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Published: November 9th 2009
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The Great Wall of China
Me and Narj before the walk along the Great Wall Hello everyone!
So mine and Narj's first stop was in Beijing, China. Having packed my backpack expecting warm gorgeous weather (considering I checked the weather forecast only a week and a half before we left and it was meant to be 20c and sunny) we landed in snow and temperature of 0c!!!! Gosh it was freezing - ended up wearing all my layers just to keep warm on the first day.
Beijing was much more built up and modern than I had anticipated. Everything was so commericalised along the main roads. I don't think we really got to see much of the real 'China'. However, our first day trip was to the Great Wall of China (Mutianyu) which was really impressive to see and walk along (although it was still icy from the previous days). We ate chocolate pancakes at the end of our long walk - which were delicious! 😊
As a quick summary we went to visit Lama Temple, the Olympic Sports Centre, the Temple of Heaven, Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City (Palace Museum), Jingshan Park and Behai Park. So my favourite was probably Lama Temple as the statues inside the temple were very impressive and
Me on the Great Wall
Note the snow!!! Very Slippery... the main budha being worshipped was absolutely huge! And also Jingshan Park which gave really lovely views of the city from a hill - only problem was the smog/fog/pollution in the air which created a layer around the city. Not really that great, but I suppose it gave the place some atmosphere.
We then caught an overnight train to Shanghai. I was dreading this experience, but it turned out really well in the end. The carriages on the train were all open, however the beds were fine and they even gave you a lovely soft duvet and pillow to sleep on - which was great. Toilets were'nt so good though - but oh well, you can't have everything.
Arriving in Shanghai was AMAZING!!! I absolutely feel in love with the city and I could soooo see myself going there again. It really had a nice city buzz to it - and the locals didnt stare at us as much. Oh by the way, in Beijing we had locals staring at us left right and centre - i'm assuming its because we're foreign, although we got the word 'beautiful' thrown at us a couple of times, together with people
trying to take photos of us on the sly - how random!
Anyways, back to me describing Shanghai....it kinda felt like London in a way but more open. Also, the bonus of arriving there was warmer weather which I was craving after being freezing cold in Beijing. I think what I like about Shanghai was that they have some of the 'older' parts intact amongst the new - so its a crazy contrast. Some of the side streets were really interesting to walk along though and my favourite part in Shanghai was visiting YuYang gardens and the surrounding area. The gardens were pretty to walk along in, however the surrounding area was full of little shops and market like stalls which we spent an afternoon wandering. I swear I could have spent days shopping there but its annoying I can't buy much because of weight restrictions - but there's always next time I suppose.
We saw an acrobats show in Shanghai - which was awesome. I was at the edge of my seat at times because the safety was questionable. One of my highlights was going up the Shanghai World Financial Centre which has the highest observatory in
Inside the Forbidden City
Me, Narj, Sav (friend from tour) and two girls itching to get in a photo with us - random! the world - the views of Shanghai from there were AMAZING!!!! Wow!!!
From Shanghai we took another overnight train to Xi'an which is where I am now. The main attraction here is the Terracotta Warriors which we are going to see tomorrow....exciting (will write more later).
Other than the above, at times it hasnt really felt like I've been in China - I think this is because of the cold weather to start off with which didnt really make me feel like I left the UK. I've been eating with chopsticks every day 😊 although I find i'm feeding the table sometimes. My bartering skills are improving and i'm getting used to the locals staring and finding us fascinating. Food is pretty much hit and miss - sometimes its really good and at other times its just okay. And i'm getting used to the different smells around the cities/towns - which are interesting at times. So far I'd say I though Beijing was okay but I loved Shanghai.....let's wait and see what I think of the rest of China (in advance i'd like to say i'm liking Xi'an more than Shanghai - but more on that next time)......xxx
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