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We
land at Beijing Capital Airport on early Saturday morning. We are
quite surprised how quiet the terminal is --- there is no music,
no flashing ads, no noisy travellers. It is 7am., but still. What
a pleasant start to our stay in the capital of China PR.
Saturday, May 14
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We
stay at Beijing Courtel Courtyard Hotel in Dong Cheng district
that claims to be a Chinese traditional four star courtyard hotel.
Saturday, May 14
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We
must have missed a couple of stars: rooms are a bit run down and
definitely not too clean (they don't even make our bed for the
whole week). We also have a lot of problems with warm water. The
breakfast does not meet the promises on their website: all they
offer are cold fried eggs, bacon, and hot dogs with toast and
orange juice. Other than that the hotel is kind of nice for a
historic place and its location in the old hutong area is great.
Saturday, May 14
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We
are totally amazed by the idyllic alleys (hutongs) and the things
we find in them --- mostly bicycles.
Saturday, May 14
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Nearby,
we also find a small cosy coffee shop that is so nice and quiet.
We expected Beijing to be noisy and crowded.
Saturday, May 14
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Cappuccinos
cost 30 yuan each, which is about 6SGD.
Saturday, May 14
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Our
travel diary has already been to Mauritius, Phnom Penh, Borneo and
Mt Kinabalu, Chiang Mai, and Hong Kong before coming to Beijing.
Saturday, May 14
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Gulou
Dongdajie.
Saturday, May 14
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We
get some stair practise when climbing to the Drum Tower. We
probably did not mention that the ultimate reason of our Beijing
trip is to run the Great Wall Marathon next Saturday.
Saturday, May 14
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The old drums.
Saturday, May 14
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A view from the Drum Tower.
Saturday, May 14
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The Drum Tower.
Saturday, May 14
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View from the Bell Tower.
Both the Drum and the Bell Tower were built in 1272, and since
rebuilt twice after being destroyed in fires. They were used to
tell time during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911).
Saturday, May 14
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The bell is 7.02 meters high
and 3.4 meters in diameter at the bottom, weighing 63 tons. It was
cast during the Ming Dynasty.
Saturday, May 14
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Before continuing the
exploration we have very western lunch in a small coffee shop next
to the towers.
Saturday, May 14
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Hou Hai lake area is very
touristy.
Saturday, May 14
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The west shore of the lake
is lined by bars with bright colored outdoor seating.
Saturday, May 14
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Starbucks is everywhere.
Saturday, May 14
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Roll call.
Saturday, May 14
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Wu Dao Ying hutong in the
neighborhood of our hotel, is home of several local and
international restaurants, ranging from Mexican to Greek. There is
also a vegan restaurant that is run by a young American woman from
Ohio.
Saturday, May 14
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Vineyard Cafe (again
recommended by Lonely Planet) is fully booked for tonight, but we
get a table for an hour --- just enough to have Greek salad with
pita and hummus for appetizers.
Saturday, May 14
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We take a walk around the
area in look for a dinner place. We end up back on Wu Dao Ying
hutong and Miss Zhao's Bistro for curry beef and Taiwan style pork
with Argentinian malbec.
Saturday, May 14
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Tai Chi in the evening.
Saturday, May 14
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A hospital visit awaits us
the first thing in the morning (nothing serious, just rash).
First, the hotel reception directs us to a local clinic, but
luckily we are smart enough to ask if they speak English there.
So, now we are heading to Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital. We
are very fortunate that their International Clinic is not too
busy. In no time we are out of there and on our way to the Olympic
Village.
Sunday, May 15
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Beijing recycles actively:
bins are everywhere. Apparently there are enough people who can
earn some welcome extra by collecting and reselling plastic
bottles. It used to be like that in poorer Eastern European
countries some ten years ago as people could not afford to throw
anything away.
Sunday, May 15
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The Bird's Nest, Beijing
National Stadium constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics and
Paralympics.
Sunday, May 15
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The stadium low in sports
use, costs several million dollars to maintain each year (to keep
it rust free basically), but it also attracts some 30000 visitors
a day! (Entry to the stadium costs 50 yuan)
Sunday, May 15
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Who doesn't want a wedding
picture with Mickey and Minnie Mouse?
