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Published: November 2nd 2012
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We, somewhat dazed from a broken nights sleep, arrived into Beijing West Railway station at 8am in order to get to our hostel The Happy Dragon. A 1hr taxi ride that cost all of £4 across to the east side of Beijing gave us a snapshot of just how busy the city is, especially during rush hour. There are cars, people, bikes, scooters and tuk-tuks absolutely everywhere on the pavements, roads, parks and alleys.
Our first venture out into the city was for a stroll around the area closest to our hostel called the Dongcheng district. This part of Beijing is most famous for its 'Hutongs' which are courtyard houses. The straight lines of their construct result in fairly tight alleyways referred to as Hutongs, which are a hive of activity, especially in the Nan Luogo Hutong that we ended up getting our next hostel in. Alive with street foods, boutique shops and bars/cafes it was a brilliantly vibrant and bustling area to stroll around in. We loved it so much that after our 3 nights in the Happy Dragon, we checked in to the Peking Downtown Backpackers hostel, in the heart of this district.
We spent 10 full days in Beijing which was a perfect amount of time to see everything we wanted at a relaxed pace with plenty of people watching at the cafes in the city centre. Whilst here we went to the Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, the Silk & Pearl Markets (the most intense markets I have been to), the Bell & Drum towers, and the Lama & Confucious Temples (from afar). However, the highlight of our trip within the city limits has to have been The Summer Palace. A huge park packed full of temples, tea houses and monuments, it served as a social area for the Emporers/Empresses of China. It is a beautiful park and an absolute pleasure to while away the hours wandering around and gazing upon the serene and tranquil scenery. We spent a full day here and even when very busy, it was so vast we found it to be wondefully relaxing.
We found time in one of the evenings to visit the famous Wangfujing Street food market, which appears on pretty much every TV program concerning the city. It is a 100m stretch of street food stalls selling everything from
chicken wings to deep fried tarantula. The assault on the senses takes a few minutes to adjust to as you try to make head nor tail of the 'delicacies' on offer, whilst the eager workers go in for the hard sell. We decided to indulge a little in the exotic cuisine and ate snake (like a very fatty string of pork) and deep fried scorpion (like a pork scratching). I could live with the scorpion but even though it tasted and felt like pork, I was unable to get past the fact I was eating snake and felt a little sick after - purely my own issue and certainly not a damnation of the chef.
After watching a TV series shortly before departing our trip, where Ken Hom (a Chinese Chef) travelled China tasting the cuisine, we were given the idea of attending a cooking class whilst in Beijing. We decided to use this kitchen: http://www.hutongcuisine.com/ for a private session of one of their Bun classes. A chinese bun, in case you are unaware, is like a doughy dumpling filled with spiced pork/chicken or vegetables that is primarily eaten for breakfast. Whilst the filling was pretty easy
to prepare for anyone who likes to cook, the real test is in the dough, as the thickness and consistency need to be precise to keep the filling locked in. The technique of folding the buns is also a tought part but we had so much fun doing it, and got to eat the delicious buns we prepared.
Outside the city of course, lies the main reason anybody would envisage coming to China; The Great Wall. We opted to book an excursion with the hostel to the Jinshanling area of the wall, where we walked (or rather climbed/clambered) to the now closed Simatai section of the wall. This particular area was perfect as it begins with a restored part of the wall which is easily navigated and slowly turns into an original section, which proved to be slightly more demanding on the calf muscles. The actual hike is 8km and involves very steep inclines/declines, and although fairly knackering, was breathtaking in both beauty and cultural fulfilment. To be on the wall, knowing the sheer significance of the sight is utterly humbling and rewarding, let alone the astounding scenery from this altitude. The excursion was worth coming to
China for alone and we can honestly say it was a true highlight of our entire two months away.
Our other significant experience lies once again in the cuisine we were stuffing our faces with. One cannot leave China, and in particular Beijing without having tried Peking Duck as prepared by its creators. After a fair amount of research online, we actually ended up opting for a restaurant we happened to pass by whilst travelling to our final hostel The Sanlitun Backpackers. As we strolled by we glanced into the restaurant and it looked very appealing and boasted amazing Peking Duck dishes. After a quick google search on the place 'Jing Zun Peking Duck' restaurant, we saw enough good reviews to give it a go. I have to say, it was without doubt the best meal I ate in China: so good in fact, we ended up having our last supper here before coming home. It was £12 for a full duck, which in truth could have fed 4 people fairly easily (we had it between 2). It was crispy, yet succulent, spiced to perfection with soft pancakes and a rich and tangy hoi sin sauce. It
came with all the usual trimmings of vegetables and was truly delightful. I would recommend this restaurant even to those who dislike duck (or are vegetarian) as the menu was huge and packed full of wonderful dishes. The next time we ate there, I had pork fillets, deep fried in batter with an orange glaze (incredibly tasty, if a little unhealthy!)
After our 10 days of using the ultra clean metro system to get around, we left Beijing bound for Heathrow sad but ready to leave the intense activity of a never sleeping city. We loved Beijing and agreed it was our favourite time spent in China, where we immersed ourselves in the cuisine, the transport and of course the chaos of inner city life. One of things we found (as residents of a fairly medium sized city) is the sheer intensity of China, and Beijing in particular, was very tiring and so it was a pleasure to return to a sense of calmness once we got back to our flat in Brighton. The city of Beijing will always have a fond place in our memories and I would highly recommend a visit.
Dan
xx
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