Beijing - Are they ready for 2008?

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Honestly: no.

All the infrastructure is in place and looks pretty special, but the general population is not ready to be inundated with Westerners. They look at backpackers and tourists with facination as if in a zoo. Not enough Chinese can converse in English, and the ones that do spend all their energy farming tourist dollar, and not enough Westerners can make themselves understood. Plus there is the smoking and the spitting that is far from pleasant.

But I like it. I feel completely out of my depth for the first time in my life and its been a great experience. The Great Wall is amazing, The Summer Palace has to be seen to be believed, and Tiananmen Square is a sight to behold.

On Wednesday we hiked the Great Wall from Jhinshanling to Simaitai. It was 3 hrs out of Beijing and the hike was 10km over the wall. The weather was fantastic and the whole thing was unforgettable.

Thursday was a much easier day. After a bit of a lie in we made it to the temple of Heaven. Unfortunately it was full of tourists and a bit of a shock after a lonely day on the wall.

On Saturday we caught the overnight train to Xian. It took 12 hours to cross the 1200km, which is very good for Chinese trains. We got in at 8am this morning feeling relatively fresh. We met up with a couple from Manchester who were sharing our 4 berth cabin. The Xian hostel is OK, although not as good as the hostel in Beijing. It is clean and the showers are good, and the crowd seems good.

Tomorrow we go to see the Terracotta Warriors. Cant wait!

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Photos

The 17 Arch Bridge
This bridge is in the summer palace. Yes, there are 17!

Great Wall
Its true. There is a wall and its great!

Comments

[My name is Dad]

Good to hear from you, sounds like your having a great time. I have not heard of a lot of these places but it sounds like a great experience. I notice from the photo that you are weariing a cap, not up to it Indie ? Hear from you soon. Dad ps Mum got the text re Mum's day

[Lil Sis]

What a good Blogger!
Hi Mike, Glad to hear you are having a good time - I must admit I thought that when you got out there you would forget abot all of us at home - it's nice to see you haven't! I was just reading your Blog at work when Jo went past - her comment was 'Oh my god look at the size of that pint, he must have forgotten that I know how big a weiner he is - he'll nevr drink all that'. We decided that was why you took the picture at the beginning of the pint! Now I know you are so good at updates I'll make sure I check them out more often. What;s it like being surrounded by all those small people - do you feel tall for once????? XX

[Hami]

Oh yes they are!
Oh yes they are! Look at the photo of the stadium!!! http://www.chinese-tools.com/beijing2008

[Mr Mike]

I cannot deny that the facilities are excellent. The stadium is fantastic (and will be finished). Shame about the quality of air though.