Sunday, May 15
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Serious souvenir picture
taking. We have already noticed that domestic tourism is huge in
Beijing, presumably because it is the capital and still relatively
Chinese city, compared for instance to Shanghai. Also, the Olympic
park must have a special place in Chinese hearts. So, we were not
too surprised that we do not see a single Western visitor besides
ourselves during our few hours in the park.
Sunday, May 15
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Sea of red and white seats
which are quite comfortable and spacious.
Sunday, May 15
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The stadium is quite
impressive from the inside.
Sunday, May 15
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Supportive structures.
Sunday, May 15
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Stairs to the fifth level.
Sunday, May 15
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You can rent a Segway and
ride back and forth the Olympic track.
Sunday, May 15
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Water Cube, Beijing
National Aquatics Center.
Sunday, May 15
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On the fifth level there is
an exhibition of Olympics displaying for instance, costumes and
equipment, like these drums, used in the opening ceremony.
Sunday, May 15
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Garden lights follow the
same theme.
Sunday, May 15
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There is a large square in
between the national stadium and the aquatic center.
Sunday, May 15
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This square is almost
certainly larger than Tian'anmen.
Sunday, May 15
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The most interesting place
in the Olympic park is Food Plaza, though. It has tens of stalls
selling quick food prepared in front of us. We start with ice
cream.
Sunday, May 15
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A robot slicing tofu.
Sunday, May 15
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Later we have shish kebabs
and dim sum.
Sunday, May 15
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From the Olympic park we
take a taxi to Beijing Zoo. And of course when in China, we have
to see a giant panda.
Sunday, May 15
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Or a few pandas.
Sunday, May 15
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Another panda eating bamboo.
Sunday, May 15
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A white tiger.
Sunday, May 15
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A brown bear. The zoo
visitors are throwing bears food in front of don't feed the
animals signs. The bears and the big cats are pretty much
all we check before leaving --- it is very hot and the zoo is
packed with families with kids. It gets very noisy, too.
Speaking of kids, Chinese
toddlers do not wear diapers, but their pants are split in the
groin so that they can go anywhere, anytime. That is --- anywhere!
Fortunately, many parents carry a piece of newspaper or a plastic
bag to collect the poop (like dog owners do here in S'pore)
Sunday, May 15
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We return to the hotel, and
after a quick shower explore our hutong neighborhood some more.
Sunday, May 15
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A sign posted on the window
of, not a language school but a restaurant.
Sunday, May 15
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The same place.
Sunday, May 15
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And then we are on Nanluogu
Xiang, a popular hutong revived by the opening of a bar, Passby
Bar in 1999.
Sunday, May 15
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Now Nanluogu Xiang is a home
of a number of galleries, fashion boutiques, restaurants and other
bars. There is even a backpacker hostel.
Sunday, May 15
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Courtyard of the Passby Bar.
Sunday, May 15
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Beautiful light catches a
reading woman.
Sunday, May 15
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Afterwards we visit Reef Bar
for Belgian beers. Amazingly, pretty much every small coffee shop
we visit in Beijing has an impressive selection of international
quality beers. We have Orval and Kwak for 45 yuan/bottle.
Sunday, May 15
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Hutong neighborhoods and
actually any area we visit in Beijing have a good coverage of
public restrooms, usually at least one, but sometimes several, per
block. Our guess is, that the sanitation system does not reach all
the houses in these historic neighborhoods and people are used to
using public toilets from their homes and restaurants. Let us just
sum up that some of these toilets are in neater condition than
others: some of them even have toilet paper available, but others
don't even have doors in cubicles.
Sunday, May 15
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We have dinner on Wu Dao
Ying again, this time in a Greek restaurant Argos. We have a house
appetizer set and a Greek pizza.
Sunday, May 15
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The place is practically
empty, but still it lacks in service.
Sunday, May 15
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This one is posted on a
public toilet, but we also see them a lot in other public places.
Sunday, May 15
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Today we are real tourists,
joining hundreds and hundreds of of others who visit The Forbidden
City, or The Palace Museum as it is called these days. We are on
our own self-guided tour and do not wear matching baseball caps,
though. The day turns out gorgeous, as all our days so far.
Monday, May 16
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Meridian Gate (Wumen Gate).
