be granted a transit visa on arrival allowing you to enter the country long enough to have a look around. Longer stay visas are not granted on arrival so pre arrange through the Chinese Embassy in Auckland; NB: Be prepared to get there early and spend up to 4 hours waiting to hand in your application. Make sure you grab a ticket from the machine as soon as you get in the building – there is a limited amount. They’ll then take your passport and give you a scheduled day/time to come back to collect it. Again, give yourself plenty of time, it is a busy office! www.chineseembassy.org.nz
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