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On the wall
Great Wall near Beijing12 April 2013
We landed at Beijing airport at 01h-something after one of the worst flights and slowest landings of our trip. The heating was on too high for the entire flight, and the windy descent into Beijing took what felt like a bumpy, stomach turning hour. Horrible.
Next challenge, the taxi queue and all its inherent scams; and the total absence of any spoken English. After much getting in and out of our chosen taxi, the driver eventually got the message and turned on the meter. We are no initiates to this game! And, things didn't get better fast. Chinese driving, to say the least, is quite special. As is the absolute and open disregard for western passengers shown by the majority of taxi drivers. In fact, as we discovered, they will often just not pick you up as it is too much hassle for them.
We then proceeded to get lost in a Beijing hutong, with a spitting, cursing and very unimpressed driver, who was earning less than half his proposed fee because we had insisted on the meter. Not a nice thing at 02h30 in the morning in a strange, very strange, and
dark place, with no working mobile phone and no google maps. (How travel has changed! What did we do before international SIM cards and Internet connections?!)
We eventually managed to get the driver to call our hotel, and the wonderful Alex appeared out of the darkness shortly after to walk us down the dark maze of alleyways that is the Caochang Hutong, to the Apricot Inn courtyard hotel which was to be home for three days.
It was late, we were exhausted and freezing, and fell gratefully into bed.... Only to listen to the occupants of the room next door coughing and muttering, and then to be woken up at around 04h30 by their chatter about how to ask for cough medication in China: should it be cough drops they ask for, or cough syrup? The Chinese apparently speak of "cakes of soap" so they are probably more likely to understand "cough drops"? Go figure that logic. Fortunately they left to go and witness the changing of the guards on Tian'anmen Square at sunrise, so we finally managed to get some sleep.
We eventually dragged our tired bodies out of bed at about 09h00 and ventured out
Apricot tree in bloom
Apricot Inn, Beijing, China into our first cold day of this trip. Beijing met us with clear blue skies, a chilly 6 degrees and an arctic breeze, that cut through our T-shirts like a butchers saw through bone. Neither of us had a sweater in our packs, never mind even a long sleeved t-shirt. Fortunately though we had running shoes, so didn't have to head out in flip flops too. Andrew's shorts became the object of much fascination amongst the locals that day, who were gawping and pointing in disbelief.
So, first stop, a second hand clothing store, remarkably easy to find in Beijing, for a large and warm mustard yellow wool jersey, the same colour as my hair. What a find for only £2! I am going to be very sad to give it away one day. No doubt you will get to know this jersey well in pictures, in the next few weeks as we travel through what seems is going to be a chilly China.
Warm at last, and the next requirement is food, in particular coffee. Ha! Coffee in China!! We did however find the best biscuits in the world. I think it is a Beijing thing -
I'll have to google it to check - but the amazing traditional cakes and biscuits are really good. Almond flavoured, bean paste filled, ginger, sesame, walnut... Yum!!
Coffee is not the only thing which is hard to find in Beijing. ATMs and mobile phone sim card providers are up there too. All the important things in life!! We walked and walked and walked and didn't spot a single one of the above for hours. This is the capital city of the almighty China, has recently hosted the Olympic Games, has been in existence for about 5000 years, and we can't find a coffee, ATM or mobile phone card here. Unbelievable!
Eventually, just round the back, outside the walls of the Forbidden City, we spotted the word "coffee" on a tea shop window. We stumbled in hardly able to contain ourselves. It was a very pretty tea shop, which in China is synonymous with ceremony and show ( and getting ripped off if you are a foreigner), and the tiny, £4, beautifully presented cup of coffee that arrived at the table was suitably impressive until the sugary reality hit the taste buds. No! Please not 3 in 1!! We
Doorway
Beijing, China though that we had left those safely in Burma! But caffeine is a fickle master, and the 3 in 1 went down like a homesick mole. It did however take a little longer to get over the price we paid for it!
It took another two hours of walking to finally find an ATM, and with Mao faced money in our pockets we could eventually pay the entrance fees to the most touted sight in Beijing - The Forbidden City.
The crowds were as spectacular as some bits of this huge Ming Dynasty complex. We were unceremoniously introduced to the ubiquitous Chinese flag following tour group here. Each person in the group has a coloured cap to match the colour of the flag they are following, and they move like sheep. Eddies of orange caps swirl around pools of red caps, which flow through streams of blue caps. It is like watching a carefully orchestrated dance - as long as you don't get caught up in it.
The Forbidden City was built by the Ming Emperors in The early 1400's and has been out of bounds to regular people for much of its existence, so it is
nice to see ordinary Chinese being able to enjoy the place now. It would be good for everyone though, if numbers were limited, as many of the interior displays are limited to glimpses from behind rope cordons in doorways, and when the crowd is that thick, no one gets to see anything. But we have since realised that tourism in China is only about numbers, not quality. Pack 'em in. The more the merrier.