Monday, May 16
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Sea of tourists waiting to
pass the Taihe Gate.
Monday, May 16
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Decorative details.
Monday, May 16
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The Hall of Supreme Harmony
(Taihe Hall)
Monday, May 16
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Wumen Gate from within the
Forbidden City.
Monday, May 16
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Side of Taihe Gate.
Monday, May 16
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Somebody has found some
shade.
Monday, May 16
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We had skipped the lousy
hotel breakfast in hope of having a nice one in a place called
Grandma's Kitchen closer to the palace (and recommended by Lonely
Planet), but we find it not yet open at 9am. The first thing in
the Palace Museum then is to find something to eat. We find a
coffee shop, but it is already out of sandwiches and only serves
croissants and muffins.
Monday, May 16
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One of the many tourist
groups with a tour agent.
Monday, May 16
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A pink rose in the Imperial
Garden.
Monday, May 16
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A long walk from
North-Eastern corner of the Forbidden City to the Gallery of
Treasures in the central city.
Monday, May 16
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Note the baseball caps!
Monday, May 16
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They have four-star
restrooms in the Forbidden City.
Monday, May 16
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We visit some of the many
exhibits. This is a detail of a larger painting that is made of
silk threads.
Monday, May 16
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Palace of
Prolonging Happiness was built in 1420 and burned down in 1845.
Monday, May 16
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After a couple of hours in
the Forbidden City we start to lose track of various palaces and
halls, some of which served as the residence for a number of
emperors, such as the Palace of Heavenly Purity, whereas some
served as residences for emperor's wives or concubines, such as
Palace of Gathering Excellence and Palace of Complete Happiness,
and some others as ceremonial halls, such as the Hall of Union and
Peace.
Monday, May 16
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After indulging in Chinese
imperial history for hours, we are very hungry, and return to
Grandma's Kitchen for lunch. We have a garden salad and mixed
fajitas, which is super hot spicy, but perhaps the best fajitas
we've had for years.
Monday, May 16
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We continue our explorations
to the Tian'anmen Square.
Monday, May 16
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Tian'anmen, The Gate of
Heavenly Peace, the entrance to the Imperial City within which the
Forbidden City lies.
Monday, May 16
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Several public places, and
popular tourists attractions, even Bell and Drum Towers, have
security scanners through which the visitors have to go. And so
does Tian'anmen Square.
Monday, May 16
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The Great
Hall of the People.
Monday, May 16
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The National
Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)
Monday, May 16
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Posting a sign about what is
actually allowed would have taken less space.
Monday, May 16
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We try to find an entrance
to Nan Hai and Zhong Hai lakes, but end up following the red wall
for kilometers.
Monday, May 16
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Later we find out why we
can't get to the lakes: the area hosts the homes and headquarters
of the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party and their families.
Monday, May 16
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Finally, we find the Bei Hai
Park, and stop for beers.
Monday, May 16
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Bei Hai's White Pagoda.
Monday, May 16
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View to the Forbidden City
from the White Pagoda.
Monday, May 16
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View to Jing Shan Park.
Monday, May 16
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Closer view to the Forbidden
City.
Monday, May 16
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Bei Hai lake.
Monday, May 16
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Dinner in The Veggie Table,
a vegan restaurant on Wu Dao Ying in Dong Cheng district.
Monday, May 16
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Small salads and dips are
served with rustic rye bread. For an entree we share dahl with
rice. Later in the evening we visit Miss Zhao's Bistro for beers.
We don't have enough cash to pay for them right then, but the
server tells us that's 'no problem, pay some other time!'
Monday, May 16
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Next morning we have a hard
time finding a decent breakfast place since all the coffee shops
seem to open closer to 11am. However, accidentally we find one
place open. They don't serve breakfast but have sandwiches in
their menu, and blueberry lassi and a selection of coffee drinks.
Tuesday, May 17
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Today is an art day. We take
a taxi to 798 Art Zone in Chaoyang
District. It is a complex of former military factories turned into
a home of lively artistic community. There are several galleries
and artists' workshops, design companies, coffee shops, and
restaurants. The area is wide enough and the number of exhibitions
and shops large enough for a whole day visit. And that's what we
spend there.
Tuesday, May 17
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798 is actually just one of
the structures within the complex.
