We were told to be in the hotel lobby by 7.30am for our tour to some of the key sites in the city. That’s pretty much all we knew. This was very different to the other tours I had organised in the previous cities where we kept the same guide and driver for the whole time.
Beijing is smaller than Shanghai (20 million compared to 24 million). The fact we arrived on a Saturday gave us a false appreciation for the traffic congestion. We had a very smooth run yesterday to get from the railway station to our hotel. Our guide, Simon told us there are 5 million cars in Beijing.
Today we got a surprise as the sun was shining and the smog was almost non-existent. It was pretty cold though for most of the day, however overall it was a beaut day.
Daniel was waiting for us when we came down to the lobby. (I love the way our guides have western names.) Daniel had very good English and loved taking photos, so there were quite a few of us taken together today.
I had specifically requested “no shopping” on our itineraries and that’s exactly what we got today. This got us home before 5 pm, more than an hour earlier than those on the shopping tours. Ten hours was definitely a big enough day.
First stop was the Forbidden City.
Security was pretty high here. Mick showed a bit too much interest in some of the weaponry. The ‘thing’ with the shovel handle had nasty nail-like projections all over it.
Daniel told us that because it is not yet high season, that starts on 1 April, he estimated about 5,000 people were at this site this morning compared with 120,000 on some mornings. 90% of the visitors were Chinese and we were obviously “different”. Quite a few stares and finger pointing. I was even asked to be in a photo with some women. They seemed happy. Perhaps I am a freak over here! No comments please.
This place has a long history (>500 years) which Daniel knew all about and told some of it to us, but again there was way too much to remember. The stories he told us of the emperors were fascinating. But I really need to see the names written down before I have any chance of remembering things. This place was huge. It had 9,999 rooms
We found this sign interesting. Mick tried it out and said it was pretty good.
Our first taste of the Beijing traffic followed as we are driven to the Temple of Heaven. This is the largest ancient imperial worship architecture in the world. Daniel liked a sideways view, sorry!
There was a photographic shoot underway involving models dressed in wedding attire. They looked beautiful, but were freezing.
Lunch followed at a place that was frequented by quite a few tour groups we found out as we entered. It obviously was cheap and quick. It was a buffet and I’d have to say it was pretty basic. On the up side, it meant that we didn’t over eat.
Final stop for the day was the Summer Palace, but because the traffic was pretty thick, it took us over an hour to get there.
This is the longest walkway in the world, just over 700m. All the artwork is individual and exquisite.
Daniel came with us back to our hotel in a taxi which cost 73RMB (~$15). The trip took more than an hour. We found out that Daniel’s wife and two children live in the village he comes from. He gets home three times per year. He used to be an English teacher in a middle school where he was paid 800RMB / month (~$170AUS). Like the majority of rural Chinese, he moved to a large city and works now as a tour guide. He can earn a lot more as a guide and 3000RMB ($630AUS) is enough to buy food for his family for a year.
While there is a one child policy in China, families in the country can have a second child for a penalty of 1000RMB, so many do. In large cities like Beijing the fine is 300,000 RMB (or $63,000AUS). Wow!
A very quiet night is planned as we are being collected in the morning at 7.30am by our guide Miss Li. She will take us to the Great Wall. The weather is supposed to be similar today. Lucky us.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 