As for the complex, it is impressive in its vastness. The huge stone paved courtyards are intentionally intimidating, if bland in their massive greyness. The main buildings have been unsympathetically renovated. The bright green and blue paintwork and the same dragon motifs repeated over and over again are too new. Only when you eventually wander all the way through to the back of the Inner Court do you get a real feel for how amazing and beautiful this place must have been. The faded paintwork on wooden beams and door panels, in an array of traditional Chinese designs is awesome. Flowers, birds, animals, and trees in delicate detail - beautiful!! The blossom trees in the courtyard gardens bring the stone paving and marble stairs to
life. The bronze sculptures and gnarled Cypress trees lend a sense of rich mystique and ancient ness. The spaces are intimate and have been more preserved than renovated. This bit, just before you head out the back door, feels a little like a smart and wealthy hutong, and is by far the best and also the least crowded part of the whole Forbidden City complex.
Speaking of hutongs; these are my absolute favourite parts of Beijing city. Without the Hutongs, Beijing would not be Beijing; but they are disappearing fast. There was a bit of an outcry before the 2008 Olympics when many of these aged inner city neighbourhoods were being bulldozed to make way for ugly modern buildings, but I have heard very little protest since, and the demolitions have not stopped.
These grey brick and faded black roof tiled, mostly single-storeyed neighbourhoods are the soul of Beijing. Many would probably describe them as slums, but they are medieval mazes of residences built around courtyards; and communities built around markets and behind walls and gates for protection. Some areas have become trendy and upmarket as hip shops, boutique hotels and galleries have moved in, and others are
crumbling in neglect, but all have long stories to tell.
Some of the courtyard houses have been subdivided, but many remain as homes arranged around paved courtyards with potted fruit trees and flowers overlooked by ornate wooden framed windows and guarded by pretty, decorative front gates. The grey of walls and roofs is offset with the red of caligraphied rhyming couplets pasted to either side and above doorways and on gate posts; and wooden entrance gates are often painted red. Red lanterns hang on either side of inn doors to mark them as places of refuge and to welcome weary travellers. Our hotel, the Apricot Inn is a courtyard house like this, with a large old apricot tree just beginning to blossom in white in one corner.
Hopefully more western tourism will highlight the value of these areas to the government ( we didn't see a single Chinese tour group following a flag into any hutong we walked down) and hopefully they will become protected and preserved and not demolished or renovated into theme park-like streets like the now soulless Qianwen Dajie area to the south of Tian'anmen Square, where a quaint and crumbling old area has been
glossyfied into a European-brand endorsed shopping mall with zero character.
Leave the characterlessness to Wangfujing which is already lined with the cold facades of western style shopping malls housing everything from Apple to Zara. Not to mention Starbucks and Pacific Coffee - yes we eventually found them!
But, back to the Forbidden City and the infamous Tian'anmen Square. This massive square ( the largest public square in the world) out front of the Forbidden City, which is probably meant to make you feel like the large paved courtyard squares inside the Forbidden City make you feel - a little intimidated - is not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. It covers a huge, windy space of 440 000 sqm and is flanked by museums and government buildings on two sides and Mao's Mausoleum on the remaining side, where the chubby, beauty-spotted man of the dubious "Great Leap Forward" and the "Cultural Revolution" still rests, and you can visit him on special occasions. In the middle of the square there is an obelisk and huge flagpole guarded by green coated guards. Guard changes happen at sunrise and sunset, and the accompanying pomp, ceremony, and measured goose-stepping
Mao Mausoleum
Beijing, China are apparently quite a sight; but we missed it. Getting onto and off the square is not so simple. Security and bag searches await on both approaches. One wonders why?
After Tian'anmen Square the next area to explore was east to Wangfujing street. As mentioned earlier, this is where you go to find western style shopping malls. But, once you bore of those, the snack street just off Wangfujing is fun to walk through if you like seeing scorpions and other yummy insects on sticks, wriggling and ready to be barbecued. You're either mad or a rich Chinese tourist if you eat anything for sale here, though, as the prices are inflated by about 500% for tourists. You can snack on scorpions and sesame sweets and egg buns elsewhere for a lot less money and a lot more quality.
Further and to the east of Wangfujing, several metro stops away, is the closest to a financial district we could find. We trekked out specifically to see the underpants building (as it is called by the locals) or the CCTV building, by OMA. Interesting, but not one of my favourite Beijing landmarks. That title goes to the new National
Centre for the Performing Arts just to the west of Tian'anmen Square. The massive metal and glass egg surrounded by a reflecting moat is quite spectacular and very photogenic when the light is just right.
Some other Beijing buildings which have become icons are out north in the Olympic park. The birds nest stadium and aquatic centre are both impressive, if looking a little shabby. I guess the smog is getting to them.