Tuesday, May 17
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This guy has made some
awesome drawings with a ballpoint pen.
Tuesday, May 17
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We really don't have much to
say about these pictures that try to capture the atmosphere of the
Art Zone, and the numerous pieces of art in display.
Tuesday, May 17
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Graffiti is everywhere.
Tuesday, May 17
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Something the reader
probably gets from these pictures is that we love industrial
environments.
Tuesday, May 17
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The old military factory
buildings are very unique in their architectural style, and they
make an outstanding background for displaying art, both indoor and
outdoor.
Tuesday, May 17
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We particularly like the
effect the form of the ceiling has on the experience of space.
Tuesday, May 17
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An old railway station.
Tuesday, May 17
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We stop at several coffee
shops during our expedition, and end up in Cave Cafe for lunch.
Tuesday, May 17
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Tomi has an avocado-tuna
salad for starter.
Tuesday, May 17
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Tei has seabass for an
entree.
Tuesday, May 17
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Tomi has penne with tomato
and goat cheese.
Tuesday, May 17
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Today is the first of the
two hazy days we experience in Beijing.
Tuesday, May 17
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After a quite heavy dose of
modern Chinese art life, we take a taxi to BOKB (Beijing Okhotsk
Brewery) to taste their pilsner, weizen, ale, and stout. The beers
are good but the place quite sterile.
Tuesday, May 17
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Tonight we dine in Saffron,
a place that did not have a table for us a couple of nights before
and was closed yesterday (and now we are seated next to a noisy
kitchen). We have a bread basket with some spreads and a salad to
start with.
Tuesday, May 17
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And then paella! Crazy that
we have come this far to have (awesome) western food, but the
paella is good.
Tuesday, May 17
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We have another grey and
hazy day in Beijing. Today we take a taxi to visit the Fragrant
Hill Park, named after the park's highest peak, Xianglu Feng
(Incense Burner Peak) that stands at 557 meters. The ride is much
longer than we expect, and we both fall asleep.
Wednesday, May 18
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This woman sells us some
sweet potato chips for an outrageous price. How stupid of us, but
we are probably just happy to get rid of her without buying all
her dried fruits (which look good, btw)
Wednesday, May 18
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To reach the park we walk
through a sleepy village.
Wednesday, May 18
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When in the park we take
cable car to the top of the hill.
Wednesday, May 18
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After the ride we start
walking down.
Wednesday, May 18
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There is a nice conifer tree
smell underneath the canopy.
Wednesday, May 18
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Once back down in the
village we have lunch in a cosy coffee shop: coffee and club
sandwich.
Wednesday, May 18
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From Fragrant Hill Park we
take a taxi to the Summer Palace. And we are not the only ones who
have decided to visit the palace today. Apparently it is very
popular destination for domestic tourism.
Wednesday, May 18
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Somehow we are able to evade
the crowds every now and then to make it look like we are the lone
tourists around.
Wednesday, May 18
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A view to the Kunming Hu
Lake.
Wednesday, May 18
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Kunming Hu Lake.
Wednesday, May 18
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Frankly, the palace is so
crowded that we are not willing to spend much time there. Even
though the lake looks scenic it is too hazy to really enjoy the
view.
Wednesday, May 18
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When back in town, we have
some drinks in the neighboring Japanese restaurant. Tomi enjoys
premixed alcoholic flavored drink HEALTH MILK BEER. Tei takes it
safe and has Kirin.
Wednesday, May 18
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Before heading out for
dinner, we book a Great Wall tour for tomorrow from the Beijing
Downtown Backpackers Hostel. We hurry to Nanluogu Xiang to pay for
the trip and end up having dinner in Tibet Cafe.
Wednesday, May 18
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Instead of Tibetan wine
(which they don't currently have) we have some French.
Wednesday, May 18
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For dinner we have momo
(Tibetan potato dumplings), fresh salad, and lamb curry (which
turns out to be chicken, but very good chicken)
Wednesday, May 18
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This is another touristy day
since we are going to hike the Great Wall.
Before heading to the wall,
we have breakfast in Beijing Downtown Backpackers Hostel. We save
some fruits for lunch.
Thursday, May 19
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It is about a 1.5-hour drive
on a new expressway to the starting point of our six-kilometer
wall hike. After a brief toilet break we start the climb up to the
first watch tower of the total 22 we visit today.
