Beijing was just a three hour flight from Hong Kong and we were immediately relieved by the weather which whilst still hot was much less humid. We checked into our hotel and set about planning our five days in the city plus side trips to Xian and Shanghai. Much to our delight the hotel was very modern and clean and served western breakfast. Who knew you would not really want to eat fried rice and dumplings at 8 AM?Our first stop was to Tian' anmen Square and the Forbidden Palace. The square is huge and it took us almost half an hour to walk from end to end. At the northern end of the square is the gate to the Forbidden Palace complete with the famous photo of Chairman Mao observing all who enter:
Entrance to the Forbidden Palace
The Forbidden Palace was built in the 1400s and covers an area of about 73 hectares. We took an audio tour which was narrated by England's Roger Moore of James Bond fame! Mind you, under the sign for the english language audio tour there was a picture of an American flag. I guess it should have have been the American language tour. The palace, formerly the residence of the emperor, was incredible to see as we walked from one huge building to the next. We spent nearly half the day walking in the palace and viewing the various state rooms and private quarters.
Yes, they even have a Starbucks in the Forbidden Palace!
I had a forbidden latte. It is very hush hush, a favorite drink of the palace concubines.
The photo above really sums up a lot about China at the moment. A country with so much history is changing so rapidly as communism is giving way to capitalism. Everywhere we looked change was taking place; huge building projects, teenagers with cell phones, flashy cars and everyone gearing up for the Olympics in 2008. In the next ten years this country will be very different! I think we expected conditions and travelling in China to be a lot harder than it was. While they have a long way to go we found public transportation very easy (although you barely escape with your life in some taxis) restrooms were pretty clean and people were friendly and eager to help. Maybe just eager to sell you a gucci bag and rolex watch!!!
In the evening we went out to see a perfomance by the Beijing Circus. If any of you have seen Cirque De Soleil it was a very similar performance although the production value was a little lower. Some of the performaces were staggering including the one in the photo below - we guessed the performers were less than twelve years old:
At the Beijing Circus
We couldn't come to China without visiting the Great Wall. We decided to visit a section called Simitai which was further out of the city but more authentic and less touristy - we were not disappointed. After the obligatory stop at a ceramic factory on the way we arrived at the Great Wall. It was about a fifteen minute walk to reach the wall from the car park. The weather was clear and we could see the wall stretching out in either direction, far into the distance - incredible:
Me and Sara's Dad
An amazing feat of construction
Walking The Great Wall
We spent about two hours walking along a short section and then made our way back to the bus for the return home. It was a long day and we were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the hotel. The next day we booked on to a tour of the Hutong area of Beijing by Pedicab. The tour was interesting if a little touristy. The best part though was the chance to go and visit one of the residents in his house. We spent about thirty minutes in his house and had the chance to ask questions and see how a Beijing family live. It is interesting to see what people say when you ask about politics.
Riding a pedicab.
We also stopped by at a local food market selling all kinds of strange foods - grasshopper on a stick anyone?
Yum.....
In the evening we were out again this time to see the Chinese Opera. We were warned that this would not be the same as western Opera. There was much screeching, crashing of symbols, banging of drums and bizare stage perfoming. It was a great experience and actually turned out to be one of of highlights of the city: In the old days all the actors were men, even the ladies roles. We had a good laugh imitating the ladies high screeching voices. We may put on a performance of our own!!
One of the performers at the Opera
The following night we boarded the train for the city of Xian (pronounced see-an). Not regarded as a large city by Chinese standards this place has a population of seven million!!! The overnight train was a great experience and much more luxurious than we expected. Each bed even had its own TV screen with six channels - try getting that on British Rail!! Again we were a little apprehensive about taking the 12 hour train ride but it was not bad. The soft sleeper compartment had four beds. It made no stops and had air conditioning. My dad was a trooper through all our travels and enjoyed taking the scenic route.
Our reason for visiting Xian was to see the Terracotta Warriors now dubbed the eighth wonder of the world. The whole exhibition is a wonderful experience and the Chinese have done an excellent job of allowing good access whilst protecting archeology of the site. The warriors were made and placed in various pits next to Emperor Qin's toomb to protect him in the afterlife. The pits on view in the museum represent only a small proportion of the nearly 8000 Warriors that were constructed:
The largest hall
The warriors up close - each one is different
Xian has little to offer after the Terracotta Warriors so we took another night train to the city of Shanghai. This time it was 16 hours. Alex and Dad bought instant ramen noodle bowls just like all the chinese do (I opted for peanut butter sandwich) and we watched the countryside and farms as we rolled along.
Shanghai is a gateway port to the Yangzi river and over the years has been colonised by both the British and the French. The result is a city with an old colonial history particulary on the Bund and French concession areas. The city sufferend from lack of investment during the communist period from 1949 but that has all changed and now it is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It is expected that it will overtake Hong Kong in the next ten to twenty years as a major financial hub. The skyline is magnificent if you catch it on a clear day. There is so much smog here in China it is unbelievable.
We stayed just off the Bund area and spent our fist day taking a boat cruise up the river to get a better view of the skyline. We also took the Bund Tourist Tunnel, a psychadelic train ride under the river to the Pudong area to visit the famous Orient Pearl Tower which marks out the city.
The Shanghai skyline
The Psychadelic Bund Tourist Tunnel
Engaged!!!!
As you know Sara and I have been travelling together for the past four months and have known each other since August of last year when we met on a trip in Africa. It has been quite a story for us both and a real whirlwind romance! Sara and I had discussed at length what would happen "post trip" and we both knew that there was only one thing that we really wanted. With Sara's Dad travelling with us we decided to make it official and I asked him for Sara's hand in marriage. We had a wonderful night at one of Shanghai's best restaurants - "M on the Bund". The restaurant has a rooftop terrace looking over the harbour and the Bund and it is night we shall never forget.
Offically engaged at "M On The Bund "
The view from the restaurant
Getting engaged is actually the easy bit and the harder stuff is about to begin. I am going to move to the United States where we will marry in the next six months. Everything is very much dependant upon visas so there is much planning and paperwork to be completed! We are both very excited and cannot wait to begin the next chapter of our amazing journey.
Well that is just about it for this posting, sorry it has been a bit long but there has been so much to say. We leave Beijing tomorrow for Bangkok and spend a few weeks in South East Asia before heading back to the UK. Stay tuned for more breaking news..........
