Beijings, crivvens, help ma boab

It was dark and misty when we arrived in Beijing but it didn’t take too long to get through immigration and into our taxi organised by the hostel. The hostel was about a half hour drive from the airport and as we zoomed along the motorway we got held up slightly with a crash that everybody slowed down to look at. I think this was our first indication that the roads were going to be a bit mad. We couldn’t find an ATM machine at the airport but the hostel kindly let us pay the next day after getting to an ATM. It was after 10 when we arrived so we decided just to have an early night so we could make the most of out first full day in China.

We were staying at the Red Lantern Garden Hostel a newly opened annexe of the Red Lantern Hostel about three streets from our building. During the day there was quite a bit of work going on in the hostel and at night the family took over the main sitting area so it felt like you were intruding slightly when asking for something from the bar, but the family were always very friendly and helpful. The main Red Lantern seemed more like your typical hostel with a nice central area for chatting with other backpackers and exchanging advice and tips on places in the city and further a field.

After sorting out our debts we decided to head to Tiananmen Square so we could get our bearings and get a feel of the city. The area the hostel was in was a maze of tiny crowded streets but once we made it out to the main road it was very straight forward to get to the centre of Beijing. The sky was slightly overcast as we wandered the manic dusty road, with loads of shops selling musical instruments, copy DVD’s & wedding dresses. We also noticed that there weren’t too many westerners about and that most people were staring at us but not in a menacing way but more of curiosity, if we smiled they would always smile back and usually say hello. We decided to try something from a street stall for breakfast, we used the universal language of pointing and raising a few fingers to indicate how many. I’m not sure if the guy realised that it was out first morning but he charged us 20 Yuan for 2 savoury pastries, we soon realised that the going rate for this kind of delicacy was between 1 and 2 Yuan. They tasted great but maybe just a bit spicy for first thing in the morning.

We passed some large department stores quite like the one’s that are everywhere in Japan but didn’t seem just as busy here. As we got closer to Tiananmen Square we noticed an increase in the presence of the police and army by ten fold, we also soon realised that all the 'not so secret police' were wearing the same beige Harrington style jackets. We passed a really nice entrance to something military and the guys in the beige Harrington jackets would only let you take photos from a certain point and if you crossed an invisible line they would approach you and ask you to step back. We watched them do this hundreds of times to the tourists every time we passed this area.


We were soon at the Gate of Heavenly Peace with the large painting of Chairman Mao at the north end of Tiananmen Square, this gate is also one of the entrances to the Forbidden City but we decided that we would investigate this later. So we crossed under the subway and emerged in the square just as the sun started to make it’s way through the grey skies. Tiananmen Square has many similarities to Glasgow’s George Square, both are covered in lovely concrete, both have a history of tanks being used to quell rebellious crowds and there’s also many a local trying their best to get some cash out of the unsuspecting tourists. The Chinese tourist industry is one of the first to benefit from China’s rapid acceleration into a fully blown capitalist superpower as most of the tourists who visit Beijing are Chinese. If you're after a genuine fake Chairman Mao watch with moving arms or a copy of an official first print of the wee red book (and I don’t mean the Evening Times one) then Tiananmen Square is the place for you as every few minutes you will have some dodgy looking geezer opening up the inside of his jacket to show you his wares.

We passed by Mao’s mausoleum but decided the queue was too big and to go there another day, so we went for some lunch and on the internet for a bit. We managed to get a cheap lunch of rice and beef for under 1.50 pound for the both of us, which wasn’t too bad after our breakfast scenario. We then wandered back through Tiananmen Square and into the Forbidden City, we didn’t enter the main complex but skirted round the side as it would take a whole day to explore. We headed back onto the main street we came down this morning and I jumped into the first hairdressers I could find, I had been putting off getting a haircut for quite a few weeks now because of the cost so I was quite glad that for 1.50 I got a reasonable cut and still had both my ears.

We went to a restaurant quite near the hostel which had been busy when we passed the night before and was again busy when we went in. There was no English menu but one of the staff came over and hooked a large pot to gas canister under our table, they then stuck in some stock with water and the pot began to boil up. Another member of staff took us over to the other side of the restaurant to what looked like the vegetable section in Asda as if it hadn’t been cleaned for a month and someone had left a lot of fish in it. So Joanne and I looked at each other and decided what the hell let’s go for it and started putting some vegetables, fish & pork on our tray. Back at the table we slipped the contents of our tray into the now bubbling pot and started to worry if we had enough toilet paper back at the hostel. Turned out the food was ok but not brilliant by any means but we both survived without any lasting effects.

