There are 1 million bicycles in Beijing

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30th August 2006

We were a bit slack getting organised today but eventually we hired some bikes from the hostel and set out towards the centre of Beijing.

Cycling in Beijing is a risky business, although there are cycle lanes which run along side every road, the traffic makes it very daunting to say the least. As for junctions, who knows who has right of way, every man for himself.

First stop was the famous Tiananmen Square, the square more widely know for the demonstrations in 1989 that were eventually broken up by the Chinese government sending in the army with tanks. From there we locked up our bikes and entered the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was off limits for 500 years and by the number of tourists there you’d think it was closing tomorrow. The grounds include various halls with thrones that were set out for differing tasks, e.g. a hall to plan battles and hall to entertain etc. The place was visually stunning with all the colour and detail you imagine in a traditional Chinese building.

Back on our bikes we headed north around the various different Hu Tong and parks ending up at the Drum and Bell towers. As we’d be cycling for hours it was time to call it a day. We’d survived a few near misses but we made it back in one piece.

Late that evening we ventured across the city to the more commercial area, it was bit of a culture shock. We’ve been staying in a very ‘local’ area where we are literally the only westerners, and suddenly we were surrounded by shopping centres. Amongst the high rise buildings, neon lights and tourists, we found the market.

The different smells hit you as soon as we approached, some sweet and nice, some that made you feel a little sick. There were various foods on offer, kebabs, pancakes, fruit and then the more obscure, scorpions, beetles, grasshoppers, star fish, sea horses to name a few. While we were checking these delicacies out, a local guy ordered what looked like tiny scorpions. The market trader didn’t cook the ones on display, instead he opened a tin containing live produce and proceeded to skewer 5 or 6 live ones, still wriggling until they hit the hot oil and were deep fried. Yum, we ordered the same… Not!

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Photos

Tiananmen Square
As the lonely planet pointed out, Cycling is prohibited across Tiananmen Square but apparently tanks are OK :o)

Tasty!
One of the many stalls selling gourmet food