Beijing first impressions

---

This was part of my trip to Thailand. I stopped one day in China. ( I did the same thing almost 20 years ago on a trip to the Philippines, where I stayed one night in Tokyo and explored downtown a bit. It was very cool!!).The airport is very modern and spacious. There are replicas of pagodas in the airport with little ponds and it's nice place to relax a while!!

As we dropped from the plane, I noticed that air pollution is very severe, as a constant yellowish cloud was hanging in the air!! I slept in an hotel close to the airport. I had to get a temporary visa to get to the hotel, and it took very long to get it in the airport, (be wise and ask for it in advance)!! I had to fight with taxi driver to get to this hotel, and he didn't want to go so close??? When I returned, it was about the same thing?? Anybody could explain??? I had to order a small van and give all my yuan to get to the airport... Personally, I am not fascinated with China and culture, and prefer nature and wild animals, over everything else. I noticed in airport, on the streets and hotel, that many Chinese were not very cooperative and helpful, but maybe that's because of the madness of big cities and stress??? I didn't have enough time to visit like last time in Tokyo, but the overall impression was bad. Will I go back in better conditions and explore the rest of the country far from the cities?? Maybe, because many landscapes are very nice in China and some rare animals live there. But before, I have some countries I want to visit in priority...

---