Thursday, May 19
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The weather is sunny
gorgeous, air clear and crisp.
Thursday, May 19
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The beginning of the hike is
easy and not too steep.
Thursday, May 19
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The scenery is equally
impressive as the idea that someone(*) at some point in history
made a decision to build this huge structure on top of the
mountains. We are about 800-1000 meters above the sea level.
(*) The wall actually
consists of a number of sections built in different times in the
era when China was divided into different opposing states, until
the emperor Qin unified them to a single empire in 221BC.
Thursday, May 19
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The first section that we
walk was renovated or totally rebuilt in the 1980's. So it is
quite nice and easy climb.
Thursday, May 19
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A number of vendors are
trying to sell us snacks, and chilled water and beer.
Thursday, May 19
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Later on the steps get more
rugged.
Thursday, May 19
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Our guide.
Thursday, May 19
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The ascent gets steeper.
Thursday, May 19
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It is hard to capture in the
photos how steep the wall actually is because of the mountain
itself is sloped, and there are no horizontal lines to compare it
to, but our guess is that it is at least 8-10% gradient.
Thursday, May 19
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After the 15th watch tower
it gets really challenging.
Thursday, May 19
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Preparing for THE climb.
Thursday, May 19
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Sometimes we go down too,
but it is equally challenging because of the rough and uneven
steps.
Thursday, May 19
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Almost at the 22nd tower.
Thursday, May 19
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A couple from Vancouver
reaching the tower 22. They did not start where we did but took a
cable car up to the tower number 9.
Thursday, May 19
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This is the where we came
from.
Thursday, May 19
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We have dinner in Italian
restaurant Metro in Chao Yang district.
Thursday, May 19
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Beef carpaccio to start
with.
Thursday, May 19
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Lobster risotto for Tei, and
mushrooms with polenta gnocchi for Tomi.
Thursday, May 19
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We finish the night in
Morel's Restaurant and Cafe with some Belgian beers, Mort Subite
and Maresdous Triple.
Thursday, May 19
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Today we move to another
hotel in another district. We've already planned to take the day
easily, since tomorrow we are going to run the marathon, but for
various reasons the day gets wasted. First, we have a hard time to
get a taxi to our new hotel, Beijing Tailong Plaza Hotel, because
of the insufficient address information we have. In Beijing, the
taxi drivers don't take a passenger, if they don't know the
address or the route to the destination.
Friday, May 20
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Once we get to Tailong Plaza
we are supposed to receive our marathon package and the room key.
We get neither. Tomi takes a taxi with the representative of the
marathon organizer to fetch our packages from the office,
while Tei spends some quality time in a smoky hotel lobby waiting
for the room to be ready. She ends up being a lot in the cool and
windy outside air to avoid the nasty cigarette smell.
Friday, May 20
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When Tomi gets back we have
the first positive surprise of the day: our room is spacious and
does not have that cigarette stench. We have another interesting
dining experience in the hotel restaurant: they do have an English
menu but most of it does not make any sense. We order whatever
items we recognize like pepper beef, asparagus with shrimp, and
broccoli.
Then we head out for some
shopping to Wang Fu Jing Dajie, a pedestrian shopping street lined
by fashion malls and handicraft centers.
Friday, May 20
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We check out a couple of
shopping malls, and then have a beer on a chilly outdoor patio ---
it certainly feels like Finnish summer.
Friday, May 20
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We have no luck getting a
taxi back to the hotel --- some unmetered ones offer a ride for 50
yuan while the metered trip would cost only 10 --- but we refuse
and have a long walk back.
Friday, May 20
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When back in the hotel, we
can't get the internet to work, so we are told to switch the room,
which we do. The new rooms smells of cigarette. Bummer!
Friday, May 20
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This is the great day!
The alarm goes off at
2:45am. We get the packed breakfast at the receptions: an egg, two
cold hot dogs, and two dry muffins, nothing to drink, and board
the bus with other sleepy runners. The bus leaves promptly at
3:30am., but soon stops to wait for a couple of runners who left
their race packages behind.
