Kersti & Billy Down Under: Stop #21 Beijing

The end of our trip! We are excited to be going back and are quite worn out, but we're also keen to see some of the really good sights here.

We had heard so many things about Beijing, both good and bad, so we really didn’t know what to expect. As it turned out, the city seemed surprisingly like the rest of China, although more developed. They had a nice subway system (we benefited from the infrastructure built for the olympics), and some lovely little neighbourhoods. Unfortunately, the amazing hostel that we tried to check in was all booked up (the first time all trip we had been turned away!), but we ended up a nice hostel in the embassy district. We did a lot of shopping while in Beijing, including the purchase of a whole suitcase to carry back all our loot and gifts.

We also had a fabulous meal of Peking duck. It was a lean version, with only half the fat, and it was by far our best meal in China. The chef first brought out the duck (cooked, but not carved) for us to 'approve'. We said it looked pretty good and gave him the nod. The duck was served with an assortment of sides: thin pancakes, plum sauce, green onions, fresh garlic, ginger, white surgar and some other things we couldn't identify. The skin was amazing. We had heard from Geneva to dip it in the white sugar--it melts in your mouth and is just delicious. After the duck, they brought out a plate of elaborately sliced fresh fruits, sitting atop dry ice (?!), and little glass cups of chilled persimmon pudding sitting in water along with floating red rose petals. We tried a berry which we hadn't had before.

And like most other places, the tea we had with the meal was really excellent. I got the impression that Chinese think of the tea like we think of wine, and I can tell you there is definitely a difference between good and bad teas. There are tea shops everywhere where you can do tea tastings, and we got some bags to bring back home. Most teas are served as loose leaves straight in a pot that you share with several people. I have become something of a tea fiend, so I really enjoyed trying out all the different types.

On our first full day in Beijing, we visited was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The square is a large open concrete courtyard that is packed with tourist groups. It had a communist feel for sure, but it was a beautiful day (courtesy of the rain the night before) and it didn’t feel that imposing. We then went through the Gate of Heavenly Peace to the Forbidden City. This gate is where the famous portrait of Chairman Mao overlooks the square. After our obligatory photo shots, we went into the Forbidden City, which is an expansive palace for the former emperors and empresses. It is now all open to the public, and you can look into the buildings (if you can see past the crowds and finger/face prints on the plexiglass) to see the thrones and decorations. Throughout the city, there were neat sculptures of mythological creatures, like dragon/turtles and lions. The architecture was impressive if a bit monotonous. There was next to no green space. It is all paved and so doesn’t feel very welcoming or comfortable for a palace. I guess it also gets stifling hot in the summer as well, which is why the emporers spent the summers at the equally elaborate Summer Palace a few miles away. One thing we really enjoyed was the Clock Museum, where they house these crazily intricate clocks that the Chinese royalty had received as gifts from visiting dignitaries. Most were from France and England.

Chairman Mao's mausoleum is that large building behind me. We walked through to see his embalmed body, along with thousands of other reverent Chinese.

Chairman Mao's portrait at the Gate of Heavenly Peace.

A turtle dragon, I think.

Inside the Forbidden City

The Temple of Heaven

Kersti reconstructs the Temple of Heaven out of hot chili basil French Fries, yum!

The next day we visited the Summer Palace, where the Chinese royalty used to stay as a break from the heat. Kersti couldn't understand how they used this as a break from the heat of the Forbiddin City, since they used just the same amount of stone in the summer place. Hmm..

Anyway, there is a huge manmade lake in the middle, and it is much more green and relaxing than the Forbidden City. There were groups of Chinese men and women doing their morning exercises in the park grounds (to the jolly tunes of 'Jingle Bells', in fact), and we got some nice exercise walking around the lake. We also saw the famous Marble Boat, a huge boat made completely out of marble. Supposedly the Empress Dowager Cixi decided that she wanted to build up the Chinese Navy, so built a costly marble boat that was unsinkable, and of course also doesn’t float. I don’t think the Chinese Navy was especially feared during this time period.

The Chinese Royal Navy, look out!

We also went to see a Chinese Acrobat show. We didn't know what to expect, but we were wowed. I thought Kersti was just going to have a heart attack just watching them. Our favourite was the hamster wheel, where they ran around, and outside, two gigantic and suspended wheels that rotated 20 feet off the ground. Oh yeah, and of course they jope roped while doing this and even BLIND-FOLDED themselves. The contortionists were crazy too, although hard to watch at times. During another act, they fit 14 girls onto one bicycle. In america, there would have been intrusive signs warning patrons: "DO NOT try this at home".

Here I am practicing some tricks from the acrobatic show. Somehow the fellow tourists didn't seem very impressed.

We saved the best for last, and hiked 10km along the Great Wall. Again, my brother David had recommended we avoid the touristed Wall parts and hike from Jinshanling to Simatai along the wall, and man was he right. The hike really was amazing. It wasn’t very crowded at all, and while I knew the Wall itself would be cool, I had no idea that the surrounding scenery would be so spectacular. The entire time we were winding through these hills, with just one amazing photo spot after another. Parts of the Wall in this area had been rebuilt, while others were in their original condition, giving a nice mix. It was a challenging hike though, as it is very hilly the whole way through.

Defending the wall from invading Mongols (with my walking stick).

Some short sections were mostly rubble, so we had to hike around.

Kersti peering out of one of the many watchtowers.

Kersti celebrating the end of the 6,000 steps we had done on this trip.

The view back along the wall.

When we finished the Wall hike, we still had to get down to the boat to take us back. We were pretty tired, so when we found out that there was a zipline down that trimmed 30 minutes off, we jumped on it. Plus, it was one mode of transportation we had yet to try on this trip. This was Kersti making small talk before the jump, avoiding any discussion of their safety record. It was cutting off 30 minutes of walking--and downhill at that!