After another productive week at work and a little drama involving flights, I made it to Beijing on Friday afternoon. I noticed how exciting life in the city was when I first entered one of Beijing’s crowded metro stations. As I walked around the crammed streets of on my way to Tiananmen Square, I sampled some delicious Baozis (stuffed buns) and Danta (Chinese egg tarts). The square comprised of the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the National Museum of China located next to the Forbidden City. The Zijin Cheng (Forbidden city) is a rectangular division of outer and inner courts used for ceremonial and daily affairs by the emperors in the Ming- Qing dynasties. It took me over 3 hours to explore the palace’s three tiers, great halls, ancient architecture and museum. To end the day, I treated myself to a local delicacy, Peking Duck. It consisted of crisp skin and sliced meat served with cucumber, scallion, pancakes and sweet bean sauce.
The next day, I put on my hiking boots, suntan lotion and grabbed my bag of supplies for the journey to Jinshanling, a section of the Great Wall of China. After an hour of climbing to the top, I was met with magnificent views of barrier walls, watchtowers and breath-taking landscapes. Each watchtower had a fascinating inscription describing the historic significance of that part of the wall. During the evening, I strolled along streets full of vendors selling souvenirs and sweets like Tanghulu (candied tomato on the stick).
The next day I headed to the Summer Palace. I saw landscapes covered in Chinese horticulture, lakes, gardens, rocks, pavilions and long corridors. I spent an afternoon sitting by a lake watching black swans and lily pods. Shopping in the HongQiao Pearl market was a delight with all the inexpensive jewellery, pearls, electronics, silk products and traditional Chinese art. I went to the Beijing national stadium (the bird’s nest) and the aquatics centre (the water cube) to get both a day and night view. At night I was invited by beta alumni to dine at the Red Bowl, one of the finest hotpot restaurants in Beijing. Afterwards we went on a ride to experience the bar street and high end night life of central Beijing!
On the final day I headed to the lively Panjiayuan, an antique market with stalls selling arts, crafts, antiques, stones and jewellery. The market had lots of precious antiques and rare items that could be bagged for cheap prices with some hard bargaining. I decided to end my trip on a spiritual note by visiting the Temple of Heaven. The grand architectural style was a good representation of the profound history, culture and philosophy of China. It was comprised of many breath taking areas such as the Imperial Vault of Heaven, a rose garden, the Palace of Worship and the Danbi bridge.
These are some of the highlights of my trip to the Peking city. Bye-Bye Beijing.
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