A Rainy Day in Beijing

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September 24th 2008

Published: March 27th 2009

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wanderlustwest

Bonsai

In Jingshan Park

Still exhausted after our hours climbing the Great Wall, we opted for an easy day touring around Beijing in the rainy weather. Bundled up in our jeans, sweaters and jackets- what a difference few days makes when we were sweating in the sunshine 2 days ago- we hit Jingshan Park, conveniently located off of the hutong we were staying on.

We had to bite the bullet and tackle Jingshan in the rain since we were winding down our time in Beijing and hoping to get a nice day to see the Summer Palace. Despite the rain, Jingshan Park was still pretty busy and offered some great views of the Forbidden City from the temple atop the man-made hill. The hill was constructed out of the earth that was displaced by the construction of the Forbidden City and lies on the North-South axis from Tiananmen Gate North to the Bell and Drum Towers. Without the heat of the sun, there was no haze so we could see clear views of the Forbidden City despite the overcast day.
The only obstacle we faced in the rain was the nice sloping paths and dirt trails which were rendered muddy and slippery in the

Jingshan Park

rain.

Faced with the rain, we opted to try our luck again at the Silk market. This time we went prepared for the rush of the shopkeepers and their continuous yelling. Managed to pick up quite a few souvenirs and a much-need memory card for Shane’s camera. The bargains are not as cheap as I had expected to find and although there were some deals to be had, the Khan el-Khalili bazaar in Cairo, Egypt had more bang for your buck. I blame the Olympics and the influx of tourists for the rise in prices.

Following our trusty guidebook, we walked to Ritan Park to eat at one of the recommended dim sum restaurants in Beijing. Set in a lovely courtyard-style building on the edge of the park, we had a variety of dumplings, spring rolls, vegetables, noodles and soups to warm up from the rain. After contemplating a round of karaoke at a nearby karaoke palace, we instead made our way back to Tiananmen Square in search of the Underground City and the hutongs.

Unfortunately, our guidebook (though published in 2008 for the Olympics) failed to mention that in preparation for the Olympics, many of the

Jingshan park

We had the park to ourselves in the rain

hutongs and exact streets we were looking for had been torn down to revitalize the area to make it more appealing for tourists. We were quite shocked and taken aback by this. After walking aimlessly out of our way trying to see if any of this old part of Beijing remained, we unfortunately had to turn around and make other plans. In place of the hutongs that have been “relocated” is this shiny new pedestrian street. Made to look like Old Beijing at the turn of the century, this pedestrian street was still mostly incomplete with the vacant storefronts and shops seem eerie in the overcast and misty evening.

Shivering from the dampness and the cold, we headed back to Wangfujing Street in search of Peking Duck. We asked for help from a woman at the information desk in the mall and she directed us to a place with a name we couldn’t pronounce. Based on her description we were able to find it and proceeded to have one of the most delicious meals we have ever had. We knew it was going to be a great meal when we saw that we were the only foreigners in the

Flowers

place. We had a fantastic waitress- I assume she was one of the few who had a good grasp of English in the restaurant- and she seemed delighted to explain to us the step-by-step ordering and eating process. Just thinking of the memory makes my mouth water! Peking Duck is a must in Beijing and if you’re having trouble finding a restaurant, just ask information for help and get directed to the best meal you’ll have in Beijing.

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