Day 2 - Welcome to China … hello Beijing

After two incredibly smooth flights (well we had a little turbulence but nothing too bad) we arrived into Beijing not long after 7 am (Melbourne 9 am). We had both managed to get a little sleep on the flights despite the people in front of us on the first flight putting their chairs in full recline the moment we took off. No stitching for me as I had no room to spread out and I would have been putting the needle up my nose with each stitch! Ian and I watched Wicked  … great way to fill in 2 hrs 41 mins. It was my third time and his first. Still loved it … and I could still cut out about half an hour with no issue as well as take out half the acrobatics of Defying Gravity!

The service of Singapore Airlines was once again lovely. Staff are friendly and helpful, food is actually really good, wine was freely available and one of the staff snuck down to business class to snag a peppermint tea bag for me! The transition at Singapore was a dream … we literally walked 4 gates … from B10 to B6 and once we had gone through the internal security gate we waited about 15 minutes before we were boarding again.

And so we arrived into Beijing just after 7.00. The airport process was smooth … with multiple fingerprinting locations along the way (which sped up the process further along). We filled in our arrival card and the most difficult section was when we had to list the countries we had been to in the last two years. Let’s just say the space provided was not big enough! We then headed through immigration (so smooth), had our passports stamped (yay … I love a stamp), boarded the train that would take us to baggage collection, collected our bags, did a quick money exchange, were waved through customs and were street side by 8.20. 

 

We were met by our guide for the next 3 days … William. A lovely young man with impeccable English and extensive knowledge! He whisked us through the doors and outside, called our driver Zhou and we were off to begin the first day of our adventure.

The traffic was bad according to William … but to be honest we have been in worse (hello India I’m looking at you). The roads are smooth (hello Victoria I’m looking at you), the roads wide and clean and lined with beautiful gardens and trees. I quickly reverted to type … snapping photos happily in the back whilst William explained what was planned for today and our days to come.

 

Today in the original itinerary we were going to be picked up and taken to our hotel to rest … day at leisure! Well most of you know us well enough to know that this was never going to cut it. We had asked the tour company to please add in a half day excursion … and so we headed to the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower and then on to Lake Houhai with a wander through the streets along the way.

William quickly realised that we want to know everything (yep … Ian is getting ready for the quiz at the end of the three Beijing days) and so he began drawing pictures whilst we drove from the airport out of the city, outlining timelines of the dynasties, discussing ethnic groups, language and dialects and all manner of things. He told us that green number plates indicate an electric vehicle and blue a petrol vehicle. He also said that if you drive a petrol vehicle you are restricted with when you are allowed to drive it. If number plate ends in a 2 or a 7 for example ... you are not allowed to drive it on a Tuesday. There are 7 million cars in Beijing alone! Ian lapped it up and I began taking notes (in between my very important photo duties). He also told that the last 3 days have been typhoon level 13 winds. 693 flights cancelled from airports on Saturday. City tours cancelled because it’s not safe outside. Stay in your hotel for the day. Yikes!!

We arrived at the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower and were immediately immersed in the history. The Drum Tower was built in 1270 and the Bell Tower in 1420 during the Yuan Dynasty. They were used as an important time measure and the sounding of the bell (which weighs 63 tons) and the beating of the drums (one large and 24 small, that is, only 1 metre across the hide) indicated that it was time to either leave or enter the Imperial City.

Our itinerary only included going to see the two towers but upon arrival William asked if we wanted to actually go inside. We of course said yes and he purchased tickets on our behalf (we will get an amount we have to repay at the end) and inside we went. The towers are accessed by steep (VERY steep) stairs which gave the legs, heart and lungs a workout after only a few hours sleep but seeing the bell and the drums, along with the views were worth it.

The small square between the two towers was awash with colour as locals living in the hutong houses use it for exercise. Ladies and gentleman (older than us) swung their arms with gusto sending ribbons of cloth twirling through the air. Other ladies bounced tennis balls attached to elastic in rhythmic patterns. It was incredible to watch. My shoulders were aching seeing their arms twirl the long fabric … some attached to ropes and some to long wand like poles. It was amazing to watch though.

