Beijing 101 (21 - 24 August 2012)

IF you are planning a trip to Beijing and just like yours truly, you think your chinese language is taking you nowhere, what you are about to read might serve a little purpose to you. When my family planned to go to Beijing, I leaped at the chance to plan the trip. I had just gotten back from almost a month in Guangzhou. Having forged friendships with some of the people there, it was easier for me to plan my Beijing trip as my friend, CL had been to Beijing before. I would read up on Beijing, find out what is good and what is not, and later ask his opinion. He would advise me on the opening hours, flow of the trip, and what to look out for. although he wasnt going to Beijing with me, he was in every way a part of my planning process, and I thank him for that. 

Day 1 (21 August 2012)

We stayed at Days Inn Hotel along Nanwanzi Hutong. It is walking distance to the Forbidden City so we started the day early by walking to Tiananmen Square to snap a few pictures before proceeding to the Forbidden City. The place is heavily guarded with security and if you plan to visit Chairman Mao's Mausoleum which is at Tiananmen Square, you are not allowed to bring any of your belongings with you. 

Anyway, we entered the Forbidden City through the South Gate. You may buy your ticket at the entrance. For me, Forbidden City is a must-go place when you come to Beijing. However, it has unfortunately turned out pretty commercialised and on the day that we went, the entire Forbidden City was overcrowded with tourists and people. I wonder what the Emperor would think if a soothsayer had predicted that Forbidden City would no longer be a place for the Emperor but rather, a place where people flock to in hundrerd thousands each day? So we walked up North, looking at all the thrones, gardens, imperial relics and whatnot until we reached the North gate. 

If you intend on seeing the view of (almost) the entire Beijing, cross the road and head to Jing Shan (Coal Mines Park). It is only 2RMB and the sight is pretty good. At the foot of the hill, there is a tree where it is said that the last Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had hung himself to death. 

By the time we were done with Jingshan, we were surprisingly early. Since I had originally planned to take the family to dinner at Houhai Park (more about it later), and it was only 3pm, I suggested that we visited the Bell and Drum Tower which is nearby to Houhai. We took the bus from Jing Shan to Gu Lou. The Bell and Drum tower was walking distance from the Gu Lou bus station but we did not enter as there was an entrance fee charged for both and it did not seem to interesting. We took some pictures before we got drawn by a trishaw manager who convinced us to ride around the hutong alleys by trishaw. It was pretty good, the trishaw rider had sufficient information about the area, introducing the history of the place etc. But was a little disappointed because they had promised us to take us to Houhai Park after the ride which they 'did' by dropping us at the roadside and directed us how to walk to Houhai. oh well.. 

Houhai is famous for it's night life. It has a park as well as a huge lake. We had no idea what to look for but we chanced upon an alley called Yandai. Lots of small stores and the place was quite clean. Somehow, when we came out at the other end we were near the Qianhai. We did not realise that Qianhai and Houhai are actually connected! (So technically, we had arrived at Houhai.. yayz!) We only discovered this later.

Houhai did not disappoint. It is not your typical chinese garden. There was a huge lake and along the lake, many shops lined the small road. They were decorated in a quaint manner.. huge sofa chairs arranged in the open air. But they were pretty. Could tell that they catered for english people or whoever that wanted to spend the night with some booze. My mom rented a two seater bike. YK cycled me around the lake. 

Since my family was pretty exhausted by then, we had dinner at Qianhai before returning home. 

Day 2 (22 August 2012)

 A day spent up at the North. Visited the Ming Tombs before the Great Wall as we wanted to go counter to the crowd. As the Ming Tombs consists of 13 emperors' tombs, so the driver simply took us to Ding Tombs, one of the many emperors that were buried there. He was buried there with his two Empress. Basically all buildings and stones. If you appreciate burial feng shui, you might appreciate these visits.

It would be advisable if you hired someone reliable to take you up to the Great Wall as it is not in the city area. We initially planned on visiting the Badaling section of the Great Wall but later changed to Mutianyu, something I did not regret! Badaling is more commercialised and touristy whereas Mutianyu has yet to caught up. That meant that most pictures taken were not overcrowded with strangers. :) We went up to the wall by cable car, hiked a little, before sliding all the way down with a tobaggan. Aint that cool? Only found at Mutianyu! 

