The following is a recount of my experiences in Beijing:

Beijing… North capital…! One really huge city, with incredible traffic chaos — nobody really follows the traffic lights or signs (however a policeman in the center of a huge intersection wields a degree of authority)…. It’s every car, bike and pedestrian for them self (and somehow it works). The layout is essentially a grid, with wide concentric “ring roads” speeding up travel.

Our hotel was the “Holiday Inn” (downtown). Apparently it was 4 star. I would be reluctant to describe our particular room as meeting those standards — it was often noisy at night and the beds were hard (however some other people got more spacious and comfortable rooms), but it was more than adequate. After all, one does not go to another country to enjoy the hotels… :-P

And the toilet and basin swirled in the opposite direction! How strange!

I felt a little sorry for the lady hotel workers who would have to stand outside (but dressed in a really cool red coat and hat thingie) in the cold… seemingly all the time. So I tried to practice my Putonghua with varying degrees of success.

I wouldn’t recommend this hotel for it’s price.

After asking about 10 people along the way, I ended up finding an internet cafe ( “wangba” )… It was tucked into a lane, up a flight of stairs. Inside, it was dark and smoky (people can smoke just about anywhere in China) and generally almost full of people [For those from Melbourne, the cafe was somewhat like N2C in terms of atmosphere]… Most were playing internet games, in particular one which looked like Diablo but wasn’t.

It was a new experience walking alone around the streets at night, and actually feeling safe. There are always people around, and everyone is generally friendly. People seem surprised at my state of singledom. No marriage proposals as yet, however. :-o

The Hutongs

We also visited the house of the illustrious Mr Feng — once a widely renowned breeder of singing grasshoppers and fighting crickets (it’s true!). He showed us his instruments and devices for the upkeep of these critters, including a minute set of scales! I don’t think many others noticed, but Mr Feng was Muslim — he had a hanging of the Hadj on his wall, along with the more traditional Chinese trappings. Mr Feng had some rather cute puppies out the back of his house, as well as some strange birds…

The Great Wall

It’s hard to appreciate the scale and immense nature of the wall until you actually walk a section of it. It was actually really really hard work in places, with the steps being over a foot high, as the wall impressively climbed the mountains. To think such a thing went on for thousands of kilometers over such terrain is still mind-boggling. Anyhow, the view from the top of the section I walked provided a good view of the surrounding terrain — semi-barren, steep and breathtaking in it’s ruggedness. One could see the wall curling over and around the landscape on the other side of the valley. There was also a smaller track running somewhat parallel to the wall which led to two pagodas (pictured)….

Tienanmen Square & The Forbidden City

It’s really hard to actually appreciate the sheer scale of Tienanmen Square, let alone The Forbidden City. The square not only houses the “North Gate”, Mao’s mausoleum, a giant pillar — it is surrounded by imperious communist buildings and presided over by the giant face of Mao hanging on the Northern wall of The Forbidden City. Red flags were everywhere. As were tourists and stodgy vendors (never ever, ever pay their asking price). Nevertheless, the Square was exceptional with its atmosphere of scale.

The Forbidden City was even larger. One can look all the way through the consecutive inner gates for at least a kilometer… Buildings everywhere, but placed with a sense of deliberation — nothing felt “crowded” or haphazard. The architecture was exquisite, and I felt lucky that it was still preserved to be seen, given the track record of “preservation” in this country (quite literally a land of cranes). Indeed and unfortunately, the main part of the forbidden city was under wraps because of restoration. A pity, but that was only one part that was missed out of a overly fantastic wander.

Other Things

We also saw an Acrobatic show, which was fantastic and often jaw-dropping, as well as a Kung-Fu show, which was exhilarating too.

The “markets” as they are called, are indoors, and there are floors and floors of all matter of menagerie. The girls were in 7th heaven. At the top of floor of these buildings typically is a food hall — and the food is really good value and for the most part, really good.

All in all, Beijing was fantastic. I am eager to re-visit on my own (as opposed to being in a semi-tour) as I found Shanghai more liberating in that I was able to explore to my heart’s content.

See more photos in my photo gallery.

I arrived in Beijing at about 7am this morning. It was cold, but definitely bearable. The airport wasn’t bad (we arrived in the 2nd extension as the 3rd is not completed yet), and there was surprisingly little red tape (compared to Australia).

The city is huge! The traffic is pretty much chaos in motion. The only method of crossing the road is J-walking. And somehow it works. :-o

Zaijian!