Travel China by Train – Part 4, Beijing

The train from Shanghai arrived about 7am and I was checked into my hotel by 8am and having breakfast. Having slept on the train I was ready to begin my day. There is so much to see and do in Beijing. Beijing is full of both history and the modern aspect but the modern is not to the extent of Shanghai. However the history far outweighs that of Shanghai. Since I love history, Beijing was a must stop. When I think of Beijing I think of The Forbidden City and the Great Wall but I also think of Genghis Khan, the Opium Wars, and the Boxer Rebellion. It is one thing to see pictures of the Great Wall and The Forbidden City but until you actually walk on or in them you won’t get that experience that only travel can give you. Seeing the Great Wall from a distance is not even enough.   I spent 3 days in Beijing and saw as much as I could. I could have stayed longer and not seen everything.  One day was touring the Ming Tombs and walking the Great Wall. The second day was The Forbidden City, Tiananmen and Tiananmen Square. The last day was the Temple of Heaven, Zoo and Pearl Market. All three were full days.

I will only recommend places I have been to:

Places to Stay:

I stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel in Beijing. This is an upscale hotel and you are pampered from the moment you enter. I booked all of my excursions at the hotel. Since Beijing is so big and spread out the location really doesn't matter. You will have to take a taxi where ever you go. I made the right decision on the hotel and would recommend this to anyone.

Shopping:

Pearl Market – close to the Temple of Heaven, the Pearl Market is a 5 story building of many shops. Presidents and their families have purchased jewelry here. The jewelry ranges in all levels of quality so make sure you know what you are buying. When visiting the Temple of Heaven you can walk over to the Pearl Market.

Food:

My days were pretty full so I either ate at the hotel or ate street food. Don’t be afraid to try something different.

Attractions:

The Forbidden City – the place everyone visiting Beijing should see. There is so much history to see and imagine how it would have been to live back then. Did you know that The Forbidden City was built by Genghis Khan as a way of preserving the Mongol way of life? It was walled in and the buildings were just tents with a lot of grass area so they could ride their horses. It was forbidden to go in there if you were not a Mongol. It evolved over time into what you see today. Today it is a walled in city with about 980 buildings surrounded by a moat. The current city was built in the early 1400’s. I would take an entire day and visit Tiananmen and Tiananmen Square also. Until recently the government neglected the property and it was in very bad shape. It may be a product of our society but one thing I noticed were signs all over The Forbidden City with “This is brought to you by ‘Corporate Name’”. I guess without their support we wouldn’t get to see it in a restored state. A must see as it is now called the Palace Museum.

Tiananmen and Tiananmen Square – Tiananmen is a national symbol of China and is the entrance to the Imperial City. The Forbidden City is within the Imperial City. Tienanmen Square is across the street and has the Monument to the Peoples Hero’s and Mao’s Tomb.

Great Wall – I can’t describe the feeling of walking on The Great Wall. Now this is history. You can take bus tours to the wall but I elected to charter a car and driver for the day. I recommend having your own driver as you can also make side trips. You can charter the car and driver at your hotel. On the way to the wall I saw the Olympic Village and had the driver take me there to see the stadium, Birds Nest and other attractions. Once you get to the wall he will show you where to go, park the car and wait as long as it takes. Because of the popularity of the wall there will be a lot of people there. What I found was that when you first get on the wall it is packed with tourists. Once I walked past the first tower it thinned out and as I went on there were very few people. I ended up walking past 6 towers that took me way up a mountain. The Great Wall is thousands of miles long and you are only seeing a few miles of it but still it is a must see. I can’t see going to Beijing and not walking on the wall. Around the parking area there are places to get something to eat and drink. Where the bus may have a schedule to keep, you have the car and driver all day so take your time and enjoy the experience.

Ming Tombs – most tours to the Great Wall include an obligatory stop at the Ming Tombs. There is a museum there and the grounds include the burial tomb that you can walk around. It was nice but if you are short on time I would skip. 

Zoo – I went to the zoo to see the pandas. Just my luck, I picked a time to go when they were remodeling the panda enclosure and the pandas were temporally moved to another city zoo. Since the pandas weren’t there I could have skipped the zoo. Now that they are back I would recommend going.

Temple of Heaven – my first impression of the Temple of Heaven was how beautiful it is. The temple sits in the middle of a large park. Just walking the park was worth it. It is green with many grass and garden areas and with very clean walkways. Watch the people in the park. When I go to someplace I have never been to before I like to see what the people that live there do in their free time. The Chinese like to spend a lot of their free time outside exercising, walking, flying a kite or sitting on a blanket enjoying the scenery. The Temple of Heaven is where they would make sacrifices for a good crop (not human). They would sacrifice livestock and also rice, corn, wheat. The buildings are beautiful and well kept. Many presidents have visited the site including Nixon on his first trip. This is one of my favorite places and I would highly recommend going.

Olympic Village – if you have time, check out the Olympic Village. The buildings reflect Chinese heritage and history.

Getting Around:

Because of the Olympics it was easier to find a taxi driver that spoke some English. Also, I would say it was a lot easier to find a taxi than it was in Shanghai. With that I would say it was very easy to get around Beijing by taxi.

As always, please contact me with any question. My website is www.popsipedia.com , drop me an email.

After another overnight train, next stop is my favorite Chinese city, Xi’an.