My brother and I hiked up right to the end point of the tourist area and went a little more beyond that. It wasnt too long before I realised that most parts of the Great Wall has actually been overgrown by shrubs and whatnot. Just that the part that has been opened for tourists is clean and clear like what we see in pictures. The picture above shows how the wall is covered with all sorts of bushes. 

After the hike, we had some jian bing at the stalls at the bottom of the hill before heading off to our next destination - Olympic 2008 site.

After a few hours stroll around the area, the driver picked us up and dropped us at Ghost Street (Dongzhimen Dajie), as per my suggestion. This place is supposed to be open 24hours, filled with restuarants selling all sorts of food. We simply picked one and had dinner. As the driver had told us that Ghost Street is famous for the small lobster thingy (小龙虾）, we ordered a plate of that along with other stuff. Did not think it that great but the other dishes were tasty! 

Xiao long xia 小龙虾.. extremely spicy!

Zhajiang mian. My favourite. I love the natural flavour of these noodles, the springiness of the noodles, everything about it actually..

Braised pork with mui choi and steamed buns. Must try!

Day 3 (23 August 2012)

Initially planned to watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square at dawn, but since I overslept, I had to make do with strolling the streets along the hotel at 6am. The day is bright, unlike in Malaysia and the weather was fresh and cooling. People were already up and about doing their things. I stumbled upon a stall selling the most delicious jian bing! It was along Qihelou Hutong and if i ever return to Beijing, I will hunt back this stall!

Returned to the hotel around 8am to join my family to Summer Palace (颐和园). But the place is enormous and you cant really expect to finish walking the entire place in one day. There is a huge lake inside the summer palace called Kunming Lake and tens of little buildings within the area. There are a few packages you can choose from, and although i choose the full package (which allows coverage for the entire Summer Palace) I think the basic package is sufficient. Also, do purchase the map when you buy tickets because the directions are poorly provided once you step into the place. I guess that was partially why we could not enjoy our stay here, as we did not know what building we were at.

We left earlier than expected and proceeded to Temple of Heaven by train. Pretty convenient. We got off at the Temple of Heaven stop called Tiantan. Temple of Heaven is agood place to visit, probably more than Summer Palace. But because i was drained out by then, and saving my energy for Wangfujing in the evening, I spent the time sitting along the corridors of the temple watching the people stroll by while my dad and brother went in to snap pictures.

Wangfujing was the highlight of my day. Basically, it is a crowded street full of food stalls and people. The traders sell all sorts of delicacies ranging from sweet old haw berries right to dangerous bbq-ed scorpions. I didnt try the scorpions, too bad.. because my dad said that some people might be allergic to them and didnt want us risking an allergy in Beijing. But I did try other things like the candied berry (it was awesome! you have to try it!), coconut (if you are from Malaysia, please dont. The coconut is totally not fresh. Boo.), kebab (so-so) and fried ice-cream (the trader tricked me to spending RMB25 on three disapointing pieces of fried stuff which were suppsoed to be fried ice-cream). All in all, I think the stuff worth trying would be those sugar berries.. crunch and sweet on the outside, juicy on the inside. They have a few choices: red (haw - which is dry, salty and sweetish at the same time), grapes (juicy), and some stalls had berries, or mixed haw and grape. I highly recommend the grape. The second stall you see from the entrance is the best, in my opinion. The grapes are seedless and the trader was smart enough to recommend the green one over the red one to me. heh.

We had dinner at Quanjude 全局德 Restaurant which is famous for Beijing Duck. If you arent on a budget holiday, this is definitely a place to splurge a little for a good dinner. You have to get a number in advance and wait for about 25 minutes before you are brought to a table, but the food makes up for everything. The food came pretty quick, the waiters and waitresses were pretty professional, and oh.. I love the duck! Absolutely melts in the mouth. My brother also added that the liver is the highlight of his Beijing trip. wtflol. haha.      

