Our last leg of the Trans-Mongolian brought us into Beijing via the impressive mountainous region around Hohhot. Unfortunately we slept through our first opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Great Wall as we were up late into the night waiting for the passport and wheel changing admin to be completed (during which time we played numerous card games with our German cabin-mates and consumed a little of our Mongolian Apple vodka – another reason for the lie-in)! Arriving by train into Beijing you witness the sheer scale of this mammoth city (though Wikipedia informs me Beijing is in fact China’s second largest city behind Shanghai - wow!) – we passed the first tower blocks about an hour away and they just didn’t stop! We splashed out a sizeable 3 pounds on a taxi to our hostel – a delightful courtyard retreat in one of the few remaining traditional hutong districts a block away from Tiananmen Square.
Pretty reasonable scenery
The endless tower blocks begin
Happy to be off the train and in Beijing!
Our hostel’s courtyard
Having checked in we got to work on getting our bearings and more importantly getting some much-needed tucker! Had some tasty noodles of the fresh kind (not the 20p, ‘just add boiling water’, sauce-that-looks-like-cat-food variety we survived on during our Trans-Mongolian trip) – the whole meal for two was a whopping £3! It’s so nice to be somewhere that’s good value – we paid £5 for a coffee in Russia! We scoped out the borders of the forbidden city (surrounded by a picturesque moat) and walked around one of Beijing’s stunning parks – Beihai Park. The Chinese people are an active lot, and the sight of a number of 70+ year olds strolling around the park doing tai chi, bird impressions, singing and generally enjoying their lot was an enlightening one.
Outside the Forbidden City
Sunset over the lake
Yoga in Belhai Park
The Hall of Coolness sounds awesome!
Just round the corner from our hostel is Donghuamen Night Market – a huge collection of stalls that springs up at night selling a variety of culinary delights (pretty much all deep fried) ranging from king prawns and noodles to things you probably wouldn’t find in Wokingham Waitrose such as snake, scorpion and a real delicacy - sheep penis! Obviously I had to tuck into something a little different and opted for the deep fried silkworm - yum! It was surprisingly tolerable, probably due to the chilli seasoning – think I might go for the scorpion next time! We bumped into Ward again, as well as a couple who used to live a couple of doors down from us in our close in Oxford – definitely a small world!!!
Donghuamen Night Market
Fran with Deep Fried Pumpkin
Rich with Deep Fried Silkworms on a stick
Rich after a Deep Fried Silkworm on a stick
The following day was an inadvertently exercise-heavy day. A run was then followed by what turned out to be a mammoth cycle to the Summer Palace (reception told us 40 minutes). Build into this a delay caused by a slight altercation between Fran’s handlebar and a insane lady rickshaw driver’s wingmirror (the resulting over-the-top fracas being resolved by a friendly Chinese man and a 30 yuan payment/bribe for our ‘damage’) and you had an exhausted Rich and Fran by the end of the day! While at the Summer Palace we walked around the impressively large and picturesque lake, marvelling at the multitude of ornate pagodas, temples, palaces and bridges, along with apparently another 42000 other people that day!!! When we eventually got back home (my pedal fell off half way back!) we headed out for the best Chinese meal we’ve ever tasted (thanks Ariel and family) – we literally rolled home after that!
Setting off for the Summer Palace
At the Summer Palace – just us…
…some pagodas…
… one or two boats…
and 42,000 other people!
We also trekked up to the Olympic Village which was definitely worth the trek. The Bird’s Nest stadium is every bit as impressive as it looks on telly – the sheer scale and complexity of the building is mindblowing! The view from the top of the stands actually made us feel a bit giddy it’s so high! The swimming pool where Michael Phelps made his record medal haul looked pretty awesome too – apparently it glows different colours at night too. Beijing definitely went to town on their Olympic venue – it will be interesting to see how the Tesco Value Olympics in London 2012 shapes up in comparison!
Rich’s hurdling trailing leg could do with a little work
Fran in training for the new Ice Lolly eating event at the 2012 Olympics
The Great Wall was next on the list, and an early morning departure ensured we got there before the hoards. Upon arrival we opted for the harder option of walking up the hillside to the wall rather than getting the cable car (no prizes for guessing who put this silly idea forward). The scenery was pretty breathtaking on the way up but this is nothing compared to the view on top of the Wall. You can see for miles around – blossom-covered mountains as far as the eye can see, the Wall wending its way across their peaks and troughs with towers standing like soldiers surveying the surroundings for marauding invaders! Some of the ascents and descents on the Wall were particularly hairy – definitely not for the faint hearted! After 3 hours of hiking up and down hundreds of steps we splashed out on the fastest route down to base camp – a toboggan run! Not something we had expected to find at China’s national treasure but it was superb fun (especially getting told off for not using the brakes)! Anyway, we randomly bumped into the Irish couple from our Trans Mongolian voyage on the Wall and arranged an evening of delicious Peking Duck and a couple of beers – awesome!
Wall
Some more Wall
Wall + Fran + Tommy & Kelly + amazing scenery
Not the worst scenery
Fran receiving some climbing assistance (only kidding!)
Wiggly Wall
Novice free-running on the Wall
Toboggan!
We’re now on our tour through China with STA – over the last couple of days we’ve checked out Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City which were both pretty impressive (though massively overcrowded as with most of the sights in China), however the best by far was yesterday at the Temple of Heaven. This huge, green complex of shrines and temples is a very welcome retreat – an oasis of calm compared to the hustle and bustle of Beijing. The leftovers from the previous nights’ feast tasted even sweeter amongst the meadows of bluebells, with a soundtrack of Chinese folk playing assorted ditties on flutes – awesome! It was hard to drag ourselves away but we had to meet up with our group to catch our overnight train to Shanghai. We arrive into Shanghai in about half an hour where we hope to meet up with a friend from Henley Rowing Club who now works as a product designer for a Chinese company. The 2010 Expo also kicks off this evening which is a nice coincidence – the fireworks this evening are meant to be on a par with the Olympics so we should be in for a treat! Missing you all and see you soon, Rich & Fran!
Rich + Fran on Tiananmen Square after a particularly early start!
Tiananmen Square with massive video screens showing propaganda-esque videos
A few of the millions of soldiers in Beijing
Amongst the hoards in the Forbidden City
Love the Van Wilder style Police golf buggy!
Paddington enjoying the culture
“You’re a lion!”
Street multi-gyms are dotted around Beijing to keep the populous in tip-top physical condition…
So we obviously got involved!
Apparently stretching can ‘improve the function of your digestive system’!
Rich & Fran looking tiny compared to the Temple of Heaven’s Temple for a Good Harvest
Mean-looking dragon
I call this one the ‘Seagull Tree’!
Strange tree in the middle of the picture
Getting fuelled up for a good night’s sleep in our 6 berth ‘hard sleeper’!
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