Friday morning it was back down to the Forbidden City this time we paid our entrance fee and headed in, the place gets it’s name because it was off limits to Joe Public for over 500 years and was home to the Emperors of the Ming & Qing dynasties. I’m not sure of the exact size of the place but it is massive and after five hours we felt that we only scratched the surface it. We entered at the north entrance into some beautiful small gardens with lots of lion and dragon sculptures with many small pagodas that the emperors would disappear to get away from their daily duties. Lots of the small pagodas had different exhibitions on the various times of the Forbidden City’s history. After a few hours we eventually reached the central courtyards, this is where you start to realise that China has over a billion people and it seems at times that a good percentage of them want to get up close and mingle with you as you try and see some of the sites.


We’ve been to a large Chinese Emperor‘s compound in Vietnam a few years ago in Hue, but the Forbidden City has been preserved/re-created to a much higher standard and we were thoroughly impressed by the work that was on-going throughout the site. We could speak for hours about all the different rooms and pagodas but I think it would be best if you all just get on a plane and come over here as it’s definitely the best value you will get for 4 quid anywhere in the world. After a great day we headed back to the hostel to recharge the batteries, on the way back we took a slight detour in and out of all the small streets towards the hostel. At one point in a tiny street a local chap in his late 40’s or 50’s spotted and shouted out to us in voice straight from a Harry Enfield old time BBC sketch “Helloooooo How are you doing???????” but never stopped to hear our response, we just waved and said hello back but he definitely caught us off guard.

That night we headed out to the main street about ten minutes from out hostel for something to eat and we ended up in a large restaurant with the ubiquitous red lanterns outside but once inside we managed to navigate the picture menu and ordered a brilliant meal with crispy beef coated in a honey syrup, to be honest this was one of the best things I have ever tasted and made all our tribulations from the previous night’s dinner disappear. After dinner we wandered back to the hostel through all the street hawkers selling sport socks three for one Yuan and Copy DVD’s for less than what it would be for a tenth of a DVD rental back home.

Saturday morning soon turned into Saturday afternoon after a late rise but we got on the underground after our new lunchtime discovery. The local supermarket had a bakery which sold a real tasty pastry with a nut paste for about 7p and a potato and onion combo for about 14p, so after a nut pastry each and half a potato/onion combo thingy we where ready to take on the hordes of Beijing on the subway and local buses on our quest to the Panjiayuan market. We managed the subway without too many mishaps, for 12p you can get to any other station so it’s a cheap and great way to get about this sprawling city. The bus was slightly different as we pushed on to a already bustling bus, after a few stops with more people pushing on I’m sure I could feel the person’s kidney next to me pressing against my abdomen and a few other internal organs seemed to be in very close terms by the end of the trip. Once we squeezed ourselves off the bus a friendly local showed us the direction to the market.

The market had countless rows upon rows selling mostly the same trinkets and fake antique furniture and to be honest we were quite disappointed with most of the stuff. It just wasn’t like the markets back home: no counterfeit DVDs, no Duty Free Tobacco, no fake Burberry, no dodgy watches. The only thing we bought was an old Cultural Revolution poster advocating that the workers united will make China stronger, quite ironic since I haven’t done a stroke of work in almost a year and I’m sure some of you will say a lot longer. We thought we done quite well in the old bargaining getting the poster down to 40 Yuan from 150 Yuan but the following week we picked up a similar poster for just 10 Yuan without evening bartering (10 Yuan - roughly 70p). We decided to catch the rush hour and head back on the bus to see if we could get in the Guinness Book of Records for the most people on Public Bus.

Saturday night we headed to Chaoyang the supposed best area for bars and nightlife which took us quite a time to get to, a few changes on the subway and a good half hour walk. We managed to get another great meal on route and once again it was well under 5 pound for some fabulous food and decent beers. Once we found the bar street we soon realised it was more like a Mediterranean resort with all the reps trying to get you into their bars, offering happy hours and free drinks and with crowds of German tourists' seats all facing out to the street. We had been quite surprised by the lack of western tourists in Beijing but most of the ones we did see seemed to be large group of Germans in there 50’s and 60’s. After walking up and down we didn’t really see any great bars so we decided to head to the Poachers Bar that was recommended in the Lonely Planet book but after a drink we decided the book was over generous in it’s appraisal and we decided to cut our losses and hit the road back to the hostel. It was quite a nice night so we took the decision to walk it back, so after an hour walking along a large carriageway we made it back safe and sound, it’s amazing for all the people you see during the day how quiet the streets get at night.