Day 4 (24 August 2012)

                                                                                                                                                             
Woke up early and managed to catch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square at 5.34am. The time changes each day so if you are a tourist, you can check the time of the ceremony with your hotel. I wasnt very keen on going back to the hotel after that, so I walked around waiting for the shops to open so I could have my breakfast. I wanted to try the Goubuli paos which are supposed to be famous in Tianjin (a place not so far away but we cancelled the trip there due to limitations in time). The restaurant was directly opposite Quanjude Restaurant so it isnt that difficult to find. However, I was a little disappointed with the service there. I am, after all, a chinese person that does not speak fluent chinese, and hence, was struggling with the menu. But the workers were not patient enough to explain the menu to me. Thankfully I managed to guess the menu out with my pathetic chinese. The paos were so-so, and very much pricey. RMB45 per basket of 9baos. The portions were fair considering the price and the taste of the paos were not too bad. But it is pricey and service was pretty poor.

We spent the day at the National Museum of China. thanks to Chuanlin, I have developed an interest to the history of the emperors and all those dynasties stuff. The place is pretty nice, and big because of the renovation recently carried out. Each floor has something different but I highly suggest that you cover the floor called "Road to Rejuvenation" which features the history of how China is China today. Plenty about Mao Zedong and if you can tolerate a little idol-worshipping around the end of the tour, it really is something to visit.

After we finished with the museum, we headed back to the Wangfujing to have some snacks and whatnot before returning to the hotel. Then it was time to head off to the airport. 

This was my intial itinerary if anyone needs a basic itinerary of Beijing to refer to:

Day 1 (21 August 2012)

8.30 am Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum

- opens from 8am to 12noon

9.00 am Forbidden City

- entry from South Gate

3.00 pm Jingshan

- can see entire view of Beijing, including CCTV tower

8.00 pm Houhai Park

- famous for its night life – north area is more cozy and romantic while south is more trashy. If we visit the south, we can visit their hutongs, particularly nanluoguoxiang.

-look out for the street烟袋斜街

- opens until 2am

Day 2 (22 August 2012)

8.00 am Great Wall of China

- travelling there will take some time

- Badaling – opens from 6.40am to 6.30pm

5.00pm 2008 Olympic Site

- Bird’s nest (National Stadium鸟巢）opens from 9:00am -6:00pm 

- Water cube (National Aquatics Centre 水立方) opens from 9.00am – 6.00pm

- Just take pictures from the outside

8.00 pm Dongzhimen

- have dinner

- this place is famous for food too – Peking duck, hotpot, dumplings

- open 24 hours

Day 3 (23 August 2012)

5.33 am Tiananmen Square

- look out for the place where the army will raise the flag every sunrise

8.00 am Summer Palace  (颐和园)

-          Open from 6.30am to 6.00 pm (大门)

-          UNESCO World Heritage Site

-          Natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value."- popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.

-          Take the bus no 726, 826, 718, 332, 331, or 737 and get off at Yiheyuan Dongmen

OR

8.00 am Ming Dynasty Tomb (明十三陵)

-          Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site

-          Opens about from 8.00am to 5.00pm

-          13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried here with the exception of a few which disappeared / buried elsewhere

-          Basically a lot of buildings to see, not many ‘tombs’

6.30 pm Wangfujing Snack Street

- dinner

- good place to try their local stuff – roasted duck!

- look out for other famous local goodies such as ludugu, rolling donkey, glutinous rice rolls with sweet bean flour, sugar-coated berry. 

Day 4 (4 August 2012)

9.00 am Liulichang Culture Street (if we don’t go to Liulichang, we can just bring up the Temple of Heaven to morning and we will have the rest of the day wondering around near Days Inn, Nanwanzi Street etc.)

- good place to purchase Communist kitsch such as pins, bags and propaganda posters – price is negotiable

- vast array of ancient Chinese cultural artifacts eg books, calligraphy, handicrafts, paintings

- also has a traditional area of Hutongs - Can stroll around the small market and absorb the traditional Chinese culture in this area

- open from 9am – 6pm

1.00 pm Temple of Heaven

-          Open from 8am to 6pm （16:30停止售票）

-          Complex of religious buildings in southeastern part of Beijing

-          Visited by Emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest

-          UNESCO World Heritage Site 1998

7.00 pm Wangfujing Snack Street

9.00 pm Pack for home 

In general, Beijing is a nice place to visit.. lots of historical value here. But it would definitely be a plus point if you are familiar with the Northern Chinese accent or at the very least, able to speak Chinese. Otherwise, you must be prepared to get cheated every once in a while by a cunning trader/opportunist. ;)