Beijing - Forbidden Cities and Great Walls

I got back into Beijing and could finally begin my sight seeing of this amazing capital city. My first port of call was to Tiananmen Square. This is where Mao Zedong’s body is housed but I was unable to go and see it as he was having a much needed make over! I was harassed by a street seller who wanted to sell me a watch with Mao’s face on it! It was pretty amusing! Outside of where Mao’s body is kept is the Monument to the People’s Heroes which charts the development of modern Chinese history.

I then went into the Forbidden City. You entered the courtyard via a massive gate with a giant picture of Mao above it. It was told off for trying to take a photo of it! Once inside the courtyard there are rows of little shops around the edges trying to sell all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs and it was full of people milling around. I didn’t see a Starbucks there, despite the rumours to the contrary! Inside the Forbidden City was a mass of small temples and small rooms which had been turned into museums. There was so much to see there that you almost need a second day to take it all in!

I went along to the Yonghe Gong Temple to the north of city walls, which was originally used by Tibetan monks. There were 3 or 4 temples within the complex with a variety of Buddha’s in each one. On the way home, I popped into a little Tea Shop and ended up buying a tea set – how I’m going to get it home in one piece I don’t know! My new roommate, Kealie, and I met up with some friends of hers, Toni & Ollie and went for a night out.

I did a day trip to the amazing Great Wall of China, which is a definite must in Beijing. I was dropped at Simatai which is one of the oldest parts of the wall that is most in tact but not too far from Beijing. I took the cable car up the hillside. The view was brilliant and you could see the wall along the top of the hill stretching out for miles. I then took a little trip on the express train to take me to the bottom of the climb up to the wall.

I got accosted by a local woman who would help me on the walk. I kept saying no but she didn’t listen so I had a companion for the climb. She managed to tell me that her family are farmers in Inner Mongolia (the area to the north of the Great Wall but still in China!) and she comes here for a couple of days a week and does three climbs per day. At the top, we walked along the wall and through the many towers that are there. From here, the view goes on for miles with nothing but greenery. It was pretty quiet there which was wonderful! My guide took a couple of photos of me before we headed down and then I had to buy something from her! I ended up with a book on the Great Wall which I didn’t need but that was her fee for her un-required assistance! We had dinner at a nearby restaurant before heading back.

On my final day before leaving China, Kealie and I went to a local restaurant and had Peking Duck which was delicious. We then headed to the night market near the Forbidden City where we tried the local deep fried foods of starfish and deer (but kept away from the insects and octopus!)

We also popped into the Beijing 2008 Olympic shop to get some souvenirs and pose with the competitions’ 5 furry mascots.