After passing the passport and visa check in the style reminding the changing of the guard, a five-minute drive by train and baggage claim, we exchanged the money, bought enough water and set off to the downtown. Our first steps in the capital of China led to the Olympic Stadium called the “nest.” We noticed it only when we parked right next to it. Due to the dense smog, it wasn’t a problem to overlook even more gigantic buildings. Our first impressions from the Olympic Plaza were not very positive. Air was heavy and humid and we met first street vendors. Slightly tired from the flight and a little disappointed from the first impressions from China, we took a little rest. Then we went to explore the best of Beijing.

Full of restored energy and smiling eagerly, we set off to explore the rest of the city. We headed straight to Tian ‘Anmen Square, the largest in the world, according to the Chinese. We could admire there several monuments at once. The square, also called The Gate of Heavenly Peace, was lined with a gateway to the Forbidden City with a portrait of Mao Ce Tung, Mao Mae Tung Mausoleum, and the National Assembly Building. The National Heroes Memorial was situated in the middle. We have not met any foreign tourists on the area of approximately 440,000 m2, but the Chinese faces were staring at us curiously from everywhere. Some of them were event trying to look like members of our group. 🙂

We changed the spacious square with the crowded Wangfujing Dajie – a shopping street, also called the Champs-Élysées of Beijing. Except for the typical European shops, we had an opportunity to visit snacks street that opens in the evening. It offers scorpions of various sizes, seahorses, snakes, silkworms and other delicacies. 😉 I bravely managed not to taste any of it. Instead, I preferred roasted corn and strawberries covered with caramel. They were strawberrylicious!

We started our second day in China with program outside the capital. We took a bus to Badaling, where one of the Chinese most famous landmarks is located. The Great Wall of China. We arrived early in the morning to be ahead of crowds and to enjoy the best weather. Already when approaching the parking lot, we could see a massive wall stretching on both sides of the surrounding hills. All Chinese tourists went to its right side, so countless white t-shirts and black heads were covering the wall.

We made a strategic decision. As all the Chinese tourists went to the right, we turned left. What happened? We were all alone on the Great Wall of China and could enjoy this unique experience to the fullest! Once 6,500 km in length and stretched throughout the whole China, I couldn’t imagine how they managed to build such a massive structure in the 5th century BC. Funny thing is how every step is of a different height (and width sometimes). Apparently it wasn’t caused by the period when it was built, given that even today they don’t have a uniform rate and every step is different. You can except it as a form of exercise though. 🙂 Just be careful not to kill yourself.

We spent the afternoon in the Summer Palace built by Empress Cixi. It is an incredibly large area with a vast lake, lots of gazebos, a Muslim temple on a hill and a forest. Everything was created artificially according to feng shui rules. The island in the middle of the lake represents the body of a turtle; the turtle itself is among the five mystical animals in feng shui and means safety and longevity. There is also one of the longest wooden corridors in the world, measuring just over 700 meters. It is unique in its decorations, consisting of 14,000 different drawings.

The third very large area we visited in Beijing was the Temple of Heaven. The Emperor used to visit only once a year to pray to the gods for a good harvest or to eliminate the consequences of the floods. Unlike Chinese tourists (whose national sport seems to be pushing others and trying to outrun everyone) we waited the queue to get to stand at the exact place from which the emperor spoke to the gods. Yet the most important place of the whole area is the temple itself, whose photo is best known photo from the whole Beijing.

We started the last day in Beijing with a visit of the famous Forbidden City. The tour took us three hours for an enormously large areas of individual squares and a number of Chinese tourists. The Forbidden City consists of three main palaces – the Palace of Highest Harmony, the Palace of Middle Harmony and the Palace of Conservation, and smaller houses surrounded by greenery. Above the town, artificial Coal Mountain rises. You can easily climb it in ten minutes. The Emperor had built it to enjoy the view of his magnificent city. The view was really charming. Thanks to the beautiful sunny weather, we could see nearly the whole city.

Love & happy travels,
RLT

P.S.: If you have any questions, different experience or suggestion, please share it in a comment below.