Beijing, China

China’s Great Wall - Simatai 812

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

At Simatai the Great Wall of China goes up from a valley in both directions, then winds around a steep moutainside. Incredibly this wall was begun over 2000 years ago, though I think most parts were completed during the Ming Dynasty which ruled China for about 300 years - from 1368 to 1644. The Ming were the last of the Han and were deposed by the Qing Dynasty who ruled until the Nationalists kicked their butts in 1911.

When travelling to or from Beijing’s Airports, keep these items in mind:

BCIA stands for “Beijing Capital International Airport” and is commonly used when referencing the Beijing Airport even though PEK is the same Airport.

Know your Terminal! PEK is a *huge* Airport, and the taxi will need to know which Terminal you are departing from. My United Airlines PEK to SFO flight was from Terminal three and I think most international departures are now from that terminal. Your hotel concierge may ask you “which airport” and I think they really mean “which terminal”. Clear this up before getting in the Taxi as the Chinese Taxi drivers rarely (read that as “never”) speak English. If you plan to use Taxis in China be sure to get the excellent printed cards from your concierge (or make some yourself before you leave) that list locations in Chinese so the driver will understand where you want to go.

PEK is the Airport Code for Beijing’s main Airport which, without much traffic, is approximately a 40-50 minute taxi ride from most areas of the city. The cost for the taxi should be about 100 Yuan, perhaps a little more. In Beijing and Shanghai always ride in taxis with meters to avoid scams.

Note: This is a repost from AirportCityCodes.com, where this got no traction. I’m trying to see how the ranking will differ at JoeDuck which has higher authority with Google, seemingly pretty much for anything I write about!

Forbidden City - Hill of Accumulated Elegance. 855

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The Hill of Accumulated Elegance was my favorite part of the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing, China. Home to many emperors and their concubines (which could number in the thousands), Beijing’s Forbidden City is the largest palace grounds in the world complete with hundreds of buildings and a beautiful gardens in which the Hill of Accumulated Elegance stands.

Hongqiao Pearl Market, Beijing 449
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The Hongqiao Market building was under repair during my April 14 visit, but I think will be beautiful when finished before the Olympic Games.    It is located across the street from the metro stop for the Temple of Heaven, a Beijing Attraction you’ll want to visit.     A day in Biejing would be a shame but if that is all you have and you have great stamina you could visit Tianenmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven,  and Wanfujing Street for shopping, food stalls, and souvenir vendors.   All these places are along the excellent Biejing Metro which is very crowded but clean, cheap, and efficient.   Taxis are also cheap and easy to find if you prefer that approach.  For taxis try to have a written description of where you are going to show the driver.  The subways announce the stops in English.

Hongqiao Pearl Market is one of several huge market buildings in Beijing where there are hundreds of vendors in small stalls hawking their wares. I didn’t see any Pearls here but bought a suitcase to carry home all the stuff I bought at … other markets!

Note that the vendors in China often practice a kind of cutthroat capitalism that is not common in the USA. Initially the price they quote you will be far above reasonable and the game is to get them to come down a huge amount while they make you feel guilty for doing that. I enjoyed the little jousting with the vendors, especially because they tended to have good English and I’d bring up other topics to discuss.

However I think the aggressive style common in the markets might upset or intimidate people who were simply looking for a good deal and in that case you should learn to say (phoentic spelling here) “Byao Byao” which means “no!”.

China Train Dining Car 555
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

I was on two major train routes during the China trip. This was the dining car on the Hong Kong to Shanghai overnight train, a trip of about 1000 miles in about 30 hours. Contrary to what some had told me the train was very comfortable and also as clean as the Amtrak we’d taken from Portland to Minneapolis a few years ago. The beds were *more* comfortable and larger but unlike Amtrak did not fold into comfortable seats, rather you sit on the bottom bunk or in tiny fold down seats at the outside of your sleeper cabin.

Culturally this is a good experience because most of the travellers are Chinese. Food was only fair here, and they closed the dining car after about 9pm which was a shame because it was the most comfortable place to hang out. There was even a tiny little bar at the end of the car where you’d buy the Budweiser beers I had on both trains (odd, because Tsing Tao beer and Yanzing?, a popular beer from Beijing, was at all the restaurants.