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Published: August 28th 2012
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Beijing- the city of temples, smog and people.
I arrived in Beijing 3 days ago and decided to get the bus into town (the cheapest option) which was probably a bad idea as we ended up waiting about an hour for the bus to take us into the city, but oh well. I chucked my bag at the hostel and then used the rest of the afternoon for exploring. First stop- Imperial College and the Conficus temples. I didnt know much about this Conficus dude until I got there but the temple gave me a good basic knowledge; and it turns out that he is quite a big deal and has temples everywhere. Imperial College was a must do; unfortunately it was nothing like the one in London. We dont get given lectures by Emporers.
As the following day was a Sunday we decided to try and avoid the weekend crowds and have a bits and bobs day. We went to the Temple of Heaven- which was quite an interesting temple based on sacrificing for good harvests and had lots of little bits to it. It is based in a large park which followed Chinese Military precision and t
was buzzing with dancers, people playing keepy uppy with a very odd ball and people singing and families just going out for the day. Following this we went to the Lama Temple- it is probably the best Buddhist temple that I have been too. I just wish I knew more about Buddhism and what represents what. After this we went to the supposedly "derelict" Olympic park, which was actually fairly busy and was really nice to have a look at the area. The park is huge and it is such a shame they havent really done anything with it since the end of the Olympics but the architecture was fantastic. We then went to Ghost Street, which is near the hostel and is a street full of red lanterns and restaurants for some fresh fish.
So, the next day we went to the wall. We went to the Jinshanling section which usually connects with Simitai, but that was closed. We wanted to go cheaply and get public transport, but after getting to Miyun county we got wripped off by a taxi driver and ended up paying just as much, which is a shame. But the wall was fantastic and
the views (despite the smog) were incredible, there were some really steep climbs and some derelict parts, but it was a good day out. Post this we were knackered but went to the manic train station to book our seats for Pingyao; following this we went for some local grub in a hutong close to where we are staying.
On our final full day in Beijing we went into tourist town. We made it to Tianamen Square by half 9. I thought it was amazing, massive, and so busy. All the buildings are Soviet and they surround a massive square area leading up to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was good OTHER THAN IT WAS SO BUSY. I dont mind crowds, but people got aggressive when it came to getting near to the Halls. The whole area was very impressive and I particularly liked the Imperial Gardens at the end (despite all the visitors and the heat)! After leaving the city we headed across the road and up the mountain to havea good view of the city and of the Forbidden Palace. After this we walked to Xisi tube to get up to the Summer Palace. I really
enjoyed the summer Palace. It was quite novel being based up a hill with lots of nooks and crannies and lots of character. After going over the hill you get to the vast lake area (which is so big and completely man made!) we got a boat over to The South Island and then wondered around there before walking back over the bridge and going to other bits and bobs. I thought that it was a shame that they had turned every spare space into a Souveneir shop and the day we went was very hot, but other than that very good. During the evening we went for some yummy hotpot (god knows what we got in there!)
So tomorrow I am going for a wonder to get some snacks for our 14hour train.
Next stop: Ping yao.
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