South of Tian'anmen Square is the Temple of Heaven. We walked what seemed like miles to get to what promised to be a little less crowded than most other attractions. The lovely gardens are used by locals for Tai Chi practice, backwards walking, and just sitting, and it is a cool and relaxed place to escape from the Beijing bustle. But, venture anywhere near the Temple and its peripheral buildings and you are once again in the sea of flag following caps that is Chinese tourism. Again, the buildings feel more renovated than preserved and we didn't even bother to wade through the throngs to see the interiors. The gardens are great though.
By far the most memorable thing about our time in Beijing
would be our trip out to the Great Wall. After the crowds at the Forbidden City, we were loathe to do the Great Wall with mass tourism; so we approached Alex and asked for some advice on where and how to see the wall without the crowds. At first he told us all the usual spots and we shook our heads sadly and said "no, no..." But as we were leaving he followed us out and said, "there is one other way, but I will have to check first."
At 07h00 the next morning we waited to be collected in the very chilly courtyard outside our room. 15 minutes late, the door was jostled, and I went to open it to save everyone in the inn from being woken up. Li Wei bounced inside. "Let's go!"
We followed him out to his slightly battered 4x4 parked next to the drum tower down the alley. "Do you speak any English, Li Wei?" "Uhh, No. You have breakfast?" "No, but we brought some snacks." " Okay." And he proceeded to drive us to the best pavement breakfast of our Asian trip.
Food in hand and we set off for
the wall. On the way we passed farm villages, still wintery pastures, orchards about to bloom, and at every scenic spot Li Wei jumped out and took pictures. I loved this, because I'm an avid picture taker and usually when we go on "tours" I end up taking no photos because the vehicle I'm in never stops. Not this time!!
Our first glimpse of the wall was near Gubeikou. It was off in the distance marching up and over the hills. Amazing, but not our stop. We drove for about two hours and then turned off the road onto a farm track and kept going until that petered out into a foot path. "We are here!" Andrew and I were handed a walking stick each and we set off into a pine forest.
As we crested our second hill it was suddenly in front of us. The most awesome sight. This immense structure in all its partly fallen down brilliance, with three towers all sprouting saplings and wild grass. The golden stone against the bright blue sky was magnificent. And not another human being in sight. This is just how we had wished to see it. Wild and
beautiful, unrenovated, and no tourists. Stunning stunning!
We hiked up onto the ramparts and looked out over miles and miles of crenelated landscape with nothing in it but thorny bushes and this majestic and seemingly never ending fortification progressing out in both directions, over mountains and through valleys all the way to the sky. If I was a Mongul and arrived at this wall I would have been so impressed I would have taken a thousand pictures and told everyone about how beautiful it was, and would have forgotten to attack. Since I am not a Mongul, I only did the first two. And, apparently the Monguls were not as impressed as me.
We spent several hours just inhaling the breathtaking beauty of the wall, the landscape and the sky. A little winter flurry passed and sprinkled us with a snow flake or two and then let the blue sky out again. What a very special experience this was!
Li Wei is obviously besotted with this wall too, and showed us some of his wonderfully intimate photographs of it. Who better to show you something than a true enthusiast who doesn't even need to speak your language
Forbidden City
Beijing, China to convey how in awe he is of this bit of architecture. And then off to lunch where we discovered the joy of aubergines done the Chinese way.
After lunch we headed in to the Bayunxia scenic area. This was a little add on which had been offered to us, and we went along with happily. The route is a circular route and follows a couple of deep river valleys. The mountains are rugged and spectacular, but in some areas have been tamed for agricultural use. The ancient stone terraces, built by hand with not a sniff of cement to hold them up ( highly unusual for China - land of cement and glory) are a feat of human creativity.
Being early spring, everything was still awash in winter browns and greys; and mountains, houses, and terraces blended into each other, with only sparse splashes of white blossoms on the black gnarled stems of fruit trees. The only colour the clear dark teal of the White River cutting through the valley way below us.
We assumed that Li Wei was a tour guide, or a photographer, but actually he has a far more interesting story, which we
Forbidden City
Beijing, China learned via Google Translate on the way back to Beijing. Li Wei works for an insurance company and has for 8 years! This day tripping is something he does for love. He is a talented photographer and adores the countryside and showing people around gives him the opportunity to take photographs in his favourite environment. I believe he would much rather be doing this full time, but he says he enjoys his day job enough. Though, on the way back into Beijing it was obvious that he didn't really want to go back into the city, despite claiming that he liked it; and kept commenting on how bad the city air tasted in his mouth after being in the countryside.
It's true, you can taste Beijing in your mouth when you come back in from being in the country. Apparently Beijing has the worst air pollution in China. Fortunately we didn't get to experience the heavy smog which often blankets the city. We had clear blue skies for our entire 4 days and will remember this interesting city fondly as blue sky Beijing.
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