Well, after almost 24 hours of travel, I managed the airport express into the city and then found a cab outside the subway station without too much difficulty. But I had a nervous moment when the driver stopped in a busy street, pointed down a dark alley and said "you walk". My hostel, the Classic Courtyard, is in a traditional hutong, or neighourhood and the bright sign with absolutely no English on it is my destination for 2 nights in Beijing. It's a cute place, with a small bar / cafe and friendly staff.
The next morning, I was met by Helen, my guide for the day, and we walked out of the hutong (only about 100 ft, although it felt farther last night), as she called for the car to meet us on the main street. First stop, the main gate on the south side of the forbidden City, which faces Tienneman Square. When I see all the folded up barricades that are needed for the summer crowds, I am very glad to be visiting in the winter time. I can imagine the beauty of this place with trees and flowers in full foliage but am grateful to be able to enjoy the peace of exploring without the masses.
The Forbidden City is the walled complex where the Emperors lived & ruled. It is almost a kilometer long and had a moat around it. Emperors were (rightly so, probably) a paranoid bunch. The bricks of the main courtyard are 15 layers deep so that no one could tunnel in to attack the Emporer and his bedroom has 27 beds (or bedrooms?) which he took by turn for sleeping so that an invader would not know in which to find him. There is a beautiful garden in the centre with really old trees (some over 500 yrs) that must be magnificent when in bloom!
After a lunch stop at a jade factory, with a chance for shopping of course, we headed north to the Mutianyu section of China's Great Wall. I wanted to go to this section for 2 reasons, I had read that it is much less crowded and it has a very unique way down from the wall. The original wall was over 5000 km long and had no towers, it was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty and now is well over 6000 km long and they added watch towers. I didn't know before that there is a 2nd wall. It is 500 km further north and only l m high to protect from the Mongolian soldiers on horseback. It is difficult to see when charging south causing pileups as the horses run into it. I could have stayed up on the wall for hours, looking up and down its length , in awe of man's ability to conceive and implement something this huge and difficult, and out at the amazing views of the mountains.
Then came the fun part. Instead of taking the chair lift back down, I took the toboggan run! Woo Hoo! It was a blast! You sit on a sled with a stick to control your speed and wind your way back down the mountain in a bobsleigh type track. What fun! I want to ride again!
The next morning I found and rode the subway by myself to the station with the airport express in order to depart my short stay. I was very fortunate to have had a beautiful day for sightseeing. Apparently the previous day had been colder and windy, and today is more smoggy. The good fortune continued at the airport. At check in, I was asked if I prefer aisle or window seating. I said that I thought I already had an assigned seat and the agent replied that economy is fully booked So she is bumping me up to premium economy! Sometimes it pays to travel alone. Well, now I'm off to Sri Lanka via Bangkok.
The next morning, I was met by Helen, my guide for the day, and we walked out of the hutong (only about 100 ft, although it felt farther last night), as she called for the car to meet us on the main street. First stop, the main gate on the south side of the forbidden City, which faces Tienneman Square. When I see all the folded up barricades that are needed for the summer crowds, I am very glad to be visiting in the winter time. I can imagine the beauty of this place with trees and flowers in full foliage but am grateful to be able to enjoy the peace of exploring without the masses.
The Forbidden City is the walled complex where the Emperors lived & ruled. It is almost a kilometer long and had a moat around it. Emperors were (rightly so, probably) a paranoid bunch. The bricks of the main courtyard are 15 layers deep so that no one could tunnel in to attack the Emporer and his bedroom has 27 beds (or bedrooms?) which he took by turn for sleeping so that an invader would not know in which to find him. There is a beautiful garden in the centre with really old trees (some over 500 yrs) that must be magnificent when in bloom!
After a lunch stop at a jade factory, with a chance for shopping of course, we headed north to the Mutianyu section of China's Great Wall. I wanted to go to this section for 2 reasons, I had read that it is much less crowded and it has a very unique way down from the wall. The original wall was over 5000 km long and had no towers, it was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty and now is well over 6000 km long and they added watch towers. I didn't know before that there is a 2nd wall. It is 500 km further north and only l m high to protect from the Mongolian soldiers on horseback. It is difficult to see when charging south causing pileups as the horses run into it. I could have stayed up on the wall for hours, looking up and down its length , in awe of man's ability to conceive and implement something this huge and difficult, and out at the amazing views of the mountains.
Then came the fun part. Instead of taking the chair lift back down, I took the toboggan run! Woo Hoo! It was a blast! You sit on a sled with a stick to control your speed and wind your way back down the mountain in a bobsleigh type track. What fun! I want to ride again!
The next morning I found and rode the subway by myself to the station with the airport express in order to depart my short stay. I was very fortunate to have had a beautiful day for sightseeing. Apparently the previous day had been colder and windy, and today is more smoggy. The good fortune continued at the airport. At check in, I was asked if I prefer aisle or window seating. I said that I thought I already had an assigned seat and the agent replied that economy is fully booked So she is bumping me up to premium economy! Sometimes it pays to travel alone. Well, now I'm off to Sri Lanka via Bangkok.
Looks beautiful there. Keep us posted on your journey.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Who is this?
DeleteThere is supposed to be people, many many people buried within the Great Wall, something like 50 per mile. As the slave labors building the wall dies they were buried within it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that. Not a bad monument to their sacrifice.
Delete