The Land of the Red Tape

Looking back at Beijing a week later with a stuffy nose it seems like a bit of a blur. So much was forced into four days that it is impossible to remember every detail, but the one thing that stands out the most is the bureaucracy and tradition that dominates the way one of the biggest global powers runs itself.

Our journey to Beijing started at a horrible time of day, getting up at 5am so we could catch the first train across the border, only to find that immigration doesn't even open until 630am. It's safe to say that once we finally made it through immigration it was a mad dash to the Shenzhen airport. It all worked out in the end though, getting us to Beijing a little after 12. Our frustrations with China started the very first day as we were told previously we had to confirm our flights home and then when we got to Beijing no one could help us and everyone sent us to different desks. We gave up eventually and headed for the bus into the centre of the city, which conveniently enough dropped us at the airport offices and we finally confirmed our return flight. After jumping in an overpriced cab, we headed to Leo's hostel, which although we were only heading there to book the secret wall tour, we ended up just booking a room there as the location was phenomenal and in the end the room was perfect, other than getting locked inside one morning.... The rest of the day was spent exploring the city. Starting at Tiannemen Square, which takes a lot of effort to get into as it's a labyrinth of underground tunnels and security networks, we walked through the huge open space, contemplating the history that one place can have. We then headed across to the Forbidden City which had already shut up shop for the day, and so wandered around the high walls and moat imaging what it must have been like to live in that sort of extravagance, it was incredible! At the Northern end of the forbidden city is Beihai Park, which was a retreat built for the emperors of China when life inside the city got too hard. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been living in such extravagance. Anyway, the park is really beautiful, surrounded by high walls and a man made river, and the building in the centre has such intricate artwork on all the wooden panels and the lanterns are beautiful! By the time we were finished exploring the park it was dark and cold and so we headed back to around our dorm for dinner, where we found a great place that was clearly popular with the locals. The food was great but the best part was our waiter exchanging language tips with us.

Day two was equally jam packed. It once again started early with us catching a bus to an area of the Great Wall of China. We were on the secret wall tour, which is more of a hike than a tourist wonderland as the wall is falling/or has fallen apart and there is not another tourist for miles in every direction. It was amazing to experience the wall by ourselves and see it as it should be today, not the manufactured tourist version which comes complete with cable cars. Having said that though, when I return to Beijing it will be cool to visit a different part of the wall and see it in all its former glory. Our guide was by far the highlight for me. A seventy something superstar woman who spoke no English and was fitter than each of us 20year olds combined. She was amazing and such a sweet little lady. The feast we ate in her village was also incredible with at least fifteen dishes filling us after our exhausting trek. Once we got back to the city, Kristal and I went to a Chinese acrobatics show. It was incredible, vaguely reminiscent of cirque du solei but on a budget and with very little safety regulations. Like Cirque it's impressive the things the human body can do if it's been trained properly. My favourite segment was probably the delicacy conveyed with one piece of silk and two Chinese performers swinging from the rafters. A few shots of rice wine (40% petrol tasting hard liquor) later and another early night saw us curled up before 10pm.

Day three was our day to cram thousands of years of culture into some eight hours. We started early, catching a 730am bus to the Summer Palace. Catching the local bus was definitely the cheapest option but also not the quickest. Almost two hours later we finally arrived, and it was phenomenal. the palace itself is built on the bank of a river with the idea being it was a cooler retreat for the aristocracy during Beijing's long hot summers. The property is huge, with i'm sure thousands of rooms, each one holding a specific purpose. There is a room dedicated just to where Empress Dowager Cixi kept her birthday gifts from foreign diplomats, unbelievable. My favourite part of the palace however sits upon the top of the hill. It is a Buddhist shrine that I have no doubt Cixi never ventured to at all because the woman was large and the stair are immense. It's the though that counts I guess. Next on the list was Olympic Park. It took such effort to get there but once we finally did the birds nest was impressive, while the water cube looked tiny in comparison. We payed to get inside both, which is intirely unnecessary but fun none the less. I also became a tourism attraction myself getting asked to take photos with a few Chinese tourists along the way. Olympic Park is another example of Chinese bureaucracy though, with everything being roped off and tourists having to walk around in circles to find ticket boxes, entries and exits. Finally, we ventured to the Temple of Heaven. It was such a beautifully intricate temple that really stands out from other temples in Asia, so of course jumping photos were had. A good hour of walking in circles attempting to find the underground city later, we gave up and settled for dinner and a movie.

There were originally big aspirations for day four, but after 4 nights lacking sleep it all seemed like a lot of effort, so we just did the "must sees". We headed back to the forbidden city, actually going inside it and walking around the maze of buildings. The place is huge and if you were a real Chinese history fanatic you could spend hours searching the place, we didn't do this however and just did an hour walk through. To someone who knows very little about the palace, it all looked the same, despite this, it's a beautiful place, kind of stale and I can see why the royal family disappeared in summer, but really cool. We then went searching (kind of) for the underground city again and gave up when we came across starbucks. A cup of hot coffee later and we were on the airport express and before we knew it Hong Kong.

Beijing is an amazing place, enriched with such history and culture. Four days there is not enough and it is easy to see why it is such a must see location within China and the world. I really enjoyed it, although it is easy to see why it frustrates so many people.

Pictures:

Kristal and myself in Ti'annemen Square

Me in a watchtower on the Secret Wall Tour

The tourist attraction and the Bird's Nest

Photo taken at the Chinese Acrobatic Show, Beijing.