Embracing My Inner Tourist

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I've spent the last 4 days in Beijing, and managed to squeeze seeing a ridiculous number of sights into a short amount of time. I was in full on tourist mode, going to every major site and taking phots of every little thing.





Temple of Heaven

On my first full day, a miracle occured. While cold, there was a blue sky and I could see the sun. After a month in the gray of Shanghai, I relished in the weather and decided to spend the day outside where I could enjoy it to the fullest. As the Temple of Heaven is essentially a sprawling park (2.73 km² per Wikipedia), it was the perfect place to go. I spent hours roaming the vast landscape before finally heading to the three parts that make up the temple. It was my first exposure to the intricate paintwork that would characterize my visit, something I hadn't come across in Shanghai.

My favourite part of the visit though were watching activities in the park itself. In one part of the park, there was a woman selling Chinese ribbons to dance with. To get peoples' attention, she was dancing with one and it was amazing to watch how she darted around the ribbon and controlled its moves. Near the end of my visit, I came across several men flying kites. They had at least 6 or 7 in the air, and some were so high I could barely see them. (I tried to takea picture but it just looks like black specks on a blue sky). There were also elderly people gathered in groups playing cards, gambling and chatting everywhere you looked and the odd group doing Tai Chi. Parks back home have lost their character, and it is always refreshing to see how much people enjoy their parks here.









The Great Wall

Now, obviously, I went to the Great Wall while in Beijing. It really does live up to the hype. Only when you see the wall can you truly appreciate just how large and long it really is. I wonder if the end-result of the Great Wall is what was originally planned, or if it was a project that got way out of hand and just kept going and going (much like DIY projects today). I can't imagine what the Mongols thought when they came across, nor what Chinese warriors thought when they were informed they had to climb atop it and walk up and down it in full gear.

Through the power of Google, I hiked about 1400 steps to get from the ground to the wall, and countless more as I wondered up and down its length. I suspect this is the reason that foot massages are so prevalent in Beijing, as this combined with the Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace make massages a complimentary business. (I didn't actually get a massage while there - too much to do, and with such limited time I didn't want to waste it).









The Forbidden City & Tian'anmen Square

Much like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square and the Beihai White Pagoda were on my "must see" list for Beijing. They were interesting to see, and I enjoyed the sites, but to be honset I don't have much else to say about them. They were interesting to see, but packed with season (If this is the off-season, I cannot imagine how miserable the peak season is with the heat and packs of tourists).

A poll: For any who have visited Mao's tomb, do you think it is really him or a wax figurine? The group I am travelling have been debating this. I'm on the fence, but kind of hope it was wax because it was so creepy if it wasn't... Thoughts?









Summer Palace

After the Great Wall, this was my favourite. It was a bit of a metro trek to get out to the Summer Palace, but well worth the trip. Another beautiful park, this one on a large lake and covering 2.9 km², it had one of the most epic temples I have ever seen. The Tower of Buddhist Incence sits at 60 metres (196.9 feet) above the lake. I approached it from the bottom, and while my legs are still sore from the climb, the view made it all worth it.

The one thing I would recommend to anyone opting to go there, get a map of the grounds. I opted to wing it, and spent about an hour trying to find the exit with the metro. While I stumbled onto some great sites through my wonderings, it got a bit stressful as I had visions of me having to camp in the park that night and becoming an urban legend (the ghost of lost backpackers, perhaps)

Travelling tip: Don't waste your money on access a Through Ticket. It includes Suzhou St and the Gallery, the former being a tourist trap and the latter being crap compared to the free Museum in Shanghai.



Overall, it was a great trip, although I think I'm going to try and pace myself in the future. I will be posting more about my reflection on Beijing and how it differs from Shanghai in a later entry (with more pics of course), as I have some downtime before I head to Xi'an in a couple days.

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

BEAUTIFUL BEIJING
Looks like Mutianyu Great Wall...good choice, Tiantan, Summer Palace, Beihai, Forbidden City, Tianamen Square...you chose well. Looking forward to your reflections...and more pics.