At 6am. we reach the race
start YingYang square in a small village near to Huangya
Pass, and get ready to conquer 5164 steps on the wall. It is
really chilly and windy, and the sun is still behind the
mountains. We keep the windstoppers on to the last minute. The
toilet facilities do not get a single star from us: there's not
even light, and many users (mostly westerners) do not know how to
flush the squat toilets.
Saturday, May 21
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The race starts at 7:30am..
The first 5 kilometers are run on a road that ascends up to the
wall. That's when the sun appears from behind the mountains. We
get warm soon.
Saturday, May 21
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Some sections of the wall
are quite steep and narrow, which slows down and packs the runners
since only one runner at a time can proceed.
Saturday, May 21
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Up we go!
Saturday, May 21
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Occasionally we have a
chance to admire the scenery.
Saturday, May 21
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Down we go!
Saturday, May 21
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This is the village and the
YingYang square where we started. We pass the village once
before heading out to the countryside, and then once again before
climbing up to the wall again. And once more to finish!
The route on the countryside
is more than 20 kilometers long and it goes through several small
rural villages.
Saturday, May 21
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The road section starts
flat, but then climbs to a couple of significant hills. We walk
uphills and run downhills.
Saturday, May 21
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The villagers, mostly women
and kids, line up the streets to cheer on us: we also get a lot of
high-fives from the small ones. Hello hello hello!
Saturday, May 21
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Besides the wall, we run on
a paved road, gravel road and cross-country trail.
Saturday, May 21
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For three out of the last 10
kilometers we literally hit the wall. We are mostly going up.
Saturday, May 21
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After 7:34' (7:07 net) of
running we reach the finish line. We have huge baquette sandwiches
for lunch, and soon board a bus back to Beijing.
When back in the hotel we
book a table in Turkish Mum restaurant in Chaoyang district. Again
we have some difficulties in getting a taxi, and finally hire an
unmetered one for 40 yuan. At some point the driver starts
complaining and demanding 10 yuan more since it is a long way. We
refuse.
Saturday, May 21
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Turkish Mum's food is great
(there actually is a Turkish mum there, relocated from Istanbul
two years earlier). They don't really have non-smoking tables
either indoor or outdoor, so they move other smoking patrons
farther away from us so we are guaranteed a smoke-free dinner.
Awesome.
Saturday, May 21
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Some Turkish coffee to
finish the great dining experience.
Saturday, May 21
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This is our last day in
Beijing and in China this time, a sunny day for a change. We take
another direction from the hotel, and soon accidentally find
Qianmen shopping street, which we had no idea existed. We have
already been quite disappointed at the location of our hotel,
since we've not been able to find any restaurants nearby. But this
street and its surroundings change everything.
Sunday, May 22
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Tram tracks run for the
length of the street, one of them being still in operation.
Sunday, May 22
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Recycling under way.
Sunday, May 22
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North end of the Qianmen
street, and Zhengyangmen gate
house (built in 1419) in the ancient city wall (most of which has
already been demolished). North of this gate house is Tian'anmen
Square.
Sunday, May 22
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Starbucks is everywhere.
Sunday, May 22
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We explore the other hutongs
near Qianmen, and find another cosy backpacker cafe, Helen's Cafe.
Sunday, May 22
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Helen's Cafe.
Sunday, May 22
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We have a Greek salad (a bit
strange and watery) and a burger for lunch.
Sunday, May 22
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Red bum chicken?
Sunday, May 22
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This hutong area is being
totally rebuilt, good or bad ... However, we are quite sure it is
going to be nice when finished, and a huge asset to Tailong Plaza
Hotel.
Sunday, May 22
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Some houses look like fake
facades in old Western movies.
Sunday, May 22
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Empty hutongs, and renovated
(or new) shop houses still waiting for tenants and customers.
Sunday, May 22
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A tree on a drip.
Sunday, May 22
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We have two things still to
accomplish before taking the night flight back to Singapore: have
a dinner and watch the F1 race. We try to figure out how to
combine these and take a taxi to Hou Hai Lake.
Sunday, May 22
-
We don't need to walk long
before finding restaurant Buffalo that already has both F1 race
program on CCTV's channel 5 and an inviting pizza oven.
Sunday, May 22
-
Cheese cake for dessert.
Sunday, May 22
-
Beijing airport.
Sunday, May 22
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