We decided to have a lazy day on the Sunday and headed to Beihai Park and sit by the lake and catch up with our diaries and recharge our batteries after all the walking from the previous few days. It was a really hot day but it was a bit hazy overhead, we found a nice quiet spot that looked like a cross between a band stand and a ornamental pagoda. When I said it was quiet well it lasted for all of 5 minutes as a busload of Chinese pensioners turned up and squeezed in besides us, and then in the next pagoda thingy a band turned up playing traditional Chinese instruments accompanied by a woman who’s range was causing the local dogs some earache and bending spoons of picnickers near by.

The park was a lovely setting with a large white pagoda on an island across the lake from us, the park was also the location for Kublai Khan’s Palace whilst he was holed up in Beijing for awhile. On our way out of the park we passed through a small ornamental garden with willow trees, gold fish filled ponds, small timber bridges and thousands of people taking photographs in the late afternoon sun. We also passed the nine dragon screen which was quite impressive, a large wall covered on both sides with green glazed tiles and a gaggle of dragons (does anyone know what to call a group of dragons??? )

Back at the hostel we got talking to one of the local girls who worked there and we asked if she could recommend anywhere for trying the city’s speciality dish. We’re not sure if it’s called Beijing Duck or Peking Duck but nevertheless she told us about a small place not too far from the hostel, up a few dark winding lanes but we managed to find it after walking past it twice. We had a note from the girl in Mandarin describing what we wanted so we never had any problems ordering the food. The place was very basic and we could see into the kitchen and watched them pick the duck from the rack, but once the food was on the table we soon realised that we were in for a real treat. The duck was so succulent and not as fatty as it usually is back home, we soon devoured the whole duck between us and then had the biggest shock when we got the bill for the meal and our drinks. The total came to a grand 2.60 and that included two 600ml bottles of Beer, we weren’t sure if there had been a mistake but the bill seemed fine.

Next morning it was an early rise as we were off to the Great Wall, there are many different tours available and numerous locations with everybody telling you why some parts are better than others. We decided to head to the most famous part at Badaling, being so famous also meant that we had to contend with the crowds but we were starting to get used to all the bustling and shoving that seems to be the biggest participatory sport in China. We also decide to skip the organised tours and went to get a local bus, for the hardship of finding the bus and then asking in limited Mandarin for a ticket we managed to save 10 pound which would be the equivalent of a night’s accommodation. We managed to get on the correct bus and got to Badaling about 9:30 in the morning without any problems.


Once at the site you are immediately targeted by the hawkers trying to sell the usual tat and cheap t-shirts but being me I easily side stepped these guys but the next thing we came across before we got to the entrance was large enclosures with lots of brown bears. At this point more hawkers arrive now with fruit to feed the bears and so it goes on until you get to the entrance. Most of the people seemed to be elderly Chinese and they were all heading for the cable car or toboggan type carriages that take you to the higher parts of the wall, us being the fit young things that we are headed for the climb. Luckily due to the steepness the first part wasn’t too busy but you still got some old pensioner climbing a step an hour just in front of you. It was a beautiful day and the location was just stunning with the wall snaking away into the distance in all directions and the trees starting to turn red and orange as Autumn was slowly arriving.

Some parts of the wall were really steep and slippy but the hand rails were quite useful, I’m not sure how useful they would have been for the horses that used to trek these walls in the early days. You really have to watch where you walk to avoid all the spit and snot, no matter where you are you will hear the disgusting chorus of phlegm sliding up someone’s oesophagus and the splatt as it hurtles out of someone’s mouth and onto the ground. This is one of the most annoying things about China at the moment but the authorities as starting to raise awareness of the health implications of this. Once at the top it started getting a whole lot busier but we managed to push our way through the crowds and make it down the other side. We even managed to find our bus back to Beijing so all in all it was a successful day and the wall certainly lived up to our expectations, another must see even though you can’t see it from outer space as it was thought for many years.