 

Leaving the towers we walked through one of the older streets in the area known as the Yandai Byway which translates to “tobacco pipe” because of its shape. The street is lined with small shop fronts selling freshly cooked food like skewers, cheese sticks, meat pies (more about those in a minute), ice creams, toffee coated fruit sticks, corn cake, and freshly squeezed juices. The shops were historic and the street had that olde world charm. William asked if we wanted to grab some food and suggested we try the pie … and oh my goodness … are we glad he did. Crisp dough outer, soft dough inside, filled with the most delicious melt in your mouth meat in a soupy gravy. They were sooooo good!

We then walked to Houhai Lake and Qianhai Lake. These beautiful lakes, lined with trees pagodas, marble balustrades are part of a larger garden area known as Shichahai … 147 hectares of parkland with connecting lakes. We wandered a section with William and when he said it was time to head to the hotel we asked if he would mind if we walked the smaller of the lakes (Qianhai). He happily agreed, told us where to meet him, gave us a time and then he wandered off to let us explore. 

So we circumnavigated the lake. Dodging the many rickshaw riders hawking their wares … eager to have us jump on board to take us for a ride. We walked along the lakeside stopping to watch the ducks bob in the water in search of food, watching the small traditional style boats on the water and wandering along the Lotus Market (which was lined with fairy lights that must look spectacular at night). It was a busy area with lots of people taking walks, rickshaw rides, sipping a cool drink or posing for the perfect picture and yet it was peaceful and serene!

 

Meeting back up with William we headed off to meet up with Zhou who drove us to our hotel for the next three nights. The Novotel Peace Hotel is centrally located which we love! We even scored a room upgrade! Check in wasn’t technically until 2.00pm but the hotel happily let us check in even though it was just on 12.00pm. William quickly had us checked in and with plans made for our rendezvous time tomorrow he waved us off with a cheery goodbye.

 

 

So we chilled for a little while … with both of us taking the time to recalibrate our very messed up body clocks. Even though the time difference is only 2 hrs the limited sleep on the plane, along with unsettled nights over the last week had left us both a bit weary. So whilst Ian caught a few zzz’s I wrote the first section of the blog, and grabbed a 45 minute power nap myself before we head out again later this afternoon. It is 30° in Beijing today so an afternoon siesta was worthwhile. 

(Ian here as Jacqui selects photos) After a rejuvenating nap we headed out again about 3.45 headed for Jingshan Park, a large forested area around the only hill in Beijing. True to form it was backstreet and alleyways, a stop at the stunning St Joseph's Church (sorry, no photos allowed inside), a lovely greenway up Beiheyan Ave, waving to a little boy on a ride on scooter with his Grandpa, old men playing card games in Huangchenggen Heritage Park, and a phalanx of young men in orderly formation at Peking University . We stopped for a Cat and Mouse ice cream, then into the queue for park entry ($2.40pp).

Jingshan Park has 5 ornate pavilions built in 1750, Fulan to the west after a 200 step climb, Jifang a little higher up, Wanchun on top of the hill, Guanmiao down the other side and Zhoushang on the eastern slope. But first the forest at the base is filled with peonies of all colours, shady cypress, and colourful meadows. As you rise you look south over the massive ancient complex of the Forbidden City, part of tomorrow's itinerary. To the north the Drum and Bell Towers, sunsetting orange blue skies in the west and Beijing's CBD in the east. We will recommend that Wendy Wu add this to her schedule - well worth the visit.

Back to the hotel through more backstreet and lanes, scooters whizzing around us, past a museum, the 29-line subway system, framing shops, Michael and Marilyn. As afternoon turned to evening our (mainly my) thoughts turned to food. So as we wandered a sausage on a stick and a meat pie from a small open shop, some soft drinks from a family supermarket (intimate and full like the Korean ones), and some lamb skewers and a semi-spicy beef-potato-noodle-tomato dish to finish.  In total, $14 fed 2 people with lots of flavour and yum. Google Maps got us home (in a winding fashion) so time for a shower, blog, rest and sleep.

We have, with our usual tenacity, turned what was proposed as a 'filler day' into a wonderful start to our China adventure. Hundreds of photos, nearly 20,000 steps, joy and laughter, beautiful new memories. Tomorrow an exciting new day beckons.

Steps … 19,236

Kms … 14.71

Photos … 678