I arrived in Beijing yesterday feeling like a giant and immediately people started trying to scam, ie the taxi drivers, known as the taxi mafia. I got on the bus and was impressed - all the stops were announced over the tannoy in Chinese and English. Got to the hostel which was very Chinese looking and is situated right next to the Forbidden City. I took a stroll through the Forbidden City and got non stop hassle from people wanting money for tickets, lifts (in their put puts), guided tours ("Please, this is my livelihood"), possibly a prostitute - for some reason I stand out more here than I did in Moscow. Botherances aside, I got out the front and stood in front of the picture of Mao and the whole place really does look magnificent.
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