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Published: January 22nd 2007
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I'd spent the May holidays in and around Beijing three years back and felt no need to revisit any of the sites save for the Great Wall which I hoped to photograph covered in a blanket of snow. I booked into Leo Hostel, mainly because I'd heard positive reviews of their off-the-beaten trail Great Wall tour, and because the hostel is located in Qianmen Hutong, a very short walk to the Antique street and to Tian'Anmen Square. On arriving I was confused how the YH scored so well on various websites. I found the place quite cold and dank, the food tasteless and the various tours on offer well overpriced. The staff are friendly though.
I arrived early morning aboard a night train from Pingyao, booked into my room, powered up on caffeine, then took to the narrow streets of the neighbourhood to watch the locals wake to their routine. Food shops were already crowded and women,some dressed in pyjamas and slippers, were out fetching deepfried pastries and fresh breakfast foods. I backtracked to Tian'anmen Square and wandered the vast plaza, people-watching, admiring the towering young officers, dressed in long green coats and black fur caps, their faces cut from stone.
The ever present kite vendors and toy vendors mingled among tour groups and families posing before the Monument to the Martyrs. I eavesdropped on an English tour. What rubbish this young woman had to share, not a single mention of any recent history or of any real sentiment. "Much like the Mona Lisa, Chairman Mao's eyes follow you wherever you go." My eyes preferred to follow the soldiers.
Back in Qianmen Hutong, I followed my nose to a row of street stall foods, before ducking into the bookstore. I came across a four volume set of "Journey to the West", a Qing dynasty classic, based on the true tale of a Tang dynasty priest's journey to India to fetch the Buddhist sutras and to bring them back to China and translate. The teashops in Qianmen smelled terrific so I poked my head in the door. The different types of leaves and flowers are wonderful to sample, especially ginseng-ulong tea. After spending too much money and more than an hour drinking and talking with the shop owner, I continued to the Antique row and found a shop specializing in celadon. The young women were very informative and come from a famous
celadon pottery town where their father and brothers own a kiln. Naturally, I felt compelled to buy a tea set to properly serve my new tea.
Next day, I joined the tour group to the Great Wall. I'd been out to Jinshanling and Simitai in the early summer and was hoping for a similarly breathtaking experience. The journey took us north-east of the city taking several turns and biways and finally cutting through a small village and winding through a quiet snow-covered valley to a hamlet of fifty or so homes amid stark fruit orchards. We were joined by a handful of Chinese tourists. A young woman from the village lead our fourteen member expedition. The views from the wall were hazy with the city's smog but nonetheless memorable. The silence was remarkable and the crunch of the snow underfoot amplified my happiness. We didn't cover much ground though, no more than a couple kilometres before heading back to the village. At Jinshanling I'd hiked eight or more kilometres and was picked up at the other end and despite it being the May holidays, I hadn't run into any big tour groups, nor had I found that stretch of the
wall scarred by touristic kitsch - except for perhaps the new hostel complex underway complete with dare-devil cable zip-line. Back in the village, however, we were invited into the tourguide's courtyard house for a delicious meal, including the best stewed pumpkin I've ever eaten. At two thirds the price I'd recommend this tour but I found 180rmb a little steep. If you're in Beijing off season, you can probably manage any stretch of the wall and not be bothered by groups or touts.
With little time left to explore for myself, I joined the hostel's evening tour to the Opera. They also offer Kung-Fu and Acrobatics but each requires a minimum of three people to sign-up. All their tours are well over-priced, charging three or four times the ticket entry, arguing that you have a drive to and from the theatre. Sadly, both the Kung-fu and Opera theatres are within twenty minutes walk of the hostel. If you have the time, make your own way. Nonetheless, the Opera experience was fantastic!! Before the show you are free to watch and take pictures of the actors while they paint their faces and during the performance, large screens to either side of
the stage, translate the lines into English.
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