Beijing

Monday 13th - Sunday 19th October Days 12-18


Our week in Beijing exceeded all expectations. The moment we emerged from Beijing Railway Station we were hit by the noise, bustle, the crowds, the traffic. It is such a vibrant city – a fast moving and complex visual experience that takes a lot of getting used to. It is a little disconcerting to not speak the language at all but we were surprised at the amount of signage in Roman characters. This made navigation with a map possible (but not exactly easy).














Our hotel was in a 'hutong' only minutes from the railway station. Very convenient and - with quadruple glazing – remarkably quiet (although after 6 nights sleeping on a train anything would seem quiet). At £27 per night it was a real bargain and had everything that we needed. Chinese hotels are much cheaper than the western 'chain' hotels such as the Marriott (nearby). We had English speaking staff and the buffet breakfast – at £1 each – gave us a chance to try some Chinese food and fill ourselves. Walking round the city near the station, you could easily imagine you were in Regent's St. in London – women in the latest designer clothes (or copies), glass and marble -fronted shops selling all the latest fashions, etc. But dip into a side alley (hutong) and you are in another world – in some cases more like the 3rd World. The houses are single storey and accessed through gates opening into the alleys. Behind these gates are rabbit warrens full of bikes, chairs, tools, and similar. The original dwellings (many have been renovated) have no hot water or flush toilets – there are public toilets in many of the alleys (not generally to be recommended!)

We walked and walked (and cycled) miles – probably covering about 10 miles each day – in and out of hutongs, shopping malls, parks and markets. The metro is easy to use and very cheap.

Tienanmen Square at night ...















Occasionally we would take in a 'required' tourist site such as the Forbidden City ...




























or the Lama Temple















but these are the places where you find tourists in such enormous numbers that the experience can be less than pleasant. Tourists generally seem to belong to organised groups, each with a particular colour of baseball cap and a guide with a flag somewhere up front.

We visited the Great Wall on the first day, with a couple from Denmark who we had met on the train. We went to Muytianu which is less touristy. It is well worth the 2 hour (each way) ride. You have to survive the Great Wall Mall on the way in and out.




















Before we left England we contacted two locals – one Chinese and one a young Canadian living in the city. To both we are very grateful. Through them we saw aspects of Beijing life that would otherwise have been impossible – the inside of a hutong house, an apartment in the suburbs, amazing local restaurants.

This is the entrance to the Sichuan Restaurant that we ate at the first night - absolutely amazing food and an experience we will never forget. (This is what it looked like in the day time...)















The one overriding memory will be the friendliness of the people. So many wonderful smiles. Youngsters wanting to practice their one word of English ('hello') and then bursting into giggles. So many times we were offered help – sometimes to point our that money was showing in Jeff's back pocket or that a pocket of our bag was open. Some people really put themselves out to help us, detouring from their journey to take us where we wanted to go.

We saw no evidence of oppression – although that is not to say it isn't the case. There is clearly an 'underclass' sweeping the streets, tending the greenery in parks and on the roadsides, etc – mostly from the provinces. These (mainly) migrant workers are almost invisible as they go about their work.

It is amazing what you can get on a tricycle. There are people who go round sorting out refuse from the bins and carrying it off to - presumably - recycling points where they get paid for it















This street scene is unusual as it has very few people in it















There are some beautiful parks - some with rivers and lakes and you see lots of people (mainly old like us) enjoying the air (which we did not find polluted at all)

One day we went out to the Olympic Stadium which was teeming with tourist groups.














We eventually found our way out and found a tiny restaurant where the only diners were the 'management'. We pointed hopefully at what they were eating and indicated 'two please'. It was delicious.















The young Chinese are virtually all without siblings as a result of the state's one-child policy. It is hard to imagine the consequences of this. We talked about this quite a lot during our week.

We saw a lot of people playing Chinese Chess or Go on the streets. Sometimes there would be a big crowd round the games. Jeff wanted to find some real chess but never did.





























We finally left Beijing for Hanoi on Sunday – yet again running desperately to get to the train and arriving with only 3 minutes to spare. For the story of this trip – which involves being deported from Viet Nam and being driven by police car to an internet cafe - you will have to wait for the next instalment...