On Tuesday we once again jumped on the Subway and headed to the Silk Market this turned out to be a massive department store with hundreds of stalls spread out over 6 or 7 floors. We survived the constant pleading from the sales staff to look at their merchandise with their whining “Very Cheap, Very Good, You will Like these”, but some of them were a bit over the top and started pulling at your sleeve and trying to usher you into their stall. After about half an hour we had enough and decided to make a break for the doors. So we headed down to the train station to try and book our tickets for the next part of our trip, everyone we’ve met who’s been to China in the past has always mentioned how difficult it is to get around the country so we didn’t know what to expect. At the station we found the Foreign desk where the woman behind the counter spoke some English so it turned out not too bad and we got two overnight hard sleeper tickets to Pingyao.

We once again wandered through Tiananmen Square in our way back to the hostel and a large floral display promoting the 2008 Olympics had disappeared and loads of young army recruits where sweeping up the remainder of the site. The motto for the Beijing Olympics is “One World, One Dream, One Big Building Site”, not all of that is strictly true but everywhere you go at the moment buildings are being torn down and new skyscrapers, fancy hotels and large shopping malls are appearing everywhere. My Uncle was here in late 70’s for a few months with Rolls Royce and I’m sure he would see quite a lot of changes since he was here almost 30 years ago but I’m sure if Joanne and I come back after the Olympics we would be lucky to recognise anywhere with the amount of changes that seem to be happening at present or planned to in the next year or two. One down side to all the building work is that the city seems to be covered in grey dust and mixed in with all the pollution and smog it sure plays havoc with your lungs and nostrils.


The night before when we had duck we noticed that there was loads of other small restaurants near by so we headed back in that direction to try one of the other places out. Once inside there was no picture menus, no English translations and no staff with any English so out came the Mandarin Book and with lots of patience and help from young waiter we managed to order 2 main course, 2 bowls of rice and 2 beers and not end up with something that we couldn’t describe so once again it all worked out well in the end. The meal on the first night in Beijing had worried us because we had heard that the food was good so we were glad that place was not the norm and every meal since has been great and the people in all the restaurants and street stalls have been really friendly.

Wednesday morning we once again headed back to Tiananmen Square this time to get in line with all the locals and queue up for a quick whiz round Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum, we had previously been Ho Chi Minh’s in Hanoi a few years back so we thought we would tick another dead communist leader of our checklist. We decided to head in separately as you can’t take any bags and cameras in with you, and both time we were the only non-Chinese person waiting in the line. As you marched inside the compound a small booth selling flowers comes into view and hundreds of the line just start running over and fighting to get to floral tributes. I managed to contain my self and stay in line and soon got up the steps which lead into a large open room with a huge marble statue of Mao sitting looking forward with a massive landscape painting covering the entire length of the room. At this point the queue splits in two as your filtered left and right into the next room as you slowly file past a large glass box with what looks like a plastic head lying in a bed, audible sobs and gasps could be heard by some of the other people passing through and a few seconds later your out the back of the building and into the throes of dozens of vendors each trying to outdo the next with the tackiest item with the Chairman’s moniker on it.

I find it really difficult to understand the Chinese people's relationship with Chairman Mao, everywhere we go you see his picture and I’m not just talking about official Government buildings or public places it’s in cafes, people's houses and in the line for the mausoleum people weren’t there like myself just to be nosey but to actually pay sincere homage. This is a man who’s policies and dictates caused the death of millions of his own countrymen and left his country in a third world state most of the time just to stroke his own ego and to remain central to everything in his peoples life. One of the stories I always remember about his so called “Great Leap Forward” economic policy of the late 50’s was that he thought the reason for bad crops one year was due to the birds eating all the seeds, so Mao ordered the country to stop all other work for a week to catch and kill every bird they could find. Not only was this a total waste of resources from all the important industries the experiment was a total disaster as the following year almost all the crops failed as they were eaten by the bugs and other beasties that the birds would normally have eaten. This and hundreds of ill thought plans sent China into famine of staggering proportions that an estimated 30 million people died from but some people put the figure nearer 60 million.

On our last day in Beijing we headed to the Drum Tower and climbed the steep steps to large room where for centuries the monks would bang certain drums to indicate the time of day for the people in the surrounding areas. From the Tower you get a good idea how the city is changing with large cranes in every direction but you can still see the glinting tiled roof of the Forbidden City and the shimmering water in Beihai Park. We strolled back through Lotus Lane where there are loads of bars and cafes along a small lake and then through the Hutong the name for all the small streets and lanes around our hostel. We stumbled on street markets and took loads of photos of the people as they got on with their everyday stuff just as we had to think about leaving them and get on the train our next destination. We both really loved Beijing and could have stayed a lot longer but we thought we’d better try and see some of the rest of this huge country.